Meijer Rolls Out Own Organic Line

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Meijer Inc. here will introduce its own line of store-brand organic foods across all of its 176 stores beginning Sunday. The chain said the new Meijer Organics line will comprise more than 200 certified USDA organic products by year's end, ranging from extra-virgin olive oil and Mediterranean thin-crust pizza, to tea and vegetables.

"This is a very important move for us, as more shoppers are demanding organic foods," said Meijer v.p. Ralph Fischer.

Meijer will start with 150 items this Sunday, and then expand to 200 later. While the chain will continue to carry other branded organics as well, prices for the items in its own line should be noticeably lower.

Every item under the Meijer Organics label will carry the "USDA Organic" seal, which affirms foods contain no hormones, antibiotics, conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation.

In other Meijer news, after a successful test run in four supercenters last year, the family chain said it will add video screens to the front ends in all stores by late summer.

The monitor systems, which will be located at 12 to 18 lanes out of about 30 per store, will broadcast Meijer promotions, product advertisements, and snippets of programs from ABC broadcast television, as shoppers wait to check out.

"We've had positive customer reaction, and the monitors are in 58 stores now," Aaron Petersen, Meijer's corporate development specialist, was quoted as saying in local reports. "We do a lot of testing and validation of the messages, and we're constantly changing the content."
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