Retail News
Whole Foods Market will open membership-only Wellness
Clubs in a handful of stores over the next three months;
the first will open in Dedham, MA. If the test is a success,
Whole Foods will roll out the Wellness Clubs in most of its
310 stores, reported USA Today. Full
Story
Lowes Food Stores implemented the NuVal Nutritional Scoring
System in 108 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina
and Virginia. Full
Story
Fewer consumers plan on doing their
back-to-school shopping at grocery stores, according to
The Checkout, released by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C
Research. Some 43% of back-to-school shoppers claim
newspaper circulars are their preferred resource, while 35%
are using the internet, up 6% from last year. Two percent
will rely on smartphones, unchanged from 2010. Full
Story
Wal-Mart is exiting a deal to install 23 state-controlled
wine-vending machines in its Pennsylvania stores. The
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and Wal-Mart are discussing
other partnerships, such as a store-within-a-store concept,
reported The Philadelphia Inquirer. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Sanderson Farms Inc. reported demand at grocery stores
for its products held steady during the quarter, but demand
in its foodservice unit was "sluggish" and will remain so
as long as unemployment remains high. Boneless breast meat
prices were down 22% from a year earlier in the quarter ended
July 31, while jumbo wing prices fell 27.5%, reported Reuters.
Full
Story
New Store News: Meijer opened Meijer Marketplace
in Melrose Park, IL. Full
Story ... Sheetz, Inc. opened a 6,500-sq. ft. store
in Parma, OH. Full
Story ... Tesco will open a Fresh & Easy store
in Sacramento, CA on Aug. 31, reported The Sacramento Bee.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Manufacturer News
New Product News: The Dannon Company
introduced Activia Selects in French, Greek and Parfait yogurt
varieties. Full
Story ... Lifestyle Foods introduced the G2 next-generation
line of grab-and-go snacks under 170 calories. New additions
include the Glam Snack, the Shred Snack and the Obsessed Snack.
Full
Story ... Health Warrior debuted 100-Calorie All
Natural Chia Energy Bars. Full
Story ... Louisiana Food Company will introduce
Pirogue Rice to its packaged dry product line in October.
Full
Story ... Bueno Foods introduced Hatch Autumn Roast
Green Chile, reported New Mexico Business Weekly. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Kimberly-Clark Corporation plans to establish
a Global Innovation Center in Bogota, Colombia. The center
will develop products using local and regional insights to
meet broader consumer needs around the world. Full
Story
Foodservice News
Starbucks is the No. 1 food and drink "check in" on Facebook's
Places feature, where users can share their current location.
The site's other top check-ins are: Buffalo Wild Wings; Chili's;
Applebee's; McDonald's; IHOP; Denny's; Olive Garden; T.G.I.
Friday's; and The Cheesecake Factory, according to mashable.com,
reported The Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Sodexo will emphasize Mediterranean and Vietnamese flavors
at K-12 schools this year. Full
Story
Restaurant Roundup: Burger
King added 100% whole grain Quaker Oatmeal in two flavors
to its menu. Full
Story ... Centerplate formed a collaboration with
Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration to offer
Strategic Hospitality Planning in Sports, a seven-week course
starting this fall. Students will create a conceptual plan
for a Centerplate Stir project including menu development,
facility design and operations, contracts, business considerations
and public relations. Full
Story
The creator of Berry Chill launched Culture, The Yogurt
Society, in Chicago. The company plans to roll out a fleet
of food trucks instead of opening retail stores. Full
Story
Health News
Male college students typically consumed about five servings
of fruit and vegetables per week while females consumed
four servings per week, according to a study conducted by
Oregon State University published in Journal of Nutrition
Education and Behavior. Both males and females were consuming
more than 30% of their calories from fat. Full
Story
Washington News
A federal appeals panel rejected the request of five Great
Lakes states to close Chicago-area shipping locks, citing
an earlier ruling that Asian carp does not appear to be an
imminent threat, reported Chicago Tribune. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.'s largest shareholder
Sardar Biglari called for management to publicly disclose
operating information for both its businesses in a letter
to SEC, after rejecting the company's offer to view this privately,
reported Reuters. Full
Story
In-N-Out Burger filed a lawsuit against Grab-N-Go Burger
over the chain's look, claiming trademark infringement,
reported The Orange County Register. Full
Story
YoCream International, Inc. issued a voluntary recall
of Nonfat NY Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt Mix because the
products contain undeclared eggs. Full
Story
Ajinomoto Frozen Foods issued a voluntary recall of
Ajinomoto Brand Vegetable Gyoza Dumplings because the products
contain undeclared shrimp and fish. Full
Story
Global News
Ahold will revamp its Albert Heijn To Go convenience stores
in the Netherlands to put a greater emphasis on ready-to-eat
goods and plans to extend the format into Germany next year,
and potentially also Belgium, reported Reuters. Full
Story
Europeans are cutting spending as fears of a double-dip
recession rise. Ahold noted that shoppers are looking for
goods on promotion and switching to private label as they
try to offset rising food prices, reported Reuters.
