Big Y Partnership Boosts U.S.-Grown Rice Sales in March

ARLINGTON, VA -- This past March, USA Rice partnered with retail dietitians at supermarket chain Big Y to promote U.S.-grown rice across more than seventy grocery stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  Big Y rice promotions were part of their Living Well Eating Smart® nutrition program, and included sales promotions, in-store signage, social media posts, and more.

The promotion kicked off with an article on Big Y’s Living Well Eating Smart blog and newsletter featuring USA Rice’s recipe for an Orange Chicken and Vegetable Rice Bowl.  Thirty-five thousand copies of the newsletter were distributed in stores and the article was also added to Big Y’s website and promoted throughout the month on social media, garnering 225,000 impressions.

The supermarket chain’s sales promotion, which ran from March 8-21, included both U.S.-grown rice and Think Rice messaging featured in Big Y’s Weekly Circular which reaches more than one million customers, and in-store signage on aisles to encourage sales.  Data from the two-week promotion shows an increase of 49 percent in sales of Big Y brown long grain rice when compared to the same sale price in February.  

“The sales data speaks for itself,” said Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president for domestic promotion.  “The combination of an in-store sales promotion, printed and digital features, and social media posts by the RDs at Big Y has proven to be a winning formula that actually moves the needle in sales of U.S.-grown rice.  USA Rice will continue to replicate this strategy as future opportunities with retail chains occur.”