Why AdvancePierre Foods Is 2016’s Prepared Food Category Captain

BLUE ASH, Ohio — Building on the growth and popularity of its BIG AZ brand and consumers’ increasing demand for breakfast and big value, AdvancePierre Foods Inc. recently expanded this brand into the breakfast sandwich category. With the successful launch of three breakfast sandwich items last year, the BIG AZ brand has brought big value to the morning daypart while the company continues to grow its established Hot ‘n’ Ready breakfast sales with new items and locations.

For its efforts, AdvancePierre Foods was selected winner of the 2016 Convenience Store News Category Captains award in the prepared food category.

Now in its third year, the awards program applauds outstanding category management initiatives implemented in the convenience channel over the past 12 months. All entries were judged by product development experts at consumer research firm Past Times Marketing based on the information supplied by participating companies.

AdvancePierre supports its retail offerings with pieces including warmer and cooler programs, shelf trays, wobblers and signage, and often works with customers to create custom pieces to meet their needs and promotions.

With the recent acquisition of the Landshire family of products, AdvancePierre has brought into its portfolio a variety of hot and cold sandwiches with extended refrigerated shelf life, as well as hand-wrapped, upscale, deli-style sandwiches with a fresh look and appeal. Pairing these offerings with the full line of AdvancePierre products, programs and distribution network, the company has enabled significant growth and expanded market reach.

AdvancePierre’s consumer insights team monitors food trends and regularly conducts consumer-level product evaluations and taste panels to ensure the brand continues to provide leading-edge products, satisfying taste profiles and high-performing products for the retail environment.

Its research and development team includes experts in sandwich development as well as bakery and meat science, and its product testing facilities include a variety of heating and preparation equipment to ensure that it can validate preparation instructions and performance for different in-store applications.

AdvancePierre supplies a full line of assembled and packaged sandwiches in a variety of flavors, sizes, price points, brands and package formats. The acquisition of the Landshire sandwich brands and its Caseyville, Ill., sandwich facility and Better Bakery Co. earlier in 2015 enabled  AdvancePierre to increase its portfolio of packaged sandwiches to include a broad selection of deli-style sliced meat and salad sandwiches, and enrobed pretzel melt sandwiches.

With four sandwich assembly and two bakery plants, AdvancePierre is vertically integrated, baking much of the breads used in its sandwich assembly on-site. In addition, as an added value, the company develops, processes and cooks most of the meats used in its sandwiches at its six protein processing facilities.

AdvancePierre Foods is also a manufacturer of foodservice meat and bakery products for supplying sandwich and entrée components to c-stores that do in-store commissary food preparation and assembly. Products include fully cooked burgers, grilled and breaded chicken, pork and turkey products, as well as meats for the roller grill.

For more on the winners and their category management initiatives, look in the Convenience Store News Guide to Category Management, published this month.