Rancho Markets Case Study
Rancho Markets engaged Wasatch Manufacturing to keep food safe, reduce food waste, increase kitchen efficiency, improve employee morale by eliminating threat of customer illness and health department inspections. Not only were these goals accomplished, but Rancho Markets saw a 50% decrease in energy usage which has already saved the company thousands of dollars, dramatically decreasing their carbon footprint and qualified them for a substantial cash incentive/subsidy from their utility provider, Rocky Mountain Power.
Mission of Rancho Markets
Rancho Markets is a Utah grocery store chain dedicated to offering their customers the freshest, highest quality products at the best market prices. Because Rancho Markets recognizes that their level of success is directly tied to customer satisfaction, Rancho markets is continually looking for better solutions to everyday challenges. Eli Madrigal, CEO at Rancho Markets said, “Our customers are very loyal because they see we are doing everything possible to provide them with the best products at the best prices while having the best possible shopping experience. Sometimes it’s not easy. But, Rancho Markets has enjoyed tremendous growth over the years because I think our customers do recognize that every time they enter one of our stores, they are in a place where quality, value and their personal safety are of greatest importance.”
Rancho Markets began operations in 2006 when they opened their first store in Salt Lake City and now has stores all along the Wasatch Front from Provo to Ogden. The economic impact from Rancho Markets is impressive – with a direct employee base of over 500 and an equally impressive indirect employment impact from supply chain partners in Utah and neighboring states.
Rancho Markets began operations in 2006 when they opened their first store in Salt Lake City and now has stores all along the Wasatch Front from Provo to Ogden. The economic impact from Rancho Markets is impressive – with a direct employee base of over 500 and an equally impressive indirect employment impact from supply chain partners in Utah and neighboring states.
However, even with years of experience and success, Rancho Markets must continually find ways to differentiate itself from other grocery businesses in the market while keeping its cost structure in check. This led Rancho Markets to team up with Wasatch Manufacturing, another Utah company, to create added value in the marketplace. This added value comes in the form of a product made by Wasatch Manufacturing called “AlumaSafe”.
According to Ms. Madrigal, the company needed a way to increase revenues while improving both customer and employee experience. AlumaSafe has done just that. AlumaSafe is pan specifically designed for the commercial food service industry that guarantees to keep food – both hot and cold at safe temperatures (as prescribed and enforced by Health Departments) while cutting energy costs in half. AlumaSafe has also proven to be incredibly versatile and easy to clean (unlike stainless steel and plastic food pans).
The Challenge
Rancho Markets had two main goals in implementing AlumaSafe. First and foremost, it wanted to keep its food in temperature – something no other product on the market has been able to do. Health codes require that cold foods must remain below 40 ̊F and hot foods must remain above 140 ̊F. A big part of Rancho Markets’ business, and perhaps its busiest department, is their in-store restaurant where customers are served 7am – 7pm every day of the week. This area of the business has been robust and highly successful, but like any other restaurant, it needed a way to increase profits. Rancho Markets knew that if it could keep its food in temperature, it would dramatically reduce the amount of food it was forced to throw away each day. This would lead to a reduced cost of goods and be the means of achieving increased profits. Like most companies, Rancho Markets was looking for incremental increases in profitability. The company was seeking to increase profitability by 5%.
Operational cost is also a critical metric for Rancho Markets. A key component of its operational cost is utilities. By allowing Rancho Markets to lower its electricity cost by 50% in their restaurants, implementation of AlumaSafe has increased Rancho Markets’ profitability by an additional $10,000 annually. Since AlumaSafe comes with a 5-year warranty, increased profitability through energy savings over the life of the product can be safely estimated at $50,000. This is especially important because Rancho Markets is deeply committed to the environment and a 50% reduction in electricity cost represents a 50% reduction in energy use which means a 50% reduction in carbon emissions. A 50% reduction in carbon emissions means cleaner air for everyone in the Rancho Markets community.
