Safeway Unveils Better Living Brands Alliance to Market Health Lines

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway here said yesterday it has formed Better Living Brands Alliance to market its O Organics and Eating Right brands to other retail channels in the U.S. The alliance's mission, Safeway said, "is to provide health and wellness food and beverage solutions via two proven multi-category brands." Steve Burd, Safeway's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a conference call last week O Organics recorded 2007 sales of $310 million and is expected to do $400 million "with ease" this year, with sales in the first quarter alone up 50%. "We're working with partners that want to take pieces of the organic offer to other markets," Burd said during the call, "and we expect that by the end of this year you will see O Organics and Eating Right at other supermarkets besides Safeway." The company said last week the Better Living Brands Alliance includes manufacturing, marketing and distribution companies as brand licensees; co-pack and distribution partners to provide a supply chain network; and support from EMAK Worldwide, a group of marketing agencies based in Los Angeles, for communications with consumers, and Crossmark, a professional services company for consumer goods based in Plano, Texas, for communications with retailers.

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