When you walk into Green Acres, a health foods store in Piscataway, NJ managed by Theo Kitschker, pass the register, go around a bend toward the right, and in front of you will be a wall of vitamins.
That display is Green Acres’ private label, established in the 1990s. There are six shelves, with the third shelf from the top at about at eye level for Kitschker. Kitschker, who has worked for more than one owner of the store, said the spot was carefully selected.
“All of us were in agreement to have [the display] as soon as you walk in—to have that right there,” he said, adding the store also has some private label products directly behind the front counter.
That’s good for Green Acres, because Mitch Coven, founder and CEO of Vitality Works, a New Mexico-based private label manufacturer of herbal and nutraceutical supplements, recommends retailers place their private labels prominently and at eye level.
The placement of the private label products can indicate a retailer’s trust in his or her own brand.
“If staff doesn’t go to their own brand first [within the store] … something is not quite right,” he said.
