Meijer is bringing its LPGA Classic for Simply Give back to Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan, for a 12th year, with tournament play running June 18-21. The event features 144 of the world’s top female golfers in a four-day, 72-hole stroke competition. All proceeds support the retailer’s Simply Give hunger-relief program, which funds food […]
Category: Midwest
The Shelby Report of the Midwest covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
Posted inProduce News, Featured News, Midwest, News
EmpowerFresh Deploys AI Produce Ordering Platform At Kowalski’s Markets
EmpowerFresh has deployed its artificial intelligence-powered produce inventory and ordering platform at Kowalski’s Markets, a family-owned grocery chain in Minnesota known for its produce departments and commitment to quality. Founded in 1983 by Jim and Mary Anne Kowalski, Kowalski’s Markets has built a reputation as one of the Midwest’s most respected upscale grocery retailers. With […]
Posted inExecutive News, Featured News, Hy-Vee, Midwest, News
Hy-Vee Mourns Loss Of First Female President
Donna Tweeten, a marketing executive who became Hy-Vee’s first female president and spent decades shaping the Midwestern grocer into a nationally recognized brand, died April 8. She had recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Tweeten retired from her role as president in January 2025 but remained with Hy-Vee as a consultant up until […]
Posted inSustainability News, Corporate Store News, Featured News, Midwest, News
Thrive Market Launches Climate Action Working Group
Thrive Market has launched the Climate Action Working Group, a new initiative designed to help its consumer brand partners and owned-brand suppliers measure and reduce their carbon and plastic footprints. The program was developed in partnership with Planet FWD, PCX Markets and Climate Positive Consulting. It provides education, measurement tools and frameworks to help brands track […]
Posted inSustainability News, Featured News, Midwest, News, The Kroger Co.
Flashfood Expands To All Kroger Mid-Atlantic Division Stores
Flashfood, the surplus grocery platform, is now available at all 100-plus Kroger stores in the Mid-Atlantic Division, which includes Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. The expansion follows a pilot that launched last summer in 16 Richmond-area stores. Since then, Flashfood has helped Kroger Mid-Atlantic shoppers save nearly $700,000 on fresh groceries while keeping more […]
Posted inExecutive News, Anniversary Issues, Feature, Featured News, Midwest, News, Wholesaler/Distributor of the Year
Stewardship And Growth: Former AWG CEO Smith Reflects On Leading Through Change
As Associated Wholesale Grocers celebrates its centennial, former CEO David Smith looks back on his tenure with the perspective of a steward who sought to leave the cooperative stronger than he found it. Smith joined AWG in August 2003 as director of real estate. He stepped into the CEO role at the end of 2015, […]
Posted inSustainability News, Featured News, Midwest, News, The Kroger Co.
Kroger Begins Earth Month Campaign To Benefit World Wildlife Fund
The Kroger Co. is inviting customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar at checkout through April 30 to support World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) conservation efforts. The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation will match customer donations up to $50,000. “Earth Month serves as a reminder each year that our choices have […]
Posted inMeat/Seafood/Poultry, Finance News, Midwest, News
Entrepreneur Acquires Honey Creek Legacy, Rebrands As Legacy Maker Farms
Legacy Maker Farms officially launched following the acquisition and rebranding of Honey Creek Legacy by an investor group led by entrepreneur Steven Hershberger. The Indiana-born business leader, who brings deep experience in food manufacturing and consumer packaged goods, will serve as CEO and president of the Fairmount, Indiana-based premium beef company. “With this acquisition, we […]
Posted inCorporate Store News, Featured News, Midwest, News, The Kroger Co.
