How can an independent grocer succeed in an increasingly crowded e-commerce market? For St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Coborn’s, the winning formula includes boosting its e-commerce investment, differentiating from competitors, training delivery drivers to engage consumers and even making friends with customers’ dogs. Recent National Grocers Association (NGA) research underscored the importance of boosting e-commerce strategies. The […]
Category: Whole Foods
Whole Foods Market, founded in 1980 by John Mackey, Renee Lawson Hardy, Craig Weller, and Mark Skiles, originated in Austin, Texas. As a pioneer in the natural and organic foods movement, the brand has evolved into one of the world’s leading retailers of natural and organic foods.
The company’s business model revolves around offering high-quality, responsibly sourced products that promote health and well-being. The brand distinguishes itself by maintaining strict quality standards, including bans on artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives in its products. With a commitment to sustainability, the chain supports local farmers and suppliers, prioritizing organic and non-GMO options whenever possible. Whole Foods Market operates over 500 locations across North America and the United Kingdom.
Report: Grocery E-Commerce Growing, But 97% Of CPG Dollars Still Spent In Store
Since the first modern-day supermarket opened nearly a century ago, there had been little change in the grocery retail space—at least until recently with the emerging popularity of e-commerce. While other online retail had seen growth early on, the trend took longer to make its mark on grocery, as new research and insights from Acosta show that […]
Roche Bros. Joins Other Grocers In Unata’s ‘Unified’ Shopping Experience
Roche Bros. has joined three other retailers, including Lunds & Byerlys, in Unata’s omni-commerce strategy called Unata’s Unified Experience. The Unified Experience interconnects three distinct types of shopping modes—in-store list-planning, delivery and click and collect—into one experience. According to Unata, most retailers have these experiences split among different websites. Unata’s Unified Experience prompts shoppers to select their desires, after which […]
Harry Blazer: Reflections On The Proposed Whole Foods Purchase By Amazon
Harry Blazer founded Harry’s Farmers Market in the Atlanta area in 1987, opening in Alpharetta. Two others later opened in metro counties Cobb and Gwinnett. Whole Food Market purchased the three Harry’s megastores in October 2001 as well as a distribution center, commissary kitchen, bakehouse and office facilities. Today, Blazer is a consultant ([email protected]). Here […]
Amazon To Open Fulfillment Center In Fresno, California
Amazon said June 2 that it will open its first fulfillment center in Fresno, California. The Seattle-based online retailer said the center will “continue its growth in California’s Central Valley” and create 1,500 new full-time jobs. The Fresno center will be Amazon’s fifth fulfillment center in the Central Valley, with three operating fulfillment centers located […]
Bud’s Best Cookies Founder Inducted Into Baking Hall Of Fame
Albert L. “Bud” Cason, founder and chairman of Birmingham, Alabama-based Bud’s Best Cookies, was inducted into the Baking Hall of Fame by the American Society of Baking (ASB) during BakeTech2017 in Chicago Feb. 26-28. The award recognizes industry innovation and entrepreneurial spirit as well as organizational growth and development, equipment design and innovation, advancements in […]
Longtime Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream CEO Dies At 74
Mr. T. Gary Rogers, former longtime chairman and CEO of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, passed away May 2. He was 74. He died doing what he loved, playing tennis at his home in Oakland, California, according to his obituary. Mr. Rogers was the chairman and CEO of Oakland-based Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream for 30 years. […]
Two New Stores In The Works For PCC Natural Markets
Seattle-based PCC Natural Markets, the largest community-owned food market in the U.S., has two new stores on the drawing board. The first, in Burien, Washington, is expected to open in early 2018. The approximately 20,000-s.f. unit will be located in Five Corners Shopping Center at 15840 1st Avenue South and bring about 100 jobs to […]
Supermarkets Rank Tops For Customer Experience
Publix, H-E-B and Hannaford deliver the best customer experience in the supermarket industry. That’s according to the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers. This year, supermarkets earned the two highest scores in the entire Ratings. With a score of 84 percent, Publix not […]
Who Is Most Likely To Grocery Shop Online?
