Safeway Adds New Farmstand Brand to Private Label Portfolio

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November 1, 2011

Supermarket chain Safeway has a new store brand for fresh produce and packaged salads called Safeway Farms.

The Pleasanton, Calif.-based retailer hasn’t officially announced the new store brand but according to the Fresh & Easy Buzz blog, the line has quietly appeared in Safeway stores.

The blogger counted 17 SKUs in the fresh produce and packaged salad categories in recent store visits. Products include a variety of lettuce, bagged spinach and cut baby carrots. There are several bagged salads and ready-to-eat salad bowls in four varieties.

Safeway has been investing heavily in store brands. “We continue to grow private label sales faster than national brands. Our private label sales are outpacing national brands by about three to one,” said Steve Burd, chairman, president and CEO during a third quarter conference call with analysts. “In a soft economy, that shouldn't be that surprising. But we think should the economy get better, we'll continue to outpace national brand growth.”

The chain recently launched Open Nature, The Snack Artist, In-Kind personal care products and a variety of other offerings. "We continued to innovate throughout the business to meet our customers' needs and build their loyalty,” said Burd. “Our just for U digital marketing platform and our proprietary Open Nature line of 100 percent natural foods are good examples of these efforts."

SBD Views: The beat goes on at Safeway with the roll out of yet another new brand in its growing portfolio. The introduction of Safeway Farms is just another example of why they were voted the clear winner of Store Brands Decisions' Retail Innovator of the Year. The award will be presented at an invitation-only reception on Monday Nov. 14 during the PLMA Show in Chicago. -- John Failla for Store Brands Decisions

Read These Related Articles:

• Mintel: Local Produce More Important than Organic
• Tesco to Boost Private Label Fresh Produce
• Private Label Produce Gains Ground
• Wal-Mart Relaunches the Marketside Web Site
• Kroger Unveils Produce Traceability Technology

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