AWG Brands, the private brands of Kansas City, Kansas-based Associated Wholesale Grocers, has revitalized its Always Save and Best Choice cereal offerings to help member retailers optimize their assortments.
The optimized items in Always Save and Best Choice brands, which began shipping to retailers in January, can be found on AWG member retailer shelves.
With AWG Brands cereal sales outpacing the national average, the restructured product offerings aim to help retailers continue meeting consumer demands.
“The AWG teams have made the AWG Brands cereal assortment a winning category for AWG Brands,” said Tye Anthony, chief merchandising and marketing officer.
“We continue to help AWG member retailers attract consumers in competitive aisles.”
For AWG’s flagship private brand, Best Choice, the team used collaborative market and consumer insights garnered through AWG Partner Gateway to work with vendor partners on optimizing the assortment and exiting some SKUs while developing additional options for member retailers.
The new offering delivers on Best Choice’s aim to align with national brands on item sizing and flavor profiles. The restructuring also simplifies the pricing strategy for Best Choice ready-to-eat cereal items, giving retailers greater flexibility when advertising to consumers.
“Our goal with AWG Brands ready-to-eat cereal offering is to help AWG retailers deliver quality products to end-consumers at the best prices possible,” said Candy Sittig, director of category management.
“The new assortment puts AWG retailers in a better position to fulfill both of those objectives.”
In the most visible element of the overhaul, Always Save ready-to-eat cereal is leaving the bag business and moving into value-size boxes while tightening the flavor offerings to the most successful SKUs.
“Ready-to-eat cereal is led by boxes,” said Ernesto Otero, category sales manager.
“The evolution of the Always Save brand’s offering helps AWG retailers compete better with their peers in this important, mature segment.”
About AWG
Associated Wholesale Grocers is a cooperative food wholesaler to independently-owned supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and more than 3,500 locations throughout 32 states from nine wholesale divisions.
In addition, AWG also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, health and beauty care, general merchandise, pharmaceutical products, specialty foods and natural and organic products.
Read more wholesaler and distributor news from The Shelby Report.
