Tops Revamps Store-brand Products

Tops Markets LLC has overhauled the Tops brand line of thousands of products, many reformulated to contain cleaner, simpler ingredients, and now available in more attractive packaging. Along with food items, the brand relaunch includes hundreds of household items, among them paper products and cleaning supplies.

“Our shoppers are continually looking to Tops for value, convenience and variety, and the revitalized line of Tops Brand products will surely meet those needs and more,” said Frank Curci, chairman and CEO of Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops. “Customers will find them to be great a complement to the national, regional and local brands that Tops is well known to offer them.”

Many of the products were developed in coordination with vendors located on Tops’ home turf of western New York, reaffirming the company’s commitment to the region where it began. Among the product line’s locally produced items are bottled water, iced tea and apple juice, made by Mayer Bros., in West Seneca, N.Y., and salad dressings and marinades, made at Bay Valley, in Erie, Pa. Further, a variety of Tops Brand fresh dairy products hail from western New York, including eggs from Kreher Farms, in Clarence; string cheese and Ricotta cheese by Lactalis, in Buffalo; and cottage cheese, French onion dip and Greek yogurt by Upstate Farms, in Buffalo. Tops Brand milk is also purchased from Upstate Farms, as well as Byrne Dairy, in Spencerport, N.Y.

Customers will find about 1,200 redesigned Tops Brand products in stores, with another 1,000 items currently in various stages of redesign and scheduled to arrive on shelves through the spring of 2017.

‘Right Time’ for Makeover

To support the relaunch, the company will roll out a marketing and advertising campaign on Sept. 11 encompassing print, digital, in-store and broadcast media, and social media. Tops will also promote its revamped store brand through its sponsorship of “The Rex Ryan Show,” featuring the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.

The product line now has a new logo and the promotional tagline “Tops Brand Products: Home Made Happy,” both of which will be prominently featured in-store and in ads. Additionally, the packaging will include the President’s Promise, a commitment to ensure customer satisfaction with Tops Brand products: The company will provide a full refund or product replacement if a customer isn’t satisfied.

“The time was right to give Tops Brand products a closer look, and the results already indicate that it was a worthwhile effort,” noted John Persons, Tops’ president and COO. “Store brands are more popular than ever before, and in many cases they are the preference of shoppers. Our own research and customer feedback, combined with national data and trends, support that.”

Further, the grocer’s Tops in Education program, now in its fifth year, provides funding to customers’ preferred schools when shoppers buy Tops Brand products.

Tops operates 172 supermarkets, with five additional by franchisees under the Tops banner, and employs more than 16,000 associates in New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Vermont, and north central Massachusetts.