Dive Brief:

• United Natural Foods, Inc. announced Thursday a partnership with Swiftly to launch a retail media network for independent and regional grocers across the U.S.
• The platform, called UNFI Media Network (UMN), aims to offer UNFI’s retailers and brand partners technology that will allow them to better reach shoppers digitally and push out personalized ads. 
• UNFI’s latest move aims to help smaller grocery players compete against national retailers as more companies enter the retail media space and expand their networks. 

Dive Insight:

The grocery retail media space is continuing to grow more crowded and competitive, and industry experts are pushing for standardized metrics as well as network consolidation to even the playing field. 

UMN will leverage Swiftly’s technology platform, personalization tools, closed-loop reporting and analytics capabilities for UNFI’s network of 30,000 retail locations and 11,000 brand partners. 

The network will allow UNFI’s retail and brand partners to reach shoppers with targeted ads. In turn, suppliers can better market to shoppers through retailers in the network and build up their brands, according to the announcement. 

Swiftly can provide CPG brands and retailers with a “standard view of measurement” so both parties can understand the success of a campaign, Sean Turner, Swiftly’s chief technology officer and co-founder, said in an interview. 

UMN can either bolster retailers’ current retail media operations or offer retailers new to the space a full suite of technology, Louis Martin, president of wholesale for UNFI, said in an interview. 

“We actually can tailor the elements of the network to meet with [what] that particular retail store or retail banner aspires to leverage,” Martin added, noting that ensuring retailers retain ownership of their customer relationships is a cornerstone of UMN.

UNFI is currently in talks with its top regional partners about the new platform, with several in the process of signing up to use it, Martin said. 

In February 2023, Swiftly entered a similar partnership with Webstop, a digital solutions company for regional and independent grocers, that offered expanded mobile solutions for retailers. The goal of the tie-up, which combined Webstop’s web-based digital platform with Swiflty’s mobile app platform, was to boost retail media revenue for independent and regional grocers. 

UNFI, which recently extended its supply contract with key retail customer Whole Foods, is trying to boost its financial health after several straight quarters of declines in revenue growth. In addition to its distribution business, it offers a variety of services for retailers, ranging from store design help to shelf merchandising strategies.