by Naomi Sleeper Director of Business Development Imperial Distributors As the sun makes an appearance in the summer, so do we…on bike paths, hiking and running trails, waterfronts, sports fields; any outside venue, really. The seasonal upswing in outdoor activities, enhanced by a growing focus on wellness and active lifestyles, means a boost in the […]
Category: Grocery News
Mars Releases Principles In Action Summary Report
Mars has released its annual Principles in Action Summary report, which outlines progress made in 2015 in areas of sustainability, health and well being, food safety, responsible marketing and workplace engagement across its business segments. “We have made significant progress toward making our operations truly sustainable over the last five years,” said Barry Parkin, chief […]
Honey Consumption Rising In U.S.
The National Honey Board, citing the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), reports that honey consumption continues to rise in the U.S., with an average of nearly one pound (0.9 pound) of honey being consumed per person compared to 0.5 pounds consumed per person in 1990. “It is exciting to see more […]
Raley’s Food For Families Launches Summer Fresh Drive
Raley’s Food For Families has launched its Summer Fresh Drive, designed to raise funds and increase the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables at food banks throughout Northern California and Nevada. During the school year, 21 million children from financially challenged homes in the U.S. eat a school lunch every day. The need for food assistance […]
Polar Bottle Donates To Pulse Nightclub Victims Fund
Polar Bottle has donated $2,684.76 in revenue from online sales of its limited edition Pride bottle to a Pulse Nightclub victims fund. The bottle, the company’s 24-oz. Sport design emblazoned with a rainbow graphic, was not intended as a fundraising item when it launched June 1. Instead, the limited edition bottle was meant to celebrate the start […]
NACS, NGA Respond To U.S. Court Rejecting Visa, MasterCard Settlement
On June 30, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the class-action settlement in the case In Re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation. That case led to a proposed settlement valued at $7.25 billion in 2012. This ruling called the settlement “unreasonable and inadequate.” NACS led efforts to oppose the $7.25 […]
Southeastern Grocers Introduces Chek Real Sugar Soda
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Five Companies Honored For Innovation At United Fresh 2016
Five Produce Innovation Award winners were recognized June 22 at United Fresh 2016, which was co-located with the Food Marketing Institute’s FMI Connect in Chicago. This year’s honorees were selected by show attendees from a total of 49 contestants in five categories: Best New Food Safety Solution; Best New Fruit Product; Best New Packaging; Best […]
General Mills Names Company Veteran Harmening President And COO
General Mills has appointed Jeffrey L. Harmening president and COO, effective July 1. Harmening will be responsible for all company operations, including U.S. retail, international, the convenience store and foodservice segments, sales and channel development, as well as global supply chain, and innovation, technology and quality functions. Harmening will continue to report to chairman and […]
