What is an assortment gap in category management?

An assortment gap is a segment, format, price tier, flavor, or need-state that shoppers want but your range doesn't serve well. Finding gaps tells you where to add SKUs to capture demand you're currently losing. This skill maps those gaps against demand and the competitive set, then turns them into an add/keep/cut plan with a role for each SKU.

How does it decide what to cut, not just what to add?

It gives every SKU a role — destination, traffic driver, margin contributor, trade-up, or niche need — and flags items that fill no distinct role and carry low velocity as cut candidates. Adding without cutting just bloats the shelf, so the skill balances both sides of the range decision.

Is every missing product actually an opportunity?

No, and the skill is built to say so. A product can be absent from your shelf because demand for it is weak or because an entrenched competitor owns it. The prompt distinguishes a real, capturable demand gap from a mere absence, and flags where filling a gap means a hard fight — so you prioritize the winnable ones.

Can it produce something I can show a buyer?

Yes. Ask it to turn the top gaps into a one-page assortment rationale — the over/under-index read, the prioritized adds and cuts, and each SKU's role — in the logic a buyer evaluates. Grounding the gaps in real shopper demand data makes that rationale far harder to dismiss in a range review.

Category Insights Sales

Assortment Gap Finder

Find the SKUs your shelf is missing before a buyer does.

What is the Assortment Gap Finder?

The Assortment Gap Finder is a free AI skill that pinpoints where a food or beverage range is missing the SKUs shoppers want. You describe the current assortment, the retailer or channel, the shopper, and the competitive set; it maps the gaps — the segments, formats, price tiers, flavors, and need-states your shelf under-serves relative to demand and to competitors — then turns them into a prioritized add / keep / cut recommendation with a role for every SKU. It is built for category, insights, and sales teams preparing a range review who need to spot the hole before the buyer points it out. Rather than a flat SKU list, it organizes gaps by how much demand they capture and how contested they are, so you know which to fill first. It works from your inputs and flags where you're guessing. Pair it with real demand and trend data so the gaps reflect what shoppers are actually searching and buying, not just what's missing on paper.

Who it's for

Category managers preparing a range review
Sales teams building an assortment rationale for a buyer
Insights teams sizing demand for unmet need-states
Brand teams scoping a line extension

What you get

A map of gaps by segment, format, price tier and flavor
Under-served need-states and occasions
Each gap rated by demand and how contested it is
A prioritized add / keep / cut recommendation
A clear role for every SKU you keep or add
A flag on gaps that need demand validation

How to use it

1Paste the prompt into your AI model.
2Describe the current range, retailer, shopper and key competitors.
3Answer its clarifying questions to focus the scan.
4Ask it to turn the top gaps into a one-page assortment rationale.

See it in action

Example input

Category: ambient coffee at a regional grocer. Current range: 9 SKUs, mostly medium-roast ground and instant. Shopper: 30-55, increasingly buying premium and convenience formats. Competitors carry pods, cold-brew concentrate, and decaf single-origin we don't. We feel over-indexed on instant.

Example output

Assortment gap scan — ambient coffee @ [Regional grocer]

Where the range over- and under-indexes:
- OVER: instant (3 of 9 SKUs) for a shopper trading up — too much shelf on a declining format.
- UNDER: convenience formats (pods) and premium (single-origin, cold-brew concentrate).

Gaps by lens:
- Format: pods/capsules — MISSING, high demand, but contested. Cold-brew concentrate — MISSING, growing, less contested.
- Roast/origin: single-origin & premium decaf — MISSING, recruits a higher-spend shopper.
- Price tier: nothing above mid-premium; no "treat" tier to trade shoppers up into.
- Need-state: the "afternoon low-caf / decaf" occasion is under-served.

Rated:
- Pods: HIGH demand / CROWDED — enter, but you'll fight for it.
- Cold-brew concentrate: GROWING / OPEN — best first move.
- Premium decaf single-origin: STEADY / OPEN — easy differentiation.

Recommendation (add / keep / cut):
- ADD: 1 cold-brew concentrate, 1 premium decaf single-origin, 1 pod SKU.
- KEEP: core medium-roast ground (destination), top instant SKU (price-led shopper).
- CUT: 2 redundant instant SKUs — low velocity, no unique role.

Each SKU's role: ground = destination; pods = traffic/convenience; cold-brew = trade-up; decaf = niche need.

Validate: confirm pod vs cold-brew demand in THIS store's shopper before committing facings.

Want this as a one-page assortment rationale for the buyer?

The prompt

Here's the start of the prompt. Download the free bundle for the full, ready-to-paste version — plus the installable Claude Skill and Custom-GPT instructions.

# Role
You are a CPG category manager who builds assortment rationales buyers trust. You find the gaps between what a range offers and what shoppers demand, and you give every SKU a role — you never just list products.

# Context I'll provide
- Category: [CATEGORY]
- Current assortment: [SKU COUNT, KEY ITEMS, FORMATS, KNOWN SLOW MOVERS]
- Retailer / channel: [RETAILER]
- Shopper: [SHOPPER PROFILE]
- Competitive set: [WHAT COMPETITORS / OTHER RETAILERS CARRY THAT YOU DON'T]
- The decision I'm supporting (optional): [RANGE CHANGE]

# Your task

Frequently asked questions

What is an assortment gap in category management?: An assortment gap is a segment, format, price tier, flavor, or need-state that shoppers want but your range doesn't serve well. Finding gaps tells you where to add SKUs to capture demand you're currently losing. This skill maps those gaps against demand and the competitive set, then turns them into an add/keep/cut plan with a role for each SKU.
How does it decide what to cut, not just what to add?: It gives every SKU a role — destination, traffic driver, margin contributor, trade-up, or niche need — and flags items that fill no distinct role and carry low velocity as cut candidates. Adding without cutting just bloats the shelf, so the skill balances both sides of the range decision.
Is every missing product actually an opportunity?: No, and the skill is built to say so. A product can be absent from your shelf because demand for it is weak or because an entrenched competitor owns it. The prompt distinguishes a real, capturable demand gap from a mere absence, and flags where filling a gap means a hard fight — so you prioritize the winnable ones.
Can it produce something I can show a buyer?: Yes. Ask it to turn the top gaps into a one-page assortment rationale — the over/under-index read, the prioritized adds and cuts, and each SKU's role — in the logic a buyer evaluates. Grounding the gaps in real shopper demand data makes that rationale far harder to dismiss in a range review.

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