Albertsons beefs up its private label offerings
Dive Brief:
Albertsons on Wednesday debuted a private label line of ready-to-cook marinated meats featuring "adventurous flavors and globally inspired ingredients" that take about 20 minutes to prepare.The chain is bringing items sporting the new house brand, Chef's Counter, to the self-service meat department before expanding the line to the deli, frozen and center store sections next year.Albertsons is positioning the new brand to attract shoppers interested in preparing restaurant-style meals on a budget.
Dive Insight:
Albertsons is bolstering its own brands portfolio with a new assortment of unique foods as the grocer looks to set itself apart from competitors and connect with price-conscious consumers who want to cook at home.
The grocer, which inaugurated Susan Morris as CEO at the beginning of the month, said in a press release about its newest house brand that it wanted to offer "distinctly memorable and sensorily evocative experiences and trend-forward flavors that are often challenging to replicate."
Chef's Counter selections range in price from $4.99 to $12.69. Options include lemon peppercorn chicken, boneless pork loin chops featuring mesquite or garlic herb flavors, and chimichurri beef sirloin steaks. Shoppers can also opt for carne asada beef flap steak that Albertsons said was designed to "evoke a distinct restaurant experience."
Albertsons has also added a collection of shoppable recipes featuring Chef's Counter-branded items to its online platforms. In addition, the grocer has enlisted celebrity chef Antonia Lofaso to help promote the brand through content on social media.
Albertsons' addition of Chef's Counter follows the company's introduction in September of Overjoyed, which spans multiple grocery categories including snack mixes, candy, cookies and dessert supplies. The grocer also brought out Bee Lightly, a line of wines that come in flat bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, last fall.
Retailers have been expanding their selections of house brands as they angle to build ties with shoppers while holding down costs. Private label grocery sales rose by almost 4% last year, to a record $271 billion, according to Circana data cited by the Private Label Manufacturers Association.
Copyright 2025 Industry Dive. All rights reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Union for Washington grocery workers authorizes strike
Jun. 6—The union that represents about 56,000 mostly grocery and health workers across Washington, North Idaho and northeastern Oregon voted Thursday night to authorize a strike of employees working at grocery stores owned by Albertsons and Kroger. However, the vote simply authorizes a strike and does not immediately call for one. And, it does not involve workers of Rosauers, Safeway, Albertsons and Fred Meyer in the Spokane area because they authorized a contract that does not expire until next year. Safeway is owned by Albertsons and Fred Meyer is owned by Kroger. Tom Geiger, special projects director for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, or UFCW, said the vote Thursday night mostly involves workers Albertsons and Kroger stores in Western Washington . "We authorized a strike to fight for better wages, better staffing, and a fully funded healthcare plan so that we can deliver the kind of service our customers deserve," Vickie Logerstedt, a cashier at Redmond Ridge QFC, said in a news release. "We have been more than patient for months, but these companies have offered nothing but crumbs and mealy language. Time has run out." Efforts to reach the corporate offices of Albertsons, which is based in Boise, and Kroger, based in Cincinnati, were not immediately successful on Friday. The strike-authorization vote follows two major events: The UFCW launched major opposition to the now failed merger attempt between Albertsons and Kroger, and ongoing contract negotiations for workers in Western Washington, Colorado and California, Geiger said. A federal judge in Oregon and a Washington state judge ruled against the merger in December 2024, The proposal would have been the largest merger of grocery store giants. Had the merger gone through, it would have led to the loss of Safeway stores on the South Hill and Spokane Valley, based on a previously released list of store sales. The two grocery companies first announced in 2022 merger plans to get bigger to take on retail competitors Amazon and Walmart. That