Collective Excellence
Progressive Grocer's 2011 Category Captains and Advisors are putting their best ideas forward for the good of the industry.
Behind every successful grocer is an abundance of strong brands and products — and the suppliers that support their success at retail. No one should discount the hard work and ingenuity taking place among the country's leading retailers, ranging from the great chains that span the coastlines and in between (think Kroger and Walmart) to the regional players that are the envy of any student of the retail trade (think H-E-B and Publix). Yet the essence of the business requires collective thinking from all parties involved to best serve consumers, stay relevant and continue to grow.
Now in their 15th year, Progressive Grocer's annual Category Captains awards honor the most innovative suppliers in the game, doing what they do best in the world of category management. There are a whopping 89 winners this year — 71 Category Captains and 18 Category Advisors — assembled from the best and brightest major CPG companies to smaller gourmet suppliers, including one that's also a specialty retailer, and an ever-growing number of fresh food suppliers, among others.
Since the contest's judging process is confidential in nature, you won't see many grocers' names mentioned directly in the stories describing this year's winners. However, after carefully sifting through the numerous entries that were submitted for our 2011 awards competition, our editorial and advisory teams had the honor of learning far more about what's going on behind the scenes, which enabled us to make the final selection of the winning platforms showcased herein — some of which took wing with an idea that began after fresh consumer research unveiled a missed opportunity; a cutting-edge tool established to facilitate a new shelf management scheme, not only on a national basis, but also to customize on a regional scale; or by maximizing loyalty card data to get promotions just right.
The supplier community has some surprises in store to help grocers grow sales and profits during these tough economic times.
Assembled side by side on the following pages, the stories of PG's 2011 Category Captains and Advisors paint a picture of manufacturers and retailers working hand in hand for the greater good of specific categories and, ultimately, for the industry.
Talking Trends
There are two big trends driving category management in the industry today, observes Jim Hertel, managing partner at Barrington, 111.-based consultancy Willard Bishop. “The first trend is incorporating shopper insights, driven by the increasing availability of loyalty card data. And No. 2 is the application of category management principles to broader 'geography' within the store: aisles, departments and the entire center store,” he says.
You'll see evidence of these trends in several of our winners' profiles. Perhaps the biggest proponent of taking the store's larger geography into account is General Mills. While the company still measures yogurt and refrigerated baked goods as separate dairy categories, for instance, there's work being done to incorporate insights into the dairy aisle as a whole. The same principle applies to frozen foods, the cereal aisle and other departments where General Mills claims a piece of the pie.
METHODOLOGY
Progressive Grocer's annual Category Captains competition aims to shed light on the outstanding category management initiatives implemented in the retail grocery market over roughly the past 12 months. The list of winners reflects some of the best strategic thinking and execution in the category management field, as revealed in the winning companies' summaries that follow below.
Our Category Captains awards program is predicated on the accuracy and completeness of each entry submitted for consideration, all of which are weighed on an equal footing. As such, the best entries not only deliver a selection of facts relating to a manufacturer's or a brand's most recent category management achievements over the past 12 months, they also tell a compelling story of challenges confronted, strategies developed and implemented, and the collective results of trading partners working together toward a common goal.
In essence, the actual entry submitted is the key to the judging process in this competition. In winning entries, a company's importance and influence in a given category are represented as comprehensively as possible. This keeps the awards process dynamic from year to year, as well as leaving open the possibility that up-and-comers can be recognized alongside well-established players.
Each of the following award criteria figured into the judging of the entries to qualify them for the award of Category Captain, Category Advisor or neither. Entries were asked to describe details and compelling results of new category management initiatives over the past 12 months.
The factors that figured into judging were:
- Product innovation
- Creativity in merchandising, marketing, promotion and advertising
- Consumer insights
- Innovative, dynamic category management tools
- Demonstrated commitment to meeting retail customers' specific needs
- Effectiveness at differentiating a line or brand within the category
- Effectiveness at lifting sales for a brand's products in the category
- Effectiveness at lifting an entire category's sales for a retailer or retailers
- Fact-based evidence of market-specific or account-specific sales results that support the vendor's claims of excellence
To win the premier Category Captain award, contestants were required to demonstrate excellence in all of the above criteria in their entries. Category Advisors also exhibited excellence, but ranked lower overall than the threshold set for Category Captaincy. Both designations reflect outstanding contributions to the industry at the category level.
PG extends congratulations to all of our award-winning Category Captains and Advisors.
The J.M. Smucker Co., which owns the ever-popular Folgers brand, is now looking at the “warm beverage aisle” in its category management platform, so hot tea and cocoa, creamers and filters, and other related products are now taken into account.
Numerous recipients of PG's Category Captains are making the most of their retailer partners' loyalty card data. Coca-Cola, Flowers Foods, Bayer HealthCare and Abbott Nutrition are just a few examples of suppliers that use shopper card data to create promotions, design more effective ads and consult their retailer partners on forecasting, as well as other initiatives.
