When Best-Sellers Blind You: Breaking the Pattern to Unlock New Profit

Hey Reader,

A client asked me last week:
​“We’re not trying to become something we’re not. But what else could we do that’s different?”

It’s a smart, honest question. And it gets at a key tension every fresh food operator feels right now. On one hand, sales are steady. The ad plan is set. Core items move predictably.
On the other, growth feels mechanical. Margins are tight. Promotions are cycling through the same plays. And the consumer? They’re reacting to what’s offered, not demanding anything new.

When “Success” Is Actually Just Familiarity

Back when I was in Kroger meat merchandising, we ran a multi-year strategy that made 80/20 3-pound ground beef at $3.49 per pound our signpost item. No matter what was in the ad, that price and item were always there for the customer. It became our number one item for several years.

But in a meeting with 84.51 four years in, their team said something I’ll never forget:

"You haven’t proven customer desire. You’ve just trained the customer to expect what you offer."

That was the moment it clicked: movement doesn’t always mean demand. Sometimes, we mistake consistency for relevance. The customer is playing by our rules, but that doesn’t mean they’re satisfied with the game.

The Assortment Trap: When Best-Sellers Hide Blind Spots

Too often, retailers (and the suppliers serving them) build assortments around what’s already working, while assuming the shelf is optimized. But that logic can backfire.

• If your assortment never changes, customers can’t show you new preferences. They’re stuck choosing among the usual suspects.
• If your promos cycle the same items, you're reinforcing the past instead of testing the future.
• If your competitors add something new, copying them blindly doesn’t guarantee success. Not if it doesn’t fit your brand, your operations, or your shopper.

The hard truth: customers aren’t always buying what they want.
They’re buying what you consistently give them.

Rethinking “Different” – It’s Not About Being New. It’s About Being Aligned.

Adding items isn’t the answer. Adding the right item is.
And that means pressure-testing it through three alignment lenses:

1. Customer Fit
   ​Does it solve a real need for your customer base, not just what’s trending nationally?
2. Operational Fit
   ​Can you make it with current labor, equipment, packaging, and throughput?
3. Cultural Fit
   ​Does it match how your business thinks, sells, and competes? A premium, artisanal item in a value-driven banner won’t work, even if the numbers pencil out.

If it fails any of the three, it’s likely to stall regardless of how well it moves for someone else.

Inspiration vs. Imitation: How to Spot Smart Line Extensions

Looking at your competitors isn’t a bad idea. It’s just not the whole idea. Here’s a better approach:

• Study what’s working outside your region. A format killing it in Arizona might adapt well in Georgia, but needs cultural tweaks.
• Ask why an item is successful elsewhere. Is it the price point? Pack size? Flavor? Positioning? Channel?
• Don’t just emulate. Interrogate.
  Is their shopper like yours? Are their operational strengths similar? Do they have friction you don’t, or vice versa?

Success doesn’t come from copying. It comes from interpreting.

Putting it into practice

When evaluating your current lineup or planning a new quarter, ask:

• What customer behavior have we trained, and is it still the right one?
• What do our best sellers say about what we offer, not what’s desired?
• What’s one item we’ve ignored because it felt “out of place,” and is that still true?

Because “what else could we do that’s different” isn’t about reinventing your identity. It’s about finding the small, aligned changes that unlock growth your competitors can’t see or can’t execute.

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—
​Judson Armentrout​
FreshOps | Practical Insights for Fresh Food Operations

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