Food Product Development Guest Memo: Taste Is On the Agenda For Military Meals Ready To Eat

Finding a way to a soldier's heart through chipotle chicken. Next challenge: eggs.

By Tom A. Peter Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

June 30, 2008 edition

Natick, Mass. - Like any chef, Jeanette Kennedy's pallet has become so refined over the years that, given any dish, she can single out virtually every ingredient – the pinch of black pepper, the hint of oregano, or the vegetable oil subbing for olive oil. [Ms. Kennedy is pictured above working in her Natick, Mass., USA military base test kitchen.]

On a recent morning she was testing a slab of pound cake, her face blank as she silenced her other senses and focused on taste and texture.

After a good long chew, Ms. Kennedy spit the cake into a paper cup – an indelicacy that was not a comment on the cake (which she deemed pretty good), but the result of a high calorie occupational hazard. This pound cake is no tea party trifle; it's combat cuisine – part of an MRE, Meal Ready to Eat – designed to fuel soldiers lugging 100-pound packs all day.

A food technologist at the US Army Natick Soldier Systems Center (NSSC) west of Boston, Kennedy faces creative challenges unlike those before any other chef. Meals can't just taste good; they've got to last ... for three years stored at 80 degrees F., be capable of withstanding chemical or biological attacks, and survive a 10-story free fall (when packed in a crate of 12).

In this world, making something as seemingly simple as a sandwich earns a food technologist rock star status, even if only within the confines of the lab.

• • •

Ask anyone who has worn a US military uniform and they'll have an opinion about rations. MREs – the name given to the rations first served in the 1980s when canned fare gave way to meals packed in sturdy beige pouches – have nicknames that pretty much sum up what many troops think: Meals Rejected by the Enemy, Meals Rarely Edible, and Meals Refusing to Exit (a name that continues to stick despite the addition of more fiber).

"You go into [your first MRE] with a preconceived notion, just from what you've heard from either your instructors or other people that you're in training with, that they're not good," says Jeremy Whitsitt, a former Army soldier and now program outreach coordinator at NSSC. "But I think a lot of that has to do with the early days of the MRE, and just with military rations in general. Over time they've kind of developed a bad reputation, because for a long period of time we weren't customer focused."

Considering the difficulties of the durability requirements, it's easy to see how taste and customer satisfaction were low priorities. The only reason MREs aren't supposed to be consumed after three years is because science hasn't found a way to stop the deterioration of taste. But technically – if not gustatorially – they're still edible long after the expiration date.

But, Jill St. Jean, who ate a 6- or 7-year-old MRE beef patty during her training to become a certified MRE taste test evaluator at NSSC, admits, "That one pretty much tasted like dog food smells."

In years past, the canned C-rations that served the military from World War II through Vietnam actually looked a lot like wet dog food, which is also how many soldiers remember the taste. But these rations came from a very different time, an era when cigarettes were still standard issue.

Today, troop acceptance of the meals, which cost the military $7.13 each, has taken center stage. Back in 1982 when MREs debuted, designers assumed they could hang up their aprons. But when the first Gulf War broke out, the new ration moved from limited training use to the only food soldiers ate for months on end. Angry letters flooded in from the trenches, and the military realized that rations had to be a work in progress.

Now food technologists conduct focus groups with troops across the country, follow restaurant fads, and even attend culinary school to make sure their approach isn't entirely scientific.

"[MREs] really go along with the trends," says Kennedy. "As new things come out at restaurants, new flavors like chipotle or buffalo [get popular], they get incorporated into the MRE.... The trend [now is] going to more comfort foods like Salisbury steak, beef briquette, but it's not just macaroni and cheese, it's Mexican macaroni and cheese."

Just as in the first Gulf War, when NSSC misses the mark today, soldiers in the field let them know. After living off nothing but MREs for 45 days in Afghanistan, Spc. Colin Hankinson wrote a letter that included samples of packaging from Canadian rations that offered troops customer feedback cards with every meal

He also suggested that MRE designers "expunge" Cinnamon Imperial candies from the ration. "They are not satisfying to eat or useful to trade," explains Specialist Hankinson. "During the past 45-day mission, the primary consumers of Cinnamon Imperials were Afghan children and the burn pit."