Kroger Packs 500 Additional Meal Boxes For Food Bank
Kroger Central Division gathered volunteers in Whitestown, Indiana, to pack 500 boxes of food for those in need – the second phase of a meal kit commitment that has produced 1,500 boxes for donation. The effort builds on 1,000 boxes packed earlier this month for the Midwest Food Bank. Supporters of Athletes in Action in […]
Posted inPackaging News, Center Store, Midwest, News
Smucker’s Updates Fruit Spread Packaging For First Time In 30 Years
The J.M. Smucker Co. is unveiling redesigned packaging for its Smucker’s fruit spreads – the first visual overhaul in nearly three decades. The new jars began hitting shelves this spring, building on the brand’s 1990s-era design with bolder colors, larger fruit imagery and an expanded use of its gingham pattern. The gingham – which has […]
Posted inExecutive News, Featured News, Market Profile, Midwest, News
Ohio Grocers Association’s Mullins Leaves Legacy Of Fighting The Impossible
Kristin Mullins started at the Ohio Grocers Association on April 4, 1990, as a receptionist. She is leaving as its president and CEO – and, by her own account, she’s ready. “A 36-year run – I think I’m ready for something, quite frankly, a little less demanding, a little less stressful,” she said with a […]
Posted inExecutive News, Dairy News, Featured News, Finance News, Midwest, News
Hiland Dairy Names Leibacher General Manager Of Dallas Operation
Hiland Dairy Foods Co. has promoted Mike Leibacher to general manager of its Dallas-Fort Worth operation, effective March 1. He replaces Ray Gibson, who retired after a 43-year career in the dairy industry. Gibson spent decades serving the Dallas-Fort Worth market. He began in 1982 as a route salesman with Borden Dairy, rose through a […]
Posted inPrivate Label Brands, Associated Wholesale Grocers, Featured News, Midwest, News, Wholesaler/Distributor News
AWG Launches Wellwerks, Nüwerks Private Brand Wellness Program
Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) is rolling out two exclusive wellness brands – Wellwerks and Nüwerks – for its network of more than 1,100 member retailers and 3,500 retail locations in 33 states. AWG said the launch represents one of the most comprehensive private brand wellness sets introduced at retail, combining functional grocery formats with modern […]
Posted inCenter Store, Midwest, News
Marzetti Launches Protein Ranch Dressing, Dip Line
The Marzetti Co. is introducing Marzetti Protein Ranch, a line the company describes as a first-to-category innovation combining its traditional ranch with 3-4 grams of milk protein per serving and fewer calories. The lineup spans three SKUs: Protein Ranch Dressing (13 oz. bottle), Protein Ranch Veggie Dip (12 oz. tub) and Protein Ranch Veggie Dip […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Association News, Featured News, Market Profile, Midwest, News
Ohio Grocers Navigate Consolidation, Rising Costs, Changing Consumer
Ohio enters 2026 as one of the nation’s most economically competitive states, though a mix of national headwinds and shifting federal policy creates uncertainty in the year ahead. The state’s gross domestic product reached $979 billion in the third quarter of 2025 – the highest on record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. […]
Posted inHealth & Wellness, Featured News, Hy-Vee, Independent Store News, Midwest
100+ Hy-Vee Stores Offering Reduced-Price A1C Screenings In April
More than 100 Hy-Vee stores across the Midwest are offering A1C screenings at a reduced price during April. Hy-Vee’s registered dietitians will administer the tests, which are available for $15 for one screening or $20 for two. Testing normally costs $45 per person. The screenings, available while supplies last, are provided in partnership with Abbott, […]
Posted inWholesaler/Distributor News, Featured News, Midwest
AWG, Symbotic Partner On Gulf Coast Warehouse Automation
Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. and Symbotic Inc. (Nasdaq: SYM) have announced an agreement to deploy warehouse automation at AWG’s Gulf Coast Division Support Center in Pearl River, Louisiana. The project is expected to strengthen operational efficiency, improve service reliability and enhance long-term supply chain resilience across AWG’s distribution network. AWG’s Gulf Coast Division Support Center […]
Posted inWholesaler/Distributor News, Feature, Featured News, Midwest
Lipari Foods Debuts Global Strategy At ‘Passport To Flavor’ Event
Lipari Foods marked its largest-ever trade show March 25 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, welcoming 11,000 retailers under the theme “Passport to Flavor” as the company unveiled a comprehensive rebrand centered on global foods. The event featured about 750 booths with 13,000 items on display, 1,300 of which were new to Lipari’s […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Featured News, Midwest
Martin’s Super Markets Refreshes Store In Goshen, IN
The Martin’s Super Markets location on Bashor Road in Goshen, Indiana, has completed its first major remodel in two decades, updating one of the community’s longtime grocers with a refreshed layout, new décor and expanded fresh offerings. The remodel introduces new décor, a refreshed store layout and redesigned meat department with expanded in-store cuts. Fresh […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Featured News, Midwest
Family Fare Completes Major Remodel In St. Ignace, MI
The Family Fare in St. Ignace, Michigan, has completed its first comprehensive remodel in 25 years, modernizing a grocery destination that serves both the Upper Peninsula community and year-round residents of Mackinac Island. The transformation includes expanded fresh departments across dairy, meat and produce, refreshed bakery offerings and a full-service floral department. The store also […]