The Washington Post reports that Wegmans has developed an approach to wine sales that is consumer-centric: rather than grouping wines by country or type, they are grouped according to the foods they complement.
“Above a selection of reds, for example, the wines are divided into three groups: pizza and pasta wines, chicken and fish, and beef and lamb,” the Post writes. “A sign with colorful pictures of each type of food -- a plate of pasta, a fish, a cow -- is displayed over each group. Within the group, the types of wine are arranged by price.”
The approach to wine marketing was developed by Wegmans wine merchandisers who realized that people usually asked what wine would go with a particular food.
“Above a selection of reds, for example, the wines are divided into three groups: pizza and pasta wines, chicken and fish, and beef and lamb,” the Post writes. “A sign with colorful pictures of each type of food -- a plate of pasta, a fish, a cow -- is displayed over each group. Within the group, the types of wine are arranged by price.”
The approach to wine marketing was developed by Wegmans wine merchandisers who realized that people usually asked what wine would go with a particular food.
- KC's View:
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Two points here.
One is that when you read this story, you realize that this seems almost ridiculously simple. The genius of Wegmans is that they see these kinds of opportunities and embrace them, while others either don’t see even the simple opportunities or don’t have the courage to take a shot.
Second, if it makes sense to pair food and wine so obviously, doesn’t that suggest that there may be more effective ways to merchandise the entire supermarket, creating real synergies that will appeal to time-pressed consumers?
Just wondering.
