IGALink Best Practices Perspective

Customized Gliders Help Henderson's IGA Connect to Community

A message to the Alliance from...
Kathy Lower
General Merchandise Manager
Henderson's IGA
Valentine, NE
LDC: Affiliated Foods Midwest

Last month IGA announced the launch of IGALink, the new digital marketing program that provides unique full-featured grocery websites and mobile web apps to all IGA USA retailers. Today, Kathy Lower of Henderson's IGA shares how she customizes her site with homepage gliders.

When we started hearing about the IGALink program, our store owner Tim Henderson came to me and told me that he was really excited to have a website where we could react quickly to tie together everything happening in our store and our community. I thought that was a really cool idea, then he dropped the bomb on me. He told me that I was going to be the person in charge of customizing our new website.

I admit that at first I was a little nervous. Computer stuff really interests me, but I've never done any kind of web development or graphic design. Tim assured me that it was supposed to be really easy and after I watched the Institute training videos, I could tell that he was right. I knew that it was important to Tim that our site really reflect that we're a part of the Valentine community, so I started thinking how I could do that and at the same time keep the homepage interesting so people would keep coming back. I decided that the best way would be to concentrate on the homepage "glider" messages since they're the first thing people see on the site.

I went to the Alliance site to check out the glider content that IGA offers and started rotating new gliders in to keep things fresh. Then one day when we were getting ready for tourists to visit our community for an annual star gazing event, I decided that it would be really great to create a glider that welcomed them to our town. I watched the Institute training video again and it looked simple enough, so I gave it try. I was really shocked at how easy it was! I did a quick Google search for the right art, put together a really short message, and I was finished in about 15 minutes.

Click on the image above to access the Henderson’s IGA website.

Now I create gliders for everything I can think of that's happening in our store and our community. All together I probably spend about two hours a week working on the site, and those two hours are paying off. We're promoting the site in the store so we're getting a lot of new people visiting it, but we also have a lot of people returning several times a week to see what's new. We've had nothing but great feedback from our shoppers, and we love being able to connect with them so quickly and easily. It's a win-win situation for everyone!

Thanks,

Kathy Lower

IGA Retailers: Looking for new glider content for your IGALink website? Visit "Retailer Resources" on the IGALink pages of the Alliance. New gliders are added all the time so check back frequently.

Want to create your own gliders? Click here to access the training video from the IGA Coca-Cola Institute.

Retail News

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About 27% of the leading U.S. retailers do not have a mobile presence, according to the Mobile Presence of Leading U.S. Retailers study from 2ergo. Grocery, pharmacy & convenience store retailers that provide convenience features like personalized shopping lists, prescription refills and photo processing orders also opt for mobile apps (49%) more often than mobile sites (38%). Among restaurants and fast food chains, 35% have a smartphone application while 74% have a mobile-friendly site enabling download-free access to location, menu and reservation information. Full Story

Two-thirds of smart phone or tablet owners have used their devices to make purchases and more than 80% used them to assist in purchasing decisions through product research at least once during the past year, according to L.E.K. Consulting's Mobile Commerce Survey. During the past six months, more than half of Active Mobile Consumers surveyed reported using at least one mobile coupon app, nearly one-third checked a pricing comparison tool and 29% tapped a loyalty or similar tool. Full Story

About 7% of goods are typically out of stock at the average U.S. Walmart store, the chain stated in a meeting with suppliers, according to sources. Typical levels are under 5%, reported The New York Post. Full Story

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Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market began registration for its 2011 Shop for Schools fundraising program. Schools participating in the program can register for the program online at www.freshandeasy.com/shopforschools by Sept. 15. Full Story

Manufacturer News

Nestle launched a $20 million-plus expansion in Cleveland and is also planning a global research facility for its frozen foods business in Solon, OH. The plant makes food bases sold to restaurants and distributors for use in soups, sauces and other dishes. The expansion will be finished in early 2013, reported Cleveland Plain Dealer. Full Story

Males, younger users and non-users are dissatisfied with the current portion sizes in frozen meals and want larger portions, according to The NPD Group's Frozen Meals Stay Hot! Where are Your Opportunities? report. Single-serve frozen meals, which account for 66% of frozen meals consumed, are popular as a carried lunch with young, working females and seniors who consume them in their homes. Full Story

The DSM Innovation Center and NutraCea entered into a joint R&D agreement. Under the terms, NutraCea and DSM will share existing patented and proprietary intellectual property to investigate extraction and modification of high quality vegetable proteins from rice bran. Full Story

Legends Foods Corp. signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Mary of Puddin Hill, a producer of pecan fruit cakes, pecan pies, brittles and chocolates. Meanwhile, Legends plans to roll out a new line of products in September. Full Story

