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Store Brand Achievement Awards: Store Brand All-Stars
By Kathie Canning
Our second annual Store Brand Achievement Awards applaud a dozen retailers for hitting a grand slam in the innovation and creativity game. It's an exciting time to be covering the store brand industry. The products and the packaging just keep getting better and better. What's more, retailers really are flexing their marketing muscles to stir up some consumer excitement over their own-brand products. But some retailers really hit it out of the park with their recent efforts here. And once again, Progressive Grocer's Store Brands is honoring each of these all-stars with a Store Brand Achievement Award. This year's awards cover 12 different product, packaging and marketing categories. To select the winners, we took a comprehensive look at retailer efforts taking place between approximately September 2010 and September 2011. Read on to learn more about the winning retailers and their achievements.
When Charleston, S.C.-based Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. announced the launch of its Newton Farms premium food line this past summer, Gregg Byrd, the retailer's supermarket brands general manager, noted that every food in the line is "a labor of love" – and we believe him. Named after Joseph T. Newton Jr., Piggly Wiggly's founder – as well as the retailer's upscale Newton Farms market in Freshfields Village, S.C. – the brand currently covers more than 100 products (and additional products are in the works). Many of the products have a local "flavor." For example, you'll find a multi-use "Lowcountry sauce" sourced from Awendaw, S.C.
All Newton Farms products put a unique spin on traditional formulations – resulting in what Ibsen calls a "robust" flavor profile. Instead of just premium ketchup, for instance, Piggly Wiggly opted for a chipotle rendition. The project was a real team effort, Ibsen adds. He credits Byrd and his team member Patty Kennedy with much of the work. Working closely with the two of them were Robert Masche, Piggly Wiggly's chief supply chain officer; Christy Boudolf, the retailer's assistant marketing director; and Ibsen himself. But the project involved more than product development. Piggly Wiggly wanted to convey the "look and feel of warmth and elegance" associated with its Newton Farms store in the line's packaging, Ibsen explains. "We wanted to have that packaging center around a lot of different earth tone colors to balance a sense of sophistication with also a sense of accessibility," he says, "so it didn't seem too out of reach to a customer who might consider trading up." Thankfully, SGS International (SGS Ramsey, with U.S. headquarters in Louisville, Ky.) managed to bring that packaging vision to life. In fact, the end result netted SGS Ramsey an American Graphic Design Award from Graphic Design USA.
In late 2010, Kmart, a subsidiary of Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holding Corp., announced the debut of the Smart Sense brand. We love the brand's colorful, vibrant look, which is said to mesh with Kmart's new "colorful thinking."
"With the introduction of the Smart Sense line, Kmart is looking to offer a more affordable Kmart brand product assortment that will rival the quality of more nationally recognized brands," Mark Snyder, chief marketing officer for Kmart, said in a press release announcing the launch. Snyder added that Kmart also is introducing some "unique products" under the brand instead of only national brand equivalents. Kmart supported the brand launch with an October 2010 sweepstakes. The grand prize was a $15,000 Kmart gift card said to be good for a three-year supply of Smart Sense products. The retailer also says it gave away dozens of $50 gift cards in the instant-win portion of the sweeps.
On its website, CVS/pharmacy explains that its exclusive brands "are developed to deliver unique, quality products from beauty to baby care that aren't available anywhere else." Well, we think the retail division of Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Caremark Corp. really proved that dedication to innovation this past summer when it unveiled a line of beauty products developed in partnership with actress Salma Hayek. The Nuance Salma Hayek line, promising high-quality products at an affordable price, comprises more than 100 products within the skincare, cosmetics, hair-care and body categories.
"Our partnership with Salma Hayek in creating a premium beauty line that is accessible to all women takes our beauty leadership and innovation to the next level," Mike Bloom, former executive vice president of merchandising and supply chain for CVS/pharmacy, said at the time of the line's launch.
Sometimes one brand name just isn't enough to convey the desired product message – especially when the product itself strays a bit from the ordinary. That's why Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. combined two of its existing brand names – 7-Select and Big Bite – on the packaging for the new hot dog-flavored potato chips it introduced this year.
We applaud the retailer for its creative thinking on both the product development and branding sides. But as Beach explains, the product concept was a natural fit for 7-Eleven's customers, who already flock to 7-Eleven stores to purchase Big Bite hot dogs. As for the packaging, 7-Eleven aimed to communicate quality through an attractive design and the Big Bite brand equity to create a "compelling proposition" for chip-loving consumers, Beach notes. "The Big Bite brand creates appetite appeal because it prompts customers to think about a big, juicy hot dog," he adds. Customer reaction has been "phenomenal," Beach says, thanks in part to news media coverage. He adds that stocks actually sold out following monologue mentions from entertainers Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon. "Fortunately, we were able to restock within 48 hours," he says. "The item remains one of the top single-serve chips we sell."
Although many retailers now offer better-for-you foods and beverages under their own brands, few of them can lay claim to an extensive heath-minded lineup targeted solely to children. That's why we were impressed when El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market introduced a multi-SKU line of nutritious foods and beverages for kids last September.
