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Insights

Why This Heinz Display Is Driving Me Crazy!

At Target’s pickle and olive aisle, Christy spots a Heinz Relish squeeze bottle… upside down in its merchandising tray. This quick shelf check shows how small mistakes at retail impact brand presentation—and how much better a product can look when faced correctly.

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Description

There’s the ideal render, and then there’s the retail shelf.

Beautiful merchandising trays can create a strong brand block, reinforce hierarchy, and make a set feel premium. When everything is faced correctly, perception instantly elevates. That’s the promise of great retail execution.

But reality has a way of interfering.

One upside-down squeeze bottle in a tray system breaks the entire visual rhythm. Suddenly, the logo disappears, the benefit callouts flip, and the brand loses its stopping power. It’s a small operational miss with an outsized impact on performance.

This is where DTC packaging diverges. What works perfectly in a controlled e-commerce environment must also survive stocking teams, fast resets, and real-world handling. Even Costco packaging and club-ready trays aren’t immune; if orientation isn’t foolproof, the shelf will expose it.

The lesson is simple: design for reality, not perfection. Because at shelf, execution is everything.

Video Transcript

00:00:00 So when you've got these nice
00:00:01 merchandising trays, rather they're
00:00:03 loving it, they're loving it. You know
00:00:04 who's not loving it?
00:00:08 Hey guys, Shopping with Christy here.
00:00:10 I'm at Target today and I'm taking a
00:00:12 look at the pickle and olive area of our
00:00:14 Super Target. This is a quick hit to
00:00:16 say, gosh, don't you love it when the
00:00:18 shelf is faced nice? When you've got
00:00:20 these nice merchandising trays, rather
00:00:22 they're loving it. They're loving it.
00:00:24 You know who's not loving it? Them.
00:00:27 Oh no, you've got this great squeeze
00:00:30 bottle. They put it upside down. Let's
00:00:32 see if it can even fit this way. It
00:00:34 actually can. It can fit that way, but
00:00:36 you know, whatever stock person put
00:00:38 these up decided to put them upside
00:00:39 down. Anyway, you got to love and
00:00:42 sometimes you hate the realities of the
00:00:44 retail shelf. I'm going to give Hines a
00:00:47 little help here. One of my alma
00:00:49 modders, Craft Hind. And at least the
00:00:52 first product. I'm going to face it for
00:00:54 them cuz I can't not do it. There we go.
00:00:57 Much better. Look at how much better
00:00:58 that looks. You're welcome. Bye-bye.

Christy Lebor Partner & Head of Brand Development, SmashBrand

45 Articles

Christy Lebor is a Partner and Head of Brand Development at SmashBrand, a premier brand development agency championing the FMCG space. With two decades of Fortune 500 CPG experience, Christy harnesses her background from industry titans to infuse brands with a growth trajectory that transitions them from category disruptors to legacy brands.

Her portfolio includes:

Brand management roles at global giants: Kraft, PepsiCo, and Unilever.
Launching pivotal products: Axe Body Wash in the US and the original Dove Campaign for Real Beauty at Unilever.
Steering innovative product lines at PepsiCo: Gatorade chews, protein bars, Mio Fit, and Amino Energy.
Pioneering breakfast innovations at KraftHeinz: Just Crack an Egg
Leading the branded business segment and global innovation at JBS, the world's largest meat company in the world.

Prior to her tenure at SmashBrand, Christy's track record spans various senior management and development roles. Each role has honed her expertise in the intricacies of FMCG, enabling her to cultivate category advantages for brands. From SKU rationalization to directing pivotal innovation stage gates, Christy's acute expertise in FMCG has consistently placed her at the forefront of the industry. Her ability to make incisive, strategically sound decisions has been key in propelling brands to market leadership.

Her philosophy pivots on the principle that timely, relevant data, integrated with brand strategy, is the linchpin for brands aspiring to scale and establish market dominance. At SmashBrand, Christy intricately weaves this philosophy, ensuring brands are not just strategically poised but holistically developed.

Educationally, Christy is equipped with a BBA from The University of Michigan Business School, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and additional prowess in Private Equity and Venture Capital from Harvard Business School.

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Rao’s is a pasta sauce powerhouse, but their soup packaging tells a different story.

This Retail Display Tells You Everything About a Brand in Trouble

A once-hyped CPG brand is showing serious signs of decline and it’s all right there on the shelf. In this short, Christy breaks down what the pricing, graphics, and display strategy are really saying (spoiler: it’s not good). If you’re in retail or brand management, you’ll want to see this.

Why This Parent and CPG Marketer Secretly Loves This “White” Bread

A subtle copy change. A clear packaging strategy. And a parent who also happens to be a CPG marketer, instantly sold. This is how Sara Lee’s “white” whole grain bread nails the moment of truth at shelf—by speaking directly to its real buyer with just the right message. If you’re in CPG, this is the kind of packaging move that moves product.

Wait, Sargento Makes Crackers Now? Not Exactly

Sargento’s known for cheese, not crackers. But when we spotted “Cheese Bakes” in Chicago, we had questions. Is it a cracker? Is it cheese? And what does Nabisco have to do with it?

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