Campbell Soup Co. is set to acquire Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 billion in short- and long-term borrowings by Campbell. The company expects to finalize the acquisition by late summer. Campbell said in a press release that it remains on track to deliver results consistent with fiscal 2012 sales growth, up to 2 percent. Bolthouse markets […]
Author Archives: Lorrie Griffith
Lorrie began covering the supermarket and foodservice industries at Shelby Publishing in 1988, an English major fresh out of the University of Georgia. She started as an editorial assistant and proofreader—and, in spite of herself, she still proofreads everything, everywhere. Over more than three decades with Shelby, she held a variety of editorial roles. After a detour into business development, she rejoined Shelby in June 2024. “It’s good to be back covering the greatest industry in the world,” she says.
Posted in, National, Perishables
Fresh Swordfish Available for Limited Time at Whole Foods
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified harpoon-caught swordfish from Nova Scotia will be available for two months beginning in July at Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods says it is the only national retailer to carry this fresh, never frozen summer grilling specialty. To harvest the swordfish, fishermen harpoon mature fish one at a time, virtually eliminating […]
Posted in, Southeast
Lake Worth Store Becomes Publix Sabor
The first Publix Sabor in Palm Beach County has been quietly opened by Publix Super Markets, according to a July 6 article in the Palm Beach Post. The store is in Lake Worth in a shopping center that has undergone . The chain’s Sabor stores are full-service supermarkets that feature not only items found in […]
Posted in, Center Store, National, Nonfood Items
Non-Foods Marketing Fall Expo Set For Atlantic City
The Non-Foods Marketing (NFM) Fall Expo 2012 Merchandise Show is coming up Oct. 15-16 at the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. NFM is a direct, one-stop source for today’s top general merchandise items, including housewares, seasonal items and pet supplies from more than 200 manufacturers serving the grocery, drug and convenience store […]
Posted in, Perishables, West
Fresh & Easy’s ‘Kitchen To Go’ Caters to Busy Customers
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has launched its new “Kitchen To Go” products, including more than 150 chef-created appetizers, side dishes and entrees, including meal bowls. The “Kitchen To Go” items, ready to heat and serve, are made for one or two people. Fresh & Easy’s chefs came up with meals based on seasonal flavors. […]
Posted in, West
Calif. Cantaloupe Board Prepares for New Food Safety Program
Since the unanimous approval for the state’s first mandatory food safety program under a commodity board structure, the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board held its first meeting June 6. During the meeting, members discussed how to begin immediately taking steps to comply with government audits, voting to adopt specific food safety guidance for California cantaloupes. In […]
Posted in, Northeast, Perishables
‘Old Croc’ Australian Aged Cheddar Adds Bold Flavor to Cheese Case
A new line of vintage Australian cheddar cheeses has been launched in the U.S. under the Old Croc brand name. The cheeses, featuring the playful warning, “Careful. It Bites!”, are being introduced by Millburn, N.J.-based Trugman-Nash, an affiliate of MCT Dairies, a supplier of cheese and dairy ingredients that also is based in Millburn. The […]
Posted in, Southeast
Publix Launching CMN Balloon Campaign for 21st Year
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a charity that raises life-saving funds for its member hospitals, announced May 24 that Publix Super Markets will host its spring “Miracle Balloon” campaign, starting May 26 and running through June 15. The annual fundraiser will help improve the lives of sick and injured children in the five Southeastern states in […]
Posted in, Equipment & Technology, National
MyWebGrocer Launches Facebook Circular App
MyWebGrocer has launched a new Facebook Circular App that allows retailers to share their weekly ad circulars with the 179 million Americans who use Facebook each month. Some of the early retail partners include Weis Markets, Brookshire’s and Piggly Wiggly Midwest. These stores’ customers can now do their grocery planning on Facebook, where many shoppers […]
