The Fresh Produce & Floral Council hosted its Southern California membership luncheon Wednesday at the Sheraton Cerritos in Cerritos, Calif. In the featured photo at top are John Castillo of IFO Systems N.A. and Sean McClure of Ready Pac. Find more event photos here.
Tag: Grocery
Posted in, National, Store News
Delhaize To Cut 500 Jobs, 33 Sweetbays Closing Sooner Than Expected
Delhaize America is cutting about 350 corporate jobs and also eliminating 150 open positions as part of reorganization. The Salisbury Post reports that Delhaize America, parent company of Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion, notified workers via email Tuesday of the impending layoffs, with all the cuts coming above the store-manager level, according to the report. Sweetbay […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, Midwest
Niemann Foods To Acquire Four Hickman IGA Stores
Jim Hickman, president of Hickman’s IGA, and Rich Niemann Jr., president and CEO of Niemann Foods Inc. (NFI), an associate-owned company that operates under the County Market and several other retail banners, jointly announced Monday the signing of a purchase agreement for NFI to acquire four Hickman stores. The stores are located in Mexico, Vandalia, […]
Posted in, National, Southwest
GMO Food-Labeling Bill In New Mexico Voted Down
A New Mexico Senate bill that would have changed food-labeling practices has died on the Senate floor. Albuquerque Business First reports that Senate Bill 18, which would have required companies to label genetically modified food as such, was voted down late last week when the Senate voted not to adopt a committee report. “Even though […]
Posted in, National, New Products
Cool Whip Rolls Out New Frosting
The Cool Whip brand, long known for its Whipped Topping, is introducing a new line of whipped and easy-to-spread frosting available in three varieties—chocolate, cream cheese and vanilla. “We know moms aren’t happy with shelf-stable frosting because it is too sweet, too thick or really difficult to apply without damaging the cakes or other baked […]
Posted in, Grocery News, National
Kraft Foods Sues Cracker Barrel Over Product Sales
Kraft Foods is suing Lebanon, Tenn.-based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store over its decision to begin selling some of its products in grocery stores. The Nashville Business Journal reports that, according to court documents, Kraft wants a marketing agreement between Cracker Barrel and John Morrell Food Group to be voided because it believes it violates […]
Posted in, Industry News, National
Study: Majority Of Grocery Shoppers Will Pay A Premium For Local Food
Global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney has released a report entitled, “Buying into the Local Food Movement,” a consumer study that assessed how shoppers make decisions about buying local vs. non-local food. The study results clearly show that local food is a trend that consumers have embraced. Across a variety of measures, consumers indicated that […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, Southeast
J&J Foods Transforms Dahlonega, Ga., Store Into Cost-Plus Format
by Kristen Cloud/staff writer J&J Foods, based in Gainesville, Ga., has kicked off 2013 with a new banner. On Dec. 3, the three-store operator opened Fresh n’ Frugal in Dahlonega after converting its former J&J store into the cost-plus format—which uses the store’s at-cost price as the shelf price and adds 10 percent on the […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, West
Stater Bros. Partners With Heart, Stroke Association For Campaign
Stater Bros. Charities is teaming up once again with The American Heart and American Stroke Association (AHA) for the 12th year of the “Have a Heart, Save a Heart” campaign to raise awareness and funds to fight heart disease and stroke, America’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers, respectively. Last year’s Stater Bros. “Have a […]
Posted in, Midwest, Store News
Super Saver Store At Lincoln’s Fallbrook MarketPlace Opening Next Week
A brighter, more open look will greet shoppers when they visit the Super Saver store at Lincoln’s Fallbrook MarketPlace development in Nebraska. The new store, which opens at 8 a.m.Wednesday, Feb. 6, is located near the intersection of Nebraska Highway 34 and Fallbrook Boulevard in the Fallbrook MarketPlace retail development. With the opening, parent company […]
Posted in, Midwest, National
Familiar Face Fills New Position At IGIA
The Iowa Grocery Industry Association (IGIA), a state trade association that represents the food industry including chain and independent supermarkets, convenience stores, mass merchandisers, wholesalers, brokers, manufacturers and distributors, has added an events and education manager to its staff. While the position is new, the person filling it is no stranger to the association. Jordan […]
Posted in, Southeast, Store News
Kroger Opens In Griffin, Ga.; Hosts Re-Opening At Store In Athens
Kroger’s new 94,000-s.f. store —which brings approximately 180 new jobs to Griffin, Ga., as well as an array of products, amenities and services—opened at 1524 Hwy. 16 West on Jan. 23. The new Kroger features a fuel center, Starbucks, expanded deli department, bistro and sushi bar, full-service meat/seafood department, floral department, expanded Natures Market, drive-thru […]
Posted in, Amazon Fresh, Beverage News, Center Store, Northeast, Whole Foods
Activate Rolls Out In N.Y. With Distribution At Food Emporium, Fairway
Activate, the nutrient-enhanced line of water beverages, and creators of the fresh twist cap technology that stores vitamins separately from the water, has announced its 2013 distribution roll out to leading New York City retailers, including Food Emporium and Fairway. After a successful 2012 with high double-digit growth through West Coast and national distribution, the […]
Posted in, Center Store, Southwest
New Mexico Food Distributors Ready To Enter Retail Tortilla Market
New Mexico Food Distributors Inc. plans to enter the retail tortilla market by spring, Albuquerque Business First reports. Although the company has some chile products and other foods in stores already, the bulk of its business comes from working with outside customers and preparing foods for major distributors and institutional clients. But majority partner Larry […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, Midwest
Spartan Stores Signs Distribution Agreement With Chief Super Market
Spartan Stores Inc., a leading regional grocery distributor and retailer, has entered into a distribution agreement with Chief Super Market Inc., under which Spartan Stores will be its primary wholesale grocery supplier. Chief currently is supplied by Supervalu. Chief operates 12 stores in Northwest and West Central Ohio under the Chief and Rays banners. Spartan […]
Posted in, Industry News, National
Report: Retailers Must Differentiate From Restaurants
At the height of the economic downturn, many consumers flocked to supermarkets, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs and other retailers looking for a deal on prepared foods. But now that the economy is recovering from the recession, some consumers are purchasing retailer meal solutions (RMS) less often than they did just two years ago; in fact, […]
Posted in, Midwest, Store News
Natural Grocers Opening Second Nebraska Location Next Month
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is opening its newest location in Omaha, Neb., on Feb. 12. The Omaha store at 17602 Wright St. will be the company’s second location in Nebraska, with an additional store in Lincoln. Natural Grocers, based in Colorado, offers only natural and organic products on its shelves: shoppers will find only […]
Posted in, National
CCRRC Releases Final Installments Of ‘Social Web’ Study
As the supermarket industry strives to effectively leverage the power of social media, the final installments from a topical study by The Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council (CCRRC) offer detailed rules of engagement to develop strategies and action plans to address internal and external audiences. The final two reports from the CCRRC study, “Untangling the Social […]
Posted in, National, New Products
Back To Nature Launches New All-Natural Granola
Back to Nature Foods Co. has launched a new all-natural Sunflower and Pumpkin Seed variety of Back to Nature Granola. Made with clusters of whole grain oats, the new variety contains 25g of whole grain and 6g of protein per serving. Like all Back to Nature products, it has no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors, […]
Posted in, National, New Products
Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Adds Three New Flavors To Lineup
Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt has added Coconut, Mango and Vanilla Bean to its line of frozen Greek yogurt bars. The new products will double the company’s current offerings, now with a total of six flavors in its portfolio. Beginning in February, all the new flavors will be available in major grocery retailers nationwide with a […]