IGA Donates $290K to Wounded Warrior Project

IGA has donated $290,000 to Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) as a result of its third annual IGA Exclusive Brand national marketing initiative that ran in participating IGA stores from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend of 2013.

During the promotional period in 2013, IGA donated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of IGA Exclusive Brand water, hotdog and hamburger buns and ice cream featuring specially marked WWP packaging, resulting in more than $198,000 of the donation.

“Once again, we were amazed at the outpouring of support our independent IGA retailers gave this Wounded Warrior Project event,” said Dave Bennett, IGA SVP of procurement and exclusive brands. “All across the country we saw IGA retailers participating by not only selling IGA exclusive brand water and other sponsor products, but also by getting their entire communities involved to back the important mission of Wounded Warrior Project. We’re extremely proud of our IGA retailers for embracing this initiative so enthusiastically for the third year in a row, and very pleased that by working with Kraft, Nabisco and Hershey we were able to donate much needed funds to help our nation’s wounded service members.”

IGA partnered with Kraft Foods Group through merchandising support on beverage mix displays featuring MiO, Crystal Light and Kool Aid Liquid Water Enhancers in IGA stores during the promotional period, raising an additional $50,000. New this year, IGA also partnered with Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows, along with Hershey and Nabisco to utilize their Smore’s display module during the promotional period raising an additional $10,000 per company for a total of $30,000. Add to that $12,000 raised by IGA retailers’ own fundraising efforts and the IGA WWP Golf Tournament held in the summer of 2013, and the grand total hits $290,000, a $25,000 increase over the donation made in 2012. To date, IGA has donated $675K to WWP over the last three years.

Members of the IGA, Kraft Foods Group and Mondel?z International teams presented Wounded Warrior Project with the donation in the name of IGA retailers.

Last year, IGA retailers promoted the WWP initiative in their stores in a number of ways, including creating innovative in-store displays, matching donations and hosting community events honoring injured service members.

Kraft Foods Group, a longtime IGA Red Oval Family member, is one of a number of key CPG companies that partners with IGA throughout the year to provide marketing resources and opportunities to IGA’s independent retailers. Mike Ridenour, customer VP of Kraft Foods Group said that his company was proud to be involved in a campaign that enabled IGA’s independent retailers and IGA shoppers to join together to support a worthy national cause.

According to WWP, more than 51,000 service members have been injured in the recent military conflicts. In addition to the physical wounds, it is estimated as many as 400,000 service members live with the invisible wounds of war including combat-related stress, major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Another 320,000 are believed to have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment.

Tens of thousands of injured veterans and caregivers receive support each year through WWP’s 19 diverse programs and services that are uniquely structured to nurture the mind and body, and encourage economic empowerment and engagement.

IGA is the world’s largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $33 billion per year. The Alliance includes nearly 5,000 Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 36 distribution centers and more than 55 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items. IGA has operations in 46 of the United States and more than 30 countries, commonwealths and territories.