by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor With a name like Gus, he’s got to be a grocer. Gus Buche, that is, the seven-year-old son of fourth-generation grocer RF Buche. Gus is named for RF’s great-grandfather, August Francis Buche, who started the family business 110 years ago in Lake Andes, South Dakota. GF Buche Co. and the state […]
Tag: Midwest
News from the midwestern United States.
Hy-Vee Hosting Annual Veterans Day Breakfasts On Wednesday
Hy-Vee will host its annual Veterans Day breakfasts on Wednesday to recognize and thank veterans and active-duty military members for their service and provide them with a complimentary meal. West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee expects to serve more than 80,000 veterans, military members and their guests at 240 stores across its eight-state region this year. […]
Niemann Foods To Acquire Covington Foods’ County Market Stores
Niemann Foods Inc. (NFI) has signed a purchase agreement with Covington Foods to acquire six County Market stores. The stores are located in Crawfordsville, Covington and Attica, Indiana, and Danville and Tilton, Illinois. The transfer of ownership is expected on or before Jan. 7, 2016. “After 56 years of operating our stores and serving the […]
TreeHouse Foods To Acquire ConAgra’s Private Brands Biz For $2.7B
After it announced it May that it planned to “exit the private brands operations,” ConAgra Foods has signed a definitive agreement with TreeHouse Foods to sell that portion of its business for $2.7 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. The acquisition of ConAgra’s private brands operations will meaningfully […]
Schnucks To Open New Evansville, Indiana, Store, On Nov. 11
Schnucks will open its sixth store in southern Indiana—in Evansville—with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11, beginning at 8:45 a.m.; the store will open at 9 a.m. The new 59,000-s.f. full-service grocery and pharmacy features service meat and seafood departments; a service deli with sliced-to-order specialties, including Boar’s Head meats and cheeses; a floral […]
Country Hearth Breads Launches Great Holiday Get-Together Sweepstakes
St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Country Hearth breads is offering Midwest consumers the chance to win one of two $1,000 cash awards with the “Great Holiday Get-Together Sweepstakes.” Pan-O-Gold Baking Co., bakers of Country Hearth and Village Hearth breads, is sponsoring the sweepstakes open to residents age 18 and older in its Upper Midwest market area. Entries […]
Liras Promoted To VP Of Manufacturing At Lipari Foods
Lipari Foods has promoted Spiro Liras to VP of manufacturing, according to the company’s president and CEO, Thom Lipari. Liras joined JLM Manufacturing, a division of Lipari Foods, in 2009 as the director of manufacturing when the facility was exclusively confections packaging. JLM has since expanded its operational space multiple times, along with several acquisition […]
Tony’s Fresh Market Is IFRA’s 2015 Industry Retailer Award Recipient
Tony’s Fresh Market is the Illinois Food Retailers Association (IFRA) 2015 Industry Retailer Award recipient. The company was honored during the IFRA-Grocery Merchandisers Association (GMA) Annual Conference and Expo, which was held earlier this month at the Drury Lane Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace. “The IFRA board of directors unanimously chose Tony’s Fresh Market as […]
Angelic Bakehouse Achieves Non-GMO Project Verification
Angelic Bakehouse, a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certified bakery specializing in sprouted grain products, has received Non-GMO Project Verified status for its best-selling product, Sprouted Seven-Grain bread. The Non-GMO Project is North America’s only third-party source for verification and labeling of non-GMO food and products. The Milwaukee-based company expects the remainder of its product […]
Supervalu Reports 2Q Fiscal 2016 Results
Minneapolis-based Supervalu on Wednesday reported second quarter fiscal 2016 net sales of $4.06 billion and net earnings from continuing operations of $31 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, which included $6 million in after-tax costs related to the potential separation of Save-A-Lot and severance costs. When adjusted for these items, second quarter fiscal 2016 net […]
Grocery Pickup Cincinnati To Launch Nov. 16 With Kroger
Grocery Pickup Cincinnati is set to launch on Nov. 16, pairing with the Kroger online shopping and curbside pick-up service to provide customers with pick up and home delivery of their orders. “After the announcement by Kroger that they were testing online grocery shopping, order fulfillment, and curbside pick up, we decided to hire a […]
Hy-Vee Partners With iMedicare To Offer Seniors Free Drug Plan Comparisons
Hy-Vee, which operates more than 235 stores across the Midwest, and iMedicare have teamed up to deliver a new service for patients 65 years of age or older that provides Medicare Part D plan comparison options in a consolidated report. Medicare open enrollment began Oct. 15, and many seniors are not on the most cost-effective […]
AWG Makes Organizational Changes
A day after it announced the promotion of Jeff Pedersen to EVP of division operations, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), based in Kansas City, Kansas, is making several organizational changes. Effective Dec. 7, Steve Arnold, EVP of merchandising, will transfer to the Oklahoma City Division to the position of SVP and division manager, reporting to Pedersen. […]
Van Holten’s Introduces Pickle Flavored Freeze Pops Called Pickle-Ice
Van Holten’s has taken the pickle out of the pouch but left the juice. Pickle-Ice is a 2-oz. freeze pop made with Van Holten’s pickle juice and enhanced with electrolytes. This refresher can be consumed frozen or un-frozen and is a sugar-free alternative to sports drinks, according to Waterloo, Wisconsin-based Van Holten’s. “Pickle-Ice is real […]
Biggs To Succeed Holley As Walmart’s CFO
Brett Biggs will succeed Walmart CFO Charles Holley, who has elected to retire. The change takes effect Dec. 31. Holley will stay on until Jan. 31, 2016, to help with the transition. Holley, 59, has served as Walmart’s EVP and CFO since December 2010. Since January 2014, Biggs has served as EVP and CFO of Walmart […]
Carlin O’Brien Becomes Carlin Group
Carlin O’Brien, a privately owned full-service brokerage and member of BeaconUnited, is changing its name to Carlin Group—a name change the company says better reflects the regional CPG sales and marketing agency it has become. The news comes as Carlin Group participates in this year’s National Association of Convenience Stores and the National Frozen and […]
Fareway Hosting Round Up For Children’s Charity Through Oct. 24
Fareway Stores has partnered with Variety—the Children’s Charity to conduct a round up at the register through Saturday, Oct. 24. All customers will have the opportunity to round up to the next dollar or to provide an additional donation on their grocery store bill to improve the lives of underprivileged, at-risk and special needs children […]
Minnesota’s Own Campaign Joins Grocers, Others To Help Hungry Families Statewide
The Minnesota Grocers Association (MGA) is encouraging consumers statewide to “check hunger off their lists” by shopping at participating retailers during the October Minnesota’s Own campaign. All food and monetary contributions collected in store will go to local food banks and shelves to benefit hungry Minnesota families. Minnesota’s Own is a three-way partnership of grocers, […]
ConAgra Foods Cutting 1,500 Jobs As It Readies For HQ Move
ConAgra Foods has unveiled what it calls “restructuring plans” in order “to improve profitability, advance its growth agenda and unlock shareholder value.” ConAgra says it expects to realize at least $300 million of efficiency benefits within the next three years through a combination of reductions in SG&A and enhancements to trade spend processes and tools. […]
Aldi Reformulating Exclusive Brand Food Products
Discount grocer Aldi has removed certified synthetic colors and partially hydrogenated oils, as well as removed added MSG, from all of its exclusive brand food products. The announcement is part of the company’s efforts to expand store offerings and address customers’ preferences and needs about particular ingredients in their food. With 90 percent of Aldi […]
