More than half of all households in the U.S. are now purchasing organic produce, according to an Organic Trade Association/Nielsen report. Sales of organic bananas alone—now a $165 million market—soared by more than 30 percent last year. Organic “value-added” vegetables (think chopped kale, peeled carrots and ready-to-cook squash) grew by a whopping 54 percent in […]
Category: Organic Natural
Natural Grocers Holding Job Fair For Idaho Store
Lakewood, Colorado-based Natural Grocers will open a new store in Hailey, Idaho, on Sept. 27, adding 28 jobs to the community. A job fair for the Hailey store, which is located at 710 North Main Street, will take place near the store, at the Wood River Inn at 603 North Main Street. The job fair […]
NEPC To Partner With PMA Talent Group At September Expo, And More…
Grocery News In Brief… The New England Produce Expo (NEPC) and Center for Growing Talent by PMA (CGTbyPMA) will join forces again this year at the Annual Produce, Floral & Foodservice Expo in order to attract new talent to the fresh produce and floral industry. The event is scheduled for Sept. 21-23 at the Ocean […]
Senate To Hold Final Vote On Compromise GMO Labeling Bill
On July 6, the U.S. Senate voted 65-32 to end debate and have a final vote on bipartisan national legislation regarding the disclosure of genetically engineered ingredients in food products. The compromise bill, S. 764, was championed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan). It includes reforms to […]
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 […]
Barons Market Adds Olive Oil And Vinegar Bars To All Stores
San Diego-based natural grocer Barons Market has installed olive oil and vinegar tasting stations in all six of its locations. Ten olive oils and 14 vinegars fill silver vats at each store’s tasting station, where shoppers will find bread for dipping. Unique flavors include citrus habanero olive oil and honey ginger white balsamic vinegar, with […]
Aldi Launches New Free-From Meat Line
Aldi is expanding on its healthier initiatives by introducing a new “free-from” meat line. The launch comes on the heels of the Aldi Healthier Checklanes rollout and the decision to remove added MSG, partially hydrogenated oils and certified synthetic coloring from all Aldi-exclusive food products. “We believe every shopper should have access to food they feel […]
Southeastern Grocers Commits To Southeast Produce Growers
Southeastern Grocers, parent company of Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores, on June 14 announced a new local sourcing policy, committing to only source produce from local farms and orchards in the Southeast whenever possible. Jacksonville, Florida-based Southeastern Grocers says this policy should help grow Southeastern agriculture as well as provide customers with the freshest local […]
General Mills Partners With Cooperative To Increase Organic Dairy Supply
General Mills has formed a sourcing partnership with the largest organic cooperative in the U.S. that will help about 20 dairy farms add around 3,000 acres to organic dairy production over the next three years. The program with Wisconsin-based Organic Valley will drive more acres in the U.S. into the organic certification process and builds […]
Natural Grocers To Open 20th Texas Store
Natural Grocers will open a store in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, June 14. The company, which already has 19 stores in the state of Texas, will employ 28 people at this location. The store will open at 8 a.m. and is located at 13310 NW Military Highway. In celebration of the grand opening, Natural […]
Milo’s Tea Entering The Organics Space With Café Style Line
Family-owned Milo’s Tea Co. has introduced four new USDA Certified Café Style Organic Teas in the refrigerated section of stores across the country. Packaged in 59-oz. carafes, Milo’s Café Style Organic Teas are brewed from custom-blended organic tea leaves and sweetened with certified organic cane sugar or a blend of organic cane sugar and organic […]
Earth Fare Opens Fourth Ohio Store
Earth Fare opened its fourth Ohio location yesterday in The Venue at Belden, located at 3939 Everhard Road in North Canton. Every item in the new 24,000-s.f. store is free of artificial fats, trans-fats, colors, preservatives and sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup, as well as bleached or bromated flour. Its meat, seafood and poultry […]
Georgia Ag Commissioner: Related Recalls Reflect Supply Chain Collaboration
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black is alerting citizens to several recent recalls that include a wide range of products that were distributed and sold in the state. The products are being recalled over concerns of Listeria monocytogenes contamination, which poses health risks to consumers if eaten. “Recalls are one of the food safety control measures […]
Sprout Nutrition And Crossmark Partner For Growth
Sprout Nutrition (formerly Sprout Organic Foods) and Crossmark Inc. have partnered to bring organic whole foods to babies, toddlers and all family members. The partnership gives Sprout expanded category presence and broad access to retailers with consumer insight capabilities while broadening Crossmark’s presence within the baby and organic family snack categories. With this agreement, Sprout is […]
Whole Foods Market Announces Upcoming Store Locations
In its second quarter earnings report, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market said it has signed leases for six new stores and renegotiated leases for three of its stores in development to be 365 by Whole Foods Market stores instead of traditional Whole Foods Markets. The new leases for Whole Foods Market stores include Santa Monica, […]
Hershey Rolling Out Simply 5 Syrup
The Hershey Co. is introducing Simply 5 Syrup, a new, five-ingredient take on its classic that has no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial preservatives and flavors, and is made from non-GMO ingredients. It rolls out in May. “People are looking for products that taste great and have ingredients that they recognize, know and trust,” said […]
Whole Foods Sets Opening Date For First 365 Store
Whole Foods Market will open its first 365 by Whole Foods Market on May 25 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Two additional 365 by Whole Foods Market locations will open in 2016—in Bellevue, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Up to 10 stores are expected to open in 2017. (Update: See photos from the grand […]
Natural Products Expo West 2016 Kicks Off In Anaheim
Natural Products Expo West 2016 is under way in Anaheim, California. The annual show began Thursday and runs through the weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center. Projected to be the largest in its 36-year history, the sold out trade-only event is playing host to more than 3,000 companies and 70,000 attendees. The natural products industry […]
Brookshire Brothers Celebrates Canyon Lake, Texas, Opening
Brookshire Brothers says the Canyon Lake, Texas, community showed up in big numbers on Feb. 3 for its new store’s soft opening there. The ribbon was officially cut today (Feb. 10) during a ceremony that featured the local high school band, prizes and sampling. The grocer said the event kicked off of a month of grand […]
Specialty Snack Company Opens Global Headquarters In Tennessee
Pure Foods, a specialty snack company, celebrated the opening of its global headquarters and primary manufacturing location late last month at Gateway Commerce Park in Kingsport, Tennessee. The 88,000-s.f., state-of-the-art manufacturing facility produces nutrient-dense and reduced-fat snack foods for distribution in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. “Today marks an exciting new chapter for Pure Foods […]
