Thursday, March 10, 2005

Dominick's unveiled its new Lifestyle grocery store, which features a doubled selection of organic food, and upscale bakery, deli and wine departments. Dominick's stores throughout the Chicago area will eventually be remade into the Lifestyle format, at a cost of several million dollars each, reported Chicago Sun-Times. Full Story



The number of people purchasing organic products rose from 34% to 41% from 2002 to 2004 with the largest jump by age group occurring in the 18-to-24 bracket, according to a study conducted by Mintel from 2002 to 2004, published in the March edition of Specialty Food Magazine, and commented on by The Asbury Park Press. Full Story



Some 30% of women declare fruits, vegetables and/or salads as their favorite food, while 25% of men identify red meat as their top choice, according to a consumer survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. on behalf of the Grocery Manufacturers of America. Only 8% of men put fruits and vegetables at the top of their list, while the same percentage of women name red meat as their favorite food. Full Story



Ethnic marketing has been a popular concept in the produce industry for the past few years, but it is difficult to target African-Americans because their buying habits are rarely defined by their ethnicity, reported The Produce News. However, there is a category of fresh produce that African-Americans do consume in large volumes: cut greens. Both Glory Foods and Cut 'N Clean Greens have augmented their product lines in recent years with value-added packaged greens, and the companies have found strong sales growth, fueled largely by African-Americans. Full Story

The Philadelphia Inquirer examines how the frozen dinner has evolved into better tasting ethnic dishes. Increased immigration and general health consciousness have spurred the growth, while new techniques such as flash-freezing allow for a less soggy product. Full Story (Free Registration Required)



Microsoft is planning to provide radio frequency identification middleware to serve smaller manufacturers soon to be hit by mandates from retailers, reported Line56.com. Full Story

Meanwhile, software maker SAP and microchip maker Intel Corp. are collaborating to encourage companies to adopt radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The joint effort of the companies aims at making RFID technology easier to use and help companies overcome hurdles in creating viable business cases for implementation Full Story

NEW STORE NEWS: Salsarita's Fresh Cantina, a fast-casual Mexican restaurant, will open five locations in the Nashville, TN, area in the next year, according to The Tennessean. Full Story . . . An Amherst, NY Tops market, which is undergoing an overhaul, appears poised to reopen as a Martin's Super Food Store, according to The Buffalo News. Full Story . . . Specialty foods supermarket Jungle Jim's plans to open its second Greater Cincinnati store in Oakley in 2007, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. Full Story

There are new concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. agriculture to the deliberate introduction of animal and plant diseases (agroterrorism), according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The U.S. still faces complex challenges that limit the nation's ability to respond effectively to an attack against livestock and there have been fewer inspections of agricultural products at the nation's ports of entry since Sept. 11, 2001, the report noted. Full Story



As a result of recently enacted legislation affecting all public companies, Sherwood Brands, Inc., a marketer of biscuits and confectionery products, filed with the SEC to deregister its common stock and suspend its reporting obligations. Sherwood expected additional increases in the legal, accounting and insurance costs associated with remaining a listed company, reported Bakingbusiness.com. Full Story

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