Kroger

Functional claims resonate with consumers of all ages, in-store marketing activities still drive trial, 84.51° reports

02-Nov-2023 By Ryan Daily

Retail data firm 84.51° is out with its October Consumer Digest, highlighting differences between what younger and older consumers look for in better-for-you foods and beverages and how in-store marketing activities are generating new product purchases.

Kroger shares update on Zero Hunger | Zero Waste framework with release of 2023 ESG report

29-Sep-2023 By Ryan Daily

Kroger's 2023 ESG report released this week shows the grocer's progress reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and food waste while tapping into trends around upcycling and Fair Trade-certified products for its private label businesses.

Shoppers want similar digital and online experience, availability key for building loyalty, 84.51° finds

09-Aug-2023 By Ryan Daily

Consumers are leveraging in-store and digital shopping experiences to find the best deals to fiight inflation, while product availability and accuracy are crucial to building loyalty online, Kroger’s retail insight arm 84.51° shared in a recent whitepaper....

[Video] 84.51° director of insight shares thoughts on e-commerce evolution from COVID to now

17-Jul-2023 By Ryan Daily

Omnichannel experiences that mix in-person and digital shopping are increasingly important for brands and retailers to grow their businesses, as consumer behaviors shift due to economic factors like inflation, Alexandra Trott, director of insight for...

Fitting in and standing out: How Iya Foods found retail success with Target’s help

09-Jun-2023 By Ryan Daily

When it comes getting products on shelves, entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds often face unique challenges that major retailers like Target are addressing with their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and incubator programs, Toyin Kolawole,...

Brands, retailers ‘need to continuously earn shopper dedication’ amid inflation

10-May-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Developing sharp and effective messaging through loyalty programs can effectively strengthen consumer engagement and loyalty at a time when 65% of consumers are concerned about inflation, according to 84.51°’s recent Inflation Special Report.

The highs and lows of US snacking sales

15-Feb-2023 By Gill Hyslop

To help drive sales during National Snack Food Month (February), Cincinnati-based retail data science, insights and media company 84.51° has shared an assortment of snacking takeaways for retailers.

UNFI reinforces supply chains, boosts fill rates with reorg, investment in automation

11-Jan-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

United Natural Foods Inc. plans to remain on the sidelines rather than enter a bidding war against existing clients if and when anti-trust concerns force Kroger and Albertsons to divest retail locations as part of their proposed $24.6bn merger expected...

Kroger’s early ‘risky’ bet on digital, creating ‘seamless’ ecosystem boosts sales, creates new CPG marketing opportunities

02-Dec-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kroger’s big bet on digital, including personalized marketing and creating a “seamless” ecosystem that smoothly integrates digital and instore shopping along with fast home delivery or click and collect options, is paying off as the retailer saw identical,...

Kroger/PBFA report: ‘Health is the primary reason shoppers consume plant-based foods’

30-Nov-2022 By Elaine Watson

New shopper data from Kroger’s partner 84.51° shows that plant-based meat and dairy products are displacing animal products, albeit on a very small scale; while consumer survey data from 84.51° and the Plant Based Foods Association shows that personal...

Kroger-Albertsons merger hits roadblock in Washington state, Albertsons challenges 'meritless' anti-competitive claims

04-Nov-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

A Washington state court has granted a temporary restraining order to block dividend payments to Albertsons investors related to the $24.6bn merger with Kroger announced in October 2022.

What does the Kroger-Albertsons merger mean for brands? 'It's a double-edged sword...'

28-Oct-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

While the industry waits to see if the $24.6bn mega merger of Kroger and Albertsons will hold up against scrutiny from regulators, brands and suppliers are also standing by to see what the consolidation of the second-largest and fourth-largest US supermarket...

Kroger to acquire Albertsons for $24.6bn solidifying its position as #2 grocery retailer with 11.8% market share

14-Oct-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Supermarket giant Kroger is merging with Albertsons Companies Inc. (Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco), bolstering its position as the second largest food retailer in the US with an estimated 11.8% market share behind Walmart at 17.1%.

News in brief

Kroger launches Smart Way ‘opening price point’ private label line

08-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

As inflationary pressures continue to strain household budgets, Kroger has launched a new private label line called Smart Way spanning multiple categories from canned vegetables to napkins to help shoppers more easily identify “opening price point items.”

Home Chef opens new facility to support growing customer base

20-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger-owned meal kit company Home Chef is expanding its southeast footprint with a new dedicated 181,000-square-foot production facility in Georgia to support its growing customer base.

As inflation hits, consumers opt for store brands and exhibit some trade down behavior, says Kroger CEO

17-Jun-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger is seeing inflation heavily impact the way consumers are shopping at its stores, with many choosing more store brands and selecting fewer premium products (eg. switching from beef to pork), says CEO Rodney McMullen.

Kroger teams up with Impossible Foods via Home Chef brand; 'We view this test as a threat to Beyond Meat,' says analyst

07-Mar-2022 By Elaine Watson

Kroger has teamed up with Impossible Foods and Denver-based Custom Made Meals, which manufactures entrees and appetizers for Kroger’s Home Chef brand, to develop plant-based protein products, although it has not provided details about the scope of the...

