Swimming in a Sea of Choices

Tips for Increasing Sales

Choose high-quality brands. If a retailer hooks a customer on a top-notch food they'll come back for more, Szumigala says.

Do a taste-test in the tank. A retailer will recommend brands and new foods with more credibility when they are used in the store's tanks, Szumigala says.

Keep the food aisle spic-and-span clean. No one likes to buy food for themselves or their pets from a dirty store, Kohler says.

Be a neat freak. Retailers should make sure the shelves are organized so customers can easily find products for their types of fish, Swartz says.

Stock specialized fish foods. Consumers are seeking out foods specific to fish who call their tanks home, Kohler says.

"Free" is a powerful sales tool. Retailers might try giving out free samples to reel customers back in for the big catch: return sales, Szumigala says.

(Published May 2008)
Swimming in a Sea of Choices
Displays can help improve sales of pre-packaged fish foods.
By Scott and Ann Springer

Man can't live on bread alone—and neither can fish.

Aquarium hobbyists, just like other pet owners, are prone to making impulse buys in pet stores. Even though they intend to only buy food for their fish, aquarium hobbyists can be lured by attractive displays for other products.

Knowing this, retailers that don't use their food displays wisely may be missing the boat on add-on sales, says Jennifer Szumigala, the manager of Xtreme Aquatic Foods, Inc., an Edgewater, Fla.-based manufacturer.

One way a retailer can lure high-end customers is to offer top-quality products that mass merchants don't stock, says Scott Kohler, the vice president of sales for Salt Lake City, Utah-based Ocean Nutrition. "If they're sold on the brand then they'll be back to your store to get that item plus the other items they'll buy when they are there," Kohler says.

The trend for higher-quality ingredients has trickled down from dog and cat foods to aquatic foods as well, Kohler says.

"There's a huge consumer crowd that wants to make sure they're giving the best food to their fish," Szumigala says. "I think a lot of retailers may under estimate that impact."

All Shapes and Sizes
It may be hard for retailers to pick from all the fish foods in the sea of products in this market. The overall quality of ingredients of the foods should be a top priority, Kohler says. "Look for products that offer human-grade ingredients and for ingredients that the fish would eat in their natural environment," he adds.

While approximately 70 to 80 percent of all prepackaged, freshwater fish food is in flake form, other formulations are available in the market, says Nick Kornblith, the senior brand manager of nutrition and water care, for Blacksburg, Va.-based manufacturer United Pet Group.

Flakes come in many varieties including color enhancing, high algae content, and those specific to the species, Kornblith says.

Pellets tend to be popular with hobbyists who own larger fish such as cichlids, while sticks are a great match for koi owners, Kornblith says.

Granules, which are extruded for tiny species of fish, sink to reach fish that may not be able to get to it otherwise, Kornblith says.

Supplemental foods, which are also labeled as treats, offer nutrition but give owners the feeling of spoiling their pets, Kornblith says. Tablets, wafers, and crisps have grown in popularity with hobbyists, he adds.

More Than the Price Tag
"If customers are buying a $100 fish they aren't really worried about spending a few more bucks to have good nutrition," says Rich Swartz, the owner of Fishy Business in Longwood, Fla.

Retailers get hung up on the pricing of their food but product knowledge is far more important than the price tag, Kornblith says. He recommends store employees study the materials provided by manufacturers and other reliable sources to best match aquarium hobbyists with the right foods for their tanks.

Retailers who carry multiple brands – everything from those found at mass merchants to specialty brands – will attract a greater span of clientele, Kohler explains. "There are those customers who can't be talked out using what they've always used and lose out on that sale if you didn't stock it," Kohler says.

Some large manufacturers offer specialty brands to independent retailers that aren't available at the chain stores to give consumers confidence in the brand while allowing independent stores to offer a specialty product, Kornblith says.

Showcasing Suggestions
Keeping shelves replenished has helped Swartz to increase sales in his retail shop which dedicates a 4-foot by 7-foot space to pellets and flakes. "We try to make it look full all of the time," Swartz says.

"In the fish food category you have a myriad of things to choose from, so it's hard for a customer to know what they need," Kornblith says.

A number of manufacturers offer shelf-talkers and signage that can give a sense of continuity in a brand as well as provide education about the quality of the product, Kohler suggests.

Making it easier for the consumer to identify which products they need can increase sales of add-on items, Kornblith says. "It's also a great time to introduce them to a secondary purchase," he says. "You can say, ‘Your fish can also eat this kind of treat with this type of food.'"

Clip strips of treats can easily be added to the fish food aisle, Kornblith recommends. "Anything that is an impulse item sells well to people coming in to buy staples, like food," he says. "They see it hanging there and they say, ‘That looks like something I ought to try out.'"