Novel approaches are essential to Kroger’s future.
On November 5, at the company’s annual investor day in New York, management emphasized the fresh food products as a “differentiating strength” for the retailer in 2020.
“Our new departments are a real differentiator—they drive trips, loyalty, and gross margin,” stated Joseph A. Grieshaber, senior vice-president of merchandising. Our supply chain, selection standards, and quality standards are our key differentiators and are designed to provide the best-in-season and first-to-market fresh items throughout the United States. Consumers inform us that they base their store choice on nine essential categories—all of which are fresh. Dairy, meat, and produce top the list.
“On any given day, consumers visit the store mostly for dinner, but they also frequently return to restock on veggies, meat, and seafood. Lastly, testing of advertisements reveals a distinct trend whereby advertisements emphasizing freshness score higher on important customer metrics like likelihood to shop and brand love.
Enhancing meal solution alternatives and collaborating with Apeel Sciences, a producer of an edible covering that prolongs the shelf life of fresh produce, are two of Kroger’s fresh food initiatives. According to the business, the Apeel coating technology is currently being used on fresh avocados and will soon be extended to asparagus and limes as well.Concepts for fresh meals are also considered a point of differentiation.
Mr. Grieshaber stated, “We are expanding our meal kits, ready-to-cook, and ready-to-heat assortment.” “We increased the number of Home Chef stores from 725 to over 2,000 in 2019. In addition to the original meal kits, we also provide oven-ready kits, sides, and entrees that are ready to eat. Fresh meal sales are growing by double digits, and we anticipate that trend to continue in 2020.
One of the main components of Kroger’s go-to-market strategy has been the use of consumer data to design a customized shopping experience for consumers. The retailer views treating food as medicine as part of their long-term strategy and plans to assist interested customers in making healthier food choices in 2020.
Kroger released OptUp in 2018, an app that uses a user’s past purchases to assist them in making educated, healthier decisions.
You may also like:
Food security in emerging nations: issues and remedies
Are drinks the secret to increasing cannabis use among consumers?
Managing the lack of labour for mushroom picking
Senior vice-president Stuart W. Aitken stated, “If you think about the three biggest disease states in America today—diabetes, hypertension, and heart health—(they) are) 70% of the cost.” This presents an opportunity for us: How can we assist clients in eating in a way that is tailored to them and contributes to change? Thus, for instance, My diet is heavy in sodium. I will continue to consume salt, but I will only consume low-sodium bacon and butter. and such minor adjustments have a significant impact?
“We’ve been doing that with our coupons for years, and now we’re looking at how we can help customers live healthier lives in new and creative ways by changing those behaviors through something like an OptUp.”
Our private label brands at Kroger will prioritize staying current. As per Kroger, the Simple Truth brand is experiencing robust double-digit growth and holds a 32% market share in the natural and organic branded goods category. The store wants to introduce 58 more plant-based products to the Simple Truth platform in 2020, after adding 22 new ones in 2019.