Kroger Rolling Out 'Fresh and Friendly' Rebrand

The Kroger Co. this morning is revealing a new logo and a “fresh and friendly” brand transformation campaign that the company said celebrates its love for customers and associates, a food-first culture and a long history as America’s favorite grocer.

The “Fresh for Everyone” campaign will carry across the retailer’s supermarket brands beginning Nov. 6, utilizing a series of animated characters called “Krojis,” or Kroger emojis, representing customers, associates and communities. This army of toy spokespeople will communicate Kroger’s points of difference and provide a unique look and feel cutting through what officials called a “sea of sameness” among retail grocery marketing, officials said.

“Kroger’s new brand launch is a unifying framework for our seamless shopping experience that is designed to deepen our connection with customers and associates today and into the future, support our business transformation and provide an elevated creative approach,” Mike Donnelly, Kroger’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Kroger chose ‘Fresh for Everyone’ as our leading brand message because it is inclusive, clear and memorable and supports our vision of serving America through food inspiration and uplift.

“Kroger believes that everyone deserves to have access to fresh, affordable and delicious food, no matter who you are, how you shop or what you like to eat. Kroger’s winning combination of assets puts our team in a unique position to deliver fresh … for everyone.”

The campaign is the first activation from DDB New York, which was engaged in July as the retailer’s first creative agency of record. Kroger said DDB called on “ingenuity and creative horsepower” to create a refreshed, stronger brand identity, among associates and customers and other stakeholders.

The changes include a contemporary evolution of the Kroger logo that dates as far back as 1939. The new mark preserves the shape and movement of its iconic “K” and “G” letters but takes a wider stance, and loses the red-outlined oval that has accompanied the logo for decades.

“Fresh for Everyone” is Kroger’s brand ethos, the company said, choosing a tagline that is “simple and designed to drive an instant understanding of the uniquely egalitarian American brand, underscored by Kroger’s commitment and belief that everyone should have access to fresh, affordable and delicious food.”

Kroger said it was launching a mass media campaign to amplify its new brand transformation, using retail, TV and radio broadcast, digital, print, social, podcast, cinema, outdoor and TV and music streaming services. Kroger’s retail banners will continue to operate under their existing names, but incorporate the new brand attributes. Sales flyers breaking this week include the new iconography and tagline.

“Kroger already stands apart from its competitors in terms of quality, loyalty to customers and real-world actions that speak to its purpose to Feed the Human Spirit,” said Lisa Topol, co-chief creative officer of DDB New York. “Advertising in the grocery space was universally a sea of sameness: generic aisles of groceries and close-ups of people cutting carrots. Yet, Kroger is anything but generic. So we wanted to take their inclusive and uplifting promise to their customers and find an effective and creative way to share it with the world.”