The Regional Grocery Channel
All brands we work with share a similar goal: Take the standout product that you’ve spent significant time and resources perfecting, and have it enjoyed by as many customers as possible.
One important way to reach that goal is with distribution to regional grocery retailers. Regional grocery stores are the bridge between specialized natural enhanced retailers where natural brands often begin and larger, conventional retailers.
To help brands explore the potential that regional grocery retailers offer, SPINS has established the Regional Grocery Channel.
The new channel provides brands with a stronger comparative market view than you get from larger conventional data, giving you the insights you need to integrate regional grocers into your growth strategy. Whether you’re an emerging brand or an established brand in conventional outlets, regional grocers are fundamental to your success—as long as you have the right data.
Step 1: Start With Natural Enhanced Retailers
When emerging brands specializing in natural products first enter the retail market, they often begin in natural enhanced retailers—and for good reason. These retailers are the perfect starting point because their focused inventory attracts shoppers who are looking precisely for natural products. The natural enhanced retailer not only provides the exclusive, unique products no one else does, but they have the category depth that larger store might not give to specialty products.
With Natural Enhanced Retailers, you find your audience, build loyalty, and begin to understand what resonates.
Once you’ve laid that groundwork, you’re ready to add another layer of retailers to your business model; Regional Grocers.
Step 2: Grow With Regional Grocery Retailers
If we learned anything from emerging brands making the leap directly to conventional retail, it’s that they run into velocity issues; they’re on the shelf but the movement is slower than their more established peers. That’s why it’s important to grow with regional grocery retailers as a transition.
With a wider range of offerings, regional grocery retailers have more options on their shelves and shoppers looking for more than just the most exclusive natural products. However, these stores aren’t big boxes either.
Regional grocery buyers are experts in the products they carry—from established brands or local startup—and they often serve as helpful consultants to their customers. It’s a true mix of natural enhanced shops and conventional outlets and a smart path to growth.
Start with The Right Data
Before you can make the case for why your products belong on a regional grocer’s shelves, you need to understand what is and isn’t performing well for them.
Data from the Regional Grocery Channel let you see what these regional shoppers are drawn to at these unique retailers: Are they buying products within your category? Are they looking for more variety? Are they historically open to trying new products or exploring new categories? Data from larger, conventional retailers doesn’t let you dive as deep and separate your potential shopper for a more general one.
The Regional Grocery Channel offers the details you need to tell the right story and prove your potential to regional retailers.
Why Established Brands Take the Journey From Conventional to Regional
Established brands in conventional retailers should welcome the regional grocery view. This a view often lost in other data sets, yet it represents a sizable market–over $100 billion in revenue across more than 6,000 stores. In addition, the regional grocery shopper has unique attributes and shopping behavior worth understanding.
As mentioned above, your customer at a conventional store expects a more general shopping experience with less specialized options. If you’re focusing only on them, you’re not learning about the regional shoppers who are showing the competition what works and does it before they even get to the conventional shelves. Regional Grocery Channel data offers those valuable insights.
Data from the Regional Grocery Channel shows you how shoppers behave when choosing between major brands and emerging ones, as well as what niche trends are growing but haven’t yet reached larger outlets. Regional Grocery Channel data ensures you don’t miss these shoppers you’re losing to competitors and who are deciding what tomorrow’s trend will be.
Whether you’re an emerging brand starting to grow or an established looking for additional insights and new areas to grow, you can’t afford to ignore regional grocery retailers. Contact us today to learn more about SPINS newly launched Regional Grocery Retailer channel, including exclusive data not available anywhere else.
