It's high time the category was segmented according to usage occasion says Sarah Hardcastle A big shake up is planned in the way crisps, nuts and bagged snacks are displayed and merchandised. KP and Golden Wonder are advocating a completely new approach to the fixture's layout which, they say, should result in incremental sales and increased profits all round. The traditional approach has been to segment the category into crisps, snacks, nuts and baked products. Within these four areas, products have been grouped by manufacturer and brand, with little heed taken of target audience and usage occasion. Golden Wonder category marketing controller Kirsty Brett says: "With the huge proliferation of products over the last few years, the fixture has become extremely cluttered and consequently very confusing to shop." The new approach calls for the category to be segmented according to usage occasions. KP was the first to come up with the idea, based on research into what consumers want from the category. Marketing director Mandy Ferguson says: "The old approach segments the category from the manufacturers' rather than the consumers' point of view, which isn't how people shop. Dividing it up into different usage occasions is the way consumers view things, and will make purchasing much easier." KP's plan splits bagged snacks into 12 segments. These are made up of four consumer-need segments: everyday; adult/premium; children's; and healthier. Within each segment, are three different pack formats: handy pack; sharing; multipacks. Ferguson says the plan has been presented to the multiples and convenience retailers. "They've taken the concept on board. They see it as being a far more useful way of presenting the fixture than the existing format. "Some retailers were already moving in this direction anyway, by grouping adult snacks together, for example. At the moment we're in discussion about test sites. For it to be fully implemented, we need the full agreement of manufacturers and retailers because for market research purposes, sales data will have to be re-cut to fit the new segmentation." A similar segmentation for the nuts sector is planned, says Ferguson. Golden Wonder has just unveiled its segmentation plan for bagged snacks and is starting to present it to retailers. Its plan divides the category into two broad usage occasions: eat now (single serve packs of 55g or less) with sub-divisions covering adult, family and child; and eat later with subdivisions for multipacks and big bags/sharing, each with segments for adult, family and child. Brett says: "It's essential to make products more visible on shelf and easier to shop." She adds: "Availability is another big issue across the market. We recommend impulse retailers improve this by reducing the number of SKUs to generate more space for bestsellers. This will improve the stock position. "Increasing repertoire is another driver. Heavy buyers are 20% of shoppers who account for over half of all bagged snacks bought, choosing from up to 18 different products. "This is a large repertoire and has implications for promotional mechanics, ranging and merchandising. It offers the opportunity to turn low and medium consumers into heavy purchasers by increasing their repertoire through innovation and trial. "The adult market also has huge opportunities. We found that many adults buy products for children, but eat them themselves. By segmenting the market, this will encourage adults to buy more products targetted at them." Brett concludes: "Of all the sectors, the kids' area shows the biggest potential because, despite the backing of major TV support, brands in this sector are often underexploited. "The solution lies in stocking the right range, merchandising children's products together and using point of sale material much more effectively." {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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