Supermarket Perimeter - February 2021 - 3

Editor's note

Editorial
JOHN UNREIN
Editor
ANDY NELSON
Managing Editor
EMILY PARK
Digital Associate Editor
Publishing
TROY ASHBY
Publisher
LILY ALVAREZ
Sales Manager Classiﬁed Ads
MICHAEL BARBEE
Audience Development Director
DUSTIN PICKMAN
Audience Development Analyst
CARLEA SCHULER
Audience Development Coordinator
JONATHAN HAWLEY
Audience Database Specialist
JON HALL
Director of Digital Media
CARRIE FLUEGGE
Digital Advertising Manager
NORA WAGES
Advertising Manager
ANNIE FOURNIER
Advertising Coordinator
ELISABETH SPILLMAN
Design Services Manager
MARJ POTTS
Production Specialist
BECKY WHITE
Senior Design Consultant
FIONA DANKER
Graphic Designer
JIM WHITE
Promotions Manager
ABBY CHRONISTER
Promotions Media Designer

What is
normal?

We all have our own mental images of the Pandemic Era
Grocery Store.
The entire center-store aisle where the paper products
used to be. The clerk-as-bouncer, standing outside the front doors controlling how many
people go in, how often.
In the fresh perimeter, there were sections of the meat case empty save for one or two
packs, which made you wonder why they got left behind and which you probably didn't
touch, either. Salad bars and self-serve donut cases that were alarmingly full and unvisited,
until maybe they weren't there at all.
Here's hoping that one day soon, those images will just be faded memories. The big
question is, what new images will replace them?
A quick sweep of the supermarket in, say, a year from now, probably won't look all that
different from the typical pre-COVID store. But closer looks will deﬁnitely ﬁnd changes,
some signiﬁcant.
Foods with longer shelf life for future stock-up emergencies? Check. Center-store
and frozen deﬁnitely have the advantage here, but innovative retailers can see this as an
opportunity to bring longer-shelf-life products to the perimeter, too.
Also look for a big uptick in pre-packaged, grab 'n go foods of all kinds, including deli
prepared meals and other perimeter staples. People want to know their foods are safe,
and many will want to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible, pandemic or no
pandemic. This was a category already on the upswing before COVID. The pandemic has
turbo-charged it.
While retailers can't wait to get their salad bars and other " hands-on " perimeter offerings
up and running again, also look for pre-packaged olives, salads and other foods to remain a
larger category going forward for many if not most.
That's just a sample. COVID will reshape the supermarket perimeter in ways we can't
even predict now. The only thing for certain is that retailers will identify those needs as they
emerge, then rise to the occasion to meet them.

WHITNEY HARTMAN
Sales Coordinator
Corporate
CHARLES S. SOSL AND
Chairman and CEO
L. JOSHUA SOSL AND
President

ANDY NELSON
anelson@sosland.com

STACI GRECO
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
MEYER SOSL AND
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor
JIM SAL ADIN
Chief Marketing Officer

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Supermarket Perimeter - February 2021

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