Unitas Wholesale is introducing healthier lines into its Local Living own label range to help retailers respond to the growing demand for weight loss drugs, while using AI to improve ranging in stores.
The firm, whose members include Blakemore, United Wholesale Scotland, Filshill and Dhamecha, has more than 100 lines in the value-led brand. Chief executive David Cooke told Better Wholesaling: “At Unitas we need to help our members identify the products they are missing.
“We don’t want to compete with the branded suppliers because they are our lifeblood, but we need a broader portfolio to allow members to compete with some really ferocious competition out there. We’ve got data points from all over the place we can draw from and it’s about critically looking at each category to see where there is a gap.
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“Recently we launched an own brand range of hanging bags for sweets which opens up the market a bit more. We look forward to the future to anticipate where we can satisfy customer needs. GLP-1 weight loss drugs are fundamentally changing what and how people are consuming. We need to be thinking about the type of products customers want in response to this, and in what pack sizes or formats. We have new product development sessions where we factor this in. It’s about making retailers relevant for the future.”
Elsewhere, the firm is using AI to help adapt ranges and bring more sales into stores. Cooke added: “AI ultimately allows the customer to get a better shopping experience and the end result is better merchandising in stores.
“Our convenience stores are based in different areas and each one is going to have an entirely different demographic. It’s about feeding data into AI to look at the percentage of offices, commuters and geography, for example.
