Sometimes manufacturers stop making a product; other times we choose to stop carrying a product. Approximately 10,000 new food products are introduced every year. It's a constant juggle to figure out which new products to carry and which existing products to discontinue in order to make space. Our category merchants make decisions based on sales. They discontinue the slowest moving products in a category (Wegmans brand included) when it's necessary to make room on the shelf for something new.
Another factor is the growing demand for organic and natural products, ethnic and specialty foods, as well as prepared and other fresh foods, requiring more store space devoted to these products. To free up space, we have started to look more closely at our grocery, dairy, frozen, health and beauty care, and other departments in an effort to eliminate duplication. In some categories (cleaning and laundry products, for example), we have offered several nearly-identical products, except for the name on the label. We’re trying to scale that back to be sure we are offering the best quality products and those that offer the best value, realizing that inevitably someone will be disappointed with our decision to eliminate a brand. In addition to freeing up space for new products and those in greater demand, we also hope to simplify shopping for our customers.
What stays and what goes is ultimately up to our customers, who literally 'vote' for or against a product every time they buy it or leave it on the shelf.