PLMA e-scanner December 3, 2022

Issue #23 of 24
December 3, 2022

NEWS ROUNDUP
PLMA Celebrates Record-Setting Trade Show

PLMA’s long awaited 2022 Private Label Trade Show in Chicago was a huge success.

PLMA’s first live show since 2019, which was declared sold out a month before its doors opened, featured nearly 5,200 attendees, including a record number of retail buyers, who visited the 1,423 exhibitors and 2,334 booths on display.

Exhibitors presented a wide range of products from across all food and non-food categories including food & beverages, snacks, frozen & refrigerated products, health & beauty, household & general merchandise products as well as OTC and pharmaceuticals.

The plant-based food pavilion and the CBD and wine sections were very popular with visitors as were the 500 booths that made up the 20 international pavilions. They included pavilions from Canada, Australia, Italy, France, Denmark, Belgium, Israel, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Jordan, Kosovo, South Korea, Thailand, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Guatemala.

A popular destination at the show was PLMA’s Idea Supermarket, a special showcase of new products from show exhibitors, store brand commercials and innovative products from retailers around the world.

PLMA also announced the winners of its Salute to Excellence program at the show. The annual awards recognize outstanding food and nonfood products introduced within the last year at supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers and many other retailers. More than 725 products from 50 North American retailers were submitted.

Winners included Walmart’s Sam's Choice™ oat milk chocolate bar; Albertsons’ Signature Reserve™ ravioli with porcini mushrooms and truffle; and biodegradable household cleaner from Sprouts Farmers Market were among PLMA’s 2022 Salute to Excellence award winners for store brand innovation.

“I congratulate all the retailers who participated in this year’s program,” said PLMA President Peggy Davies. “These awards prove that store brands are leading the retail industry and giving shoppers the high-quality, high-value and great-tasting products they want.”

Other winners included: Full Circle Market™ Plant-Based Bolognese-Style Pasta Sauce from Topco Associates; Earth Grown™ Non-Dairy Mocha Fudge Almond Milk Frozen Dessert, from Aldi. In Eco-Friendly Nonfoods winners included Total Home® Stainless Steel Silicone Straws from CVS, and Multi-Use Biodegradable Cleaner from Sprouts Farmers Market.

In the organics category, award winners included Regeneratively Grown Organic Nepali Golden Black Loose-Leaf Tea from Thrive Market; SE Grocers Prestige-brand Organic Chili-Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Southeastern Grocers; Simple Truth Organic™ Chocolate Chip Baked Energy Bar from Kroger; and 365 by Whole Foods Market-brand Organic Fair Trade Unsweetened Coconut Shreds from Whole Foods.

The countdown now begins for PLMA’s 2023 Private Label Trade Show, to be held again at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago, on November 12-14.

Chicago Show Receives International Press Coverage

PLMA's sold-out 2022 Private Label Trade Show drew large crowds from across the board with retail executives eagerly walking the million square feet of exhibit space knowing they were at the best single place to source quality and on-trend products.

With more than 1,400 companies and 2,300 exhibition booths, as well as over 5,000 attendees, the excitement and energy from the show floor could be experienced down the aisles, but it was also reflected through social media and from press coverage of the event.

The coverage of the show was international as well as national. Major U.S. trade publications and media combined with press from South America, Europe, and Australia publishing stories on the show overall as well as on the international pavilions of various countries.

Click here to see what the media as well as participants had to say about the Show.

Walmart Sees Strong Private Brand Gains

Walmart has seen growing private label sales, the company said with the announcement of its third quarter results.

John David Rainey, Walmart’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, also said that shoppers with six-figure incomes are shopping there more often.

“We’ve continued to gain grocery market share from households across income demographics, with nearly three-quarters of the share gain coming from those exceeding $100,000 in annual income,” Rainey said. “This quarter, our private brand penetration in food categories increased, reflecting customers’ increased focus on quality products at value prices.”

Rainey said Walmart has seen increased store brand growth in several categories including proteins, baking goods, baby food and dog food. 

Like the private label industry in general, this growth in private label sales for Walmart has been happening though most of the year. The president and CEO of Walmart U.S., John Furner, noted the shift by its shoppers to private label products began in March of this year. He said it had been 13 years since the last time Walmart saw such a significant period of growth for its store brands.

