PL Snack Attack Hits All Fronts
BY John J. Pierce

Raley's Classic Indulgence mint cups, Topco's Food Club candy bars and Eckerd's nonpareils are all part of the growing private label family of chocolate candy. Price Chopper licorice jelly beans and Fiesta Mart sour gummy bears are typical of chewy candies, and there are still hard candies out there like Brooks' butterscotch. Safeway and Acme boost fruit snack sales with Curious George tie-in and flashier packaging. Other sweet items include Food Lion Buddy Bars, Richfood fudge striped peanut butter wafers and BestYet marshmallows from Fleming.

Nearly every category in salty snacks, candy and nuts shows store brand gains.

The World Wrestling Federation has its Smackdown. Private label has its Snackdown, And for an industry traditionally dominated by brands, store brands have winning extra sales and share points almost across the board.

Even in the hotly contested category of potato chips, where Direct Store Delivery (DSD) vendors often set the racks, private label sales were up 1.8% to $149.1 million for the 52 weeks ended 2/24/02, according to Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago, IL.

There were stronger gains for other traditional salty snacks: 7.7% to $88.1 million for tortilla chips, 8.0% to $61 million for pretzels, 9.6% to $42.3 million for cheese snacks. 3.4% to $14.1 million for corn snacks and 4.4% to $18.1 million for other salted snacks. Only in ready-to-eat popcorn did store brands falter.

In one salted snack category-meat snacks-there was a real breakthrough, with a 72.4% increase to $3.3 million. What makes it more interesting is that none of the $3.3 million came from Wal-Mart, Bentonville, AR, which doesn't take part in IRI surveys any more but is doubtless the largest private label player in the category with its Great Value beef jerky in four-ounce bags retailing at $3.27.

Another breakthrough category is trail mix, up 42.6% to $3.6 million. This may reflect an increased interest in healthy, nutritional snacks; but it also reflects savvy marketing. Trail mix has traditionally been a pegboard item, perhaps intended for backpacks; but Safeway Stores, Pleasanton, CA, is selling it in 36-ounce jars at $5.99 for home consumption.

In the candy area, there has been a startling 188% increase, to $7.3 million, in private label breath fresheners. At least part of this involves checkout area sales of breath mints in tins; Eckerd Drug, Clearwater, FL, displays its Wintergreen Wow! mints right next to the Tic Tacs.

Acme puts trail mix in a jar, while Price Chopper adds chocolate to its macadamia nuts. Giant's Super G honey-roasted peanuts are typical of private label, and Rite Aid's cashews are unusual only for the bonus pack; but Eckerd offers almonds, Topco sunflower kernels and Kroger walnut halves. Albertson's caters to shoppers who want a whole lot of raisins, but Trader Joe's adds dried cranberries to the mix.

Private label fruit snack sales are up 21.4% to $38.1 million. This probably has a lot to do with character tie-ins: Safeway is the largest retailer yet to offer Curious George snacks under its own brand. But more attractive packaging, like that Albertson's, Boise, ID, uses for its Creepies under the Albertson's and Acme brands, may also be a major factor.

Private Label Candygram

A 15.6 gain in chocolate candy, to $18.7 million, appears to reflect the growing emphasis on chocolate bars and chocolate cups at supermarkets and chocolate-covered candy at drug stores like Eckerd and Walgreens, Deerfield, IL.

Under its Food Club brand, Topco Associates, Skokie, IL, has launched six gourmet candy bars: pure milk chocolate, milk chocolate peanut butter, milk chocolate butter crunch, crispy milk chocolate, caramel milk chocolate and pure dark chocolate.

At Raley's, West Sacramento, CA, Sunny Select Classic Indulgence chocolate cups in peanut butter, mint and caramel varieties are marketed at $2.59 in 12-ounce resealable stand-up pouches. Safeway, Wal-Mart and other retailers have carried chocolate cups in private label for years, but theirs have always been in glossy paper bags with wire closures.

Eckerd, under its Eckerd Award brand, offers a slew of chocolate candies-chocolate nonpareils, bridge mix and chocolate-covered peanuts, raisins, almond clusters and malted milk balls-all at $1.69 a bag. At Walgreens, peanut butter cups, bridge mix and chocolate-covered raisins, caramel nut clusters and malted milk balls all go for 99 cents.

Private label chewy candy was up 6.3% to $41.4 million. No surprise there, what with all the spice drops, jelly beans, Swedish fish, Ju Jus and gummy whatevers. A 12.8% gain in novelty candies, to $9.7 million, presumably covers repackaged branded items like Tootsie Rolls.

Vive La Différence!

It always helps to do something different, whether in products or packaging. Shaw's Supermarkets, East Bridewater, MA, for example, has come out with old fashioned kettle cooked potato chips flavored with sea salt and malt vinegar. They're in the Shaw's Signature brand, along with Sour Cream & Green Onion and Zesty Jalapeño.

Kroger, Cincinnati, OH, offers Deluxe Snack mix-both original and low-fat mustard pretzel varieties-in 11-ounce resealable stand-up pouches at $2.19. Pretzel waffles in 15-ounce bags at $1.79 are another introduction, and 22-ounce party mix is plastic jars runs $4.79. Trader Joe's, South Pasadena, CA, meanwhle, has low-fat pasta twists.

Good promotion always helps, too. Restaurant-style tortilla chips, already a bargain for $1.49 a 14-ounce bag at Weis Markets, Sunbury, PA, recently came with a coupon good for $1 towards purchase of any 16-ounce Ortega salsa as a dip for them. .

Raisins aren't the hottest thing going in private label these days; in fact, sales are slipping nationwide. But Albertson's won't take the category for granted. It offers value packs like 24-ounce canisters at $3.49 (versus $3.69 for Sun Maid) and 32-ounce lie-down bags for $3,39.

Sometimes you feel like a nut, and U.S. shoppers shelled out $290.2 million for private label snack nuts, up 3.2% over a year. But there isn't any breakdown foe how much they spent on which nuts. Peanuts still dominate the market, with cashews and mixed nuts as runners up. But retailers are certainly offering more choices.

Macadamia nuts, compared to peanuts are pretty pricey. So Price Chopper, Schenectady, NY, has made them more appealing by covering them in chocolate and selling them at $4.99 an 8.5-ounce jar. But Wegmans, Rochester, NY, includes macadamia nuts as part of a 12-ounce deluxe mixed nuts at the same price. Kroger offers slow-roasted praline pecans under its premium Private Selection brand at $6.99.