Kroger Named Store Brands Decisions' Retail Innovator of the Year at its Inaugural Awards Program

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November 17, 2010

Eighteen awards were presented to retailers recognizing their outstanding achievement in product development, packaging design, consumer marketing and in-store merchandising at Store Brands Decisions’ inaugural Retailer Innovation Awards ceremony hosted this week.

Kroger was recognized as Retail Innovator of the Year due to the winning entries it submitted in all four award categories –– product development, packaging design, consumer marketing and in-store merchandising. It was a big evening for Target as well, which walked away with three category awards, and for Roundy’s and Delhaize, which each won two category awards.

“Our mission at Store Brands Decisions is to advance best practices in store brands development, marketing and merchandising, and the creation of the Retailer Innovation Awards program is entirely aligned with that mission,” said John Failla, publisher and editorial director of Store Brands Decisions at the awards ceremony Monday evening at the PLMA Show in Chicago.

Nearly 100 nominations were received for this year’s program, with a bulk of them in product development and packaging design. “While this year’s program was dominated by entries in packaging and product development, we think that long term store brands share growth will be driven by future innovations in store brands consumer marketing and in-store merchandising,” Failla noted.

Group 360 Worldwide, which sponsored the inaugural awards program, was presented with a Founding Sponsor award from Store Brands Decisions for its vision and advancement of best practices in store brands development. Accepting the award was Laura Burkemper, senior vice president of global business development and strategy.

“Innovation is more than just a buzzword. It is a key competency,” Burkemper said accepting her award. “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat. What these retail innovators tonight have done is predict the future, and the best way to predict the future is quite simply to create it. So on behalf of Store Brands Decisions and Group 360 Worldwide -- to all those who are creating the future -- we celebrate you tonight.”

The following retailers were recognized for packaging design:

• Grocery Package Design -- Smart & Final for Ambiance Premium Coffee;
• Grocery Package Structure -- Target for Market Pantry ready-to heat Rice Pouch;
• Grocery Line – Schnucks for its Culinaria brand;
• Beverages – Rite Aid for Simplify Soda;
• Pet Products – Sears Holdings for Kmart’s Champion Breed Brand
• Non-Foods – Roundy’s Supermarkets for its Green Cleaners;
• Fresh Foods – Winn Dixie for its bakery fruit pies;
• Frozen Food – Delhaize America for Taste of Inspiration brand; and 
• Kids Products – Walmart for Parent’s Choice brand redesign.

The following retailers were recognized for product development:

• Fresh Foods – Whole Foods for 365 Organic Almond Milk;
• Frozen Foods – Supervalu for Wild Harvest All Natural Microwaveable Quesadillas;
• Grocery Product – Wegmans for its Yogurt Salad Dressing;
• Grocery Line -- Target for its Archer Farms Brand, including Simply Balanced; 
• Non-Foods – Delhaize America for Nature’s Place Biodegradable Paper Plates; and
• Beverages -- Target for Archer Farms Lattes.

The following retailers were recognized for consumer marketing and in-store merchandising:

• Consumer Marketing – Spartan Stores for The Spartan Challenge, which successfully wooed customers to purchase its store brands;
• In-Store Merchandising -- Roundy’s Supermarkets for its Select Artisan Bread Program, featuring unique breads merchandised in European style bread bar.

In January, Store Brands Decisions will publish a complete digital Spotlight report of the Retail Innovation Awards, featuring more in-depth coverage of the award recipients and their winning entries, including interviews, photos, video and other interactive media.

Read These Related Articles:

• Challenges in Store Brands Packaging Design
• How to Develop a Private Label Expression Aligned with Retail Brand Strategy
• Creating Strength for Retailer Brands
• Store Brands Executives Can Learn from CPG Product Development Structure and Implement a Hybrid Approach
• Market Intelligence and Technology Essential to Effective Packaging Design

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