The Resolution
In a joint effort with all its stores and their respective management teams, Rancho Markets implemented AlumaSafe in all its in-store restaurants. Since its company-wide implementation of AlumaSafe in September 2019, Rancho Markets has not received a single hot or cold holding temperature violation from the Health Department in any of its locations. During this time, Rancho Markets restaurants have saved over $10,000 in electricity costs by reducing nearly 65,000 kWh used – the equivalent of over 5,000 gallons of car exhaust. Additionally, because AlumaSafe allows Rancho Markets to so dramatically reduce their energy use, Rocky Mountain Power, through its wattsmartTM program, has paid Rancho Markets a cash incentive of $9,342 which was used to subsidize the purchase of AlumaSafe.
One of the biggest factors in the success of any grocery store or restaurant is trust. Commenting on the power of AlumaSafe in building trust with customers, Ms. Madrigal stated, ““We are very proud to be the first grocery store chain in the country to implement AlumaSafe throughout all of our stores. We now know that all of our food, in all of our stores is always safely in temperature. We no longer worry about unannounced Health Department inspections. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have this burden lifted – to eliminate what used to be a constant worry for so many of our employees and to be honest, many of our customers. Of course, we appreciate the abig energy savings and the cash incentive from Rocky Mountain Power – that’s wonderful but the biggest value is knowing that our food is safe for our loyal customers and that our customers are aware of this – it’s truly priceless.”
One of the biggest factors in the success of any grocery store or restaurant is trust. Commenting on the power of AlumaSafe in building trust with customers, Ms. Madrigal stated, ““We are very proud to be the first grocery store chain in the country to implement AlumaSafe throughout all of our stores. We now know that all of our food, in all of our stores is always safely in temperature. We no longer worry about unannounced Health Department inspections. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have this burden lifted – to eliminate what used to be a constant worry for so many of our employees and to be honest, many of our customers. Of course, we appreciate the abig energy savings and the cash incentive from Rocky Mountain Power – that’s wonderful but the biggest value is knowing that our food is safe for our loyal customers and that our customers are aware of this – it’s truly priceless.”
I’ve been working with AlumaSafe for a long time and I must say that I’m impressed with it. It keeps whatever food we put in the cold well cold and whatever food we put in the steam table hot and that’s the main thing — temperatures.
By utilizing the benefits provided by AlumaSafe since its installation, Rancho Markets has experienced less food spoilage and related costs, lower energy use and related costs and has eliminated the threat and any occurrence of health department-imposed food embargoes, fines and related worries. Customer satisfaction has increased from knowing that food is safe and less energy is being used to do so. Moreover, customer perception has increased from better looking food (e.g. no dried rice or gravy “skin”). Another unexpected benefit of AlumaSafe is lower labor costs. Because of AlumaSafe’s ultra-durable, non- stick coating makes it so easy to clean, Rancho Markets has been able to lower labor costs related to dishwashing. What used to take 30-45 minutes to soak and scrub stainless steel pans, can now be done in less than 10 minutes with AlumaSafe.
Average Cook Time
In addition to the benefits already mentioned through implementation of AlumaSafe, Rancho Markets discovered one more advantage: reduction in cook time. This came as big surprise to chefs and company management. AlumaSafe reduces cook time by 30%. This not only saves time, but energy (in most cases, gas) required to prepare food. This additional savings category contributes significantly to Rancho Markets increased profitability since its implementation of AlumaSafe.
Salvador Figueroa, Rancho Markets Senior Buyer and Operations Director, said this about AlumaSafe, “From my perspective, AlumaSafe
is a key tool to help our kitchen staff reduce the anxiety of keeping food safe for our customers. Not only does it reduce anxiety, but eliminates it completely. We now have a product that allows our employees to give their full attention to our customers without worrying about food temperatures and the local Health Department. AlumaSafe has been a game-changer for our restaurants and company.”
The Future
Rancho Markets states on their company website, “Our objective as a company has always been and will continue to be to offer our valued customers fresh and quality products at the best market prices available, thereby assuring our position of leadership in the supermarket industry. Rancho Markets is not only about being a leader in the supermarket industry, it is also about giving back to the community and being there for them.”