It's A Jungle Out There

"It's A Jungle Out There' when it comes to successfully getting a product on the grocery shelf, in the display case, in the refrigerated or frozen sections or anywhere else in the grocery store. Has anyone found an easy way to get your product on shelf? If you have, please write back!

We're going to explore five "time proven" skills for surviving in this "Jungle". First, however, let's remember how we got into this situation. There are four primary drivers:

1. A consolidated retail market space where a handful of retailers, five to be precise, control 60% of the US market shelf space. Penetrating these retailers is appealing to suppliers who want to make a "big splash" in the market. These five retailers are relentless in their pursuit of profit. They are among the harshest negotiators on the planet!

2. In the "We did it to ourselves category" comes the second driver: Brands are losing their premium value. Gone are the days when a supplier can say: "All I need to do is reduce the price umbrella [difference] between my brand and the private label knockoff to combat private label." Well, private label is now "store brand" and many store brands are of very good quality. Many store rands are made by manufactures who were once third or worse in the catatgory with their own national brands!

3. The traditional store format is no longer the format of choice. There are so many alternative formats that it's hard to figure out where, exactly, it's best to distribute a product. The fastest growing formats, value stores, are the smallest in terms of market share. Yet, they provide the opportunity for growth. The slowest growing formats, the ones with the biggest shelf space share today, parse their space as if it were gold; because it is!

4. It hard to keep up with food fads. Brocoli is good for you. Tomatoes are good for you. Atkins is the best diet. Oatmeal is good for you. Fat is bad. Maybe some fat is good. Low fat is good except when it comes to cookies! The point is: Don't rely on any consumer food trend to drive a sustained "shelf" program, because consumer trends are not consistent for very long.

Now, this is the world of the supplier. Living in a Jungle. Armed with an excellent product. Challenged with how to survive.