Full
Story
Walmart China will increase its investment in lower-tier
cities, according to its president and CEO. Walmart's
retail sales revenue in China is expected to grow annually
by 14.5% to $5 trillion in 2016, reported China Daily.
Full
Story
The Japanese government lifted the last bans on shipments
of beef cattle from Iwate, Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures.
Farmers can resume shipments on condition the meat passes
inspection by local prefectural governments, reported The
Japan Times. Full
Story
Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation signed new development
agreements with its Japanese franchisee, Krispy Kreme
Doughnut Japan Co., Ltd., for 73 locations in the Kanto, Kansai
and Chubu regions over the next five years. Full
Story
KFC Australia is removing toys from its children's meals
in all 600 stores across the country, reported Daily
Telegraph. Full
Story
India's food price index rose 9.8% in the year to
Aug. 13, government data showed. In the previous week, annual
food inflation stood at 9%, reported Reuters. Full
Story
Market News
Sales of fresh sliced apples increased 33% in the
past five years. The sliced-apple category tallied
about $122 million in sales last year, according to Nielsen
data cited by Freytag. Add Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco and
other retailers that do not share their numbers with Nielsen
and the number is closer to $200 million, according to Freytag,
reported The Packer Online. Full
Story
High f.o.b.s at the end of the 2010-11 apple season
may set back sales momentum for the start of the
2011-12 season, stated the executive VP of the Perishables
Group. Shippers need to aggressively seek retail promotions
and shelf space for the just-starting 2011 crop. Providing
consistent f.o.b. pricing that retailers can promote against
in the fourth quarter of 2011 will be key, reported The
Packer Online. Full
Story
The changing global economy is making Florida citrus more
competitive with Brazil, noted an agricultural economist
at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Among the factors
closing the cost gap are the rising strength of Brazil's currency,
the higher cost of labor and the rising cost of Brazilian
farmland, particularly in competition with sugar, reported
The Lakeland Ledger. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Meanwhile, a Florida citrus industry group agreed to spend
$350,000 more to study the effect of enhanced tree nutrition
on the growth and spread of citrus greening disease with the
possibility of more to come. The Research Management Committee
of the Citrus Research and Education Foundation has spent
more than $40 million since 2009 on greening research, reported
The Lakeland Ledger. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
An end to the Central Mexico asparagus deal, and
a delayed start to volume shipments from Peru, should strengthen
markets well into September. A cold snap in Peru
in August set the deal back, and markets have taken notice,
reported The Packer Online. Full
Story
ERS will release its Vegetables and Melons Outlook
report at 4:00 p.m. EST. View
Report
San Diego County's agriculture crop grew in value by 7%
in 2010 to more than $1.65 billion, according to the 2010
Crop Statistics and Annual Report released by the county's
Department of Agriculture. The increase in overall value can
be attributed partly to strong avocado prices and demand.
Avocados remained the No. 1 fruit crop and increased in value
nearly 13% despite water restrictions and a 22% drop in acreage,
reported San Diego Union-Tribune. Full
Story
The Department of Commerce is extending the time period
for issuing the final results of the administrative review
of certain pasta from Turkey. The final results are due no
later than Oct. 26. Full
Notice
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