AWG Brands Restructures Cereal Offering

AWG Brands, the private brands of Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG), in conjunction with a strategic category initiative and in partnership with vendor partners, has revitalized its Always Save® and Best Choice® cereal offerings to help AWG member retailers optimize their assortment in this crowded breakfast category. The team also used insights and data obtained through information-sharing portal AWG Partner Gateway (APG) to further provide support for this assortment work. AWG Brands cereal sales already outpace the national average and this restructured product offering aims to help AWG retailers continue to meet consumer demands for quality products at affordable prices.

“The AWG teams have made the AWG Brands cereal assortment a winning category for AWG Brands,” said Tye Anthony, AWG Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer. “We continue to help AWG member retailers attract consumers in competitive aisles.”

For AWG’s flagship private brand, Best Choice, using collaborative market and consumer insights garnered through AWG Partner Gateway, the team worked with vendor partners to optimize the brand’s assortment and exit some SKUs while developing additional options for both AWG member retailers and their end-consumers. The new offering delivers more closely on Best Choice’s brand guardrail to align with national brands on item sizing and flavor profiles. This restructuring also simplifies the pricing strategy for Best Choice ready-to-eat cereal items, giving AWG retailers greater flexibility when advertising the products to consumers.

“Our goal with AWG Brands ready-to-eat cereal offering is to help AWG retailers deliver quality products to end-consumers at the best prices possible,” said Candy Sittig, AWG Director, Category Management. “The new assortment puts AWG retailers in a better position to fulfill both of those objectives.”

In the most visible overhaul element, Always Save ready-to-eat cereal is exiting the bag business and moving into value-size boxes while tightening the flavor offerings to the most-successful SKUs. Consumers are seeking value and with this change the Always Save boxes provide per ounce quality and savings to support today’s consumer needs.

“Ready-to-eat cereal is led by boxes,” said Ernesto Otero, AWG Category Sales Manager. “The evolution of the Always Save brand’s offering helps AWG retailers compete better with their peers in this important, mature segment.”

Optimized items in both Always Save and Best Choice began shipping to AWG retailers in January and can now be found exclusively on AWG member retailer shelves.

ABOUT ASSOCIATED WHOLESALE GROCERS, INC.
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and more than 3,500 locations throughout 32 states from 9 wholesale divisions. Consolidated sales for AWG in 2022 were $12.3 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, health and beauty care, general merchandise, pharmaceutical products, specialty foods, and natural and organic products.