Albertsons Reveals Own Brands Award Winners

Albertsons Cos. is once again shining a light on its $14 billion own brands business, revealing the winning products of its first Own Brands Associate Choice Awards. Thousands of associates cast votes in the contest, which asked them to pick their favorite Own Brands product from 2020 in 15 categories during the company’s January Own Brands Best for Less campaign.

“We’re proud of the quality and value of all our Own Brands products, but we were especially interested to learn which products our associates love the most,” said Chad Coester, SVP of Albertsons Cos.' Own Brands, in a statement. “These are the products they are fanatical about and most proudly recommend to shoppers.”

In December, Albertsons talked about just how “powerful” its own brands are and how they contribute to the company’s overall success, when EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer Geoff White, along with other executives, participated in a special Albertsons Insights presentation for investors. During the presentation, the Boise, Idaho-based retailer explained how its own brands portfolio is built like a CPG with a customer-first mindset, a focus on innovation, and well-positioned to drive sales growth.

“We position it as a growth engine vs. just an entry-level price point,” said White of Albertsons’ own brands strategy. “And it has incredible breadth and depth to drive that growth.” During the December investor’s presentation, Albertsons further reported that its Own Brands represent close to 50% of all categories across the store, with some categories outpacing total market growth.

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The most popular selection among associates was the Signature Reserve sea salt dark chocolate caramels, which received more votes than any other product. The caramels also won in two categories: favorite new 2020 own brands product and favorite guilty pleasure food item.

“Hands down the best sea salt caramels I’ve ever had,” said Sharon Johnson, front-end CSR from the Wakefield, R.I., Shaw’s. “The Signature Reserve dark chocolate sea salt caramels are an escape into decadent deliciousness,” said Albertsons Cos. Senior IT Auditor Cheri Harris.

Other favorites included Signature Select mixed nuts deluxe value size (to eat on the go); Open Nature parmesan cheese crisps (healthy alternative); O Organics French dark roast ground coffee (pick-me-up); Open Nature uncured applewood smoked bacon (breakfast item); Waterfront Bistro Responsible Choice raw shrimp (chef-inspired item); and Signature Reserve Tennessee whiskey (adult beverage).

Photograph courtesy of Albertsons

“Whether it’s innovative flavors of ice cream, including nondairy options, or high-quality wines and award-winning spirits, own brands provides a wide offering of products with something for every shopper,” added Coester.

The own brands portfolio is comprised of more than 12,000 products that are exclusive to Albertsons Cos. stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw's, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street and Haggen.

In the past four years, Albertsons has consolidated its own brands to a portfolio of nine “power brands,” a focus which it says has helped to build brand awareness. The portfolio runs across the store, including Signature Select, its mainstream grocery brand; Signature Cafe, its deli foodservice brand; Lucerne, its more than 100-year-old dairy brand; and O Organics, a line that recently expanded to include its first nonfood item with the addition of O Organics laundry detergent. The grocer has also expanded into nonfoods with its Open Nature brand, adding pet and health and beauty items like sun care and oral care.