Cream Of The Crop

Our first-ever Store Brand Achievement Awards honor eight retailers for innovation and creativity in store brand product development and marketing.

It used to be that the national brands pretty much had a monopoly on innovation and creativity in relation to product development and marketing. But tough times and shifting consumer attitudes have helped to jumpstart a bit of store brand magic on the part of some forward-thinking retailers.

Wanting to honor these store brand overachievers, we at Progressive Grocer's Store Brands, with the help of the Progressive Grocer staff, took a comprehensive look at food, drug and mass merchandise retailers' store brand-related product development and marketing efforts over the last 18 months. The result? Our first-ever Store Brand Achievement Awards, which honor a deserving retailer in each of eight different achievement categories. Read on to learn more about the winning retailers.

Best New Product or Product Line

Kroger Co.

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. debuted its mirra line of products in late 2009, billing the line as an "easy-to-use, exclusive health and beauty care brand for family-focused women seeking effortless beauty." The products, which tout natural ingredients and proven technologies, run the gamut from shampoos, conditioners and body-care items to skincare aids and makeup brushes. They also are designed to meet three different needs: Daily (for routine personal care); Renew (for a rejuvenating timeout); and Inspire (for quick transformations for a night out).

We were impressed by not only the breadth of products offered, but also the sophisticated formulations (for example, hair-care items feature ingredients such as sunflower extract and chicory root, while body-care products boast innovative fragrances such as Black Tea & Cracked Pepper and Japanese Yuzu). The attribute that most attracted our attention, however, was the simply stunning packaging design.

Although Kroger launched the mirra line without much fanfare, it followed up with an online survey of woman consumers ("What Do Women Want?"), the results of which were picked up on many female-oriented blogs. Among the survey's results:

• Seventy-seven percent said beauty products that have both natural ingredients and proven technologies (mirra's forte) work best.
• Only 9 percent said products with all-natural ingredients, alone, were best; and 14 percent said the same of proven technology-only products.
• Seventy-one percent said they don't have a lot of time and don't spend a lot of time on their beauty routine — 10 minutes at most.

According to an Aug. 13 Associated Press article, the mirra line has experienced very brisk sales since its launch. In response, the retailer expanded offerings here. Mirra products now number almost 100 strong — and Kroger has plans in the works for more, including anti-wrinkle products with retinol-A, next summer.

Best New Natural, Organic or Better-for-You Product or Product Line

Target Corp.

We already loved the Archer Farms brand from Target Corp. — and its focus on truly unique, yet affordable products in cool packaging. So when the Minneapolis-based retailer expanded on that brand to create the Archer Farms Simply Balanced line at the end of last year, we expected to be wowed. And we weren't disappointed.

The brand can be found across a number of product categories, including pasta, cereal, bread, crackers, granola bars, frozen pizza and more. The new lineup promises to take the guesswork out of eating right. How? By offering foods that meet very strict criteria for total fat, saturated fat, and sugar — and contain 0 grams trans fat and no artificial flavors, synthetic colors or artificial sweeteners and food additives — and then providing clear front-of-pack labeling that shows consumers how each product stacks up.

"We placed a ribbon on the front of the package to call out key attributes like calories, fat and sodium to make finding critical nutritional information easier for our guests," explains Annette Miller, senior vice president, merchandising - grocery for Target.

She says the retailer developed the criteria based on recommendations from its nutrition experts, as well as guest feedback. The products also offer increased nutrition through positive natural nutrients such as whole grains and full servings of vegetables.

"We've been very pleased with the success of Archer Farms Simply Balanced thus far," Miller adds. "Sales have exceeded our expectations in the first year, with the strongest guest response in the bread, cereal, snack and beverage categories."

Best Product Re-launch or Revamp

Duane Reade

Months before the New York City-based Duane Reade drug chain made national headlines for its acquisition by the Walgreen Co. of Deerfield, III., it was stirring up some excitement locally with a major redesign of its private label portfolio. The project, which involved packaging redesigns and/or product development across some 2,000 SKUs, involved a collaboration between the retailer and CBX, a New York-based strategic branding company.

It's hard not to be awed by the results. The company's DR national-brand-equivalent health and beauty line was treated to bright-colored bands against a white background, while the Apt. 5 household products brand got a new positioning (toward apartment living) and a bright, colorful look. A "green" counterpart was developed for the Apt. 5 brand as well.

Duane Reade also introduced a completely new brand — the DR Delish line of premium foods — in elegant black and white packaging featuring New York-themed photography and proprietary artwork depicting the city's landmarks. But what really caught our eye was the new treatment the retailer chose for its "value" line of products: The products boast illustrations of New York landmarks in a play on the UPC code.

