Dive Brief:
- Wakefern Food has partnered with coffee co-packing company NuZee to launch three single-serve coffee brew-bag items under ShopRite’s private label brand Bowl & Basket, according to a press release last week.
- The three products — Breakfast Blend, Fresh Roast and Colombian — have already launched in ShopRite stores and will be available in roughly 250 of the grocer’s locations.
- Though inflation has decreased over recent months, grocers still recognize shoppers’ dependability on private brands to help with their tight wallets. Wakefern’s newest private label efforts not only tap into that trend but also tie into shopper interest in sustainable efforts.
Dive Insight:
The announcement marks the first private label tie-up between NuZee and Wakefern, the United States’ largest retailer-owned cooperative, according to the announcement.
The coffee company will pack and ship the three brew bags as part of its mission to provide eco-conscious, single-serve coffee solutions. NuZee works with small and larger brands to help develop single-serve and private label coffee category products, the press release notes.
“We look forward to working with NuZee to expand and enhance packaging for our popular private label coffees,” Pam Ofri, the director of product development and operations of own brands at Wakefern, said in the announcement.
When inflation was breaking record highs last year, shoppers leaned heavily on private label offerings as a cheaper alternative to big-name brand items, reports from last year found. A recent study found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of consumers like private brands and plan to keep buying them even as the economy gets better, with just 9% saying they won’t be continuing with private label options.
Entering 2023, experts predicted this trend will continue and grocers will keep building out their private brand portfolio. Earnings calls during the initial months of 2023 already provide evidence that several food retailers, including Target, Kroger and Grocery Outlet, are planning to expand their store brands.
Last week, Albertsons said it has added 12 new plant-based products and grass-fed Angus Beef to its Open Nature brand, along with updating the brand’s design. In the fall, PCC Community Markets announced it teamed up with Wunderground Coffee to exclusively sell the Seattle coffee company’s first-ever line of certified organic adaptogenic mushroom-infused coffees.
A number of grocery companies are also leaning into offering customers sustainable shopping efforts, primarily toward reducing food waste. In January, Sprouts Farmers Market launched its Rescued Organics program in its California stores in an effort to reduce produce food waste. A number of grocers are also relying on third-party partnerships, like Too Good To Go and Flashfood, to reduce food waste and provide shoppers with cheaper food.
