by Karen Caplan/President and CEO, Frieda’s Specialty Produce If you’re a retailer, you’ve probably already set your ads for the upcoming holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. And chances are you’ve chosen pretty much the same selection of produce items to feature as you did last year: orange sweet potatoes, green beans, Russet potatoes and cranberries. I’m […]
Category: Industry News
SpartanNash Promotes McQuesten To SVP-Center Store, Fresh Merchandising
SpartanNash Co. promoted Joseph McQuesten, formerly VP, center store merchandising, to SVP, center store and fresh merchandising, effective Oct. 8. “As SpartanNash continues to expand its organic, local and fresh perimeter offerings to meet our customers’ growing appetite for quality produce, meat, seafood, dairy, deli and all things quick and easy, we wanted to ensure […]
Fresh Market Opens Larger Charlotte, North Carolina, Store
The Fresh Market on Oct. 4 opened its new store in Charlotte, North Carolina’s Strawberry Hill development. The new, larger building replaces the retailer’s original store in the same development. “Our new location gives us more space to offer easy, delicious meals, inspiring ingredients and everything in between,” the company says. Fresh Market celebrated the […]
Kraft Heinz Invests In Emerging Tech With $100M Venture Capital Fund
Kraft Heinz has launched Evolv Ventures, a venture fund that will invest in emerging tech companies transforming the food industry. Kraft Heinz has committed up to $100 million to Evolv Ventures and brought on venture investor Bill Pescatello to lead the fund. “New technological innovations in the food industry create endless new opportunities to strengthen […]
HealthMarket Is Just The Right Fit For Hy-Vee
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest Hy-Vee has crafted a store that appeals to a range of shoppers—from busy moms to bodybuilders to diabetics and diehard Doritos fans—and it does it in just 15,700 s.f. The first-ever Hy-Vee HealthMarket opened in West Des Moines, Iowa, on July 31. Packaged cheese, Cheerios, lunchmeat, Coke and Mountain Dew are available, […]
Stop & Shop Invests $70M In Brand Redesign And Store Improvements
Stop & Shop is rolling out a new look for its brand, starting with 21 stores in the Hartford, Connecticut, area. The new look comes with a $70 million capital investment to improve the in-store experience with a focus on delivering more fresh, fast, local and healthy options for customers. Hartford will serve as a […]
Bowery Opens Second Indoor Farm In New Jersey
Bowery Farming, a New York City-based indoor-farming company, has opened a second facility in Kearney, New Jersey. Company officials say the new facility is the most technologically sophisticated, commercial indoor farm in the world, producing 30 times more output than its New York City location. The opening of the New Jersey facility will result in more […]
Shell Opens ‘Shell Select’ Concept Store In Kentucky
Shell in September introduced its Shell Select brand to the U.S. with the opening of a prototype convenience store in Louisville, Kentucky, designed by Bona Design Lab, a global retail design and consulting firm. According to veteran store designer and retail consultant Joseph Bona, president of Bona Design Lab, his team was tasked with helping […]
PCC Community Markets Commits $1M To PCC Farmland Trust
PCC Community Markets, Seattle’s community-owned food market, is giving a $1 million gift to PCC Farmland Trust, an organization it founded nearly 20 years ago. The gift comes at a time when rising land costs and sprawling development—with more people moving to Pierce and Snohomish counties than anywhere else in the country—are impacting the future of local farming, the company says. PCC’s intends for […]
Corradini Named To SVP Role At Kings/Balducci’s
Kings Foods Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market have hired Stephen Corradini as SVP of merchandising and marketing. Corradini has more than 15 years’ experience in food retail, including roles as VP of the South Region and director of specialty foods at Whole Foods Market. Most recently, he was COO of a startup specialty ice cream […]
McCormick & Co. Opens Its New Global Headquarters
McCormick & Co. Inc. has opened its new global headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The state-of-the-art headquarters brings together 1,000 employees previously located in four different office buildings. McCormick Chairman, President and CEO Lawrence Kurzius was joined by employees, retired company executives, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Jr., Baltimore County Executive Don Mohler and local government […]
Firelake Discount Foods Is The First Blue Zones Grocer In Oklahoma
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Southwest Firelake Discount Foods in Shawnee, Oklahoma, recently was designated the first-ever Blue Zones Project-approved grocery store in Oklahoma. Richard Driskell, director of retail operations for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, oversees three tribal grocery stores, including the flagship in Shawnee. At 88,000-s.f., it is the largest tribally-owned grocery store in the U.S. The […]
Smart & Final Named The Official Grocery Partner Of The Los Angeles Dodgers
Smart & Final is now the official grocery partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a multi-year partnership that celebrates food, community and America’s pastime. “The Dodgers are beloved in Los Angeles, the city where Smart & Final opened its first store 147 years ago, and our shared history here and values around community […]
Sedano’s, Takeoff Technologies Launching ‘World’s First Robotic Supermarket’
Takeoff Technologies, an e-commerce solution provider, in partnership with Sedano’s Supermarkets is launching an automated hyperlocal fulfillment center—what it’s calling the world’s first robotic supermarket. This technology is expected to launch in the upcoming month. Customer orders will be placed via an online app and carried out by Takeoff’s automated micro-fulfillment center, with the support […]
Kroger And Walgreens Join Forces To Test New Format
The Kroger Co. and Walgreens are collaborating on an exploratory pilot with a new format and concept that combines Kroger’s role as a grocer with Walgreens’ expertise in pharmacy, health and beauty. The two retailers have selected 13 Walgreens stores in Northern Kentucky, near Kroger’s Cincinnati headquarters, to pilot the format. The companies say they will conduct […]
Dairy And Produce: Grow Sales By Providing Solutions
by Cindy Sorensen/ Founder and CEO, The Grocery Group Today’s produce departments provide a great example of how grocers have reinvented departments within their stores to be relevant to consumers’ ever-growing and changing desires and demands. Several years ago, when local farmers markets began to pop up in library, shopping center and school parking lots around their […]
S&D Coffee & Tea Invests In Smallholder Farmers With CQI Q Processing Training
This year, S&D Coffee & Tea invited 18 smallholder farmers to take a deeper dive into post-harvest processing—a crucial step when it comes to the development of coffee flavor and quality. They learned firsthand about general processing knowledge, processing technology, good practices and quality assurance for the main processing methods. S&D has been working closely […]
CAC To Kick Off 40th Anniversary At PMA Fresh Summit
The California Avocado Commission (CAC) is celebrating the start of its 40-year anniversary at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit event this year. Fresh Summit will take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 17-20, and CAC will have a booth during the Expo on Friday, Oct. 19, and Saturday, […]
Premier Protein Introduces Sustainable Packaging For Its RTD Shakes
Premier Protein, a line of shakes, powders, bars and clear drinks, has launched new “earth first” packaging for its ready-to-drink shakes. Premier Protein shakes now feature FSC-certified Tetra Pak cartons and a re-sealable plant-based cap derived from sugarcane. According to the Premier Nutrition Corp., Premier Protein’s parent company, the decision to change its packaging represents […]
Lipari: Detroit Is Back And Michigan Is On Fire
Thom Lipari is president and CEO of Warren-based Lipari Foods. His father, Jim, started the company in the 1950s by distributing unique products from the back of his Ford station wagon. Thom came on board in 1971. Today, Lipari Foods operates a central distribution center in Warren, the largest suburb of Detroit. From that facility, […]