Kroger reaches tentative deal with striking employees after Sen. Sanders sharply criticizes retailer

26-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

A tentative deal has been struck between Kroger and the union representing the more than 8,000 employees in Colorado who walked off their job in early January to protects an offer that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called “insulting” and “unacceptable”...

Strike: Thousands of Kroger employees in Colorado walk after dismissing ‘last, best and final’ offer

13-Jan-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Yesterday’s decision by Kroger employees in Colorado to strike rather than accept the retailer’s “last, best and final offer” recalls high-profile negotiations by others across the food industry in recent months and suggests the new wave of labor activism...

FTC probes Kroger, Walmart, Amazon & others about supply chain woes as White House explores impact on holiday shopping, brainstorms relief strategies

30-Nov-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is ordering nine CPG suppliers, retailers and wholesalers to share proprietary data about how they source, transport and distribute products as part of an investigation opened yesterday into the ongoing supply chain...

Home Chef surpasses $1bn in annual retail sales

25-Oct-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger's Home Chef meal kits and ready-to-eat products have surpassed $1bn in annual sales, reported the retailer.

Whole cuts: The Holy Grail of alt meat? Join us October 13 in part I of FoodNavigator-USA’s Disrupting the meat and dairy case broadcast series

11-Oct-2021 By Elaine Watson

When it comes to meat alternatives, most people tend to think about plant-based or cell-cultured meat (real animal cells grown outside an animal). But fungi, in a less familiar form factor (think foamy slabs of mushroom mycelium instead of dome shaped...

How is Kroger viewing the plant-based meat opportunity? Join us October 13 in part I of FoodNavigator-USA’s Disrupting the meat and dairy case broadcast series

30-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

Do plant-based meat products deliver the kind of productivity on shelf to warrant their space in retailers’ regular meat counters? How are consumers shopping the category? Is this still a time of experimentation? And what are buyers looking for from new...

Investing in the Future of Food: Kroger & Village Capital offer $2.5m & training for upcycling solutions

24-Mar-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

As part of a “moonshot” to end hunger and eliminate food waste, The Kroger Co.’s Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation and seed stage funder Village Capital are offering $2.5 million in collective grants and development programming to 10 innovative startups...

Kroger expands access to indoor vertically-grown produce in the Midwest

10-Mar-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger is expanding its partnership with vertical indoor farming company, 80 Acres Farms, to provide fresh produce to more Midwest consumers.

Kroger Q4 2020 sees 'sticky customer engagement' in digital business, first Ocado automated warehouse goes live

05-Mar-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger closed Q4 2020 with total sales (excluding fuel) up 10.7% to $30.7bn compared to Q4 2019, and a 118% boost to digital sales for the quarter.

Kroger provides $100 payment to workers who receive COVID-19 vaccine

08-Feb-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

In an effort to safeguard frontline food industry workers, Kroger is providing a one-time $100 payment to all store associates who receive the manufacturer-recommended doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Could Kroger’s shuttering of 2 stores in response to mandated pandemic pay portend more closures?

04-Feb-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kroger’s decision this week to shutter two Southern California grocery stores in response to a local ordinance mandating a temporary hazard pay increase for some grocery employees during the pandemic could portend similar action by other retailers in...

From 'mushroom mania' to 'ketotarian' foods: Kroger unveils top 7 food predictions for 2021

17-Dec-2020 By Elaine Watson

From ‘futureproof’ foods claiming to support immune health or manage stress, to the ‘ketotarian’ diet: a plant-based spin on keto, Kroger has released seven food trends it believes will gain traction in 2021, which it predicts will be a "breakout...

Kroger sales, market share gains reflect ‘Restock Kroger’ initiative, suggest success post-COVID

08-Dec-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Strong sales and market share gains in Kroger’s third-quarter announced last week suggest its controversial three-year, four-prong ‘Restock Kroger’ initiative is paying off and could insulate the retailer against a potential growth slowdown once a coronavirus...

Kroger and Ocado to roll out enhanced in-store fulfilment capabilities and start operating two customer fulfillment centers in early 2021

25-Nov-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

US grocery retailer Kroger and UK-based grocery e-commerce tech company Ocado will construct an additional automated Customer Fulfillment Center (CFC) in the South region, while also collaborating to roll out in-store fulfillment (ISF) capabilities across...

Kroger adds more than 50 plant-based items to Simple Truth line

14-Oct-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger has added more than 50 items -- from oat milk ice cream and non-dairy cheese to the debut of Emerge Chik'n -- to its Simple Truth plant-based collection to meet consumers' growing appetite for plant-based alternatives.

Kroger enters meal delivery game with launch of on-premise ghost kitchens

08-Oct-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

In partnership with Indiana-based technology startup ClusterTruck, Kroger is repurposing around 1,000 square feet of retail space at select stores to meet consumer demand for quick, freshly-prepared, restaurant-quality meals delivered to customers'...

