AWG Family of Brands Celebrates 20-Year Italian Partnership with Expansion and New Product Line

From Southern Italy to the American Heartland: AWG leverages deep-rooted heritage to expand Italian Import items

AWG is proud to announce the expansion and evolution of its Imported from Italy line within its Superior Selections® by Best Choice® brand. Tucked away in the sun-drenched groves of Southern Italy, this twenty-year partnership continues to grow. This initiative bridges the gap between traditional Italian cooking and the American dinner table, reinforcing AWG’s commitment to providing its member retailers with authentic, high-quality products.

AWG has partnered with the same Italian family farm for nearly 20 years, ensuring a quality-first “Farm to Bottle” process. This trusted collaboration has transformed a single olive oil offering into a comprehensive, multi-tiered category that serves every consumer segment.

“The heart of this program is our nearly 20-year history with our Italian partners,” said Emily Detwiler, Vice President of AWG Brands. “By sourcing and bottling directly in Southern Italy, we ensure that our independent retailers are offering their customers authentic products that provide their shoppers an elevated experience.”

To expand the Imported from Italy items, Superior Selections by Best Choice is partnering with an additional Italian supplier to introduce a line of bronze-cut pasta and authentic pasta sauces. The five new pastas include: bucatini, medium shells, rigatoni, trottole, and fusilli bucati, which are all crafted with gold amber durum wheat semolina. The eight sauce flavors include: arrabbiata, tomato basil, cacio e pepe, tomato ricotta, classic alfredo, five cheese alfredo, pesto, and marinara.

“Our category research shows Italian cuisine ranks among the top three fastest growing global food trends,” said Tye Anthony, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer of AWG. “With 60% of shoppers choosing authentic, regional foods over generic brands, our Superior Selections by Best Choice Imported from Italy products deliver exactly what they crave.”

For AWG member retailers, this program provides a powerful tool to capture market share. It is supported with a suite of marketing resources including in-store signage, digital marketing content, and digital coupons. The full range of olive oil products is now rolling out to member stores across the country with the pasta and pasta sauces launching later this fall. Customers are encouraged to visit their local independent grocer to experience the “Italian Heart” of the Superior Selections by Best Choice brand.

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 3,500 locations throughout 33 states from 9 wholesale division support centers. Consolidated sales for AWG in 2025 were $12.2 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, and pharmaceutical products.