How consumer behavior has switched since the Boar’s Head recall, explained by a grocery store owner

The owner and operator of family grocery chain Cingari Family Markets talked to FOX Business about a unique trend he has observed of shoppers turning away from deli meat as a whole and moving toward prepared foods following the Boar’s Head recall. 

Around 7 million pounds of deli meat was recalled by Boar’s Head, with the first announcement issued in July 2024.

Products can be recalled for a slew of reasons. A listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats was the reason for this specific recall. 

In July 2024, millions of pounds of Boar’s Head deli meat was recalled due to a listeria outbreak. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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In September, Boar’s Head announced the closure of its manufacturing plant in Jarratt, Virginia, where the deadly outbreak stemmed from. 

Tom Cingari Jr., a fourth generation owner and operator of his family’s grocery chain, told FOX Business that after this recall, he saw an untypical shift in consumer behavior that extended beyond Boar’s Head products specifically. 

“There’s definitely been a noticeable shift away from [the] sliced deli meat category…way more in the specific Boar’s Head products, but it also has caused some hesitation away from other sliced deli meats as well, just with people feeling a little bit uneasy about the entire category,” Cingari, who specializes in perishable products, told FOX Business in a phone call. 

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“Most of the sales decline has been in the Boar’s Head products, but we feel like it’s also an overall decline…as I think people are just maybe staying away from that stuff until the dust settles…but as far as numbers since the incident, we’re down about 7% in sales, in our deli departments across our company, whereas previous to that, we were actually in the positive,” Cingari explained. 

With many shoppers turning away from the deli counter, Cingari said a different category of product has experienced a major increase at their stores. 

When products are recalled, consumers may waver in their trust of the brand and look for alternative options.  (iStock / iStock)

“I think it’s interesting that the recall created a deficit in sales overall, for our deli departments, but a very interesting trend on the flip side of this is [that] we’ve seen significant increases in our prepared food offerings,” Cingari said. 

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“It’s not that it’s a one-to-one trade-off… [but] we’ve picked up more in percentage on our prepared foods, like our chef prepared entrées and sides and salads and all of that kind of stuff… I feel like they’re kind of meal alternatives to deli. So we’ve seen tremendous growth in those fresh made entrées and sides,” added Cingari. 

Deli goods may be down 7% in Cingari stores, but prepared foods, since the Boar’s Head recall, are up 20%. 

“It’s not that the percentage is the same in dollars, but it’s a huge, huge increase,” Cingari said. 

Tom Cingari Jr. told FOX Business that shoppers at his family’s grocery chain have been reaching for prepared meals, like a fresh salad, instead of deli meats following the Boar’s Head recall. (iStock / iStock)

Not only can product recalls cost companies millions, in some cases, billions of dollars, but they can also tarnish their reputation. 

Consumers may lose trust in the company, and it could be a long road for the brand to gain that back. 

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“I just think it’s going to take a little bit of time for the company to earn the customers’ reassurance that this isn’t going to happen again,” Cingari said. “So I totally understand the hesitation from the customer’s perspective, and hopefully, over time Boar’s Head will make sure that they are seen as that top quality deli brand again, because when something like this happens, it just casts a wide net on the entire brand.”

“Hopefully they will regain trust,” he said, “but I believe it’s going to take some time.”