Save A Lot donated 103,656 bags of food to local charities through its annual Bags for a Brighter Holiday program, marking a 54 percent increase from the prior year’s effort. The St. Louis-based discount grocer announced the results Jan. 15, following a three-month donation campaign. Customers purchased pre-assembled food bags at Save A Lot stores […]
Category: National
2 Grocers Garner Top Employer Certification For Workplace Excellence
Lidl US and Ahold Delhaize USA have earned Top Employer certification for 2026, making them the only U.S.-based grocery retailers recognized by the Amsterdam-based Top Employers Institute for workplace excellence this year. The certifications acknowledge both companies’ human resources practices and organizational culture. The Top Employers Institute evaluates companies based on participation and results from […]
The Fresh Market To Open 7 New Stores
The Fresh Market has unveiled an investment plan of about $600 million for 2026, with seven new stores planned. The announcement came during Cencosud’s Cenco Day 2026 event, held for the first time in Buenos Aires, where Cencosud shared its outlook for the year ahead. For 2026, the company expects consolidated revenues of $18.4 billion […]
KeHE Adds Former Comcast President Steven A. White To Board
KeHE Distributors has appointed Steven A. White to its board of directors, effective Feb. 1. White brings extensive consumer packaged goods and distribution experience from leadership roles at PepsiCo and Colgate-Palmolive. He most recently served as president and special counsel to the CEO at Comcast, where he supported enterprise leadership development, digital equity initiatives and […]
FMI Names Shawgo To Lead Digital Transformation Strategy
FMI – The Food Industry Association has appointed Jennifer Shawgo senior director, technology strategy and programs, a new role designed to accelerate responsible digital transformation across the food retail sector. Shawgo, who brings two decades of cross-sector experience spanning distribution, software startups and association leadership, will lead programs, partnerships and member engagement connecting technology and […]
American Bakers Association Pledges To Phase Out Potassium Bromate
The American Bakers Association (ABA) has announced its new “Baked Goods Ingredient Pledge,” a voluntary industry commitment to complete the phase out of potassium bromate from baked goods across the United States. The initiative builds on the momentum of ABA’s previous voluntary commitments: the “Baked Goods in Schools Pledge” and the “Baked Goods FD&C Colors […]
Simbe Introduces Improved Tally 4.0 Shelf-Scanning Robot
Simbe has launched Tally 4.0, the fourth generation of its autonomous shelf-scanning robot, featuring up to 12 hours of runtime and enhanced computer vision capabilities powered by NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure. The San Francisco-based company announced the release Jan. 12, with units available to customers starting mid-2026. The new platform builds on a decade of deployments […]
SPINS Acquires MikMak To Expand Shopper Engagement
SPINS has acquired MikMak, a move the company said will expand its capabilities in shopper engagement, commerce intelligence and omnichannel activation across physical, digital and emerging agentic commerce environments. According to SPINS, the acquisition accelerates its ability to enable and measure shopper engagement throughout increasingly complex buying journeys. As consumers move between social media, digital […]
Kroger Announces Leadership Changes Across Divisions
As part of a strategy to strengthen management across key divisions, The Kroger Co. has appointed executives to a series of expanded retail leadership roles. The moves include promotions, role transitions and planned retirements among long-tenured officials. “Victor Smith, Monica Garnes, Kendra Doyel and Ken DeLuca are strong leaders with decades of experience, and I […]
FMI, NGA Back Reintroduced Credit Card Competition Act
Grocery industry trade associations are renewing calls for credit card swipe fee reform following the reintroduction of the Credit Card Competition Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing competition in the marketplace and reducing costs for merchants and consumers. The National Grocers Association (NGA) and FMI – The Food Industry Association voiced support for the bill’s […]
NIQ, Kodiak Expand Partnership With Retail Measurement Agreement
NIQ, a global measurement and data analytics company, and Kodiak Cakes, a maker of whole grain and high-protein foods, have begun a new retail measurement agreement designed to help drive growth in the breakfast category by leveraging insights into consumer behavior and retail performance trends. The partnership builds on both companies’ commitment to supporting category […]
Kroger Reveals Top 6 Food Trend Predictions For 2026
The Kroger Co. has shared its top six food trend predictions for 2026, forecasting emerging customer behaviors and anticipated popular products for the year ahead. Developed by Kroger’s team of food experts, the list is intended to spotlight flavors and formats likely to resonate with shoppers in the months to come. “The way our customers […]
PLMA Expands SalesStar Partnership With New Online Training Tracks
The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) has expanded its partnership with SalesStar to deliver a new suite of online training programs tailored to private brand manufacturers, brokers and suppliers. The expanded offering includes three cohort-based curricula – Mastering Enterprise Sales, Account Management and Category Leadership – designed to strengthen capabilities across key stages of the […]
Aldi To Open 180 Stores In 2026, Enter Maine
Aldi U.S. plans to open more than 180 stores by the end of 2026, as the grocer begins its 50th year in the U.S. The Batavia, Illinois-based retailer also is sharing a look into its growth plans over the next five years, including entering Maine, continued growth in Southeast and West and plans to open […]
Toast Enhances Retail Capabilities With AI-Powered Insights, Tools
Toast has introduced a suite of updates designed to deliver precision insights, actionable recommendations and operational efficiency for retailers using its commerce technology, including enhanced capabilities within the Toast IQ AI assistant. The latest platform enhancements, showcased for retail operators ahead of the 2026 National Retail Federation (NRF) Show, add new AI-driven features enabling retailers to […]
Kroger Scales Generative AI Strategy With Google Cloud
The Kroger Co. has expanded its relationship with Google Cloud to support a shopping transformation using the technology company’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience solution. Under the expansion, Kroger will roll out Gemini Enterprise for CX nationwide to help make grocery planning easier through an integrated meal assistant and shopping assistant, providing faster shopping without […]
Elo To Debut Retail Solutions At NRF 2026
Elo, now part of Zebra Technologies, will introduce three new products at NRF 2026 Jan. 12-14 in booth No. 5803 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The new self-checkout, edge computing, payment and data entry solutions are designed to elevate experiences and improve efficiency across retail, hospitality and grocery workflows. […]
INFRA Shares Executive Leadership Promotions To Support Growth
INFRA, a nationwide purchasing cooperative of independent natural food retailers and a leader in the natural foods industry, has shared two executive leadership promotions, reflecting the organization’s continued growth and deepened focus on serving its members. Danelle Rydel has been promoted to chief of member operations, while Jen LaValley has been promoted to CFO. “These […]
Avocados From Mexico Projects 2.5B Pounds For 2025-26 Season
Avocados From Mexico is projecting a record-breaking 2.5 billion pounds of Mexican avocado imports to the U.S. during the 2025-26 season, marking the highest volume Mexico has ever supplied to the U.S. market. The organization said about 280 million pounds of Mexican avocados are projected to be available for the Big Game alone, another record-setting […]
NCR Voyix Unveils AI-Accelerated Suite Of Applications
NCR has introduced a new AI-accelerated suite of applications designed to enhance its Voyix Commerce Platform, leveraging artificial intelligence to help retailers improve customer engagement, streamline operations and drive incremental revenue. The expanded suite integrates large language models and machine learning into core commerce functions, enabling retailers to deliver more personalized experiences across digital and […]
