Retail Business Services, the services company of Ahold Delhaize USA, launched new frictionless store technology, piloted under the name Lunchbox, which consumers people to shop a small format store in seconds by scanning in, shopping and walking out. The technology is currently being tested in Retail Business Services’ Quincy, Massachusetts, office. Retail Business Services partnered […]
Author Archives: Shelby Report Staff

The Shelby Report newsroom covers the grocery industry for retailers, wholesalers and suppliers. Staff reports include store openings, executive appointments, company announcements and industry event coverage. Since 1967, The Shelby Report has covered supermarkets, grocery chains and independent grocers through five regional editions.
Giant To Open New Broomall, Pennsylvania, Store On Dec. 6
Giant Food Stores will celebrate the grand opening of its new Broomall store in Marple Township, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Dec. 6, at 8 a.m. The new 74,000-s.f. store replaces the current Springfield Road location and will operate from 6 a.m. unitl midnight seven days a week and will have 200 full- and part-time employees, adding […]
Colgate-Palmolive Ships First Recyclable Toothpaste Tube
New York, New York-based Colgate-Palmolive has begun the switch to a first-of-its-kind recyclable toothpaste tube and now seeks to enlist other companies to follow its lead. Colgate recently delivered to retailers the first tube recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)—Antiplaque & Whitening toothpaste under the company’s Tom’s of Maine brand. Tom’s will complete […]
Stuffed Puffs Opens Manufacturing Facility In Bethlehem, Pa.
Stuffed Puffs, manufacturer of chocolate-filled marshmallows, recently cut the ribbon on its new 150,000-s.f. plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Stuffed Puffs founder and CEO Mike Tierney; Richard Thompson, managing partner of Factory LLC; DJ Marshmello and his manager Moe Shalizi; Jim Petrucci, founder and president of J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc.; Don Cunningham, CEO of Lehigh Valley […]
Giant Choice Rewards Program Receives Three Awards
Giant Food Stores was honored with three awards during the recent 2019 Loyalty360 Customer Expo. The awards recognized the company’s new loyalty program, Giant Choice Rewards, as a leader in the customer loyalty industry, building stronger and deeper relationships with their customers in a proactive, meaningful and measurable way. Giant company officials accepted the awards during evening […]
Salsify Ranks 87th On Deloitte’s 2019 Technology Fast 500
Salsify, a product experience management (PXM) platform, has been ranked 87th on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500. This ranking highlights the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. Salsify is the only Boston-headquartered software company to rank in the top 100 of the Fast 500. A significant driver of […]
ShopRite Opens At Stroud Mall In Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
CBL Properties and ShopRite held the grand opening of its newest state-of-the-art full-service supermarket in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 1 with a ribbon cutting ceremony. ShopRite, which is located in the former Bon-Ton store at Stroud Mall, features its own restaurant, Bin37, a wine and beer shop and the area’s first and only food hall […]
Walls Named Lipari Foods President, Chief Operating Officer
Lipari Foods has named Tim Walls president and chief operating officer (COO), effective immediately. As president and COO, Walls oversees all company operations. He reports to Lipari Foods CEO Thom Lipari. “By bringing Tim into this new role, we are ensuring the existing operations continue to have the attention needed to grow and prosper,” Lipari […]
SkyBar Confectionary Co. Resumes Sky Bar Candy Bar Production
SkyBar Confectionary Co.’s Sky Bar candy bar is now in production and available for sale. The Sky Bar brand was purchased by Louise Mawhinney, owner of Duck Soup in Sudbury, in the September 2018 auction of the assets of the former New England Confectionery Co. (NECCO). The company said production is up and running, and […]
People To Watch: Welch’s Customer Team Leader Leslie Campbell
