Healthy People, Healthy Planet
Quality was the over-arching theme of our PL September 2009 issue — with our annual Premium Report as its centerpiece. In this issue of Private Label, Health can be viewed as the dominant theme — with our annual Green Report as the centerpiece.
Indeed, Healthy People, Healthy Planet has become the new consumer mantra of the first decade of the 21st Century. And retailers across all three major channels of trade have responded through their ever-widening offerings of natural and organic food and personal care products and eco-friendly household products. (See our 2009 Green Report on page 36 in this issue.)
When you examine our Organic/Green Store Brand Table included in the Green Report, you will notice that almost all of the store brand launch dates come after the year 2000.
The only exceptions are Trader Joe’s which under Joe Coulombe began selling organic store brands in the late 1970s, Whole Foods Market which was founded by John Mackey in 1980, and Loblaws which launched its original G.R.E.E.N. store brand line under Dave Nichol in 1989.
Green Trailblazer
Whole Foods Market continues to set new standards for defining what green means in the retail marketplace. Indeed, one of its executives, Margaret Wittenberg, served on the advisory committee that helped to formulate the standards for USDA Certified Organic program, which was enacted into law in October 2002.
In 2009 WFM raised the bar for defining the meaning of natural in the marketplace. It announced its commitment to the Non-GMO Project and in turn to its independent third-party Product Verification Program for non-organic products.
The first WFM private label products to bear the Non-GMO seal are expected to be in the stores before the end of this year.
This year, WFM also unveiled its new Premium Body Care Standards for personal care products sold in its Whole Body in-store departments. The retailer has created the WFM Premium Body Care logo to identify exclusive premium and store brand personal care items that meet its new natural product definition.
More Highlights
Also worth noting in this issue are the following:
- Household Cleaners Category Close-Up by Jamie Grill who describes what it means to be “Clean and Green,” on page page 50,
- Lite & Healthy Category Close-Up by Kristen Ball who writes about “Seeing the Lite,” in terms of healthy store brand products and even lifestyle lines on page 76,
- Expert Advice column by Steve Rubow who explores why “It’s not easy being green …” on page 82.
Being green may not suit Kermit the Frog, but as we see it, store brand retailers are making it a lot easier for consumers to turn Green.
