How Riceland Is Partnering with Retailers to Win in a Competitive Grocery Environment

In 2025, grocery retailers are tightening their assortments to improve inventory efficiency and better serve consumer demand. SKU rationalization — the reduction of redundant or underperforming products — is reshaping the retail landscape across categories, and rice is no exception. To remain competitive and maintain shelf space, rice brands are leaning into targeted promotions, packaging innovation, and deeper alignment with retail partners.

SKU Rationalization: A Strategic Necessity for Retailers

As grocery retailers streamline product offerings to boost operational efficiency and category profitability, they are prioritizing high-velocity SKUs that meet evolving shopper expectations. For rice brands, this trend brings several challenges and opportunities:

Intensified Competition: Brands must consistently prove their value with strong sales performance and consumer appeal.

Pressure on Legacy Products: Traditional rice SKUs may face delisting unless they show clear differentiation or higher turnover.

At Riceland, we are committed to supporting our retail partners by ensuring our products are relevant to today’s consumers and deliver strong value per inch of shelf space. Our sales and marketing teams work collaboratively throughout the year to analyze trends, assess performance, and better understand how shoppers engage with the rice aisle across our partner retailers. We stay in constant communication with our retail partners, aligning on strategy and execution to ensure shared success.

Promotions: Driving Trial and Building Loyalty

In an increasingly competitive environment, promotional activity is essential to capturing shopper attention, driving trial, and reinforcing brand loyalty. Key approaches include:

In-Store Campaigns: Collaborations with retailers — from BOGO offers to themed displays and multicultural marketing events — can drive significant traffic and conversion.

Digital Engagement: As online grocery continues to grow, brands must activate campaigns through retailer apps, sponsored search, and social media to reach consumers wherever they shop.

Riceland’s retail sales team prioritizes both in-store activation and digital integration. We actively support cultural campaigns, seasonal displays, and co-branded promotions. Recognizing the shift toward digital grocery, we’ve leaned into omnichannel efforts that connect with consumers online and offline — from display ads and sponsored recipes to curated social content — helping drive consideration, trial, and purchase across platforms.

Packaging Innovation: Sustainability Storytelling in Action

Packaging today serves a dual purpose: catching the consumer's eye and communicating values that influence purchase decisions. Increasingly, consumers and retailers alike expect packaging to reflect sustainability and transparency. Leading trends include:

Smart Packaging: QR codes and on-pack storytelling invite shoppers to learn more about a brand’s sourcing, sustainability, and usage benefits.

Eco-Conscious Materials: Recyclable, compostable, or reduced-plastic packaging is fast becoming a retailer and shopper expectation.

At Riceland, we’ve embraced these changes with our Riceland Carbon Ready™ Program, launched in 2022. This initiative transforms on-farm sustainability data — including metrics on water conservation, greenhouse gas reduction, and wildlife habitat protection — into actionable insights that support our customers’ ESG goals. In 2024, we took this a step further by adding a QR code to our Riceland Extra Long Grain Rice – 2lb poly bag, allowing consumers to explore our Ingrain Good™ sustainability story right from the shelf.

Retailer Alignment: Meeting Strategic Category Needs

Securing shelf space requires more than sales — it requires alignment with retailer strategies and long-term objectives. Brands that thrive in this landscape are those that:

Support Category Management: Bringing insights, performance analytics, and actionable consumer trend data to the table helps strengthen brand-retailer relationships.

Advance Sustainability Goals: Brands that actively support a retailer’s ESG strategy through credible, data-backed programs hold a competitive edge.

Collaborate in Marketing: Joint planning and execution of co-branded campaigns create stronger, more integrated consumer experiences.

As a farmer-owned cooperative, Riceland is uniquely positioned to serve our retail partners with a direct, reliable supply chain and deep agricultural transparency. Our rice is grown by farmers across Arkansas and Missouri, giving us end-to-end control over quality, supply, and sustainability. We welcome retailers to partner with us through our Riceland Carbon Ready™ Program to build shopper trust and meet internal ESG benchmarks with real, verified farm-level data.

Conclusion: Adaptation Is the Advantage

As SKU rationalization reshapes grocery shelves, rice brands must bring more than tradition to the table — they must bring innovation, insights, and intention. By investing in meaningful promotions, elevating packaging through sustainability storytelling, and aligning closely with retailer strategies, brands like Riceland can not only defend their shelf space but create lasting category value.