Müller Yogurt & Desserts has launched a new initiative for convenience retailers that will help them tap into the growing milk drinks category.
Milk Drinks are currently worth £700m annually (+11% YOY) in the UK, with 219m bottles sold every year in convenience stores. However, insights show that there are significant opportunities for retailers to increase the effectiveness of the category by making some simple changes and updates in-store.
To help retailers tap into this opportunity by stocking and displaying the right range in store, Müller, as part of its ‘Make Pots of Profit’ advice toolkit, has created a new selection of shelf guides for retailers to use according to their store size.
The company pointed to research showing that by ensuring all convenience stores that sell Ready To Drink (RTD) Milk Drinks also sell On The Go (OTG) Milkshakes, there is a £20m opportunity (per annum).
Müller’s milkshake brand FRijj is the second largest ‘Grab and Go’ flavoured milk drink in convenience and growing, increasing its value share from 7.6% to 12% in the last year.
Shoppers expect convenience stores to meet all their basic needs, including impulse purchases, on-the-go, and meal deals. Penny Williams, Senior Category Manager at Müller Yogurt & Desserts, noted that there was a huge opportunity for retailers that get it right when it comes to milk drinks. She said: “We know that core and consistency is absolutely key and, to win, retailers need to deliver on customer choice, conversion, loyalty, and value.”
She continued: “Milk Drinks feature in several consumption occasions throughout the day, and the key to fuelling growth of the category is to embed the right products into these occasions. Using the planograms and guidance we’ve developed, retailers can follow the advice and make their store a destination for the category and this could help increase their sales.”
‘Make Pots of Profit’ is an advice toolkit based on category data and shopper insight and focuses on a three-step plan to help retailers get the basics right and drive their category sales. Step one is ensuring that all shopper missions are covered by consistently having the right range of top-performing brands. Step two is to meet consumer needs for different occasions at the right time. Finally, step three is to merchandise the category in the right way to make it easy and exciting to shop.
Retailers can visit Müller’s dedicated website hub at makepotsofprofit.co.uk to download the right Milk Drinks planogram for their store.
The initiative launched at the National Convenience Show this week and the campaign will be supported with a dedicated website hub, trade advertising, trade PR, store drops, competitions, giveaways and more.
NAM Implications:
- Given the accepted benefits of tailoring assortments to local need…
- …this Müller initiative has to be a no-brainer.
- Those retailers in doubt should consider the cost of conducting equivalent bespoke research independently.
