INITIATIVE 5: Develop Private Labels for Smaller Shoppers

Carol Angrisani

Store brands for kids are on the radar of more retailers, now that Kroger has debuted its Disney Magic Selections line.

Available exclusively on Kroger store shelves, the 100-plus-SKU line includes such kid-friendly items as waffles, cereal, pizza — even Mickey-shaped hamburgers.

Healthier items carry a “Mickey's Thumbs Up” icon on the front panel to identify attributes such as “made with whole grains” or “no preservatives.”

Kids' private labels got another push in April when Safeway launched its O Organics for Baby and O Organics for Toddler line. The initial 40-item assortment includes formula, cereal, baby food, cereal bars, arrowroot cookies and dried fruit. Safeway has since expanded the line with O Organics for Kids.

Kroger's and Safeway's efforts demonstrate that store brands geared exclusively to kids are gaining more appeal in the food retail industry.

Kids' private labels make sense if a retailer has a large young-mother demographic, said Frank Dell, president of Dellmart & Co., Stamford, Conn., a management consulting company. “Moms may be the ones buying the product, but kids drive the purchasing decisions,” he said. “If they say they want a certain cereal, most likely the mom will buy it.”