Daniel Pollard from Seaford Health Store in East Sussex gives us the rundown of what’s inspiring his customers and what’s falling out of favour.
What’s Hot: Mr Organic soups
Mr Organic soups are doing well for us in the shop right now. I think that’s because autumn’s really kicking in so people want to buy healthy food that’s warming and nutritious. I can see that customers know and trust the brand – plus I think it helps that they’re in a can rather than a plastic pouch. We’ve got them on offer too, which always helps. I think if the price is right, customers really go for them.
The weather’s actually been quite nice for us recently into autumn, and I’m right next to the beach, so we’ve been selling loads of coconut water too.
What’s Hot: Promo strategy
It’s no surprise that at the moment promotions are very important for customers. I make sure we have loads of products on promotion every single month without fail. We’ve basically done that for as long as we’ve had the shop – it shows that we offer real value. With the cost of living crisis, people really want to see deals around the store and this keeps them coming back to us week after week.
What’s Hot: The Ginger People
It’s interesting, because products like magnesium and collagen are always going to do well with us. They tend to be year-round essentials that there’s always an appetite for from our customers. But we’re also seeing exciting things happen in our food selection too. For example, we’re selling loads of The Ginger People products. They sell a ginger juice and a turmeric juice, and both are going great on the shelves. They’re 100% pure, so good to use in cooking or they can be watered down a little and used in shots. Both are good for the colder weather and dealing with colds.
What’s Not: CBD
If you go back a bit, there was so much excitement about CBD at one time. There were lots of new products coming through and the demand was there too because people were finding out about it for the first time. At one point it felt like every customer who came in was asking about new CBD products! However, I don’t really think it could have carried on at that level, and so that’s definitely something that’s changed for us. It’s certainly tailed off with our customers.
What’s Not: Mānuka honey
Mānuka honey feels like it’s a product that has died off in the last year or so. Sales are just not what they were. Looking at our shelves, there used to be absolutely loads of mānuka products, but the demand has just dropped off from our customers. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I would guess that there were just too many similar brands flooding the marketplace – and that the price just got too high for people to pay. Getting pricing right is so important across our store.
What’s Not: Pukka teas
It’s interesting that Pukka’s teas aren’t doing as well as they used to. Everyone knows that they started off as an independent business and then got bought out a while back by Unilever. I’m not sure if they changed the flavours as part of the move, but they don’t taste the way that they used to. And I think customers are really picking up on that. At the end of the day, every one of our products has to earn its place on our shelves – and if they’re not selling then we have to take them off eventually to make room for those that are.
By Daniel Pollard, Seaford Health Store