Since 1993, NSSC has tried to avoid letters like Hankinson's by creating more than 189 new MRE menu items, almost 12 per year.

• • •

The kitchen lab where Kennedy and a number of other food technologists whip up the latest MRE dishes resembles a cross between a school cafeteria kitchen and a third world operating room. There are walk-in freezers, multiple meat slicers, a retorting machine bigger than a mid-size car, and lab coats and hair nets (for both head and facial hair) are required.

It was in this kitchen that Kennedy dreamed up what she considers her tastiest creation: a spicy vegetarian penne pasta. Mixed with a soy-based, non-meat sausage crumble, the pasta is covered with a zesty sauce that Kennedy says has "kick."

Asked to describe the inspiration for the penne platoon-pleaser, she ponders a moment before responding, "Well, I can't really say there was an inspiration."

Quite simply, she was under military orders to create a new vegetarian dinner with a protein source. Beyond that, she was like Michelangelo with a chisel and a slab of marble, limited only by her imagination.

The new emphasis on customer satisfaction has made it an exciting time to be a food technologist. In many ways, it's even led to rethinking the MRE.

Take the new First Strike Ration (FSR) for example. It's meant to provide service men and women with snacks throughout the day that add up to the equivalent of three square MREs. Since the FSR is intended for soldiers on the march, and not in a position to easily prepare food, it was what ultimately inspired the creation of the three-year sandwich – currently barbecue beef or chicken and Italian sausage, among others.

Though it might seem a minor innovation, for food technologists it was a breakthrough. Previously, finding a way to stop wet ingredients like BBQ sauce smothered chicken from seeping into the bread was impossible. But through tinkering with chemicals in the wet center. they managed a long-life rendition of a sandwich resembling a Pop-Tart).

After clearing the sandwich hurdle, Michelle Richardson, a food technologist for 19 years, looks forward to overcoming the next MRE conquest: eggs.

"Now I'm trying to give [troops] a breakfast burrito, the same thing you can get at McDonald's but doesn't require any refrigeration and is shelf stable for two years," she says. "Egg is really kind of difficult [to preserve], but that's OK. I like a challenge and I don't get bored."

Retail Memo: Upscale 'Food Emporium' Expanding 'Food to Go' Into More Stores; Plans Standalone, Small-Format Version of the Prepared Foods Concept

The once great but lately struggling Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) seems to have found a success story in its 29 store Food Emporium upscale gourmet and prepared foods supermarket format, which it's in the process of taking even more upscale and gourmet.

Most specifically, a key ingredient of the format's success is coming in the in-store fresh, prepared foods category, with a concept and store section called "Food to Go," which the food retailer launched in its busy Food Emporium location in the Trump Palace building in Manhattan's Upper East Side.

A&P operates 16 of its 29 upscale Food Emporium stores in Manhattan; nine of the gourmet-oriented supermarkets are located in New York State, and four are in nearby Connecticut.

The "Food to Go" in-store fresh, prepared foods section has been doing so well in the Trump Palace store that A&P plans to roll the concept and department out to as many of its other 15 Food Emporium stores in Manhattan as is feasible, according to Hans Heer, who's the general manager for Food Emporium as well as a senior vice president for A&P.

Heer says the rollout of the "Food to Go" departments will be slow, and that they might not go into all of Food Emporium's New York City gourmet supermarkets because of space limitations. The fresh, prepared foods departments are decent-sized. Therefore, most of the stores will need some expansion in order to accommodate the departments.

Space is at a premium in Manhattan. Therefore, it's not clear if there will be additional space to expand in all 15 of the stores so the in-store fresh, prepared foods sections can be added. However, Food Emporium plans to put the gourmet prepared foods sections in as many of those Manhattan stores as it can.

According to Heer, Food Emporium has thus far earmarked two Manhattan locations (yet to be named) where the retailer plans on adding the "Food to Go" departments later this year. More should be on the way early next year.

