O Organics Products Come to Albertsons

CAROL ANGRISANI

BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons LLC has rolled out more than 100 items in the O Organics line of products.

Toddler cereal bars, canned tomatoes, soup, juice, pasta, pasta sauce and peanut butter are among the offerings at 240 stores. The rollout doesn't include Supervalu-owned Albertsons locations.

The line officially debuted last month with an Earth Day-themed promotion that included in-store demos; in-store media including ceiling danglers, shelf signs and shelf talkers; and radio spots in the Phoenix, Orlando, Dallas and Denver markets.

“We are constantly looking for variety and value across all of our offering, and O Organics makes sense for our customers, with its broad range of certified organic items,” Bob Butler, Albertsons' senior vice president of marketing and merchandising, told SN.

Circulars promote more than a dozen items, like canned vegetables, 4 for $5; salad dressing, 2 for $6 and boxed macaroni and cheese, 2 for $3.

Lucerne Foods, Pleasanton, Calif., a Safeway subsidiary, is aggressively marketing O Organics and Eating Right to domestic and international retailers. Both brands got their start as Safeway private labels.

The Albertsons rollout comes as U.S. sales of organic food and nonfood products grew 17.1% to $24.6 billion in 2008 vs. the previous year, according to the 2009 Organic Industry Survey, conducted by Lieberman Research Group on behalf of the Organic Trade Association, Greenfield, Mass.