We are all familiar with concepts such as a grocery store, groceries and groceries in general, but who knows for sure what they mean? Often, this group of food products generally means the entire range of outlets, regardless of the product range of a particular store. Although the list of groceries includes a lengthy and varied list of food products, it is still not endless, and the range of groceries can be classified.
What is grocery?
The buyer, having come to any grocery store, simply cannot fail to acquire something from the category of groceries in it. A product that falls into this category makes up the lion's share of the entire assortment of counters. Of course, among other departments, the store will have a confectionery, dairy, and gastronomy, and a showcase with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, but still groceries are the foundation of any retail or wholesale store.
In the dictionaries and manuals on the organization of outlets it means that grocery is that assortment of food products that does not require the creation of special conditions for their sale and storage. Mostly it is a “dry” product with a long shelf life.
The very word "grocery" came to us from overseas Turkey (bakkal - the original, in some sources it is interpreted literally as "goods on the face - look and take it"). Grocers called those sellers on whose windows it was possible to buy anything that you liked. It can be concluded that the once-grocery group called “groceries”, presented on store shelves, was even more diverse than it is now, but this is most likely not an omission and lack of a modern market, but an exaggeration of past years.
Product List
At the moment, a much wider range of products is available to customers than several centuries ago, and it would be ridiculous to compare the variety of even the largest nineteenth-century shop with a modern supermarket. In addition, the current sanitary and hygienic standards and requirements that are imposed on sellers have become incomparably tougher, therefore, the classification of assortment in retail outlets has become more regulated and unambiguous.
The grocery group of goods is rich in such positions:
- coffee, tea, cocoa, including packaged and instant concentrates;
- all kinds of cereals, pasta and their derivatives (mixes, cereals, granola, cereal, breakfast cereals) ;
- flour from different grades of grain, pancake mixes;
- spices and seasonings, also salt and sugar;
- nutritional supplements, for example gelatin, citric acid, dry yeast, etc .;
- hermetically sealed dressings (sauces, ketchups, mustard, horseradish, tomato paste);
- vegetable oils;
- soups, potatoes, cereals and instant noodles.
Little thing and "loose"
As you can see, grocery is a rather diverse concept. However, it can be classified according to another principle. Most groceries are piece units that are already packaged in small packages of food. Manufacturers offer their customers the most optimal and convenient weight of the bundles, in addition to speeding up the implementation process, because the seller does not need to use weights and make complex calculations every time, each packing has its own price and mass justification.
Expensive spices and seasonings are sold in small portions of 5-15 grams, but large packages can always be purchased if necessary. Another thing is cereals, sugar and flour - often in each package a standard portion of one kilogram, but the constant increase in prices forces manufacturers to trick and a large number of packaged cereals and other bulk goods presented in the windows of supermarkets and shops can weigh 750 or 900 grams .
Despite the widespread use of self-service stores, in which customers are much more comfortable buying pre-packaged goods. Many stores still sell bulk goods, and in the markets you can even buy vegetable oil for bottling, coffee, teas and spices are also weighed and sold by the seller in the amount that the buyer needs. In this method of selling groceries there is a big advantage, because the client can always reliably evaluate the quality of the purchase by its appearance, texture and smell.
A grocery store or just a department?
Despite the wide range of groceries in the store, it is simply impossible to find a point of sale that would not sell products that do not fall within the category of groceries. Demanding customers want to come to one store and buy everything they need there, avoiding going from one seller to another.
Modern terms of trade are such that the owners of food pavilions are forced to give consumers the whole variety of requested products, so grocery in the store is sold only in one of the departments, along with other groups of goods.
Note to the grocery seller
The big advantage of selling groceries is that the goods from this group have a long shelf life, do not require the creation of special conditions for their storage, and also do not force sellers to equip technologically complex warehouse facilities.
Storage of groceries should take place in a cool room (not higher than 18 degrees Celsius), with low humidity. If the warehouse is moist, then the products will become unusable, because cereals, spices and tea coffee absorb moisture from the atmosphere, in addition, they can be saturated with extraneous aromas, which will also greatly damage their quality. An important requirement for warehouses intended for storing groceries is that the racks on which the goods will be laid out should not touch the walls.