Good Better Best

Retail marketing 101 – can we differentiate enough to have 3 levels of quality?  Good Better Best?

In the UK Own label frequently runs all three although they will probably be described as Value Brand, Standard Brand and what the British Grocers brand mark as Taste the Difference          (J Sainsbury) or Finest (Tesco) or Seriously (Waitrose).

Whilst US Grocers appear to achieve a similar spread of quality and price points by stocking more brands than their British counterparts there are clearly some markets with room to differentiate further.                      If J Sainsbury (Britain’s 2nd largest Grocer) can stock Value, Standard and Taste the Difference Tomatoes together with Organic and vine ripened, cherry, plum etc then surely this is a possible in the US too?

You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto 

Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto, Let's call the whole thing off.
Fred Astaire? Louis Armstrong?
 

My all too infrequent blogs tend to seek comparisons between The US and European food products, services and attitudes and to be primarily composed from a UK based desk.



Times change and I’m now living in the USA, my thoughts are still about food comparisons, but rather more every day in nature.


Today my focus is on vegetable merchandising and how US grocery displays produce so appetisingly – the stacked high and misted items look great, the peppers shining, the potatoes scrubbed (but individually shrink wrapped spuds, I really don’t get that).


The UK sections have just as many varieties, but somehow it’s the display art and that misted water which makes such a visual difference.


There is one question I would love an answer on - why are American Carrots and Parsnips so long and thin versus British short fat ones? The Brits win on a peel to flesh ratio!

                                                                                                                 

US Produce Display

UK Produce & fatter parsnips!