Pick n Pay launches in-house premium food brand

Food retail giant Pick n Pay has announced the launch of its premium housebrand, Crafted Collection, which it plans to stock at its newly revamped stores which serve its middle- to top-end customer base.

The new product range – which includes infused olive oil, hot drink varieties, vinegars, preserves and snacks – is the retailer’s way of offering customers quality for less, according to its statement on Thursday.

The move will see Pick n Pay competing with dominant up-market retailer Woolworths, which has historically enjoyed a comfortable lead in the premium foods category.

The range also comes up against Checkers’s premium private label Forage and Feast, which the Shoprite-owned retailer launched in March 2021.

Read:
Numbers show Checkers, PnP eating Woolies Food’s lunch
What took Pick n Pay so long?

“We’ve spent a lot of time understanding customers in this space and have crafted this range to be sophisticated yet mainstream, at surprisingly good prices,” Pick n Pay head of product & technical Nick Russell says.

“The flavours aren’t too Chefy or unattainable. We haven’t gone for extremely niche flavours, but rather ‘mainstream premium’ that pushes the boundaries. We wanted our customers to relate to the flavours, and feel confident using them,” Russell adds.

The launch of the premium private label brand comes as consumers battle elevated food inflation, with consumer price inflation (CPI) for food coming in at 8.6% for June.

However, earlier this week in a quarterly update of its operations for the 18 weeks ended 3 July, Pick n Pay noted its commitment to trying to shield its customers from rising food prices, by maintaining its internal selling price inflation at 5%, well below that of CPI for food.

Read: SA’s largest grocers try to shield consumers from rising food prices

The launch of the new product range also forms part of the retailer’s Ekuseni project – the group’s strategic growth plan which aims for Pick n Pay to gain 3% in market share, grow online sales eight-fold, deliver R3 billion in savings and double Boxer store sales by the end of the 2026 financial year.

A leg up for local business

According to Pick n Pay, 90% of the range will be locally sourced and produced by local suppliers, giving small businesses a leg-up in a tough economic environment which struggles to offer much growth.

“Our dedicated product team has worked closely with local businesses to craft and develop these products. We have sourced the finest local products and have only used imported products if they weren’t available locally,” Russell says.

Source: moneyweb.co.za