From Our Print Edition

Scott Evans

In 1926, America was celebrating 150 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. So it’s perhaps fi tting that that’s the same year what was then known as Associated Grocers of Kansas City offi cially declared itself a corporation, creating an entity through which local independents could compete with large national chains that dominated the market even then. A hundred years later, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has grown into the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independent supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and 3,500 locations across 33 states. Last year, consolidated sales totaled $12.2 billion.

‘We work extremely hard to understand the markets our independent retailers operate in…so we can provide the right offerings and the right services for our members.’

As the company marks its centennial — and the nation celebrates its 250th — much has changed. But a few things have not. Going head-to-head with the big chains remains just as challenging today as it was a century ago. And independent grocers continue to occupy a critical position in the retail landscape.

“Competing against the world’s largest retailers day in and day out is challenging,” confirms Scott Evans, group vp of center store sales and merchandising. But no supermarket chain knows local shoppers as well as an independent, hometown grocer. “Because of that, independents are able to move quickly to meet the unique wants and needs of customers. The flexibility to adjust when necessary really serves them well within the competitive environment that we operate in…and it’s an advantage that we [help them] leverage,” says Evans. In tandem with its partners, “We work extremely hard to understand the markets our independent retailers operate in…so we can provide the right offerings and the right services for our members.”

INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTS DIFFERENTIATION

Tye Anthony

Beyond that, he continues, AWG has created an infrastructure that allows it to actually supply the specialty, local and up-and-coming brands that help member retailers differentiate themselves from large national competitors. “In our base home divisions, we can only carry so much,” Evans explains. So the company uses its Hernando, Miss., distribution facility to offer more variety. AWG can ship from the fully automated “all-inone” warehouse to all nine of its divisions, “meaning every single retailer we support can buy a product carried there and we can ship it as a cross-dock through the home division.” Initially, says Evans, AWG was utilizing that capability only on the dry side of the business. But eight months ago, it added frozen and refrigerated products to the mix, allowing members to offer more unique items that they wouldn’t have been able to stock before.

That’s important, says Evans, because social media is exposing consumers to new items every single day, creating demand that didn’t exist in the past. “People are walking into stores asking, ‘Do you have this product or that product that I saw on TikTok?'” he reports. While it would be difficult for an independent to keep up, “We’re carefully monitoring those trends and jumping on some of them as quickly as possible,” says Evans, citing fruit-shaped frozen novelties as one example. “We’re buying truckloads of that inventory and infusing it into our member retailer stores,” ensuring independent grocers stay on the cutting edge of frozen and refrigerated food trends.

‘Fresh and frozen offer a unique shopping experience compared to dry goods and other departments. So expanding variety is still highly important in these spaces.’

Evans says it’s particularly important to stay current in those two departments because they represent ground zero for differentiation. “Fresh and frozen offer a unique shopping experience compared to dry goods and other departments,” he explains. “So expanding variety is still highly important in these spaces.” From high protein options to snack-friendly items, “There are areas within frozen and refrigerated that are just on fire… [Our job is to] educate member retailers on the trends and give them guidance on what to expand on based on those trends.”

Two of the biggest trends impacting AWG member retailers today are consumers’ rising use of GLP-1s and growing demand for good value, both of which are manifesting themselves in the frozen and refrigerated departments even more so than in dry grocery, says Tye Anthony, chief merchandising and marketing officer. The former is driving growth in dairy categories such as cottage cheese and high protein yogurt, while the latter is leading consumers to frozen items that offer high quality and convenience along with low cost per serving (think processed chicken, meatballs, filled pasta, etc.) “With the inflation we’ve experienced, [the search for] value for the money has reached another level,” reports Anthony. “And people are continuing to figure out that there’s a lot of value in the frozen aisle.”

‘With the inflation we’ve experienced, [the search for] value for the money has reached another level. And people are continuing to figure out that there’s a lot of value in the frozen aisle.’

