Store Brands Q&A: Wakefern's Drive To Boost Own Brands Snacks

Responding to a change in consumer shopping habits when it comes to the snack foods they purchase, Wakefern is on the hunt for new suppliers to bolster its selection of products sold under its retail brands. 

As previously reported by Store Brands, Wakefern in May will host Own Brands CraveCon ‘24 in an effort to connect with new suppliers from the snack food world. 

“We are always looking for exciting new and trending products for potential addition to our award-winning Bowl & Basket and Wholesome Pantry store brands,” said Pam Ofri, Wakefern’s director of Product Development and Operations, Own Brands. “The snack summit is a great way to meet new and creative suppliers.”

Ofri spoke with Store Brands to offer more insight on Wakefern’s efforts to boost its private label snack mix and the motivating factors driving the company’s efforts.

STORE BRANDS: What are the motivating factors that led Wakefern to host its Own Brands summit for snacks?

PAM OFRI: The annual Own Brands supplier summit allows us to reach out directly to potential manufacturers and suppliers to learn about the latest food innovations and taste sensations. This year, we are looking to expand our popular snack category by seeking manufacturers who make a variety of unique treats. We know the category is growing and demand for different snacks, especially spicy and tangy foods, are also on the rise.

STORE BRANDS: Has Wakefern seen any significant changes in the snack purchasing habits of its customers?

OFRI: Our customers have come to expect their favorite snacks at the best possible value, and our goal with our own brands is to provide that value and stay on trend with offerings even as tastes change. We are seeing more shoppers buy multiples of select, value priced snack items, and demand for innovative and interesting flavors remains high. Multipack, on-the-go snacks are another important area of growth that we are seeing. With the easing of supply challenges, more limited time offers (LTOs) are also coming back in the snack category.

We consider all these things as we grow our own brands snack category and work to provide the most delicious snacks at the best value to customers.  

STORE BRANDS: In seeking new product submissions from suppliers, Wakefern put forth a broad selection of categories. Are there any specific snack categories Wakefern has prioritized for growth in the near term?

OFRI: We want to grow the entire snack category and our overall theme for the snack summit is indulgence: treating yourself and trying something new. That is why we are seeking manufacturer submissions for a broad range of snack options that include but are not limited to cookies, brownies, salty snacks, crackers, meat snacks, snack nuts, seeds, dried fruits, salsa/dip, snack cakes/pies, snack bars/bites, nut butters, jams, baking mixes and ingredients, cereal and granola.

STORE BRANDS: Wakefern said it has had success with Bowl & Basket potato chips. What has been key to the success of this product?

OFRI: We’ve enjoyed success with our potato chips because we really delivered the next generation of innovative, high-quality and exciting chips when we introduced our Bowl & Basket potato chips in 2019. The quality, taste and variety of our Bowl & Basket chips is of utmost importance to us. 

Take, for example, our affordable kettle-cooked Bowl & Basket specialty potato chips with rich gourmet flavors like Maui Sweet Onion, Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper and Jalapeno, and recent additions such as Bowl & Basket Fiery Hot and Buffalo Style & Blue Cheese flavored chips. Our Bowl & Basket Specialty Kettle Chips have received Gold in the Best in Show category in the Vertex awards for packaging.

Additionally, our customers expect incredible quality and taste at affordable prices, and we believe our Bowl & Basket chips deliver on that value proposition with our unique and inspired recipes and beautiful packaging.

STORE BRANDS: What impact has the success Bowl & Basket and Wholesome Pantry had on the company’s decision to expand both brands into other categories?

OFRI: Customer love and loyalty for our own brands allows us to build upon and expand into new categories to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations. Investments in our private label portfolio are always laser focused on value, quality and innovation, and our customers have embraced the brands and made them successful.

We will continue to add new items and look forward to meeting with manufacturers later this year to sample their snacks during our Own Brands summit. And we can’t wait to bring new and exciting snacks to our shelves and to our customers.