Copyright 2008 Dolan Media Newswires

October 16, 2008 Thursday

NEWS

430 words

Brian Brus

National retail giant Wal-Mart will be giving some smaller Oklahoma companies showcase space this week in a partnership that will also open doors to other retailers, Made In Oklahoma Coalition spokesman David Brooks said.

MIO Coalition tables put at the entry of several Wal-Mart stores across the state 2-6 p.m. Friday will feature products appropriate for a sporting event parking lot tailgate party, company spokeswoman Angie Stoner said. The planned product lineup includes Schwab's chili, Bar-S franks, Advanced Brand's Fast Fixin' fully cooked burgers and Chef's Requested Foods' bacon-wrapped beef filet. Brooks said tasting samples and coupons will be provided.

Wal-Mart's primary justification for promoting local brands is to help consumers save money and "to build a sense of community," Stoner said. But those savings are a byproduct of retail efficiency, which also helps the company's own bottom line.

"We also launched our Locally Grown program this year, working with a lot of local farmers and producers," Stoner said. "Being able to provide those local products takes out some of the additional costs when you're traveling long distances to get a certain product to a location, so we're able to pass along some of those savings to our customers. "

"We feel that the partnership with the Made In Oklahoma Coalition is a great way to not only provide good, quality products for our customers, but also to let them know when they are supporting their own local economy by buying products made in Oklahoma. "

Brooks, who also is sales manager for Shawnee Milling Co., said Wal-Mart has started realizing the value of regional brands "that people are very, very loyal to. "

"The national program that Wal-Mart was kind of moving to was not going to work," he said. "In a lot of cases, such as Griffin syrup, Shawnee mixes and Bar-S franks, we are the category leaders, and in Oklahoma they can't just discount us. "

The MIO Coalition promotion helps cut through the difficulty of securing shelf space for Oklahoma producers already working with the state Agriculture Department-backed group, not only in the Wal-Mart chain but in other retailers, he said.

"It's not easy to get in. They like to go with brands that already have proven themselves on the stores of other grocery stores. When companies are performing at a certain level within their local market, then Wal-Mart will take them on, which helps those companies grow very rapidly," he said. "It gives us an opportunity to get us into non-Wal-Mart outlets.

"Everybody's scratching everybody else's backs on this deal. "

October 16, 2008