BOISE, ID - With more and more shoppers looking for local and upstart brands on grocery store shelves, big-name grocers are looking to enter the niche arena Whole Foods Market has long dominated and that which Amazon has since latched onto. This week, Albertsons is upping its chances for success in this arena after announcing plans to launch a digital marketplace for small or new-to-the-game brands and to curb its own buying decisions for the better, according to a report by CNBC.

“If you’re a small player with a very good product or a big consumer packaged goods company with a small unit, you will struggle to get the attention of some of our larger banners,” said Narayan Iyengar, Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing and E-commerce. But, according to CNBC, by opening its digital marketplace to outside vendors capable of picking and shipping, Albertsons is helping brands receive more exposure and a larger platform to manage sales and customer service.

And, with the help of data from the marketplace, brands can also advocate for shelf space in Albertsons’ stores, while Albertsons itself can use the sales data to better understand its customer trends and choose the vendors it sees as the most fitting for its shelves.

Yet another move to bolster its e-commerce offerings, Albertsons’ latest announcement also comes at a time of choppy sailing for Whole Foods, who is in the midst of soothing its own vendors, unhappy with Amazon’s acquisition and the changes it brings, at a summit this week.

Will Albertsons’ latest venture tapping into local and upstart give the retailer an edge over its competitors like Whole Foods and Amazon? AndNowUKnow will continue to report as the story unfolds.

Albertsons