Cutting the Mustard
Southern-style mayonnaise with paprika is Lowes Foods' store brand regional variation on a standard condiment.
Store brands do it every which way, and at least one retailer has even combined it with mayo for a specialty sauce. Another offers a regional mayo. And there are new varieties and new packaging galore in the fast-growing market for spices and seasonings.
You can’t get much more basic than mustard and mayonnaise when it comes to condiments, branded or private label. But Southern style mayonnaise with a touch of paprika? Or a mustard and mayonnaise sauce?
People can find the first only at Lowes Foods, Winston-Salem, NC, and the second only at Wegmans, Rochester, NY. Both are examples of one thing store brands do best: take the most everyday products and turn them into destination products.
Available in 16 and 32-oz. jars, Lowes’ regional mayonnaise is emblematic of that kind of creativity. And Lowes doesn’t stop with mayonnnaise. Three Pepper (jalapeño, red and green) premium mustard is another example; it comes in 9.6-oz. squeeze bottles.
Mayonnaise is the fastest-growing condiment in store brands, with sales up 39.4% to $135.5 million for the 52 weeks ended 7/12/2009, according to Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago, IL. Private label is really cutting the mustard, too; sales in that category were up 15.8% to $71.1 million.
Store brand sales of that other basic condiment, ketchup, were up 17.7% to $104.2 million. But ketchup seems to be the Great Invariant: except for organic versions, store brand variations are hard to find. The only example Private Label has found is a “ketchup type sauce” under the President’s Choice Blue Menu brand at Loblaws, Toronto, ON – it promises 65% fewer calories than standard tomato ketchup.
“Great with stone crab claws, crab legs and shrimp,” reads a message on the lid of Wegmans mustard sauce (the same message appears in the chain’s online product listing), which combines mustard with mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce.
Carried in 8-oz. tubs in the refrigerated section, it is definitely not your standard ketchup, mustard or relish for hot dogs or hamburgers at fall football tailgate parties!
There are seemingly endless innovations to mustard in other private brands. Loblaws offers a Russian style variation under the President’s Choice brand. Whole grain mustard with garlic is part of the Private Selection line at Kroger, Cincinnati, OH. Organic yellow mustard is available in squeeze bottles under the Nature’s Basket brand at Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, PA.
Chipotle, Jalapeño and Sweet & Hot versions are marketed under the World Classics premium brand by Topco Associates, Skokie, IL, along with the more common Dijon and Horseradish varieties. But Topco is also appealing to hard-pressed consumers during the current recession with plain yellow mustard under the Clear Value brand, and to organic fans with Full Circle yellow, spicy brown and honey mustards. Lowes, a member of Topco, includes Cranberry Honey as well as Three Pepper mustard in its line; another member, Schnucks, St. Louis, MO, matches Sweet & Hot under the Schnucks Select brand.
Private label relish sales rose by a relatively modest 7.5%, to $42.2 million, according to IRI. Loblaws has a unique entry in the category: Peach Chutney, described at the President’s Choice website as a “perfect complement for roasted meats or as an addition to cheese and cracker platters. Also adds a sweet & sour note to special recipes. An ideal glaze for ham and chicken.” Topco, meanwhile, has brought out an Apple Cranberry relish under its World Classics Trading Co. brand as well as no-sugar-added and organic sweet relishes under the Food Club and Full Circle brands.
Not specifically tracked by IRI is a new wave of bruschetta toppings, which were originally intended for bread but are finding other applications. Trader Joe’s, Monrovia, CA, recommends its Mixed Grill Vegetable bruschetta for use with bread, pasta, salad or potatoes. Wegmans alone offers three varieties under its Italian Classics sub-brand: Roasted Red Pepper, Traditional Tomato and Artichoke Asiago. Loblaws’ President’s Choice line includes Tomato Basil and Tomato Olive. All three retailers also carry store brand tapenades.
Spices and seasonings other that salt and pepper are experiencing strong growth in private label, and it isn’t hard to see why: more and more of them are functional blends of one kind or another. Traditionally, these have been for meat, fish and poultry, but now some are for salads. Loblaws includes Salad & Vegetable seasoning blend in a grinder bottle in its President’s Choice line. Another Canadian chain, Montreal, QC-based Metro, offers packets of salad seasoning under its Selection brand.
As part of its 150th anniversary, A&P, Montvale, NJ, brought out period-looking packaging for a number of its store brand products, including a twin pack of Montana Steak and poultry seasonings. Loblaws offers President’s Choice Cajun and seafood seasonings in grinder bottles. Target, Minneapolis, MN, markets packaged items like Taco burger seasoning mix in its Archer Farms brand. Kroger’s bottled spices and seasonings are broken out into Hot Blends (like black and red pepper) and Grill Time (like Tuscan blend).
Sea salt continues to be trendy in private label. Kroger combines lemon-infused sea salt and peppercorn in a grinder bottle under its Private Selection brand; Loblaws matches that except for the lemon infusion under the President’s Choice brand and also offers regional sea salts like Himalayan and Memories of Sicilia coarse and fine sea salts. Topco’s World Classics line includes both coarse sea salt in a jar and finely-ground sea salt in a shaker; it also offers garlic and onion salts in its Food Club brand. Regional sea salts are also part of the Taste of Inspirations line from Delhaize Group U.S., Salisbury, NC.
