7-Eleven goes upscale, sort of. They're selling their own private-label store brand
Filed under: Shopping
And now 7-Eleven, a convenience store that I'm betting almost every American and Canadian has visited at one time or another, is firmly in the act. They have a brand called the 7-Select line. It's been around since 2004 on 32 products, but they're expanding to cover 180 items, from cookies and candy to beef jerky and chocolate covered pretzels.
It's a smart move for 7-Eleven. According to BusinessWeek, this is an $81 billion business and has risen more than 10 percent in the past year.
10 Top Store Brands
7-Eleven's new private-label snacks include items like beef jerky, trail mix and gummi worms that will be available for hungry snackers who want a treat for their wallets as well as their stomachs.
7-Eleven, Inc. / AP
The new 7-Eleven line joins a host of upscale private label store brands that are giving a new life to generics, which used to signal "low quality" to consumers. Shoppers at stores like Whole Foods regularly choose the store's house brands, especially its 365 Organic line, over name-brand products.
Jeff Haynes, AFP / Getty Images
Trader Joe's house brand items even regularly win awards and notice, from its Two-Buck Chuck wine, to items like chicken noodle soup low fat canned or refrigerated. Consumer Reports picked its granola as one of the top supermarket products last year, along with its canned peaches.
Cassandra Shie, AOL
Supermarkets have long been the haven of private label brands, but rather than just sticking to things like paper towels and rice, markets like Publix are offering upscale items as well.
Luis M. Alvarez, AP
But supermarkets also still stick to the basics, like paper towels. Here, a shopper passes by Kroger brand paper towels inside the a Kroger Food & Drug store.
David Kohl, AP
Wegman's and many other supermarkets and drug stores rely on generics for over-the-counter drug sales. There's also a price war going on for generic prescriptions, with Wal-Mart, Target and CVS -- to name just three outlets -- offering 90-day supplies for $10 or under.
Cassandra Shie, AOL
Wal-Mart's profits have been going up and up during this economic crisis, and one key ingredient to that success is relying on house brands like this glass cleaner, but also for organic foods, paper goods, toiletries and household staples.
Cassandra Shie, AOL
Target also relies heavily on its house brands to appeal to cost-conscious consumers. Here, Target's house brand cereal shares shelf space with countless other cereals in the Super Target store in the east Denver suburb of Glendale, Colo.
David Zalubowski, AP
Costco has long had success with its Kirkland Signature brand, which offers everything from paper goods to meat at a much lower price than brand names.
Tim Boyle, Getty Images
BJ's has had great success with its Berkeley & Jensen brand, which it says allows it to offer prices 15 to 60 percent off name brands.
Mike Groll, AP
It's been interesting how this has all developed. I have a lot of memories of grocery shopping as a child in the 1970s and seeing the ancestors of private labels: generic brands.
The packaging was always white, with big black lettering, and instead of saying something like Crest, it would say Toothpaste. Instead of Tide, it would read, Laundry Detergent. Yeah, the marketers didn't exactly put in a lot of effort naming the products, but you did always know what you were getting.
These generic brands were always significantly cheaper than the other products, but that was the problem. The box that said Rice on it, also screamed the message: this is really cheap. And nobody bought them, or not enough people, anyway. But dress up the packaging a little, and suddenly there's nothing generic about store brand foods, especially these. 7-Eleven will be selling their own gummi worms, espresso beans and Kettle cooked potato chips. I'm guessing 7-Select will be a hit.
Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale). He admits he's pleased his publisher didn't decide to name his book, Book.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-26-2008 @ 6:24AM
Janet said...
I am sure the 7 Select line will do very well. These stores are always maintained very well and kept clean. Their hotdogs are delicious as well.
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 9:13AM
Jon Boy said...
I miss 7-Eleven...
Has anyone heard of Pepsi's new product, PEPSI WHITE
http://www.curiousread.com/2008/11/taste-test-pepsi-white.html
It looks so gross
11-26-2008 @ 9:57AM
Sevin E. Levin said...
I buy store brands for many items. I often buy store brand pasta sauces and use them as a base while I add my own ingredients to "personalize" it. The finished product, even with my added ingredients, comes out cheaper than the national brands, yet tastes better.
There are many store brand items that just don't seem to hit the bar that national brands have set, but there are just as many that do. You need to try as many as you can and keep buying the ones that suit your taste.
