Simple Truth is Kroger's line of natural and organic goods, including products such as milk, seafood, meat and baked goods.
Kroger has teamed up with Alibaba to sell its Simple Truth-brand products on the Chinese retailer’s Tmall Global platform.
The move marks Kroger’s first foray into international markets as it aims to step up its online business.
Simple Truth is Kroger’s line of natural and organic goods, including products such as milk, seafood, meat and baked goods. Since launching five years ago it has become the second largest brand sold in Kroger stores, reaching $2 billion in annual sales.
The deal sees America’s largest grocery chain step up its challenge to compete with Amazon and Walmart in the online shopping sector. Earlier this month it launched grocery delivery service Kroger Ship in four US cities and in May it signed a deal with UK retailer Ocado to use its technology in the US.
Kroger added that the Tmall strategic move supports its plans to “redefine the grocery customer experience by elevating our brands and partner to create customer value by driving top-line growth through alternative revenue streams”.
Yael Cosset, Kroger chief digital officer, said: “E-commerce enables Kroger to quickly scale to reach new customers and markets where we don’t operate physical stores, starting with China.
“We anticipate Chinese consumers will love our brands – starting with Simple Truth products – just like our American customers do. Kroger is proud to continue to lead the way in making natural, organic and free-from products more mainstream and accessible. Sharing Kroger’s exclusive brands and status as a food authority the world over is exciting.”
He added: “Kroger is the world’s third largest retailer by revenue – $122.7 billion in sales in 2017. We are creating the grocery retail model of the future by focusing on digital and technology.”
Launched in 2014, Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform is China’s largest business-to-consumer marketplace. The platform provides brands and retailers without operations in China to build virtual storefronts and ship products into the country.
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