ShopRite’s ‘Simple’ Way to Eat

When ShopRite launched Wholesome Pantry, its wide-ranging line of free-from and USDA-certified organic private label products, it didn’t do so alone. Instead, the banner, operated by members of Keasbey, N.J.-based retailer cooperative, turned to The Halo Group, an award-winning branding communications and marketing agency based in New York, to help launch and differentiate the new brand.

Aware that healthy-eating trends are firmly entrenched, especially among Millennials, Halo helped Wholesome Pantry capture its brand promise and introduce itself by leveraging ShopRite’s owned media to help consumers learn more about the brand and its simple free-from positioning, as well as get recipe ideas and view the full product line.

The So Simple integrated marketing campaign launched in January 2017, featuring playful “real-food”-derived images and clean graphics, and consisting of TV, radio, digital, out-of-home, paid social, direct mail and in-store components, according to Mark Sutter, chief strategy officer at Halo.

Asked how well the effort has performed to date, Sutter noted: “The new product launch, which is the first non-ShopRite-branded private label, has been a huge success. Wholesome Pantry free-from and organic products resonate with ShopRite customers’ desire to simplify what they eat.”

As well as the more than 100 items initially introduced in the line, consumers will get a chance to try even more Wholesome Pantry products soon: Sutter said that ShopRite will continue to introduce additional products through the spring and beyond.