US supermarket giants Albertsons and Kroger are raising the stakes in organic food retail by ramping up their private label offers in 2018.
Earlier this month Albertsons announced that its popular Own Brands label, O Organics, had become a $1 billion brand, which it hailed as “a major milestone for one of the nation’s largest brands of USDA-certified organic products”.
O Organics – exclusive to Albertsons – features more than 1,000 USDA certified organic products. Last year the retailer added a further 200 new products to the range helping sales to grow more than 15%. In 2018, the company expects to introduce 500 or more new products under the O Organics line, from produce, dairy and meats, to deli, snacks and baby items.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to go organic – whether you are selectively choosing a few organic products or you have fully embraced eating organics,” said Geoff White, president of Albertsons Companies’ own brands. “That’s why we offer such a wide assortment of O Organics products, from fresh fruits and vegetables to wholesome dairy and meats, cereals, snacks and more. We are honoured that customers love our O Organics, and have made it not only the top-selling organic brand in our stores, but also a $1 billion brand.”
Meanwhile, Kroger has announced the expansion of its Simple Truth brand, and launch of its largest-ever Our Brands customer sales promotion.
Kroger introduced Simple Truth in 2012, and the brand now offers over 1,400 unique products across multiple categories, including grocery, meat, produce, deli, bakery, baby, household essentials and personal care. Kroger says the range also offers more Fair Trade Certified products than any other private label grocery brand in the the US.
“We’re proud of the high-quality ingredients that go into our Simple Truth products. We’re equally proud of what’s not in these foods. Simple Truth® products are free from 101+ artificial preservatives and ingredients,” said Robert Clark, Kroger’s senior vice president of merchandising. “Instead of GMOs and antibiotics, Simple Truth offers clean labels and fantastic flavours. Kroger has led the way for more than a decade in making natural and organic products more mainstream and accessible. We’ve always believed that our customers shouldn’t have to pay higher prices just because a product is natural or organic.”