Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods, the world’s largest chocolate maker and biscuit baker, is making the holidays around the world even sweeter this year with seasonal biscuits and chocolates, in addition to annual favorites. “People around the world eagerly await the special chocolates, cookies, crackers and other products we make only for the Christmas and New […]
Category: National
Posted in, National
Retail Trade Group Ups Holiday Sales Forecast, Expects Record Spending
The National Retail Federation has raised its holiday sales forecast, saying it now expects holiday sales to increase 3.8 percent this season to a record $469.1 billion. The NRF had previously forecast on Oct. 6 that holiday sales would increase just 2.8 percent, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The increase would come after […]
Posted in, Corporate Store News, National
Kroger To Merge Four Pension Funds
In a move expected to reduce Kroger Co.’s annual pension contribution expense and secure pension benefits for more than 65,000 employees, the Cincinnati-based grocer will merge four of the UFCW/multi-employer pension funds into a new fund Jan. 1, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. Kroger expects to contribute about $650 million to the new […]
Posted in, National
Report: MyPlate Icon a Sharp Contrast to What’s Actually on Our Plates
The nutritionally-balanced quadrants of the USDA’s MyPlate, the graphic interpretation of the new federal dietary guidelines that depicts a healthful daily diet, looks very different than what’s actually on the plates of most Americans, according to The NPD Group, a market research company. NPD’s food and beverage market research finds that, for the average consumer, […]
Posted in, National, West
WFIA Recognizes Grocery Industry’s 2011 Standouts
The Washington Food Industry Association (WFIA) recently honored its annual grocery industry award winners. The WFIA awards were voted on by the association’s full membership, then presented by President Jan Gee on behalf of the Washington state grocery industry to three top leaders in the following categories: Grocer of the Year, Kevin Stormans of Stormans […]
Posted in, National, New Products
Seajoy introduces new retail ready line of premium shrimp
The Seajoy Group, a vertically integrated farm-raised shrimp producer in Latin America, has introduced its new branded Seajoy® retail ready line of premium Pacific white shrimp. The new line, which includes both all-natural and organic shrimp, comes in 1-, 2- and 5-lb. resealable bags. Seajoy Pacific white shrimp are prized for their size, clean taste […]
Posted in, National, Suppliers
Kraft Research Details the Company’s Effects On Climate
Kraft Foods shared results on Dec. 14 of a pioneering survey that measured its impact on climate change, land and water use. The multi-year foot printing project — in partnership with Quantis Inc. and reviewed and analyzed by World Wildlife Fund and notable academics at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment — goes […]
Posted in, National
Hy-Vee CEO Ric Jurgens Announces Plans to Retire
Hy-Vee Chairman and CEO Ric Jurgens announced to stockholders at Hy-Vee’s annual meeting on Dec. 14 that he plans to retire from the West Des Moines, Iowa-based company effective June 1. Jurgens, 62, has been Hy-Vee’s top officer since 2006. A 42-year veteran of the company, he began his career as a part-time employee in […]