Pots of success! Yoghurt sales with Danone

Better Retailing rejoins two retailers to see the results of changes to their yoghurt fixtures, and whether sales have increased over the past six weeks.

In June, we visited two retailers in greater London with Danone category executive Rebecca Lovelady, to take a closer look at their yoghurts. Rebecca gave both retailers advice and tips on the category, and made changes to their fixtures. Here, we catch up with both retailers to see how the changes have impacted sales.

Focus on

Camran Rahi
Nisa, Islington

 
Challenges

• Consistency: Camran changed his range weekly buying on promotion so customers couldn’t find what they were looking for.
• Merchandising: The display needed a more logical flow to help customers navigate.
• Trends: Camran’s offering wasn’t capitalising on key trends like health yoghurts.

Changes to drive sales

• Consistency: Stick to the same range of top-selling lines every week, so shoppers know what they will find week in week out.
• Merchandising: Follow Danone’s recommended flow taking consumers from breakfast through to evening consumption occasions.
• Trends: Attract new shoppers and increase basket spend by stocking ‘on trend’ products like natural, dairy or sugar free yoghurts.

Key lessons for your store:

• Keep your core range consistent, so customers can always find the bestsellers they want.
• Merchandise your fixture from healthy breakfast options, lunchtime and midday snacks through to indulgent evening treats so it’s easy for customers to shop.
• Stock the latest NPD and on-trend products to attract new customers and inspire existing ones to try something new.

Camran says

“Previously, my range changed weekly and wasn’t consistent. Now that I’ve had good results, I will keep it the same each week. The biggest selling new lines that we introduced were Danone products, especially Activia, so we will keep these on. I’m happy with all the changes and my profits, especially the first few weeks when there was a large uplift in sales.”

Focus on

Perry Sanu
Costcutter, East London

Challenges:

• Range: Perry’s yoghurt range was missing some key segments, like kids, health and diet yoghurts or desserts, so sales were being missed.
• Formats: The range was focused on singles and big pots so wasn’t suited to all shopper missions.
• Siting: Yoghurts were spread across two chillers, making it harder for shoppers to find what they need.

Changes to drive sales:

• Range: Cover all the key segments in the category. By introducing active health drinks and yoghurts as well as kids and a range of desserts you can bring additional value.
• Formats: Cater for all shopper preferences, by stocking a variety of sizes, formats and flavours.
• Siting: Make the range easy to shop by placing all yoghurts in one main fixture, alongside milk and other dairy.

Key lessons for your store:

• Stock the bestselling lines covering all the key segments in the category so you cater for all customers and encourage additional purchases.
• Offer a range that includes a variety of formats, flavours and pack sizes so all shopper missions are covered.
• Make sure your yoghurts range is displayed in one fixture, near other dairy products so the category and top sellers are easy to find.

Perry says:

"I’m really pleased with the results of the project; the uplift has exceeded my expectations. The additions to our range, which was previously quite small, made a big difference and the new display seems much easier for shoppers. Out of the new products, the bestsellers are Actimel and Rolo yoghurts. Other retailers should take on board advice from suppliers like Danone too."

Expert Advice

Rebecca Lovelady
Category executive
Danone

"These are great results, I’m really happy Camran and Perry found the advice easy to implement and maintain. Chilled yoghurts & potted desserts is a key category for convenience and this shows how just a few basic range and merchandising changes can really boost your sales."

Danone’s tips:

• Ensure the top brands on customers’ shopping lists are consistently available and easy to find, to boost repeat purchases and decrease wastage.
• Give space on shelf to growth trends like healthy, natural, low fat, and dairy or sugar free products.
• No matter your chilled space in store, ensure you cover all segments and formats for each shopper mission.

Get involved: If you would like to take part in a similar project call 0207 689 0600 – option 3 or tweet @betterretailing to let us know!

Get more advice and tips for your yoghurt range here.