CINCINNATI – Kroger will now be selling some of its Simple Truth, natural and organic products, to customers in China through the Alibaba online store. The online platform serves more than one half a billion Chinese consumers.

"E-commerce enables Kroger to quickly scale to reach new customers and markets where we don't operate physical stores, starting with China," said Yael Cosset, Kroger's chief digital officer. "We anticipate Chinese consumers will love Our Brands – starting with Simple Truth products – just like our American customers do. Kroger is proud to continue to lead the way in making natural, organic and free-from products more mainstream and accessible. Sharing Kroger's exclusive brands and status as a food authority the world over is exciting."

Alibaba's Tmall Global platform was launched in 2014, as China’s largest business-to-consumer online marketplace. The platform provides brands and retailers without operations in China to build virtual storefronts and ship products into China.

Kroger’s Simple Truth brand was introduced five years ago and is now the second-largest brand sold in Kroger stores. In 2018, Simple Truth reached more than $2 billion in annual sales.

"Kroger is the world's third largest retailer by revenue – $122.7 billion in sales in 2017. We are creating the grocery retail model of the future by focusing on digital and technology," Cosset said.