Grocery stores come alive in the lead-up to Cinco de Mayo. Cross-merchandising opportunities are plentiful for this food-centric holiday, and don’t our industry’s retailers know it. With the day quickly approaching, I got in touch with some leading buy-side reps to get the inside scoop.
“At Kroger, our purpose is to Feed the Human Spirit; and as part of that purpose, we are continually looking for new ways to engage with our customers and provide an experience that is Fresh for Everyone,” said Kroger’s Thom Stead, Division Meat/Seafood Manager. “In that spirit, we are looking forward to supporting our customers by showcasing authentic Hispanic offerings throughout our stores, which includes the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. We are committed to creating an environment around the store that excites and inspires our customers with interruption displays and impactful store merchandising that motivates the creation of memorable traditions around these holidays and festivities.”
As Thom told me, big-name brands sure to be on display this Cinco de Mayo are Mission tortillas and chips, Takis, Guerrero tostadas, Cacique cheeses, authentic beverages, Modelo and Corona, and fresh/marinated meats in the meat department.
Paul Kneeland, Vice President of Fresh Operations at Gelson’s Markets, also commented on cross-merchandising strategies for this festive holiday.
“Gelson’s loves to celebrate holidays with our communities and the best way to do that is with food! Cinco de Mayo merchandising occurs across multiple departments in the store including meat, seafood, produce, kitchen, and center store,” Paul told me. “In the kitchen, we focus on hot bars to put together a great lunch with favorites such as rice, beans, chips, enchiladas, and chicken. Usually we will run these items on the bars for the full week and in most stores they go for two weeks.”
Paul continued, “In the meat department, we run pre-marinated items like carne asada and pre-seasoned items like carnitas, which do very well. Any time you can add value and convenience to the meats by pre-spicing them, the customers always appreciate it! We try to cross-merchandise produce items near the meat displays to capture that extra sale. And of course, we cross-merchandise salsa, guacamole, and sour cream for a great taco topping idea. Eat to celebrate here at Gelson’s!”
I can hear the trumpets playing as shoppers step foot into their local grocery store on May 5. For more merchandising insights any time of the year, you know where to find us.
