Nutrition Programs Continue to Make News

A couple of weeks ago, this space reported on a voluntary labeling system called Nutrition Keys that provide shoppers with essential nutrition information to the front of packaging for at-a-glance viewing. The program has been put forward by Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association. It appears that the year of nutritional labeling trends continues with a story in Supermarket News today about a new program by the The U.S. Department of Agriculture intended to replace their My Pyramid guidelines for healthy eating. The new system will feature a four colored plate rating system which will stress eating smaller portions, eating more fruits and vegetables, reducing sodium, and drinking low-fat milk.

An even more in-depth look at nutritional food labeling programs also appears in Supermarket News in a column by Michael Garry. In the article, Garry cites FMI data that says 48.5% of retailer respondents have implemented a nutritional guidance labeling programs like NuVal or Guiding Stars. That is twice as many who said that in 2010.

Whether it is these programs or proprietary programs, it appears that manufacturers and retailers are getting the consumers attention. Garry reports on an NPD Group survey that said 64% of consumer respondents frequently check labels when making purchasing decisions.

The USDA will reportedly be making a huge effort to promote their new program. Some elements may tie into the First Lady Michelle Obama campaign promoting exercise and health. There will be a temptation to use these programs as a marketing tool, but Garry advices against that saying that promoting health and not increased sales should be the message.

No specific at-retail merchandising and marketing application for the roll-out of any of these programs is mentioned, but anything that has ongoing impact at shelf level is bound to affect members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing service industry in some way. It is a trend that NARMS members should keep an eye on.

May 27, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 5/27/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Kroger Adds Furniture Line To Marketplace-Format Stores
- Santa Monica Gets New Gourmet Food Bazaar
- Sansolo Speaks: Reborn With Relevance
- Online Grocery Has A Maturity Moment
- Start-Up Company Aims To Make Wallets, Cash And Cards Obsolete
- Start Spreading The News: Big Apple Food Costs Lower Than Elsewhere
- Deal-A-Day Websites Having Strong Impact
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

What Retailers Seek in Site Selection

Location, Location, Location. When it comes to buying real estate, those are said to be the top three considerations. For store planners and retail execs charged with finding new locations for expansion or acquisition, finding the right location at the right price is the name of the game. A recent article in Progressive Grocer offered Five Tips for Retail Site Selection. The author taps the expertise of Robert Tack, CEO of Capital Retail Group, a commercial real estate firm.

Tack says that too many retailers looking for new space are focused solely on the rental rate. While budget is always a consideration, he says that there are other key components. For members of NARMS, and specifically the PIC Division, knowing what your customer is looking for can help in providing top level service on new store build outs, remodels, acquisition conversions and relocations. Here are his tips:

Know the customer. Successful retailers employ tools and techniques to measure sales data and shopping demographics. He suggests that the retailer create a grading system using elements such as visibility, access, daytime population, income levels and traffic counts as a basis for compiling a passing or failing grade.

Know the location. Tack says that an acceptable rental rate is not an absolute figure, but is directly related to the sales potential of a location. Higher rates may yield even higher sales levels.

Know the market. This one is probably pretty obvious, but knowing the going rate for real estate in a given market is vital. Keeping options open and having a back-up plan is helpful if an agreement cannot be reached.

Know the neighbors. Surrounding businesses can provide helpful synergies on one hand or damaging competition on the other. Anchor tenants are important, but the profile of the smaller stores and businesses can be just as important.

Know the landlord. Retail leases are not usually short term deals. Tack says they usually are for at least five and more often ten years. That is a long time to live with someone you know nothing about.

If knowing the above information is critical to retail site selection, then it is also critical to providing top flight service to the buyer. At-retail merchandising, marketing and installation service providers should work closely with their retail customers to know this information and do a little research on their own to know what they are walking into.