Additionally, A&P is looking at a second strategy for the Food Emporium "Food to Go" concept. That strategy is to open standalone small-format "Foods to Go"-style prepared and specialty foods stores in the city. The stores would feature fresh, prepared foods made in-store, along with selling a limited assortment of other specialty and gourmet grocery items, cheeses and various other upscale products. Prepared foods are the centerpiece of the concept though.

When we say small-format, we really mean small. After all, 15,000 square feet is considered a good-size supermarket in dense Manhattan (Whole Foods Market's huge food emporium in the city aside). It's likely the stand-alone "Food to Go"-style stores would be in the 1,500 -to- 3,000 square foot range.

We call the standalone fresh, prepared foods stores "Food to Go"-type stores because Heer says the retailer won't use the "Food to Go" brand on those stores like it does in its Food Emporium stores. ("Food to Go" inside Food Emporium is sort of a store-within-a-store department.) Instead, the new, small-format fresh, prepared and specialty foods markets will operate under a separate name and have a separate and distinctive logo, according to Heer.

Food Emporium is targeting the opening of two or three of the stand-alone "Food to Go"-type stores in Manhattan for this year, according to Heer. Additionally, the goal is to open up to five of the stores in 2009 in Manhattan.

The "Food to Go" shop inside the Trump Palace Food Emporium store offers a myriad of gourmet, ethnic, specialty, natural and organic prepared foods items. The ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat prepared foods' selection ranges from New York Deli-style sandwiches and gourmet soups, to sushi, ethnic cuisine entrees and side dishes, healthy gourmet foods, and complete gourmet dinners to go, along with much more.

A&P recently decided to take its current 29-store Food Emporium "gourmet 2.0," from what was already a fairly upscale format. This added upscaling and further gourmet emphasis includes new design packages in and outside the stores, a more upscale and eclectic specialty, gourmet, ethnic and natural foods product offering (including its own gourmet private label), the "Food to Go" store-within-a-store fresh, prepared foods sections, and other higher-end touches and merchandising options.

Additionally, the Food emporium stores feature old fashion butchers shops which carry prime cuts of beef and the highest quality poultry and pork available. The Food Emporium stores also offer shoppers a gourmet prepared foods catering service.

The upscale markets also sell specialty and high-end wines, craft beers, artisanal cheeses, fancy deli meats, gorgeous floral arrangements, it's own line of specialty and gourmet grocery products and other specialty offerings.

According to Heer, the Trump Palace Food Emporium, which contains the first of the "Food to Go" fresh, prepared foods sections, is the first of its 29 stores to get the retailers "gourmet package" makeover, which it's in the progress of giving all the other stores, starting with the remaining 15 Manhattan units.

The Trump Palace Food Emporium also is the 29-store gourmet banner's highest sales-performing store as well currently, according to Heer.

The Trump Palace Food Emporium, which opened in 2004, is 25,000 square feet on two levels. There's an escalator to get to the second floor as well as an elevator.

Food Emporium also recently gave its website an upscaling . The site looks very gourmet and lists all the upscale features the stores offer in a very attractive presentation.

Food Emporium also offers online gourmet grocery shopping on the website. Shoppers can order online and either pick up their purchases at a store location they designate or have the order delivered to their home or office. Food Emporium offers free delivery for orders of $50 or more, which doesn't take much when one is buying gourmet groceries and prepared foods.

The new A&P/Food Emporium stand-alone small-format fresh, prepared and specialty foods stores will be interesting to observe when the two units open sometime this year. After all, as we write about often on Natural~Specialty Foods Memo, there's a small-format food and grocery retailing revolution going on internationally and in the United States.

This small-format food and grocery store revolution is happening across all formats in the U.S. for example--Save-A-Lot and Aldi as no frills, discount grocers, Trader Joe's as small-format specialty and natural foods grocer, Tesco's Fresh & Easy as hybrid basic grocery and fresh foods retailer, Safeway's new "The Market" format as hybrid upscale basic grocery, fresh and specialty foods grocer--and many more.

