Food Lion introduces

Salisbury-based Food Lion is rolling out an online coupon tool, giving the company a competitor to Harris Teeter's e-Vic program.

Called MVP Coupon Hub, the website lets customers see Food Lion's weekly specials and receive manufacturer coupons. Customers have the option of either printing the coupons and taking them to the store, or loading the coupons to their MVP card, where they'll be redeemed at checkout.

The coupons are searchable and sortable by expiration date and value, the company said.

Food Lion is a subsidiary of Belgian grocery conglomerate Delhaize. The company has about 1,100 stores in the U.S., and has been working to catch up with competitors by offering lower prices and better fresh produce offerings.

Spokeswoman Erin DeWaters said the company has been working on the MVP Coupon Hub for several months. She said it's meant as a complement to Food Lion's circular.

"Retailers often times have good digital or good print (coupon offerings), and this really enables us to have both," she said.

While DeWaters said the MVP Coupon Hub will give Food Lion access to more customer data to analyze, "That's not a particular goal."

A different twist on the MVP Coupon Hub is that customers will be able to log in with either their MVP account information or a Google account.

"When customers log in to MVP Coupon Hub using Google, they’ll need to confirm that it’s okay for the app that’s used to access information like their email address and basic information," said DeWaters.