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 […]
Category: Midwest
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
