Piggly Wiggly Carolina

What Piggly Wiggly Carolina does

Piggly Wiggly Carolina is a regional franchise operator of the Piggly Wiggly grocery retail brand, with operations centered on South Carolina, Coastal Georgia, and a presence in upstate New York. The company was founded in 1916 by Clarence Saunders in Memphis, Tennessee as America's first self-service grocery store, and today the Piggly Wiggly system comprises 600+ independently owned and operated franchise stores across 17 states. Piggly Wiggly Carolina operates under the umbrella of C&S Wholesale Grocers via its affiliate C&S Retail Services, LLC, which governs the website, brand, and franchise system.

The company's core product is the franchised grocery store, where independent retailers pay franchise fees for the right to use the Piggly Wiggly brand, brand identity, and operational specifications. Each franchisee maintains autonomy over local pricing, employment, and merchandising decisions. The product ecosystem supporting these stores includes the Pig Point$ loyalty rewards program (powered by AppCard), a digital coupon platform with 245 active offers, online grocery shopping via Instacart, a recipes platform with health-focused content categories, and ancillary digital touchpoints including InSeason Magazine, Eat Right For Life nutrition content, and a branded merchandise store at pigswag.com.

The business model combines franchise fee revenue (recurring subscription-like payments from independent operators) with brand and platform stewardship under C&S Wholesale Grocers. Pricing is set independently by each franchisee, and the franchisor does not centralize pricing decisions. The go-to-market motion is purely franchise-based, with customer acquisition driven at the store level. The customer base is broad-based consumer grocery shoppers across the Southeast US and select adjacent geographies, served through both physical storefronts and digital delivery channels.

Name

Piggly Wiggly Carolina

Legal name

C&S Retail Services, LLC

Website

https://thepig.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1916

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Piggly Wiggly Carolina is a regional franchise operator of the Piggly Wiggly grocery retail brand, overseeing independently owned stores across South Carolina, Coastal Georgia, and upstate New York under the C&S Wholesale Grocers umbrella.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grocery Retail / Supermarkets

NAICS

Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers) (44511)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Line Supermarkets (National/Regional Chains) (CRAHAAAA)

Keywords

• Franchise grocery retail
• Self-service supermarkets
• Customer loyalty programs
• Digital coupons
• Online grocery delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Townsend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grocery Product Sales: Revenue generated from retail grocery sales at independently owned and operated franchise locations. Each franchisee operates their store independently and generates revenue through consumer purchases.
2. Franchise Fees: Independent retailers pay a franchise fee in exchange for the Piggly Wiggly name and access to the Piggly Wiggly system, including brand identity, operational specifications, and support services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company franchises and supports a network of independently owned and operated grocery supermarkets across South Carolina, Coastal Georgia, and Watertown NY (part of a 600+ store, 17-state national system). It sells the Piggly Wiggly brand identity, operational specifications, and customer-engagement tools — including the Pig Point$ loyalty program, digital coupons, online shopping via Instacart, weekly ads, and a recipe/content platform — to franchise retailers in exchange for franchise fees.

Product overview

Piggly Wiggly Carolina operates as a franchise grocery retail chain with over 600 stores across 17 states. Founded in 1916 as America's first self-service grocery store, the company offers a core retail operation supplemented by digital customer engagement tools. The product ecosystem includes the Pig Point$ loyalty program, Digital Coupons platform, and Instacart-powered online shopping and home delivery. Additional customer touchpoints include a Recipes platform with health-focused content, InSeason Magazine, and Eat Right For Life nutrition resources. The company also maintains a merchandise store (pigswag.com) and weekly promotional advertising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pig Point$: Loyalty reward program for Piggly Wiggly customers offering points for purchases that can be redeemed for savings.
• Pigswag
• Click 'n Shop

