Bloggers Dish at ShopRite's Potluck

CAROL ANGRISANI

KEASBEY, N.J. — Wakefern Food Corp.'s ShopRite has recruited bloggers to write about its store brands.

About a dozen food and mom bloggers are part of Potluck, ShopRite's new online blog. Located at blog.shoprite.com, Potluck includes recipes, reviews and cooking demonstrations — all featuring private-label products.

ShopRite doesn't pay the bloggers, but sends them samples each month. It selected one blogger in each of its six trading areas: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware.

“They represent our average customer,” ShopRite spokeswoman Santina Stankevich told SN.

Each provides a unique voice for ShopRite's store brands, Stankevich added.

“They bring our private labels to life,” she said.

Participating bloggers include Deborah Smith, author of jerseybites.com, a website dedicated to food news and restaurant reviews in New Jersey, and Anne Coleman, founder of cookingwithanne.blogspot.com, specializing in budget recipes.

In a recipe for Pappa al Pomodoro, an Italian soup, Coleman touts several private-label items. “Very good olive oil is another key component in this soup, and ShopRite's imported extra-virgin olive oil is perfect here,” she wrote.

What's more, readers can comment on all posts.

“The bloggers have a dialogue with our customers,” Stankevich said.