Merrick at United Markets
United Markets is a specialty independent running 1 Bay Area store, large-format at about 26,260 sq ft each.
Merrick isn’t on United Markets’ shelf yet. The opening: 3 categories where the shelf is already deep and the brand runs strong elsewhere.
Lead with Lil’ Plates Premium Grain Free Dry Dog Food For Small Dogs, Real Chicken And Sweet Potato Kibble in Dry Dog Food.
United Markets stocks dry dog food thinly, so a differentiated snack stands out instead of becoming the Nth option on a crowded shelf. It already earns space at 1 other Bay Area grocer.
United Markets carries wet cat food in real depth, 64 SKUs against a fleet median of 21, 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 dry dog food: United Markets stocks only 3 there, so Merrick Lil’ Plates Premium Grain Free Dry Dog Food For Small Dogs, Real Chicken And Sweet Potato Kibble stands out rather than blending in. Lead with the dry dog food, and position the wet cat food as a finishing or gift item.
United Markets merchandises 3 of the 3 categories the brand sells.
no strong clean/diet signal either way.
brand excitement 60/100.
enters a thin dry dog food shelf as a point of difference.
The full runway
Every category Merrick plays in across the Bay Area grocers we track, and where it stands at United Markets. Depth is the distinct SKUs the store carries there versus the fleet median, shown next to the rival brands already on that shelf.
Not here yet, but the shelf is real: a clean first door into a category the brand runs deep in.
Not here yet, but the shelf is real: a clean first door into a category the brand runs deep in.
What to bring to land
Merrick’s SKUs United Markets doesn’t carry yet, ordered by how many other Bay Area grocers already stock them.
Presence and depth are measured from United Markets’ 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. United Markets profile →
