Private Label Programs Take Off

According to The NPD Group's "Private Label Perceptions, Usage Patterns and Intentions," 24 percent of all food and beverages served in American homes last year were store brands, up from 18 percent in 1999. Today, 97 percent of all households consume private label foods on a regular basis.

"There is no question that private label foods have become an integral part of American life," said Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at NPD and author of "Eating Patterns in America." He added: "Furthermore, we do not hide private label foods as an ingredient or as an additive to another dish. Today over half of all store brand food eatings are the end dish."

BrandWeek

Burger King Apple Fries Headed For Supermarkets

Following its foray into chips, BK extends into grocery with (naturally) apples.

BK executives characterized the snack's launch as being more about brand visibility than revenue, and the chain says this is also true for the Apple Fries retail extension. "The program will result in revenue, but that is not the primary focus," according to a spokesperson.

MediaPost

Grocery Stores Fight Back Against Food Prices

A year ago, when the cost of commodities such as wheat, oil, and corn was soaring, grocers grudgingly accepted price increases from Kellogg (K), General Mills (GIS), H.J. Heinz, (HNZ) and other food manufacturers. The strange thing is, those price tags never came back down, even when commodity prices collapsed in the fourth quarter of 2008. As a result, grocers have little cheer to offer their shoppers at a time of deepening economic gloom. "The prices don't seem to go down as fast as they go up," says Jeffrey Noddle, CEO of Minneapolis-based Supervalu, one of the nation's leading grocers.

Business Week

Crushin'

On Thursday Tammy and I had a quick trip to Minneapolis for some ConAgra work, and the one thing that will probably stick with me the most had nothing to do with our project. It was our trip to the grocery. Byerly's to be specific.

I had never heard of this chain before (I think it only exists in Minnesota), but it was the model of an upscale grocery experience. And it was full grocery, not a specialty place like Whole Foods or Fresh Market.

Beautifully lit, airy, open, bright, with wide aisles, the environment encouraged browsing. Beautiful store brand packaging sat proudly next to national brand competition. A wide array of prepared foods was available, along with the expected pharmacy, meat counter, coffee bar, etc.

But things went from mild flirtation to full on crush at the checkout line. There, after more than a few minutes of confusion on our part, our groceries were bagged, put into grey plastic tubs and whisked away. Instead of the bags and our cart, we were handed two license plate-looking things. The cashier patiently explained to the out-of-towners that we were to pull our car around the side and our groceries would be waiting for us. Sure enough, down a little carousel came our tubs of groceries. We said put 'em in the back seat, the man did, and off we went. It was somewhat magical.

Since then I have joked with friends that it was enough to make me want to move to Minneapolis. That's probably an overstatement, but it was certainly memorable and based on just one trip I have been spreading the brand's message to anyone who will listen.

Kroger, you listening?

lundsandbyerlys.com

Chiquita's not just about bananas

To that end, Chiquita continues to focus on diversifying the long-time banana giant into something more - expanding into portable snacks and drinks while further growing the previous acquisition of prepackaged salad company Fresh Express.

Cincinnati Enquirer

Supermarkets' own brands filling more shopping carts

As budgets get tighter and food gets more expensive, American shoppers are increasingly switching to store brands -- even upper-income consumers who may not have been inclined to give them a try before.

LA Times