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.
Sabor Mexicano is an artisan food brand founded by Chef Jorge Saldana in 2011, specializing in handcrafted Mexican products like tortilla chips, salsas, and plant-based queso.
Sabor Mexicano isn’t on Safeway’s shelf yet in any of its 13 stores. The opening: 3 categories where the shelf is already deep and the brand runs strong elsewhere.
Lead with Home Made Salsa Verde in Salsas.
Safeway stocks salsas 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.
The more differentiated opening is salsas: Safeway stocks only 7 there, so Sabor Mexicano Home Made Salsa Verde stands out rather than blending in.
Safeway merchandises 3 of the 5 categories the brand sells.
non-gmo, vegetarian against the store's assortment lean.
brand excitement 60/100.
enters a thin salsas shelf as a point of difference.
Every category Sabor Mexicano 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.
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.
Where it would price in salsas. Each dot is a product on the shelf, by its cost per oz (hover for which). Sabor Mexicano (orange) sits well above the shelf.
Sabor Mexicano’s 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 →
The store barely carries this category, so it is a hard sell.
The store barely carries this category, so it is a hard sell.