Why are local supermarkets dropping Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice? (price, stores)

[Mike from back east]

From what I've seen the big seller is Martinelli's which I've had many times and is excellent. They make a line of several such products with my fave being the cran-apple, followed by the apple-grape.

I drank a ton of Welch's Grape Juice as a kid, loved it.

As Wit-Nit said, shelf space is a constant hot issue in supermarket management. Slow sellers are replaced in favor of what sells better; IIRC they have many metrics on $ of revenue per sq ft of floor space or shelf space. Supermarkets are a low-margin business, often netting just 1% per year on sales and with such razor thin margins you can be sure that every inch of shelf space is considered a dear asset. Producers of food often give discounts (or outright kickbacks) to get their products on the shelf, with the ideal location being face-high to get the most eyeballs on the product and into your cart.

I see this as a continuing trend where the Amazon model could be a solution. Their huge warehouses could stock a lot more products than a local supermarket and as the years go by this is where I think we may find our special items. I already have to order on-line via Wal-Mart for Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend pancake mix and I often have to visit 3-4 stores to find certain items the others don't stock. When it gets bad enough I may start ordering whole lists of items from Amazon, depending on what they offer.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

From what I've seen the big seller is Martinelli's which I've had many times and is excellent. They make a line of several such products with my fave being the cran-apple, followed by the apple-grape.

I drank a ton of Welch's Grape Juice as a kid, loved it.

As Wit-Nit said, shelf space is a constant hot issue in supermarket management. Slow sellers are replaced in favor of what sells better; IIRC they have many metrics on $ of revenue per sq ft of floor space or shelf space. Supermarkets are a low-margin business, often netting just 1% per year on sales and with such razor thin margins you can be sure that every inch of shelf space is considered a dear asset. Producers of food often give discounts (or outright kickbacks) to get their products on the shelf, with the ideal location being face-high to get the most eyeballs on the product and into your cart.

I see this as a continuing trend where the Amazon model could be a solution. Their huge warehouses could stock a lot more products than a local supermarket and as the years go by this is where I think we may find our special items. I already have to order on-line via Wal-Mart for Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend pancake mix and I often have to visit 3-4 stores to find certain items the others don't stock. When it gets bad enough I may start ordering whole lists of items from Amazon, depending on what they offer.

Unfortunately, I live in QC and Amazon doesn't offer grocery delivery where I live and I am not sure if they ever will. We are lucky enough to at least get Same-Day Prime delivery by Amazon, but the next ZIP code over to the south in STV does not. Not sure will ever get grocery delivery (and I don't mean just Whole Foods).

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Is it me, or are fewer and fewer supermarket chains now carrying the Welch's Sparkling grape juices? It seems the only three that now carry it are Fry's, Walmart, and Target. Albertsons/Safeway and Bashas' no longer seem to carry it. I wonder, is their competitor Martinelli's paying incentives to these supermarket chains to carry their product exclusively at the expense of Welch's? I much prefer Welch's, especially the Sparkling Rosé grape juice.

Has anyone else noticed a similar trend?

Are you sure they're not selling it and instead you can't get it just because people are panic buying because of the corona virus?

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

I have some doubt this is the reason, because during the holiday season Walmart and Target had loads of the Welch's sparkling grape juice, and last spring/summer Target was heavily promoting the Rosé. I find it more likely that Martinelli's might be paying some incentive to Albertsons/Safeway and Bashas' to only stock their product. Remember how the supermarket business works - it operates on a "pay to stay" model.

In the end, it doesn't really matter why. Some of the stores that still carry it have a lot more space, though. You have a few choices. See if Albertson's will order it for you, they used to do special orders,
maybe they still do. From Amazon's website, it does not look like this item is considered "grocery." Many edible items on Amazon are not "grocery". If for some reason it is grocery, have it shipped to a friend or relative who lives in a grocery delivery area; if not, ship it to yourself and enjoy.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Are you sure they're not selling it and instead you can't get it just because people are panic buying because of the corona virus?

Since it’s common for paranoid people to stock up on sparkling rosé grape juice during a pandemic? Vodka, perhaps.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Since it’s common for paranoid people to stock up on sparkling rosé grape juice during a pandemic? Vodka, perhaps.

There's no accounting for taste.

[phx1205]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Since it’s common for paranoid people to stock up on sparkling rosé grape juice during a pandemic? Vodka, perhaps.

I picked up a couple extra bottles of Tito’s last week. Can’t be too careful!

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by phx1205

I picked up a couple extra bottles of Tito’s last week. Can’t be too careful!

Before you buy any more, do some blind vodka taste tests. While I can taste a massive difference in the blind between tequila brews, Vodka is much more subtle. We did some blind taste tests in MN, and a lot of Tito fans either didn't care or picked another brand. Surprisingly, Phillips Vodka won over a lot of taste buds?! I now buy Costco's cheap 1.5L 5x filtered. It was way too close to worry about.

[Bondurant]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

I have some doubt this is the reason, because during the holiday season Walmart and Target had loads of the Welch's sparkling grape juice, and last spring/summer Target was heavily promoting the Rosé. I find it more likely that Martinelli's might be paying some incentive to Albertsons/Safeway and Bashas' to only stock their product. Remember how the supermarket business works - it operates on a "pay to stay" model.

Because that's when it sells. I had Welch's Sparkling juices twice a year growing up: Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Target at Christown stocks them as of 10 AM today.

[Marie Joseph]

It might be a regional thing.

Martinelli's is based in California and Welch's is headquartered in Massachusetts with the main production facility located just east of Erie, PA.

I've never seen Martinelli's in a grocery store here outside of places like Whole Foods but Welch's is everywhere.