A&P's Food Emporium small-format fresh, prepared foods spin-off will fit in at the upper-end of this small-format food retailing revolution: gourmet prepared foods as the store's centerpiece with a limited assortment of specialty, gourmet and natural food and grocery products along side.

Prepared Foods Memo: Planet Organic's Mrs. Green's Natural Market Planning Big Push in Fresh, Prepared Foods' Category

As we reported here, Canada's Planet Organic Health Corp. recently acquired two U.S. Natural foods' retail chains, 11 store Mrs. Green's Natural Market (acquired last year) based in Scarsdale, New York and 3-store (with a new store being built) New Leaf Community Markets (acquired this year), based in Santa Cruz in Northern California.

These two acquisitions marked Planet Organic's first move into the U.S.

We've said before the Canadian natural products' retailers move into the U.S. with these two acquisitions is further evidence of the argument we've been making since last year that contrary to the position of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and many U.S. natural foods' retailers, suppliers and observers that Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s acquisition of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. would stifle competition, we believe the opposite is true: that it's actually increasing competition and innovation by both natural foods' retailers and supermarket chains and independents in the USA.

As we reported in a previous piece, Planet Organic plans to add numerous new stores to its recently acquired Mrs. Green's (in the east) and New Leaf (in California) chains in the next couple years. Further, Canada's Planet Organic is on the lookout to acquire other small-to-medium-sized regional natural foods' retail chains in the U.S.

We've now learned Planet Organic is making a major investment at its Mrs. Greens operation in New York in the prepared foods' category.

Historically, when it was an independent operation, Mrs. Green's Natural Market supplied its 11 units with fresh, prepared foods out of a 3,000 square foot kitchen in the basement of one of its stores. This cramped commissary put a crimp on the volume of deli and other prepared foods' items the retailer could supply to it busy stores. It also meant the 40 chefs and others working in the 3,000 square foot basement kitchen were elbow-to-elbow for eight hours a day.

This situation no longer will be the case though. Planet Organic plans to build a new, state-of-the-art 30,000 square foot, above ground kitchen/commissary where not only will the retailer's chefs and others have plenty of space to create the fresh, prepared foods, but also will allow the natural foods' grocer to supply its stores better and with a larger variety of prepared foods items.

According to Harold Hochberger, Mrs. Green's founder and current Co-President under Planet Organic's ownership, the 3,000 square foot basement kitchen currently produces everything from fresh, organic pies and fruit smoothies, to complete vegetarian meals for distribution to and for sale in the stores.

The fresh, prepared foods produced in the basement kitchen account for about $3.5 million a year in sales for the 11-store natural foods chain, or about about 8% of total store sales, Hochberger says.

With the addition of the new, above-ground commissary which will be ten-times the size of the current basement kitchen, Mrs. Green's is looking forward to not only increasing the quantity and variety of prepared foods for its stores, but increasing that $3.5 million in annual prepared foods' category sales considerably.

Hochberger says prepared foods sales in the Mrs. Green's stores have been increasing by about 15% annually for the last few years. He and Planet Organic believe with the new commissary, which will cost at least $1 million to build and equip, sales growth will be even higher once the facility is operating. He says he expects the facility to open in about six months.

Planet Organic Health Corp. is currently launching an aggressive growth plan, on top of seven year's of already rapid growth, focusing on its home market of Canada and in the U.S.

Seven years ago, annual gross sales for the company were only $1.6 million. At present, the Canada-based natural products company has sales of about $100 million. That's a gain of $7 million a year in each of those seven years.

Planet Organic is a diversified, publicly-held natural products company. In addition to operating nine natural foods supermarkets in Canada under the Planet Organic Market banner (with more on the way) and the Mrs. Green's and New Leaf stores in the U.S., the company also operates 48 natural health stores in Canada under the Sanger's Health Centre banner and eight similar stores under the Healthy's and Planet Organic Living banners.

Planet Organic Health Corp. also owns Trophic Canada, which is that country's leading manufacturer and marketer of natural supplements.

