History | Mission | To-date | Success | Contact

History Just after World War II, a group of independent grocers (customers of what was then known as Certified Grocers,) met to discuss the possibility of developing their own line of quality canned goods. Each agreed this new brand should be high quality, attractively labeled, competitively priced, and available exclusively in their stores. After deciding on the name, Springfield was launched. The Springfield brand grew rapidly from its initial offerings of canned peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, and tomatoes. Over the years, enthusiastic retailer support and unprecedented consumer acceptance drove the development of additional grocery, deli, and frozen food products. General merchandise and health and beauty items soon followed. Throughout Springfield's 50+-year history, packaging, product quality and marketing programs have been continuously upgraded and improved. Unified has never wavered from its goal of providing its independent retailers with the highest quality, most profitable store brand program available.  back to top Our Mission Statement "Springfield will be equal to or better than the leading national brand, at a lower cost." To-date Springfield offers more than 1,600 SKUs in a variety of categories across the store. Springfield products are distributed throughout the Western United States, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Pacific Rim. To round out its corporate brand family, Unified also developed a line of products designed to appeal to the value-conscious, more economical shopper. The recently expanded Special Value brand is a 350-SKU line of good quality grocery, deli and frozen food products, found primarily in staple categories where an everyday low price brand is needed to combat lower quality packer labels and generic programs.  back to top What makes Springfield and Special Value so Successful? Quality Assurance Program Scientific product evaluations conducted in a laboratory Incoming shipment audits and quality control systems New product development Government regulatory monitoring Consumer Affairs Bilingual staff (English and Spanish) Immediate response to all consumer product inquiries Comment tracking system Consumer Research Annual Springfield attitude surveys   back to top Product Recall Communication System Extensive, efficient communications network to Immediately notify affected retailers in the event of a corporate brand or national brand product recall New Contemporary, "Brand-like" Package Designs Currently in progress for Springfield "Best in category" approach Design partner is VirtualColor, Chicago-based subsidiary of the Fort Dearborn Company Consumer design reviews at retail WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Nutrition Program Participation Many Springfield items in several product categories approved by the State of California Provides retailers with additional profit opportunities Exciting, Aggressive Marketing Programs Twelve major promotions per year across all categories Interim special events Active participation in corporate selling shows Pasta rebate program "Half-price" soft drink vending machines "Double Your Money Back" guarantee program "Compare and Save" custom shelf tag program "Buy One, Get One Free" new item introduction program Grand Opening program "No Service Fee" pallet program POS materials and store décor packages Product demonstration, coupon Retailer special event support High resolution/low resolution, black and white, and color Springfield and Special Value product images available to download at: kpl.multi-ad.com/clients/unified  back to top Dedicated Sales Force Merchandising assistance Profit optimization education materials "Pay for performance" on selected skus  For more information, please call (323)264-5200  ext. 7107.