Introducing PCC Value and PCC Collective Good labels

Saving money shouldn’t mean sacrificing your values. A new “PCC Value” line of private label products is aimed at lowering prices while maintaining the co-op’s high standards.

A second “PCC Collective Good” line is not specifically focused on price but will support purpose-driven producers focused on goals for a healthier, more sustainable food and health system.

Explore PCC Value products

“PCC Value” products will cost less than average for that item and will often be the most inexpensive choice on the shelf, while meeting  strict co-op quality standards.

Over the next several months, PCC products with the value label are expected to include some existing private label products, including the co-op’s popular milk, coffee, turkey, sausages and bar soap. PCC’s full line of vitamins and supplements will also be PCC Value products.

The co-op will also introduce new PCC Value items in the coming months, including free-range eggs, boxed broth, gallon jugs of vinegar and more. In the longer term, the co-op is developing other value products including sliced sandwich bread, tree-free toilet paper, oils and pasta.

Breakthroughs in production and technology — along with the knowledge that rising U.S. grocery prices are creating hardships for shoppers — helped fuel the change.

In the past, PCC hasn’t been a large enough customer to meet the minimum orders required by manufacturers to produce a private-label product at a lower wholesale price. But technologies have improved and the industry is changing, said Adrienne Chamberlain, PCC’s private brands merchandiser. Packagers now accept smaller orders, opening the business to markets that don’t have a national presence or hundreds of stores. That means PCC can access more opportunities at a time when shoppers have been hit hard by inflation and other price pressures.

Explore PCC Collective Good products

Another new label, “PCC Collective Good,” will feature producers who may not be able to support deep discounts but are providing exceptional quality and a road to a healthier planet.

Partners for those products include existing groundbreaking PCC products such as direct trade chocolate, body care products packaged in recyclable aluminum, organic tortillas from a family-owned local company, and eggs from pastured chickens raised in mobile hen houses. It will also provide several new lines, all meeting or exceeding quality standards.

“We love to partner with producers doing really special stuff, and not only highlight how they are changing the game, but also who they are, and why we are partners, all the while helping them grow their good,” Chamberlain said.

Products that are better for people and the planet often carry a price premium, but it’s not impossible to find bargains among them. PCC Collective Good products will generally be priced at the average price of their categories or slightly above. At some times they will cost less.

For instance, look for the first Collective Good items later this fall with a new line of PCC facial care products. Until now, it’s been extremely difficult to find “super clean” facial care products at a lower price, said Chamberlain.

Among other requirements, all health and body care products sold at PCC stores are screened against a list of some 500 forbidden chemicals and practices, including any ingredients that are considered known or probable carcinogens. “There’s an inherent level of trust with all body care on our shelf, but when we put our name on it, that level of trust goes up exponentially,” said Steven Jamieson, PCC’s health and body care merchandiser.

The goal for the Collective Good facial care line, Jamieson said, was providing a line of “really simple, clean, easy formulas that are approachable to everybody at a price that is also approachable to everyone.”  It counteracts common marketing that says skin care routines must be lengthy, confusing and expensive.

All 12 items in the initial release will retail for under $20. They’ll include cream cleanser, jelly cleanser, toners, face oils, moisturizers and treatments.

“There are really just four categories — cleanse, tone, moisturize and treat — which you can pick and choose, (or) do all those things,” Jamieson said.

He particularly highlighted a Glowing Skin Serum using bakuchiol, a “bio-retinal”: “It’s a plant based oil as effective, if not more effective, than retinol, and it is safe to wear out in the sun.” A common ingredient in many is blue tansy, a skin-calming botanical with a “really lovely” calming scent.”

Look in future months for more Collective Good products, including plans for a new version of PCC’s much-missed yogurt.

Introducing PCC Market Kitchen

A third new PCC private label on the shelf will go with a familiar service. The PCC Market Kitchen label will feature co-op recipes, such as the deli dishes that have been a hallmark since the 1990s, or more recent baked goods like pies and cookies, or grab-and-go salads.

The Market Kitchen label will be featured in other departments as well, such as with some cheeses and pre-seasoned meats. These items are either made in-house at PCC stores, at the co-op’s central commissary, or through local partners. Like everything else at the co-op, they meet PCC quality standards.

Want a complete look at those standards? See our Honest Products page online here. And for the origin stories behind some of our PCC Market Kitchen specialties, look for these articles and recipes for Emerald City Salad, Steph’s Tofu and Sesame Capellini.