North Coast Seafoods has renewed its food supplier partnership with Boston Public Schools for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, focusing on their locally-sourced Maine Kelp products. Following a successful pilot program, the renewal of the Maine Kelp Program through 2026 deepens the school district’s commitment to providing thousands of students in kindergarten through 12th grade […]
Category: Meat/Seafood/Poultry
The Shelby Report covers meat, seafood and poultry for grocery retailers nationwide, from protein trends and pricing developments to supplier announcements and meat department merchandising strategies. Updated regularly across our five regional editions.
See more meat and seafood coverage in Focus on Fresh: Meat & Seafood.
Niman Ranch Names 2024 Sustainable Farm Of The Year
Niman Ranch has recognized the Hundling family of Breda, Iowa, as the 2024 Sustainable Farm of the Year. This accolade honors the Hundlings for their land stewardship and ongoing commitment to the principles of regenerative agriculture. For Brice and Melanie Hundling, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword. Their multi-species, biodiverse farm is a model of sustainable […]
Meet Consumer Demand With Connected Pork Production
Sponsored content How much do sustainable production practices impact consumer meat purchases? According to The Power of Meat 2024, one out of three consumers look for meat products that are sustainably produced in ways that are better for the planet, people and animal welfare. Those consumers rely on brands and grocery stores to help them […]
Big Y Appoints New VPs Of Fresh Foods, Center Store
Big Y Foods has named John P. Fraro as VP of fresh foods, while Steve Nordstrom has been appointed as VP of center store. Both report to Michael R. Cormier, SVP of sales and marketing. “Our people are and always will be the heart of our company. They foster and grow our culture of caring, continuous […]
Seaboard Foods Awards Teachers $47K In Educator Grants
Fifty-four educators across five states will enhance their classroom learning experiences with Educators Lead Tomorrow Grants from Seaboard Foods. With more than $47,000 in funding, the grants will support teachers from kindergarten through high school in advancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. This marks the second year of the grant program, which is […]
Focused On Togetherness, Butterball Rolls Out New-Look Packaging For Portfolio
Butterball, a provider of turkey products, recently unveiled a comprehensive redesign of its retail packaging, aiming to enhance brand visibility, consumer engagement and overall shopping experience. Rebecca Welch, director of retail marketing at Butterball, talked to The Shelby Report about what was behind the strategy. She noted that Butterball’s last retail portfolio redesign took place […]
Prairie Fresh Expands Line With Hatch Chile Pork Tenderloin
Prairie Fresh has expanded its value-added line, Prairie Fresh Signature, with the limited-time addition of a Hatch chile pork tenderloin. Basted and dry rubbed with authentic Hatch chile seasoning, the product will be available to consumers in select retail locations this fall. “Hatch chile is a hot flavor this time of year,” said Eric Hamilton, director of product innovation at Merriam, Kansas-based Prairie Fresh. “With a short […]
John Soules Foods Helping Retailers Differentiate
The Shelby Report recently caught up with John Soules, co-CEO of John Soules Foods. Established in 1975, the Tyler, Texas-based company is a formulator, manufacturer and marketer of ready-to-cook and fully cooked beef and chicken products as well as fully cooked breaded chicken. It has production facilities in Tyler, Texas; Gainesville, Georgia; and Valley, Alabama. […]
Daily’s Premium Meats Adding Flavored Thick-Cut Bacon
Daily’s Premium Meats is launching two new products – Hot Honey and Spicy Maple flavored thick-cut bacon – nationwide later this summer. With a goal of making bacon an experience, not just an ingredient, Daily’s looks to revolutionize the bacon category with its new line of thick-cut bacon that features sweet and spicy seasonings. “We’ve […]
Mapping Out The Meat Consumer Journey
Because meat consumers can essentially shop anywhere and everywhere on their purchase journey, an effective omnichannel strategy is one of the most critical elements in a retailer’s marketing tool kit. NGA hosted a recent webinar that explored key insights from Midan Marketing’s Meat Consumer Segmentation 3.0 research showing the profound impact of the pandemic and […]
