Making an overlooked aisle part of dinner
Shoppers loved the flavors but skipped the aisle. A new strategy reframed the category around a cooking method they already used, and won new shelf space at a national retailer.
The situation
A company's specialty-cuisine brands sat in a growing category that shoppers mostly ignored. The aisle was confusing and saw little regular traffic. Shoppers knew and liked the flavors, but didn't think of them as weeknight dinner. One brand was known only for a single ingredient; the other had a clear purpose but little brand strength.
The work
- Sized the real opportunity. Measured demand for the flavors across the whole store, not just the one aisle.
- Found the way into weekly dinner. Built the strategy around stir fry, a cooking method most households already use.
- Gave each brand a clear job. Regrouped cuisines under three brands so shoppers could tell them apart.
- Ranked every project by its numbers. Built a P&L for each idea and cut or replaced the weakest, including a line that had lost 43% of its sales in three years.
- Moved fast on a retailer opening. When a national retailer expanded the aisle, built the products, P&Ls and sell-in materials to ship in under a year.
- Led it end to end. Analysis, strategy, leadership approval and cross-functional execution.
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