Albertsons, Preferabli Partner to Revolutionize Grocery
The Albertsons Cos. is teaming up with Preferabli to answer that age-old question at the top of every grocery shopper's mind: Which wine should I buy?
Albertsons' direct-to-consumer wine shipping platform Vine & Cellar Reserve will now allow shoppers to embark on a personalized journey to answer that question by offering Preferabli's Sensorial AI technology at the digital shelf, or product page.
This partnership marks the first time such advanced technology has been integrated into a highly curated collection on a grocery retailing platform, highlighting Albertsons' and Preferabli’s dedication to creating innovative, personalized experiences in grocery retail.
"We’re imagining a world driven by individual preferences, using machine intelligence with human touch. Our software extends the bounds of what human beings can do to create true and lasting customer relationships by working at scale,” said Preferabli Co-Founder and CEO Pam Dillon.
Preferabli connects shoppers to products on a 1:1 basis – making taste-based recommendations based on individual preferences, not crowdsourcing. Preferabli is as intuitive as a human expert, at scale. The experiences are powered by Preferabli’s proprietary database, using hundreds of characteristics for each wine.
Andrew Sussman, co-founder and CTO of Preferabli, adds, “Our technology gives shoppers various ways to voice what they’re looking for to begin a journey of discovery. No other platform has our domain expertise or depth of quality data.”
Last year, Albertsons launched Vine & Cellar Reserve, an expanded and enhanced version of Vine & Cellar, the retailer's collection of expertly curated wines available online, shipped directly to customer homes. Available exclusively to Safeway, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions customers in California, the platform gives consumers the ability to discover and shop a diverse selection of wines from well-known everyday favorites to specialty wines from smaller vineyards around the world, typically unavailable at national supermarket retailers.
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Each wine in the collection is handpicked by Group Vice President of Alcohol for Albertsons Cos. and Master of Wine Curtis Mann and his expert buying team. Vine & Cellar Reserve offers wines ranging in price from $10 to more than $1,000 per bottle, with plans to further expand the assortment.
“Vine & Cellar Reserve was created to give customers access to a curated selection of premier wines from around the world,” Mann said. “By partnering with Preferabli, we’re helping customers receive personalized recommendations based on their individual preferences, learn about the wines they are considering and ultimately, find and discover new wines.”
Using a novel form of machine learning protected by 12 patents, Preferabli was built by PhDs in physiology and applied mathematics, and the largest group of Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers in the world. All functionalities use its proprietary database, the most comprehensive in the industry with hundreds of characteristics for millions of products.
"Significant change is underway in grocery retail, with the industry able to solve for the paradox of choice in adult beverages. Grocery retailers can now present relevant content for each product in inventory dynamically – including taste characteristics – so shoppers can discover what they’re looking for amongst all the offerings," Dillon said.
Albertsons' Vine & Cellar collection expands Albertsons Cos.’ growing wine portfolio, which includes the company’s private label Vinaforé, Signature Reserve, O Organics and Kaylana wines.
Albertsons Cos. operates 2,267 retail food and drug stores with 1,726 pharmacies, 405 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The Boise, Idaho-based company operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under more than 20 well-known banners. Albertsons is No. 9 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.