The California Grocers Association Educational Foundation (CGAEF) hosted its annual industry golf tournament Wednesday at Twin Palms golf course in City of Industry. Desmond Howard, 1991 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Michigan, was the special guest. Howard also was the Super Bowl XXXI Green Bay Packers MVP in 1997 after he returned a […]
Category: National
Posted in, Executive News, National
Chobani Adds Two To Executive Lineup
Chobani Inc. has appointed David Denholm as president and COO, effective July 29, and Peter McGuinness as chief marketing and brand officer, effective July 22. The company says the addition of these two executive leaders signals a continued focus on growing the business and the momentum behind the Chobani brand, which has reached more than […]
Posted in, National
House Approves Farm Bill Without SNAP
Passed by a 216-208 vote Thursday, the Farm Bill contains many of the same farm-related programs as the previous bill that failed in June, but it omits the nutrition title. The nutrition title includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other food assistance programs. Assistance organizations, including Feeding America and Bread for the World, […]
Posted in, Executive News, National
Shoppers President Leaves Company After Less Than A Year
Shoppers President Bob Bly has decided to leave the company to pursue new career opportunities. Supervalu, the Bowie, Md.-based chain’s parent company, made the announcement today. Bly was appointed president of Shoppers in August 2012. Prior to joining Supervalu, he was a VP for Sears Holdings Co. Bob Gleeson, VP of merchandising, and Micky Nye, VP […]
Posted in, Executive News, National
P&G Exec Flannery Joins GMA’s Senior Leadership Team
Jim Flannery has been appointed senior executive VP of operations and industry affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). “I am pleased that Jim Flannery is joining the GMA team,” says Pamela G. Bailey, president and CEO of GMA. “Given his life-long experience and success in the consumer packaged goods industry, and his in-depth knowledge […]
Posted in, Center Store, National
Survey: Canned Foods Stocked In 98 Percent Of Americans’ Kitchens
A new survey commissioned by Cans Get You Cooking, a program of the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), reveals that for a majority of Americans, a home-cooked meal means turning to their pantry—or “Cantry.” Ninety-eight percent of Americans currently have canned foods in their kitchens, with the average pantry stocked with 24 cans. Canned corn is […]
Posted in, National
United Fresh Launches Wholesaler-Distributor Operations Survey
United Fresh has rolled out the Wholesaler-Distributor Operations Benchmarking Survey, designed to assist wholesalers and distributors in measuring the effectiveness of their warehouse management, transportation fleets and overall operations. “The Wholesaler-Distributor Board put a great deal of effort into developing this survey,” said Ron Carkoski, United Fresh chairman-elect, past chairman of the Wholesaler-Distributor Board and […]
Posted in, National
ROFDA Adopts Recall InfoLink Solution
The Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates (ROFDA), the largest cooperative of independent food wholesalers, is now using a recall process management technology from Recall InfoLink. The Recall InfoLink solution has been successfully deployed at ROFDA members Affiliated Foods of Amarillo, Associated Grocers-Baton Rouge, Olean Wholesale Grocers and Associated Grocers of the South. Other members […]
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Compton Named To Crossmark Board Of Directors
Crossmark, a leading sales and marketing services company in the consumer goods industry, has named John Compton to its board of directors to serve along with principals of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm. Compton spent most of his career as a senior executive at PepsiCo, most recently serving as president of PepsiCo. […]
Posted in, Equipment & Technology, National
GE Rolls Out New Open Deck LED Solution For Food Retail
GE Lighting says grocery and convenience store owners now have an extra-appetizing lighting solution for open deck cases that delivers a quick payback without sacrificing performance: GE’s Immersion RH30 LED lighting system. GE’s new Immersion LED lighting system attracts customers by making food packages shine with crisp LED light, the company says. The refrigerated display […]
Posted in, National
Teeter Shoppers Take To Social Media To Vent Frustration Over Kroger Deal
Social media outlets are abuzz with commentary about the announcement made Tuesday that The Kroger Co. plans to purchase Harris Teeter Supermarkets for approximately $2.5 billion. All the chatter, much of it negative, even led Harris Teeter President and COO Fred Morganthall to issue a message of reassurance to the company’s customers. “While details are still […]
Posted in, National
Report: Fruit, Vegetable Consumption Falls In U.S. And Western Europe
Consumption of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. and Western Europe is reportedly on the decline. In a new report published by Rabobank’s food and agribusiness research and advisory team, the bank says despite efforts by governments to promote the benefits of a healthy diet consumption of fruit and vegetables in Western Europe and the […]
Posted in, National
Grocery And Restaurant Competition Heats Up
More grocery stores are going beyond free samples and adding restaurants, bars and other eateries to their stores to encourage consumer dollars. The Hartman Group finds that competition between restaurants and grocery stores will continue to grow as supermarkets edge in on the foodservice industry. Serving food and drinks to consumers encourages spending at the […]
Posted in, National
Summer Fancy Food Show Highlights Food Trends
Bacon might finally move out of the spotlight to make way for kale pops, chia pods and simmer sauces with global flavors—just some of the trends spotted at the 59th Summer Fancy Food Show in New York. The show was held June 30-July 2 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The show is the […]
Posted in, National, Suppliers
General Mills Unveiling Gobal Lineup Of 200 Products
General Mills executives today will share the company’s new product innovation plans during the company’s annual Investor Day meeting at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). “Product innovation is the fuel that creates category growth,” says Ken Powell, chairman and CEO of General Mills. “We have a robust new product plan, with more than 200 […]
Posted in, National, Suppliers
Flowers Receives Approval To Acquire Hostess Bread Brands, Bakeries
Flowers Foods Inc. confirms that it has received regulatory approval pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act to acquire the Wonder, Nature’s Pride, Merita, Home Pride and Butternut bread brands; 20 bakeries; and 36 depots from Old HB Inc., formerly known as Hostess Brands. Thomasville, Ga.-based Flowers expects to complete the transaction in the coming weeks. In […]
Posted in, National, Store News
Report: Walmart Says It’s Winning Ad War With Publix
It’s been about a year since Walmart began running television and print ads in Florida directly targeting Publix shoppers. The ads, as the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports, promise that shoppers can compare their receipts from Publix to the same items on sale at Walmart to find a savings. And reports indicate that Walmart believes […]
Posted in, National
Target’s Co-Founder, First President Dies At 88
Mr. Douglas James Dayton, who led the transformation of his family’s department store into Target Corp., lost a long battle with cancer Friday. He was 88 years old. The Associated Press reports that Mr. Dayton was the youngest of George Nelson Dayton’s five sons who took over the family’s downtown Minneapolis department store from their […]
Posted in, Marketing News, National
Champion Skiier Randall To Promote Alaska Seafood
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has tapped Nordic skiing World Champion Kikkan Randall to help it promote the health and fitness benefits of Alaska seafood. “Kikkan Randall is the perfect fit as an ambassador for Alaska Seafood,” says Mike Cerne, executive director of ASMI, a public-private partnership between the state of Alaska and the […]
Posted in, Guest Contributors, National
A Difficult Personnel Decision Some Executives Can’t Make
The recent series of events that led to the termination of Rutgers University’s head basketball coach, Mike Rice, brought to the forefront an issue faced by many executives. For those of you that missed the story, Coach Rice was secretly filmed conducting what for him was a typical practice. The issue was that for Coach […]