Kroger Co., the nation’s largest traditional grocer, is expanding its Private Selection brand to include more than 60 organic items by the end of the year.
The deeper push into the organic sector targets consumers already buying organics elsewhere and mainstream shoppers who may try them if given the option.
“It’ll make it easier so you don’t have to go to two or more stores,” said Gwyn Stuckless, who bought organic yellow squash and zucchini at a Denver King Soopers on Wednesday. “I think they have to get into it because places like Sunflower and Whole Foods are growing so fast.”
The organic expansion puts Cincinnati-based Kroger, which owns King Soopers and City Market, in line with Safeway and Wal-Mart, which have already beefed up their organic offerings to lure shoppers who have been catered to by chains such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Sunflower Markets and other organic specialty stores.
Whole Foods and Boulder-based Wild Oats have used the fact that mainstream grocers are expanding into organics to bolster their argument that they should be allowed to merge. The companies said in a federal hearing this month that there would still be adequate competition in the sector even if they combined.
A judge’s decision on whether the merger can go through is expected this month.
The Kroger Private Selection line has been around for seven years and has offered a limited organic selection for nine months. By the end of the year, more than 60 organic items will be added to the line, including pasta, peanut butter and tea, said Trail Daugherty, a spokesman for King Soopers and City Market.
“On a national level, there is tremendous and increasing interest by mainstream shoppers in having more options that would include healthy lifestyle choices or organic choices,” Daugherty said.
According to the Organic Trade Association, 75 percent of consumers purchase organics occasionally and 25 percent consume them weekly. The association also reports that seven in 10 Americans express concerns about food wholesomeness and 95 percent have tried an organic product at least once.
The association also reported that 3 percent of food sales in 2006 were organic, with sales exceeding $16 billion. Experts predict that number will grow to 5 percent by 2010.
“Kroger as well as Safeway and other national grocers have been capitalizing on the opportunity to take on Whole Foods and Wild Oats and try to shift shoppers,” said Burt Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a business- strategy group in New York. “Kroger offers what Whole Foods founder John Mackey calls a combination of sin and salvation, salvation being natural and organic foods and sin being salty potato chips and crackers and cookies with lots of chips.”
Expanding organics provides a one-stop shopping experience, especially for younger educated consumers with disposable income but not a lot of time to bounce from store to store, Flickinger said.
“King Soopers is all over the place, and Whole Foods has only a few locations,” said Luke McAlpine, 22, who shopped at King Soopers on Wednesday. “It’s easier.”
Mark Frankovitz, 37, welcomes the grocer’s foray into the sector. He bounces from King Soopers to Wild Oats checking prices of organic items, especially produce and fruit.
“It’s a healthy process for all stores to do. The more the merrier,” he said. “Because it’s a larger chain, it might tend to also be lower-priced.”
The retailer wants to reach both bounce shoppers like Frankovitz and those who would like a healthier option if it were presented to them, Daugherty said.
The Kroger organics will be integrated throughout the store, as organics are offered at Safeway, instead of being segregated into one section.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture seal for organic foods will be on the offerings. The seal indicates the products are free of hormones and pesticides.
The new options also complement the Naturally Preferred Kroger line, which has been around for five years and offers some organic options.
Staff writer Elizabeth Aguilera can be reached at 303-820-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
$3.6 BILLION
U.S. organic-food sales in 1997
$7.4 BILLION
Organic-food sales in 2001
$16.7 BILLION
Organic-food sales in 2006
Source: Organic Trade Association
