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 Pasta/Rice - January/February 2008  |
Carb Options
Pasta and rice are both staples, and both strong sellers in store brands. But Trader Joe’s... There’s pasta and there’s rice and then there’s rice pasta. For people with gluten allergies who long for pasta, Trader Joe’s, Monrovia, CA, has come up with the perfect solution: pasta made from organic brown rice. That’s just one of the new faces of store brand pasta and rice these days. It may appeal to just a niche market, but a specialty retailer like Trader Joe’s with a small but loyal clientele, filling that kind of niche makes economic as well as ethical sense. “Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Rice Pasta is a wheat-free, gluten-free alternative to traditional pasta. It’s made with nothing but organic brown rice and water, so what you’re getting is pure, natural and delicious. Serve hot with tomato sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese, cold with fresh vegetables in pasta salad or anywhere you’d normally use your favorite pasta.” Pasta and rice have both done well in store brands over the past year, according to Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago, IL. Pasta sales, at $233.1 million for the 52 weeks ended 12/2/2007, were up 8.7% and held a 20.7% share at food and discount retailers other than Wal-Mart, Bentonville, AR. Rice sales in store brands increased 8.3% to $128.4 million, with almost exactly the same share–20.8%. Consumers seem to want the real thing–basic rice and pasta. Store brand sales of packaged pasta dishes, traditional convenience foods for children, were off 6.7% to $40.8 million, despite innovations like organic canned versions at Meijer, Grand Rapids, MI, and upscale dry mixes by Jewel, Melrose Park, IL. At Meijer, there are two upscale dry pasta lines: Meijer Select Italian and Meijer Gold. Select Italian is “imported from Gragnano, a small town in Southern Italy famous for producing quality pastas since 1820.” Made from 100% semolina, it includes whole wheat versions of penne regate and capellini, catering to a popular trend. Meijer Gold, meanwhile, features imported varieties, cut with traditional bronze dies rather than Teflon, making for “a porous surface that enables sauce to cling perfectly.” “Heart Healthy” reads a call-out on Market Basket Plus multi-grain (semolina, whole oat and barley flours, flaxseed) Penne Rigate at DeMoulas Super Markets, Tewksbury, MA, which also contains 260 milligrams per serving of ALA Omega-3, 20% of the recommended daily value. San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma, best known for upscale kitchenware, is pursuing niche markets in upscale foods–one of them being specialty pastas like Croxetti under the licensed Fiore Pasta Artigianale brand. When it comes to rice, Topco Associates, Skokie, IL, may have the most unusual specialty: Japanese-style sushi rice–“distinctive, sticky”–under its World Classics Trading Co. brand. That tops the black, red and other specialty rices at Target, and entries like Eating Right whole grain American Basmati brown rice at Safeway. Organic rice is getting more private label exposure, as witness Nature’s Promise long-grain white rice at Hannaford, Scarborough, ME; and 365 Organic short grain brown rice at Whole Foods, Austin, TX. Recommended Suppliers
Products described or shown in this article are not necessarily available from these suppliers. For more suppliers see current Private Label Directory & Buyer’s Guide. |
