The Trump Administration’s 2019 budget proposal calls for a change to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would replace current benefits with a “USDA Foods package.” The food box would contain items like “shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit and vegetables.” Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Chief Public […]
Category: Produce News
The Shelby Report covers the produce industry for grocery retailers nationwide, from fresh fruit and vegetable trends and supplier announcements to merchandising strategies and regional market news. Updated regularly across our five regional editions.
Find all our fresh coverage in Focus on Fresh.
Kroger Reaches $1 Billion In Annual Organic Produce Sales
The Kroger Co.’s organic produce business has achieved $1 billion in annual sales. “Kroger offers one of the largest organic produce departments in America, and we are proud to have led the way in making this category more mainstream, accessible and affordable,” said Robert Clark, Kroger’s SVP of merchandising. “We have a dedicated procurement team that partners with more […]
Nevada Market Profile: State Drawing New Residents, New Business
by Lorrie Griffith/editor–West “Go west, young man” is how the saying goes. But today, some young men (and women) and older people, too, are doing the opposite and going east, according to a Dec. 3 article in the Los Angeles Times. They are leaving Southern California to head to Las Vegas to “find the middle-class […]
Bashas’ Family Of Stores Opens Remodeled Food City In Tucson
Bashas’ Family of Stores this week celebrated the reopening of a Food City supermarket in Tucson. As part of the opening day festivities, shoppers enjoyed live performances from Mariachi singers, as well as a grocery bag giveaways, food samplings, and a variety of prize giveaways including gift cards, kitchen appliances, and event tickets. The store […]
Stater Bros. To Open First Pasadena Store This Fall
A retail space—currently a Vons store—located at 1390 N. Allen Ave. in Pasadena, California, soon will become a Stater Bros. supermarket. The company will take possession of this location in May, “ensuring a smooth transition from the current occupant,” Stater Bros. says. At 42,000 s.f., this retail space then will undergo a major remodel and reopen […]
Gary Davis Of Russ Davis Wholesale Passes Away At Age 81
Gary Davis, former president and owner of Russ Davis Wholesale (RDW) in Wadena, Minnesota, died at his home Jan. 3 after a long battle with cancer. 2017 marked 60 years since Mr. Davis started selling fresh produce with his father, Russ. “Over the course of 50 years he leveraged a tremendous work ethic, significant smarts, […]
Sprouts Farmers Market Readying Stores In Its Home State
Sprouts Farmers Market soon will finish construction on new locations in Tempe and Scottsdale, Arizona. Those stores will be among four opening in the first quarter of 2018 in the grocer’s home state. The 30,000-s.f. Tempe store is located at 931 East Elliott Road and will open on Wednesday, March 21, at 7 a.m. The […]
Give Fresh Departments A Boost With Chinese New Year Promotions
Frieda’s Specialty Produce offers training and programming to help retailers ring in the Year of the Dog: Draw in shoppers to your store with the unique food experience of a Chinese New Year promotion. Frieda’s Specialty Produce offers special support to customers who book a Chinese New Year promotion by Jan. 10; it includes a […]
Ralphs Reopening Remodeled Mission Viejo, Calif., Store Dec. 13
Store to feature Ralphs’ Fresh Fare format Ralphs Grocery Co. is hosting a grand re-opening of its completely remodeled Portola Plaza supermarket at 27730 Santa Margarita Parkway in North Mission Viejo, California, next week. Following more than three months of ceiling-to-floor renovations, the supermarket is set to celebrate the re-opening on Wednesday, Dec. 13. As […]
Price, Freshness & Brand Loyalty: Top Influencers Driving Retailer Traffic
Whether in store or online, shoppers like to have options when it comes to where they purchase their everyday groceries and supplies. Shopping and hopping from store to store go hand-in-hand for today’s consumers as new research and insights from Acosta—a full-service sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry—shows that 76 percent […]
Vallarta Supermarkets Opens 50th Store In Pasadena, California
Vallarta Supermarkets, a Hispanic supermarket chain, opened its 50th store this week, located in Pasadena, California. The new supermarket in in the Renaissance Plaza Shopping Center on the southwest corner of North Fair Oaks Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard. It previously was occupied by a Vons Supermarket. The remodeled 50,000-s.f. facility was built with an […]
H-E-B Huntsville Preview Included Concert, $100K In Donations
H-E-B’s newest store opened to shoppers Nov. 15 in Huntsville, Texas. The day before, the grocer and H-E-B Chairman and CEO Charles Butt donated $100,000 to local nonprofits and invited the community to a concert at 6:30 p.m. that evening featuring Texas country singer-songwriter Kevin Fowler. The 82,000-s.f. store, located at 1702 11th Street, is […]
Bristol Farms Celebrates Grand Opening Of New-Concept Store
Bristol Farms recently celebrated the grand opening of its prototype store on Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California. It is the first major design departure for Bristol Farms in its 35-year history and is “a store that we’ve been dreaming up for a decade,” Kacie Davis, owner of KMDesign Co., which implemented the design, told The […]
Ocean Mist Farms’ Hugo Tottino Passes Away At 91
Hugo Tottino of Ocean Mist Farms, a fourth-generation family-owned produce grower, passed away Nov. 6. He was 91 years old. Known for his warm and welcoming spirit, Ocean Mist says Mr. Tottino greeted employees every day one-by-one. “His hard work ethic and loyalty to his family and employees motivated countless long-tenured Ocean Mist Farms employees,” […]
Frieda’s Specialty Produce Offers ‘Trending’ Stokes Purple Sweet Potatoes
As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, Frieda’s Specialty Produce is encouraging retailers to draw shoppers in to their produce departments with a sweet potato display featuring “Instagram-famous” Stokes Purple sweet potatoes. “Our retail partners say the best time of year to promote Stokes Purple sweet potatoes is the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving,” said Alex Jackson […]
United Fresh To Present Lifetime Achievement Award To H-E-B Exec
United Fresh Produce Association will present its Lifetime Achievement Award to Hugh Topper, group VP of fresh foods for H-E-B, at its Foundation Gala Dinner Jan. 16, at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, California. “As Hugh plans his retirement at the end of this year, I can’t think of a more deserving individual […]
Letting The Food Speak For Itself: Bristol Farms’ New-Concept Mulholland Store
Bristol Farms’ new prototype store will open Nov. 11. The 25,000-s.f. store on Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California, located in a space formerly owned by Haggen, is the first major design departure for Bristol Farms in its 35-year history and is “a store that we’ve been dreaming up for a decade,” Kacie Davis, owner […]
California Avocado Commission ‘Energized’ By Fresh Summit
For the California Avocado Commission (CAC), engaging with retailers, supermarket dietitians, the media and avocado stakeholders were among the highlights of the 2017 Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in New Orleans. “The Commission held some very productive meetings with retailers and avocado stakeholders in our Fresh Summit booth this year,” said Jan DeLyser, CAC […]
Robinson Fresh, Green Giant Fresh Debut Baby Vegetables Line
A full line of baby vegetables is now available from Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Robinson Fresh under the Green Giant Fresh label. The product line, which includes baby squash, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, is “ideal for conscious consumers and likely to become popular for convenient, healthy snacking or easy meal preparation,” the company says. “There is rising […]
Key Food Stores Adopts AgroFresh Program To Manage Banana Quality
RipeLock Quality Systems, a quality management system for bananas, will be implemented at Key Food Stores. According to AgroFresh Solutions, the RipeLock program “offers Key Food an innovative fruit quality management system for bananas that look better, taste better and stay fresh longer.” “RipeLock is being rolled out to all of our stores in November […]