Posted in, New Products, West
Mann Packing Adds ‘New and Improved’ Sweet Potato Products
Fresh-cut sweet potato sales are lagging behind the spike seen in frozen sweet potato sales, so Mann Packing conducted consumer research to find out how the situation could be remedied. The consumers surveyed told Mann they eat sweet potatoes at home and in restaurants, but they weren’t aware that fresh-cut sweet potatoes existed, were preservative […]
Posted in, Northeast, Store News
A&P Announces Comprehensive Store Investment Strategy
A&P unveiled its unveiled its newly remodeled Food Emporium store on Third Avenue in New York City on May 18 as part of its comprehensive store investment strategy. A&P says its plan to upgrade its store footprint over the next five years reinforces the company’s commitment to being the best neighborhood food and drug store […]
Posted in, Northeast, Organic Natural
Giant Store Nutritionist Helps Customer Lose 100+ Pounds
Mary Ann Moylan, RD, LDN, CDE, an in-store nutritionist at the Giant Super Food Store in Willow Grove, Pa., has assisted hundreds of customers make healthier choices since the store opened four years ago. Helen Johnson, a shopper at the Willow Grove Giant, recently reached a milestone with the help of Moylan and her individualized […]
Posted in, National, New Products
Tennis’ Serena Williams Helped Develop ‘Sleep Sheets’
U.S. tennis star Serena Williams is part of the team that developed Sleep Sheets® dissolvable strips, a new natural sleep aid designed to support one’s natural sleep cycle. Williams, who has struggled sleeping for years, worked with scientists and Sheets Brand partners to develop a product with only natural active ingredients. Each Sleep Sheet contains […]
Posted in, Marketing News, Southeast
Ga. Peach Season Launches with ‘Sweet’ New Campaign
Sweet Georgia Peaches soon will arrive in supermarkets, heralding the growing season that runs from mid-May to mid-August. This year, consumers in Georgia and Florida will be greeted with an updated public relations, advertising and social media campaign featuring the catchphrase, “Georgia Peaches, All Kinds of Sweet.” “A recent Perishables Group survey suggests that over […]
Posted in, Midwest, National, Southeast, Southwest
Former Fleming Chief Dies At 82
Elwyn Dean Werries, who spent nearly 40 years with grocery wholesaler Fleming Cos., died April 25 following a period of declining health. He was 82. Werries was born May 8, 1929, in Tescott, Kan. At the age of eight he began his business career at his Uncle Will’s grocery store in Tescott. He graduated high […]
Posted in, West
Team ShelbyUSA: A Day in the Life
Rising at 5 a.m. and going through a regimen of medications and treatments before school begins a day in the life of Shelby Klug. To her, it’s not a big deal, just something she has to do, has had to do for nearly a dozen years now. “I love getting up early. I’m very weird […]
Posted in, West
BeaconUnited Introduces Itself Out West
BeaconUnited™, the new venture comprised of eight leading U.S. food brokers, continued its dialogue with manufacturers during its Aug. 25 West Coast kickoff in San Ramon, Calif., hosted by Co-Sales Co. Don Cox, CEO of Co-Sales, especially appreciated one of the event’s core points that put the grocer/broker/manufacturer relationship in as simple terms as possible: […]
Posted in, Albertsons, West
FISMC Fêtes Bristol Farms
The Food Industries Sales Managers’ Club of Los Angeles (FISMC) met in mid-September at the Summit House Restaurant in Fullerton to honor local supermarket chain Bristol Farms. Kevin Davis, chairman, president and CEO of Bristol Farms, went over his company’s history. Bristol Farms was acquired by Albertsons in 2004; Supervalu acquired Albertsons in 2006 and […]
Posted in, From the Editor, National
Leadership Is More About Your Staff Than You
FMI’s Future Connect did what a valuable conference should do—make you think about your work, and your life, in new ways.
Posted in, Marketing News, National
Sarasin Outlines Grocery Trends 2011
The Shelby Report’s editor, Lorrie Griffith, and Terrie Ellerbee, associate editor, are in Dallas attending Future Connect 2011. We are posting articles live from the conference. By Lorrie Griffith/editor FMI Future Connect 2011 DALLAS–Trust was a key theme in remarks made by Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), covering […]