 “We've been pretty open over the years that we don't necessarily manage private brand to a specific target, but what we do in private brand is develop great quality items and great values,” he said.

Overall, for the third quarter Walmart reported company-wide revenue of over $152 billion, an increase of 8.7% when compared to the comparable quarter in 2021.

SpartanNash Planning for Store Brands Growth

At SpartanNash’s first-ever Investor Day, executives announced that the company plans to boost its sales by $1 billion in the next three years and a major part of that growth will be expansion of its store brand sales.

“We will be increasing our own brand product penetration by 20%,” SpartanNash’s executive vice president and chief strategy and information officer Masiar Tayebi said. “Our goal is to launch 1,000 new (store brand) products by 2025. We are committed and we have a strategy.” The company is aiming to hit a total of $10 billion in revenue by 2025.

The company’s current private label brands include Our Family and Fresh & Finest sold at SpartanNash-owned grocers and Freedom’s Choice, which is sold to military-based retailers such as the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA).

Becca McKenzie, marketing manager for Own Brands, said this is a continuation of a process to increase store brand sales which began a few years ago. She also cited that it is not only price but a good private label marketing campaign that helps sales.

 “From a marketing standpoint, although the items offer a lower price to shoppers, we focus on product quality. We say our products are better than national brands. We are also active on social media and use those platforms to highlight our own brand products,” added McKenzie.

Rick Weekley, the company’s senior director of Own Brands Marketing, pointed out how sustainability has also become an important decision maker in the company’s product development of its store brands.

“It’s no longer about just having a pretty label, stacking it up and selling it,” he said. “It is about social responsibility. Our own research at the store level validates what we are seeing nationally. Sustainability is escalating as a reason to buy products.”

Recently, the company gave its selection of store-branded products a boost with the addition of 480 “indulgence and convenience” products sold under the Fresh & Finest brand. The assortment includes a variety of freshly cut produce along with take-and-break bread that serves as grab-and-go items for shoppers.

Will Southeastern Grocers Be Sold?

Southeastern Grocers Inc. is exploring a sale of the company, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Florida-based operator of Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s grocery stores is reportedly in talks with prospective buyers.

If sold, the move would mark another major consolidation in the supermarket industry, following the announced merger of Kroger and Albertsons. Southeastern Grocers, which runs about 420 stores primarily in the Southern U.S. It also operates more than 200 pharmacies and 140 liquor stores. The company was estimated to have about $9.6 billion in sales in 2020, according to the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Southeastern Grocers did not comment on the reports of the sales but also did not dismiss them out of hand.

“We do not comment on market rumors,” a company spokeswoman said in response to the story. “With that said, we are always reviewing ways to enhance shareholder value, and to the extent that credible strategic or other shareholder value enhancing transactions emerge, we have an obligation to consider them."

"While the potential for any such transaction remains ever present in our industry, we will remain focused upon advancing our transformational strategy, supporting our associates, and delivering a world-class shopping experience for our customers.”

Ahold Delhaize USA Appoints New CEO

Ahold Delhaize plans to nominate J.J. Fleeman as CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA. Fleeman has served as president of Peapod Digital Labs and chief commercial and digital officer of Ahold Delhaize USA since May 2018. The appointment is expected to become official during the company's annual shareholders meeting in April. Fleeman's appointment, which will also include an appointment to the Management Board of Ahold Delhaize, is subject to shareholder approval at the meeting.

In announcing the news, Peter Agnefjäll, the chair of the supervisory board of Ahold Delhaize, said “J.J. is an inspiring leader who will advance the U.S. businesses through omnichannel market share growth and who will continue to deliver on the Connected Customer strategy that Kevin (Holt) has so carefully developed and implemented with the team over the past few years."

Agnefjäll praised retiring CEO Kevin Holt for the company’s growth and leadership transition. "It is a testament to Kevin’s leadership that we were able to select his successor from our own ranks.”

The president and CEO of Ahold Delhaize, Frans Muller, echoed those sentiments. “Under Kevin’s leadership, our U.S. businesses have performed exceptionally well, and he has always led with customers and associates in mind,” he said.

Fleeman has spent the majority of his 30-year career in grocery retail in Ahold Delhaize companies, including Food Lion, the company’s largest U.S. brand, serving a diverse array of executive leadership roles. He is expected to take over the job in April 2023.

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