UNFI Honors Indie Grocers for Marketing Achievements
At its recently-wrapped Conventional Expo in Minneapolis, Minn., United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) announced the winners of the company’s annual Master Marketer Awards. The program recognizes independent retailers for their achievements in merchandising, marketing, media advertising and community relations.
Boyers Food Markets was honored as this year’s Grand Master Marketer for its consistent marketing excellence. The Orwigsburg, Pa., grocer runs 19 full-serve stores in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Other winners include the following:
- Tier 1 (Store size under 30,000 square feet): Vintage Grocers, Malibu, Calif.
- Tier 2 (Store size over 30,000 square feet): Dorothy Lane Market, Dayton, Ohio
- Tier 3 (Store groups with five or more locations): Skogen’s Festival Foods, De Pere, Wis.
- People’s Choice winner: Skogen’s Festival Foods, De Pere, Wis.
UNFI singled out other independent food retailers for their marketing accomplishments through the Master Marketer Awards. Stores were recognized for their fresh department events; grand opening or anniversary events; advertising; community events; and natural, organic and specialty selections — among other areas of marketing.
This year's Conventional Expo drew nearly 2,700 customers to the Minneapolis Convention Center, offering the opportunity to connect with more than 700 suppliers in UNFI's network. As in past years, the show provided ideas and plans for the upcoming holiday and spring selling seasons.
Attendees also got a first look at 270 new products and 250 sustainable items introduced as part of UNFI's New Product Showcase. The grocery wholesaler also unveiled a new guidebook for independent grocers highlighting successful strategies and case studies from select UNFI customers.
“Consistent with our objective to help our customers drive profitable and sustainable growth, our in-person shows demonstrate the unique ability we have through our scale, insights, and innovative offerings to help retailers of all sizes and formats compete effectively in their marketplace,” said CEO Sandy Douglas.
A full list of Master Marketer awards is available online at the Master Marketer website.
Providence, R.I.-based UNFI delivers a wide variety of products to customer locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce retailers and foodservice customers. The largest publicly traded grocery distributor in America, the company is No. 49 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
