FRESH WAY TO MARKET NATURAL AND ORGANIC

Christine Blank

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- Fresh Brands/Piggly Wiggly is significantly increasing its organic and natural offerings and launching new merchandising displays in Center Store departments.

Over 800 stockkeeping units of natural and organic foods have been added across all categories at the company's flagship Piggly Wiggly store here. About 700 SKUs have been added in the "Naturally Good and Good for You" wood-and-green-themed sets in Center Store sections.

The eight to 12-foot sets, which include purple "natural" and green "organic" shelf tags, are integrated into their corresponding grocery category, such as a 12-foot breakfast foods section featuring organic cereal, cereal bars and soy beverages.

"It was primarily a focus on Center Store because we had done a good job in produce and meat," said Michael Houser, vice chairman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Fresh Brands.

Although Fresh Brands already offers several organic and natural selections, including its Full Circle private-label line, the items are "too scattered" throughout the store, according to Houser. Some stores also had natural departments that grouped natural and organic products in one spot in the store, which some shoppers "missed completely," Houser said.

The new "segregated/integrated" concept will be implemented in all new stores and at most of the 74 existing franchised Piggly Wiggly stores and the 27 corporate-owned Piggly Wiggly and Dick's Supermarket stores within a year and a half.

"In addition to offering a full selection of products to shoppers already familiar with natural and organic foods, we are hoping to appeal to shoppers who have yet to discover many of these products and let them know there are healthy alternatives to almost every product they are now consuming," said Elwood F. Winn, president and chief executive officer of Fresh Brands.

"For those who are already consuming a lot of these products, our expanded selection will eliminate the need for them to make an extra stop at a specialty food store," Winn added.

At the Sheboygan store, the eight-foot natural and organic snack section, with 32 SKUs, and the 12-foot breakfast section, which features 72 SKUs, are proving to be the most popular natural sections in Center Store.

Houser attributes shoppers' "incredible response" to these two sections partially to the comparable cost of some organic and natural products, including some Full Circle cereals that retail for about $1.99 per box, compared to about $2.50 per box for the conventional equivalent.

"A lot of people demonstrate that they would like to feed their families healthy food, if they can afford it," Houser said.

Meanwhile, name-brand lines expanded in those sections include Barbara's Natural and Kashi cereals, along with Newman's Own Organics snacks.

Fresh Brands' Full Circle line utilizes the USDA's new organic seal, which includes strict requirements for products labeled "100% Organic," "Organic" and "Made with Organic Ingredients."

A general brochure on Full Circle products is displayed at the front of the stores, along with brochures at the point of sale near Full Circle/Farmland All Natural Pork and Full Circle/Gerber chicken.

"We may put brochures in pockets in center aisles, along with recipes, but that is a later project," Houser said.

Internet surveys sent to specific loyalty card members helped Fresh Brands identify the type of organic and natural products shoppers were looking for and where they would like to find them, which led to development of the segregated/integrated sets.

"We surveyed those most predisposed to buying natural and organic products. They've been buying them at a different channel, generally a small health food store or outlet, such as a co-op," Houser said.

Those shoppers, primarily women ages 37 to 55, were selected as survey participants based on previous purchases of natural and organic items, tracked by Piggly Wiggly's loyalty program.

"Many of those shoppers are looking for ways to improve their diet and health through good eating," Houser said.