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 When I asked at my local store I was told Snyders is stocked by independent Snyders employees, not store employees. This is the case with many brands (Sara lee, pepperidge farm, frito, coke, etc).

That being said, have you started asking at Snyders who would then pass it along to the person who runs that route? (typically divided by a geographical area, so perhaps a more refined petition amongst your local Celiac support group)

In the past, my Ralphs (a kroger store in CA) manager would special
order for me and keep stuff in the back, but typically by case or unit of how it's sold. They must've had lots of requests for gf items because now they're labeling their shelves & carrying way more!

 I would advise a petition from your group. Kroger is especially tough to
crack - the management always seems to be occupied with much more than customer satisfaction. Recently I was at the Natural Foods Expo here in LA and I talked to the Snyders execs., they are dying to reach our GF market. Try contacting Claude O'Connor - [log in to unmask]
Tell them Deb Wheaton at Not Even A Crumb referred you. Maybe a joint effort will make the difference here.

My fathers baked good have landed on Shelves across America because of individuals who have requested our products. The best way to sway the managers is with groups. Perhaps signing a letter or emailing them. If you are already petitioning, can you advocate for my fathers baked goods as well! Everything he bakes is gluten free, dairy free, casein free, peanut free, soy free, lactose free, corn free and kosher.
www.cinderellasweets.com<http://www.cinderellasweets.com>
According to my store manager of the "natural foods' section which includes
GF foods, He can only order from companies that have a standing contract
with Kroger Corporate. Now, why the Kroger to my NW carries UDI, and the Kroger to my NE does not, I have no idea what is going on
Yes.  My local grocer stocked a pie crust mix for me for awhile
(apparently I didn't buy enough of it often enough but that was
several years ago).  I suspect they stock other gluten free things for
people who ask too.  Keep asking.
I have a lot of success with stores like Mrs. Green's and a local supermarket in my area DeCeccio's. I try to go on the product's website and see if they have a form to give to the store with information about carrying the product. If not, I try to print out a picture of the product and give as much information on the company as I can, i.e. website. I have gotten so many products into my local stores this way.  Good luck.

 A petition or a group request might seem threatening.  I have had good luck talking to the manager or even the "section" manager - especially the one in the natural foods section.

I have also seen the Hanover rep stocking shelves and inquired about the pretzels and he said he would tell the manager of my request (that store didn't stock them) and he also told me which stores in the area did carry them!

In response to your question about success in petitioning stores to carry a specific gluten free product, the answer is both "yes" and "no."  It all depends on the manager.  I live in NW Ohio and both Walmart and Kroger are local to me. One Kroger manager is very accommodating, another is not.

As for Walmart, dealing with them is like dealing with a 500 lb. gorilla -- you can send letter after letter but Walmart will do whatever it wants.  My local Walmart just started dedicating a section to "health foods."  Notice I didn't say dedicated to gluten free foods.  While the area has several gluten free products on display, mixed in with them are non-gluten free items labeled as GF.  When I brought this to the assistant manager's attention, and brought him back to the display, he didn't even listen.  He said he'd take care of it and walked away. It appears that he just couldn't be bothered.

Kroger, while it varies, seems to be the most accommodating to us.  Yes, one of the Kroger's markets I deal with carries the Snyders GF, the other, no. One carries Udi's products, another -- no.  Other markets in my area -- Meijer's and Giant Eagle -- have their gluten free products mixed in among the non-GF items so you have to search.  This generally adds as much as 1/2 an hour to my shopping trip.

Sometimes it helps if you contact the store's corporate HQ directly. So, Amy, just keep trying.
As a GF manufacturer, I would recommend you do a group consumer petition.  It has been much more effective for me when the store manager sees a list of people (his customers) wanting one or more of my products.  The manager cares more about what his customers want than what the manufacter wants him to sell.  And of course, potential volume sales are always more appealing then potential sales to one individual.  And, you should start with the individual store manager.  They often have the ability to order in a certain number of products which are not part of a national corporate purchasing initiative.  Also, try to provide concise info. about the product you want including a contact person from the manufacturing end so the store manager knows who to call.  Make it as easy as possible for the manager to say yes, get the necessary pricing information and then order in the products.  The manager probably already has 1,000+ other products (and issues) to deal with and he/she may still have a corporate directive which will block bringing in the item you want.  On the other hand, they will want to be the store that handles your group business if at all possible - because that is what they do as "Sales" managers.

My support group meets at a specialty grocer so you would think it would be easy to get gluten free products in the store but it is not. What works for us is to fill out customer comment cards individually and include either our phone number or card number. Then the store can look up how much the individual spends there; money and multiple requests make a difference.
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