Paul Tiberio, senior vice president of merchandising and marketing for Duane Reade, explains that the retailer's new senior management made a strategic decision to introduce a European-style private brand program.

"Our overall private brand goal is to create exclusive store brands that drive customer loyalty," he says. "We renovated the entire private brand portfolio and selected this distinguishing 'cityscape/unbranded' range for our 'everyday great value' range of food and household products."

Tiberio says customer reaction to the redesign was immediate — and very positive. Comments Duane Reade has received through a variety of channels take note of the eye-catching New York images and quirky copy lines.

"This memorable design stands out, and further sets our popular private brands apart from others in the marketplace," he adds. "It is a strategic imperative that we drive our private brands apart from others in the marketplace."

Best Use of Social Media To Promote Store Brands

The Fresh Market

While some retailers still are testing out the Twitter and Facebook waters (or haven't even dipped their toes in yet), others truly are embracing social media as a way to promote their stores and build customer loyalty. And when it comes to the promotion of store brands, we sincerely could not find a retailer doing a better job here than The Fresh Market. The Greensboro, N.C.-based grocery retailer uses Facebook not only to get the word out on new TFM products, but also to engage its nearly 18,000 fans, on an almost daily basis, in the store brand experience. A typical post: "We've teamed up with The Republic of Tea to create a wonderful autumn tea filled with flavors of pumpkin and spice! Try a cup of TFM Pumpkin Spice Tea with milk and honey for a sweet and spicy treat anytime."

What's more, The Fresh Market responds promptly to the many comments and questions on its store brand-related posts, addressing each Facebook fan personally. And it also relies on Facebook to fill folks in on store brand contests and events, including the first-ever TFM Recipe Challenge the retailer held last spring.

"At The Fresh Market, we view social media as another way to connect with customers," explains Andrew Lewis, the company's marketing director. "So, just as our employees communicate the tremendous quality and value of our private brands in our stores in a one-to-one setting, we also capitalize on social media to share the same message with a broader audience."

Perhaps Facebook works so well for The Fresh Market because the retailer makes a point of talking with fans instead of at them. That means it not only is able to share more detailed information about its private brand offerings, but also is able to obtain feedback on such products, Lewis says, and get input regarding new products customers would like to see in stores.

"We're fortunate that our customers enjoy interacting with us on Facebook, so we want to provide information that's relevant to them," he adds. "Often, that means responding to their specific questions or requests."

He adds that marketers who view social media as just "another media channel to push their message" really are missing an opportunity to have a meaningful dialogue with their shoppers.

Best Use of Retail Website To Promote, Store Brands

Food Lion

Some food, drug and mass merchandise retailers maintain great-looking websites, but make no mention of their private brands. Others include basic information, often buried deep within the site. But a select few make store brands a key focus of website communications. And we believe Food Lion of Salisbury, N.C., does it best among those select few.

Visitors to the Food Lion website are greeted by a homepage with a highly visible menu that includes "Food Lion Private Brands" among five clickable options. A simple click from there takes folks to the entire world of Food Lion's own brands (at press time, the interactive "Food Lion Brand Price Check Challenge" also was front and center).

The retailer makes it easy for site visitors to learn about specific product lines, organizing the information logically, with tabs for Food Lion Brand, Value Brand (Smart Option), Health & Beauty, Home Essentials, Baby Care, Pet Care, Home Meal Solutions and Natural & Organic. Under the Food Lion Brand section, the retailer explains: "When you purchase Food Lion brand products, you should know you're getting the best: best in quality, best in variety and best in value. We search the world for products that are worthy of our name, then submit them to rigorous quality assurance analyses and blind taste tests. We also offer a consumer hotline, and guarantee your satisfaction or your money back."

To drive home the quality message, Food Lion even incorporates a video that gives folks a behind-the-scenes "tour" of its private brands test kitchen and quality assurance lab. And the whole website section is accompanied by great photography of every store brand line.

Best Use of Store Brands To Promote Health and Wellness

Wegmans

When it comes to food trends with legs, health and wellness has to be number one. And you'd be hard-pressed to find a retailer that's not trying to cater to its customers in the better-for-you arena. But Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans has been singing the health and wellness song for a lot longer than most of its competitors — and has made store brands a crucial part of the melody.

Wegmans relies on six registered dietitians to share their nutritional expertise with customers, in store, online and through its own Menu magazine. The regional retailer works Wegmans products into its online "get started" shopping guides for special diets designed for diabetes, heart health, food allergies and more. Through its website, Wegmans also shares with shoppers the calorie, fat and nutrient content for its own deli, bakery, prepared, seafood, meat, cheese shop, and olive bar products.

