How to Avoid the Lunchbox Letdown: Merchandising That Wins the Aisle
Back-to-school (BTS) isn’t just a retail season, it’s a sprint. And in grocery and pharmacy aisles across Canada, CPG brands are vying for the attention of sleep-deprived parents, caffeine-fueled teachers, and last-minute lunch-packers.
It’s one of the most condensed, high stakes merchandising windows of the year. Blink, and it’s gone. Miss the shelf, and so is your margin.
Here’s how to avoid the dreaded lunchbox letdown and win back-to-school at the shelf level.
- The Shelf Isn’t Waiting for You
Let’s be real: the shelf waits for no brand. If your BTS program isn’t live early, it’s likely being outpaced by faster-moving competitors. That snack item you wanted front and centre? It’s already been replaced by someone else’s who got there two weeks earlier.
- Timing is merchandising currency.
If you’re not first, you’d better be flawless. Ideally, both.
- Endcaps, Tags & Displays Need Backup
Your team paid for a gorgeous display. Great! But did it get built in every location? Is the tag where it should be? Is stock actually present?
Spoiler alert: probably not.
At Marketsupport, we see it all the time – paid placements that never leave the back room. Endcaps that stay in boxes. Seasonal signage that ends up on the wrong aisle. That’s not a “branding opportunity”, that’s a missed opportunity.
- Back-to-School Is About More Than Pencils
Yes, BTS is synonymous with school supplies. But the aisles tell a different story. It’s a huge opportunity for:
- Snack brands
- Health and wellness products (think vitamins, hand sanitizers, immunity boosters)
- Easy-prep lunches
- CPG items like juice boxes, granola bars, and refrigerated snacks
- If your product helps families “get it together” during back-to-school chaos, you need merchandising to match.
- Visibility = Velocity
- A product that isn’t seen doesn’t sell. Plain and simple. Shelf position matters. Stock levels matter. Clean, tagged displays matter.
- Marketsupport’s merchandising team makes sure your brand shows up where it should, when it should. And if something’s off, we fix it on the spot.
- We’re problem solvers with field teams across Canada. If your SKU is hiding in a low-traffic corner or missing tags, that’s a revenue leak we can plug fast.
- Don’t Leave It to Chance (Or Crowdsourcing)
The BTS season is no time for a “wait and see” approach. And it’s definitely no time for crowdsourced merchandising that tells you what’s broken after it already cost you.
You need people in-store who know what good execution looks like, and have the authority to fix it on the fly.
That’s us. 👋
So, What’s the Plan?
Back-to-school season is already in motion. If you don’t have visibility and execution support in place now, it’s time to act. Whether you’re managing one banner or coast-to-coast distribution, Marketsupport can help you hit the shelf running.
Because no brand wants to be the “oh no, we forgot snacks” moment.
📍Visit www.marketsupport.ca to book your BTS merchandising support today, before someone else takes your spot.
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