Walgreen's to sell prepared meals

DEERFIELD - Walgreen Co. plans to offer fresh foods and prepared meals to draw "time-starved" shoppers to its more than 7,000 stores, taking on retailers such as Target Corp. and Kroger Co.

The drugstore chain has been talking with food makers including Unilever NV, Nestle SA and Sara Lee about creating private-label and branded products, said Bryan Pugh, vice president of merchandising.

He declined to say when the project will be implemented or how much it costs.

Walgreen must sort out supply and distribution issues and test in some markets before introducing freshly prepared foods such as salads, cut fruits, ready-to-bake pizzas and sandwiches into more stores.

The goal of the program, along with the sale of beer and private-label wine, is to boost revenue, company officials said.