Arizona Shopping Secrets

Last week I was invited to learn about Fry’s new Milk Freshness Campaign at their corporate headquarters in Tolleson.  I thought I would share the details with you… Journalism Style (via the 6 Ws format) <—Because I am cool like that!

Who:

Fry’s Food Stores of course!

What:

Fry’s wants you to have the freshest milk possible!  All Fry’s brand milk will have a minimum of 9 days of freshness when you buy it.  At 9 days of freshness the milk will be marked down.  At day 8 it will be donated to local food banks! <—Love that!

When:

The campaign starts Wednesday, April 27th… although they have been piloting the program since late last year!

Where:

Fry’s Food Stores :-)

Why:

Fry’s knows that milk is a grocery staple for most families and wants to keep their customers happy!  If their milk lasts longer it will eliminate waste and extra trips to the grocery store.  And hopefully keep customers happier!

How:

1. Fry’s uses local dairy farms and has their own dairy manufacturing plant right in the Phoenix area.  They can get their milk from the cow to their store shelves faster than anyone!  <—Milk at the speed of  MOO! Or maybe a bit faster! :-)
2. They have implemented new controls to ensure milk is rotated properly at each store including additional training and tools for key store employees.  Plus they improved the visibility of the milk code dates on each gallon.  This makes it easier for both the customer and employee to quickly check the date.

These pictures were taken Friday night (4/22).  This milk had a full 2 weeks before the sell by date + an extra 2 days until the best buy date!

By the way I didn’t notice any earlier sell by dates on the Fry’s Milk at my store.

Note the dates on both the front and back.  Allowing both customers and employees to easily check the dates!

I think the Milk Freshness Campaign is very cool for several reasons:

1. As a deal shopper this works well for me, I can stock up on several gallons of milk when Fry’s has them on sale knowing that I will have AT LEAST 9 days left to drink them!
2. This program also works well for light milk drinkers.  If it takes your family 2 weeks to drink a gallon of milk, you’re in luck.  You are likely to find milk with 2 weeks of freshness left at your local Fry’s store! (see my picture above)!
3. I love that Fry’s is donating the milk with 8 days left to local food banks.  As a couponer I try to donate whenever I can to my local food pantry but obviously I can’t donate things like fresh milk.  Knowing that Fry’s does so makes me feel good about shopping there.
4. I also love that Fry’s is a big supporter of the Arizona economy.  They acquire their milk from local Arizona dairy farms AND process it at their own local dairy manufacturing plant.  That results in lots of Arizona jobs!
5. Plus I might get lucky and find milk with 9 days left meaning it will be marked down and cheaper for me! <—Gotta love a deal!
6. This is just another example of Fry’s commitment to keeping their customers happy.  I believe Fry’s has the best prices on groceries in Arizona, plus they make shopping there an even better deal with their current competitor and all coupons worth $1 promotion.  Their milk freshness campaign is just icing on the cake! <—And I do love icing and cake with milk of course!

So what do you think?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this!  Do you care?  Does it make a difference on how YOU shop?