March 18, 2005 Editor: Joanne C. Ivy

In This Issue:

New Culinary Writing Fellows
Rediscover Eggs! Remains Popular With Educators
Programs Target Foodservice Market
Heart-Friendly Eggs Research
Consumer Insights Research
New Ethnic Egg Product Supplement
New ‘Incredible’ Creative Campaign
AEB News By E-Mail

Beth Schnell Re-Elected
American Egg Board Chairman

Board members: front row (left to right) Greg
Herbruck (Secretary), Beth Schnell (Chairman),
Wayne Mooney (Vice Chairman), and Jim Brock
(Treasurer). Back row (left to right) Lou Raffel
(exofficio), Jim West, Joe Fortin, and Richard
Simpson (Immediate Past Chairman).

Beth Schnell, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Sparboe Farms, Wayzata, MN, was re-elected Chairman of the American Egg Board at the Board’s meeting on March 10 in Rosemont, Illinois.

Other officers elected were: Vice Chairman – Wayne Mooney, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Dallas, TX; Secretary – Greg Herbruck, Herbruck Poultry Ranch, Saranac, MI; and Treasurer – Jim Brock, Crystal Farms, Inc., Chestnut Mountain, GA. Other Executive Committee Members: Jim West, J.S. West Milling Company, Modesto, CA; Joe Fortin, Kofkoff Egg Farms, Lebanon, CT; and Immediate Past Chairman – Richard Simpson, Simpson’s Eggs, Inc., Monroe, NC.

Newly appointed Alternates to the Board (pictured left to right) are: David Elbel, Feather Crest Farms, Inc., Kurten, TX (Area V – South entral States); Chris Pierce, Heritage Poultry Management Services, Inc., Annville, PA (Area I – North Atlantic States); and Jim Adams, Wenger’s Feed Mill Inc., Rheems, PA (Area I – North Atlantic States).

 

 

Consumer Magazine Publicity
January through March 2005

Egg features = 44

Publications = 27

Combined total circulation = 92,398,449

Comparable space costs = $10,543,290

Internet magazine features =
Uncountable
Value!

  

Beth Schnell pesents a special
copper omelet pan to Ron Krieder,
Krieder Farms, Manheim, PA for his
years of service on the American Egg
board. Most recently, Ron served as
Vice Chairman of AEB.
That’s just what AEB’s Consumer Educators have done with the burgeoning audience of older Americans. Starting in 1996 with an educational kit called Rediscover Eggs!, AEB began to make friends for the egg industry among the leaders of facilities serving active older adults. Along with other materials, the original kit included a newsletter which research had shown was a great way to communicate with older citizens. That proved to be true, so a quarterly, reproducible newsletter program has been continued every since – to rave reviews – resulting in much loyalty from this important group.

Depending on each exact topic, ratings vary each issue on the subjects of nutrition, food safety, fitness, recipes, and answers to questions. What remains constant is that all articles are listed as favorites by a portion of the readers, and all sections of the newsletter are requested to be included in future issues, with some reporting that they find something of interest in each issue. The most prevalent response is simply that readers want AEB to provide more on the topics already being covered.

Also ongoing is the favor with which program leaders rate the newsletter overall. Evaluators claim their seniors look forward to the issues; they are grateful to have information of this caliber to pass along to their members; the information is a good mix of timely articles which suit their programs; the wonderful newsletter contains excellent information with lots of great ideas and helpful hints; and the material is easy to read and understand.

In fact, readers refer to the newsletter as a Godsend, especially for nonprofit agencies. Some go so far as to write that the information in Rediscover Eggs! is better than that in the publications they can pick up at department of health and doctors’ offices. Such compliments aren’t surprising because the nutrition and food safety articles are written by recognized professionals (borrowed from ENC), and the fitness articles by a certified trainer, lending much credibility to the information.
 
Respondents regularly report that they want to continue to receive Rediscover Eggs!, and as the number of older U.S. consumers continues to grow – along with facilities and programs to serve them – so does the list. Nationwide, the newsletter currently reaches almost 9,000 retirement communities, nutrition sites, senior centers, senior friends/wellness programs, area agencies on aging, senior volunteer programs, and select extension service offices which provide senior programming.  And, everywhere Rediscover Eggs! goes, it makes new friends for the industry, but keeps the old.

 

Programs Target Important Foodservice Market

At AEB’s March meeting, Foodservice promotional programs for 2005 were presented. With 47% of the consumer food dollar spent in Foodservice, this represents an important opportunity for the egg industry.

  • Print advertising targeting the commercial restaurant operator continues in the national Foodservice publications. The new campaign for 2005 focuses on the versatility and profitability of eggs/egg products. One new ad focusing on Mediterranean cuisine was introduced in January, and the second new ad featuring Latin American cuisine will debut in April. In total for this year, the schedule includes 38 insertions providing over 11 million impressions.
     