The Shelby Report and The Grocery Group have introduced a series entitled People to Watch that focuses on current and future leadership in the grocery industry. In this installment, The Grocery Group Founder and CEO Cindy Sorensen interviews Leslie Campbell, customer team leader, Welch’s. Tell me a little bit about you and what do you […]
Grass-Fed Beef Co. Verde Farms Opens N.J. Processing Facility
Verde Farms, a U.S. provider of 100 percent grass-fed, 100 percent free-range, organic beef, is opening of its own processing facility in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. Marking a major milestone for the company, the opening signals Verde’s enhanced capability to process its products in-house, while also offering advanced processing services to a select number of […]
Boston-Based Company Rolls Out IQ Bars To 1,000 Kroger Locations
The IQ Bar, America’s first “brain + body” nutrition bar that was launched in 2018 through a viral crowdfunding campaign, is hitting shelves at 1,000 Kroger grocery stores across the U.S. IQ Bar’s Chocolate Sea Salt, Peanut Butter Chip and Almond Butter Chip flavors are being distributed to hundreds of Kroger-branded stores, in addition to […]
Danone Waters Of America Will Be Exclusive U.S. Distributor Of Ferrarelle
Danone Waters of America, the North American bottled water importer and distributor, will sell, distribute and merchandise Ferrarelle, an Italian sparkling natural mineral water, as of January 2020 in the U.S. The long-term master distribution agreement will focus on building the brand in the U.S. and include Ferrarelle glass formats via on-premise channels. Ferrarelle says […]
CBD-Infused Good Day Launches Two New Beverages
Premium CBD-infused beverage brand Good Day announced the launch of its new SKUs, chamomile herbal tea and citrus sparkling water. Good Day says its line of CBD-infused beverages is designed to keep customers balanced throughout every part of the day—cold-brew coffee for a boost of calm energy, citrus sparkling water for a mental refresh and chamomile […]
Stuffed Puffs Breaking Ground On New Plant In Bethlehem, Pa.
Stuffed Puffs, the chocolate-filled marshmallow brand that debuted this summer at Walmart, is breaking ground Nov. 19 on a new 150,000-s.f. plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Stuffed Puffs are the creation of Mike Tierney, who thought that putting chocolate inside marshmallows allows the chocolate to melt while the marshmallow roasts, leading to an easier, cleaner, faster […]
Sorensen: Innovation In Thought Was Lacking This Year
by Cindy Sorensen/founder and CEO, The Grocery Group Each year as I prepare to write my dairy industry “year in review” column, I reflect on the newsworthy events that occurred in the industry in the previous 12 months. This reflection often includes a look back on the following: new product introductions; ingredient, product and package […]
Harps Food Stores Now Offers Customers Grocery Pickup Via Instacart
Harps Food Stores has expanded its Instacart partnership to now include grocery pickup at select locations. Harps and Instacart first partnered in November 2018 to bring grocery delivery to more than 50 select markets in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. The Springdale, Arkansas-based grocery company says the pickup service will roll out over the coming […]
Lipari Foods Founder Vincent ‘Jim’ Lipari Dies At Age 91
Mr. Vincent J. “Jim” Lipari of Birmingham, Michigan, died Nov. 7, 2019, at the age of 91 with his family by his side. Born on May 6, 1928, in Detroit, Mr. Lipari was a longtime Michigan resident. Mr. Lipari founded Warren, Michigan-based Lipari Foods in 1963, after distributing unique products from the back of his […]
Big Y Opens Convenience Store In Manchester, Connecticut
Big Y Foods, Inc. has opened its newest Big Y Express Gas Station and Convenience Store in front of its newly remodeled Big Y World Class Market located at 234 Tolland Turnpike in Manchester, Connecticut. This is the 10th Big Y Express location. The Springfield, Massachusetts-based retailer opened its first location in 2013. The 2,575-s.f. […]
Giant Food Stores Opens Two New Locations In Pennsylvania
Giant Food Stores held the grand opening of both its Columbia, Pennsylvania, store and its Quarryville, Pennsylvania, store on Nov. 8. Giant entered into an agreement to acquire the 40,000- and 50,000-s.f. locations from Musser’s Markets in August. Both stores operate 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week and each employ approximately 100 […]