The products run the gamut from classic kid favorites such as breakfast cereals to easy-to-prepare microwavable meals. "We wanted to provide our customers with a range of delicious and convenient products that kids will enjoy while providing the nutritional benefits parents want for their children," says Brendan Wonnacott, corporate affairs director for Fresh & Easy. He calls the fresh&easy products "a huge success" in terms of shopper acceptance. In fact, Fresh & Easy, which is owned by UK retailer Tesco, is working to expand the range in its U.S. stores. And the line recently was introduced into Tesco stores in the UK – under the Tesco Goodness label.
OK, technically it remains a work in progress, but Sunflower Farmers Market's massive packaging redesign project still deserves kudos, we think, thanks to its scope – approximately 600 existing private label products and a number of new ones – and how well the new packaging design manages to convey the "personality" of the Boulder, Colo.-based retailer. As Sage Horner, Sunflower's vice president, merchandising and marketing, puts it, the company is "on the goal line," with the first set of products sporting the new packaging set to hit store shelves right before press time.
Horner says the project came out of Sunflower's desire to match its store brand packaging to the kind of consumer messaging it worked so hard to achieve throughout the rest of the company. "We were looking for something that clearly maintained our kind of quirkiness," he says. "We were looking for something that was bright and visible and clean and just much more appealing to the eye." Speaking of quirkiness, the relatively small but growing retailer decided to keep its existing "Serious Food, Silly Prices" tagline on the new product packaging. That tagline, Horner says, meshes well with the retailer's philosophy. "The idea of 'serious food at a silly price' is our funny way of saying 'eat better at a value.' " Sunflower expects to get roughly 90 of the items with the new packaging on store shelves before year-end, Horner says. The transition will continue through 2012 and into 2013, he says.
The Fresh Market is the only retailer honored in our 2010 awards repeating a win in the same category for 2011. But we honestly cannot find a retailer that does a better job on Facebook discussing both new and existing store brand products.
"Scratch-like taste with none of the fuss – simple and absolutely delightful," the post reads. "Our new TFM baking mixes offer old fashioned favorites like Red Velvet Cupcakes, Carrot Spice Cupcakes, as well as a few new twists on standards like Maple Bacon Scone and Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Brownie Mix." And when a follower laments the fact that the mixes are not yet available in her local store, the Greensboro, N.C., retailer is quick to respond. The Fresh Market tries to stay focused on its customers and provide information that is relevant to them, stresses Andrew Lewis, the retailer's director of marketing. "As you might imagine, most communication is centered on our outstanding food quality," he says. "It really is just an extension of how we communicate with our customers in our stores." The company also strives to keep Facebook content fresh by posting about specials, events, new products and recipes, adds Patti Ezzell, project manager, web and electronic media. "And asking our customers' opinions about new products and dinner suggestions really peaks their interest," she says.
Many retailers include basic information about their private brand programs and products on their consumer websites. And some of them go even deeper with such efforts, putting their brands front and center on their sites and providing extras such as recipes, quality-related assurances and more.  But Minneapolis-based Supervalu one-ups its competitors not only by dedicating a separate website to its store brands program (www.supervalu-storebrands.com), but also by offering microsites for its Baby Basics, Culinary Circle and Wild Harvest brands. The main site details information about each of the retailer's 20 own brands and also includes a meal planning feature, numerous recipes and even cooking tools. The microsites, meanwhile, provide even more information about individual products available under the three featured mega-brands. "Our private brand websites are an important resource to build product awareness and understanding," maintains Susan Allen, Supervalu's director of private brands and strategic platforms. "We strive to reflect the brand promise and be a resource through helpful information the consumers are seeking, such as product line and usage applications, as well as inspiration for expanded uses via recipes. This will ultimately help create a competitive advantage for Supervalu by inciting increased loyalty of our shoppers." The retailer drives visibility and traffic to these websites via the product packages, cross-promotions with banner websites, and marketing materials such as in-store booklets and targeted communications, Allen notes. She adds that Supervalu is exploring ways "to further integrate the private brand web experience with the online banner experience, and evolving the content in conjunction with consumer expectations."
At a January event in Washington, D.C., featuring First Lady Michelle Obama, Walmart announced a commitment to provide its customers with healthier and more affordable food choices. Among the five elements of the program the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer outlined was the reformulation of thousands of everyday packaged food items by 2015 to reduce sodium by 25 percent and added sugars by 10 percent, as well as to remove all remaining industrially produced trans fats.
We congratulate Walmart for taking the lead on both the better-for-you and affordability fronts. "No family should have to choose between food that is healthier for them and food they can afford," Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said at the time of the announcement. "With more than 140 million customer visits each week, Walmart is uniquely positioned to make a difference by making food healthier and more affordable to everyone."
On National Picnic Day – June 18 – Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway not only broke the Guinness World Record for the world's longest picnic table, but also managed to create quite a buzz for its new Open Nature line of 100 percent natural foods. Located across the Marina Green in San Francisco, the table was almost the length of a football field. To add to the excitement, Safeway says it had Food Network TV chef and restaurateur Tyler Florence on hand to cook up some meals for picnic guests using the Open Nature store brand products.