Products and services

• Piggly Wiggly Franchise Grocery Stores Network of over 600 independently owned and operated franchise grocery supermarkets across 17 states, with a concentration in South Carolina, Coastal Georgia, and Watertown NY, offering fresh produce, meat, dairy, household essentials, and pet and health/beauty products to local shoppers.
• Pig Point$ Loyalty Program Customer loyalty and rewards program enabling shoppers to earn points on grocery purchases and redeem them for savings; member accounts are also the entry point to digital coupons and personalized offers.
• Digital Coupons Digital couponing platform allowing shoppers to clip and redeem manufacturer coupons at checkout, integrated with the Pig Point$ loyalty program and offered across major household product categories.
• Instacart Online Grocery Shopping and Home Delivery Online grocery shopping and home delivery from local Piggly Wiggly franchise stores through the Instacart platform, available 24/7 in select areas with personal shoppers fulfilling orders.
• Pig Merchandise Store (pigswag.com) Online e-commerce store selling Piggly Wiggly branded merchandise and apparel at pigswag.com.
• Recipes Platform Recipe discovery and browsing resource on thepig.net featuring mealtime categories and health-focused recipe collections to drive grocery engagement.
• InSeason Magazine (Piggly Wiggly edition) Digital magazine offering seasonal recipes, cooking tips, and grocery-related editorial content for Piggly Wiggly shoppers.
• Weekly Ad Circular Weekly printed and digital promotional circular advertising current sales, deals, and special offers across all grocery categories at Piggly Wiggly franchise stores.

Quantifiable outcome

• $800 million in potential savings for grocery stores from EPA HFC refrigerant rule changes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• InstacartcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPiggly Wiggly partnered with Instacart to enable online grocery shopping and home delivery from local franchise stores. The partnership allows customers to shop their neighborhood Piggly Wiggly through Instacart's platform with delivery available in select areas. Every order is shopped by Instacart's personal shoppers with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
• AppCardcoreTechnology or IntegrationAppCard provides the technology platform powering the Pig Point$ loyalty program and digital coupon system. Customers use AppCard-linked accounts for earning rewards and redeeming digital coupons at checkout.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Harris Teeter: Harris Teeter is a Kroger-owned upscale regional supermarket concentrated in the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic, directly comparable to Piggly Wiggly Carolina as a regional supermarket competitor with loyalty program and in-store fresh focus.
• Lowes Foods: Lowes Foods is a Carolinas-based regional supermarket chain owned by Alex Lee, Inc., with overlapping geography in North and South Carolina and a comparable focus on community-oriented grocery retail.
• Ingles Markets: Ingles Markets is a regional supermarket chain headquartered in North Carolina with significant overlap into upstate South Carolina and Georgia, competing head-to-head with Piggly Wiggly Carolina on price and fresh offerings.
• Food Lion: Food Lion is an Ahold Delhaize-owned regional supermarket chain with dense presence across the Carolinas and the Southeast, directly competing with Piggly Wiggly Carolina on price, loyalty, and convenience in overlapping geographies.
• BI-LO / Winn-Dixie: BI-LO/Winn-Dixie operates a regional supermarket chain across the Southeast US with a similar store footprint and customer demographic to Piggly Wiggly Carolina, competing directly in South Carolina, Georgia, and surrounding markets.
• Piggly Wiggly Midwest: Piggly Wiggly Midwest is a separately operated regional franchise group sharing the Piggly Wiggly brand and operating model, directly comparable as a sister franchise operator running independently owned stores under the same brand system.

Broad incumbents

• Publix: Publix is a large employee-owned regional supermarket chain operating across the Southeast, directly competing with Piggly Wiggly Carolina in South Carolina, Georgia, and coastal markets with a stronger fresh and prepared-food reputation.
• Aldi: Aldi is a rapidly expanding discount grocer with growing density across the Carolinas and Southeast US, competing with Piggly Wiggly Carolina on price-sensitive grocery baskets and increasingly on fresh/private label.
• Kroger: Kroger is the largest pure-play US supermarket operator, competing broadly with Piggly Wiggly Carolina across multiple Southeast markets through its banners (Harris Teeter included) and dominant loyalty, private label, and digital infrastructure.
• Walmart: Walmart is the dominant grocery retailer in the US, including across the Southeast US where Piggly Wiggly Carolina operates, competing on price, assortment, and omni-channel grocery delivery and pickup.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/piggly-wiggly-carolina

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Piggly Wiggly Carolina