Archive for A&P
PLMA Awards Excellence in Private Brand
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The PLMA just published its Salute to Excellence Awards featuring winners from around the country in more than thirty categories. Products were evaluated on taste, performance, packaging, product appearance and value for money.
Take a look at some of my personal favorites.
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
Winn-Dixie: 100 Calorie Snack Pack
Price Chopper Supermarkets
Central Market Classics: Thai Chili Roasted Garlic
Hannaford Bros. Co.
Taste of Inspirations: Chocolate Chip Cookie Meltdown
Target
Archer Farms: Roasted Salsa Verde
A & P
Green Way: Eco-Friendly All Purpose Cleaner
Whole Foods Market
Whole Paws: Hip & Joint Formula Dog Biscuits
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Jane Parker, A&P & Fruitcake.
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Montvale, NJ based grocer A&P will once again feature its iconic Private Brand Jane Parker fruit cakes at its A&P, Waldbaum’s, The Food Emporium, SuperFresh and Pathmark stores. The cakes have been sold for more than 75 years and are available in both light and dark versions and in loaf and ring shapes. The vintage ad above recalls a A&P and Jane Parker that was mythic America.
PLMA Kicks Off With a Bang!
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The PLMA Trade Show floor opened this morning with a crowd of more than 4500 retailers, brokers other related Private Brand attendees. The activities actually began Sunday afternoon with a keynote address from Wes Bray, of Retail Optimization Inc. Wes introduced his company’s software designed to optimize product selection and facing across the store. This year’s show includes a series of educational seminars on a variety of Private Brand related subjects including:
Following Wes’s presentation there were two sets of five presentations to chose from arranged in broad categories that included: market research, marketing, package & design and testing & certification. Suffice it to say barring cloning I was only able to attend two of these.
The Marketing session presented by John Wilkins, VP of Retail Strategy at Miller Zell his presentation was titled, “ Activating Store Environments to Sell the Retail Brands” John’s basic premise was that retailers are missing a huge opportunity when they do not take advantage of their stores to promote their brands. John presented a series of videos from focus groups as well as a case study about a test conducted at the southern grocer Bi-Lo. I have written about in store opportunities many times so it was nice to see my thoughts validated by some pretty compelling consumer insights and a interesting retail test.
The second session I attended was in the package & design track and featured Perry Seelert from united* DSN, Perry’s presentation was titled, “Re-defining Retail: How image, structure & language are driving proprietary brands.” Perry presented several case studies on the work his agency has done with A&P. I have written about Via Roma, Hartford Reserve and Greenway before and once again this is nice work. Perry has the ability to turn a great phrase so here are a few of his words of wisdom:
“Any idiot could sell Private Brand right now.”
“The (Private Brand) trend is so powerful that it creates a false sense of confidence, when the trend is not our friend the retailers who created true brands will survive.”
“Where can we embrace humor in Private Brand.”
Tomorrow is the last day of the show however you will continue to see notes and posts that are a result of the show, Look for the highlights of Innovation Hall, the Idea Supermarket, a collection of cool products, some potentially interesting strategic moves by major retailers and more on the seminars and speakers.
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Posted by: | CommentsThe first day of the Private Label Impact Conference has come and gone, and I am happy to say it has been a rousing success. A attentive crowd of decision makers from OfficeMax, Supervalu, A&P, Daymon Worldwide, Cott Beverage, Kraft, Pepsi, Interbrand, Coleman Brand Works, T. Marzetti, United, Cliffstar and the Hartman Group just to name a few. The morning started out with a fascinating presentation from Michelle Barry, Senior Vice President of The Hartman Group. Her presentation entitled Private Label: Redefining the Meaning of Brand was a intriguing look at the research and insights the Hartman Group is bringing to Private Brands. Her assertion that “There is no value customer” caused a palpable gasp in the audience.
This was followed by a joint presentation from Doug Palmer, Vice President Own Brands, A&P and Perry Seelert, Partner, united* on the “Changing Face of Retail” The presentation included case studies for the new A&P Private Brands, Via Roma, Hartford Reserve and Greenway. Doug was refreshingly honest with the history of A&P and its well-reported ups and downs. Going so far as to say that part of the impetus for these new and innovative Private Brands came from those challenges.
“Sometimes you think about things differently when you (A&P) are near death”
“Retailer Driven Innovation and Branding” was next on the roster with Mike Kitz, Vice President, OfficeMax Brands presenting the evolution of the OfficeMax retail brand as well as case studies on the product innovation and brand development of the writing instrument brand Tul brand, the organization brand In Place and Infuse the brand developed for fashionable white boards.
