Former Trader Joe’s President Doug Rauch will explain to produce and floral executives why innovation is critical to business success when he joins a top-level group of speakers in May for the Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) 2016 Executive Leadership Symposium in Dallas, Texas. “Today’s executives lead in an era of ‘innovate or die.’ I will […]
Category: Grocery News
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 […]
Acosta To Acquire Ignite Sales Management
Acosta, a leading full-service sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods industry, is acquiring Ignite Sales Management in Minnetrista, Minnesota. “Ignite is an expert in helping manufacturers build and grow profitable brands and a long-standing business partner of Acosta,” said Acosta President and CEO Robert Hill. “By combining the strengths of both organizations, we […]
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Increases Investment In BodyArmor Sports Drink
Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) Group has increased its equity investment in BA Sports Nutrition, makers of BodyArmor, a line of premium sports drinks. The additional $6 million stake builds on the initial $20 million investment announced in August and raises DPS’s ownership position from 11.7 percent to 15.5 percent. Plano, Texas-based DPS has carried BodyArmor as an allied brand […]
Coca-Cola’s ‘Share A Coke’ Campaign Now Features Song Lyrics
This summer, The Coca-Cola Co.’s successful “Share a Coke” program says it will “strike all the right notes by inspiring music fans across the U.S. to celebrate a moment, a memory, a mood or a feeling, bringing people together through the universal love of music.” Packages of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Coca-Cola Life now […]
Avocados From Mexico Hashtag Most Popular At Recent SXSW Fest
Avocados From Mexico (AFM) made its first-ever South By Southwest (SXSW) appearance at the 2016 festival and, in the process, says it dominated SXSW-related social buzz. According to data from the social media monitoring company Keyhole, AFM’s #GuacNRoll activities generated more than 32,000 social media posts, making it the most popular hashtag used during SXSW. More […]
Bountiful, And Sweet, Georgia Peach Crop Expected This Year
The 2016 Georgia peach season is expected to be outstanding. Having just rounded the spring chill successfully, the state’s peach crop is shaping up to be sweeter than in years past, according to the Georgia Peach Council (GPC). “Our tree’s quest to accumulate cold hours got off to a slow start in December, but Mother […]
Campbell To Remove BPA From Packaging By Mid-2017
Campbell Soup Co. says it plans to complete a transition to cans that do not use Bisphenol A (BPA) linings by the middle of 2017. The company began using cans with linings made from acrylic or polyester materials in March and will continue to introduce the new linings across its U.S. and Canadian portfolio through 2017. […]
Study: Retail Foodservice Gaining Ground In ‘Food Fight’
As the battle for share of stomach rages on, the retail foodservice industry continues to grow. An updated study released by Technomic—the 2015 Retailer Meal Solutions (RMS) Consumer Trend Report—finds that consumers are purchasing RMS more often; 84 percent now purchase RMS at least once a month compared to just 79 percent in 2012. This […]
What Will The Meat Case Look Like In 10 Years?
by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor Shoppers now see fewer meat cutters at service cases in grocery stores and more flavor sealed products in the self-serve case. That is a trend likely to continue. The question attendees at a workshop during the recent NGA Show had is what will the meat case look like in 10 years. […]
Brookshire Grocery Co. Manufacturing Earns National Award
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, […]
GMDC Reveals Retail Trends From IHA Show
The Global Market Development Center (GMDC) offered its take on the top four grocery retail sales strategies that emerged from this year’s International Home + Housewares Show that will drive the industry of tomorrow. “Next practices” for how retailers can start creating the store of the future and win more sales were discussed throughout the […]
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 […]
Everest Climber Speaks At RFA’s Annual Conference
Ed Viesturs, the only American climber who successfully reached the summits of all the world’s 14 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen, kicked off the Refrigerated Foods Association’s 36th Annual Conference in March with his lessons on risk management and patience. The conference was March 6-9 at the Vinoy Renaissance Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida. Viesturs’ […]
CEO Gamgort Leaving Pinnacle Foods
Pinnacle Foods’ CEO Robert J. “Bob” Gamgort will leave the company at the end of April and become CEO of Keurig Green Mountain in Waterbury, Vermont. Gamgort, who also is a board member, has served as CEO of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Pinnacle since July 2009. The Pinnacle board is seeking a new CEO, evaluating both […]
Bashas’ Going Cage-Free With Its Private Label Eggs This Year
Bashas’ will begin transitioning all of its private-label Bashas’-branded eggs to cage-free eggs starting this fall. The Chandler, Arizona-based chain, which will launch its cage-free-egg changeover this November, says it will be the first mainstream grocer in Arizona to make the transition with its own brand of eggs. “We are committed to being a good […]
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 […]
General Mills To Label GMO Products Nationwide
General Mills soon will label all its products made with genetically modified ingredients, according to a company blog post published on Friday. The company’s decision comes on the heels of a failed national labeling bill and as Vermont’s deadline for labeling GMO products sold in its state looms. The national legislation, spearheaded by Sen. Pat […]
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 […]
