Why Ace Hardware sells its own private label line of barbecue sauces and seasonings

Store brand items have increasingly become a favorite for many shoppers. Sales of private label brands in the U.S. rose 6% year over year to $217 billion in 2023, according to research firm Circana, as retailers rush to cash in. In February, Target launched a new budget brand called Dealworthy, offering consumers everyday essentials at prices starting under a dollar. Last week, supermarket giant Walmart launched a private-label grocery brand aimed at Gen Z shoppers called Bettergoods. Like other retailers, Ace is betting on private label items, which tend to be cheaper than big brands, to achieve higher margins while serving price-conscious consumers.

“We felt like we were giving you an opportunity to really offer something that was high quality at a mid-range price point,” Melanie Hill, Ace’s director of retail innovation, said in an interview.

Historically, the appeal of a store-owned brand has been its price tag. The recent rise in discount offerings from retailers comes as shoppers feel the squeeze on their wallets. US consumer confidence fell for the third month in a row in April to the lowest level since July 2022, data released last week showed. The Conference Board’s research showed that higher food and gas prices in particular have weighed on American shoppers. It’s no surprise that consumers have been flocking to cheaper deals in recent years, amid the highest inflation in decades.

“We’re in a very value-conscious market right now, where people are trying to save money, and that’s why you’ve seen new offerings from Walmart and Target that are both focused on value,” said Jason Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy. official at Publicis Groupe. “The game of creating your own brands is super current and super smart.”

Nevertheless, the latest crop of retail lines, with catchy names, bright, colorful packaging and high-quality ingredients, represents a new generation of such products. Today, generic brands can even carry a degree of cultural cachet, like Whole Foods’ 365, where the average customer makes $80,000 a year. In other words, style and quality are just as important as price when it comes to capturing shoppers’ attention. As generic products continue to take over grocery store aisles, Ace’s push into sauces and rubs is a sign that the trend is catching on among non-grocers as well.

For Hill, the venture represents an effort to increase loyalty and demand for all things Ace Hardware.

“We know a lot about the barbecue consumer. They walk into our stores every day,” Hill said. “We sell grills and accessories, so private label seemed like a logical choice to complete that offering.”

Production started about a year ago, said Hill, who previously worked at outdoor grill maker Weber. Ace worked with Old World Spice to help develop the flavor profiles. From there, the hardware chain conducted taste tests, came up with ideas for a marketing campaign and had the items produced. As part of the line’s marketing campaign, Ace will host summer barbecue parties at its retail locations, showcasing its spices and rubs.

While Ace has no immediate plans to develop more food products from the store, Hill says the door is always open in the future. Aside from the food, Ace has been aiming to attract more shoppers to the brand, a recently launched private label clothing line called Vintage Threads, which is sold at retailers such as Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom.

While it makes sense that a customer going to a hardware store to buy a grill would also pick up a bottle or two of barbecue seasoning on the same trip, the frequency of these types of purchases could prove to be a hurdle for Ace, Goudberg said.

“Most people buy a grill every five or 10 years, and Ace is unlikely to be the destination for replenishing barbecue sauces and rubs for a customer who grills every week,” he said. “It is a very ambitious and challenging category to compete in.”