The afternoon included presentations from Yasmin Saddiqi of Dupont, “How good Packaging Will Strengthen Your Brand; Trudi-Ann Webster of Cott Beverage, Brand, Price and Packaging Architecture: The Right Mix for Your Customer and a extensive presentation from Thomas Ewing of T Marzetti, Director, National Accounts, Private Label & International, who spoke on, “How Branded and Private Label Can Work Together To Achieve Category Goals.”
The highlight of the afternoon was the presentation from Patrick McCarthy, Senior Director of Strategy and Marketing for Daymon Worldwide. Patrick presented, “The Retailer Private Brand Strategy: What Are they Doing, Why Are they Doing IT and How Your Brand Will Be Impacted.” Patrick called on his experience with HEB, SuperValu and Daymon to address the concerns of both Private Brand and National Brand listeners in the audience. He sounded my now familiar refrain of Private Brand instead of Private Label and told the crowd that best in class retailers where placing Private Brand as a strategic pillar in their enterprise strategies. Exciting, challenging and correct.
The day ended with networking drinks and a great Chicago deep dish pizza at Geno’s East.
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Posted by: | CommentsPackaging Digest Online — Converting Magazine has an interesting interview with Richard Fox Jr., PACK EXPO show committee chairman and president on the show, which began today at the Las Vegas Convention Center. With 1,200 exhibitors and close to 21,000 pre-registered attendees the show appears to be off to a good start.
The following is an excerpt from the interview:
Q: The private-label-focused keynote sessions are also new for PACK EXPO. Can you give us a preview of what will be addressed?
Fox: We’ve all heard about the climb in private-label sales as consumers around the world struggle with a difficult economic climate. In addition to improved product quality, packaging has played a key role in transforming consumer perception of retail brands from ‘generic’ basics to competitive, must-have brands. Because packaging is often is the primary form of advertising for private-label brands, manufacturers have placed a greater emphasis on innovation and have in some cases, led on this front.
With this scenario playing out in the market, it was a natural choice for us to address the trend as part of the Conference at PACK EXPO. We’re very pleased to have executives from three prominent retailers joining us to offer their unique perspectives on private-label brands.
Doug Palmer - VP of Own Brands, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co
Doug Palmer, VP of Own Brands, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., will kick off the keynote series Monday, providing insight into the evolution of store brands and examining evolving consumer perceptions with “Future of Retailer Packaging and Branding-the A&P Story.”
Tuesday, Andrew Abraham, VP of Our Own Brands for Supervalu, will deliver his presentation, “Packaging-A Holistic Approach to Winning.” Abraham will challenge packaging suppliers, contract packagers and designers to bring innovative technologies and concepts to the burgeoning private label sector.
Doug Palmer will be speaking at the Private Label Impact Conference in Chicago, October 27-28. To receive a 20% discount on your registration just for reading this blog use this code when registering, PL09CD
REGISTER TODAY!
Powerful New Private Brands United at A&P
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In this article from Package Design Magazine, Perry Seelert of managing partner of United* DSN, a design consultancy based in New York and San Francisco discusses the work his firm has done with A&P
Both Perry Seelert and Doug Palmer, Vice President of Own Brands at A&P will be presenting at the upcoming Private Label Impact conference in Chicago.
Revolutionizing Retail Branding
A&P Debuts Three Premium Brands That Seize the Day in Private Label
There is an excitement in the air about retail brands and reinventing “private label,” and there is lots of speculation about whether or not the economy will create a permanent shift in consumer behavior. I, for one, think our current behavior is a temporary phenomenon. Very quickly our memories will be erased and even cyclical demand in many categories will overwhelm our so-called “passion for thrift” and suppressions of the moment.
We are creatures of our current means and current culture, and the media is even a more Pavlovian driver than ever, so having just experienced the greatest recession in 80 years, now look out for the greatest bounce back. And what would this mean for retail brands? It will mean that most retailers have missed their biggest strategic branding opportunity of a lifetime.
I do think there are some select retailers whose more emotional, strategically considered retail brands will remain preferred by shoppers—even when the economy starts to recover—and one of them that is successfully breaking the mold is A&P. It is ironic that A&P, the first national supermarket chain in the U.S. and the first to launch their own brands in 1880, is again redefining the industry with powerful new retail brands.
