March 20, 2013
Meijer Looks to Make It Even Bigger in Michigan
Meijer has found that going local is good for its business. So good, in fact, the Grand Rapids-based chain is expanding its ‘Made in Michigan’ initiative to add 55 new grocery products manufactured in the state.
"Meijer is committed to supporting Michigan businesses, and the Made in Michigan initiative is a great opportunity to highlight some fantastic small businesses throughout the state," Doug Meijer, co-chairman of the family owned chain, said in a statement. "The response we received from our customers last year about this initiative was overwhelming, which is why we decided to further invest and expand this selection into all our Michigan stores."
The supercenter operator first launched ‘Made in Michigan’ in January 2012 in an attempt to support small businesses in its home state. The company initially offered 49 local grocery items for sale in 33 of its stores. The resulting impact on the state economy was $400,000.
Meijer worked with the Michigan State University Product Center to expand the program, which will have the products prominently featured at all of the chain’s 102 stores in Michigan.
"It’s been a fantastic opportunity for all Michigan businesses to have this local section at Meijer; many of them see amazing results," said Matt Birbeck, High Impact Venture Action Team project manager for the MSU Product Center. "Now that it’s in every Michigan Meijer store, everybody gets to see and taste the diversity of this great state."
Tarek Abouljoud, one of the local suppliers to Meijer, first started Teta Foods, a company specializing in healthy Mediterranean foods, after losing his job in 2010.
"The biggest challenge that small food manufacturers face is reaching the inflection point where they become a well-recognized and successful company with a great brand," said Mr. Abouljoud. "We believe this is going to be the turning point for our company in becoming a great Michigan business success story. We are grateful to have Meijer as part of our success story."
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
What is your assessment of the go local opportunity in the U.S.? Which retailers do you think are doing the most effective job of leveraging the go local marketing opportunity?
Poll
This is a very good step, and I believe most supermarket chains have been doing local product selling for their produce departments. Meijer now takes it to the next level, and I think many other retailers in all segments will follow them.
While the definition of local may vary, whether local is truly local to a market, state, region or some other definition, I believe it is an important option for retailers to differentiate themselves. In our annual supermarket shopper survey, we found that shoppers gave it a low rating in terms of performance on local variety (3.85 out of 5.00).
Local products offer a way to illustrate a store’s connection to and support of the local economy, as well as an option to showcase the freshness of the items. Unfortunately, however, I have seen some retailers implement local items yet do nothing in the way of telling the story of where the items came from, why local items are important or even that they are local items at all, negating any advantage that carrying these items may offer from a marketing perspective.
It’s amazing how quickly people adapt to their new surroundings, often to the point of becoming “locals” within years or even months of moving to a new state. Shoppers that have moved from the northeast to the south quickly associate with Publix or Harris Teeter. Those moving to Chicago gravitate to Dominick’s or Jewel and those stores become “theirs.” As part of this process, the newbies want to try the local fare. This, combined with the old-timers’ demand for local products, will continue to drive sales for a long time.
In terms of retailers doing a great job with local product marketing efforts, it’s the usual suspects—Wegmans, Stew Leonard’s, ShopRite, HEB, Raley’s, Schnuck’s and the chains listed above. Independents are naturally astute at procuring and promoting local products. What’s interesting to me is that Costco and Trader Joe’s really haven’t gotten into this game yet, and I have to wonder if they will.
It’s well-meaning but a retailer needs to keep focus on what is selling and what is not. In my opinion, 55 products is not going to make much of an impact. There are probably 55 varieties of cherry jelly and jams from Traverse City orchards to cover than number.
It’s only a win-win when the product is extremely popular and a big seller. Vernor’s soda or Winn Schulers bar cheese, etc; even Meijer knows they have to carry those products in Michigan. All regional retailers can benefit to some extent with local products.
I love that big retailers are supporting local food and personal product initiatives.
My question is how they decide to merchandise these products. If they aren’t “featured” in a specific area, but instead are mixed into the category shelf set, they are impossible to find, especially when you don’t know to look for them.
If a retailer is going to make a consumer focused effort, I want to see a special feature in the circular to build awareness that doesn’t cost the local producer an arm and a leg. I also want to see a special merchandising area so shoppers can easily find these products in the “sea of brands” they encounter in every aisle.
It’s a great talking point. Now show us how you make it work as a real point of differentiation in the stores that is truly shopper centric.
