Brookshire Grocery Co.’s manufacturing division received the “Member of the Year Award” at the 58th All Star Association Convention held in St. Petersburg, Florida, last week. The All Star Association, which currently has 298 member companies, presents the award to the member company that has set itself apart in areas of product quality, service, advertising, […]
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.
Brookshire Brothers President, CEO Shares ‘Appealing’ Story With Students
Brookshire Brothers President and CEO Jerry Johnson talked to fourth- and fifth-grade students on March 23 about the grocery business. He did it in an “appealing” way, by taking a box of bananas and some swag (Chiquita sunglasses and string backpacks) to the children and explaining how the top-selling item in America’s grocery stores gets […]
AWG Reports Record Sales, Presents New Leadership Team
Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (AWG), headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, reported record consolidated net sales of $8.94 billion and distributed $194 million in year-end patronage at its annual shareholders meeting March 20. AWG’s year-end patronage rebate represented 2.79 percent of qualifying sales, an increase of two basis points over the prior year and the second […]
AllergyEats Releases New Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chain List
AllergyEats has released its 2016 list of the Top 10 Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains in the U.S. AllergyEats’ restaurant ratings are based solely on how well restaurants have accommodated food-allergic diners—not on other factors such as ambiance, service or food quality. “AllergyEats depends on ratings and feedback from the food allergy community to determine which […]
More Candy Firms Commit To Halt Children’s Advertising
More candy makers have signed a pledge to stop advertising aimed at children under the age of 12. Ferrara Candy Co., Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., Jelly Belly Candy Co., Just Born Quality Confections, The Promotion in Motion Cos. Inc. and R.M. Palmer Co. agreed to the make the changes under the Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI). […]
Several Food Companies Announce National GMO Labels
With Vermont’s GMO labeling mandate set to take effect July 1 and no national labeling standard in sight, Mars Inc. and Kellogg Co. are joining General Mills and Campbell Soup Co. in developing their own national GMO labels to comply with the state’s law. Mars quietly released its position on GMO labeling on Friday, the […]
Ahold USA’s Giant Landover To Carry BrightFarms Produce, And More…
Grocery News In Brief… Ahold USA’s Giant Landover division now carries locally grown produce year-round from BrightFarms’ Capitol Greenhouse, a 150,000-s.f. greenhouse farm in Culpeper County, Virginia. BrightFarms provides Giant Landover with an assortment of salad mixes such as baby arugula, Asian greens, baby spinach, spring mix, spinach blend and baby kale, as well as […]
7-Eleven Returns Zero Franchise Fee Program For Select U.S. Territories, And More…
C-Store News In Brief… 7-Eleven is bringing back its Zero Franchise Fee initiative as an ongoing program to offer a low-cost investment opportunity for both proven business owners and would-be entrepreneurs .7-Eleven will waive the franchise fee on a select number of its U.S. stores available for franchising, a savings of up to $80,000. Last […]
BIC Selects SIS Group For Cello Branded Products, And More…
New Channels News in Brief… Shelton, Connecticut-based BIC completed its acquisition of Cello Pens, India’s largest manufacturer and distributor of writing instruments, in December 2015. BIC and Cello have selected SIS Group International as the representative of Cello Pens branded and private-label products in the U.S. Earlier this year, Cello India ended its distribution and […]
Whole Foods Expands Coalition Of Immokalee Workers Partnership
Whole Foods Market will be the first food retailer to offer strawberries certified by the Fair Food Program, a partnership that brings together workers, consumers, growers and retailers in support of humane labor standards and fairer wages in U.S. agriculture. Whole Foods Market began supporting the Fair Food Program in 2008, four years before any […]
Meat And Related Products, Snacks to Outperform Other Segments
The U.S. food industry is forecast to grow at a steady rate of 2.9 percent (compound annual growth rate) through 2022, according to the 2016 Food Packaging Trends and Advances report from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. Based on interviews from 70 food processing and packaging industry professionals in the U.S. and […]
Meijer LPGA Classic For Simply Give Adds Grand Tasting Event
Meijer will host a three-day “grand tasting event” in conjunction with its LPGA Classic for Simply Give tournament week June 14-19. The inaugural Meijer LPGA Grand Taste will take place June 17-19 at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan. “We are thrilled to be adding this experience to LPGA week showcasing some of the best […]
Ralph Ketner: Always An Idea Man
Ron Johnston, Shelby Publishing Co.’s president and publisher, sat down with Ralph Ketner, founder of Food Lion, on March 7 for a by-invitation interview in Ketner’s office at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, inside The Ralph W. Ketner School of Business, which Ketner endowed in 1989. Johnston interviewed Ketner 19 years ago, about six […]
King’s Hawaiian Introduces Line Of BBQ Sauces
King’s Hawaiian launched a new product line of four Hawaiian-inspired BBQ Sauces at its South by Southwest interactive media lunch, hosted by Mark Dacascos, this month. Hawaii native Dacascos is an actor, director, martial artist and chairman of Food Network’s hit show, “Iron Chef America.” “At King’s Hawaiian, we take pride in our rich heritage […]
Celebrity Chefs Participating In Restaurant Week New Hampshire
Eight celebrity chefs were selected from around the Granite State to participate in the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association’s annual New Hampshire Restaurant Week, which runs March 18-25. Chefs were chosen for their creativity and passion in culinary arts and contributions to the culinary community in New Hampshire. Celebrity chefs participating include Peter Agostinelli, executive […]
Federal GMO Labeling Bill Fails In Senate
A bill to create national standards for food made with genetically engineered ingredients, or GMOs, failed in the Senate on Wednesday. The bipartisan legislation, spearheaded by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), would have established a uniform voluntary GMO labeling standard to be developed by USDA within two years of the bill’s enactment. The bill also would […]
Mass. Gov. Signs Law To Ban Powdered Alcohol, And More…
Foodservice News In Brief… Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a new law banning powdered alcohol. Concerns ranging from underage consumption and potency to the ease of a consumer of any age concealing the package were raised in the development of the bill. According to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA), numerous operators said the proliferation […]
Easter Spending Expected To Increase, And More…
New Channels News In Brief… According to the National Retail Federation’s annual Easter Spending Survey, spending for the holiday is expected to reach $17.3 billion. Those celebrating plan to spend an average of $146 per person, according to the survey. That’s the highest level in the 13 years the survey has been conducted and up […]
Got To Be NC Big Cart Helping Highlight Piggly Wiggly’s 100th Anniversary
The Got to Be NC Big Cart is hitting the road with several North Carolina food companies to help Piggly Wiggly celebrate its 100th anniversary. The Big Cart is now making stops at Piggly Wiggly stores in eastern North Carolina. The Got to Be NC Big Cart is a promotional vehicle operated by the marketing […]
‘Living Wage’ Should Vary Across Industry, Study Says
Should Walmart and Costco—two stores with differing target customers, business models and profit margins—be required to pay employees the same minimum wage? No, according to a new study from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). The analysis, authored by NCPA senior fellow Pam Villarreal and research associates Anna Shapovalova and Jacob Kohlhepp, warns that […]