Although online grocery shoppers can be found across all demographic groups, they are more likely to be younger men, age 18-44, according to a recent report on online grocery shopping by The NPD Group. Amazon Prime members and young adults are other groups more likely to grocery shop online, finds “The Virtual Grocery Store” report. The […]
Key Trends Shaping The Future Of Grocery Retailing
The U.S. food retailing business has never been more competitive, and there are a number of trends putting pressure on food retailers of all stripes—from supermarkets whose bread and butter is groceries to supercenters and drugstores for which food is a smaller but still crucial part of the product mix. That’s according to “The Future of […]
Rosie To Serve As First Online Grocery Shopping Platform For Independents To Accept EBT/SNAP Payments
by Lorrie Griffith/editor-in-chief Independent grocers that use e-commerce provider Rosie’s app soon will be able to allow their shoppers to shop online and pay for SNAP-eligible items at-store using their EBT benefits. Jon Ambrose, co-founder and COO of Rosie, told The Shelby Report at his company’s booth at the recent NGA Show that Rosie has […]
Hispanic Markets Abound, Reflect Diversity Of Dallas-Fort Worth Metro
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Southwest The population of Dallas-Fort Worth hit 7.3 million in mid-January. That is one million more people than were counted in the 2010 U.S. Census. The number also includes nearly a half-million unauthorized immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. It found that most of the 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants living in the […]
Online Grocery And Jet.com Help Fuel Walmart’s E-Commerce Jump
Online grocery helped Walmart U.S. record a big jump in its e-commerce business during the fiscal 2017 fourth quarter. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant posted its financial results for the quarter Tuesday and reported strong e-commerce growth as sales and gross merchandise volume increased 29.0 and 36.1 percent, respectively—including Jet.com and online grocery. Walmart purchased […]
Larkin Outlines Top 3 Hot Topics Among NGA Show Attendees
The Shelby Report’s Editor-in-Chief Lorrie Griffith sat down with National Grocers Association (NGA) President and CEO Peter Larkin at the NGA Show in Las Vegas in earlier this month, which turned out to be the show’s seventh consecutive year of record-breaking attendance—more than 3,400—including a record level of retailer and wholesaler participants. The Expo floor […]
Rosie Will Serve As First Online Grocery Platform For Independents To Accept SNAP Payments
Participants in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will soon have a new, convenient way to shop and pay for their groceries. At The NGA Show, happening now in Las Vegas, Rosie announced that independent grocers using its e-commerce app can now offer customers the ability to shop online and pay for SNAP-eligible items at-store using […]
Ridley’s Family Markets Partners With Digital Foodie To Offer On-Demand Ordering
Jerome, Idaho-based Ridley’s Family Markets, which operates nearly three-dozen stores in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, has deployed Digital Foodie’s on-demand platform. The new service will include branded websites and mobile applications that provide personalized shopping experiences for customers across the retailer’s Mountain West footprint. Ridley’s also will put Digital Foodie’s picking and fulfillment tools […]
NPD Group Says ‘Millions’ Will Increase Their Virtual Shopping This Year
The internet is quickly becoming the virtual grocery store for many U.S. consumers with 52 million currently grocery shopping online, finds a new study from The NPD Group, a Chicago-based global information company. According to the report, 20 million consumers who are current, lapsed or new to online grocery shopping plan to increase their virtual […]
The Dakotas 2017 Market Profile
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest North Dakota Grocers Association has a new president with deep roots John “Jiggs” Dyste began his role as president of the North Dakota Grocers Association (NDGA) on Jan. 1. But his experience with the organization goes back many years. He served on its board of directors for more than 15 years. He […]
Millennials And The Marketplace
by Caroline Brindle/Special to The Shelby Report My friends and I often are asked for the “Millennial perspective.” So here are some of my observations. We love glamour, but have tiny paychecks. We put out lots of social media posts, but crave genuine relationships. We have our sights set on success, but don’t want to […]
