Thrive Market, a membership-based online grocer offering healthy foods and natural products at wholesale prices, is launching Thrive Market Meat & Seafood, a new line of proteins including beef, seafood and poultry. Thrive has partnered with small and midsize farmers and fishermen around the globe for this new product line. “Each partner shares in Thrive’s commitment […]
Category: West
The Shelby Report of the West covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
SCFRC Luncheon Panelists Prepare For The Future Of Frozen Foods
Earlier this year, the Southern California Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Council hosted a kick-off luncheon in Commerce, California, featuring an industry panel discussion on how to increase frozen and refrigerated food sales in 2018. Panelists included Jim Amen with Super A, Margie Bravo with Nestle USA, Rich Gillmore with Gelson’s, Chris Linskey with Super King, Mike […]
Fiji Water Targets Fitness Enthusiasts With New Sports Cap Bottle
Imported bottled water brand Fiji Water recently unveiled a new sports cap bottle featuring a flip-top cap and what the company describes as a slim and sleek design. The new bottle will begin hitting retail shelves soon and will be distributed nationwide in time for summer. “The Fiji Water sports cap bottle evolved out of […]
El Super To Acquire Fiesta Mart, Creating 122-Store Company
Bodega Latina Corp., doing business as El Super, a U.S. Hispanic grocer and a subsidiary of Grupo Comercial Chedraui, S.A.B. DE C.V., has agreed to acquire Fiesta Mart LLC. Fiesta, a portfolio company of ACON Investments LL, is a Texas-based international food retailer with an emphasis on the Hispanic segment, operating 63 stores primarily in […]
Recommended: Nearly 200 Cheeses Are Sold At Harmons Grocery Stores In Utah, And This 32-Year-Old Has Eaten Them All
Mariah Christensen has every cheese lover’s dream job — traveling, tasting and deciding which of the world’s cheddars, goudas and mozzarellas should be sold at Harmons Grocery Stores in Utah. The 32-year-old specialty cheese buyer is good at it, too. She recently was inducted into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, the French name for the […]
Ralphs President Valerie Jabbar Honored As West Woman Executive Of The Year
For her three decades in the grocery industry, her leadership abilities, her embracing of new challenges, her devotion to education and giving back in her career as well as her determination to keep her family life a priority—all of these reasons pointed to Valerie Jabbar as a worthy recipient of the Woman Executive of the […]
Smart & Final Stores Reports Strong Sales Despite 4Q Net Loss
Smart & Final Stores Inc. has released its financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2017. Highlights of the report include: Net sales increase of 6.7 percent to $1.07 billion, driven by comparable store sales increase of 3.2 percent. Online options for both business and household customers, including delivery or in-store pickup […]
Mi Pueblo Reemerges As Cardenas Markets Following Merger
Cardenas Markets LLC has completed the rebannering of 15 Mi Pueblo stores to Cardenas Markets following last year’s merger of the two Hispanic grocery chains. The rebannering began with the remodel of the Oakland, California, Mi Pueblo in December 2017. Today, the final two Mi Pueblo locations, in East Palo Alto and San Rafael, opened […]
Lucky Debuts First Ground-Up Lucky California Concept Store
Lucky Supermarkets today debuted the first all-new Lucky California grocery store in Dublin after the successful launch of its new concept stores in Daly City and Carmel. With a square footage of approximately 47,000, the all-new Lucky California grocery store is located on 2840 Dublin Boulevard in the Fallon Gateway shopping center off of 580. […]
SoCal Independent Barons Market Launches New Website
Barons Market, a family-owned grocery chain with seven stores in Southern California, has launched a new website with a more modern design, easy navigation and interactive elements that the company believes reflect the Barons Market shopping experience and the communities it serves. “Between our artisan olive oil and balsamic vinegar bar to a squeeze-it-yourself orange […]
Harmons Specialty Cheese Buyer Honored By International Organization
Mariah Christensen, a specialty cheese buyer for Harmons Neighborhood Grocer, was nominated and inducted into the Garde et Jure by the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, making her the second person in Utah to receive this honor. The Guilde is comprised of 6,000 members representing 35 countries and is dedicated to educating and maintaining knowledge and respect for the […]
Kenneth Olsen, Former Vons President & CEO, Passes Away At 99
Grocery industry veteran Kenneth Oscar “Ken” Olsen passed away peacefully on March 4 in the comfort of his Southern California home. He was 99. Born June 13, 1918 in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Olsen was the son of Norwegian immigrants Sophia Abrahamsen and Mikal Marcellus Olsen. He was enrolled at NYU when the war broke […]
Whole Foods Market 365 To Open First Long Beach Store April 25
Whole Foods Market 365 will open its first store in Long Beach, California, and eighth store nationwide on Wednesday, April 25. The 28,000-s.f. store at 3881 Lakewood Boulevard will be the third Whole Foods Market 365 in Southern California, joining Santa Monica and Silver Lake locations. All products sold in the store are free of […]
Former Haggen, Starbucks Exec Joins Albertsons As President, COO
Albertsons Cos. has appointed Jim Donald, former president and CEO of Starbucks, as its new president and chief operating officer (COO), effective immediately. “Donald is an experienced retail operator with extensive knowledge of Albertsons Cos., having previously held senior leadership roles at both Albertsons Inc. and Safeway Inc.,” the company says. Donald also served as […]
Impossible Foods Hires Creative Director Ahead Of Retail Launch
Impossible Foods, maker of the plant-based Impossible Burger, has hired creative veteran Sasha Markova as the company’s first executive creative director. Markova will lead Impossible Foods’ in-house creative team, which will manage all visual messaging across the brand’s channels. The move comes after Impossible Foods began producing burgers at its first full-scale production plant in […]
Recommended: Amazon Plans To Open As Many As Six More Go Stores This Year
Amazon’s much-heralded convenience store of the future, Amazon Go, may seem like a crazy experiment. But the company plans to open as many as six more of these storefronts this year, multiple people familiar with the company’s plans have told Recode. Some of the new high-tech stores are likely to open in Amazon’s hometown of […]
California Perspective: Strength Comes In Unity
by Ron Fong/president and CEO, California Grocers Association Have you ever stopped to closely look at a piece of rope? Like one, for example, used to tie a boat, or even a ship, to a dock? It can actually be a little shocking. Because if you did, you would see that the big, bulky, strong […]
Gelson’s Unveiling Three Remodeled Stores Next Week
Gelson’s will celebrate the grand reopenings of its Del Mar, La Costa/Carlsbad and Rancho Mirage, California, stores during the week of Feb. 19-25. Each remodeled store offers new amenities and will celebrate with samples, giveaways and special deals, including a 30 percent off six or more beer, wine or spirits sale, the Encino-based grocer said. […]
Mother’s Market Opening First Los Angeles-Area Store Saturday
Mother’s Market & Kitchen, a 40-year-old natural and organic food retailer with seven Orange County, California, stores, is hosting a grand opening for its first Los Angeles-area store in Signal Hill. The 13,000-s.f. store, located at 2475 Cherry Ave., will employ 100 associates. A public event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 10:00 a.m. […]
Local Food Banks Receive 3.7M Meals From Raley’s Holiday Bag Drive
This year’s Raley’s Food For Families holiday bag drive, which provides food for Northern California and Nevada families, culminated in a donation of 3,759,535 meals, representing a 29 percent increase vs. last year. The Raley’s Food For Families holiday bag drive, in its 31st year, is an initiative that takes place across Raley’s family of stores […]
