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GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2018 www.gourmetnews.com RETAILER NEWS 1 3 New Seasons Continued from PAGE 1 Seattle, Washington, non-profit organiza- tion that supports women-owned busi- nesses, especially food entrepreneurs, partly by providing basic business classes, and Portland Mercado, a business founda- tions boot camp, and in Adelante Mujeres, a non-profit focused on education and training for low-income Latina women who want to start their own business or launch their own product. At the core of its support for the regional food economy is its robust Partner Brand program, a private label program that spe- cializes in sourcing products made within 500 miles of Portland. "We try to target and support minority- and women-owned busi- nesses and target companies with fewer than 50 employees," said Tjersland, who was hired by New Seasons six and a half years ago to create the private label pro- gram. The New Seasons private label program is built around supporting the local food economy rather than creating a price-dri- ven line of products, Tjersland said. "Cre- ating a traditional program wasn't going to fit with what we do as a company," he said. "Instead of creating a value-driven pro- gram, we source local whenever possible, we're very transparent from seed to shelf, and we use simple, clean ingredients." The New Seasons Partner Brand product line now includes 300 products that come from 43 suppliers. About 80 percent of the products are sourced locally, and in terms of dollars, about 25 to 30 percent of the product is made by small companies. The line has seen double-digit growth year over year for the past six years. The New Seasons products are labeled with a bright-orange call-out on the front of the package that tells shoppers who made the product they're buying and where they're located. The lineup includes fresh and dried pasta, milk, butter and eggs and tortilla chips, among others. The popcorn uses local sea salt from Jacobsen Salt Com- pany, hand harvested from the company's salt works in Ne- tarts Bay, Ore- gon, and the blue cheese in the Butternut & Blue Cheese Ravioli comes from Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Oregon. New Seasons Rasp- berry Fruit Spread was cre- ated by Kelly's Jelly in Portland, Oregon and was made with fruit from Bauman's Farms in Gervais, Oregon. "It makes it a little bit more unique for our customers; it's a brand concept that they wouldn't find at other retail stores," Tjers- land said. Some of those products were pitched by their existing producers who had a recipe they wanted to try out as a new-product launch; some of them come from producers who were willing to make a product based on an in- spiration that came to Tjersland while he was vis- iting a trade show; and some of them came from entrepreneurs who were just getting started in the business. "We go with the idea that we're looking for innovation, products that we can source from a local producer, and we look at things they can do with their own local twist," Tjersland said. One example is a pair of Korean sauces – a gochujang and a garlic-sesame sauce created by a family who produces a local kimchi. They had family recipes for the sauces and wanted to create them as a retail product, Tjersland said. "It's an opportunity for them to create the product and deter- mine if it's feasible for them to launch under their own brand," he said. "If they want to develop it as a product that they'd sell to other stores, I would not have a problem with that." The emphasis for the line is on small batches of artisanal products as well as on local sourcing. Products are responsibly priced based on a fair price for a quality, lo- cally-made artisan product, Tjersland said. "Not too high that you wouldn't consider buying it, but enough to help people rec- ognize that they're supporting the local vendors." That emphasis on supporting the local food economy has been with the pri- vately-held company since it was founded more than 18 years ago, and many of the supplier relationships that the company built when the first store opened are still operat- ing today, Tjersland said. "As we've grown, we've made sure we keep those relation- ships and work with them so that they can grow along with us," he said. If New Seasons' needs outstrip what a local farmer or fisher- man is able to provide, the company will look for other suppliers who can augment supply to help support the gro- cery chain's growth, he added. That growth has been supported by the Pacific Northwest's strong food culture and culinary presence. "Consumers are looking for a place where they can source a lot of products that are local," Tjersland said. "We have a customer base that is generally more supportive of the local food economy. Portland has a vibrant farmers market community that plays into the ethic, and the New Seasons stores are an extension of those farmers market providing vendors with other avenues where they can sell their goods." The emphasis on local suppliers adds a level of complexity to store operations. Whereas a large store belonging to another grocery chain might see 30 to 40 deliveries a day, a New Seasons store might get 65 or 70, Tjersland said. Some farmers are only able to grow enough produce to supply a few of the New Seasons stores, requiring the grocers to deal with multiple suppliers for the same produce variety. "But what they do might be so special or so deli- cious," Tjersland said. "We try to set our- selves up to be very flexible." "In terms of the New Seasons brand and the products we sell, it's our largest brand in the grocery department of our stores. It's gotten to the point where we get product recommendations from our customers. They'll sometimes ask for products from specific producers," he added. "Over 18 years, we've created a lot of equity in our brand. Consumers trust the product." GN Meijer Expands Home Delivery to Include Store Pick-Up Option Across Midwest Meijer announced the expansion of its Mei- jer Home Delivery program to include a pick-up option at stores across the Mid- west, building on a chainwide initiative to offer customers multiple ways to conve- niently shop its stores. "Customers are always looking for ways to manage busy schedules and maximize their time, so we believe offering pick up enhances our Meijer Home Delivery pro- gram, especially around the holiday shop- ping season," said Keith Rothstein, Group Vice President of Merchandise Services. "Being able to choose between store-to- door delivery and pick up is another per- sonalized option that ultimately makes it easier than ever to shop at our stores." The popular service is now available at 227 Meijer supercenters in six states, offer- ing nearly 11 million households the flexi- bility to shop anytime, from anywhere, and have a personalized shopper to hand-select and deliver your order store-to-door, or into your car, within a few hours. Meijer home delivery and pickup orders are ful- filled by Shipt. Meijer Pickup is available at any Meijer store that offers home delivery and is in- cluded as part of a Meijer home delivery membership. As part of the membership, customers can order online, keep track of their total basket, note any preferences, choose between pickup and delivery, as well as a preferred delivery window via ShopMeijer.com. Customers receive a text from their personalized shopper when the order begins and are contacted when the order is ready to be delivered or picked up. Customers can shop for grocery and gen- eral merchandise items, which includes everything from fresh produce and grocery to daily essential items like diapers, cases of water and pet food. The retailer has also added toys, electronics, school supplies, health and beauty care items to the list of 80,000 items available through ShopMei- jer.com. Meijer customers can sign up for the service for $99 a year and receive unlimited deliveries for free on orders over $35; a flat $7 delivery fee is added to any orders under $35. Because most Meijer stores are open 24-hours-a-day, customers can choose de- livery times most convenient for them, which allows those with challenging sched- ules or third shift jobs the opportunity to shop and receive orders very early in the morning or late at night. The store pick-up option is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. GN

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