Publix Still Thinks Meals Are Best 'at Home'

Publix continues to work with a trio of manufacturers this year on a "Best Meals Happen at Home" coupon and recipe program.Conducted by Unilever, General Mills and Campbell Soup Co., the second-year program lets Publix promise shoppers another $200 in exclusive coupons through the end of 2013. (See "Publix Hosts Brand-Driven ..." in Related Articles.) Registered shoppers receive the savings via weekly email blasts that also deliver "FASTastic recipes" incorporating any of the 34 participating brands.Recipients are limited to two prints of each coupon (via Valassis Inc.'s RedPlum technology). Redemption periods last for roughly one month. The top of each email encourages registration by consumers who may have had the message forwarded to them.Supporting standees placed in stores deliver the same coupons and recipe cards. For the first flight of 2013, full-page circular features that dropped during the week of Jan. 16 contained nearly $10 worth of the coupons while showcasing a "simple chicken Parmesan" dish. The meal incorporated Unilever's Hellmann's, Mills' Progresso and Campbell's Prego; Tyson Foods' Tyson was tapped to complete the ingredient list. The program boasts a dedicated website (bestmealsathome.com) and Facebook page. The site's current featured recipe, "pan roasted chicken au jus," employs Unilever's I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.Publix also is teaming with Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and Kraft Foods to conduct a third year of the similarly executed "Stocking Spree" program. (See "Publix Hosts a ...")The success of both programs in driving center-store sales — not to mention collecting some shopper data for the loyalty card-less Publix — may be the impetus behind the retailer's plan to launch a broader digital coupon program that lets shoppers browse hundreds of coupons, clip them virtually and redeem them automatically. Participants register with their phone numbers, which they provide at checkout for redemption. Publix ran a pilot of the program at a few stores in Florida last year, then added additional central Florida locations this month. The system will go live at all stores by mid-March, beginning with the remainder of Florida and Alabama locations and followed by doors in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

You May Also Like

Unilever Suggests Ice Cream Daily at Meijer

Brands Join Stop & Shop's Fight Against Student Hunger