Dive Brief:
- Kroger announced Thursday the addition of new seafood products to its private brands assortment.
- Kroger’s “chef-curated” seafood meal solutions span its Private Selection, Kroger and Home Chef brands. The new oven- and microwave-ready offerings under its Private Selection brand can get made in as fast as seven minutes, according to the grocer.
- Kroger is positioning the added options as “affordable and easy-to-prepare” meal solutions that streamline the hassle of preparing seafood dishes.
Dive Insight:
Kroger’s latest private label additions are tapping into consumer hunger for meal solutions and the increasing number of people cooking seafood at home. While seafood can intimidate consumers preparing their own meals, the grocery company said it is aiming to have its new products make “seafood at home more accessible and easier than ever.”
Private Selection's new line of oven and microwave-ready options include ginger miso salmon, Tuscan-Style salmon, bourbon glazed cod, four cheese sauce Atlantic cod and Creole-inspired mahi mahi.
Customers can also find new sustainably sourced private label salmon and calamari.
Kroger noted that heat-and-eat Tuscan herb butter salmon with creamy red pepper orzo and asparagus is “coming soon” to its Home Chef line. Consumers will be able to prepare that product in as fast as four minutes.
In announcing the new private label seafood items, Kroger highlighted its online recipes and noted that its in-store seafood counters allow customers to pick a fish and custom seasonings and garnishes that is then prepared in an oven-ready bag for free.
Newly released research by the FMI- The Food Industry Association found that more consumers are cooking seafood dishes at home. The trade group noted that grocers can appeal to seafood shoppers by highlighting nutrition and sustainability as well as by offering meal ideas.
The new seafood additions are Kroger’s latest efforts to grow its private brands. Last fall, the grocer launched Mercado, a Hispanic-inspired food and beverage private brand
