People are cutting back on fresh produce as prices rise (Study)
Shoppers are feeling pain in the produce department as the cost of fruit and vegetables has soared. The latest consumer tracking study by Numerator found that about 78% of Ontarians noticed prices go up for fresh vegetables and 75% noticed this for fresh fruits. The price hikes are “moderately to extremely concerning” for more than half (55%) of Ontario consumers. As a result, 46% of consumers say they’re buying more fresh fruits and vegetables only when they’re on sale, 32% are cutting back on fresh fruits and vegetables, and 30% have switched to less expensive types.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
Southeastern Grocers named one of America’s Most Trusted Companies for 2022 by Newsweek
Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), parent company and home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, is featured as the top supermarket in the retail space in Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Trusted Companies 2022.
Source: businesswire.com
US: Beyond Meat and PepsiCo launch meatless jerky as the 1st product under their partnership
Beyond Meat and PepsiCo announced they will launch meatless jerky as the first product under their PLANeT Partnership joint venture. The 2 companies announced the joint venture more than a year ago with the goal of creating plant-based snacks and drinks together. Beyond’s grocery sales have suffered as the company focused its energy on big fast-food launches.
Source: cnbc.com
US: Instacart rolls out new platform to deliver more-seamless omnichannel experiences
Online grocery pioneer Instacart is ready for Act 2. Through the new Instacart Platform the San Francisco-based online grocery pioneer is giving retailers - including Publix, Schnuck Markets and Key Food - access to the technologies behind its consumer marketplace to power their own digital properties and retail operations.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: Kroger teams up with Nvidia to build AI lab
The Kroger Co. plans to create an artificial intelligence (AI) lab and demonstration center in its Cincinnati headquarters under a collaboration with graphics chip pioneer Nvidia. Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia, which also specializes in accelerated computing and AI technologies, said that the lab will help further Kroger’s freshness initiatives, improve shipping logistics and enhance the in-store shopping experience.
Source: supermarketnews.com
British retailer McColl's boss Jonathan Miller steps down amid financial woes
Britain’s McColl’s said Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Miller had stepped down, weeks after the struggling convenience store chain warned of lower annual profit, sending its shares down 14%. Miller’s exit comes at a time when the group is in talks with lenders over new funding options.
Source: reuters.com
Italy: Cia-Conad rolls out ‘Hey Conad’ online shopping service
Cia-Commercianti Indipendenti Associati - a cooperative member of Italy’s leading supermarket chain, Conad - rolled out its online shopping service. Part of the retailer’s new multichannel strategy, ‘Hey Conad’ is initially available to customers in the province of Forlì-Cesena. The service will be extended on 28 March, to the province of Rimini; from 4 April, to the province of Pesaro-Urbino; and from 11 April, to the province of Ravenna, covering a total of 42 municipalities in the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Oddbox expands to Edinburgh and Glasgow
Oddbox has expanded into Scotland, starting with Glasgow and Edinburgh, in a bid to rescue more than 150,000 tonnes of food by 2025. The food box company takes odd looking fruit and vegetables directly from farmers which are at risk of going to waste and delivers them to consumers.
Source: insider.co.uk
Regulator OKs convenience store operator Korea Seven’s takeover of Ministop
South Korea’s antitrust regulator said it has decided to approve a deal by Korea Seven Co., the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, to buy its smaller rival Ministop Korea Co. In January, the country’s retail giant Lotte inked a deal to acquire a 100% stake in Ministop Korea for 313.3bln won (US$257mln). No. 3 player Korea Seven, an affiliate of Lotte, eventually bought Ministop Korea, the smallest operator of convenience stores here.
Source: koreabizwire.com
Mother’s Day 2022: Enjoy a Sunday roast for less than £5 from Morrisons
Morrisons is helping customers celebrate Mother’s Day affordably this year by offering all the ingredients for a delicious Sunday roast dinner for under a fiver. Customers can head to stores and online now and pick up a whole chicken for £2.99, a pack of The Best Potatoes for 99p and 2 packs of vegetables for 39p each - bringing the total cost of the meal to just £4.76. Shoppers can choose 2 packets of vegetables from a choice of parsnips, carrots, swede and broccoli.
Source: oxfordmail.co.uk
Sumitomo Corporation: Expanding our grocery retail business in Vietnam
Sumitomo Corporation reported: "Sumitomo Corporation has signed a shareholders’ agreement (hereinafter, “this Agreement”) to extend its partnership with BRG Group Joint Stock Company (hereinafter "BRG Group"), one of Vietnam's leading, private, multi-sector, enterprises, regarding the full-scale development of the FujiMart grocery supermarket chain (hereinafter "FujiMart"). Based on this Agreement, our plan is to aggressively expand throughout Vietnam, and we aim to open approximately 50 new stores by 2028."
Source: sumitomocorp.com
UK: Food bank users refusing potatoes due to rising cooking costs, Iceland chief says
Food bank users are turning down potatoes and other root vegetables because soaring fuel costs makes it too expensive to cook them, the boss of a leading UK supermarket chain has said. Speaking before Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his spring statement, Iceland's managing director Richard Walker said: "It's incredibly concerning. We're hearing of some food bank users declining potatoes and root veg because they can't afford the energy to boil them."
Source: news.sky.com
Australia: Farmers Pick launch in Sydney with their weird and wonderful fruit and veggies
Farmers Pick has already taken Melbourne and regional Victoria by storm and has increased their business by a whopping 3000% within the past 12 months. Not to mention, the team behind Farmers Pick has saved over 400 tonnes of Aussie-grown fruit and veggies from waste. Now they have their eyes set on Sydney and Greater New South Wales.
Source: prwire.com.au
Romania survey: Retail sales up 7.5% in 2021
Retail sales grew by 7.5% in Romania in 2021, above the European average of 3.3%, but below the 10.6% increase in Eastern Europe, in line with data from Retail Audit NielsenIQ. However, compared to the average in Eastern Europe, whose evolution also reflects the rampant inflation in countries such as Turkey, Ukraine and Belarus, growth in Romania was generated mostly by the volumes consumed (+6%).
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland