Grocery and Big Box Retail

The largest volume of wine in the U.S. market is sold through grocery store chains, such as Albertsons, and what we call “Big Box” retail, such as Costco, Total Wine & More, etc. Contrary to popular belief, it is not impossible for small, authentic brands to gain placements in large chain retail accounts. The key is understanding how the sales process works for these key customers and how to stand out in tough competition. Chain retailers are data driven: they don’t care how much love you put into your wine and its packaging, they only care about data that proves it will sell. Successful presentations to chain and big box retail buyers must be formulated in a manner that proves the new product is relevant to their customer. Baedeker Wine will guide you in this process and set you on the path for success in your first chain retail features!

Did you know?…

One of the central strategies of Costco product placement is the notion of the “treasure hunt.” These are products that are specifically chosen to be located in a smaller number of stores and in limited quantity, for a limited time. The Costco member/customer has been trained to seek these products out, and if your wine is chosen as a treasure hunt item it can be a great proving ground for expansion in the chain!

Did you know?…

Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions (AVP) stores in the western U.S. have a substantial market share of premium and luxury wine sales. The wine isles in Pavilions markets are meant to be “fine wine shops” within the grocery store. These days you will find top brands, allocated wines, and even collectors vintages in AVP stores. The company’s test market procedure of authorizing products in select stores in what they call their DSD (Direct-store-delivery) product set is the way to achieve proof that your product will work and can be expanded to more stores. The key is understanding that once your wine is authorized as a DSD item, the work has just begun!