What's more, a number of Wegmans products are formulated to promote health and wellness. The latest? Wegmans Super Pasta, which boasts an entire serving of whole grains, extra protein and fiber, calcium, vitamin D and ALA omega-3s — while looking and tasting like traditional pasta.

But that's just the tip of the health and wellness iceberg for Wegmans.

"We focus on helping our customers lead healthier, better lives — whether that is helping them to eat more fruits and vegetables or providing them with the information they need to achieve their health and wellness goals," explains Mike DeCory, vice president of Wegmans brand. "To us, it makes perfect sense that this is one of the roles of our own brand."

DeCory points to a number of health and wellness efforts that are particularly important to Wegmans, including the establishment of nutrition guidelines for recipes it develops for its Menu magazine, the inclusion of wellness keys on Wegmans brand product labels and on recipes, and making own-brand nutrition information available online.

"We are honored to be recognized in a category that aligns so closely with our priorities and our mission," he adds. "It tells us that we are working on the right thing."

Best Achievement in Store Brand Marketing

Save A Lot

As the "new kid on the block" in Opelousas, La., Save-A-Lot wanted to introduce itself and its store brands to its neighbors. But this subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Supervalu didn't limit itself to flyers or signage to get the word out. Instead, the discount grocery retailer took its message to the streets, assembling almost 4,000 bags of groceries, filled with its exclusive brands, and delivering them — unannounced — door to door.

"Save-A-Lot is all about making savings easy, and what's easier than bringing our own-brand products directly to [the shopper's] house?" notes Mark Kotcher, the retailer's director, brand marketing and design.

Save-A-Lot's exclusive high-quality brands are really what make the retailer unique, Kotcher explains, and the giveaway was designed to help alter any preconceived notions related to sub-par quality.

"We assembled 3,884 bags at the Opelousas store and had a street team of folks go door to door, in essence, giving goodwill to the community," he says.

But the effort — accomplished over four days in 100-degree heat — wasn't easy to pull off, Kotcher stresses.

"This was a unique idea that, to our knowledge, hadn't ever been done before," he says. "But in the end, we pulled it off and are beginning to see new faces in the store."

Kotcher adds that the delivery team made sure to have a face-to-face conversation with every one of the neighbors, personalizing the experience.

Remember the grocery store your mom went to where they knew her name? We're bringing personal back," he says. "Yes, we want to drive sales; yes, we want to drive traffic. But at the same time, we can be good stewards in our community."

Reaction to the very localized program, meanwhile, has been "overwhelming," Kotcher says, pointing to excited, grateful neighbors and a store manager who has been extremely busy fielding phone calls.

"We hope we're starting a trend," he adds, "to think about business differently, to get outside of the traditional model and create emotional connections with consumers in unique ways rather than simply running a TV campaign or creating a social media presence."

Best Store Brand-Related Shopper Contest

Spartan Stores

The national brands long have understood they can boost sales by creating and publishing recipes that rely on their products as ingredients. In recent years, a number of retailers also have been capitalizing on the shopper appeal of recipes to enhance store brand sales. But Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spartan Stores put a new spin on recipe creation by turning it into a shopper contest centered on store brand ingredients.

The Spartan Brand Online Holiday Recipe contest, held in late 2009, challenged entrants to submit holiday recipes showcasing Spartan brand ingredients. Entrants were tasked with providing a list of all ingredients, all preparation directions and a photograph of the finished recipe that also showed the packages of Spartan Brand products used during recipe preparation. The Grand Prize winner, Sally Sibthorpe, received 10 $100 Spartan Stores gift certificates for her winning recipe — Cranberry Maple Mustard Chicken Wings — which called for six different Spartan brand ingredients. (A number of other prizes also were awarded).

Jeanne Norcross, vice president of corporate affairs for Spartan Stores, says the retailer developed the contest to promote involvement with its private label brand and to increase awareness of product quality and value.

"The Spartan brand has the highest consumer awareness in Michigan of all competitive private brands," she notes, "and the contest was designed to keep these products in the front of customers' minds throughout the busy holiday shopping/baking season. This venue offered consumers a way to share their creativity online, while building our online recipe database."

Norcross says shoppers were "very enthusiastic" about the contest, which came at a time when home cooking and baking were in high demand. (She adds that post-analysis, however, indicated the contest and its required tasks might have posed challenges for some people during an already-hectic holiday season.)

Spartan Stores held an in-store event to give the Grand Prize winner her award and introduce her to the local store staff, Norcross says. (The retailer posted the winning recipe and most of the other prize-winning recipes to its online recipe database, including both the entrant's name and the prize awarded.)

"We were pleased with consumers' enthusiasm for the event and will look for more opportunities to promote consumer interaction with the brands," she adds, "such as the Spartan Challenge currently found in Spartan stores."