Buy private label, get free groceries

The American supermarket chain Food Lion has come out with an interesting promotion to boost sales of its private label products: give away free groceries.

As part of an event running in March, shoppers can earn up to $10 in free groceries every time they buy a private label product at a Food Lion store.

Shoppers receive $1 in coupons for the first four private label products bought and 25 cents back for every store brand they purchase on top of that, to a maximum of $10.

"Our sales trends show consumers are using more private brand products, and this is one way we can thank customers who use Food Lion and Home 360 private brand products," the company's director of retail marketing, Shavonne Clark, said.

She also said the promotion is an incentive for customers who haven't tried the chain's private label brands yet.

Shoppers must use their Food Lion MVP card to qualify for the discounts as part of the promotion, called the Private Brand Super Sale. The coupons are redeemable on the customer's next grocery bill.

Food Lion is based in Salisbury, N.C. and operates 1,300 stores in the southeast and mid-Atlantic U.S. under banners such as Bloom, Harveys, Reid's and Food Lion.