Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council

How Coke initiated best ethnic marketing practices for the supermarket industry.

Challenge:
The supermarket industry faced significant demographic changes and needed help to attract and retain diverse customer segments. The key to success: focus on product assortment and merchandising, diversity in staffing, community relations and marketing.

Solution:
AMS worked with the Coca Cola Retailing Research Council and led a 10-month study titled "Grow with America: Best Practices in Ethnic Marketing and Merchandising."

We gathered and analyzed an extensive amount of consumer research. Topics included food culture, shopping habits, meal preparation and overall attitudes about supermarket shopping. Executive interviews were conducted with top ethnic manufacturers and marketers, brokers, distributors, wholesalers, trade publications, data companies, market research firms, ethnic media companies and trade associations. These interviews also included top-level supermarket executives in buying, merchandising, marketing, human resources, community affairs as well as Presidents from 41 of the most progressive ethnic marketing retailers in the U.S.

Results:
Since being published and released at the May 2002 Food Marketing Institute (FMI) convention in Chicago, the report has become a key industry handbook to help corporate, regional and local store management more effectively serve the shopping needs and preferences of Hispanics, African Americans and Asians.

Interest in the manufacturer and retailer community has been significant with companies like Kraft Foods, Hy-Vee, Winn-Dixie and Walgreen's gathering their key executives for in-depth multi-day tailored presentations by AMS principals.