Shortly before Passover began last year, I received a call from a community member who expressed her frustration with the paltry availability of Passover food in her local grocery stores. I began reaching out to our local grocery chains to see what we could do to help our community get the Passover-related food and supplies they needed to make this year’s Passover celebration as easy as possible. During my conversations, I learned that grocery chains typically begin talking with vendors and start ordering their Passover-related products in September/October.
Following a series of phone calls, letters, and emails, the two grocery chains that responded were Vons/Albertsons and Ralphs. Sadly I never heard from anyone from Stater Bros., Sprouts, or Whole Foods. (Trader Joe's responded but explained that they usually only carry a very limited Passover selection and were not looking to expand at this time).
Since August, I have been working closely with the purchasing agents for the region for both Vons/Albertsons and Ralph’s to maximize the Passover products in their respective stores. Although a majority of their stores do have a small Passover display each year, I suggested that they set up their larger displays in centrally located stores in our community. This way they can maximize the variety and availability in a few stores. I also asked them to share with us their Passover marketing ad. Below this update you will see Vons/Albertsons' ad.
At the beginning of March, Vons set up their “larger” Passover displays at both their Pasadena location (corner of Colorado and Sierra Madre) and La Verne location (corner of Foothill/Wheeler). Below are pictures from each display: