PLMA Recognizes Yesway for Private Label Innovation
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) honored Yesway as one of its 2023 Salute to Excellence award winners for store brand innovation.
Created in 1986, the annual awards program recognizes outstanding food and nonfood products introduced within the last year by supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, online retailers, wholesalers and more.
Yesway was a winner in the Global Tastes category for its Yesway Chamoy Chili Peach Rings candy.
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Nearly 750 product entries were submitted by 53 North American retailers for this year's Salute to Excellent awards, according to the PLMA. Submissions were sampled and evaluated by a panel of professional and consumer judges on several criteria, such as taste, product concept, packaging and value for money.
"PLMA is thrilled to celebrate the winning retailers for their commitment to store brand product and packaging excellence," said PLMA President Peggy Davies. "From innovations in flavors and ingredients to vitamin-enriched health and wellness products, the Salute to Excellence award winners underscore the important role of store brands."
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Yesway moved into the private label space through its 2019 acquisition of the Allsup's convenience store chain, which already had a solid private label offering. Today, Yesway has more than 200 private label items across 420-plus stores, as Convenience Store News previously reported.
The retailer's strategy was to build brand awareness, create quality and value, grow units/dollars, and introduce Yesway brands into Allsup's stores and vice versa, all of which helps to build a unified brand, according to Yesway's Alan Adato, merchandising and procurement manager. Adato explained the convenience retailer's take on private label during an education session at the 2022 NACS Show.
Fort Worth-based Yesway's c-store portfolio includes stores across Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Nebraska. It operates primarily under the Yesway and Allsup's brands.