  • In the area of egg safety education, the ad with the headline “Your Helping Hand in Food Safety for 25 Years. Think Safe. Think Eggs” will continue to appear. A schedule of 13 print ad insertions providing over 3 ½ million impressions is planned. Foodservice operators responding to the ad are sent a complete packet of egg handling materials.
     
  • A program targeting school foodservice operators is currently under development and will be available for the 2005-06 school year. Elementary schools will be targeted, and the overall focus of this year’s program will be Alternate Breakfast Programs. This includes programs to serve breakfast in schools but not necessarily in the traditional cafeteria. There is a growing opportunity to serve breakfast in locations such as the classroom, as kids leave the bus, or as a nutrition break after the 1st school period. As eggs provide excellent nutrition, eggs will be an important component of these breakfast programs.
     
  • In the second half of the year, a research study is planned that will determine whether foodservice operators are adding new egg dishes to their menus and in which dayparts. This “menu incidence” research will assist in verifying that the current programs are working and will identify areas for corrective action, if needed. Additionally, the research will help to identify emerging trends that can be incorporated into future programs.
     
  • The Foodservice portion of the AEB Web Site is also being updated. There will be a new welcome page, more efficient navigation throughout the site (similar to what has already been updated in the Egg Products and Ingredient sections), and expanded egg information for Foodservice operators.

New Research Finds Eggs Are Heart-Friendly

AEB and ENC collaborated with the prestigious Yale Prevention Research Center to inform the public about a new scientific study published in the March 10, 2005 issue of the International Journal of Cardiology, which finds that eggs are not detrimental to cardiovascular health. The study indicates that egg consumption does not appear to adversely affect blood vessels in healthy adults, suggesting that eggs, and the dietary cholesterol they contain, may not be directly harmful to cardiovascular health and can be consumed as part of a heart-healthy diet. According to the research, participants who consumed two eggs daily did not show increased levels of either total cholesterol or LDL (bad) cholesterol. As a result of these findings, the lead researcher, David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., admits he has added eggs back into his diet. To generate broadcast coverage of the study’s findings, AEB sent video footage via satellite to media outlets nationwide. The video footage included interviews from ENC’s Don McNamara, Ph.D., as well as one of the renowned authors of the article. In addition, a news release describing this study has been distributed to various newspaper and magazine journalists’ in our efforts to educate the print media about these eggciting findings.

To date, stations in major media markets across the country, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Detroit have broadcast stories about this eggciting research. Stay tuned as we continue to generate the public’s awareness about the wealth of health benefits that eggs provide.

Eggcellent Consumer Insights

New
‘Incredible’
Creative

Based on the new
research findings and a
positive reception of a
new strategic direction
at the March Board
Meeting, Grey
Worldwide will be
moving forward with a
new campaign for the
“Incredible Edible Egg.”
The new direction will
attempt to bring
nutritional news to the
egg category in order to
appeal to consumers’
rational approach to
eating foods which are
not only delicious but
offer health benefits.
The new messages will
highlight eggs’
versatility and their
appeal to the whole
family.

Background:
As part of AEB’s commitment to ongoing consumer research, qualitative focus groups were executed from January 31-February 14, spanning three cities across the U.S. -- Dallas, Seattle, and Tampa. The groups were comprised of three heavy and three light user groups. Researchers also visited families in their homes during different meal times and conducted in-store interviews at the dairy case.

Results:
Overall, people are better informed about nutrition and are more reasonable with their approach to eating. This sentiment was reflected in the words many consumers used to describe their approach to
eating well. In a similar study conducted in 2002, a regimented approach to diet was described as foods or rules a consumer was “Supposed to..” follow. For example, they were “supposed to” eat only whole grains or eat no carbs. The shift to a more reasonable approach is reflected in the “As long as I…” mindset. Consumers now say things like “As long as I eat some fruit during the day and something green at night, I will be ok.”

Cholesterol, once the main barrier to increased egg consumption, has shifted dramatically towards the better in consumers’ minds. High cholesterol remains a health issue for many Americans, but they no longer mainly blame cholesterol in their diet, but “bad genes” for their high cholesterol levels. They think food cholesterol can exacerbate it, but the root cause is heredity.

As expected, many things stayed the same the since the 2002 study. The frantic pace of weekday mealtimes in most households and people’s use of eggs has not changed including how they use eggs,
how they fit them into mealtimes, and how much they know about egg preparation. When preparing eggs for dinner, they are likely to report eggs as “breakfast for dinner.”

Key Finding:
Based on the reactions to messages tested in the research, any news or excitement that can be brought to the category will evoke a positive response with consumers. The most powerful reactions were to concepts which included messages about eggs being a low-fat food, a ‘superfood,’ and the quality of egg protein - proving also that what may not be news to the industry may still be news to today’s consumer.

