MAKE ROOM FOR PLANT-BASED, VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN

THE plant-based market is now worth £747m, says IRI, and growing steadily, while freefrom is worth £147m. The number of vegans and vegetarians is growing steadily – last month, someone signed up to Veganuary every 2.4 seconds.

Kerry Dairy Consumer Foods’

Pure dairy-free spreads and grated plant-based cheese alternatives include Sunflower

Dairy-Free Spread, Pure Olive Dairy-Free Spread, Pure Buttery Taste Dairy-Free Spread, as well as Britain’s fastest-selling plant-based spread, Pure Plant Based Grated and Pure Plant Based Slices.

Saputo Dairy UK’s Vitalite dairy-free spread is in its third decade, and its Cathedral City Plant Based cheese alternative launched last year. With

Top Tips

How to freshen sales

Dedicate space to bestselling flavours and launches from reliable brands

This makes shoppers more likely to try new varieties and formats from names they know, love and trust. They help keep your offering different, and consumers trust their reputations when trying something new.

Stock a core range of bestsellers and household names

The top lines contribute a disproportionately high percentage of category sales.

Offer breadth over depth of range

Include products from each subsegment to satisfy a broad array of consumer needs. In cheese, this means block, sliced and grated, recipe, speciality and snacking. In butters and spreads, complement block and spreadable butters with top-performing spreads and dairy free.

Showcase value credentials

In the current economic climate, shoppers are under pressure and many will be looking to budget when shopping. Make value-for-money deals clear and consider PMPs or promotions on top brands to drive sales and show the value you’re offering.

Promote dairy free and plant-based alternatives fewer people consuming meat, more attention is being given to cheeses that are meant to be eaten hot, and products such as Président Brie Bakes and Seriously Crispy Melts are cashing in on this.

Displaying these alongside their regular counterparts gives shoppers clear information on the range available. Make plant-based easy to shop, with advice on food swaps and recipes.

Bel UK’s Babybel Plus, the brand’s first ‘functional’ product, comes in Babybel Plus Vitamins and Babybel Plus Live Cultures. Bel UK has also launched a vegan-friendly alternative cheese snack, Babybel PlantBased, for kids’ lunchboxes. In premium soft drinks FrieslandCampina’s Chocomel is launching a plant-based variety in April, in a 1l tetra pack. Its cashew nut/pea milk formulation is said to match the original’s flavour, scoring 93% positive feedback in advance taste tests.

Retailer View

Pratik Patel, Jay’s Crofton Park, south-east London

“WE’RE a 2,800sq ft store with 15 fridges, providing a wide selection. Fresh and chilled is very important for us, it gives customers a choice. Shoppers come in for daily purchases in chilled food and meals. They come in for one thing, and buy two others. Our core lines are chilled milk products, standard bread and dairy products. We have a good range of fruit and veg, with bagged salads and vegetables.

“We’re Hindu vegetarians and we’ve focused a lot on plant-based and vegan over the years, so we’re known for it, and we welcome the trend to this kind of food. When the main manufacturers join the bandwagon, it’s good for customers, because we can sell at a lower price. We’ve always had a reduction trolley, and we drop prices the day before, so there’s no waste. We try to offer an alternative, with high- and lower-price items. People are clued up now, and know what they’re paying for. Some are more prepared to pay more, but know what they’re getting. It’s about education – when it’s labelled organic, they know it’s better quality.

“We highlight what we’re doing on social media and say when suppliers are doing tastings. We’re active, but try not to overdo it. You need to offer something different from the minimum choice in the big four grocers’ c-stores.”

The National Living wage increase in 2023 and low unemployment rates are causing difficulties for store owners in finding, training and retaining strong teams. This edition of The Retail Success Handbook examines recruitment strategies in a competitive job market, maximising efficiencies and retaining employees. We also explore ways to improve employee skills and loyalty, while maintaining profitability, including:

Best practice for recruiting and onboarding staff

Creating value through staff incentives and staff welfare

Exploring effective options to train and boost productivity

Smarter ways to promote products and interact with customers more effectively

Supplier websites, tools and services that can be used for training staff and improving customer service – and how to use them effectively