proposed merger spawned lawsuits from the attorneys general of Washington and Colorado, and the Federal Trade Commission filed a federal suit in Oregon. All sought to block the deal over concerns that it would reduce customer choices and bargaining positions of employees across the country. Then in January , the UFCW began negotiating new contracts for workers of stores in Western Washington for a contract that eventually expired in the first week of May. Geiger said both parties, the union and grocery stores, agreed to extend the terms of the former contract during negotiations. But talks stalled after the company's offer, said Rich Smith, communications director for the UFCW. "The wages were insulting, staffing is a core issue and right now they are underfunding the health care," Smith said. Based on that offer, the union put two questions to its membership, Geiger said. It asked workers whether they approve the offer, and, secondly, do you authorize a strike. Some "97% rejected the offer and voted to authorize the strike," Geiger said. "We feel it is a pretty clear message. Often, they have boiler-plate statements that say 'We believe the best way to reach a good agreement is at the bargaining table.' We agree. "But, we've been at the bargaining table for five months telling the employers what is needed," he continued, "and they haven't been good listeners." Despite the vote to authorize a strike, the extension of the former contract calls for a 72-hour notice before the workers can begin a strike, Geiger said. The parties are scheduled to resume talks on a potential new contract on June 12, 13. "Hopefully, we'll see something change up next week," Geiger said. Fred Meyer president Todd Kammeyer said in a news release that his company is committed to reaching a balanced and fair agreement with his workers. "A strike at this stage is an unnecessary and disruptive action — especially given the meaningful wage increases and industry-leading healthcare we're offering at the bargaining table," Kammeyer said in the release. "We remain committed to continuing negotiations in good faith and urge union leadership to do the same." While the negotiations are separate, Albertsons workers in Colorado voted on Thursday night to authorize a strike. And California worker votes for the strike are continuing. All told, if all the UFCW workers do decide to walk out, it could affect up to 100,000 workers across the western U.S. Joe Mizrahi, secretary-treasurer of UFCW local 3000, the largest private-sector union in Washington, said the support of the strike-authorization votes should serve as a wake-up call.
CBS News
8 hours ago
- CBS News
Colorado Safeway union workers agree to go on strike
The United Food Commercial Workers Local 7 said union members in Colorado have agreed to go on strike. This comes after a 2-day voting period where union members agreed to strike and after nine months of negotiations. The Local 7 union is accusing Albertsons, which owns Safeway, of unfair labor practices by not offering retroactive wage increases and cutting out the union when addressing employee grievances. The union also wants better pay and health care. CBS This comes as contract negotiations between the workers and King Soopers are happening at the same time. King Soopers and its workers have until June 8 to hammer out a new deal. "Both of these big groceries, they are just big bullies," said UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova. "They are just bullies at the table, and they are consolidating their power again to control the labor market for grocery store workers." Safeway released this statement: Safeway in Colorado remains committed to productive discussions with UFCW Local 7 and we have contract extensions in place while we do so. We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and are negotiating in good faith to achieve an agreement. Our focus remains on providing exceptional service to our customers and fostering a positive working environment for our associates. All Safeway and Albertsons stores in Colorado are open and ready to continue serving our communities. The Local 7 union had to give 72 hours' notice before striking. The strike would affect Safeway stores in the Denver metro area. For now, Local 7 says workers will report as normal until a strike begins.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chime Is Planning to IPO at an $11.2 Billion Valuation. 3 Things Investors Need to Know -- Is the Stock a Buy?