Kimberly-Clark Corporation introduced Poise Hourglass Shape Pads. Full Story

Foodservice News

Restalia Grupo de Eurorestauracion, the parent company of Spanish sandwich chain 100 Montaditos, aims to open 4,000 outlets in the U.S. over the next five years. The company is looking to open franchised restaurants and company-owned outlets. The first U.S. restaurant opened in January in Miami; the chain aims to have eight outlets in Florida by next March. A location in New York City is also in the works, reported Bloomberg Businessweek. Full Story

About 100 schools across the U.S. have worked with Cook for America, a group that trains school cooks in healthier food preparation, including Greeley, CO. The town will begin cooking school meals from scratch this year, reported The New York Times on the Web. Greeley's schools will be cooking from scratch about 75% of the time on the opening day, with a goal of reaching 100% by this time next year. Full Story (NYT Subscription Required)

ARAMARK is launching Healthy for Life Menu Icons in high schools, with over 170 high schools signed on to participate in the new menu system that will be introduced in the fall. The icons will be displayed prominently alongside appropriate items being served as well as on the school's printed or online menu. The icons specify which foods are vegetarian options, grown locally, nutrient dense, low in calories, fat and sodium and made with whole grains. Full Story

Schwan's Food Service will roll out its LiveSmart Schools product portfolio, a 50% expansion in its product line. The portfolio is a line of more than 50 offerings that meet the proposed USDA School Meal Rules as well as the HealthierUS School Challenge guidelines. Full Story

Del Frisco's Restaurant Group launched Del Frisco's Grille, a casual dining brand, in Houston. Del Frisco's plans to open up to 20 Grilles by 2017. Grille spaces will be around 8,000-sq. ft., and the company is looking for patio dining, reported Houston Business Journal. Full Story (Paid Subscription Required)

Domino's is examining the details of its sales performance at every store domestically and internationally to identify weak spots and market opportunities, according to its CEO. The company now examines each franchisee's balance sheet, debt levels and income to look at profitability and capital structure. The CEO is also monitoring the health of the company's store network actively, with access to real-time sales data, reported MLive.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

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Sodexo is offering its second Fill My Fridge event at more than half of the 650 campuses it serves. The event allows parents to shop for food and beverage items on college move-in day. Full Story

Health News

A diet rich in potassium may reduce the risk of stroke compared to those who get little of the mineral, according to a study published in Stroke. For each 1,000-mg. increase in daily potassium, the odds of suffering a stroke in the next five to 14 years declined by 11%, reported Reuters. Full Story

Washington News

FDA released its Strategic Plan for Regulatory Science, an initiative to modernize the tools and methods that the agency uses to evaluate whether the products it regulates are effective and safe. The plan focuses on eight areas, including modernizing toxicology; supporting new and improved manufacturing methods; and expanding and improving FDA's information technology infrastructure. Full Story

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed Introductory Number 452-A, which provides agencies with more tools to foster the purchasing of food grown, produced, harvested or processed in New York State. Full Story

Global News

The Coca-Cola Company and its Chinese bottling partners will invest $4 billion in China over the next three years, commencing 2012. Consumption of Coca-Cola products in China represents approximately 7% of the company's global volume. The company will break ground on a new plant in Shijiazhuang (Hebei province) later this year. Full Story

Bright Food Group Co. entered into a deal to buy a 75% stake in Australia's Manassen Foods from Champ Private Equity, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story

China is expected to import more pork if the domestic price of meat continues to rise. China's consumer price index increased 6.5% in July above what it had been a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, due largely to pork costs, reported China Daily. Full Story

Outbound Japan mergers and acquisitions now total $49.6 billion this year, more than double the year-earlier figure of $22.4 billion, according to Dealogic. That number was boosted by Asahi Group Holdings Ltd.'s decision to purchase New Zealand's Independent Liquor for $1.3 billion. Suntory Holdings Ltd. will also launch a new company to drive M&A in Southeast Asia on Sept. 1, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

The board of South Africa's Bidvest Group recommended against selling its foodservice unit, reported Reuters. Full Story

Market News

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DuPont and Langebio entered into a collaboration to increase understanding of plant reproductive biology and genetic diversity. Under the agreement, DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred and the Mexico National Laboratory of Genomics for Biodiversity will work together in multiple projects to gain new insights into the biological and genetic mechanisms that control plant productivity. Full Story

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is soliciting comments on a request to revise the U.S. standards for grades of grapefruit juice. AMS received a petition from the Florida Citrus Processors Association asking AMS to consider revising the current U.S. grade standards for grapefruit juice to account for advances in industry processing technology. Full Notice

An FNS rule proposes to amend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regulations to implement the "Major System Failures" section of the 2008 Farm Bill, requiring USDA to determine when a systemic state error is resulting in the overissuance of benefits to a substantial number of SNAP households and the actions the department may take if such a determination were made. Full Notice

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) proposes to amend regulations governing investments held by institutions of the Farm Credit System. The agency proposes to strengthen regulations governing investment management, interest rate risk management and association investments and make other changes to enhance the safety and soundness of system institutions. The agency also seeks comments on compliance with section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act until Nov. 16. Full Notice