Retail News
Central Grocers plans to expand the capacity at its
distribution center to accommodate increased volume
in the produce and meat departments of its members. Completion
is expected before the end of the year. The expansion will
involve reconfiguring racks to pick up 15,000-sq. ft. of receiving
space at the 940,000-sq. ft. facility; it will also increase
the number of dock doors by 30, to 180, and optimize pallet
movement, reported Supermarket News. Full
Story
dunnhumbyUSA formed a partnership with TRA, a media
and market research company. The partnership will leverage
its data, expertise and analytics to accelerate TRA's expertise
in linking TV viewership and purchase behavior, reported The
Cincinnati Enquirer. Full
Story
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. chose IBM point-of-sale and self-checkout
technology to update customer service, speed innovation
and increase the operational efficiency of 484 Winn-Dixie
store locations, and other store formats across the Southeastern
U.S. Full
Story
AllOver Media, Inc. acquired Pacific Media, Inc.,
an alternative out-of-home convenience store advertising company.
Full
Story
GNC Holdings, Inc. agreed to acquire LuckyVitamin.com,
an online retailer of wellness-oriented products. The acquisition
is expected to close within 30 days. Full
Story
Manufacturer News
H.J. Heinz Co. is adding more products at
lower prices and accelerating the introduction of entry-priced
items in developed markets, especially in the U.S., to appeal
to consumers with $50 or less to spend on groceries each week.
Heinz will roll out its plans for smaller product sizes that
it can sell for less at convenience and dollar stores, which
were in development for about three months and emphasize price
per ounce rather than entry price point, reported The Wall
Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required) Meanwhile, the
traditional Heinz consumer is more affluent and shopping at
club stores but "we are seeing a consumer that is
truly struggling and value means something different,"
according to its SVP of investor relations and global program
management officer, reported Pittsburgh Business Times.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Kraft Foods Inc. reduced the list price of
its coffee brands Maxwell House and Yuban by about 6%
in the U.S., reported Reuters. Full
Story
Some 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds drink coffee
daily, up from 31% in 2010, according to the 2011 National
Coffee Drinking Trends Study from the National Coffee
Association. Gourmet coffee continues to be a significant
portion (37%) of total coffee consumed. Penetration is also
growing in the single serve arena at an average of 1% per
year, and 35% of those with a pod system acquired it in the
past six months. Full
Story
New Product News: The Coca-Cola Company
is introducing Odwalla Super Protein Mango smoothies with
20 grams of soy protein. Full
Story ... Sargento Food Ingredients introduced
Portionables soup ingredients, individually quick frozen pellets
designed for the frozen soup market, reported Meat &
Poultry. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) ... Spartan Stores
is rolling out school lunches. A lunch may contain a chicken
tender wrap, chips, carrots, juice and a fruit snack, reported
MLive.com. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Executives on the Move: Baker's Pride,
Inc. named Louis Mastriano VP of Sales and Marketing.
Full
Story ... An Atlanta-based chicken wing restaurant
chain hired Terrance M. Marks as president and CEO, replacing
Coby Brooks. Mr. Brooks will become a major franchisee for
Twin Peaks, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Kraft Foods set a 25 million meal donation goal for
its 2011 Huddle to Fight Hunger Campaign. Full
Story
Unilever reached an agreement to sell the Alberto VO5
brand in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and the Rave brand globally
to Brynwood Partners VI L.P. The deal is subject to approval
by DOJ, and is expected to be completed by the end of August.
The divestiture is required by the department in conjunction
with Unilever's acquisition of the Alberto Culver Company.
Full
Story
Foodservice News
Sysco Corp. received an unsolicited "mini-tender"
offer by TRC Capital Corporation to purchase up to 3.5
million shares, or approximately 0.6% of the outstanding Sysco
shares, at a price of $26.65 per share. Sysco does not endorse
TRC's offer. Full
Story
An investment group signed a series of development agreements
to open 35 Twin Peaks restaurants throughout six states
over the next 10 years. The franchise group will open restaurants
in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina
and Tennessee. The first two restaurants are scheduled to
open within 18 months with three to four restaurants to be
added each year after that. The company currently has 15 locations.
Full
Story
Health News
Adding specific cholesterol-lowering foods, such as nuts,
to one's diet can lower cholesterol more than a low-fat
diet alone, according to research published in Journal
of the American Medical Association, reported HealthDay.
Full
Story
Washington News
Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A., Inc. filed suit against
FDA in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
to seek an injunction that would lift an FDA rule restricting
the importation of fresh cantaloupes into the U.S. Full
Story
USDA revised the delegations of authority from the Secretary
of Agriculture to the Under Secretary for Research, Education,
and Economics (REE) and the Under Secretary for Rural Development,
and from the Under Secretary for REE to the Director of the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to reflect the
division of responsibilities for carrying out the biomass
research and development authorities of the Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002. Full
Notice
Global News
KFC is reportedly the first American fast food outlet
to open in Kenya. McDonald's and Burger King have not
entered the area due to supply chain concerns. KFC investors
worked with a Kenyan chicken supplier for more than a year
to bring it up to the quality control standards demanded by
Yum! Brands. Two more KFCs are slated to open in Nairobi this
year, and there are plans to open 15 restaurants in Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda in the next three years, reported Forbes.com.
Full
Story
A cooperation agreement was reached between Axfood Narlivs
AB and Statoil Fuel & Retail's Swedish subsidiary, Svenska
Statoil AB. The agreement covers the supply of newsstand and
food retail products for Statoil's staffed service stations
for two years, commencing Jan. 1. Axfood AB conducts food
retail and wholesale business in Sweden. Full
Story
Indonesian manufacturers can expect to see healthy growth
in consumer good sales value as Ramadan drives consumers to
spend more. Categories such as sausages and meat balls
(up 34%), canned fish and meat (up 119%) and nuggets (up 49%)
all tend to enjoy growth during the holy month. Nielsen recorded
9.2% growth in sales value of consumer goods during 2010's
festive months. Full
Story
Japan will increase radiation monitoring by helicopter
to 22 prefectures from the six closest to the Fukusima
plant, reported Bloomberg.com. Full
Story
Market News
The Mexican apple crop is expected to total 21.8
million bushels this year, up 12% from 2010, stated
a partner with Pico Largo SPR, Chihuahua, Mexico. Domestic
production in Mexico covers about 61% of the country's demand
for apples. Mexico's apple imports were about 11.6 million
bushels in 2010. Meanwhile, Canada's 2011 apple production
is estimated up 4.5% over 2010 at 21 million 42-lb. cartons
this year, reported The Packer Online. Full
Story
Coffee exports from Colombia, Mexico and seven other Latin
American countries gained 0.3% from a year earlier in
July. Total shipments rose to 1.97 million bags from 1.96
million bags in July 2010, according to Guatemala's National
Coffee Association, reported Bloomberg.com. Full
Story
Hill Country, TX peach growers sustained larger-than-expected
losses from severe weather this year, and production is
expected to be about 40% of an average year. The state's peach
production total is well off the 14,000-tons from last year
due to freezing temperatures in February and a frost in April.
While the drought also kept peaches from growing as large
as usual, the smaller peaches offer sweeter flavor, reported
Houston Chronicle. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
A spotted wing drosophila was found in a trap on
a blueberry farm in Atlantic County, NJ, according
to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, reported
The Packer Online. Full
Story
Wheat fields have been sprouting in California, Oregon,
Washington and New England in the last five years, as
consumers boost demand for locally grown food. Farmers are
not looking to compete with big growers in the Great Plains
but hope to find their own niche, such as providing grains
for local bread, reported The Associated Press. Full
Story
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IGA
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