When it comes to grocery retail representation, Ohio is no slouch: Cincinnati is the headquarters of Kroger; Michigan-based Meijer is active in all Ohio’s metro markets; and so is Walmart.
Discounters also abound, with Aldi upgrading three Ohio stores in late 2018 and opening a new store in Westerville in November. Columbus-based Big Lots is also pushing for more fresh offerings in its namesake stores.
Ohio’s many metropolitan markets—Akron/Cleveland, Dayton/Columbus, Cincinnati/northern Kentucky and nearby Louisville—bring product demand up and down the value scale.
In addition to national chains like Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme, there are Ohio chains offering plenty of local and organic produce, like Dayton’s Dorothy Lane Market, Cleveland stalwart Heinen’s, and Jungle Jim’s Market at Cincinnati.
Customers in all retail sectors here love locally grown.
“Consumers want fresh product,” said Kirk Holthouse, vice president of Holthouse Farms of Ohio, Inc. in Willard, OH BB #:102784. “They like the homegrown idea; whenever they can get homegrown, that’s what they want.”
Better yet, he said, “The vast majority of consumers are willing to pay more for homegrown than merchandise purchased from out of state.”
Shoppers also want convenience, and salad mixes continue to fit the bill.
“Some of the growth we’ve seen are new salad and slaw kits,” said Mark Jewell, in sales at Cabbage, Inc. in Cincinnati. BB #:129087
A prime ingredient is kale, still riding a wave of popularity. Whether kale is in various products at supermarkets or on the menu at restaurants and schools, Jewell said sales for the leafy green have continued to climb over the last three years.
Retailers are leveraging meal-kits and other grab-and-go snack and meal options, as well as rising demand for organics.
Kroger is capitalizing on both: it teamed up with Home Chef for meals and announced hitting the $1 billion mark in organic produce sales in 2018—representing as much as 20 percent of the U.S. market, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI.
This is an excerpt from the most recent Produce Blueprints quarterly journal. Click here to read the full version.
