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INFRA Everyday: Reflecting on One Year of Programmatic Success

By Madeleine Ware posted 08-22-2024 03:53 PM

  

Kelly Miles, Manager of Member Success

In December of 2022, INFRA invited members to participate in our Every Day Low Price (EDLP) program, INFRA Everyday. With a significant investment from KeHE, INFRA launched Everyday with a core set of 107 CADIA SKUs priced to compete with the private label offerings of national big box players. 180 members signed up for the initial launch, and by the end of 2023 another 60 members had joined the program, making INFRA Everyday the most widely adopted, and most successful, program launch in INFRA history.

In the first year of the program (May 2023-April 2024), INFRA Members purchased nearly $8M of CADIA products from KeHE, and we now sell more CADIA SKUs than any other retail chain in the natural channel. Year-over-year CADIA sales grew more than 40% during this time, and the INFRA Members executing the Everyday program at the highest level realized even more impressive results.

Top performers with Everyday are conveying more value to shoppers, moving more units, and seeing better sales growth. How are they doing it? With an optimized assortment, compelling signage and merchandising, and effective advertising.

Today, 85% of INFRA Members participate in Everyday. The program’s success so far is a direct result of member support – thank you! Going forward, we will ensure that this cornerstone program serves each and every INFRA Member in growing sales and providing healthy and affordable food items to their communities. We look forward to implementing the steps to make this happen – including an advisory committee, product assortment refresh, and new avenues for collaboration with CADIA. 

                            Kindred Market in Athens, OH
              The Natural Grocery Company in Cerrito, CA

A Look Ahead

Chris Sorensen, Promotions Program Manager

With the first year of the INFRA Everyday program under our belt, we've seen tremendous success across our membership. However, this success didn’t happen overnight—it’s the result of listening closely to our members, supporting them at every level, and acting on their constructive feedback to provide strategic and tactical support.

What’s Next?

INFRA Everyday Advisory Committee

Over the next few months, we’re taking this collaboration to the next level by building the framework for an Everyday Advisory Committee. This committee will help amplify the INFRA Member voice within the Everyday program and the CADIA product line. Our goal is to ensure that the program continues to evolve in a way that reflects the needs and desires of our diverse membership, and this committee will provide a structured avenue for ongoing input and engagement.

Program Growth

We are currently undergoing a significant undertaking—an assortment refresh for the INFRA Everyday program. This process involves a deep dive into member data, survey feedback, and the insights we’ve gathered over the last year. The aim is to refine and refresh our product assortment, ensuring that we’re not only meeting but exceeding the expectations of our members. As we’ve analyzed the data, it’s become clear that the collaborative efforts of our members are paying off.

One of the most tangible benefits of this collective success is the stabilization of costs on the CADIA line. Thanks to the volume of purchases driven by our members, we’re finally seeing cost stabilization, and in some cases, even cost declines. This achievement allows us to remain competitive on price, while also increasing margins on key items—an essential factor in improving profitability for our members without compromising product velocities.

Strengthening our Relationship with CADIA

Over the past year, we’ve cultivated closer relationships with CADIA’s business development, pricing, and marketing teams. The benefits of this collaboration include access to conceptual product information, price data, and product sampling. This enhanced collaboration has allowed us to provide input and influence the CADIA product line directly.

The CADIA team has also been incredibly responsive to feedback from our members, with plans to make improvements to ingredients, certifications, and formulations based on the input we’ve provided. This level of openness and responsiveness is a testament to the strength of our partnership and our shared commitment to delivering high-quality, value-driven products to independent natural food stores.

Looking Forward, Together

As we look to the future, our focus will be on continuing to refine and improve the program strategy, product assortment, costs, and pricing for INFRA Members, ensuring that the INFRA Everyday program remains a cornerstone of success for independent natural food stores. But more than that, we are committed to strengthening the program through the united voice of our diverse membership and our ongoing collaboration with the CADIA team.

Together, we are all shaping the future of the natural foods industry by creating access to affordable natural and organic foods across hundreds of INFRA Member communities. The road ahead is full of possibilities, and we’re excited to continue this journey with our members and partners by our side.

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