Food Brands and Planograms: Why In-Person Store Checks Rule

Planogram definition
plan·o·gram /ˈplanəˌɡram/ noun: planogram; plural noun: planograms
A diagram or model that indicates the placement of retail products on shelves to maximize sales.

While IRI, Nielsen, and industry associations can provide you and your company with crucial outside information based on data and analysis, in-person store checks represent your very personal evaluation of the state of your category. Store checks are where theory meets reality on the shelves of every retail store you currently team with, as well as those you hope to team with in the future. You can learn much more by seeing the food brands and planograms in the competitive market firsthand than you can with just the numbers, and that your store checks should be conducted frequently.

Eyes on the Planograms

A good store check performs a full SKU count in the category planogram, which is the retail set of products within each category. It also notes all competitive brands and their share within the planogram, their product’s features or flavoring, pricing, packaging innovation, and shopper marketing—basically everything about all products on the shelf. In short, a good store check involves understanding the competition within the planogram and identifying those SKUs you wish to displace

Not Just Your Food Brand

Knowing that product sales velocity is what drives a retailer when developing its retail planograms. Retail food buyers assign selling potential to every square inch of the planogram to frame what you are looking at when you view your category planogram. Which is why you see better-related product positioning for top-selling brands. Going down the list of buyer priorities is the need to satisfy customers with a better visual appeal, offer tight inventory control, and reduce out-of-stocks items while offering easy product replenishment.

Trying to make sense of the planograms you are in or trying to get in? We can help! Please reach out to the NewPoint team. If you are interested in more food marketing topics, please visit our Food for Thought page or check out NewPoint’s Patrick Nycz’s book: Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain.