In its January earnings call, Metro boasted it had reached “new heights” of private-label penetration.

The grocer’s house brand offerings include Irresistibles, Life Smart and Selection, the latter being the focal point of a contest running until March 13 in Ontario and March 6 in Quebec.

The “Selection Savings Event” spans Metro, Super C, Food Basics and Marché Richelieu banners, with buyers invited to purchase two participating Selection private label products, and enter a coupon code for a chance to win a $1,000 prize.

Metro vice president of corporate brands Marie-France Gibson tells strategy it’s the third year the brand has organized a contest like this for Selection. The sizable prize is set up to trigger maximum participation among Selection shoppers.

Gibson says the grocer is seeing heightened popularity of its Selection brand this year, based on customer data. Private label, which saw its fortunes boosted during lockdowns, is again performing robustly in this current inflationary environment.

“In general, we always try to make sure that our customers see that our products are offered at a good everyday low price in our stores,” Gibson says.

The larger formats available in the Selection line, like value-pack milk chocolate ice cream bars, sparkling water multi-packs and two-ply bathroom tissue are really resonating with price-conscious families.

Each of Metro’s banners are promoting the contest through key media, websites, ecomm, flyers.

According to Metro, there is a “100% digital media plan,” including online video around this contest.

There will be more visibility given to Selection brands online around certain key periods of the year too, like back to school.

Gibson adds that its private label products are seeing double-digit growth, but that Selection is its most developed line, with the highest number of available offerings.

When promoting a contest, recent IMI data reveals that 73% of Canadians purchased a product because of a promotion over the last 12 months. As the consultancy noted, the difference between the enticement of a $100,000 prize versus a $1,000,000 prize is negligible, as there’s diminishing returns with higher dollar values, with heightened participant skepticism about chances to win.