What it all boils down to is advertising. It doesn't make sense to work hard for your paycheck and then succumb to the slick marketing campaigns of the national brands. You're not always paying more for a better-made product...often times you're just paying more for a better-advertised product.
Keep your money....you've worked harder for it than the companies who are trying to separate you from it.
11-27-2008 @ 9:48PM
TheNakedHippie said...
This seems so obvious... kind of like, "haven't they always had their own brand?" The packaging does look nice and I'd definitely buy the brand, especially if it was cheaper than some of the more popular ones.
Their hotdogs are delicious? That's such a tasty word, I hate to see it used to describe something as base as a hotdog. ;]
Erin from TheNakedHippie
11-26-2008 @ 9:02AM
rocket said...
When they become american owned is when they will get their business back
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 7:36AM
Simzee said...
I'd buy from 7 Eleven. It's much cleaner than where I work.
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11-26-2008 @ 7:58AM
Carl Devitt said...
There are much better mini-mart chains around the country than 7-11. 7-11 is dingy, dirty, and the coffee is rarely fresh. Look up WaWa on the east coast. It's exceptional in every way. There are many others as well. 7-11 management has dodged a bullet in many ways only by name recognition.
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11-27-2008 @ 9:51PM
Andy said...
Funny, everyone before you said that their 7-Eleven stores are clean and well-managed. Where's yours, so I can avoid it?
11-26-2008 @ 8:04AM
Joy said...
I've tried the Kettle Cooked Chips and they are as good as the Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Chips and much less expensive. I'm interested to see what other items they provate label.
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 8:36AM
hallie said...
I love 7-11. They are convenient and sell a gallon of milk for $3.99 instead of trying to rip you off like most conveniece stores.
I am always watching my weight and it is hard to find a lot of healthy options in convenience stores and fast foods. The 7-11 by me always has hard boiled eggs, fruit and my new favorite diet pepsi slurpees...so good.
I strive to eat healthy so I try to start my day off right. I usually eat flax every morning. I have the same breakfast most days. I recently lost 30 pounds following the weight watchers program
http://www.weightwatchers.com and I now just am more watchful every day of what I eat. I have a
banana low fat yogurt with golden roasted flax for breakfast every day. It is filling, keeps me regular and tastes fabulous. My Weight Watchers leader recommended fitflax to me and it definitely helped the last 10 pounds to melt off. It is a flax and chia blend and I think I read about it in O mag. They also listed a code to get 10% off. The site is http://www.smartthingz.com.com and the code for 10% off is FIT10
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11-26-2008 @ 8:39AM
Hallie said...
oops..the website for fitflax is http://www.smartthingz.com
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 9:03AM
Bob said...
7-11 is soooo second rate. Customer service is not important as they do not provide public restrooms. So Mr Sheet Head, I take my business to Sheets or Go-Mart. I like clerks that speak ENGLISH!!
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 10:49AM
John said...
7-Eleven treats their employees like dirt. They are all selling out to the Arabs and Indians.
Japanese owned. Shop elsewhere!
11-26-2008 @ 9:12AM
Swami said...
Wow, This is great!
7-Select Beef Jerky, just it time for a more frugal Thanksgiving dinner. The family will be thrilled.
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11-26-2008 @ 9:51AM
jillie said...
in my 40's and looove those slurpies..
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11-26-2008 @ 9:28AM
Amy said...
Will these products contain High Fructose Corn Syrup and MSG? Mmmm, my favorite!
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11-26-2008 @ 9:30AM
dave said...
Pepsi white isnt new it came out the first time over 20 years ago. I worked for pepsi then and it was a big flop
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11-26-2008 @ 9:32AM
Jusaha said...
I hear that 7-11 is going to have arab and muslim dog food. it will come with a slurppe and a slab of beef jerky
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11-26-2008 @ 11:12AM
rob said...
7-11 is so yesterday. Around Philly its all Wawa! They are cleaner and have better food and a deli! And to top it all off, they SPEAK ENGLISH and are NOT franchised! They are all owned by one guy! Once you go Wawa you won't go anywhere else!
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11-26-2008 @ 11:41AM
Phyllis Isaacs said...
Most store brands are made by the same manufacturers as name brands. They are cheaper because there is no advertising expense.
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