Coming soon to Kroger and Walmart stores in North Carolina’s Triangle: Blue Bell Ice Cream. Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell will begin distributing its ice cream products in area stores in Wake, Durham and Orange counties on March 19, according to an announcement from the company. It began distribution in the Charlotte area in 2004, reports […]
Tag: Stores
Posted in, Southwest
Michael Besancon Retires From Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market, a leading organic and natural foods supermarket, has announced that Michael Besancon, senior global VP of purchasing, distribution and communication, will retire from the company after more than 17 years of service. “Having worked in our line of business from soup to nuts, Michael is absolutely one of the most knowledgeable natural […]
Posted in, West
NorCal Grocery Workers Want to Block Walmart’s Neighborhood Markets
Unionized grocery workers in Northern California have come out against the introduction of Walmart neighborhood markets into the region. Walmart Stores, based in Bentonville, Ark., has said that it intends to build up to 30 Neighborhood Markets—stores averaging 30,000 to 40,000 s.f. that will compete directly with unionized companies like Safeway and Lucky. This is […]
Posted in, West
Eggert Retires from New Seasons Market
Co-founder and board member Chuck Eggert has retired from New Seasons Market, the 12-store grocery company based in Portland, Ore. He has sold his shares back to the company, but Eggert is not completely severing his ties with the grocery company he helped create more than a dozen years ago. He will remain as a […]
Posted in, West
San Francisco Bans All Plastic Disposable Bags
The Wall Street Journal reports that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to make it illegal for any shop in the city to offer disposable plastic bags to customers. The law expands a 2007 bag ban that applied to large grocery stores and pharmacies, and also mandates stores charge customers 10 cents apiece […]
Posted in, National
Supervalu Eliminating 800 Jobs
Supervalu Inc. plans to eliminate 800 jobs in the U.S., the company announced Feb. 7. Most of the reductions will take place by the close of the company’s fiscal year on Feb. 25. Cuts include both current positions as well as open jobs that will not be filled, the company said. The moves are part […]
Posted in, Beverage News, Marketing News, National
Coca-Cola Profit Down 27 Percent On Charges
The Atlanta-based beverage giant, Coco-Cola, reported that its profit for 2011 was hurt by restructuring charges and other charges. It also reported a program to save $550 to $650 million by the end of 2015 and reinvest that savings into systemwide brand building initiatives and to mitigate potential incremental near-term commodity costs as necessary, the […]
Posted in, Southeast
Southern Family Markets To Come Under New Ownership
A new company has been formed to purchase all 57 Southern Family Markets (SFM) stores. Belle Foods LLC was formed in Birmingham, Ala., by William “Bill” White, a longtime industry veteran who has worked in both the Bruno’s and Piggly Wiggly organizations. According to the Feb. 7 announcement, Belle Foods is buying stores in Alabama, […]
Posted in, National
CRA: Sugar Industry’s Strategy to Pose as ‘Safer’ Sweetener
In a bid to revive litigation claims that a federal judge had dismissed, the refined sugar industry’s latest maneuver actually underlines its true objective: to confuse American consumers by suggesting that cane and beet sugar is healthier than sugar made from corn—at least according to the Corn Refiners Association (CRA). “The refined sugar industry’s latest […]
Posted in, Southeast
Aldi Opening New Store in Greensboro, N.C.