NEWS IN BRIEF

Kroger names former Mondelēz executive as new SVP of supply chain

29-Sep-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger has named Gabriel Arreaga as its new SVP of supply chain beginning Oct. 1, 2020 replacing Robert Clark who will retire from the company effective February 1, 2021.

Kroger sees at-home cooking and eating as predominant consumer behavior for foreseeable future

14-Sep-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Consumers have grown accustomed to eating and cooking more meals at home due to the pandemic and will continue this behavior well into 2021, said Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen during the company's Q2 2020 earnings call.

Plant-based meat sales increase 23% when placed in meat department, study finds

09-Jul-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Plant-based meat sales increased by an average of 23% when sold in the meat department next to animal proteins, according to new research from Kroger and the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA).

Instore demos ‘are not going away’ but may look different in future, say sampling firms

05-Jun-2020 By Elaine Watson

Instore demos - a key tool for many emerging brands to encourage trial and raise awareness – were one of the first things to go when COVID-19 hit, with multiple retailers discontinuing them until further notice. However, Costco is planning a gradual...

Whole Foods Market and King Soopers lead in plant-based product assortment and marketing, reports GFI

29-May-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

As the plant-based food sector continues to grow (up 11% in dollar sales in 2019 to $5bn), the category has become an integral part of many grocery retailers’ store assortments, marketing, and promotional strategies, according to The Good Food Institute...

Kroger buys and redirects dairy farmers’ surplus milk to Feeding America food banks

01-May-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger is purchasing 200,000 gallons of fluid milk from dairy farmers who have struggled to find new buyers to purchase their excess supply (much of which was originally destined for foodservice and schools before the pandemic hit). The milk will be redirected...

Kroger Co. braces for ‘high risk’ of recession by investing in innovation, key partnerships

21-Apr-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

While it is still too early to predict the long-term economic impact of measures designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Kroger Co. is bracing for the “high risk” that a recession is on the horizon by investing now in innovation and key partnerships,...

Retailers, Union call on policymakers, CDC to strengthen safety standards for grocery employees

15-Apr-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kroger is adding its voice to the growing chorus of industry stakeholders asking elected officials to designate all grocery employees as ‘extended first responders’ and ‘emergency personnel’ to ensure they are protected and have access to healthcare during...

Kroger sees 30% rise in identical sales w/o fuel in March, but ‘too early to speculate what will emerge as the new normal’

01-Apr-2020 By Elaine Watson

Kroger started to see a “significant shift in customer behavior” during the last few days of February as shoppers started stocking up, with sales accelerating sharply in March, generating a 30% rise in identical (same store) retail supermarket sales without...

Kroger begins test of plant-based meat retail concept in 60 stores

17-Dec-2019 By Elaine Watson

Kroger has started trialing dedicated three-foot plant-based meat sets within its conventional meat department in 60 stores in Denver, Indiana and Illinois in partnership with the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA).

Walmart expands unlimited delivery option for online grocery orders, Kroger announces 5th fulfilment center with Ocado

13-Sep-2019 By Elaine Watson

Walmart is expanding a subscription-based, unlimited-delivery option for its online grocery service to 1,400 stores this year following trials in Houston, Salt Lake City, Miami and Tampa; while Kroger has announced the location of its fifth atuomated...

Kroger and PBFA to test three-foot plant-based meat retail concept in 60 stores

10-Sep-2019 By Elaine Watson

Kroger has teamed up with the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) to trial dedicated three-foot plant-based meat sets within its conventional meat department in 60 stores in Denver and parts of Indiana and Illinois.

Home Chef: Our instore meal kit business could be bigger than our ecommerce business in pretty short order

29-Jul-2019 By Elaine Watson

Home Chef meal kits are now available in more than 1,000 Kroger stores targeting the significant subset of consumers that buy into the meal kit concept but don’t want to commit to a subscription, or don’t want to plan meals so far ahead, says Home Chef...

Kroger suspends deliveries from Natural Prairie Dairy amid fresh animal abuse allegations, Albertsons reviewing options

26-Jul-2019 By Elaine Watson

Kroger has suspended the supply of raw milk from Texas-based organic milk producer Natural Prairie Dairy, pending the result of a FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) audit, while Albertsons is reviewing its options, amid allegations of animal...

News in brief

Kroger unveils Stratum, a 'breakthrough analytics' tool to help CPG partners track performance on- and offline

22-Jul-2019 By Elaine Watson

Kroger’s consumer data platform 84.51° has launched Stratum: a tool to help CPG partners track online and in-store sales, data inventory, out of stocks, assortment, promotions, customer segmentation and behavioral insights.

RightRice heads to Kroger stores nationwide, validating demand for a pantry rice alternative

11-Jun-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

RightRice has landed in nearly 2,000 Kroger stores nationwide giving the brand access to a broader consumer audience as demand for a shelf-stable, better-for-you rice alternative heats up.

News in brief

Kroger to invest in ‘next gen’ CPG brands via deal with private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg

15-May-2019 By Elaine Watson

Kroger has teamed up with private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg to create PearlRock Partners, a new platform that will identify and invest in promising new CPG brands utilizing insights from its consumer data platform 84.51°.