Raley’s debuts first O-N-E Market store conversion

This weekend, Raley’s opened the first store converted to its O-N-E Market format, in El Dorado Hills, Calif.

The 39,000-square-foot store, shut from April 12 to 16 for the conversion and opened on Saturday, marks the second Raley’s O-N-E Market location — the first opened last June in Truckee, Calif. — and the first of more stores to be remodeled as Raley’s O-N-E Market.

Raley’s said Monday that it plans to convert another Raley’s supermarket in Reno, Nev., to a Raley’s O-N-E Market, with a reopening slated for May 1. In addition, a new Raley’s O-N-E Market is now being built in Roseville, Calif., with a planned opening in spring 2022.

Raley’s O-N-E Market offers a highly curated assortment of fresh, nutritious and organic products, focusing on minimally processed and sustainably sourced items.

The “O-N-E” in the new store banner reflects Raley’s better-for-you brand positioning of “Organics, Nutrition and Education,” aimed at helping customers make more informed and healthier food choices. The Raley’s O-N-E Market brand emerged from learnings at Market 5-ONE-5, another new store concept opened in May 2018 in downtown Sacramento, Calif.

“Raley’s O-N-E Market is an important part of our long-range strategy, and there will be additional conversions beyond this one,” Raley’s President and CEO Keith Knopf said in a statement. “The pace of transformation will be guided by our purpose and aligned with customer preference. This in mind, it is our intent to be ahead of the consumer curve and inform customer choice through a commitment to education and transparency.”

Related:Raley’s releases first annual Impact Report

Located at 3935 Park Dr. in El Dorado Hills, the new Raley’s O-N-E Market offers a highly curated assortment of fresh, nutritious and organic products, focusing on minimally processed and sustainably sourced items, according to Raley’s. The West Sacramento-based grocer said products across store departments are carefully selected to exclude ingredients from the retailer’s banned ingredients list, such as high-fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners and hydrogenated fats and oils. 

Highlights of the store include a café with coffee from Sacramento, Calif.-based Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters, specialty toasts and an organic juice bar serving fresh pressed juices, wellness shots, smoothies and acai bowls. Raley’s said restaurant-quality prepared food options run from hearth-baked pizza and sandwiches to fresh-made sushi made with 100% sustainable seafood and artisan baked goods made with clean ingredients. Customers also have access to online shopping for pickup or delivery via Raleys.com.

Related:Raley’s first O-N-E Market focuses on food for healthy, active lifestyles

A linchpin of Raley's “O-N-E” brand positioning — “Organics, Nutrition and Education

The retailer noted that the El Dorado Hills Raley’s O-N-E Market ushers in a new feature: a natural beauty store-within-a-store that offers a wellness-focused shopping experience for customers seeking health and beauty products that are free from artificial preservatives, colors and aluminum as well as hypoallergenic, paraben-free, phthalate-free, sulfate-free, Cruelty Free-certified and Rainforest Alliance-certified.

Also new at the store are two Raley’s loyalty program features: Something Extra Health and the Something Extra Gather room. Raley’s said the Something Extra Health program is designed to help shoppers with their personal wellness journeys. Led by a Nutrition Advisor and overseen by a registered dietitian, the program offers classes, store tours, nutrition coaching, personalized supplement recommendations and other benefits free to loyalty program members. Meanwhile, the Something Extra Gather room provides an audio/visual space free to Something Extra members in the community, who can reserve the room on the Raley’s website.

Raley’s O-N-E Market associates at the El Dorado Hills store received initial training from Yvette Waters, MS, RDN, CISSN, who serves as Raley’s nutrition strategist and brand influencer. The retailer said they will receive ongoing education from the store’s designated Nutrition Advisor on department standards as well as on ways to help personalize the shopping experience.   

Raley's noted that O-N-E Market opts for organic items, when available.

A big focus of Raley’s efforts to help customers make smarter food choices has been reducing sugar in food. That has included flagging sugar content in pasta sauce, removing store-brand soda with high-fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors; eliminating private-label cereal with more than 25% added sugar; moving cold cereal with 25% or more of added sugar to the bottom shelf; and removing conventional candy from the checkout lanes, reducing the overall sugar offerings by 25%.

The company also sources 100% sustainable fresh seafood and has boosted ingredient transparency in relaunching its private label and made all of its store-brand chicken antibiotic-free, with packaging in 100% recyclable trays. In addition, the chain expanded its two-year-old Shelf Guide highlighting products with health-related attributes, including for nonfood categories.

Overall, Raley’s operates 124 stores in California and Nevada under the Raley’s, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods, Raley’s O-N-E Market, Food Source and Market 5-ONE-5 banners.