At the other end of the spectrum, Evans is also seeing demand for more premium, restaurant-quality products, particularly international items that offer an at-home alternative to dishes consumers may have sampled at an ethnic restaurant. “Some of those offerings don’t exist today [at member retailers], so there’s a feeling that the only place to enjoy that cuisine is in a restaurant or QSR,” he explains. As consumer palates become more sophisticated and demand for more mainstream meal solutions wanes, “There is significant opportunity there.”

Of course, simply offering in-demand products is only part of the equation. Consumers also have to notice them. To that end, AWG recently entered a partnership with Superfridge, offering member retailers a turnkey in-store marketing and merchandising program that features a new frozen or refrigerated product in a strategically located mobile cooler every two weeks. The unit also includes a digital screen with eye-catching advertising. “That secondary exposure gets the velocity of those items really high,” says Evans, who calls the program a win-win.

‘BEST IN CLASS’ PRIVATE BRANDS

Emily Detwiler

Although bringing on popular national brand products is a priority, many new, on-trend items are also being offered under one of the cooperative’s private brands, which vp of AWG Brands Emily Detwiler says are truly “best in class.” Last year, the company rebranded and refreshed its 25-year old Best Choice Superior Selections lineup — now called Superior Selections by Best Choice — with a distinctive new logo, more refined package design and bright, bold colors that stand out on shelf. “The rebrand signals our commitment to innovation and to meeting the evolving tastes of today’s discerning shoppers,” says Detwiler. Moreover, it allows AWG member retailers “to compete with some of the newer, more elevated brand entries from national competitors.”

‘Although people are looking for value, they want to feel good doing it.

As rebranded SKUs are cycled in, “We are definitely seeing stronger engagement and penetration at shelf,” reports Detwiler, citing frozen fruit, which member retailers often use as a single solution, as a standout. “It looks wonderful in the door…so there’s an opportunity to really own that space,” she says. Early results indicate the rebranding is also lifting sales of frozen prepared meals and frozen desserts, Detwiler adds. At the other extreme, AWG is also giving its opening price point Always Save brand a much-needed makeover. “Although people are looking for value, they want to feel good doing it,” explains Detwiler. “That brand hasn’t been touched in about 10 years, so we wanted to give it a refresh and make sure we connect with shoppers there.” She adds that although the carefully curated Always Save assortment isn’t as broad as AWG’s national brand equivalent Best Choice lineup, it includes the key value items that allow member retailers to compete successfully with dollar stores and hard discounters.

AWG recently refreshed its opening price point Always Save lineup, which gives member retailers a hedge against dollar stores and hard discounters.

Despite recent renovations to AWG’s private label portfolio, perhaps the biggest news in the private brands space is the company’s year-old partnership with Topco, which gives member retailers access to its private brands as well. “We are really excited about launching the Crav’n Flavor brand in particular,” says Detwiler, citing its broad assortment of frozen items. “We are now able to expand into categories that we didn’t have access to before,” she explains, citing frozen pizza, frozen protein breakfasts and frozen appetizers, including on-trend Asian- and Hispanic-inspired options, as examples.

‘We are really excited about launching the Crav’n Flavor brand in particular [because] we are now able to expand into categories that we didn’t have access to before.’

Thanks to AWG’s new partnership with Topco, many member retailers are adding its Crav’n Flavor brand, giving them a private label presence in several new frozen and refrigerated categories.

Crav’n Flavor is also giving members an opportunity to expand existing private brand assortments in key categories. For example, says Detwiler, the first Crav’n Flavor brand ice cream and frozen novelties hit freezers in Q1, “offering a lot more variety than we had under our Best Choice brand.” She adds, “It’s just an excellent opportunity for our member retailers to drive more sales in those categories and for us to grow penetration, too.”

Another Topco brand that’s likely to enhance AWG members’ frozen and refrigerated departments is Full Circle, which will help meet growing demand for natural, organic, clean label and better-for-you products. Again, says Detwiler, the Topco private brand will allow AWG to expand into areas beyond where it may go with Best Choice. “So that will be a leverage point with us as well.”

