How to Use Merchandising to Expand Dairy Category Growth
The push for protein is impacting all categories, but it’s bringing the dairy department into the spotlight, according to research presented at IDDBA.
Food retailers are seeing dairy performance grow, driven by current consumer trends like real ingredients, functional benefits and low-carb products. Plus, dairy sales have been bolstered by viral recipes on social media.
With the right merchandising strategy, you can leverage growing dairy performance to boost sales in other departments and continue driving growth.
What Are the Top 3 Merchandising Tips to Get the Most Out of Dairy Department Growth?
Dairy touches nearly every consumer, with 99.6% of surveyed households buying from the department.
But you need effective merchandising to ensure your shoppers see the value of buying from your store. Merchandising can also help attract interest in adjacent categories, boosting basket size and creating new opportunities for growth.
1. Highlight Protein at Eye Level
There’s a saying in merchandising: eye level is buy level. Make sure you’re capitalizing on this high-value placement, positioning high-margin items where shoppers are most likely to see them.
Leverage signage at eye level, too. Call out nutritional attributes like high protein, low carb or clean ingredients with clear signs designed to catch shoppers’ attention.
Another pro tip is to group together products with similar features, like high-protein, low-sugar single-serve yogurts, so shoppers can find what fits their lifestyle goals without having to search. This also makes it easier for shoppers to explore your options to find their new favorite.
2. Embrace Strategic Cross-Merchandising
Dairy items show up across meal occasions. When you use cross-merchandising to strategically combine dairy staples with logical pairings, you’re making life easier for shoppers and encouraging impulse buys.
For example, a one-stop-shop smoothie display that groups yogurt with fresh or frozen berries, protein powder and kale appeals to shoppers who might otherwise have just bought yogurt.
End caps make an ideal location for these types of displays, adding the benefit of disrupting merchandising. Our CF-S Self-Service Multi-Deck Refrigerated Display Case is the perfect foundation for cross-merchandising because you can customize it to your application: self-contained or remote, with up to four rows of shelves and a range of lengths. The CF-S combines flexibility with reliable performance and an appealing look for a merchandising display that’s bound to catch the attention of shoppers.
3. Win Loyalty with Meal Inspiration
Shoppers are looking for fast, convenient mealtime solutions and meal planning ideas.
Set up destinations that incorporate high-protein dairy ingredients into easy breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes. That way, even shoppers who are just running in for cottage cheese will see that they can turn to your store for quick meal ideas.
More stores are focusing on meal kits and dinner solutions, but don’t forget about other meal occasions. For example, a dedicated display containing everything you need for make-ahead breakfast burritos, with eggs, sausage, tortillas, salsa, hot sauce and recipe cards that tie it all together, can inspire shoppers to stock up so they can make breakfast for the whole week.
One of the biggest takeaways from IDDBA is that high-protein options will continue to attract shopper attention, whether they’re looking for GLP-1-friendly meal ideas or hoping to achieve specific lifestyle goals. Make sure you’re leveraging that growth to drive impact in other departments, too.
No matter your merchandising goals, the experts at Hillphoenix are here to help. As your partner for full-store refrigeration solutions, we can support you every step of the way from design and installation to updated display cases and replacement parts. Contact our team to learn more.
These merchandising takeaways are inspired by data and trends from this year’s IDDBA show, where the biggest names in food retail shared new products, perspectives and industry insights. We combined the show’s most prominent themes with our own merchandising expertise to deliver these helpful recommendations.
Stay up-to-date on the latest merchandising trends by exploring Merchandising Matters, our one-stop resource hub for all things food merchandising. You’ll find pictures to inspire you, short videos to help you set the stage for success, trend reports and so much more.
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