Whenever possible, it is always a good practice to “own” the local market, even as a regional or national chain. But it is clearly one thing to say you support local manufacturers and growers and yet another to leverage the relationships that such policies can create. Signs and shelf tags are good starting points, but “activating” such relationships with “farmer’s market” days and local manufacturer sales events is more rare, but essentially in capitalizing on the benefit of local support.
Further, while it more convenient and practical for Grand Rapids based Meijer to focus their effort on all things Michigan, they have similar opportunities and perhaps even responsibilities to do the same in Ohio, Indiana and other states they operate.
From my experience, HEB in the great state of Texas, understands the importance of owning “Texas” in their marketing and operations better than most. Many of their promotions and in-store events are themed around Texas and certainly their stores are designed and stocked to showcase their support for all things homegrown. I believe they serve as a model for others to emulate.
This is an interesting way to get buy-in from local consumers. If it is successful, will the plan be to locate and offer local products from every location in which they do business? If local means including products from the immediate city or county, the manager of every store will need to develop expertise in sourcing, inspecting quality, and managing a new stream of inventory, making their job more complex.
Having been exposed weekly to the Meijer program—summers in Michigan vs. AZ—their program is proof that levering local product works, if you do it in a controlled manner. Controlled? Seek the help of local universities and other area businesses that leverage local for feedback on how they made it happen.
A huge area of gain is in the supply chain space. Measure the results of going local—especially in this area.
See this study on local you may have read…go local.
This has been done for years, and now it is getting the publicity it deserves. Local sourcing is good for everyone big or small, as it keeps the farmers happy, and gives the local community a chance to see who has the best corn, apples, or whatever else they are growing.
Kudos to Made in Michigan, as well as Think.Shop.Buy.Local from the Retail Merchants Association, Small Business Saturday from AMEX Open and all the city and state based initiatives that support local small food manufacturers. I see the movement to buy local growing and being supported by incubators, family owned businesses like Meijer and large corporations like Publix which features locally grown produce in my neighbor store.
According to the American Independent Business Alliance, “local independent businesses recirculate a much greater percentage of sales locally compared to absentee-owned businesses” and I’ve also seen a varying statistic that for every $1 spent to support local business, 45 cents or more is reinvested locally. For Michigan, keeping this revenue local is important to help rebuild the state economy. Go Local!
Let’s hope this gets a strong foothold and takes off. It seems this topic becomes more relevant in our discussions as spring approaches, which I am sure most of my northern colleagues will question at this time.
Regional grocery chains need to make a strong commitment and stick with it when it comes to buying from local producers. We as consumers must make the same commitment when it comes to our purchases.
Consumers who want to feel warm and good about themselves will be very happy with local products. But should those be preferred items if they are inferior or a lot more expensive than non-local items? Like any cause marketing, it is just marketing. If a store’s consumers buy into it, fine, then the retailer is marketing well…but if shoppers stray to the competition for reasons of price or better selection or even just favorite non-local products, then the marketing is off the mark.
Down the line, I can envision campaigns to buy Alaskan farmers’ products because they are poor and suffer from a shorter growing season (until global warming does its thing) or New Jersey produce because the Garden State has been pretty much paved over by now and the few remaining farmers need our help.
Totally local makes no sense at all, but a healthy dose of “local” is always good practice. I attribute this factor as one of many that helped HEB withstand the Walmart “assault” on their local Texas market (essentially next-door to Walmart’s mother state of Arkansas.) It is also the reason that shrewd independent retailers actually can have a leg-up on chains, if they are shrewd, and paying attention.
While on HEB, I toured another of their Central Markets, near SMU in Dallas, yesterday. The great significance here is that Central Market, which began, I believe, as an inverted perimeter or “bowl” structure store in San Antonio quite a few years ago, soon moved to something closer to Stew Leonard’s serpentine structure in their Plano (and other) stores. The “SMU” store is probably a later version/evolution of that serpentine structure, and VERY well executed.
Interestingly, there was negligible national brand representation, heavy local representation. However, their SKU count obviously far exceeds Stew Leonard’s. And I think it is a larger store, too. The point is that this particular Central Market—I didn’t visit them all 😉 —may be setting a new benchmark for a high point in global grocery retailing.
Check it out and ask yourself, could this be scaled? And then see if Costco is successfully scaling. Pay attention, and you may be seeing the future of grocery retailing—non-brand focused. (Let’s face it, brands belong on the internet, but we haven’t quite gotten there yet! 😉 )
Product and price will ultimately win the day day for US retailers. If you don’t think so, look at Walmart’s march to the top through a wake of “local retailers.” Merchants must still be very careful to pick the right product at the right price. If a third element can be “made/grown locally,” then it can be a good differentiator.
