Raley's to Sell Organic Ground Beef

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Raley's will begin offering 100 percent certified organic ground beef in 118 of its stores next week.

The operator, which has stores in Northern California, Nevada, and New Mexico, will merchandise one-pound case-ready trays of the organic ground beef Raley's and Bel Air Markets units in Northern California and Nevada, but not in the New Mexico Raley's or its Food Source stores in California.

"The organic meat category is certainly a growing category," Raley’s spokeswoman Jennifer Ortega told Progressive Grocer. “Raley’s is proud to be an exclusive retailer of Dakota’s organic ground beef.”

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with operations in South Dakota, Dakota Beef LLC, is the a vertically-integrated organic beef company, producing private label certified organic beef for national retailers, branded food companies, and regional distributors. Dakota Beef's cattle are raised on certified organic ranches in the Midwest and processed at Dakota Beef's certified organic facility in Howard, South Dakota.

In other Raley’s news, Kevin Curry was promoted to s.v.p. sales & merchandising. He previously served as v.p. of non-perishables.

In his new position, Kevin will be responsible for managing and directing all produce, floral, meat, seafood, general merchandise, pharmacy, and advertising activities, in addition to his current duties of overseeing grocery, liquor, wellness, and merchandising. He reports to c.o.o. Dave D’Arezzo.

Kevin joined Raley’s in 2000 as v.p. of non-perishables. In this role, he was responsible for guiding pricing strategies, private label growth, marketing efforts with vendors, and the annual marketing plan.

"Kevin has done an exceptional job over the past four years," said D’Arezzo. "We are confident that he will continue to succeed as he takes on additional responsibilities in his new position."

Before joining Raley’s, Kevin was business development manager for Advantage Sales & Marketing. He has been a part of the retail grocery industry since 1978, working for several grocery retailers including American Stores, Alpha Beta, Food 4 Less, Albertsons, and Lucky.
-- Joseph Tarnowski
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