Reading the shelf…
Sprouts Farmers Market is a natural independent running 1 Bay Area store, mid-size at about 20,322 sq ft each, indexing high on clean-organic versus other Bay Area grocers.
Earth Balance is a brand specializing in vegan, plant-based buttery spreads, nut butters, and snacks.
It’s already on the shelf here, with 2 SKUs across 2 categories. The growth is depth and breadth: 1 category to widen and 2 new doors to enter.
Lead with Plant Butter Original Plant Based Oil Spread in Non-Butter Oil Spreads.
Sprouts Farmers Market stocks non-butter oil spreads thinly, so a differentiated snack stands out instead of becoming the Nth option on a crowded shelf. It already earns space at 10 other Bay Area grocers.
Sprouts Farmers Market carries peanut butter in real depth, 39 SKUs against a fleet median of 15, so a new entry there is the Nth option, and its per-unit price would likely sit near the top of a crowded shelf. The more differentiated opening is non-butter oil spreads: Sprouts Farmers Market stocks only 6 there, so Earth Balance Plant Butter Original Plant Based Oil Spread stands out rather than blending in. Lead with the non-butter oil spreads, and position the peanut butter as a finishing or gift item.
Sprouts Farmers Market merchandises 4 of the 5 categories the brand sells.
organic, vegan, vegetarian against the store's assortment lean.
brand excitement 60/100.
enters a thin non-butter oil spreads shelf as a point of difference.
Every category Earth Balance plays in across the Bay Area grocers we track, and where it stands at Sprouts Farmers Market. Depth is the distinct SKUs the store carries there versus the fleet median, shown next to the rival brands already on that shelf.
On shelf here, but only 1 of 7 SKUs. Room to widen the line.
Already stocked here in other categories, so this one is a natural extension.
Where it would price in non-butter oil spreads. Each dot is a product on the shelf, by its cost per oz (hover for which). Earth Balance (orange) sits well above the shelf.
Earth Balance’s SKUs Sprouts Farmers Market doesn’t carry yet, ordered by how many other Bay Area grocers already stock them.
Presence and depth are measured from Sprouts Farmers Market’s current Bay Area storefront: its online catalog plus our shelf photos, a partial view. A widely-distributed brand shown as a new door may already be carried through channels we don’t index. Sprouts Farmers Market profile →
Already stocked here in other categories, so this one is a natural extension.
Fully stocked here (1/1 SKUs).
The store barely carries this category, so it is a hard sell.