With increasing competition biting down hard on the category, grapes have been “victims of their own success”, according to Sainsbury’s Theresa Huxley, who warns that the intense battle on price could lead to consumer disappointment.
“A key issue for the category is the level of deflation experienced among the key retailers,” she says. “Loose grapes are a KVI and so the competition on pricing is fierce and will remain so for the foreseeable future.”
The retailers are playing a dangerous game, she says: “This has consequences all the way through the supply chain and the danger will be that ultimately there is a detrimental effect on the customer experience within the grape category.
“To some extent, grapes are victims of their own success, as their importance has grown within the customers’ basket of goods.”
For Sainsbury’s the grape category remains a key area of opportunity, despite high consumer penetration. “There remain significant growth opportunities, particularly for red grapes and punnets,” says Huxley, product technologist. “Both loose white and red grapes feature among the best selling lines in the fruit category.”
The key challenge for Sainsbury’s is how the fruit is dealt with at the point of sale. “Due to the high trading intensity there are significant issues around maintaining both enticing and abundant displays consistently through the day,” she says, adding that the retailers that can do this well will see the benefit of market leading growth.
Sainsbury’s main focus over the last six months has been ensuring it has the right range in place to meet its customers’ needs.
“This does not mean that we are introducing lines simply for the sake of it,” says Huxley, “but where there is an obvious gap we have worked hard to source product that will fill that gap.”
Staff training will now be an issue as the retailer moves forward, to help store staff to ensure they can deliver the highest quality product every day.
Huxley says they have been listening to their customers. “Consumer research has played a significant role in the category plans and overall key focus areas.
“The Sainsbury’s grape category range and segmentation tiers were launched last year with zip-lock bags which our customers perceived as being more hygienic, and also adding value, and also new packaging designs which incorporated storage instructions.”
The retailer has also been working on the colours within the produce department, and that includes grapes. “Guided by customer research, it was decided that the same colour spectrum would be used across each of the produce categories. Different shades of colours within the spectrum would then be assigned to each individual product within that category.”
Huxley says having the single colour spectrum helps customers to identify products within the range.
The retailer has also rearranged the category into tiers, with the best including Taste the Difference (TTD) range of punnets and its SO Organic range. “The SO Organic red and SO Organic white seedless grapes are easily distinguished by the striking “green” SO design,” says Huxley.
“Our TTD black seedless grapes and TTD sweet golden grapes, are now clearly differentiated from our core lines because we have chosen to use bespoke heat-sealed packaging specifically designed to present the fruit on the shelf.”
New varieties are also a focus, she says, with the retailer working closely with breeders to identify new developments, with some potentially exciting trials planned for the future.
“However the fact that our availability depends upon fruit procured from 15 different countries means it is a gradual process. Black grapes are a classic example of this and we are now in a position to supply for all but a relatively small three week window.”
When it comes to packaging, the majority of Sainsbury’s sales remain in the loose format and Huxley says the introduction of the zip-lock bags proved extremely positive with customers, and also staff.
“It is not the perfect retail solution by any means, but it is a real step forward and we have introduced this format to other lines in the fruit category,” she says.
Meanwhile, punnets sales continue to grow and this is a format that works well at Sainsbury’s, she says, particularly for its premium product offer.
“Our range extensions have focused on the punnet format and it allows us to communicate very effectively with our customers.”
Of course grape sourcing is a global business, and Sainsbury’s sources from a range of countries around the world to ensure its grape offer remains available year-round. Huxley says that while little is changing on this front, she is starting to see some movement. “The principle seasons remain the same. There are however, developments in some of the less traditional areas, such as Egypt and Morocco, with some fantastic quality product starting to come through.”
Overall, the grape sector is looking good for the retailer and Huxley is determined to continue growing the sector by meeting customers needs. “I don’t think grape is any different from any other produce category - consumers are looking for quality, healthy and safe products at fair prices.”
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