Albertsons Media Collective Unveils Industry-First Branded Entertainment Model, Co-Developed with Procter & Gamble

Albertsons Media Collective expands its retail media platform to include episodic, scripted branded entertainment built on Albertsons Companies' shopper insights, co-developed with Procter & Gamble; the Minivela drama Rico's Tacos launches June 23

Albertsons Media Collective, the retail media arm for Albertsons^® Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI), today opened a new lane for brands inside its retail media network and pioneered a category for the industry: episodic, scripted branded entertainment, co-created with retailer shopper intelligence and distributed across the Albertsons Media Collective platform. Through Albertsons Media Collective, brands can now bring a creative idea to the table and tap combined insights of shopper needs and key missions pairing a brand's own retail performance insights at Albertsons Cos. with the retailer's expertise in shopper and category buying patterns to inform the campaign creative. Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the strategic co-development partner for the inaugural work under this model, bringing its deep consumer knowledge and entertainment heritage to the Minivela drama, Rico's Tacos.

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The result is a shift in what retail media can be: not a place to run an ad after it is made, but a place where content is curated and distributed. Albertsons Cos. co-created and filmed the Minivela drama with P&G and its production partner Brilla Media at Albertsons Cos. stores featuring real in-store associates. The retailer, in collaboration with Albertsons Media Collective, is further investing in amplifying Rico's Tacos across its owned and social media channels.

"The brands that will win are the ones that connect with shoppers in relevant, everyday moments," said Lela Coffey, Vice President, User Growth Acceleration at P&G. "What makes this collaboration notable is that the creative was developed with Albertsons Cos. using shopper insights at the outset, rather than applying data only after the work is made. That creates a closer link between the story, the audience, and the commercial outcome."

Minivela Drama: The First Proof Point

Rico's Tacos is the result of strategic co-creation between Albertsons Cos. and P&G. Albertsons Cos. contributed its shopper intelligence, retail media network and in-store production environment, while P&G brought its deep consumer knowledge and entertainment expertise. The result is creative informed by a shared understanding of consumer needs and shopping behaviors from the outset, rather than data applied after the work is complete.

"The idea for Rico's Tacos emerged directly from the shopper insights and cultural intelligence shared by Albertsons Companies and P&G," said Manny Ruiz, CEO of Minivela, and showrunner of Rico's Tacos. "Those insights became the creative spark that shaped the franchise from the very beginning and continued to inform its development throughout the process. What makes this project so significant is that we're not simply using data to optimize advertising—we're using insights to inspire entertainment. By bringing together retail media, consumer understanding, creators, brands, and storytelling, we've created a new model for developing and distributing original content. We believe this is only the beginning of what's possible."

The Minivela series, Rico's Tacos, is set in a Southern California neighborhood near Venice Beach. Designed for mobile viewing, each 1-to-2-minute episode follows a widowed father, his teenage daughter and her abuela as they build a family taco business and navigate questions of identity, resilience and legacy.

The series launches June 23 on Albertsons Cos.' YouTube, social, and in-store platforms, with new episodes dropping weekly through the end of August. An episode will also premiere at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Click here to learn more.

Albertsons Media Collective: The Operating System

Albertsons Media Collective and Albertsons Cos. plan to scale similar campaigns across additional series, formats and brand collaborations in the months ahead.

"Retail media is evolving beyond placements toward work that drives brand love, commerce and measurement," said Brian Monahan, SVP Retail Media at Albertsons Media Collective. "With aggregated shopper insights that shape the creative and evaluate performance, brands have a clearer view of what is resonating with their customers and what is driving results. Branded storytelling stops feeling like advertising and starts feeling like culture. Our stores are the stage, our shoppers inspire the content, and our insights help guide effective storytelling. Albertsons Media Collective isn't just a place to run an ad. It's where branded entertainment can be built on shopper truth and brought to life inside the aisles where it sells."

Branded entertainment is the newest tactic in a broader portfolio of media offerings that brands can access through Albertsons Media Collective. The retail media network gives brands a connected set of capabilities to drive growth across the shopper journey, including display, video, in-store digital signage, sponsored search, off-site media and Collective TV. Brands can use these tactics individually or together, and now with branded entertainment as part of the mix.

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About Albertsons Media Collective

Albertsons Media Collective is a next-generation retail media network rooted in connections, technology and innovation. As the retail media arm for Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, we connect with consumers in more than 2,200 locations across 35 states and the District of Columbia. Through a companywide focus on innovation, we partner with leading brands to help them engage shoppers when and where it matters most, with the power of sophisticated first-party data. From innovative delivery platforms to highly targeted marketing solutions, we offer our clients a variety of programs designed to drive retail sales and maximize brand impact to best serve our shoppers.

About P&G Studios

P&G Studios develops and produces powerful stories and compelling narratives, to foster relevant connections where P&G brands fit naturally. P&G Studios has been a driving force behind projects like feature-length Beyond the Gates (CBS), Culture of Winning: Polynesian Football Pride (Tubi), Oscar^® Shortlisted Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker (Paramount+), A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery (Roku), Fair Play (Hulu), TIME Women of the Year, the powerful Queen Collective Films (BET), and the launch of the Seneca Women's Podcast Network. P&G Studios, continue to build on its deep heritage in soap operas dating back to the 1930s to reach new social-first audiences with premium micro soap dramas including The Golden Pear Affair (dentsu Entertainment and Pixie USA) and Rico's Tacos (Brilla Media, Chicano Hollywood, Albertsons), bringing serialized storytelling and commerce into a single, immersive engaging experience. In addition to providing trusted, quality, leadership brands, P&G Studios is one of the many innovative ways the Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) serves consumers around the world. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

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Media Contact: albertsons-digennaro@digennaro-usa.com