VARIETY AND VALUE INGREDIENTS FOR TAKEOUT DINNERS OF FUTURE.

Byline: Philip Lempert Chicago Tribune 

Today, many Americans don't have time to cook. But they also have many options besides the supermarket to choose from for their dinner. Many takeout restaurants are capitalizing on the trend with a variety of home-style foods. In response to this competition, supermarkets are fighting back with a concept the industry calls ``home meal replacement.''

This is a far cry from frozen dinners. Supermarkets offer foods ranging from baked chicken with side dishes to a variety of fresh salads and complicated main dishes.

``Variety, innovation and value are all critical,'' said Will Dunlavy, director of deli, bakery and food service merchandising for Harris Teeter Inc. in Charlotte, N.C., who spoke at the Food Marketing Institute's ``Meal Solutions '96'' conference in Phoenix. ``And the quality has to be either equal to or better than home cooking.''

At Byerly's supermarkets, ready-to-eat options include the Wolfgang Puck Express, sushi bars and gourmet meats and seafood at the Chef's Market counter. Jim McDermott, who operates the Chef's Market department in Byerly's Schaumburg, Ill., store, says that having a fully trained chef on staff helps because shoppers want information and advice.

Nearly 60 percent of respondents in a recent survey said they would buy dinner at a supermarket if entrees and side dishes were available. The study was conducted by America's Research Group in Charleston, S.C., for trade magazine Supermarket News. Still, supermarkets continue to cede shoppers' food dollars to restaurants.

``Customers do not expect the same thing from a box of cereal on the shelf as they do from an entree served from a display case,'' said Bill Reynolds, associate vice president of continuing education at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, Calif. ``To win customers, the message of fresh-prepared has to come across.''

In addition, new items must be introduced frequently, service people must be well trained and the selection must be displayed in exciting ways. According to another FMI survey, common concerns include: that food has not been sitting around too long (88 percent) and that the food is delicious (87 percent). Of those respondents, those who felt such concerns were being adequately addressed, the out come was 30 percent and 43 percent, respectively.