Local is “in” but it could just as quickly go “out.” For food retailers stocking local products will not be enough, you have to learn how to tell the “local” story.
There are many stores, including Walmart that have embraced a “go local” or “Made in the USA” approach. However, in our global economy, most of our products are produced anywhere but the USA. This approach defies the basis of modern economics, and the leverage that it gives multi-national embracing retailers, manufacturers and consumers. We exist in a global environment. Trying to ignore this is only a definitive path to eventual failure.
This is already a mainstream trend on the West Coast, with mass retailers like Fred Meyer introducing similar programs. Whole Foods was one of the early chains to push their program and they do it very well. Meijer doing a program in Michigan is further evidence that this is becoming a mainstream national trend.
G R E A T ! ! ! You Go Meijer!
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This is a very good step, and I believe most supermarket chains have been doing local product selling for their produce departments. Meijer now takes it to the next level, and I think many other retailers in all segments will follow them.
While the definition of local may vary, whether local is truly local to a market, state, region or some other definition, I believe it is an important option for retailers to differentiate themselves. In our annual supermarket shopper survey, we found that shoppers gave it a low rating in terms of performance on local variety (3.85 out of 5.00).
Local products offer a way to illustrate a store’s connection to and support of the local economy, as well as an option to showcase the freshness of the items. Unfortunately, however, I have seen some retailers implement local items yet do nothing in the way of telling the story of where the items came from, why local items are important or even that they are local items at all, negating any advantage that carrying these items may offer from a marketing perspective.
It’s amazing how quickly people adapt to their new surroundings, often to the point of becoming “locals” within years or even months of moving to a new state. Shoppers that have moved from the northeast to the south quickly associate with Publix or Harris Teeter. Those moving to Chicago gravitate to Dominick’s or Jewel and those stores become “theirs.” As part of this process, the newbies want to try the local fare. This, combined with the old-timers’ demand for local products, will continue to drive sales for a long time.
In terms of retailers doing a great job with local product marketing efforts, it’s the usual suspects—Wegmans, Stew Leonard’s, ShopRite, HEB, Raley’s, Schnuck’s and the chains listed above. Independents are naturally astute at procuring and promoting local products. What’s interesting to me is that Costco and Trader Joe’s really haven’t gotten into this game yet, and I have to wonder if they will.
It’s well-meaning but a retailer needs to keep focus on what is selling and what is not. In my opinion, 55 products is not going to make much of an impact. There are probably 55 varieties of cherry jelly and jams from Traverse City orchards to cover than number.
It’s only a win-win when the product is extremely popular and a big seller. Vernor’s soda or Winn Schulers bar cheese, etc; even Meijer knows they have to carry those products in Michigan. All regional retailers can benefit to some extent with local products.
I love that big retailers are supporting local food and personal product initiatives.
My question is how they decide to merchandise these products. If they aren’t “featured” in a specific area, but instead are mixed into the category shelf set, they are impossible to find, especially when you don’t know to look for them.
If a retailer is going to make a consumer focused effort, I want to see a special feature in the circular to build awareness that doesn’t cost the local producer an arm and a leg. I also want to see a special merchandising area so shoppers can easily find these products in the “sea of brands” they encounter in every aisle.
It’s a great talking point. Now show us how you make it work as a real point of differentiation in the stores that is truly shopper centric.
Whenever possible, it is always a good practice to “own” the local market, even as a regional or national chain. But it is clearly one thing to say you support local manufacturers and growers and yet another to leverage the relationships that such policies can create. Signs and shelf tags are good starting points, but “activating” such relationships with “farmer’s market” days and local manufacturer sales events is more rare, but essentially in capitalizing on the benefit of local support.
Further, while it more convenient and practical for Grand Rapids based Meijer to focus their effort on all things Michigan, they have similar opportunities and perhaps even responsibilities to do the same in Ohio, Indiana and other states they operate.
From my experience, HEB in the great state of Texas, understands the importance of owning “Texas” in their marketing and operations better than most. Many of their promotions and in-store events are themed around Texas and certainly their stores are designed and stocked to showcase their support for all things homegrown. I believe they serve as a model for others to emulate.
This is an interesting way to get buy-in from local consumers. If it is successful, will the plan be to locate and offer local products from every location in which they do business? If local means including products from the immediate city or county, the manager of every store will need to develop expertise in sourcing, inspecting quality, and managing a new stream of inventory, making their job more complex.
