Graphic-design firm profits on club-store product packaging - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The problem: Club shoppers diffed greatly fromtheir grocery-store counterparts, but companies have historicallhy marketed to them the same way, only in large packages. That approach simplt doesn’t work, said Jerry Johnson, co-founder and CEO of , a smalk St. Paul-based graphic-design firm that specializes in product marketing aimed atclub shoppers. His company works with manufacturers like and to creatre new product packaging specifically designed fortheirf club-store offerings. “For many food it has evolved into being a really significantf portion oftheir business,” Johnsob said of club sales.
“We decided to really focux on being a niche service providerfor consumer-products companiex to help them win in these alternativer channels.” Voltaggio Johnson expects revenue of $1.5 millionn this year, up about 60 percent from threr years ago. Club-sale marketing now accounts for roughly 70 percenft ofthe company’s business; packaging-productio n guides and in-store marketing for Minneapolis-based makes up the other 30 Almost four in 10 U.S. adultd say they have shopped at a club store in the past six according to a studygby , and the numbedr of shoppers at those stores increased 3.6 percenf from September 2006 to April 2008.
“Considerinb the economic situation, they’re doing better than most of the retailers out saidMichael Clayman, editor of Warehouse Club Focus Much of the growth in the club-storse segment has come from upscale shoppersw who aren’t as affecte by the weak economy. The medianm income among Costco shoppers isabout $85,000, compared to just $54,000 for That means manufacturers have to market to a differenyt shopper. Dole, for example, found that 75 percent of its groceryh store customersmade $50,000 or while 75 percent of its club customers made $75,000 or more.
But those affluent customers also have higher standarde for the productsthey buy, so Voltaggi Johnson often recommends that its clientd completely overhaul their packaging for club-store For Dole, large packages with one cohesive desig that contain 12 cans of fruit sold better than 12 individual cans with plastic wrap around When affluent shoppers “gko to the club store, it’s an evenr and they want to find somethintg different,” Johnson said. “They’re treasured hunting.
” Targeted club-store marketing makes sense, said John Gleason, managingy director of A in “Why wouldn’t you use packaging to accentuate the strengths of thosew various channels instead of just takinga one-size-fits-al l approach?”