Planet Organic's two acquisitions in the U.S.--one on the east coast and the other on the west coast, which are two of Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s strongest market regions--proves despite the arguments of the FTC and some suppliers, natural foods' retailers and industry observers, that retailers including Planet Organic and others like Sprouts Farmers Market and Sunflower Farmers Market, don't believe the combined Whole Foods/Wild Oats chain poses neither a barrier to entry in the natural foods' retailing category in the U.S. or offers too stiff of competition for them to grow and thrive.

After all, if they did believe such was the case, would all three of the natural foods' chains mentioned above be in such rapid expansion modes like they are?

Prepared Foods Memo: A 'Prince' of an Organic Sandwich

Duchy Originals Does Organic Sandwiches

We're all familiar with Britain's Earl of Sandwich, that member of the Royal Family who the modern day sandwich is named after. Obviously, becoming the "father" of such an everyday foodstuff like the sandwich is quite an honor for a man, even among royals.

However, after all these centuries of having the honor of being the "sandwich king" of the royal lineage, the Earl is now being "out-royaled" on the sandwich front: None other than Prince Charles, heir to the current royal dynasty, has introduced a line of organic, premium, ready-to-eat sandwiches to his fast-growing Duchy Originals food empire.

The Prince of Wales' line of ready-to-eat, upscale and organic sandwiches will be introduced later this month at Waitrose Supermarkets, Britain's favorite upscale grocer. Waitrose, which currently has about 190 stores, will be the first retailer to sell the line, with other UK grocers and shops coming on a bit later.

the organic sandwiches, which with prices starting at $2.99 are priced for the common man and women, are handmade and contain all organic ingredients.

The organic sandwich varieties include: Cornish Brie (cheese) with vine-ripened tomatoes, cheddar cheese with a special relish, rare roast beef with various garnishes, and smoked mackerel with gooseberry. The mackerel is line-caught (and approved by the UK Marine Stewardship Council), cured in sea salt, smoked over oak and beechwood, and then roasted. A fresh gooseberry dressing serves as its primary garnish. (The mackerel is the only ingredient in the sandwiche line that's not organic. It can't be as it's wild and comes from the sea.)

The Duchy Originals' organic sandwiches contain no preservatives or artificial ingredients, in addition to using all organic ingredients, with the exception of the sea-caught mackerel. Additionally, the bread (called Bloomer loaves) for the sandwiches was created especially for the line. Premium organic condiments and garnishes are used in all the sandwiches.

Duchy Originals is in fast-growth and diversification modes

The launch of the organic sandwich line is part of Duchy Originals', and Prince Charles', plans to grow the natural, organic and sustainable food company significantly.

In July of last year the company introduced a line of organic fruit yogurts in the UK. Currently, there are three varieties of organic yogurt under the Duchy Originals brand: rhubarb and ginger, lemon curd (which has already won a number of awards for quality) and blackcurrant. The yogurt varieties contain 100% organic whole milk and organic fruits.

The increasingly diversified company currently has product lines in the following food or grocery categories: biscuits, bread and bakery, preserves, condiments, dressings, confections and chocolates, crisps, pastries/pies/flans, desserts, and soups/gravies.

Additionally, there's a dairy products line, which includes fresh milks and cheeses, in addition to the yogurts mentioned above. Duchy Originals also has a line of meats and poultry. The line features fresh hams, sausages, bacon and chicken. There's also a line of pate and smoked salmon.

The royal food firm also has an extensive line of beverages. These include mineral water, ciders, ales, herbal teas, refreshers and cordials, and sparkling wine.

Duchy Originals has also diversified into non-food products. Currently, the company markets an extensive line of health, beauty and body care items, and a garden tool line.

(You can view a listening of all the food and non-food products the company currently markets here. Just click on the "products" link when you get to the page.)

Prince Charles says the philosophy of the company embodies his commitment to what he refers to as "a virtuous circle of providing natural, high-quality organic and premium products, while helping to protect and sustain the countryside and wildlife." All of the company's profits go to charities.

In a week or so, British consumers will be able to support the Prince of Wales' environmental and charitable commitments an organic sandwich at a time. We think the Earl would be proud of the lad.