Acosta Group Expands Sales and Marketing Relationship with The J.M. Smucker Company in North America

Rhea-AI Summary

Acosta Group has expanded its partnership with The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM) to offer a comprehensive North American solution for headquarter sales, retail merchandising, and digital commerce. This collaboration will bolster Smucker's presence across U.S. grocery and mass retail channels.

Acosta will provide a full suite of sales and marketing solutions, leveraging its in-store services to ensure Smucker's brands are well-represented and readily available for purchase both in-store and online. This expanded partnership builds on a long-standing relationship, with Acosta having supported Smucker's brands like Hostess in North America for the past decade and other Smucker brands in Canada and U.S. convenience channels over the years.

Robert Crane, Senior Vice President of Sales for Smucker, emphasized the importance of maintaining excellence in sales execution, while Brian Wynne, President and CEO of Acosta, highlighted their role in elevating Smucker's iconic brands across North America.

Positive

• The expanded partnership strengthens Smucker's sales and marketing reach across key North American channels.
• Acosta's comprehensive services will enhance the availability of Smucker's products in-store and online, potentially boosting sales.
• The long-standing relationship demonstrates Acosta's proven track record in supporting Smucker's brand growth.

Negative

• None.

Market Research Analyst

Acosta Group’s expanded engagement with The J.M. Smucker Company is a strategic move that has several key implications for the market. The partnership underscores Acosta’s broad service capabilities, from headquarter sales to retail merchandising and digital commerce. For Smucker, this relationship is important as it strengthens their retail footprint and ensures superior brand visibility across North America.

From a market perspective, this expansion could lead to increased shelf presence and better inventory management for Smucker’s brands. Enhanced in-store and online availability typically translates to higher sales volumes and improved customer satisfaction. Acosta’s proven track record with brands like Hostess illustrates their ability to boost product performance significantly.

For investors, understanding the scope of Acosta’s influence is critical. By leveraging their expertise, Smucker can capitalize on changing consumer behaviors and trends, particularly the growing importance of e-commerce. This strategic partnership positions both companies to adapt and thrive in a dynamic retail environment, potentially enhancing their market share.

In summary, this development indicates a robust collaboration that could drive long-term growth for Smucker while showcasing Acosta’s capabilities to other potential clients.

Financial Analyst

Financially, the expanded partnership between Acosta Group and The J.M. Smucker Company demonstrates significant confidence in Acosta’s ability to manage and grow Smucker’s diverse portfolio. This extended collaboration likely involves substantial capital investment in merchandising and digital infrastructure. For Smucker, this could result in higher operational efficiencies and cost savings in the long run.

Acosta’s performance metrics, particularly their historical achievements with the Hostess brand, indicate their competency in driving sales growth. This partnership could potentially lead to improved top-line revenue growth for Smucker as the increased market penetration and optimized merchandising strategies come into play.

However, investors should also be aware of potential risks. The success of this partnership heavily relies on Acosta’s execution capabilities. Any misalignment or operational hiccups could negatively impact Smucker’s sales performance. Monitoring quarterly financial reports will be essential to assess the tangible benefits arising from this expanded relationship.

Overall, while the potential for increased revenues and improved operational efficiency is evident, investors should stay vigilant about execution risks and ensure the anticipated benefits are being realized in financial terms.

New business awarded includes supporting headquarter sales, retail merchandising, and digital commerce across the U.S. grocery and retail channel

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Acosta Group, a leading sales and marketing agency collective, announced today the expansion of its engagement with The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) to include a complete North American solution for headquarter sales, retail merchandising, and digital commerce. This appointment by Smucker is based on Acosta Group's comprehensive set of services and solutions and demonstrated ability to support the company's portfolio of brands across various channels and markets.

Acosta Group's expansion with Smucker includes providing a full suite of sales and marketing solutions for its brands across U.S. grocery and mass retail. In addition to representing the Smucker portfolio of brands as an extension of its sales team inside retailer merchant buying offices, Acosta Group will activate its unmatched In-Store Services merchandising team to ensure that the Company's brands are readily available for purchase in-store, on-shelf, and online. Acosta Group has a strong history of supporting the Smucker portfolio, including helping grow the Hostess brand in North America for the previous 10 years, as well as the Smucker family of brands in the Canadian marketplace over the last two decades and in the United States convenience channel since 2019. 

"We are pleased to announce our expanded partnership with Acosta to support the needs of our retail customers and consumers," said Robert Crane, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Sales Commercialization for The J.M. Smucker Company. "At Smucker, we are proud to have established a world-class sales and commercial organization and a critical element to maintaining that standing is ensuring we continue to execute with excellence on the fundamentals. I know that our partners at Acosta Group share in this commitment and that they will continue to support our delivery of first-class service."

"We're extraordinarily proud to be an important part of The J.M. Smucker Company success story and appreciative of the trust their leadership continues to place in our work to further elevate its iconic brands across North America," said Brian Wynne, President and CEO of Acosta Group. "Our integrated sales and marketing agencies will support Smucker with everything from headquarter sales to digital commerce, demonstrating our ability to provide our CPG clients with frictionless access to our complete set of services and solutions."

About Acosta Group
Acosta Group is a collective of the most trusted retail, marketing and foodservice agencies empowering brands and retailers to win in the modern marketplace. By delivering transformative, commerce-focused solutions and more than 95 years of expertise, Acosta Group connects brands with people at every point in the consumer journey.

Comprised of Acosta, Core Foodservice, Mosaic, Premium Retail Services and Actionlink, Acosta Group understands and anticipates evolving consumer needs, fueling accelerated performance to connect tomorrow's commerce today. For more information, please visit acosta.group.

About The J.M. Smucker Co.
At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to make food people and pets love by offering a diverse family of brands available across North America. We are proud to lead in the coffee, peanut butter, fruit spreads, frozen handheld, sweet baked goods, dog snacks and cat food categories by offering brands consumers trust for themselves and their families each day including Folgers^®, Dunkin'^®, Café Bustelo^®, Jif^®, Smucker's^® Uncrustables^®, Smucker's^®, Hostess^®, Voortman^®, Milk-Bone^® and Meow Mix^®. Through our unwavering commitment to producing high quality products, operating responsibly and ethically and delivering on our Purpose, we will continue to grow our business while making a positive impact on society. For more information, please visit jmsmucker.com.

The J.M. Smucker Co. is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for Dunkin'^®, which is a trademark of DD IP Holder LLC.  The Dunkin'® brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Co. for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels, such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, e-commerce and drug stores, as well as in certain away from home channels. This information does not pertain to products for sale in Dunkin'^® restaurants.

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SOURCE Acosta Group

FAQ

What is the recent expansion of the partnership between Acosta Group and The J.M. Smucker Company?

The partnership now includes comprehensive North American support for headquarter sales, retail merchandising, and digital commerce.

How will the expanded partnership affect The J.M. Smucker Company's (SJM) presence in the U.S. market?

The partnership aims to enhance the availability and sales of Smucker's products in U.S. grocery and mass retail channels.

What services will Acosta Group provide to The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM) under the new agreement?

Acosta Group will provide a full suite of sales and marketing solutions, including headquarter sales, retail merchandising, and digital commerce support.

How long has Acosta Group been supporting The J.M. Smucker Company's brands?

Acosta has been supporting Smucker's brands like Hostess for the past decade and other Smucker brands in Canada and U.S. convenience channels over the years.

Who commented on the expanded partnership from The J.M. Smucker Company's (SJM) side?

Robert Crane, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Sales Commercialization for The J.M. Smucker Company, commented on the partnership.