FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., plans to step down at the end of March following six years as commissioner of the organization. The FDA’s chief scientist, Dr. Stephen Ostroff, will serve as acting commissioner following her departure. Hamburg did not cite a reason for leaving. In a letter to colleagues, Hamburg said, “As you […]
Category: National
P&G Building State-Of-The-Art Manufacturing Plant In West Virginia
The Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) will build a multi-category manufacturing facility in Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the eastern panhandle of the state near the town of Tabler Station. When the plant opens in 2017, it will be one of the most advanced and sustainable plants among P&G’s global manufacturing and supply chain operations, the […]
The J.M. Smucker Co. Makes Executive Appointments
The J.M. Smucker Co. has made a series of key executive promotions designed to position the Ohio-based company for continued growth and success following the recently announced planned acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands, which is expected to be completed by the end of the company’s fiscal year in April 2015. The company’s board of […]
Aptaris, Accelitec Partner To Bring Enterprise Marketing And Promotions Management To POS
Aptaris, an enterprise marketing and promotions management provider, and Accelitec, a provider of cloud-based digital and mobile marketing solutions, are partnering to deliver services that provide marketers with greater ability to identify consumer behavior and act on opportunities to drive profitability. The arrangement will allow marketers and merchandisers to use Aptaris’ enterprise marketing and promotions […]
Debunking Myth Of ‘Typical’ Hispanic Food Shopper Key To Market Growth For Grocers
While Hispanic food shoppers offer a rich opportunity for food marketers and retailers, they also present a potentially bewildering set of challenges. As highlighted in the “Hispanic Food Shoppers in the U.S.” report from market research publisher Packaged Facts, the in-store behavior of Hispanic food shoppers is the product of a complex interplay among a […]
Snyder’s-Lance Names New Better-For-You Division Clearview Foods, Appoints GM
Snyder’s-Lance Inc.’s new division that will focus on developing innovative and better-for-you snacking options now has a name: Clearview Foods. The division will concentrate its efforts on growing the Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, Eat Smart and Late July Organic Snacks products, according to Charlotte, North Carolina-based Snyder’s-Lance, which first announced the new division last year. […]
Supervalu To Host 2015 National Sales Show In August
Following the success of its inaugural national sales show last year, Supervalu Inc. says it will host the 2015 National Expo in August in St. Paul, Minnesota. This year’s event will be held Aug. 11-13 at the RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul and is open to the more than 2,000 independent retail customers served by […]
Whole Foods, Instacart Offer New One-Hour Valentine’s Floral Delivery
For the first time ever, and exclusively from Whole Foods Market, Instacart is offering Valentine’s flowers delivered in as little as one hour across 15 major U.S. cities. With prices starting at approximately $25 and the ability to include other romantic essentials from Whole Foods Market, this new model offers a more convenient and affordable […]
Wegmans Unseats Amazon To Claim Top Corporate Reputation Ranking
Rochester, New York-based grocer Wegmans Food Markets, with 85 stores and one-tenth of Amazon’s revenues, edged past the online retailer to reach the top spot for corporate reputation among the 100 most visible companies, according to the 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient (RQ) study. Ranking third on the list, Samsung outperformed all other technology […]
RedLine Solutions To Host Second Installment Of ‘Traceability For Dummies’ Webinar
RedLine Solutions, a leader in produce traceability and inventory solutions, will host the second part of its “Traceability For Dummies” webinar series titled “The New Era of Traceability Part 2: The Produce Traceability Model” at 2 p.m. (ET) Feb. 25. The webinar will focus on the accelerating evolution of produce traceability, including how automated traceability systems […]
Nominations Now Being Accepted For United Fresh’s Retail Produce Manager Awards
The United Fresh Produce Association is now accepting nominations for the 2015 United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. The program will honor 25 outstanding retail produce managers at the United Fresh 2015 convention June 8-10 in Chicago, Illinois. Nomination forms may be accessed online and must be received by March 16, 2015. The Retail […]
Frieda’s: Asian Food Trend Can Be Boon For Biz As Chinese New Year Holiday Approaches
Authentic Asian flavors are among the top food trends of 2015, and there’s no better time to introduce Asian specialties to shoppers and diners than during the Chinese New Year celebration. That’s according to Los Alamitos, California-based Frieda’s Specialty Produce, which says it is offering retailers a number of Asian specialities to help businesses boost sales […]
Conference Has Helped Students Become ‘Industry Ready’ For 50 Years
Celebrating its 50th annual Food Marketing Conference, Western Michigan University (WMU) continues to make an impact in retail through its graduates who help build the consumer loyalty that retailers strive for each day. Retail is one of the most exciting and challenging areas in today’s marketplace. Providing the intersection between product and consumer, successful innovation […]
Albertsons, Safeway Complete Merger; Combined Co. To Operate 2,230 Stores
Albertsons and Safeway on Friday said that they have completed their proposed merger. Under the terms of the agreement first announced and unanimously approved by Safeway’s board of directors in March 2014, Albertsons will acquire all outstanding shares of Safeway. The deal is valued at approximately $9.2 billion. The merger creates a company that has 2,230 […]
Sprouts Recognized By Supply Chain Solutions Provider As Innovator Of The Year
iTradeNetwork, a provider of supply chain solutions for the food service and retail industries, has honored Sprouts Farmers Market with its Innovator of the Year Award for Supply Chain Technology. The Phoenix, Arizona-based grocers was recognized for its visionary contributions shaping the breakthrough new iTrade store order management solution, scheduled for general release later this […]
Campbell Soup Co. Shakes Up Divisions, Leadership
Campbell Soup Co. plans to implement a new enterprise structure that the New Jersey-based company says will align the organization’s business operations with its core growth strategies. Under the new design, Campbell’s businesses will be organized and managed in three divisions structured principally by product categories rather than by geographies or brand groups. Each division […]
Sales Of Local Foods Reach $12B
Like organic products before them, locally produced foods are stepping out of the shadow of their once “quirky niche” designation to claim a much more prominent—and permanent—place in the U.S. food and beverage retail-scape. Market research publisher Packaged Facts estimates that local foods generated $12 billion in sales in 2014, accounting for 2 percent of total […]
Millennials Come In All Shapes And Sizes…And Have Varied Shopping Habits
Millennials are, without a doubt, one of today’s most influential demographic groups when it comes to marketing. The reason so much attention has been given to this group of 18- to 34-year-olds is because of sheer numbers: There are about 74.3 million of them, or about 30 percent of the U.S. adult population. With numbers […]
Bob Aiken Resigns As CEO Of Feeding America
Bob Aiken has decided to resign as CEO of Chicago-based Feeding America, effective June 30. “While we regret Bob’s decision, we support it,” said Jan Pruitt, chair of the Feeding America board of directors. “We appreciate the strategic focus that Bob brought to the role and the momentum he created to realize our vision of […]
IDDBA’s ‘What’s In Store 2015’: Online Grocery Shopping, Delivery Options On The Rise
Online grocers are projected to account for 11 percent of food purchases by 2025, according to Nielsen and Booz and Co., a trend that illustrates the continued emergence of online and mobile channels where consumers can shop and schedule pick-up or delivery of their orders right from their internet-connected devices. This and dozens of other […]