New Product Pacesetters Target Convenience and Wellness

The March 2011 Times & Trends report by SymphonyIRI Group takes an extended look at the most successful new product launches of 2010 and identifies the key factors and trends that helped put them over the top. New products are essential because they invigorate existing household names with brand extensions or create a new buzz with completely innovative products. The odds against new product success are steep and made even worse by an unstable economy.

The 2010 New Product Pacesetters as identified by SymphonyIRI seem to share three characteristics. They satisfied health and wellness objectives, brought excitement to home-based eating and drinking, and raised expectations around in-home health, beauty and personal care. The CPG manufacturers who took calculated risks seemed to gather the rewards as innovative products, without established brand equity, experienced a 57% higher year-one sales return.

Another head turning observation of the report is that successful new products do not have to come from huge and established manufacturers. There are several examples of small and upstart brands reaching the lofty threshold that lands them on the Pacesetter list.

The members of NARMS, professional at-retail merchandising and marketing service providers, know that there is another huge factor in new product success. So often, new product manufacturers spend all their attention and resources on innovation and advertising, but miss the most important part of the journey, the last six feet. Cutting in new products quickly and accurately can be done so much more efficiently by working with a third-party at-retail service provider, which brings the sales lift that much sooner. In most cases, that sales lift comes at only pennies on the dollar. New product launches are equally important to retailers, but often times they do not have the resources to cut them in on a timely basis.

Simply put, if it is not on the shelf, it is not for sale. To see the SymphonyIRI New Product Pacesetters, download the report here.

May 20, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 5/20/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Walmart Reborn In The USA?
- The Skinny On Functional Foods
- Sansolo Speaks: Better Buggy Whips
- Kroger: No Immediate Plans For Geographic Expansion
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

Nutrition Keys Coming to a Shelf Near You

The featured story today on www.supermarketnews.com by Carol Angrisani features Nutrition Keys, a voluntary labeling system that provides essential nutrition information to the front of packaging for at a glance viewing. The system is designed by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association and is not to be confused with the NuVal food rating system. NuVal is a guidance system that helps shoppers make healthier choices. It assigns products an index score of 1 to 100 which are posted on shelf tags. Right now, retailers and manufacturers are preparing for the rollout of the redesigned packages and are making plans to educate the consumer.

The Nutrition Keys system uses icons located on the front of packaging to inform the consumer on four nutrients to limit and eight to encourage. Basically it pulls information off the Nutrition Facts Panel and puts it in plain sight for an increasingly health conscience consumer base.

Nutrition Keys and the NuVal system are seen as proactive steps due to the fact that the Food and Drug Administration is contemplating its own nutrition labeling program. FMI, GMA and the FDA are reportedly in close communication with one another to monitor the results of Nutrition Keys.

Most CPG manufacturers will roll out their new Nutrition Key labels after they have used up existing packaging and had a chance to redesign their labels. That is expected to happen later this year and into 2012.

Although no specific at-retail merchandising and marketing application of educational materials is mentioned by Angrisani, she does report that The FMI and GMA are spending $50 million on a consumer education campaign to build awareness of the icon system. It is logical to assume that individual manufacturers might be looking for some extra promotional traction and shelf level execution as they adopt the system. NARMS members are ideally suited, perfectly positioned and uniquely qualified to provide that support.

Bishop Report Promotes New Level of C-Store Category Management

The April edition of Competitive Edge by Willard Bishop Consulting tells us that convenience stores may face some challenging times ahead. The usually recession proof format is now faced with shrinking margins from fuel and tobacco sales and is largely dependent on just a few categories for profitability. The rush to alleviate the concern has lead to an over assortment of products and non-shopper friendly environments. Author Paul Wietzel makes several suggestions to reach a new level of c-store category management in a channel where every inch of the shelf truly does count. The suggestions fall into three categories:

Focus on the Core. Non-core SKUs have been making their way into the c-store channel. It has lead to clutter and driving up of handling costs. As a result, some leading distributors are offering category management support to create effective shelf-sets for their retail customers.