"Since the restaurateur and Food Network star is known for his commitment to natural foods and is a Safeway shopper himself, his priorities aligned perfectly with what Open Nature stands for," she says. As for the picnic table, Cota says a Guinness World Records official determined the record was set at 12:45 p.m. PST. The table measured 305 feet. "To ensure success across communication platforms, we integrated various media and outreach methods and invited the community to participate," she adds. "More than 600 people joined Safeway and Tyler Florence on that beautiful day to enjoy the best of Open Nature Foods." The retailer followed the event with a Facebook contest to determine "America's Most Natural City." Voters vied for a chance to win a year's supply of Open Nature Foods, while the winning city (Portland, Ore.) received $20,000 for its parks and recreation department and 25 picnic tables sectioned off from the recording-breaking picnic table.
In late summer, Schnuck Markets, St. Louis, gave shoppers a chance to win $100 for each of the retailer's private brand products found in their homes, up to $5,000. We honor Schnucks for finding such a creative way to spur trial of its store brand products.
"In 2006, Schnucks made the decision to raise its private brand share penetration to 25 percent," he notes. "The Brand Adventure was a major initiative to achieve this goal." Guest response to the contest was "very positive," he says, resulting in a 3 percent sales increase. Teammates in individual stores helped ensure success through interaction with guests on a daily basis; they took the time to explain the contest and encourage entry. He also credits the stores' "remarkable" displays and creativity with drawing attention to the contest. "Schnucks' private brands' supplier partners are definitely the best in the business and offered significant display and price promotion support. These items were the basis of the stores' creativity for their displays," he notes. As for the winning entrants, they received, on average, $3,000 for the Schnucks private brand items in their homes, McMunn says.
Winn-Dixie Stores found a way to turn one of life's essentials – water – into a fund-raising vehicle for worthy causes. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based retailer partnered with its bottled water suppliers this past summer to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization that helps veterans injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Winn-Dixie offered 24-packs of commemorative bottled water and donated 10 cents to the organization for each pack sold. The project represented an encore of a 2010 fund-raising effort.
Winn-Dixie selected the two causes because its store locations are part of large military areas, and the programs created exposure to both the stores and the brand, explains Wesley Bean, Winn-Dixie's vice president, Own Brands strategy and innovation. And the retailer opted to use bottled water in its efforts because the product enjoys widespread usage. "It's a basic item that has high velocity and turn, and we believed we could communicate well with our guests through this product," he says. Bean says guest support of both programs was "phenomenal," far exceeding Winn-Dixie's expectations and goals. He adds that the retailer is always looking for philanthropic causes to support. "It makes business and economical sense to partner with our strategic suppliers to support the right philanthropic causes," he notes. |
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"We've had a long-standing commitment to partnering with both local farmers and local food producers," explains Christopher Ibsen, Piggly Wiggly's director of marketing, "and have a real tradition of serving as a launch pad for local entrepreneurs that have a dream."
Smart Sense covers hundreds of different products, ranging from food basics and paper products to health aids and household cleaners. And the Smart Sense name jibes well with consumers' new frugalness and Kmart's value positioning.
The line was inspired by the Mexican actress' grandmother, a cosmetologist who developed her own homemade beauty remedies. Each product in the line was influenced by Hayek's own beauty rituals and extensive global travels, CVS says. The products' formulas include many unique ingredients such as tepezcohuite, blue agave, prickly pear and lime enzyme.
"In developing the 7-Select Big Bite hot dog-flavored chip, our goal was to marry the brand equity of 7-Eleven's well-known Big Bite hot dog with the quality and value we offer in our 7-Select private brand," Alan Beach, vice president of merchandising for 7-Eleven, tells us. "Also, we carry a wide assortment of chip flavors, and the [7-Select] Big Bite hot dog-flavored chip is a point of differentiation for us."
Retailing under the fresh&easy Goodness brand, the range consists of "fun, delicious and convenient" products made from "wholesome, natural foods." Like all other fresh&easy products, these items contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives; no added trans fats; and no high-fructose corn syrup. Fresh & Easy says it also worked to limit the amount of sugar, sodium and fat in the products, and made sure the products contained no artificial sweeteners and no added caffeine.
"The first category we'll be launching will be cereal," he says. "It's 23 SKUs, 10 of which will be completely new [products]."
One recent post, for example, informs the retailer's 43,000-plus Facebook friends about a new TFM baking mix line.
The company said it would work with suppliers to improve the nutritional quality of both its own Great Value foods and national brand foods, in key product categories, to complete the reformulations. Walmart also said it would dramatically reduce or eliminate the price premium on key "better-for-you" items.
Nancy Cota, Safeway's vice president of innovation and new product development, says Florence was a natural fit for the event.
Schnucks says it selected eight winners at random, one from each trade area it serves. According to Tom McMunn, Schnucks' director, private brands development, the Schnucks Brand Adventure contest called for a collaborative effort among Schnucks, the on-site Daymon Worldwide team and the Daymon marketing group.
Winn-Dixie also introduced specially wrapped 24-packs of bottled water prior to last winter's holiday season to benefit the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program. Here, the retailer also donated 10 cents from each pack.
