The total salty snack category is one of the most important in independent convenience retail, with total salty snacks in independents and symbols growing at 18%[1]. In November, Mike Chapman from PepsiCo visited Harveen Kapoor in southwest London to help him optimise his salty snack display. We find out what effect it had on his sales.  

Harveen Kapoor, Surbiton Road Stores, Kingston upon Thames

THE CHALLENGE

Harveen’s shop is near a university, so he gets a lot of student customers, and he also benefits from nearby building works that bring a lot of tradespeople through his doors. With so much potential for CSN sales from these demographics, he wants to maximise the snacking opportunity to drive increased interest in the segment.

CHANGES TO DRIVE SALES

• Optimise bestsellers: We’ve made sure to stock the bestsellers on the main fixture at eye level and on secondary displays as well.
• Increase PMPs and drive excitement: We’ve increased the amount of PMPs, and stocked new launches from Wotsits and Walkers Max.
• Rearrange fixtures: We’ve put a new fixture by his till point and a slim fixture in an impulsive, high-footfall area of the store.

HARVEEN SAYS

“Working with PepsiCo has helped me increase my CSN sales significantly. Having dual sitings for their products, a good selection of PMPs and their Hero 25 range has really made a difference to the products my customers are choosing to buy. They also widened my range with some exciting new lines, such as Walkers Max’s new non-HFSS collaboration with Pizza Hut.”

KEY LESSONS FOR YOUR STORE

• Fourteen of the top 25 bestselling CSN products are from Walkers, so stock as many of these as possible[2].
• PMP’s equated to 23% of total CSN sales during the trial, which annualised equals £6,667.77 in revenue[3]. 
• Secondary siting in high-footfall areas such as the till or by the soft drinks fixture can help boost impulsive spend.

EXPERT ADVICE

Mike Chapman, head of wholesale, PepsiCo:

“We’ve learned a lot from Harveen about the challenges he faces. He’s had some good CSN sales, but there were some great opportunities for further growth. We were really confident with the advice we’ve given him to prioritise the bestselling SKUs and PMPs – and he has reaped the rewards, with new products adding £13.50 to average daily CSN sales which could add £4,927.50 annually in revenue.”

£8,395 – projected increase in annual revenue by following PepsiCo’s advice [3]

PEPSICO’S TOP TIPS

• Shoppers’ top snacking priority is taste[4], so it’s vital to sell bestsellers and new lines that deliver on flavour and will keep shoppers coming back for more.
• PMPs continue to be the growth engine for crisps and savoury snacks as they reassure consumers of value and help retailers with offering an accessible price point.
• 84% of big night in occasions include a cold drink[5], so cross-merchandise beverages with big bag crisps to bolster sales.

[1] NielsenIQ, Independents & Symbols, MAT 20.01.24

[2] Nielsen Total Coverage GB, 52wk MAT 02.09.23

[3] Based on in-store project trial period November 2023-January 2024

[4] Bolt Snacking Tracking Q2 2022 MAT, change vs Bolt Main Study 2020-2022

[5] Bolt Tracking MAT Q3’22 (Q4’21 – Q3’22) data

Interested in improving your sales and finding out more?