Kosher Supermarkets Have Run Out of Room

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kosher-foodKosher retailers in many parts of the country are faced with an unprecedented dilemma: What to do with the ever-increasing number of new kosher products?

The retailers say that many of the new products are right for placement in almost every part of the store — grocery, frozen, and refrigerated — but that finding the space is a daunting challenge. It appears that even stores with adequate space, stores that have at least 5,000 square feet are finding it hard to find shelf space for an estimated 300 new products that have been added to distributor lists in just the last six months.

It is particularly stressful for retailers that are aware of the quest for the new products, whether a new whole wheat pretzel, a prepared dish with soy, new flavored sauce, or a new variety of couscous. There are many new snack foods in an already crowded snack aisle or flavored beverages in the shelf that often takes up the most space. The problem is compounded by the fact that most existing products have a stable customer base.

Said a Queens NY retailer: “Who am I going to throw out to find out whether a new product can sell better than the product it has displaced?” Some stores are making arbitrary decisions, choosing new products that are heavily advertised or that already enjoy broad acceptance.”

The retailer cited the Shibolim brand as an example. “I started out with one small display; now I have an end cap plus three shelves of the product. I cut out three flavored rice cakes to make room for the product.”

{KosherToday/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}


7 COMMENTS

  1. Shibolim’s whole grain products are fabulous. My husband and kids are fans as well. Try their chocolate covered rice cakes and pretzels for a great healthy snack.

  2. A food store servicing the Jewish frum community needs to accommodate all of its customers, not just the ones that buy the mainline products. Some people need those ‘unusual’ items not found anywhere else, because their diet restricts them to certain foods. If stores only stock the most popular products, they fail to meet the needs of all members of their community. Not everyone eats whole wheat, it’s not easily digested by everyone; those rice cakes tossed for the ‘new glossy product’ might be the only crunchy thing some customers can eat. If they do this, they are alienating a needy segment of the population. I have had to search online for the items included in my diet, and then travel to where I can find them, or order them online in quantity, just so I would have them. Stores could survey their customers with a written product guide. Whole Foods does this and manages very well. Sometimes a delicious product gets tossed just because the ‘supplier’ ‘makes a deal’ with the store owner/manager; so its not about a good product, it’s about profit.

  3. I have the solution to this bitter problem! Stop all this mishugas. We have enuf stuff on the market to feed all third world countries…plus.
    The abundance and choices of foods out there is only beneficial to the manufacturer….but is making a lazy generation out of our children. What happened to good old cooking from mommy’s kitchen….!!!!!

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