Organic Foods Get on Private-Label Wagon†

As More Shoppers Pinch Pennies, Grocery Chains See 'Natural' Expansion of Store Brands

Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2009 — Organic farmers and grocery retailers are embracing the idea of lower-cost, private-label products to retain newly budget-conscious consumers.

Supervalu Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. food retailer by sales, expanded its Wild Harvest organic brand to 312 items, from 150 last spring. Safeway Inc., the third-largest U.S. food retailer , last fall began selling its organic food brands to other retailers.

Private-label organics have "broken some price barriers for shoppers, and everyone is price sensitive these days," said Mike Gilliland, chief executive of Newflower Market Inc., a natural-grocery chain based in Boulder, Colo., with 25 stores.

The New Fear Factor: 'Little' Brands Do Better

MediaPost Publications, September 18, 2007 — LEAD IN TOYS. DATA BREACHES. Tainted pet food. Mad cow. Global climate change. Pending debt implosion. No wonder consumers are a little jumpy these days. And while there's no evidence of consumer backlash on any single issue, new research from the Natural Marketing Institute suggests that, collectively, this new "fear factor" is affecting the way America shops, causing consumers to favor smaller, quirkier brands that seem "local" over soulless brand names from mass marketers.