Kroger promotion touts ‘grocery haul’ for summer break

With the school year now over across most of the country, The Kroger Co. has kicked off a meal promotion targeting families with children home for the summer break.

Dubbed the “School’s Out for Summer Grocery Haul,” the campaign serves up five lunch and dinner choices for as low as $3.50 per person. Kroger said in announcing the promo this week that the “haul” has customers “covered with 10 menus to feed a crowd of five."

Shoppers can assemble their meals from a range of eligible options—based on Kroger store-brand products—in fresh produce, deli, dairy, frozen, bread, pasta and grains.

The “Grocery Haul” lunch menu includes the following choices:

• Roasted chicken lettuce wraps topped with mozzarella and tomatoes, served with fresh melon and strawberries on the side.
• Peanut butter and banana sandwiches with strawberry preserves and veggies with dip.
• Cheese quesadillas with “make ahead” caramelized onions and sour cream, served with chips and salsa.
• Make-your-own pizza bagels topped with mozzarella, pizza sauce and fresh basil, with fresh veggies and dip on the side.
• Chicken tenders and crinkle-cut fries (recommended cooking in an air fryer), with fresh strawberries and melon.

“Grocery Haul” dinner selections include the following:

• “Taco night” of flour tortillas topped with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, sour cream and salsa, served with tortilla chips.
• Roasted chicken and homestyle mashed potatoes with roasted asparagus.
• Fish and chips served with mixed vegetables.
• Penne rigate pasta with marinara, Italian-style meatballs and fresh salad.
• BLT sandwiches served on toasted white bread with tomato slices and iceberg lettuce and steamed French green beans on the side.

Source: The Kroger Co.

“We know summer can be especially busy for families filling their schedules with camps, ballgames and spending some well-deserved time together after a busy school year,” Carlo Baldan, group vice president of center-store merchandising at Cincinnati-based Kroger, said in a statement. “Kroger is here to take care of the meal planning with fresh, affordable dining options and ‘Locked In Low’ prices so customers can enjoy summer together with their families. This is one more way we are focusing on customers and offering lower prices and more choices for more families across America.”

Kroger’s “Grocery Haul” promo reflects increased efforts by grocery retailers to provide affordable, turnkey meal solutions to shoppers—including those seeking relief from high food prices and people who have embraced eating at home since the pandemic—as well as to market a trip to the store around meal occasions and seasonal events.

Marketing efforts fielded this year by Kroger, for example, have focused on desserts and treats for July 4th; Kroger Delivery for Father’s Day; red ($5 per person), white ($7 per person) and blue ($10 per person) barbecue menu options for Memorial Day; a Mother’s Day brunch for less than $2 per serving; outdoor meal ideas for springtime; an Easter menu for 10 people at less than $7.50 per person; “Big Game spreads” for the Super Bowl; and an Italian-themed Valentine’s Day meal package for $35.

FMI-The Food Industry Association’s “2023 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends” study found that, of more than 2,100 primary grocery shoppers polled, 76% find eating together as a family extremely or very important, and 45% said they love or like cooking. When asked how grocers could make meal preparation easier, 48% of consumers cited better-value food options, followed by a larger selection of easy-to-prepare foods (36%), more partially prepared meal options (24%), a better selection of meal kits (23%) and more ready-to-eat side dishes (19%).