Spotlight on spices and seasonings

With the popularity of TV food shows, consumers have increasingly been learning about international foods, causing a greater interest in recipes and spices that would have seemed too exotic just a few years ago. In response, retailers are using this consumer interest to their advantage to grow their selection of store brand spices and seasonings.

However, simply tossing these products onto shelves and leaving them isnt enough to grab consumers' attention. Instead, retailers must be willing to put some merchandising muscle behind these products.

To learn what retailers are doing well and not so well here, we visited the spices and seasonings section of three stores: a Walmart Supercenter (operated by Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart) in Round Lake Beach, Ill.; a SuperTarget (operated by Minneapolis-based Target Corp.) in Mundelein, Ill.; and a Jewel-Osco (operated by Minneapolis-based Supervalu) in Grayslake, Ill. Our visits took place in mid-December in the early evening hours.

Walmart Supercenter

General observations: The spices and seasonings section in the Walmart Supercenter we visited is situated on the right-hand side of the store (looking into the store from the main entrance). The section takes up about a quarter of a long aisle and consists mostly of national brand products. Additionally, across the aisle from the main spices and seasonings section was a tiny section merchandising additional spices in cardboard shippers.

During our visit, we counted only 10 SKUs of Great Value spices that were in stock. The Great Value spices are all housed in uniform cylinder plastic containers that are very similar to the national brand's. Foot traffic was very heavy during our visit, with a constant stream of people walking into the aisle.

The upside:

• We could not find a single positive about how the store merchandised its own-brand spices and seasonings.

The downside:

• This section was poorly stocked and disorganized, with many spices placed in the wrong spot.
• Even though we visited during the holiday season — a time during which many consumers are cooking and baking — there were no promotions in place for either national brand or store brand spices and seasonings.
• The only Great Value baking spice we could find was cinnamon; all other baking spices were available only under a national brand.
• The shippers featured the name of the contained spice printed across the carton. However, the spices housed within them often did not match up with the name printed on the carton. And in many cases, the carton contained products that were not spices or seasonings at all.
• The store set up islands of baking ingredients throughout the main aisles leading up to the spice aisle; however, all of the featured spices and seasonings on those islands were national brand products.

SuperTarget

General observations: At the SuperTarget we visited, the spices and seasonings section is located on the left-hand side of the store, looking into the store from the main entrance. The spices and seasonings section takes up about one-third of a long aisle and consists of three main sections: a national brand block, a block dedicated to Target's Archer Farms brand, and another national brand block. We counted more than 50 SKUs of Archer Farms spices and seasonings, which are housed in rectangular glass bottles with metal twist-on caps. In addition, we found merchandised throughout the national brand section Target's Market Pantry brand of spices and seasonings in plastic cylindrical bottles.

The section was fairly well-stocked; however, we did find some empty spaces and out-of-stocks. Foot traffic was moderate to heavy, with a number of customers walking in and out of the aisle while we visited, most of them stopping to pick up spices.

The upside:

• The blocking of the Archer Farms store brand of spices and seasonings makes the brand stand out as one that is on par with or better than the flanking national brands in blocks.
• The labels of the Archer Farms spices are simple and clear with white lettering, allowing the consumer to clearly see the contents of the bottle. Additionally, these attributes differentiated the Archer Farms block from the national brand blocks.
• The glass containers give the products a premium feel, especially compared to the plastic bottles merchandised in the block that flanked on the left.
• The Archer Farms selection offers some unusual spices that we could not find among the national brand offerings, including saffron, whole nutmeg, lavender, cardamom pods and anise seeds.
• We found smaller-sized organic counterparts to some of the more basic Archer Farms spices.

The downside:

• Even though we visited during the holiday season — a major time for baking — the store had no promotions in place for either national brand or store brand spices and seasonings.
• No endcaps were dedicated to any spices or seasonings.

Jewel-Osco

General observations: The spices and seasonings section in the Jewel-Osco store is located in the center of the store, looking into the store from the main entrance. This section takes up about one-third of one side of an aisle.

During our visit, we found three store brands within this section. We counted 13 SKUs of Wild Harvest organic spices in glass jars with metal screw-on caps, 15 SKUs of Essential Everyday spices in plastic cylinders, and one SKU of Shoppers Value ground pepper in a plastic cylinder. While the Wild Harvest organic SKUs were all blocked together, the Essential Everyday spices were interspersed within the block of national brand spices and seasonings.

The section was very well-stocked. Foot traffic during our visit was light to moderate, with a few customers walking through the aisle.

The upside:

• The Wild Harvest spices stood out from the national brands through their labels and cap colors (light green vs. the national brands bright red, dark yellow and dark green) and their contents visibility (the label minimally covered the jar).
• The glass jar and metal screw-on lid of the Wild Harvest organic spices give the products a premium feel. And even though the spices are organic, they cost, in most instances, less money per ounce than the national brand non-organic counterparts above them.

The downside:

• Only the most commonly used spices are available under the store brands.
• We found no unique seasonings under a store brand label.
• The Wild Harvest brand is shelved below eye level and underneath two national brands, preventing consumers from easily seeing it.

Have some fun

Before a retailer can effectively merchandise its own-brand spices and seasonings, it has to develop great products worth shouting about. And the spice and seasonings category is an area where retailers can have fun and let their personality shine through, says Jeff Brinkhoff, president of Mount Vernon, Mo.-headquartered Red Monkey Foods. Instead of copying national brands, retailers should develop seasonings that inspire the consumer.

For example, retailers could offer consumers a Porcini Mushroom Rub instead of seasoned salt for their steaks or a Harissa Spice Blend on a leg of lamb instead of the typical garlic salt and onion powder, suggests Paul Ryzanych, national retail sales manager for Waukegan, Ill.-based Woodland Foods.

Turning to merchandising, retailers should consider merchandising store brand spices and seasonings in a block.

"We find store brand sales in the spice category to be stronger when store brand spices are merchandised together as a brand offering rather than beside like items within the national brands line of spices," Brinkhoff says.

Retailers could push it one step further, however, by merchandising spices and seasonings according to a thematic approach, Ryzanych stresses. Consumers are looking for meal solutions, and displays that make it easier for consumers to know which spice or seasoning to use on which food product will grab their attention.

Moreover, retailers should be adding recipes to their website and directing consumers there for new ideas, says Tom Barbella, president, Bektrom Foods, Colgate, N.D.

"Many consumers don't know what to do with spice blends, so they shy away. Recipes are the perfect way to introduce your customers to ways to utilize them," he states.