# Grocery product placement **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 1, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568 "2024-11-01T22:15:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/21 "2024-11-02T12:56:29Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So explain the presence of pepperoncini and jalapenos to me. I should elaborate. The above jarred peppers are in the same section as jarred pickles and other jarred peppers next to spreads like ketchup, mayo and the like. Seems logical that Hatch peppers (which are also jarred) should be in the same area instead of the next aisle over. Perhaps it’s just a matter of space, because otherwise it’s illogical. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/22 "2024-11-02T13:13:08Z")
Apple butter is seasonal? I know it’s produced seasonally, but the point is that it keeps, like jelly. Is grape jelly seasonal? Anyway, it’s a niche product and i would have expected to find it with the other oddball jellies and preserves. My supermarket puts those in the shelf that’s too high to see easily, not on the bottom. But that’s where I’d look. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/23 "2024-11-02T14:54:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I should elaborate. The above jarred peppers are in the same section as jarred pickles and other jarred peppers next to spreads like ketchup, mayo and the like. Seems logical that Hatch peppers (which are also jarred) should be in the same area instead of the next aisle over. Perhaps it’s just a matter of space, because otherwise it’s illogical. I think that there are just some items that are a bit oddball, and/or one could make a logical case for them being shelved in several different areas. I often run into this: one store shelves an item in one section, but if I have to go to a different store, while they have that item, it’s in a completely different place. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/24 "2024-11-02T15:08:37Z")
Is there a section for Mediterranean foods? I’d expect to find the pepperoncini there. But if there isn’t, maybe they default back to generic condiments. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/25 "2024-11-02T15:13:03Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > Since I couldn’t see it standing up but have to get down on your knees to see–which is problematic for older or physically limited shoppers–why stock an item where people can’t find it to purchase? Any answers dopers? Something will be stocked on the bottom shelf. In my supermarket, it’s mostly stuff that people will buy anyway. Flour, sugar, the “family size” boxes of cereal, the large cans of tomatoes, large bags of pet food and kitty litter, the big sleeve of paper towels… And they put the stuff that doesn’t sell often, like apple butter, up high where i might need to ask a taller shopper to reach it for me ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/26 "2024-11-02T15:17:58Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Something will be stocked on the bottom shelf. Indeed. I remember seeing a cartoon in an industry magazine, years ago, that was labeled, “Ideal Grocery Store Shelving.” It showed a shopper in a grocery store aisle, where _everything_ was shelved at eye level, but the shelf itself was several hundred yards long. 😉 But, that’s the gist of it. Store shelves have areas that are inconvenient for many shoppers: the top shelves can be difficult to reach for shorter people, while the bottom shelves can be difficult for people who have problems with bending down. But _something_ has to go there, and that’s why they tend to be where less-popular items, and/or larger items (for the bottom shelves in particular) tend to go. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/27 "2024-11-02T15:30:21Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My mother used to make and can her own apple butter. Same with my mother. 3 batches a year, 2 were given as gifts, one for the family. One year she made it with cherry juice, it was a big hit. Unfortunately that was the last time she made it, she lost her second bout with cancer. I made some once, it wasn’t as good as Mom’s. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/28 "2024-11-02T15:40:06Z")
Maybe i should make some apple butter … I don’t love it, but my husband is a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/29 "2024-11-02T16:23:27Z")
I have nothing useful to add. At first I thought that the word Schnucks in the OP was just a silly, generic, made-up. placeholder name for a grocery store chain. But then I looked it up and Schnucks is a for real regional grocery store chain, ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/30 "2024-11-02T16:49:40Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > At first I thought that the word Schnucks in the OP was just a silly, generic, made-up. placeholder name for a grocery store chain. But then I looked it up and Schnucks is a for real regional grocery store chain, Indeed. I’m familiar with them, from my days working in consumer products; they’re primarily in the St. Louis area. They were one of the two regional grocery chains that always led to chuckles due to their name; the other was what is now known as H-E-B (in Texas), which used to be referred to, at least among manufacturers, by their original name: H.E. Butt. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/31 "2024-11-02T17:00:27Z")
In all the big chain grocery stores, convenience stores, and even gas stations, just about every inch of shelf space is contracted and mapped out by a third party. The store itself has virtually no say. This is what my wife does for a living, and I had no idea how many different factors figure into the decisions. It’s no surprise that a relatively low-selling product like apple butter is not placed more prominently. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/32 "2024-11-02T17:00:29Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > They were one of the two regional grocery chains that always led to chuckles due to their name You giggle at Schnucks but not at Piggly Wiggly? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/33 "2024-11-02T17:01:01Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I don’t even know what apple butter is. Sort of a cross between jam and applesauce. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/34 "2024-11-02T17:03:07Z")
This is super interesting. I of course knew that there was some of this but no idea that it was so completely regulated. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/35 "2024-11-02T17:03:25Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Products like this are often made locally, or regionally, and are more likely to be found in a specialty store. I think I have always bought apple butter at a farm store. I don’t think I’ve ever bought it at a regular grocery store. I have a bone to pick with Wikipedia though. Appelstroop is apple syrup, not apple butter. It is definitely not the same consistency. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/36 "2024-11-02T17:23:52Z")
Yeah, I think apple butter is just a slow-moving item so it gets relegated to a bottom shelf. I wouldn’t be surprised if the OP had to wipe dust off the top of the container. I had an odyssey trying to find tahini to make hummus at my local grocery not so long ago. I looked everywhere I figured it was likely to be- areas with other nut or seed spreads, the ‘ethnic goods’ aisle, etc. etc. I asked a few employees who thought they had it but had no luck either. Finally an employee remembered where it was- in a clip-on rack on a door of a refrigerated goods section. Just a total random place for it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/37 "2024-11-02T17:41:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > You giggle at Schnucks but not at Piggly Wiggly? OK, _three_ chains. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/38 "2024-11-02T17:44:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Sort of a cross between jam and applesauce. I’d heard the name “apple butter,” but didn’t know exactly what it was until this thread. If Wikipedia is accurate (and maybe it isn’t), it sounds like apple butter is, essentially, apple sauce that’s cooked for longer, until it caramelizes, and achieves a thicker, spreadable consistency. Is that accurate? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/39 "2024-11-02T18:05:30Z")
When I was a kid, my mother would buy apple butter every so often. I don’t remember it as a regular thing. Although I thought it okay, it wasn’t something I would be moved to ask for. So I’m familiar with it, but meh. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568/40 "2024-11-02T18:14:11Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > OK, _three_ chains. 😃 I used to work for Tom Thumb, and nobody could tell me where the hell that name came from. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grocery-product-placement/1009568.md?page=3)