Greensboro, N.C., is getting yet another grocery store. The Business Journal reports that Aldi, a Batavia, Ill.-based subsidiary of Germany’s Aldi Group, plans to open a new store at 1507 New Garden Rd. sometime in 2013. Aldi bills itself as a super-discount chain with a no-frills approach and a limited selection of 1,400 items. The […]
Posted in, Equipment & Technology, National
EPA Recognizes Ahold USA for Leading Green Power Purchasers
Ahold USA appears for the first time on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of the largest green power purchases. The company ranks No. 7 on the EPA’s Top 20 Retail list and No. 30 on the National Top 50 list. Ahold USA is purchasing more than 149 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power […]
Posted in, Northeast
Giant Food Acquires Two Fresh & Green’s in Baltimore Region
Giant Food of Landover, Md., has entered into a definitive agreement with Mrs. Green’s Management Corp. to acquire two of the company’s Fresh & Green’s supermarket locations currently serving the Baltimore market. The following locations are part of this acquisition: • Fresh & Green’s of Hampden, 1020 West 41st St., Baltimore; and, • Fresh & […]
Posted in, National, New Products
Stouffer’s Hopes To ‘Put the Two Back in Tuesdays’
Nestle Prepared Foods Co. says it is committed to helping couples reconnect over dinner with the launch of Stouffer’s Sautes for Two “Put the Two Back in Tuesdays” program, a nationwide campaign to make an ordinary evening extraordinary for couples. For the next six weeks, Stouffer’s is challenging couples to make their Tuesdays extraordinary with […]
Posted in, Southeast
Publix Deal Brings New Owner At Celebration Shopping Center
A shopping center in Celebration, Fla., has a new owner after Publix signed up to be a 50,000-s.f. anchor tenant, reports the Tampa Bay Business Journal. A group based in New York bought the 124,000-s.f. Water Tower Shoppes from General Electric Credit Equities in January. The center had been struggling for nearly seven years since […]
Posted in, Beverage News, National
Mary J Blige Joins Belvedere Vodka, (RED) To Help Save Lives
Award-winning, multi-platinum singer Mary J Blige will be performing at a private pre-Grammy event on Thursday, Feb. 9, to celebrate the partnership of Belvedere, the world’s first super premium vodka, and (RED). The exclusive performance will be followed by a private party at Bardot, Los Angeles, to help raise awareness around HIV/AIDS and emphasize the […]
Posted in, Equipment & Technology, National
Mobeam Raises $6.4M For Mobile Coupons
Mobeam Inc., a San Francisco technology platform for delivering coupons to mobile phones, has beamed a $6.4 million Series A round of venture capital on board from investors, reports the San Francisco Business Times. The company, founded in April 2010, has added new investor DFJ Athena, a Korea-focused venture fund affiliated with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, […]
Posted in, Marketing News, National
Walmart Unveils ‘Great For You’ Icon
A year after pledging to develop a front-of-pack label that would give its customers an easier way to identify healthier food, Walmart Stores Inc. has unveiled the “Great For You” icon. The icon, part of the company’s healthier food initiative, is an effort to implement a transparent, summary icon for its private label brand products […]
Posted in, Equipment & Technology, Marketing News, Midwest
Valentine’s ‘Spice’ Advice from Johnsonville Italian Sausage
Wisconsin-based Johnsonville Sausage says it’s going to help men impress the ladies in their lives this year with some Valentine’s Day “Advice with Spice.” Through Feb. 19, all are invited to visit Johnsonville Kitchens on Facebook for some advice to “spice” things up this Valentine’s Day. And, since Johnsonville knows everyone has a few buddies […]
Posted in, Southwest
Austin Bag Ban Could Cost Texas 8,800 Jobs, Group Says
An alliance of plastic bag manufacturers estimate that a bag ban in Austin, Texas, could cost the state 8,800 jobs, reports the Austin Business Journal. The Journal reports that the American Progressive Bag Alliance is against the city’s proposed ordinance to tax and ban single-use plastic bags that Mayor Lee Leffingwell has been pushing for. […]
Posted in, West
Ocean Mist Farms Receives Economic Vitality Award
Castroville, Calif.-based Ocean Mist Farms has been honored by the Monterey County Business Council for its contribution to agriculture in Monterey County. Ocean Mist Farms was one of six organizations selected to receive the Economic Vitality Award at the council’s annual awards ceremony last week in Monterey. The Monterey County Business Council is an alliance […]