The whole country got in on our not-so-little secret this month, and we learned the “Wisconsin way” of grocery shopping isn’t the norm.
Better products. Better Prices. Better service. It’s not just Woodman’s advertising slogan, but the Woodman way of life. Started by John Woodman in 1919 as a produce stand on the corner of Milton and Sherman Avenues in Janesville, the company–now owned by John’s grandson Phil–has exploded in both size and name recognition over the past century.
The grocery giant most recently made national headlines when a Twitter user shared a video of Woodman’s never-ending frozen pizza section. While the clip looks like a routine shopping trip to us, it turns out a store with 14 commercial glass door freezers full of *just pizza* isn’t so normal to the rest of America.
Here are a few other things we learned.
We’re #1… for frozen pizza consumption.
Not only do Wisconsinites consume the most frozen pizza per capita, but several major frozen-pizza brands are headquartered here, like DiGiorno, Tombstone, and Jack’s. If you’re reading this from another midwestern state, don’t think you’re so normal either: midwesterners consume twice as much frozen pizza as the rest of the country!
Woodman’s pizza section alone can fill a small apartment.
According to owner Phil, the chain stocks 650 separate pizza facings (grocery store lingo for the rows or columns of items you see in an aisle) and 50 different brands, for a total area of 600 square feet in the store.
A plethora of pizza is just the tip of the iceberg.
Woodman’s carries more than 100,000 items in its stores. That’s more than double the national grocery store average of 30,000. Woodman’s stores are significantly larger too, with most in the 200-250,000+ range, compared to the average of 50,000 square feet.
When trying to save money, buy groceries from a store that starts with a “W.”
According to Consumers’ Checkbook, compared to average prices at all midwestern grocery chains, prices are 15% lower at Woodman’s and 8-9% lower at Walmart. For a family that spends $200/week on groceries, these price differences could save more than $1,500/year.
Although Woodman’s started (and is still headquartered) in Janesville, it now operates nineteen locations across Wisconsin and Illinois. Click here to find one near you.
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