Best Choice® Brand Celebrates 40 Years of Quality and Value

AWG member retailers and teammates commemorate milestone at AWG Innovation Showcase event.

AWG member retailers and teammates celebrated the 40th anniversary of its flagship private brand, Best Choice®, at this year’s Innovation Showcase event. In 1985, AWG debuted the line with a bold mission: to help member retailers offer their shoppers a line of products that could compete with national brands in both quality and price. In its very first year, the brand introduced 360 products, quickly gaining traction among savvy shoppers looking for national brand quality at a better price. Now 40 years later, the brand portfolio boasts more than 3,300 items throughout departments including center store, bakery, meat and seafood, non-foods, and more.

“We’re proud to celebrate a brand that has been so crucial to AWG member retailers for 40 years,” said Tye Anthony, AWG Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer. “Through promotions, digital coupons, category research, product innovation, and additional marketing support, we invest a great deal into Best Choice to ensure it continues helping AWG member retailers compete in the marketplace.”

Throughout its 40-year history, Best Choice has offered products that meet or exceed the quality standards of national brand alternatives while leveraging scale and efficiency to keep the pricing lower than equivalent items. Backed by a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee, AWG member retailers and end-consumers alike trust the brand for providing quality and value.

“Best Choice is the anchor of AWG Brands and quality is a non-negotiable,” said Emily Detwiler, AWG Brands Vice President. “All Best Choice products go through extensive testing before they are ever launched to AWG member retailers. These products also undergo annual third-party laboratory testing to ensure consistent quality standards.”

For retailers, this consistent brand quality helps generate margin, build baskets, and create consumer loyalty. It is the cornerstone from which the Best Choice Family of Brands was created and drives consumer trust in any other brands endorsed “by Best Choice.”

Although Best Choice continues to sell some of the first products introduced in 1985, the brand also focuses on innovation. Last year, Best Choice introduced more than 200 products in categories across the grocery store including center store, bakery, vitamins, general merchandise, and more. Through category initiatives, vendor partnerships, and analytics from the AWG Partner Gateway (AWG’s information-sharing and data portal), Best Choice will strategically continue to evolve, including through the launch of new adjacent pet and baby brands, Pure Wonder by Best Choice™ and Hello World by Best Choice™.

Detwiler added, “The Innovation Showcase allowed us to present new Best Choice products and brand additions to the Best Choice Family of Brands to AWG member retailers. The Best Choice brand will continue to grow strategically within the AWG Brands portfolio, with a focus on quality and value – the keys to the brand’s success.”