Minimize Shopper Confusion. Traditionally, the bigger selling categories in a c-store are featured in several locations of the store. This is an intentional strategy to pick up additional impulse buys. But there is evidence to suggest that this old technique may not be working any longer and that consumers find it difficult to make purchase decision when categories are broken up. Consolidating some of these categories might eliminate some SKUs, reinforce the need for core SKUs and leave room for new products.

Set Categories Based on How Consumers Shop. The author finds that many c-stores are not merchandised based on how the consumer shops, but rather to create vendor efficiencies. This is done for several reasons, none of which are based on helping the consumer. He suggests that it is time for the channel to take a new approach to category management and redesign stores to really make the shopping experience convenient.

Members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing services industry are always looking for new ways to demonstrate their value to manufacturer, retailer and distributor customers. We cannot help but notice that all of the suggestions above revolve around remerchandising and resetting the store. Who better then the members of NARMS to turn strategic category management plans into tactical and operational sales and profitability building realities?

May 13, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 5/13/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Report: High Gas Prices May Lead To More E-Shopping
- Bar Code Usage Expands, Both By Retailers And Shoppers
- Kroger Throws Up Its Own Retail Theft Dragnet
- Under The Radar, But Appealing To Customers, And Growing
- Shell Game: Coles Tests New Online Sales And Delivery Model
- Food Insecurity Seeps Into The Middle Class
- Publix Announces New, Consistent Coupon Policy
- In New England, A Farmers Market On Wheels
- Supervalu Ousts Save-A-Lot CEO, Brings In Walmart Exec
- Kroger Expanding Ban On BPA
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

Press Release Prime Retail Services Names Mack Turner As Director Of Sales

Prime Retail Services is pleased to announce Mack Turner as its new Director of Sales. Mr. Turner has been with Prime since January 2010 as Director of Special Projects. With his diverse background and successful track record, Mack has the proven talent and experience to drive sales and maintain our leadership position in the retail services industry.

“We have re-structured our sales team and brought the process in-house to work more efficiently with our operations team. This restructuring will make Prime more effective in managing projects from beginning to end,” says Prime President and COO Donnie Johnston.
Read more

Moving Shopper Insights Closer to Reality

Supermarket News is providing blanket coverage of the FMI Future Connect 2011 conference this week. Editors David Orgel and Mark Hamstra are contributing to a Total Access Blog giving readers a chance to visit subject matter right along with the conference participants. Orgel will be delivering the keynote address on Tuesday, May 17 at NARMS own IFBA Top to Top Conference held next week in Chicago at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.

In one blog post, Orgel reports on a session about Shopper Insights featuring Trish Brynjolfsson, vice president, Brand and Industry Development, Catalina Marketing. Anyone who spends time reading industry trade publications or attending retail related trade gatherings has by now heard the term and is familiar with the topic. Basically, leveraging Shopper Insights is about knowing the consumer better and using techniques and technology to increase returns. Brynjolfsson says it is about building volume, loyalty and gaining trial of new items.

Most of the techniques suggested in the blog revolve around using shopper data to target consumers. For members of NARMS, professional at-retail merchandising and marketing service providers, these suggestions can lead to more opportunities to execute the ideas in-store.

The first and perhaps most obvious is to gather the shopper data and insights in the first place. Most NARMS members provide mystery shop and audit capabilities to gather and disseminate the data through advanced reporting and hand-held technology. This customer experience data adds a vital human element to the scan data.

When it comes to encouraging trial of new products, the members of NARMS Event Marketing Division are experts at carrying out at-retail samplings, demonstrations and special events that are proven to increase sales and enhance brand awareness.

NARMS members must continue to beat the drum that without execution at the shelf, these concepts are simply good ideas that go unrealized. Whether at the front end of gathering data, or the back end of executing the resulting strategy, NARMS members can be the force that moves Shopper Insights past the proof-of-concept stage and closer to reality.