Big Y Taps Moriarty As New Director Of Meat And Seafood
The Big Y Board of Directors has named Megan L. Moriarty as director of meat and seafood, succeeding Norm E. Vernadakis, who is retiring Aug. 1 after 39 years in the industry. Vernadakis, who began his career at Big Y as a meat cutter in 1985, has held numerous leadership positions throughout his tenure. His […]
Hannaford Supermarkets Recognized For Supporting Local Seafood Economy
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) has honored Hannaford Supermarkets with one of three inaugural “Gulf of Maine Tastemaker” awards, recognizing local businesses for their exceptional contributions to the seafood industry. Hannaford was recognized in the “Local” category for having “consistently worked with more than 20 local suppliers to ensure customers have access to […]
Manna Tree Takes Controlling Interest In Verde Farms, Plans Expansion
Global private equity firm Manna Tree has taken a controlling interest in Verde Farms, a brand of organic, 100 percent grass-fed and pasture-raised beef. The investment aims to accelerate Verde’s growth in the rapidly expanding better-for-you (BFY) beef category, which is currently outpacing conventional beef by nearly three times. Manna Tree first invested in Verde Farms in January […]
Beaver Street Fisheries, iFoodDS Partner On Seafood Traceability Initiative
Beaver Street Fisheries and iFoodDS have introduced a proof-of-concept project to connect the seafood supply chain from producers to distributors to food service and grocery retail customers. The iFoodDS Trace Exchange with IBM Food Trust platform enables this connectivity, allowing Beaver Street Fisheries and its supplier network to capture, store and share data required by […]
Report: May Seafood Sales Highlight Less Inflation
Seafood has experienced far less inflation than total food and beverages, according to Circana and 210 Analytics. The price per pound for total refrigerated/fresh seafood decreased, driven by finfish and shellfish. Frozen and shelf-stable seafood prices also declined year over year. However, at an average price per pound of $9.49, the cost for fresh and […]
Butterball Introduces Redesigned Packaging
Butterball is introducing new packaging for its portfolio of retail products for the first time since 2018. The redesign will enhance the consumer shopping experience by incorporating a consistent look and feel across all product lines with easy-to-read labeling, a bright blue design and an interactive QR code to boost shopper engagement with the brand. […]
Smithfield Foods, Grocery Outlet Donate Protein Truckload
Smithfield Foods, in partnership with Grocery Outlet, donated 41,000 pounds of protein to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank as a part of the grocery retailer’s “Independence from Hunger” food drive to fight food insecurity and provide important center-of-the-plate protein for family tables. “This protein donation in partnership with Grocery Outlet will support the Central Pennsylvania […]
North Coast Seafoods, Atlantic Sea Farms Win Climate Award
Boston-based North Coast Seafoods, alongside its Maine-based partner and farmed kelp producer Atlantic Sea Farms, recently received the Climate Award at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s first Gulf of Maine Tastemakers Awards. The Climate Award is given to companies that champion and bring restorative food into the mainstream. This year, the award was presented to […]
Whole Foods Expands Standards For Animal Welfare, Third-Party Certification
Whole Foods Market is expanding its commitment to animal welfare by requiring additional products and species meet its quality standards for meat. To support the effort, the company is increasing the number of approved third-party animal welfare programs that certify products sold in its stores. According to Whole Foods Market, taking these steps will lead […]
North Coast Seafoods Introduces 100% Recyclable Packaging
North Coast Seafoods, an importer, processor and supplier of sustainably sourced seafood, has partnered with Australia-based Disruptive Packaging to introduce a new innovation: 100 percent recyclable and reusable packaging. For the past decade, North Coast Seafoods has been searching for sustainable, recyclable packaging alternatives to non-recyclable packaging that are scalable across its operations. However, being recyclable alone […]
