Supervalu Introduces WholeCare Pet Store Brand

March 9, 2010

Supervalu launched WholeCare Pet store brand, a complete line of food products for dogs and cats that also includes a variety of treats and pet supplies.

The new line will replace the company’s two former private-label pet product brands –– Happy Tails and NutriPlan –– and will be available nationwide at the company's 4,290 grocery stores under the banners of Acme, Albertsons, bigg's, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher's, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's/Star Market, Shop 'n Save and Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, as well as at select independent grocers served by Supervalu’s distribution business.

WholeCare Pet products are formulated to match or exceed the quality of leading national brands at everyday savings of at least 15 to 30 percent, the company said in a statement.

The line includes nearly 100 SKUs including 19 varieties of wet dog and puppy food, 11 types and sizes of dry dog and puppy food, 13 varieties of dog biscuits and treats, 20 types of wet cat food, nine varieties and sizes of dry cat and kitten food, and 10 cat litter products.

The grocer said it is focused on store brand pet care because:

The pet food category is fairly resilient to economic downturns as consumers tend to view pet food purchases in a similar way to the purchase of food for family members. “Consumers, however, do become more price sensitive and change where they shop for pet food in order to get the best bargain.”
Private-label brands, which account for about 13 percent of pet care sales, “are of growing importance in the category, in line with broader trends in private-label development.”
62 percent of consumers believe that their pet deserves to have food that is "as varied as the food I eat." * 62 percent of U.S. households, which equates to approximately 71.4 million homes, own a pet, up from 56 percent in 1988. There are an estimated 77.5 million dogs and 93.6 million cats in households across the United States.4
In 2009, Americans spent approximately $45.5 billion on their pets; pet food accounted for nearly 39 percent of those sales, or $17.56 billion.

Supervalu is supporting the WholeCare Pet brand launch with an integrated marketing communications campaign that features banner and circular ads, direct mail, in-store displays and promotions.

Other Supervalu store brands include Baby Basics, Wild Harvest natural and organic foods, Culinary Circle foods, Stockman & Dakota meats, Stone Ridge Creamery, Java Delight, Homelife, Equaline and Shoppers Value.

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Keywords: business, companies, food and beverage, grocery, industry, markets, private label non-foods, private label pet products, store brand non-foods, store brand pet products, supervalu

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