Walk into any supermarket and feast your eyes. A flurry of Union Jacks pick out strawberries, asparagus and potatoes in season, pick ‘n’ mix tomatoes make a healthy sweet shop and rows of bananas rest neatly in their hammocks.Always up front, fresh produce makes up the most vibrant offer in any store and can make or break a reputation.
But behind the scenes, it takes months of research and collaboration to get the presentation right. The best merchandising is about bringing specific products to the fore as they come into their own, especially when they are on promotion.
It’s a tricky task, so it’s no surprise that the major multiples change their basic fresh produce fixtures just twice a year to reflect summer and winter as well as incorporating seasonal cycles once in between. On top of this, a number of so-called “out cycles” for the likes of the home-grown strawberry or asparagus seasons are overlaid onto the plans in what essentially becomes a matrix for sales.
Now for the science bit. The merchandising team can work out the number of items in a box or case and the number of cases sold on any given day, equate the results to the store format and work out how best to position lines and when to replenish them.
Stocks have to be calculated in terms of what sells best, which can vary from the busiest trading period from Thursday through the weekend to quieter days on Tuesday and Wednesday. There are multiple factors to take into consideration, such as how perishable items are, how heavy and how fast they move. At the same time, stock rotation must work in such a way that there is minimal waste.
The choice of fixture is crucial. Tesco stores feature four rows of racking, while Sainsbury’s has just three meaning it stocks less variety but on fixtures that are easier to shop and stock. Morrisons has set itself apart with its Market Street concept, which gives it more flexibility as to how lines are displayed in store.
Buyers have an input, but they have to work closely with merchandisers to get it right.
Jonathan Corbett, former Tesco buyer and managing director at marketing agency The Little Big Voice, insists that the positioning of key fresh produce lines can make the difference between profit and loss for suppliers.
It is vital, he says, that fruit and vegetables are given prominence at the right time and presented imaginatively but that retailers and suppliers also use the space to communicate with and educate shoppers.
“Placement works on a good, better, best principle from left to right if you’re looking at the fixture,” says Corbett. “Then there’s eye level, which is important. A lot of things need to be taken into account and stock replenishment is key.
“I would like to see a lot more information about products,” he adds. “Shoppers still don’t know as much about fruit and vegetables as they would like to. It is all very well releasing a great tasting or unique variety, but if you can’t communicate what makes it different it will always be a niche line.”
The ends of aisles are key positions for high turnover lines such as potatoes, top fruit and citrus. These sought-after spots are changed every two weeks in line with changing promotions, with the largest and most prominent end leading sales.
“The biggest end would feature what would deliver the maximum return in terms of margin, with the highest volume turnover,” explains Corbett. “If fresh produce companies lose the ends - their promotional space - it can take their business from profit to loss. It can have serious consequences for the like-for-likes of companies that deal with big lines like potatoes or citrus; it really is key.”
The fastest turnover products are positioned on the bottom shelves, where the most stock can be held and easily replaced.
However, merchandisers are increasingly looking at how to display fresh produce off the shelf and with that has come the emergence of clip strips and other standalone systems to make more of the display.
UK retailers have led the way in combining market research, consumer insight and accurate data to come up with merchandising strategies that can shape sales.
However, there are still areas in which there is some way to go to get this right.
Lisa Cork, founder of New Zealand-based consultancy Fresh Produce Marketing, maintains that produce marketing is still a “huge black hole” as it fails to consult key elements of the supply chain - in some cases growers and even suppliers - who are affected by the way produce is presented.
“They are subjected to a real variation of merchandising strategies depending on the retailer,” she says. “Often, price is the key catalyst to drive sales as opposed to a merchandising strategy. It is one of the reasons why I am big on the on-pack message as it attempts to return some form of control to the producer by using their packaging to tell their story in light of what could be ineffective merchandising.
“We are still an industry (of men mostly - and this is where it is interesting) making ‘gut feel’ decisions on product, brand, merchandising and pricing strategy within a department largely shopped by females,” she continues. “Without data, it is hard to drive change in either merchandising or pricing strategy.
“There is no doubt merchandising is a critical part of a product’s success. Unlike grocery, however, it is one area where producers have very little control - yet are subjected to the result.”
However, there are plenty of examples of fresh produce suppliers taking a lead on how their product is presented in store.
A case in point
The rise of branding has seen a shift in the fresh produce aisles, with suppliers undertaking extensive market research and gaining consumer insight to help their names stand out among the competition. This has changed the playing field and should see rivals raise their game in order to compete for limited shelf space.
Florette is a household name and creator of the UK’s number-one bagged salad, its Crispy line. A turnover of £45 million and substantial investment in marketing has seen the UK arm flourish, with an investment of £2m-3m a year in brand support since 2005. This year, the company is rolling out its biggest marketing spend to date to stimulate sales and category growth in a competitive market. At the same time, a new pack design for its bagged salad range is intended to relaunch the brand at the fixture. This means clearer labelling and brighter colours, making the ingredients easier to identify and the pack more attractive to shoppers.
Elaine Smith, marketing manager at Florette, insists that the brand stands out because it “injects colour, personality and innovation” into bagged salads displays.
“Florette has invested heavily in marketing support to increase consumer engagement and undertakes regular shopper research to underpin continued brand innovation,” she says. “We have just conducted some shopper research to understand both wholehead and bagged salads, how they interact at the fixture and how consumers see this segmentation. You always have to understand how consumers interact with the category and you have to have consumer insight to back that up.
“We are in the process of relaunching the brand, which involved us mocking up packs and putting them in a real salad fixture, tracking consumers’ eyes and getting at what they see first because it’s important for us that they see Florette first.
“And when you pick up a bag, does your eye track the brand, product description and then product, or does it go the other way around? When you know this, you can prioritise the words on the pack. It’s research, research, research.”
Produce suppliers are increasingly following this kind of lead in a bid to give their product the best chance to sell. If the industry can make it easier for retailers to position their lines and negotiate to get the best space available, it should make for fresh produce flying off the shelves.
SUPPLIERS DISPLAY THEIR VERSATILITY
Fresh produce retailers and suppliers are constantly looking for new ways to display their lines. The industry needs options that can take weight and stand up to a high footfall, as well as communicate with shoppers.
Chris King, managing director at Strong Vision, has designed a strong, wipe-clean display format made from specially developed composite material that launched into fresh produce circles this year.
He maintains that buyers are looking for “anything that can make their product look more attractive”.
“The most important thing is to get the message out there and to have a flexible location,” he says. “All of our units can be printed on, are wipe clean and can go on wheels, so they can be moved around what is often a large produce area.”
King created this system by initially working with Marks & Spencer and top-fruit supplier Empire World Trade and it has since been picked up by other retailers and suppliers including QV Foods and Winchester Growers, for its daffodils.
QV Foods sales and marketing director Simon Martin says: “We believe it has helped to increase visibility of our Inspire brand and has helped to drive sales of our premium baking potatoes.”
No comments yet