Spotlight On Spices And Seasonings

1/1/2013

The right spices and seasonings can turn an average dish into an extraordinary adventure. And with so many Americans looking to add a little extra "oomph" to their meals, the need to have a good assortment of spices and seasonings on hand is greater than ever.

That's why it's important for retailers to provide a quality selection of spices and seasonings under their own brands. And if they want shoppers to purchase these products, they need to put the right merchandising muscle behind them.

To learn what retailers are doing well and not so well here, we visited the spices and seasonings sections of three stores in Kenosha, Wis.: Spiegelhoff's Supervalu (an independent store supplied by Supervalu, Minneapolis), a Piggly Wiggly (affiliated with Piggly Wiggly Midwest) and a Pick 'n Save (a banner of Milwaukee-based Roundy's). The visits took place on a Tuesday morning in mid-December 2012.

Spiegelhoff's Supervalu

General observations: The doored milk case is situated in the spices and seasonings section of Spiegelhoff's Supervalu takes up a small part of the baking goods aisle and is located in the center of the store in the back (looking in from the front entrance). Foot traffic was somewhat light throughout the store, with no one entering the spices and seasonings section while we were in it.

The section comprises two parts: a larger one for standard spices and seasonings, and a smaller one for natural and organic options. In the larger part, most of the facings represented the Tone's brand from Oakbrook, Ill.-based ACH Food Companies', as well as brands from McCormick & Co., Baltimore. Private brand products here included items under Supervalu's Flavorite, Essential Everyday and Shoppers Value brands.

In the smaller part, most of the facings — stored in a special merchandising display — represented the Morton & Bassett brand from the San Francisco-based company of the same name. On two shelves beneath the display, the store merchandised a number of its Wild Harvest Organic spices and various national brand products.

The upside:

In the larger part of the section, the shelves were clean, organized and well-stocked.
Several of the more-popular standard McCormick brand SKUs had either an Everyday Essential or Flavorite store brand equivalent sitting beside them. Under each one, the store placed "Compare and Save" tags.

The downside:

The shelves in the smaller part of the section below the Morton & Bassett display were poorly organized, and most of the Wild Harvest Organic products were out of stock.
The slot bearing signage for Essential Everyday Black Pepper Grinders was stocked with McCormick Lemon & Pepper Seasoning Grinders. Meanwhile, the slots for other Essential Everyday products contained the same products under the Flavorite brand.
The store did not cross-merchandise its store brand spices and seasonings elsewhere in the store.

Piggly Wiggly

General observations: The spices and seasonings section of this Piggly Wiggly store — the smallest store we visited — takes up the back third of a center aisle (looking in from the front entrance). Foot traffic was pretty strong throughout the store, with one or two other people entering the aisle while we were in it.

The section is made up of two parts: A bigger part for regular-size spice bottles, and a smaller one for bulk containers. In the bigger part, most facings represented McCormick brands, with facings also representing other national brands and the Food Club brand from Skokie, Ill.-based Topco Associates. In the smaller part, all facings represented the Spice Classics brand from Han-Dee Pak Inc., a McCormick subsidiary.

The upside:

The shelves were well-stocked, clean and organized.
The store placed Food Club equivalents next to a number of the more-popular national brand SKUs.

The downside:

The store hung "Everyday Savings" and "New Low Price" tags underneath a number of national brand products, as well as two signs communicating a "Save 50% On" weekly special for all McCormick extracts and spices. However, it didn't hang any tags or signs communicating the value of the Food Club products.
The store did not hang tags to compare the prices of any Food Club products to those of their national brand counterparts.
One of the two "Save 50% On" signs had fallen from the shelf edge, and someone had picked it up and placed it in front of some Food Club products, hiding them. No store-level employees had noticed.
The store did not cross-merchandise its store brand spices and seasonings in other areas of the store.

Pick 'n Save

General observations: At the Pick n Save store, the spices and seasonings take up a small part of the baking section, which is housed in the back of a long aisle in the left-hand quarter of the store (looking in from the front entrance). Foot traffic throughout the store was somewhat strong during our visit.

We spotted mostly McCormick brands in the section. But we also spotted many private label products under the Roundy's, Roundy's Organics, Roundy's Select and Clear Value (from Topco) brands.

The upside:

The shelves were well-stocked, neat and organized.
Of the three stores we visited, the Pick n Save location was the only one offering unique seasoning blends without national brand counterparts — Backyard Barbecue, Beer Bacon & Cheddar, Kick It Up Cajun, Midwestern Steak and Zesty Lemon Pepper — all of which are under the Roundy's Select brand.
The store merchandises a number of Roundy's brand products next to their McCormick counterparts — and places "Compare/Save" tags underneath them.
The store hung shelf tags with the Roundy's Organics logo and the "USDA Organic" logo below each Roundy's Organic product. Each tag communicated a 25 percent discount.

The downside:

The store hung "Everyday Low Price" tags with the Clear Value logo underneath a number of discounted products. But none of the products sitting on the shelf behind the tag were Clear Value products.
The store did not cross-merchandise its store brand spices and seasonings in other areas of the store.

Put 'em in the right places

Retailers need to make sure they're merchandising their spices and seasonings throughout their stores' perimeter, says Jim Gordon, category manager with Acacia Spice Co., Gurnee, Ill. For example, they could put a "nice display" of dried herbs in the produce department to get consumers of fresh products to try dried herbs. Displays should communicate the dried products' pros.

"The margins are higher on the dried products," he explains.

And in the meat department, retailers should consider merchandising seasoning blends to be used with different cuts, Gordon adds.

"Everyone is looking for new ways to prepare/change the flavor of beef, poultry and pork," he points out. "Display simple-to-use recipe cards next to the meat and spice blends to create a one-stop recipe — people will forget what they need if the product is located away from the display."

Linda Lee, manager, private label sales with C.H. Guenther & Son, agrees about the effectiveness of recipe cards — especially when they tie several private label items together.

"Making chili will require private brand chili seasoning mix, tomatoes, beans [and] cheese. … And don't forget to tie in the meat department for ground beef," she says.

Lee also believes offering price points that are competitive with the national brands' is "key for high-volume" sales in the spices and seasonings category.

"Feature temporary price reductions at two for 99 cents — or 'hot buys' [at] three for 99 cents," she says. "The [national brands tend] to buy the promotions and advertising. Retailers need to remember: This is their brand, and there is good margin in this category."

And when introducing a store brand spice or seasoning, retailers should make sure shoppers can see the product on shelves, Gordon says.

"Give the category some space," he states. "Too many [retailers] will introduce a private label product and allow it to get lost on the shelf. Display this product by itself with two to three facings. … Show your commitment to this product line and the cost savings you are providing the end user."

But don't pack those spices in a cheap-looking container — upscale-looking bottles are critical to winning the sale, Gordon says.

"If it looks cheap, the consumer is going to think the product is inferior to the name brands'," he states. "You must make the product look competitive and still show a value."