As is the case every year with Category Captains, more than one contestant mentioned plans for the year ahead as they laid out the case for why they excelled in 2010 and the first half of 2011. Meanwhile, some suppliers have launched new products, shelving plans and other programs that are still too early in their development to garner solid results. But judging from this year's entries, it looks like the supplier community definitely has some surprises in store going forward to help grocers grow sales and profits during these tough economic times.
Willard Bishop's Hertel shares his advice for manufacturers that want to stay a step ahead in category management: “They need to be thinking about how to help retailers win with shoppers … how to build trip-to-trip loyalty, greater aisle penetration and category conversion.
Real forward-thinkers will be looking to help retailers capitalize on their fresh department strengths to help drive center store traffic.”
WINNERS LIST INDEX
GROCERY-FOOD & BEVERAGES
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES-BEER
Category Captain: Anheuser-Busch
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES-WINE
Category Captain: E. & J. Gallo Winery
BABY FOOD AND CONSUMABLES
Category Captain: Abbott Nutrition
Category Advisor: Nestlé Nutrition
BREAKFAST FOODS-CEREAL, INCLUDING CONVENIENT WHOLESOME FOODS (CWF)
Category Captain: General Mills
BREAKFAST FOODS-READY-TO-EAT CEREAL
Category Captain: The Kellogg Co.
BREAKFAST FOODS-HOT CEREAL
Category Advisor: Sturm Foods (McCann's)
CANDY
Category Co-captain: The Hershey Co.
Category Co-captain: Mars Chocolate North America
CANNED AND PACKAGED BEVERAGES-COFFEE
Category Captain: Kraft Foods
CANNED AND PACKAGED BEVERAGES-JUICE DRINKS
Category Captain: Campbell Soup Co.
CANNED AND PACKAGED BEVERAGES-SOFT DRINKS
Category Captain: Coca-Cola
CANNED AND PACKAGED BEVERAGES-WARM BEVERAGES
Category Captain: The J.M. Smucker Co.
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-BAKING INGREDIENTS, SPICES AND SEASONINGS
Category Captain: General Mills
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-DESSERTS
Category Captain: General Mills
Category Advisor: The J.M. Smucker Co.
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-DRY PACKAGED DINNERS
Category Captain: General Mills
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-DRY PACKAGED POTATOES
Category Captain: General Mills
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-FRUIT SPREADS AND PEANUT BUTTER
Category Advisor: The J.M. Smucker Co.
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-NUT SPREADS
Category Advisor: Ferrero USA
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-SHELF-STABLE MEALS
Category Captain: ConAgra Foods
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-SHELF-STABLE VEGETABLES
Category Captain: General Mills
Category Advisor: Mario Camacho Foods (Olives)
CANNED AND PACKAGED FOODS-SOUPS
Category Co-captain: Campbell Soup Co.
Category Co-captain: General Mills
COMMERCIAL BAKED GOODS
Category Captain: Sara Lee
Category Advisor: Flowers Foods
COOKIES
Category Captain: Kraft Foods
CRACKERS
Category Captain: The Kellogg Co.
ETHNIC FOODS
Category Captain: General Mills
GUM
Category Captain: Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
MIXED SALTY SAVORY SNACKS
Category Captain: General Mills
NATURAL AND ORGANIC FOODS
Category Captain: General Mills
Category Advisor: Kashi
PREMIUM SNACK FOODS
Category Captain: Campbell Soup Co.
SALTY SNACKS
Category Captain: Flormel Foods
WHOLESOME PORTABLE BREAKFAST AND SNACKS
Category Captain: The Kellogg Co.
FROZEN FOODS
FROZEN BAKED GOODS
Category Captain: General Mills
FROZEN BREAKFAST
Category Captain: General Mills
Category Advisor: The Kellogg Co.
FROZEN ENTREES
Category Captain: General Mills
FROZEN FRUIT/SMOOTHIES
Category Captain: General Mills
FROZEN HOT SNACKS
Category Captain: General Mills
FROZEN MEALS
Category Captain: Unilever
FROZEN PIZZA
Category Captain: General Mills
FROZEN VEGETABLES
Category Captain: General Mills
FROZEN VEGGIE FOODS
Category Captain: The Kellogg Co.
