A  look  behind  the shelves

Why Products That Do More Are Winning Shelf Space Walk through any food and drink trade show today and one trend becomes immediately clear. Products are no longer just about taste. Increasingly, they are about function. Coffee with Lion’s Mane mushrooms. Drinks infused with CBD. Protein-enhanced snacks. Vitamin-fortified beverages. The idea that food can deliver additional benefits beyond basic nutrition is driving one of the fastest growing segments in the industry. Function

Why We Pick Certain Products Walk down any supermarket aisle and you’ll see hundreds of products competing for attention. Yet shoppers rarely examine every option. Most purchasing decisions happen in seconds. Consumers scan shelves quickly, often relying on instinct rather than careful comparison. In fact, many retail studies suggest that the majority of grocery purchasing decisions are made in-store and in the moment. Which raises an interesting question. Why do we pick cert

For many food and drink founders, the ultimate goal is clear: Get onto supermarket shelves. A successful retail listing can transform a brand almost overnight; increasing visibility, credibility and revenue. But the reality is that most food and drink startups never make it into major retail. And even among those that do, many struggle to stay there. The reasons aren’t always obvious from the outside. From conversations with buyers, founders and industry experts, the same cha

Notes from the Castell Howell Trade Show Last week I attended the Castell Howell food and drink trade show in Wales. Unfortunately, I made one tactical error. I arrived late. Very late. I'd completely forgotten about it until lunchtime on the last day. Fortunately, it was around the corner fro em, so I could make it still. By the time I got there (just after lunchtime on the final day) a number of exhibitors were already packing up their stands. Boxes were appearing, banners

For many food and drink founders, getting into a major supermarket feels like the ultimate goal. Tesco. Sainsbury’s. Waitrose. Ocado. These listings can transform a brand overnight. But there’s a reality that often gets overlooked: Supermarkets are rarely the best place for a young brand to start. Retail buyers are risk-averse, margins are tight, and the operational demands can be overwhelming for businesses that are still establishing themselves. Many of the most successful

Shelf appeal packaging design Walk down any supermarket aisle today and one thing becomes clear very quickly: Packaging has become one of the most powerful tools a food and drink brand has. In crowded categories where shoppers are faced with dozens – sometimes hundreds – of options, packaging is often the first and most important moment of communication between brand and consumer. Retail buyers know this too. When a buyer looks at a potential new listing, they are not just th