Southeastern Grocers unveils Know & Love own brand

Southeastern Grocers has augmented its private-label roster with a new “free-from” brand called Know & Love.

The parent of Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más supermarkets said Thursday that Know & Love is aimed at providing affordable, clean-label products made with ingredients they “know” while offering everyday items they will “love.”

Prioritizing “value and great taste,” the curated store-brand line encompasses products across food, beverage and household categories that are free from almost 100 undesirable ingredients, such as certified color additives, partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup and sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose, Southeastern Grocers said.

Plans call for Know & Love to span more than 1,000 products—including dairy, produce, ready-made foods, beverages and household items—once it’s fully launched, the Jacksonville, Florida-based grocer reported. Know & Love products will gradually roll out to Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más stores over the next year, providing customers a steadily expanding selection, the retailer said.

“Our customers and associates are the driving force behind every decision we make, and as they began to express an increasing desire for products with simple ingredients, we set out to create a budget-friendly, clean-label line centered around two fundamental traits: trust and transparency,” according to Brooke Rice, senior director of own brands at Southeastern Grocers. “Know & Love encapsulates this ideal and reflects our steadfast commitment to provide quality products at an affordable price.”

Know & Love also marks a new packaging approach for Southeastern Grocers’ brand portfolio. The design features solid, engaging colors and spare but sharp lettering, with photos or windows that highlight what’s inside, which the retailer said reflects the “simplicity and quality” of the new line’s products. Know & Love packaging, too, is color-coded to help shoppers with dietary requirements find products meeting their needs more easily, with dark purple signifying gluten-free items and dark green indicating plant-based options.

Packaging for Know & Love products is color-coded to help customers more easily find items matching their dietary needs. / Image courtesy of Southeastern Grocers

Southeastern Grocers noted that it employed neuroscience and neuromarketing techniques to devise a “clean, visually appealing” packaging design to convey clean labeling as well as “trust, reliability and affordability.”

“Our Know & Love Goodness Guarantee upholds this standard by offering customers a benchmark for excellence across the entire product line,” Rice added. “When customers purchase Know & Love items, they can trust they’re bringing home products made from ingredients they’ll love.”

With the inception of Know & Love, products under the SE Grocers Naturally Better label—including natural, free-from and organic offerings—will be incorporated into the new brand, as will items under the SE Grocers store brand that meet Know & Love’s the quality and clean-label standards, Southeastern Grocers said.

The SE Grocers brand family—SE Grocers, SE Grocers Prestige, SE Grocers Essentials and SE Grocers Naturally Better—is aimed at providing savings on a range of everyday products like food and household items versus national-brand counterparts and at the same or better quality. SE Grocers is the mainline house brand, while SE Grocers Prestige focuses on indulgent, original-recipe foods at competitive prices. SE Essentials is designed to provide everyday quality and value for staple food and nonfood needs. SE Grocers Naturally Better offers natural, free-from and organic products to fit customers’ lifestyle and dietary choices, including dairy- and gluten-free options.

Southeastern Grocers has continued to expand and evolve its own-brand lineup. Last month, the grocer added new ice creams and frozen treats under the SE Grocers Prestige and SE Grocers labels. The company also has committed to an eco-friendly approach. In April 2022, the retailer announced plans to shift to more sustainable packaging across its own-brand portfolio by the end of 2028.

Overall, Southeastern Grocers operates more than 420 supermarkets in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.