Southeastern Grocers is reintroducing customers to its private label Chek soda with the release of Chek Real Sugar—made with real sugar and free of high-fructose corn syrup and aspartame—in select flavors. Chek soda has been a favorite soft drink among supermarket customers in the South since it was introduced in Winn-Dixie stores in 1965. A […]
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.
Marketing Management Inc. To Celebrate 50-Year Milestone
This July, Marketing Management Inc. (MMI) will celebrate its 50th year of business. MMI represents hundreds of manufacturers that produce consumer goods for distribution through large chain grocery stores, independent grocery stores, mass merchandising stores, hardware stores, drug stores and dollar stores. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, MMI was founded in 1966 by Mary and Herb […]
Purchasing Food Online: The New Normal?
Whether it’s out of convenience, an effort to save money or a necessity to get just the thing you’re looking for, online shopping has become a staple for many. And it’s moved beyond just perusing for clothes and electronics; Americans also are searching for sustenance. In fact, 31 percent of Americans purchased food products online […]
Publix One Of Fortune’s 100 Best Workplaces For Millennials
Publix has been recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Workplaces for Millennials.” Publix ranked No. 74 on this year’s list. Publix CEO and president, Todd Jones, commented on the honor. “As company founder George Jenkins often said, when you take care of associates, they’ll take care of their customers. Our associates appreciate our […]
Study: Hispanic Shoppers Lead U.S. Market In Grocery Shopping Enjoyment & Engagement
Acosta and Univision Communications recently released the fifth edition of The Why? Behind The Buy U.S. Hispanic Shopper Study, which concludes that Hispanic shoppers enjoy the shopping experience and are highly engaged consumers. “Data clearly shows Hispanics are the driving force behind sales growth across many key grocery categories, but the bigger challenge is to […]
Maine Governor Threatens To Pull Out Of SNAP
Maine Gov. Paul LePage doesn’t want his state allowing the purchase of candy and sugary drinks with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The governor sent a June 17 letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) demanding that Maine be allowed to forbid using food stamps for certain foods or the state will stop […]
Lil’ Drug Store Expands C-Store Distribution To Healthy Snacks
Lil’ Drug Store Products (LDSP) and Calbee North America have formed an exclusive partnership in the convenience channel for Harvest Snaps salty snack line. “We are thrilled to be offering Harvest Snaps to our retailers and wholesalers so they can better meet the needs of convenience store shoppers by offering more nutritious choices,” says Doug […]
Boston Beer Appoints New Chief Marketing Officer, And More…
Foodservice News In Brief… The Boston Beer Co., brewer of Samuel Adams beers, named Jonathan Potter chief marketing officer (CMO), overseeing the company’s planning, development and execution of its brand development, marketing and advertising initiatives. He comes to the company from Moet Hennessy USA, where he served as managing director of its Chandon division. Before […]
Butler Home Products Buys Clean Ones Glove Co., And More…
New Channels News In Brief… Butler Home Products in Hudson, Massachusetts, has purchased Clean Ones Corp., a Portland, Oregon-based household glove company with more than 30 years in the market and nearly 2 billion gloves sold each year. Butler Home Products is a consumer cleaning company, selling cleaning tools (the company’s largest business segment), lint […]
Baker: FMI Connect Will Continue To Adapt As Industry Needs Change
As the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) brings together food retailers and manufacturers for its FMI Connect conference each year, it adjusts the offerings as industry needs change, just as grocers adapt to meet the evolving needs of their shoppers. This year, for example, FMI Connect’s “Supermarket Chefs,” a two-day immersion experience for culinary professionals, replaced […]
Southeastern Grocers To Donate July 4th Profits To Hope For The Warriors
Southeastern Grocers, Jacksonville, Florida-based parent company of Bi-Lo, Harveys and Winn-Dixie, has pledged 100 percent of its profits generated on the Fourth of July to the Hope for the Warriors. Hope for the Warriors is a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a sense of self, family and hope for veterans, service members and military families. […]
Raley’s Will Remove Artificially Flavored Private Label Brand Sodas
To advance its vision of health and wellness, Raley’s Family of Fine Stores will eliminate all flavors of Raley’s private label brand soda containing high-fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors, including diet soda varieties. “This is a bold first step towards improving our private label options for our customers,” said Kevin Curry, SVP […]
Perdue Foods’ Plan Puts The Focus Back On Animal Care
Perdue Foods Chairman Jim Perdue said Monday that the company is refocusing on animal care with a four-part plan that also will strengthen relationships with farmers, build trust with multiple stakeholder groups and create an animal care culture for continued improvement. Titled “2016 and Beyond: Next Generation of Perdue Commitments to Animal Care,” the plan […]
Whole Foods, Nielsen To Create Customized Product Hierarchy
Whole Foods Market has selected Nielsen as its primary U.S. analytics provider for point-of-sale data, consumer insights and industry metrics. The companies are collaborating on a customized natural and organic product hierarchy that will provide a comprehensive view of Whole Foods Market’s product categories, including ingredient-level attributes. In addition to allowing the company and its […]
Millennials Weigh In On What Makes Food Brands Authentic
Watershed Communications has released findings from two national ethnographic studies examining the media habits of millennial food and beverage consumers. The “Media Habits of Millennials” (see infographic below) study investigated whether social media and influencer marketing have eclipsed the impact of traditional editorial coverage. The “What Matters to Millennials” (infographic below) study set out to […]
Big Y Leader Named One Of FMI’s Top Store Managers
The Food Marketing Institute, at its FMI Connect event in Chicago June 20-23, honored Piotr Soja, manager of the Northampton, Massachusetts, Big Y store, as a top store manager. Soja was named the top store manager in the Class B (50-100 stores) category. In presenting the award, FMI said, “For Piotr Soja, going the extra […]
Dutch Farms Donates 129,600 Eggs To Food Bank
On Tuesday, Dutch Farms Inc. donated a truckload of 10,800 dozen eggs to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. The eggs will be distributed through the food bank’s 120-plus partner food pantries, soup kitchens and other agencies and will provide 13,500 meals to individuals and families struggling with hunger in Lake and Porter counties. More […]
US Foods Launches New Sustainable Product Line
US Foods recently introduced its “Serve Good” line featuring a wide range of products, including cage-free eggs, organic bread, non-GMO oils and sustainable seafood. “The demand for sustainable options when dining out continues to grow,” said Stacie Sopinka, VP of product development and innovation for US Foods. “In fact, nearly 70 percent of diners say […]
U.S. Senate GMO Bill Advances But July 1 Deadline Looms, And More…
Grocery News In Brief… The U.S. Senate moved towards a bipartisan agreement on nationwide labeling on food products containing genetically modified organisms GMO on June 23. The agreement received praise from the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association but needs full support of the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and President Barack Obama. […]
Sunoco Completes Acquisition of New York-Based C-Store, And More…
C-Store News In Brief… Sunoco LP has completed the purchase of the retail convenience store business serving the Upstate New York market from Valentine Stores Inc. This acquisition includes 18 company-operated locations, which sell approximately 20 million gallons of fuel annually, and one standalone Tim Horton’s restaurant. As part of the transaction, Sunoco’s subsidiary acquired […]
