• by Steve Ellwanger , June 23, 2022

Discount grocer Save A Lot wants shoppers to know that its 55 private label brands have a lot in common with national brands—except when it comes to price.

Hence the chain’s “A Lot Alike” campaign, which uses side-by-side product images to pit Save A Lot’s house brands against higher-priced national-brand competitors that can also be found in some of its stores.

“A Lot Alike” builds on Save A Lot’s 2021 brand refresh and uses the same bouncy music from the accompanying “Like, A Lot A Lot” campaign.

In this spot from The VIA Agency, images of Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts appear alongside Save A Lot’s Kiggins-branded Toaster Tarts. Those visuals are followed by store-brand alternatives to Smucker’s jelly, Jif peanut butter and DiGiorno pizza.  

The images are accompanied by the words “Tastes Alike. Saves A Lot.”

Likewise, this commercial highlights such Save A Lot general merchandise brands as Triumph (versus Clorox’s Glad plastic trash bags) and Allsoft Ultra Soft toilet paper (versus Procter & Gamble’s Charmin Ultra Soft).

Private-label brands encompassing more than 1,850 items account for nearly 70% of Save A Lot’s total dollar sales, according to chief sales and marketing officer Tim Schroder.

Asked about the target audience for “A Lot Alike,” Schroder says it’s broadly dispersed. “Our shoppers span a variety of socioeconomic demographics. The commonality is they come to us looking for great value and stretch their dollars.”

Unlike some grocers, Save A Lot does not produce its private label products—some of which come from major CPG companies.

“In some cases it’s the exact same product. They just put our label on it versus their national brand label,” says Schroder.

Among the private label commodity foods shoppers are most willing to purchase include sugar, bottled water, yellow mustard, spaghetti and canned vegetables.

“Consumers are much more willing to take a risk, so to speak, and purchase those because the quality is very similar.”

Founded 1977, Save A Lot has 872 stores in 32 states—primarily from the Midwest to the East Coast.