Raleys discontinuing high fructose corn syrup Sodas

[storewanderer]

http://www.abc10.com/news/local/raleys- ... /258237291

This is interesting. I would like to see them go through and get the high fructose corn syrup out of ALL of their branded items. That would be a good statement to make. I am not sure how much it would increase costs as I have noticed the Simple Truth items at Kroger are free from HFCS and often priced not much higher than the HFCS-containing Kroger item is (both priced lower than the comparable private label item at Raleys is, HFCS containing or otherwise). It is amazing what it pops up in when you start looking at various name brand and store brand items, but it does vary by brand (ketchup, canned fruit, BBQ sauce, you name it).

Between all the promotions on branded soda I don't know how much of a place there really is for private label sodas in a lot of chains. The shelf space and store labor used to stock the stuff could probably be better used for something else. I think this is a very smart move for a chain like Raleys (I do not think it would be a very smart move for chains like Safeway or Kroger who have soda plants and heavily promote private label soda). I think this is why many chains offer Shasta as a private label-like soda option. The chains with their own soda plants are at a little bit of an advantage since that gets their cost down. Maybe a smart move for the chains with soda plants would be to reformulate their private label sodas so they no longer contain HFCS... but that would drive costs up.

Soda is losing a ton of market share to other beverages. As many schools have banned the sale or serving of soda and other sugary drinks we have a generation of teens and kids coming up who are not in the habit of drinking soda anymore since they have not developed the addiction to soda at a young age and gotten into the soda habit. They are in the habit of drinking juices, teas, sparkling waters, and other such beverages which tend to be higher margin for the store but often just as many calories (or more) as soda. I am seeing more and more shelf space and brands of unsweetened tea and unsweetened seltzers popping up out west where these items used to have so few SKUs I could count them on one hand.

[pseudo3d]

http://www.abc10.com/news/local/raleys- ... /258237291

This is interesting. I would like to see them go through and get the high fructose corn syrup out of ALL of their branded items. That would be a good statement to make. I am not sure how much it would increase costs as I have noticed the Simple Truth items at Kroger are free from HFCS and often priced not much higher than the HFCS-containing Kroger item is (both priced lower than the comparable private label item at Raleys is, HFCS containing or otherwise). It is amazing what it pops up in when you start looking at various name brand and store brand items, but it does vary by brand (ketchup, canned fruit, BBQ sauce, you name it).

Between all the promotions on branded soda I don't know how much of a place there really is for private label sodas in a lot of chains. The shelf space and store labor used to stock the stuff could probably be better used for something else. I think this is a very smart move for a chain like Raleys (I do not think it would be a very smart move for chains like Safeway or Kroger who have soda plants and heavily promote private label soda). I think this is why many chains offer Shasta as a private label-like soda option. The chains with their own soda plants are at a little bit of an advantage since that gets their cost down. Maybe a smart move for the chains with soda plants would be to reformulate their private label sodas so they no longer contain HFCS... but that would drive costs up.

On private-brand beverages, I know H-E-B split the line in two, leaving the older Hill Country Fare brand with HFCS and with a bottle design that has only seen minor changes since the early 1990s, and a slightly higher-end brand featuring the same recipes (cola, "Twist", "Orange Burst", "Dr. B") as well as some more exotic seasonal flavors (watermelon, candy cane, pumpkin creme).

Winn-Dixie/BI-LO has a special line of cane sugar Chek beverages, not sure who manufactures them since they signed a contract with Polar Beverages to have a 5 year contract after they sold their facility to them in 2011, could be them, could be outsourced...

...and of course, chains have private labels because (generally) they get more profit off of them (hence, ALDI's model, or to a lesser extent, Walmart's pushing of their brands). I know that H-E-B sometimes bumps off real brands in favor of their inferior house brand on a fairly regular basis (which greatly annoys me).

[storewanderer]

That explains why Polar Seltzer was available at Winn Dixie (excellent product, great flavor variety). Harris Teeter had it too. I thought that seltzer was primarily distributed in the northeast so I was surprised to see it in the Carolinas. The amount of Seltzer in the northeast is staggering.

I don't think private label soda has ever been terribly profitable for chains without a factory of their own, especially as the name brands often go on sale at a lower price.

I notice independent stores out in the west often don't have any private label soda (Western Family is available to all of them in a variety of sizes including 20 oz bottles); a few do have the W/F, some have Shasta, some just have none.

[lake]

This is probably a really good move for Raley's as their soda prices are actually quite good or at least competitive on the three name brands anyways when compared to competitors. There is no need to carry their own brands that never sell in high volumes since their name brand prices are always reasonable. In my local Raley's the private brand soda section was probably 1/4 of what CocaCola, 7Up, and Pepsi each have so the impact this will have on shelf space is quite minimal. As of yesterday, they had yet to do anything to this former shelf space but it appeared by the signage that the soda has just recently sold out so I will check again soon. Raley's has a ton of new drink SKUs including the carbonated lemonade stuff, coconut based drinks, and this awesome mint infused tea/lemonade line so it would make the most sense if these lines were what takes over the former area.

[pseudo3d]

That explains why Polar Seltzer was available at Winn Dixie (excellent product, great flavor variety). Harris Teeter had it too. I thought that seltzer was primarily distributed in the northeast so I was surprised to see it in the Carolinas. The amount of Seltzer in the northeast is staggering.

I don't think private label soda has ever been terribly profitable for chains without a factory of their own, especially as the name brands often go on sale at a lower price.

I notice independent stores out in the west often don't have any private label soda (Western Family is available to all of them in a variety of sizes including 20 oz bottles); a few do have the W/F, some have Shasta, some just have none.

I believe H-E-B does manufacture its own soft drinks, yes, and considering the only supermarkets I tend to frequent are H-E-B, Kroger, and the occasional Randalls, I do believe that covers the bases. I suppose that part of it is also the fact that there's no "cheap generic soda" manufacturer in the region, like Shasta or Faygo.

[lake]

Was just at a Bel Air (owned by Raley's) and they had put out "Raley's Craft Sodas" which came in crates with the Jones Soda Co logo clearly on the side. Looks like Raley's has found it's replacement to their old soda.

[storewanderer]

I was in a 7-Eleven last night and they had some plastic bottles of 7-Select Soda that says inspired or crafted or some such language by Jones.

I wonder who else Jones is signing deals with.

Raleys also expanded its Seltzer selection as a result of freeing up some shelf space. Two new Crystal Geyser flavors in those odd 45 ounce blue plastic bottles: Peach and a Pineapple Mango- super good stuff.