The 34th Annual Giant Barbecue Battle will take place June 27-28 between 3rd and 7th streets on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., featuring world-class barbecue, international flavors, celebrity chefs, live music and activities for all ages. Recognized by the U.S. Congress as the Official National Barbecue Championship, the event ranks as one of the country’s […]
Category: News
PWADC Food Show To Feature New Products, Education Sessions
Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co. (PWADC) is heading into its May food show and aims to build on recent gains in show performance, private label, fresh and digital participation. Tod Seiling, who joined PWADC as chief merchandising officer in October 2025 after executive roles with Lidl US and Save A Lot, said the co-op has […]
5WPR Index Finds Costco Tops AI Citation Rankings, Walmart Trails
Costco emerged atop 5WPR’s 2026 U.S. Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index, the first to rank U.S. grocers by how frequently they are cited inside artificial intelligence-generated answers. The warehouse club retailer was cited most often when American shoppers ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews where to buy their groceries. Trader Joe’s ranked second, […]
Upside Report Reveals A Growing Income Divide In Consumer Spending
Upside’s new report “The Income Divide” reveals that high- and low-income consumers are making fundamentally different decisions about where and how much to spend. The findings, drawn from more than 10 billion transactions and surveys of 3,500-plus shoppers, show consumer behavior splits sharply at $75,000 in household income. Above that threshold, consumers report increased spending […]
Sprouts To Open New Market In Santa Maria, CA
Sprouts Farmers Market will open a new store May 15 at 2170 S. Bradley Road in Santa Maria, California. “The city of Santa Maria is excited for the opening of Sprouts as it is a business that many of our residents look forward to having within our community,” said Mayor Alice Patino. “Sprouts is a wonderful […]
Independent Natural Food Co-op INFRA Tops 400 Members
The Independent Natural Food Retailers Association (INFRA) has surpassed 400 member stores in more than 650 communities nationwide. In addition, the association reached $3.4 billion in representative sales in 2025 and continues to lead the natural channel in dollar sales growth, at 8 percent year over year from 2024-25. Pat Sheridan, INFRA president and CEO, […]
Giant Food Celebrates Grand Reopenings In VA, MD
Giant Food celebrated a milestone day May 8, with back-to-back grand reopening ceremonies at remodeled stores in Vienna, Virginia, and Germantown, Maryland. The events mark not only an investment in the company’s physical footprint but also the grocer’s 90th anniversary. “Since opening our first store as the region’s very first self-service supermarket, we recognize that […]
Fresh Del Monte Names Pittsburgh As New Hub For Foods Division
Del Monte Foods Inc., a division of Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., reaffirmed its long connection to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by making the city its central hub. The announcement comes after Fresh Del Monte recently acquired Del Monte Foods, which will continue operating there. “Pittsburgh has been an important part of our story for more than […]
