Reading the shelf…
Safeway is a conventional independent running 13 Bay Area stores, large-format at about 37,374 sq ft each, indexing high on established names versus other Bay Area grocers.
It’s already on the shelf here, with 4 SKUs across 2 categories. The growth is depth and breadth: 2 categories to widen and 1 new door to enter, replicated across all 13 stores.
Lead with Veggie Breakfast Classic Sausage Links, Vegetarian Sausage in Other Frozen Meat Substitutes.
Safeway stocks other frozen meat substitutes thinly, so a differentiated snack stands out instead of becoming the Nth option on a crowded shelf. It already earns space at 7 other Bay Area grocers.
The more differentiated opening is other frozen meat substitutes: Safeway stocks only 1 there, so Morning Star Farms Veggie Breakfast Classic Sausage Links, Vegetarian Sausage stands out rather than blending in.
Safeway merchandises 4 of the 5 categories the brand sells.
vegan against the store's assortment lean.
an established national brand with proven demand.
enters a thin other frozen meat substitutes shelf as a point of difference.
Every category Morning Star Farms plays in across the Bay Area grocers we track, and where it stands at Safeway. 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 3 of 9 SKUs. Room to widen the line.
On shelf here, but only 1 of 8 SKUs. Room to widen the line.
Morning Star Farms’ SKUs Safeway doesn’t carry yet, ordered by how many other Bay Area grocers already stock them.
Presence and depth are measured from Safeway’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. Safeway profile →
Already stocked here in other categories, so this one is a natural extension.
The store barely carries this category, so it is a hard sell.
The store barely carries this category, so it is a hard sell.