Safeway, which already dominates the organic-products market with its O Organics line, is rolling out Open Nature, yet another store brand. But with this one, which has all product ingredients listed on the front of the package as well as the back, "we're responding to consumer demand for transparency, and we're telling them exactly what we mean by natural," Nancy Cota, Safeway's VP/innovation and new product development, tells Marketing Daily. "They are tired of four-syllable ingredients and brands that claim to be natural when they're not. We're giving them an option that means they won't even have to turn the package over and look on the back."
The retailer is plugging the product in stores and on packaging with the tagline: "We believe that nature has nothing to hide, and neither should your food."
Consumer demand for such a line has been building for some time, explains Jim Seiple, group VP/research & development, but this line has been years in the making. "The problem is that while the word 'organic' has a very clear meaning, and is governed by the USDA, the term 'natural' is much looser. For a consumer, figuring out what each manufacturer means when they use it is very confusing. We're offering one definition — 100% natural, 100% real, minimally processed — and explaining it on all the products and throughout our stores."
Another delay, he says, was that it took time to find sources. For example, "we only use whole grains and whole wheat. Open Nature products don't have any enriched flour, synthetic vitamin fortifications, alkalized cocoa, or hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils — finding those vendors took some time."
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