Read the entire article: Revolutionizing Retail Branding
To see both Perry Seelert and Doug Palmer, Vice President of Own Brands at A&P present the A&P Private Brand story join me at Private Label Impact Conference October 27-28 in Chicago.
MY PRIVATE BRAND SPECIAL DISCOUNT
To receive a 20% discount on your registration just for reading this blog use this code when registering PL09CD
REGISTER TODAY!
A&P Features Private Brands.
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Not long before the recession’s start, A&P launched a strategy of significantly enhancing the quality of the food in its stores, particularly in departments where it believed it could establish a competitive advantage, and, despite the recession, it isn’t backing off its better edibles stance. This two part article from Bnet interviews Christian Haub, A&P’s executive chairman, with
According to the article:
The one strategy that has been very successful is the sale of private label, our own brands that we have an opportunity to highlight even more so because consumers are looking for that cheaper alternative. We have seen tremendous growth over the past six to 12 months with our own brands.
Part One of Two
Q&A: A&P Chairman Haub Backs Better Food’s Advantages in Recession, Pt. 1Q&A: A&P Chairman Haub Backs Better Food’s Advantages in Recession
Part Two of Two
Q&A: A&P Chairman Haub Backs Better Food’s Advantages, Private Label
I will be the chairperson for the The Private Label Impact Conference in Chicago, October 27-28 which will include a presentation by Doug Palmer, Vice President of Own Brands, A&P titled “The Changing Face of Retail.”
Learn more about the conference and receive a special My Private Brand discount on registration.
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A&P has launched a Private Brand extension of its America’s Choice brand, “America’s Choice Kids.” The new sub brand was developed in partnership with registered dietitians to be better for kids.
According to the website:
Items were selected based on ingredients and overall nutritional quality to promote growth and development – including low saturated fat, source of dietary fiber and whole grains, essential vitamins and minerals, age appropriate portions, and adequate calories. The program is based on the belief that kids can make better food choices when educated appropriately on food nutritionals, and that many foods can fit into a child’s diet in moderation.
The line will include: Soy butter, graham crackers, cereal, fruit cups and raisins are among the products being offered at A&P’s Pathmark, A&P, Waldbaums, Superfresh and Food Basics.
All America’s Choice Kids products are based on healthy ingredients and include low saturated fat, sources of dietary fiber and whole grains, vitamins and minerals, and age-appropriate portion sizes and caloric content, according to an ad in A&P’s “Easy Solutions” consumer magazine.
A new website contains product information, games, activities, nutritional tips, healthy recipes, and parent and teacher information.
In a time when the economy seems to be driving all decisions to strict ROI, it is nice to see a launch of a healthy foods brands for our kids. This has the potential to really thrive as the economy begins to improve.
If you enjoyed this post, get FREE updates when you subscribe to Myprivatebrand’s Blog by Email.$107.5 Million Worth of Great Taste?
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Private brand coffee seems to be all the rage, ranging from a decent Harris Teeter brand coffee, to Costco’s Kirkland’s and most surprising to the free trade that Walmart and its warehouse cousin are selling. Consumer Reports announced in its March issue the results of its coffee testing and the original private brand coffee Eight O’clock 100% Colombian took the top prize. Eight O’clock Coffee 100% Colombian ($6.28 a pound), won consumer Report’s “Best Combination of Taste and Price.” Testers raved that the coffee possesses “a complex blend of earthy and fruity, with a bright, pleasing sourness.” Most surprising of the 19 ground coffees tested Starbucks Coffee Colombia ($11.53 per pound) didn’t even place.
But wait a minute Eight O’Clock isn’t a private brand, is it?
Eight O’Clock Coffee was introduced by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in 1919. By the late Eight O’clock coffee had gained over a quarter of the U.S. market share. In 1979 A&P licensed its division Compass Foods, Inc. to sell Eight O’clock coffee to other retailers including competing grocers. In 2003 they agreed to sell its Eight O’clock coffee division for at least $107.5 million to Gryphon Investors. So now 150 years later Eight O’clock Coffee the one time Private Brand is celebrating its anniversary redesign. But, they’re letting their customers pick the final design. If you read this blog often you have seen articles on Raley’s using similar tactics with their marketing. So check out their website and vote for the one you like, and you could WIN $5,000 in groceries.
The real question here is not whether Eight O’Clock is a Private Brand but whether we are building brands that are truly assets and could one day sell for $100 million dollars?
