Capitalizing On the Next (Tiny) Big Thing

I recently stumbled upon a trend that is "sweeping the nation" and one that I fear the nation's supermarkets will let pass them by and lose sales and profits as a result. Of course I am referring to Tiny House Hunters, the new hit show on HGTV. According to the voice-over at the beginning of the show, people across the nation are ditching their full-size homes and McMansions and buying tiny houses in order to live a simpler, cheaper, more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. And these houses truly are tiny -- ranging from 146 square-feet to 600 square-feet. That is for the entire house including the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom! Usually the bedroom ends up being a loft with a head clearance of maybe four feet, or a fold-down bed near the front entrance that also functions as a dining room table. The kitchen is equally small, although Tiny House Hunters still seem to prefer the granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, the refrigerator is usually dorm-size and stove is actually a two-burner hot plate. Obviously somebody wanting to live in such an environment is not going to feel comfortable wandering around a 187,000 square-foot supercenter, and that is where the opportunity for the supermarket comes in. I think it would be a shrewd marketing move for supermarkets to put in a Tiny House Aisle. It wouldn't take much space; to make these shoppers feel "right at home" I would make the aisle no more than four-feet wide. It could probably be carved right out of that big seasonal aisle in the middle of the store that usually does not see much traffic. And since people living in tiny houses do not have much storage space they would likely have to make a daily pilgrimage to your store. I would stock the Tiny House Aisle with all the essentials needed to run a tiny home.  This would include those little 8-ounce cans of fruits and vegetables and the little 2-ounce bottles of Palmolive dish washing liquid that they give you in the kitchenette in the Hampton Inn & Suites.  I would also include every trial size product available, packages of Ramen noodles, condensed soups and instant coffee since most tiny houses will not have room for a percolator, let alone a Keurig machine. The Tiny Dairy Case would not stock milk in any size larger than a pint, eggs would only be sold by the half-dozen, and the Tiny Frozen Foods Section would only have half-pints of Haagen-Dazs, Stouffer's Meals for One and Old Orchard orange juice concentrate. Of course you would need to have a section for 25-pound bags of dog food. This is because, according to the episodes I've seen, most Tiny House Hunters have a Saint Bernard, Mastiff or some other large breed dog, evoking giggles of "Isn't that cute! He thinks this is a giant dog house!" when they bring their canine companion into their new home for the first time. There is also plenty of money to be made in nonfoods. Those thin 100-count packs of paper plates can replace dishes. Single rolls of Scott 1000 toilet tissue will be a guaranteed big seller, and since inevitably one Tiny Household Member insists that the toilet be compostable instead of flushable to reduce their impact on the environment I would definitely include Little Trees air fresheners and Febreze Small Spaces air fresheners. You also might want to include a selection of MasterLocks. On one episode it was pointed out that Tiny Houses should be securely locked down. This advice was given after one homeowner came home from work only to find someone had stolen their tiny house by hitching it to a trailer and driving away! HGTV will be running a marathon of Tiny House Hunters next week.  Check it out!