LOS ANGELES — Unified Grocers here said yesterday its new natural and organics product line — Natural Directions — "has been selling like hotcakes" since its initial introduction three weeks ago. The product line, which consists initially of 120 items in dry grocery, refrigerated and frozen, will be expanded, the member-owned cooperative said. PW Markets, a 10-store group based in San Jose, Calif., was one of the first retailers to offer the line. According to Brian Kennedy, director of purchasing for PW Markets, "Having this new private-label program gives us the ability to compete with other retailers who offer private-label organic and natural products." Ray Burtner, general manager of sales for Market Centre, a Unified subsidiary that focuses on specialty foods, said the Natural Directions line "provides our retailers with the opportunity to say to their customers: 'I care about the health and well-being of you and your family.’”
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