Having been exposed weekly to the Meijer program—summers in Michigan vs. AZ—their program is proof that levering local product works, if you do it in a controlled manner. Controlled? Seek the help of local universities and other area businesses that leverage local for feedback on how they made it happen.
A huge area of gain is in the supply chain space. Measure the results of going local—especially in this area.
See this study on local you may have read…go local.
This has been done for years, and now it is getting the publicity it deserves. Local sourcing is good for everyone big or small, as it keeps the farmers happy, and gives the local community a chance to see who has the best corn, apples, or whatever else they are growing.
Kudos to Made in Michigan, as well as Think.Shop.Buy.Local from the Retail Merchants Association, Small Business Saturday from AMEX Open and all the city and state based initiatives that support local small food manufacturers. I see the movement to buy local growing and being supported by incubators, family owned businesses like Meijer and large corporations like Publix which features locally grown produce in my neighbor store.
According to the American Independent Business Alliance, “local independent businesses recirculate a much greater percentage of sales locally compared to absentee-owned businesses” and I’ve also seen a varying statistic that for every $1 spent to support local business, 45 cents or more is reinvested locally. For Michigan, keeping this revenue local is important to help rebuild the state economy. Go Local!
Let’s hope this gets a strong foothold and takes off. It seems this topic becomes more relevant in our discussions as spring approaches, which I am sure most of my northern colleagues will question at this time.
Regional grocery chains need to make a strong commitment and stick with it when it comes to buying from local producers. We as consumers must make the same commitment when it comes to our purchases.
Consumers who want to feel warm and good about themselves will be very happy with local products. But should those be preferred items if they are inferior or a lot more expensive than non-local items? Like any cause marketing, it is just marketing. If a store’s consumers buy into it, fine, then the retailer is marketing well…but if shoppers stray to the competition for reasons of price or better selection or even just favorite non-local products, then the marketing is off the mark.
Down the line, I can envision campaigns to buy Alaskan farmers’ products because they are poor and suffer from a shorter growing season (until global warming does its thing) or New Jersey produce because the Garden State has been pretty much paved over by now and the few remaining farmers need our help.
Totally local makes no sense at all, but a healthy dose of “local” is always good practice. I attribute this factor as one of many that helped HEB withstand the Walmart “assault” on their local Texas market (essentially next-door to Walmart’s mother state of Arkansas.) It is also the reason that shrewd independent retailers actually can have a leg-up on chains, if they are shrewd, and paying attention.
While on HEB, I toured another of their Central Markets, near SMU in Dallas, yesterday. The great significance here is that Central Market, which began, I believe, as an inverted perimeter or “bowl” structure store in San Antonio quite a few years ago, soon moved to something closer to Stew Leonard’s serpentine structure in their Plano (and other) stores. The “SMU” store is probably a later version/evolution of that serpentine structure, and VERY well executed.
Interestingly, there was negligible national brand representation, heavy local representation. However, their SKU count obviously far exceeds Stew Leonard’s. And I think it is a larger store, too. The point is that this particular Central Market—I didn’t visit them all 😉 —may be setting a new benchmark for a high point in global grocery retailing.
Check it out and ask yourself, could this be scaled? And then see if Costco is successfully scaling. Pay attention, and you may be seeing the future of grocery retailing—non-brand focused. (Let’s face it, brands belong on the internet, but we haven’t quite gotten there yet! 😉 )
Product and price will ultimately win the day day for US retailers. If you don’t think so, look at Walmart’s march to the top through a wake of “local retailers.” Merchants must still be very careful to pick the right product at the right price. If a third element can be “made/grown locally,” then it can be a good differentiator.
Local is “in” but it could just as quickly go “out.” For food retailers stocking local products will not be enough, you have to learn how to tell the “local” story.
There are many stores, including Walmart that have embraced a “go local” or “Made in the USA” approach. However, in our global economy, most of our products are produced anywhere but the USA. This approach defies the basis of modern economics, and the leverage that it gives multi-national embracing retailers, manufacturers and consumers. We exist in a global environment. Trying to ignore this is only a definitive path to eventual failure.
This is already a mainstream trend on the West Coast, with mass retailers like Fred Meyer introducing similar programs. Whole Foods was one of the early chains to push their program and they do it very well. Meijer doing a program in Michigan is further evidence that this is becoming a mainstream national trend.
G R E A T ! ! ! You Go Meijer!