Category Catalysts: Deli Meats - Dietz & Watson

The deli meats category is a key stop for discerning shoppers, who also tend to drive higher ring baskets overall. While the category has been challenged with food safety scares in the past 18 months, leading brands are reinforcing their commitment to providing partners with the high quality items and an eye toward unflinching food safety standards. While the brand is more than 80 years old, Dietz & Watson is driving category growth by adhering to the same commitment to quality that the company was founded on in 1939. 

Grab-and-go deli meats make up almost half of Dietz & Watson sales, and the company notes that it has seen consistent growth since Covid. However, the company prides itself on providing solutions, rather than simply products. “At Dietz & Watson, we sell more than just premium products, we sell solutions. We take a holistic approach when it comes to our business, which, to us, means working with our customers to accommodate their unique wants and needs outside of the product itself and into programming, as a means to achieve joint business goals and objectives,” said marketing representative Taylor Grissinger.

Food safety is also incredibly top of mind for shoppers, a focus that Dietz & Watson is addressing directly. In an attempt to be more transparent, Dietz & Watson launched an interactive virtual tour of the company’s Philadelphia factory. “In light of recent concerns about food safety, transparency has never been more important to consumers,” said a spokesperson for the company. “While some brands keep their production processes behind closed doors, Dietz & Watson is taking a different approach—opening its doors to give the public an inside look at how premium meats and cheeses are made.”

Additionally, the company is innovating into other deli categories, including hot dogs with the launch of Dietz Dogs. “What inspired us to build these items into our program was the consumer’s pursuit of premium meat products. One of our brand pillars is ‘choice,’ and it is important that we continue to offer our consumers the choice to invest in a lifestyle that is unique to them and their families’ dietary wants and needs,” Grissinger said. “It is also critical that our consumers believe in us and feel confident and comfortable buying Dietz & Watson, knowing full well that we will deliver on our brand promise while giving them something they can feel good about enjoying.”