Nonfoods

There may be glimpses of recovery discernible amid all of the gloom and doom of the recession, but one clear winner of the economic downturn has been private brands, according to Stamford, Conn.-based private brand broker and consumer marketing firm Daymon Worldwide in its new report, “The Maturing U.S. Recession & Implications for Private Brands.”

Hy-Vee’s newest 90,000-square-foot store that opened recently on the east side of Madison, Wis., was wheeling and dealing during its grand opening festivities, which featured an 1,000-pound sculpture of the University of Wisconsin’s mascot, Bucky Badger.

A look at the latest product and promotional news grocers can use to boost profits around the perimeter.

In honor of its 40th anniversary, Stew Leonard is making its flagship store bigger. The beloved Norwalk, Conn.-based grocer has added 5,000 square feet of retail space, enlarged several departments, widening aisles, installed equipment to accommodate more fresh-made products on-site and boosted its energy efficiency.

Pomegranates are big business, which means that the edible seeds — more often called arils — of the currently ubiquitous fruit are poised for a sales spike of their own.

With private label brands currently accounting for more than one-third of all shopping cart purchases in the United States, it’s safe to say that our depressed economy has done wonders for the private label sector.

Pittsburgh’s grocery scene became a lot larger today with the long awaited unveiling of Giant Eagle’s 150,000-square-foot flagship Market District destination store in the new Settlers Ridge lifestyle shopping center in Robinson Township.

A recent survey from the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) of supermarket prices on 25 commonly purchased items found that shoppers could save over 35 percent by buying the store brand rather than the national brand.