After years of investor speculation about when digital bank Chime would go public, it's finally preparing to do so. With a set of low-cost banking products, Chime caters to segments of the U.S. population that have been underbanked or unbanked. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › After years of anticipation, Chime is planning to go public at an $11.2 billion valuation in an offering that will attempt to raise $832 million of capital. Chime, which will list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker "CHYM," will issue as many as 32 million shares at an initial price that is expected to be between $24 and $26 per share, although things could change after management does its "road show," during which it will pitch itself to potential investors to try and drum up excitement. Chime has positioned itself as a more accessible bank for Americans earning up to $100,000. While the once-lofty valuations of many fintech companies have come down considerably the last couple of years, the promise of deregulation under the Trump administration could provide some tailwinds for the sector. Here are three things investors should know about Chime and whether the stock is a buy. While the terms "unbanked" and "under-banked" are interestingly not mentioned in the company's registration statement, Chime rose to prominence by catering to Americans in those categories. Unbanked refers to people who do not use a bank or financial institution. Underbanked refers to people who may have traditional banking accounts, but who also often end up using less-mainstream options such as check-cashing services and payday lenders, which charge considerably more for their services than traditional financial institutions. Chime tried to change the game for these underserved populations by offering low-cost bank accounts, early access to direct-deposit money, fee-free overdraft protection up to $200, secured credit cards with no annual fees, late fees, or interest on missed payments, and other savings and perks. Getting people who are underserved by traditional banks into such products helps them improve their credit scores as well. Chime has partnered with several banks with federal deposit insurance coverage to undergird its operation. All of its products are bundled into a sleek tech platform and a powerful app, where applicants can sign up easily online, access more than 45,000 ATMs with no fees, and take advantage of other customizable features to better manage their finances. Its offerings have proved compelling. Chime now has 8.6 million active members, defined as people who have initiated one transaction to move money on Chime in the past calendar month. Management also reported that 67% of its active members use Chime as their primary banking relationship, which it defines as making at least 15 purchases with their Chime-branded debit or credit cards in the past calendar month, or who had at least one qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more in the past calendar month. Since 2022, Chime's annual revenue has significantly increased and is now starting to sniff profitability. In 2024, it generated $1.67 billion in revenue and booked a roughly $25.3 million net loss. Revenue increased nearly 31% year over year, while its losses narrowed The company generated profit in the first quarters of both 2024 and 2025. The first quarter is believed to be the best seasonal period for Chime. Chime is different from a traditional bank in that interest-rate spread revenue from lending is not a key component of its business. Rather, the majority of revenue comes from the interchange fees it earns when customers use their debit and credit cards. This is more efficient from a capital perspective, but it requires a lot of volume for the model to work profitably. Payments revenue in 2024 made up 76% of total revenue; the remainder came from platform-related revenue, which consists of fees on ATMs used outside of the company's network, fees for providing liquidity in advance, fees on deposits net of interest paid to members, and third-party affiliate revenue. One thing investors might not be so crazy about is the amount of money Chime has been spending on marketing: Its sales and marketing outlay was close to $520 million in 2024. However, management said that it estimates the average yearly cost to serve a retail deposit customer at one of the three largest banks in the U.S. is three times higher than Chime's cost, and for mid-sized and regional banks, it's five times higher. With most of its revenue coming from interchange fees, one key way that Chime can grow is by adding new members and increasing the payment volume on its various branded cards. Looking at the number of people in the U.S. who earn less than $100,000 a year and multiplying that by its current average revenue per active member, Chime estimates that its serviceable addressable market is worth $86 billion. By rolling out new products to meet the financial needs of its target customers, Chime thinks it can increase that to $312 billion. Chime also says it plans to stick with its asset-light model, which likely means that it doesn't plan to expand too much into the lending arena. Interestingly, the company has developed a proprietary cloud-native payment processor and ledger called ChimeCore to process some of its payments, transfers, deposits, withdrawals, and other financial transactions. This in-house system will allow Chime to spend less on legacy system maintenance and more on product innovation. It also gives the company more autonomy and the ability to roll out new products more quickly than if it outsourced payment processing. There is a lot that impresses me about Chime, starting with the number of active members who use it as their primary bank. Its technological capabilities are another big plus, especially when you think about ChimeCore, which is certainly ahead of what many traditional banks are doing. It has also increased revenue rapidly and seems to be on the brink of profitability. Some of the drawbacks I see are the high level of marketing spending and its reliance on lower-cost customers. While Chime has done a good job of serving this segment and innovating, it's hard to make a lot of money from this group, especially without lending. That leads me to my next question: Where does Chime go next? Sure, it has a strong brand and has increased its membership rapidly, but how does it continue to stand out? For instance, Chime was one of the first to offer advanced access to funds from pending paychecks, but now, most banks do it. Interchange revenue is good in that it's capital-efficient, but the downside is it relies on continued growth and can take a hit if consumer spending declines, which it would in a recession. The $11 billion valuation the company is seeking feels a bit rich right now. But the stock could become compelling if its valuation declines a bit, if Chime's cost to acquire members falls, or if the bank introduces interesting new products that could materially drive revenue higher. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $368,035!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,503!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $668,538!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Chime Is Planning to IPO at an $11.2 Billion Valuation. 3 Things Investors Need to Know -- Is the Stock a Buy? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
