Spanish supermarket chain Eroski is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its gourmet line SeleQtia by creating new products, modernising its image and enhancing the 'sensory experience' of customers, in a partnership with the Basque Culinary Centre.
On Wednesday, the revamped line was presented to 150 associates in the Basque Culinary Centre in San Sebastián, followed by a tasting.
Each product has gone through a series of tests and tastings by gourmet experts tied to the academy. Items that pass their exacting standards will have a stamp from the centre itself.
"The tastings help the chefs score the food in terms of quality in areas such as texture, taste, smell, presentation, and ingredients. Their tests give a global 'sense' score and indicate if the product is appropriate for the SeleQtia line or if it must be reformulated to guarantee the best sensory experience," said the R&D team at the culinary centre.
New products added to the gourmet line include fresh and frozen pizzas, fresh and dry filled pasta, Cantábrico sardines, and sweet pastries.
Like other own-brand Eroski items, SeleQtia products don't contain GMOs, artificial colours or preservatives, or partially hydrogenated vegetable fat. Each has a nutrition label on the front of the packaging that gives 'total transparency' to consumers about the nutritional value of each product.
"The demand from consumers for gourmet products has increased in recent times. The 10% increase in SeleQtia sales in the past year is proof of that. Today, the client won't only opt for premium food on special occasions. They will pay more for an exceptional olive oil, breakfast cereals they really like, or rice to accompany paella," said CEO Ainhoa Oyarbide.
The line has 177 references from 27 places of origin. They are produced in places like Navarro, the Basque Country, Alicante, and Italian locations such as Módena and Grana Padano.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
