Top Women In Store Brands 2023: Elizabeth Erby
For more than a decade, Store Brands and Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE) have teamed to honor women across the private label industry who have had and continue to have a major impact in the store brand segment.
From supply chain, to sales, marketing, finance and more, members of the Class of 2023 each play a vital role in moving store brands forward amid new and on-going challenges that include rising prices, capacity issues with manufacturers, and evolving demand from consumers.
The following is the profile of Elizabeth Erby of Sprouts Farmers Market, the 2023 honoree in the Marketing and Merchandising category.
Driving Innovation
In 2022, sales of private brand products at Sprouts Farmers Market surpassed the $1 billion mark, a notable achievement for the grocer that continues to grow. Playing a major role in that growth has been Elizabeth Erby, who is a 2023 Top Women In Store Brands honoree in the marketing and merchandising category.
Responsible for ensuring the implementation of packaging designs and the overall look and feel of approximately 3,000 Sprouts brand products, Erby leads an internal brand team as well as managing numerous external relationships with design agencies and pre-press partners, ensuring compliance with the design approach she has put in place. She also oversees the strategy for building brand awareness for Sprouts private brand in conjunction with the grocer’s marketing team.
“I feel privileged to receive the (Top Women In Store Brands) honor and I’m thankful to have had such wonderful teams, supportive cross-functional partners and encouraging leaders that have supported me and the work that my team has done, over the years,” she said.
A seasoned retail professional with more than 15 years of experience in the private brand industry, Erby began her career at Macy’s in men’s clothing, swimwear and shorts, but quickly discovered her passion for private brands. She moved into the grocery world of private label in 2013.
At Sprouts, Erby has embedded a strong and robust design strategy and process. She has built a team from scratch, developing processes, engaging external and internal partners and bringing them along the way with the new process. She has initiated and led the redesign of the Sprouts private brand products and coordinated and helped deliver more than 1,500 new designs with around 600 on shelf to date.
“I’ve spent years in merchandising, managing businesses from end to end, developing unique and differentiated products in private label, building and leading a digital merchandising team in eCommerce and leading an innovation team that drove trend-forward product ideation,” Erby said. “All of these experiences have helped me gain a broader perspective of the business and how we keep our customers coming back for more all while building some incredible relationships with key partners along the way.”
Erby is not only passionate about her work, but is also a strong advocate for Sprouts’ culture and values. She is one of a select group of individuals who leads the company’s Culture & Values facilitation workshops for new and existing team members.
Erby has facilitated 13, two-day Culture and Values Activation workshops for Sprouts’ store support and field team members, cascading its values and culture to more than 300 Sprouts team members over the past 12-months.
