Progressive Grocer - January/February 2009 - (Page 56)

Grocery Wine 101 By Joseph Tarnowski Food Lion is boosting its wine sales by educating those 75 percent of consumers who are overwhelmed by the category. or many consumers, wine might as well be rocket science. To them, warm-weather Chardonnay must be something to drink in the summer, while cool-weather Chardonnay is for the fall. When faced with a selection that spans a full aisle or more, they freeze. Even worse, they’ll soon enough avoid the wine department completely. Delhaize-owned Food Lion is helping to put these shoppers’ minds at ease with a wine education program it developed with its category captain, E&J Gallo. “Our strategy is to create relationships with our consumers to increase F their comfort level of shopping the wine section,” explains Jimmy Stegall, category manager, beer and wine for Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion. “Most of the consumers shopping the wine aisles have minimal knowledge of wines and the differences in the varietals or regions. Utilizing tools such as the educational wraps helps build relationships with our customers and helps them feel more confident about shopping for wine.” Indeed, according to Gallo’s proprietary research, which it refers to as “Consumer Vinsights,” 75 percent of consumers think the wine aisle is overwhelming. And since the 25 percent of consumers who know their wines make up only 68 percent of wine sales, there’s a substantial opportunity for grocers to educate—and win over—that overwhelmed three-quarters of shoppers. OUR STRENGTH IS IN OUR BRANDS BUT, NOT EVERY “BRAND” IS FOUND ON THE SHELF © 2008 Anheuser-Busch, Inc., St. Louis MO 56 • Progressive Grocer • January/February 2009 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T www.progressivegrocer.com http://www.progressivegrocer.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Progressive Grocer - January/February 2009

Progressive Grocer - January/February 2009
Front End: Aldi’s Private Label Showing its Fitness
Nielsen’s Shelf Stoppers/Spotlight: Prepared Foods-DryMixes/Rice Mixes
Market Snapshot: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
Outstanding Independents Awards: Up with People
Current Events: Retail Newsmakers
Contents
Lempert Report: The Phoenix Format Face-Off
Independents Report: Making your Workplace Family-Friendly
Multicultural Marketing: Where there’s Mystery, there’s Margin
Wake-Up Call: New Habits Die Hard
Beverage Alcohol: Wine 101
Soft Drinks: Creating a Buzz
Whole Grains: The Brown Version
Packaging: The Whole Package
Meat: Master Beef Backer
Pet Care: Financing Fido
Executive Insight Series: Technology and the Independent Grocer: Eye of the Gale
Equipment Case Studies: Food. Service. Equipment
Financial Insights: What the Yield Curve Shows
What’s Next: Editors’ Picks for Innovative Products

Progressive Grocer - January/February 2009