Member perks include a free slice of birthday cake

The Fresh Market promotes its new Ultimate Loyalty Experience rewards program with in-store signs.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Fresh Market unveiled its first rewards program today, offering shoppers a reliable way to “sign up and save” on their grocery trips and access other member benefits.

The program — dubbed The Ultimate Loyalty Experience — is available to shoppers at 159 stores in 22 states or through the company’s website. Features include exclusive, curated offers that are automatically loaded to members’ cards. as well as a free slice of cake during the member’s birthday month.

Other benefits include digital coupons and participation in a frequency program called “The Club Hub,” offering participants the chance to earn free items as well as discounts on frequently purchased merchandise.

The program is launching with five clubs organized around frequently purchased categories. They are: Market Meal Kit Club; Artisan Cheese Club; Whole Panini Club; Floral Club; and Coffee by the Cup Club. Loyalty members will help select a sixth club, a feature that the company said underscores the customized approach they are taking with the first loyalty program in the company’s 40-year history.

In establishing the new program, The Fresh Market executives  researched the best loyalty and e-commerce programs and platforms from around the world to identify the features, functionalities, technologies, value propositions and use cases that made them great.

“We took all the best of the best elements from our key learnings and applied them to our brand, our guests and our business model to create The Ultimate Loyalty Experience,” said Kevin Miller, chief marketing officer at The Fresh Market. “We know that our brand, our products and our guests are special and unique, so we are thrilled that our Ultimate Loyalty Experience has been custom built from the ground up to provide a strong value exchange for our guests that will help us serve them even better.”

The ability to customize and create frequency programs to meet guests’ needs down to the store level is another unique member benefit, according to the company. For instance, The Fresh Market has introduced localized offers such as a Wine Club in its Florida stores and a “Little Big Meal” club in Boca Raton, Fla.