AWG is now offering Topco’s Wide Awake Coffee Co. private brand, including dairy and non-dairy creamers, to its member retailers.

In addition to Crav’n Flavor and Full Circle, AWG is also taking on Topco’s Wide Awake Coffee Co. brand. Although many of those products are merchandised in center store, the company is launching dairy and non-dairy creamers. “That’s totally white space for us because we didn’t have [those products] before, so it’s an opportunity for our member retailers to add incremental assortment,” says Detwiler.

While AWG offers member retailers a full range of branded and private label packaged goods, it also provides a wide variety of foodservice solutions. In 2025, foodservice sales grew 16% year-over-year, driven largely by turnkey programs such as Picadeli automated salad bars, which rolled out to more than 80 new locations last year. Although the system is still fairly new, “It’s been a game-changer,” reports Anthony, who says many consumers see it as safer than traditional salad bars.

Beyond that, he reports, AWG is seeing an influx of pre-packaged grab-and-go products that are helping meet increased demand for fresh meals and snacks. In the past, he explains, the only way for retailers to ensure high quality was to produce and package those items in-store, a process that comes with a lot of challenges. However, the quality of pre-packaged products has “improved dramatically,” says Anthony, giving consumers much more confidence in those items versus products from the service deli. “That’s really added up to a positive change in that whole area of the store,” he says.

NEW TECH LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD

Turnkey programs such as the Picadeli automated salad bar helped drive a 16% increase in AWG’s foodservice sales last year.

AWG also offers a robust shopper engagement platform that offers independent grocers the opportunity to collect customer data, track shopping behavior and create personalized offers, which allows them to better compete against large chains. “Some members are very engaged from a digital standpoint, using their loyalty programs to hone in on customers’ shopping behavior, while others are just utilizing [the platform] for digital coupons,” says Anthony. “But we’ve continued to add services and capabilities for our members on all of those fronts.”

One that’s generating a lot of buzz is the company’s new SmartMeals AI shopping assistant. Developed in partnership with Breez AI, the tool offers personalized meal planning based on dietary preferences, budget-based recommendations and step-by-step recipes. Retailers can also customize the “easily integrated” platform with their own branding and promote products through targeted recommendations. SmartMeals has already been deployed by nearly 100 stores, with more expected to follow.

Right now, says Anthony, shoppers are using the AI shopping assistant primarily for customizable recipes. “But then that turns into the retailer being able to give them offers or steering them toward individual brands needed to fulfill that recipe.” The tool can do the same thing for customers using a GLP-1 who want to add more protein to their diet or those seeking sugar-free products, for example. “So here’s a new sugar-free product that just hit the market and here’s a digital coupon you can use to buy it and here’s where it’s instock,” explains Anthony.

‘The [SmartMeals] platform is gaining traction very quickly.’

“The platform is gaining traction very quickly,” he continues, citing “meaningful” increases in both average basket size and loyalty program signups at stores already using it. Whether technology, assortment or prices, “We want our independent retailer members to have an equal opportunity to compete for consumer dollars,” explains Anthony. Giving them an AI-powered shopping assistant definitely helps level the playing field.

AWG will celebrate its 100th anniversary all year long, offering member retailers special promotional opportunities and merchandising plans.

But it all hinges on infrastructure, he continues. In frozen and refrigerated, “You have to have the warehouse space, you have to invest in the refrigeration. We’ve never taken any shortcuts when it comes to making sure we have ample capacity to expand as the market expands,” says Anthony. “With our strength and size and buying power, we’ve been able to do all of that in order to serve our independent member retailers.”

“We’re extremely proud to be celebrating our 100th anniversary,” adds Detwiler. “It truly does distinguish us.” But AWG didn’t survive — and thrive — for an entire century by resting on its laurels, she concludes. It’s always moving forward, always positioning its members for the future and always anticipating what’s next.