Earlier this year, the Southern California Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Council hosted a kick-off luncheon in Commerce, California, featuring an industry panel discussion on how to increase frozen and refrigerated food sales in 2018. Panelists included Jim Amen with Super A, Margie Bravo with Nestle USA, Rich Gillmore with Gelson’s, Chris Linskey with Super King, Mike […]
Category: Merchandising News
Foodland, Western Market Win ‘Buy Alabama’s Best’ Display Contest
The Alabama Grocers Association (AGA), the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries and the Alabama Food Manufacturers and Producers Association recently gathered for the 2018 Buy Alabama’s Best Retail Campaign Awards luncheon at The Club in Birmingham. “Buy Alabama’s Best” displays feature participating Alabama food products to help consumers identify which products are headquartered, produced […]
Guiding Stars Changes Algorithms To Reflect FDA Nutrition Changes
Guiding Stars has updated the formula it uses to assign stars to thousands of foods in North America. The changes align with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) updated recommended Daily Values (DV) for vitamins, minerals, sodium and fiber and reflect consensus of nutrition science regarding omega-3 fatty acids, DHA, EPA and artificial colors. Guiding […]
New Hannaford Loyalty Program Rewards Store Brand Purchases
Hannaford Supermarkets has launched My Hannaford Rewards, a loyalty program that adds rewards for store-brand items. Shoppers who choose to participate earn a 2 percent reward on every store brand item purchase, including fresh meat, seafood and deli items, as well as thousands of packaged products across the store. About 5,200 fresh and center store items […]
Tops Friendly Markets Slims Down Its Bulk Department
According to Tops Friendly Markets, as Americans are becoming more and more health-conscious, retailers are finding customers are buying fewer food items in bulk and are becoming more conservative in their portion sizes. In an effort to not only adapt to the changing needs of the customer but to also stay abreast of the latest […]
Harps Food Stores Using AI Platform To Support Merchandising Decisions
Springdale, Arkansas-based Harps Food Stores Inc. has implemented an AI (artificial intelligence) platform from Daisy Intelligence Corp., a software-as-a-service company, to “improve and optimize” decision-making around pricing and promotions. According to Daisy, Harps chose it to analyze data and determine which products should be featured in its frequent circulars. Harps launched the partnership with Daisy […]
Studies Find Low-Cost Strategies Can Boost Better-For-You Snack Sales
Two separate case studies provide insights into how retailers can increase sales of better-for-you snacks in c-stores. The studies, “Healthy Checkout Pilot Test” and “Better-for-You Planogram Pilot Test,” were developed by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) in conjunction the Project on Nutrition and Wellness (PNW) and the Cornell Food and Brand Lab (CFBL). […]
NACS: Sales Of Healthy Foods & Beverages Expected To Keep Growing In 2018
Healthy food and beverage sales growth led to positive overall sales at convenience stores in 2017, and retailers expect the momentum to continue in 2018, according to a survey of retailers recently released by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). A total of 103 member companies participated in the December 2017 survey. More than […]
Walmart Selects SAS Retail Services As A Preferred Service Provider
Walmart has selected SAS Retail Services, a provider of in-store merchandising services for retailers and consumer brands nationally, as one of five preferred service providers (PSPs). SAS will provide Walmart stores a range of services, including modular/category resets, display execution, stocking, product assembly, product recall, fixture/equipment installation, POS signage installation, quality control compliance and customer […]
Advantage Solutions, Daymon Worldwide To Offer Combined Services
Advantage Solutions and Daymon Worldwide are joining forces to create a suite of brand-centric and retailer-centric services for U.S. and international clients. Terms of the global transaction were not disclosed. Advantage, based in Irvine, California, is a North American provider of business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, with a suite of technology-enabled services […]
Ahold Promotes Teal Pumpkin Project For Allergy-Safe Halloween
Ahold USA’s Stop & Shop, Giant Food and Giant-Martin’s stores are the exclusive grocery partners on the East Coast for the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Teal Pumpkin Project. The project’s goal is to help shoppers become more aware of food allergies and ensure safe choices for children this Halloween. Shoppers will find special Teal Pumpkin Project […]
CVS Launches Health & Wellness Vending Machines
CVS Pharmacy is introducing automated retail vending machines stocked with on-the-go necessities including over-the-counter health products, “better-for-you” snacks and personal care products typically sold at CVS Pharmacy locations. “We are always looking for new ways to combine convenience and innovation to help better serve our customers,” said Judy Sansone, SVP of front store business and chief […]
Kroger Atlanta Division Director Promoted To Smith’s Merchandising VP
Kroger has promoted Deana Collins to VP of merchandising for the grocer’s Smith’s division. Collins most recently served as director of regional operations in Kroger’s Atlanta division. At Smith’s, she will oversee merchandising efforts the division’s 138 stores in seven western states. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Smith’s employs 18,000 associates. “Throughout the years, Deana […]
HowGood and Stop & Shop Partner On Sustainability Ratings
HowGood, an independent research organization aiming to bring transparency to the shopping experience, has formed a partnership with select Stop & Shop grocery stores in Massachusetts. HowGood’s research identifies food products that meet rigorous environmental and social benchmarks. The HowGood ratings system can be found in four Massachusetts grocery store locations including Braintree, Hingham, Pembroke and […]
eMeals Customizable Meal Kits Available At Walmart, Kroger
Digital and mobile meal planning service eMeals has introduced what it says is the first choose-your-food-style meal kit solution as well as the first that works with local grocery pickup and delivery partners, providing variety, flexibility and affordability not available from other meal kit services. Subscribers can select from 15 different eating styles ranging from Quick […]
Winn-Dixie Teams Up With LSU Tigers
Southeastern Grocers, parent company to BI-LO, Fresco y Mas, Harveys and Winn-Dixie stores, has signed a new sponsorship agreement with Louisiana State University (LSU) Athletics. Winn-Dixie has 42 locations across the state and has operated in Louisiana for more than 60 years. “We are proud of our rich history in Louisiana and our passion for this […]
Chef’d Meal Kits Make Grocery Retail Debut At Gelson’s
Chef’d, an e-commerce meal kit marketplace, has entered into a partnership with Gelson’s Markets in a strategic push to expand distribution into retail. Gelson’s will offer Chef’d meal kits at the Gelson’s Valley Village/North Hollywood, California, store on Laurel Canyon Blvd., with plans to expand into other locations across the retailer’s Southern California store portfolio. […]
Hannaford, New York Partner On State Grown & Certified Program
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced a partnership with Hannaford Supermarkets to promote local products from farms participating in the New York State Grown & Certified program. Hannaford is the first grocer in New York’s Capital Region to feature products grown and produced by New York farms that the state has certified as using safe food […]
NCA Sweets & Snacks Expo Breaks Records
The 2017 Sweets & Snacks Expo, hosted by the National Confectioners Association, set an all-time attendance record for the second consecutive year as more than 18,000 industry professionals from nearly 90 countries were welcomed to McCormick Place to experience the latest trends and innovations in the candy and snack categories. Exhibitors grew nearly 6 percent, […]
Grocery Checkstands Drive Greeting Card Sales
Hallmark is partnering with several top supermarket retailers to test a new opportunity for greeting card sales at the grocery checkstand and is seeing positive sales as a result. One grocery partner reported seeing not only increased sales, but more units sold and a higher average price per card. “We are always looking for flexible […]
