Case Study
Nielsen Insights in Action:
A ‘Big-Picture’ Approach
to Assortment
StarKist leverages Nielsen Assortman Optimizer
to boost market presence and maximize profit
Company
StarKist
At StarKist, one of the keys to building America’s largest
shelf-stable tuna brand has been a culture of innovation. Whether
it was creating one of the more memorable marketing icons in
recent history, Charlie® the Tuna, or introducing the industry’s first
single-serve packages, the 68-year-old company has continually
found new ways to excite customers.
In 2008, Del Monte Foods sold StarKist to Dongwon Industries
Co., a South Korean company with one of the world’s largest
tuna-catching fleets. In addition to bringing new efficiencies to
StarKist’s supply chain, Dongwon has significantly increased
expenditures on marketing initiatives and product development,
including a new line of frozen seafood products set to launch
nationally in early 2011.
The Business
Issue
While developing new product offerings is a large element of
StarKist’s growth plan, revitalizing the brand’s staple products has
also been a key priority in recent years. Faced with slow growth
from its shelf-stable tuna products, rethinking the company’s
approach to cans and pouches became imperative.
Over the years, StarKist had significantly expanded the number of
varieties and packaging options it offered in an attempt to bring
new customers to the tuna category. It became clear, however,
that the proliferation of SKUs was increasing costs and consuming
shelf space without showing sufficient incremental benefit to the
product line’s overall sales. StarKist turned to The Nielsen
Company to help maximize retailers’ existing shelf space by
strategically rearranging the StarKist product mix.
Company Facts
StarKist
• Acquired by South
Korea-based Dongwon Industries Co. in 2008
• Operates two
manufacturing facilities
in Ecuador and one in
American Samoa
• Innovations include the
StarKist Flavor Fresh
Pouch®, StarKist Tuna
Creations®, a line of lightly
marinated tuna, and
SeaSations®, a new line of frozen, lightly sauced whole white fish fillets
Nielsen Insights in Action:
A ‘Big-Picture’ Approach
to Assortment
The Solution
Nielsen performed a comprehensive assortment analysis that
helped StarKist look beyond traditional measures such as unit
sales to determine the incremental value of each SKU in its
portfolio. Using its web-based simulation software, Nielsen
Assortman Optimizer, Nielsen provided a study identifying items
likely to bring additional customers to the category and increase
the brand’s total sales. For a number of retail channels, the
analysis meant increasing StarKist’s canned tuna offerings and
delisting several competitive pouches, some of which delivered
little incremental benefit to the category.
Case Study
“
The insights came at an important time for StarKist, as several
large grocery chains around the country had begun pairing down
the number of brands they carried. The ability to present retailers
with data demonstrating the contribution of each item to overall
aisle sales helped StarKist gain shelf space from a competitor at a
number of important chains.
Going forward, StarKist’s sales and marketing team plans to use
Nielsen’s Assortment tool to gather updated, retailer-specific
simulations to refine the company’s product mix. The ability to
continually refresh the data helps StarKist stay ahead in their
competitive segment.
A Win-win
Outcome
“Retail customers don’t
see a lot of other
marketers bringing this
kind of information to
the table in this
category,” Wdowiak
said. “When they see
the category growing
through better product
selection, it certainly
increases our value.”
”
Walt Wdowiak
StarKist’s Director of Research
and Innovation
With Nielsen’s help, StarKist turned retailers’ brand consolidation into an opportunity rather than a threat.
As a result, the overall presence of its shelf-stable tuna products has increased substantially at several
high-profile grocers. One of StarKist’s biggest successes was at a chain with roughly 2,500 locations
nationwide, where its year-over-year case sales grew 12.7 percent in the four months following the
assortment changes. At another grocery chain with 1,500 stores on the East Coast, case sales jumped 26
percent in the three-month period directly following the reset compared to the previous quarter; StarKist’s
share of tuna sales increased by 12.1 percentage points.
Nielsen also played a key role in strengthening the company’s relationship with retailers, according to Walt
Wdowiak, StarKist’s Director of Research and Innovation. “Retail customers don’t see a lot of other marketers bringing this kind of information to the table in this category,” Wdowiak said. “When they see the
category growing through better product selection, it certainly increases our value.”
To learn more about how Nielsen can help with your assortment
strategies, contact [email protected] or visit www.nielsen.com
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