Category Captain: Pineapple: Del Monte Fresh

This past year, Del Monte Fresh oversaw the western division pineapple category of a major national retailer. When the company assumed this role, its main goal was to help the retailer increase sales. This was to be achieved by employing a number of category management tools. Fresh Look Marketing syndicated data was used first to compare the retailer’s pineapple sales trends with pineapple sales trends in the surrounding market. Market Track Ad Data reports were then run to compare the retailer’s ad frequency with the prior year and with its competitors. Finally, Spectra data identified the retailer’s potential pineapple sales by store, based on shopper demographics, store size and potential. This data was cross-referenced with the list of actual scanned store sales provided by the retailer to create a list of over- and underachieving stores.

The exercise led to a few significant findings. Market Track Ad Data found that the retailer had decreased pineapple ads substantially over the previous year. A merchandiser audited the retailer’s over- and underperforming stores, as well as competitors’ stores with similar demographics, to compile best handling and merchandizing practices. A subsequent finding was that the retailer had one of the highest price points on pineapples in the market.

As a result of the analysis and subsequent actions, dollar sales increased more than 3 percent, while shipment to the stores increased an impressive 19 percent for the year.