VST Is Heading Stateside

Over the past few years, VST has grown around a simple belief that the shelf is one of the most important (and most underused) sources of data in retail.

Every category decision eventually shows up there. Range changes, new products, promotions, pricing, spacing, allocation. Yet historically, teams have had limited visibility into what’s actually happening on shelf, and even less ability to test ideas before they go live in stores.

VST was built to change that.

And today we’re taking the next step in that journey.

We’ve officially opened our first U.S. office in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Why Bentonville

If you work in grocery retail, Bentonville needs no explanation.

It’s home to Walmart and one of the most important hubs in the global CPG ecosystem. Category teams, insights leaders, suppliers, agencies, and retail technology companies all operate here, shaping how products show up in stores across the United States.

For VST, it’s the natural place to expand.

Over the past several years we’ve built strong momentum in the UK and Europe, working with global brands including Nestlé, Unilever, Reckitt, Mars, Heineken and Danone to help them test merchandising strategies, validate new product launches, and understand how shoppers actually behave at the shelf.

Opening an office in Bentonville allows us to work much more closely with U.S. teams making those same decisions.

What VST Does

VST exists to help brands and retailers win with shoppers.

We focus on the shelf itself, helping teams see what’s happening there, test what should change, and deliver execution that drives category growth.

Two core technologies sit at the centre of that work.

Smarter Shelf Testing allows teams to test in-store changes in virtual, shoppable environments built from real planogram data. Layout changes, new product launches, packaging, pricing, signage and promotional mechanics can all be tested with real shoppers before implementation.

What traditionally took months through physical trials can now be tested in days, giving teams robust, retailer-ready evidence before decisions are made.

Planogram Publisher tackles the challenge of visibility.

Planogram data is one of the most valuable datasets in retail, yet it’s often locked away in static files or difficult systems. Planogram Publisher ingests that data, visualises it and makes it accessible to the teams who need it - category managers, insights teams, shopper marketers and field sales.

Planogram Publisher launched in 2022 with Tesco in the UK and today covers a large proportion of the UK grocery market. This year we also launched the platform with Co-op, further expanding retailer participation. Dozens of CPG companies now use the platform every day to understand distribution, space allocation and shelf layout.

Together, these products allow teams to both see the shelf clearly and test how it should evolve.

Why the U.S., and Why Now

Many of the brands we already work with operate globally, and increasingly their U.S. teams have been asking how these capabilities can support their category work here.

At the same time, retailers are exploring how better access to planogram data can support collaboration with suppliers and unlock new value from existing assets.

Being based in Bentonville allows us to work much more closely with those teams - in the same time zone, in the same ecosystem, and often in the same room.

It also gives us a base to grow relationships across the Northwest Arkansas retail community, which has become one of the most important centres of gravity in the industry.

The Next Chapter for VST

Opening a U.S. office is about bringing the capabilities we’ve built in Europe to a market where the scale of retail and the pace of decision making is enormous.

We’re excited to begin this next chapter from Bentonville and to work alongside the retailers, brands and partners shaping the future of grocery retail in the U.S.

And like everything we do at VST, the focus remains the same - helping brands and retailers win with shoppers.

If you're based in the U.S. and interested in how VST could support your category, insights or merchandising work, we’d love to talk.