PLBuyer March 2011 : Page 4

Frankly Speaking BY JOHN N. FRANK TIME FOR PL TO BECOME THE UN-BRANDS IN CENTER STORE I was fortunate enough to attend the Food Marketing Institute’s Midwinter Executive Conference in Phoenix this January. A great many of the speakers discussed issues revolving around the center store, the area of a traditional food retailer where the packaged goods are clustered. Center store sales are down, a worrisome trend since the majority of a traditional retailer’s sales and profits comes from that area, speakers noted. Talk of how to bring shoppers back to the center store revolved around grouping items together for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays. The idea of bringing excitement somehow to the center store also was discussed. Those suggestions seemed to be missing a key point, what I considered the 800-pound gorilla in the room that no one wanted to talk about – namely that many shoppers have simply lost faith in processed, packaged foods and in the national brands that sell them. Why are perimeter departments like in-store bakery, produce and even fresh meat and seafood counters attracting shoppers while center store becomes a no-shoppers' zone? Because all those perimeter departments have less processed foods than can be found in center store. More and more people fear packaged foods, not being exactly sure what’s in them, not knowing what’s good for them anymore but wanting desperately to eat healthy, whatever that may mean. When they are buying processed foods, they’re looking for the lowest price possible and will go anywhere, from Costco to a dollar store, to find it because those national brands have become commoditized in their minds. National brand processors have a tremendous job to do in rebuilding the trust they once had with consumers. Brands began, after all, as ways to guarantee quality and consistency. A packaged, branded flour, for example, promised to be of a higher quality than stuff you scooped out of a barrel sitting in an overheated general store. Most shoppers today, I would contend, no longer believe in that national brand promise. No one wanted to say that at the FMI conference, I’m sure. After all, brands like Kraft and Hershey’s were everywhere at the show – by the way, thanks for those chocolate treat bars outside every session, Hershey. The new Nutrition Keys front-of-package labeling system was unveiled at the conference. I’m sure food processors hope that will help rebuild some of that lost trust. But while they work on trust, private label has a tremendous opportunity to grab new business from consumers willing to try anything they hope will be better for them. Private labels should be marketed as the un-brands, the antithesis of large national brands, much as Trader Joe’s already does with its quirky little brands. John N. Frank Editorial Director 847-405-4105 frankj@bnpmedia.com VOLUME 25 • NUMBER 3 EDITORIAL John N. Frank ................................................. Editorial Director frankj@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4105 Lynn Celmer ..................................................... Managing Editor celmerl@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4122 Betty Vandenberg ...................................................... Art Director Jordan Brandes .......................................................... Contributor Ashley Phillips............................................................ Contributor ADVERTISING Brion Palmer ..................................................... Group Publisher palmerb@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4072 Don Beal .................................................... Associate Publisher beald@bnpmedia.com, 908-889-4506 Todd Tamcsin .................................... Regional Sales Manager tamcsint@bnpmedia.com, 623-825-5414 Rosemary Weiss ................ Advertising/Production Manager weissr@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4021 Jill DeVries .................................. Corporate Reprint Manager devriesj@bnpmedia.com, 248-244-1726 SUPPORT SERVICES Drew Matthews .......................................... Marketing Manager matthewsd@bnpmedia.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Peggy Perez ........................ Audience Development Manager Devon Bono ........................................ Multimedia Coordinator Carolyn M. Alexander ................. Audience Audit Coordinator CORPORATE DIRECTORS Timothy A. Fausch ...................................................... Publishing John R. Schrei ............................................................. Publishing Rita M. Foumia ............................................ 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(847) 763-9534, or Fax (847) 763-9538, or e-mail PLB@halldata.com www.privatelabelbuyer.com LIST RENTAL: For postal information Please contact Rob Liska at 800-223-2194 x726, or e-mail him at robert.liska@eraepd.com For e-mail information Please contact Shawn Kingston at 800-409-4443 x828, or e-mail her at shawn.kingston@eraepd.com BNP Media Helps People Succeed in Business with Superior Information MEMBER PLBUYER (ISSN 1532-8899) is published 12 times annually, monthly, by BNP Media II, L.L.C., 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084-3333. Telephone: (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $178.00 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in Canada: $216.00 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $228.00 (int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2011, by BNP Media II, L.L.C. All rights reserved. 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Frankly Speaking

John N. Frank

TIME FOR PL TO BECOME THE UN-BRANDS IN CENTER STORE I was fortunate enough to attend the Food Marketing Institute’s Midwinter Executive Conference in Phoenix this January. A great many of the speakers discussed issues revolving around the center store, the area of a traditional food retailer where the packaged goods are clustered. Center store sales are down, a worrisome trend since the majority of a traditional retailer’s sales and profits comes from that area, speakers noted. Talk of how to bring shoppers back to the center store revolved around grouping items together for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays. The idea of bringing excitement somehow to the center store also was discussed. Those suggestions seemed to be missing a key point, what I considered the 800-pound gorilla in the room that no one wanted to talk about – namely that many shoppers have simply lost faith in processed, packaged foods and in the national brands that sell them. Why are perimeter departments like in-store bakery, produce and even fresh meat and seafood counters attracting shoppers while center store becomes a no-shoppers' zone? Because all those perimeter departments have less processed foods than can be found in center store. More and more people fear packaged foods, not being exactly sure what’s in them, not knowing what’s good for them anymore but wanting desperately to eat healthy, whatever that may mean. When they are buying processed foods, they’re looking for the lowest price possible and will go anywhere, from Costco to a dollar store, to find it because those national brands have become commoditized in their minds. National brand processors have a tremendous job to do in rebuilding the trust they once had with consumers. Brands began, after all, as ways to guarantee quality and consistency. A packaged, branded flour, for example, promised to be of a higher quality than stuff you scooped out of a barrel sitting in an overheated general store. Most shoppers today, I would contend, no longer believe in that national brand promise. No one wanted to say that at the FMI conference, I’m sure. After all, brands like Kraft and Hershey’s were everywhere at the show – by the way, thanks for those chocolate treat bars outside every session, Hershey. The new Nutrition Keys frontof- package labeling system was unveiled at the conference. I’m sure food processors hope that will help rebuild some of that lost trust. But while they work on trust, private label has a tremendous opportunity to grab new business from consumers willing to try anything they hope will be better for them. Private labels should be marketed as the un-brands, the antithesis of large national brands, much as Trader Joe’s already does with its quirky little brands.

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