Additional Factoids From Research:

  • Weekday eating is all about convenience. Consumers want to minimize preparation to 30 minutes or less, and they will re-heat previously prepared meals.
  • Weekend eating is all about fun - for some that means time to cook, eat at home, and be together; for others it means time off from cooking.
  • Consumers have become more informed and have accepted the idea of “good enough” eating; meaning that it’s not perfect but reaches their minimum standard for wholesomeness.
  • Most people have limited cooking skills and can only make scrambled and maybe fried eggs. • Eggs are still a “sleepwalk” purchase in which consumers take a few seconds to check for breakage and possibly for expiration date and then continue on with their shopping.
  • Consumers are looking for balance and an acceptable mix of processed and natural foods.

Sound the Trumpets for New Culinary Writing Fellows

As the AEB Board looks forward to its fall meeting in New Orleans, home of Cajun and Creole cooking, Teri Wuerthner is anticipating her stay at the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH) in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. There she’ll work on the egg chapter of her upcoming book, In a Cajun Kitchen. At the same time, Bev Shaffer is preparing to begin development of a kids’ egg cooking and baking book at WCDH. As this year’s AEB culinary writing fellows, Wuerthner and Shaffer will each reside, while writing and testing recipes, in the WCDH culinary suite for one month, courtesy of the egg industry.

Wuerthner has co-authored two previous cookbooks – The Cancer Prevention Cookbook and Food for Life – and has written freelance articles for Bon Appetit, Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light, Herb Companion, and Mademoiselle magazines as well as for the San Francisco Examiner, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, and Washington Post newspapers. Though Wuerthner is a food and travel writer from Corte Madera, California, her ancestors were Cajuns from Louisiana. According to Wuerthner, her family lived off the land and used plentiful, inexpensive eggs as a huge part of their daily fare. Her planned book, In a Cajun Kitchen, will include memorable egg dishes.

Shaffer, co-author of the cookbook No Reservations Required, is a columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine as well as a WAKR radio personality during morning drive time and Cooking School Director/Chef for Mustard Seed Market & Cafe in her hometown of Akron, Ohio. Shaffer also finds time to conduct healthful cooking classes for two cancer recovery centers and enjoys using French and Spanish accents for high school classes. During her stay at WCDH, Shaffer plans to work on quick-and-easy, tasty snacks and meals that children can make. As eggs are adaptable to many cuisines, Shaffer’s egg cooking book for kids will have an international flair.

The major goal of the AEB program is to provide assistance to food editors and writers – both novice and experienced. Sometimes all these culinarians need is background information, recipes, or photos to complete newspaper and magazine features, cookbooks, and other publications. Sometimes they need a haven – a place conducive to food writing – with cooking facilities, peace and quiet, and the inspiration of others who appreciate good food writing.

WCDH is such a place. It claims to be the only writers’ colony in the world which recognizes culinary writing as a legitimate writing genre and backs up that claim with a state-of-the-art culinary suite. To help food writers take advantage of this creative refuge, AEB offers culinary writing fellowships for juried writers who propose projects addressing the creative use of eggs in cooking and/or baking. To guide them, the latest fellows will be able to consult the Eggcyclopedia, unabridged. Bev Shaffer will also be able to glean inspiration for children’s recipes from AEB’s education kits for all ages.

Receive AEB News by Email

News from AEB is a four-to-six page monthly newsletter providing an update on AEB programs. With many issues, a copy of the newly-developed trade newsletters, informational materials, and recipe leaflets are included so that the industry can view firsthand rather than just reading about them. However, receiving the newsletter by email would preclude hard copies of the materials being sent to you – except upon request.

We plan to test emailing the News from AEB by email attachment for the next several months. During that time, you will be receiving both a hard copy and email copy until we have the program fully operative.

If you are interested in receiving your newsletter by email, please email Maryanne Crandell at AEB (mcrandell@aeb.org) so you can be added to our newsletter email list.

Ethnic is the Focus of the New Egg Product Supplement

“Since surveys show that America is now more multicultural than ever and that even long-time citizens seek more adventure in their food, food product developers are always on the lookout for flavor inspiration. It’s no secret that restaurants set the pace that food manufacturers follow when developing foods to meet the current trends. These days, the culinary inspiration seems to come across the Pacific from Asia and due south from Latin America. It’s well established that Asian and Hispanic cuisines have caught on with the American public.

Recognizing that eggs and egg products are an integral part of both Asian and Hispanic cuisines, AEB and the editorial staff of Food Product Design magazine are collaborating on a 12-page special supplement for the June Institute of Food Technologist Expo (IFT) preshow issue. The supplement will review the historical role of the egg in Asian and Latino foods, discuss traditional cuisine, flavors, and cooking styles, and investigate innovative ways to incorporate egg-based products with ethnic flair into a product design.

To help inspire creativity in food product development, research chef Walter Zuromski will create two formula recipes - one Asian and one Hispanic - that will be included in the supplement. Chef Zuromski is very knowledgeable in the area of egg products and has worked with AEB developing egg-rich concepts for major food manufacturers.

The supplement will be poly-bagged with the June issue of Food Product Design magazine and mailed to over 30,000 food product R&D professionals. An additional 15,000 copies of the supplement will be printed without the magazine’s masthead for AEB’s use at trade shows and direct mail.