ICE CREAM & NOVELTIES
Category Captain: Unilever
GROCERY-NONFOODS
PET CARE
Category Captain: Nestlé Purina Petcare
Category Advisor: Fresh Pet
SOAPS AND DETERGENT
Category Captain: Flenkel NA
HEALTH, BEAUTY & WELLNESS
ANALGESICS
Category Captain: Bayer FlealthCare
DIGESTIVE HEALTH
Category Captain: Novartis Consumer Health
HAIR CARE
Category Captain: Unilever
ORAL ELECTROLYTES
Category Captain: Abbott Nutrition
SPORTS NUTRITIONALS
Category Captain: Abbott Nutrition
SUN CARE
Category Captain: Merck Consumer Care
VITAMINS
Category Captain: Pharmavite
VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS
Category Co-captain: Bayer HealthCare
Category Co-captain: US Nutrition
PERIMETER-BAKERY
Category Captain: Dawn Foods
PERIMETER-DAIRY
COOKING CRÈME
Category Captain: Kraft Foods
MARGARINE
Category Captain: Unilever
REFRIGERATED BAKED GOODS
Category Captain: General Mills
SPECIALTY CHEESE
Category Captain: Murray's Cheese
Category Advisor: Beemster Cheese
YOGURT AND SMOOTHIES
Category Captain: General Mills
PERIMETER-DELI
PREPARED FOODS
Category Captain: Tyson Foods
PERIMETER-VARIABLE/ FIXED-WEIGHT MEAT
FRESH PORK PRODUCTS
Category Captain: Hormel Foods
DELI MEAT
Category Captain: Dietz & Watson
Category Advisor: Kraft Foods
VARIABLE/FIXEDWEIGHT PRODUCE
AVOCADOS
Category Captain: Chiquita
BANANAS
Category Captain: Del Monte Fresh
Category Advisor: Chiquita
BERRIES
Category Captain: Driscoll Strawberry Associates
CITRUS
Category Captain: Cuties Cooperative
FRESH-CUT FRUIT
Category Captain: Del Monte Fresh
PACKAGED SALADS
Category Captain: Dole
Category Advisor: Chiquita (Fresh Express)
PINEAPPLE
Category Captain: Del Monte Fresh
POTATOES
Category Captain: United States Potato Board
Category Advisor: Idaho Potato Commission
TOMATOES
Category Captain: NatureSweet
Category Advisor: Mastronardi Produce
VALUE-ADDED VEGETABLES
Category Captain: Mann Packing Co.
Category Advisor: Apio
OTHER PERIMETER
FRONT END
Category Captain: Coinstar
FRONT END-GENERAL MERCHANDISE
Category Advisor: Pfizer
NONFOODS
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
Category Captain: Rodale
Talking with … Herb Smith
National Director of Sales, E. & J. Gallo Winery
CATEGORY CAPTAIN WINNER
Like a fine wine, E. & J. Gallo Winery continues to evolve and become better with time. Indeed, the 75-year-old, family-run winery based in Modesto, Calif, has continued to expand its considerable portfolio, recently introducing new Red Blends, Malbec and Moscato wines and new spirits like New Amsterdam Gin, New Amsterdam Vodka and Familia Camarena Tequila. From a business perspective, E. & J. Gallo has grown, too, with its recent acquisition of Edna Valley, a popular coastal California winery.
Progressive Grocer: In your opinion, what elements of your product quality and merchandising programs helped E. & J. Gallo become a Category Captain winner?
Herb Smith: We are honored to be recognized by Progressive Grocer as a Category Captain leader. We are very proud of the collaborative relationships we have with our retail partners. We work very closely with our retail partners to provide insights into the wine business, what the wine consumer is looking for and what the emerging new trends are. We provide recommendations for retailers to consider in terms of shelf arrangement and assortment to continue to help drive penetration and conversion of the wine category. We are also very proud of our marketing and trade promotions. These programs generally are tied into food-related products and are always designed to enhance the shopping experience for the consumer, build the basket for the retailer, and most importantly, take the consumer's meal or event to a whole new level.
PG: How has your category changed in recent years, and how have you adjusted to those changes?
HS: We continue to see the wine category grow and we feel it could double in size in the next ten years. Many of our retail partners have made wine a strategic category and positioned the category in key areas throughout their stores. Over the past decade, we have seen a lot of changes, primarily in taste profiles. The traditional wine varietals like Cabernet/Chardonnay/Merlot are still strong, but we have seen Pinot Grigio, Reisling, Pinot Noir, and most recently Red Blends, Moscato, and Malbec really take off. Wine is continuing to become more of a day-to-day part of life for consumer, and it provides them a chance to take a break from the rigors of the day as well as to enhance an everyday meal with a good friend or loved one. To keep up with ever-changing consumer preferences, we continue to create and build brands that appeal to wine consumer interests and taste profiles.
PG: How have you worked with grocers to ensure the success of their wine section and your own products?
HS: We have collaborated with our retail partners to provide recommendations based on consumer insights to help them ensure the proper assortment is provided to the consumer. We also work with them and provide recommendations related to advertising, promotional programs, and the number and type of wine items their consumers expect their stores to carry. We work hard to help our retail partners define what they want the wine category to be and to build solid department strategies to get them there. At the end of the day, it is important to provide an unbiased view of the category and provide fact-based insights to help our retail partners drive a profitable efficient department that meets all of their goals. We continue to see a tremendous opportunity to grow conversion and penetration with the category to enhance the consumers' in-store experience.