Germany: Edeka NST adds new members to its executive board
The board of trustees of Edeka Nordbayern-Sachsen-Thüringen (NST) has announced a number of appointments to its executive board as the German retailer looks to 'future-proof' its executive board. Christian Remy will join the executive board of Edeka NST in September, where he will take over the departments of finance, IT, logistics, and major projects. Furthermore, the contract with spokesperson of the board of management, Sebastian Kohrmann, will be extended early and on a long-term basis. In February of this year, Gert Lehmann was also appointed to the company's executive board. In the future, the executive board will comprise Sebastian Kohrmann as spokesperson of the board, Gert Lehmann as merchandise director, and Christian Remy as board member for finance, IT and logistics. Rainer Kämpgen will leave Edeka NST at the scheduled end of his contract in the fourth quarter of 2022, the company added.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Waitrose braced for Duchy Originals boost: Upmarket grocer says it should get boost from King Charles's brand
Waitrose is bracing for an uptick in sales of its Duchy Originals range - which was started by King Charles in 1990. The upmarket grocer said that sales of the line, which includes vine tomatoes, green beans and blueberries, were likely to receive a boost.
Source: thisismoney.co.uk
Rohlik Group-owned Sezamo launches in Italy
Sezamo, a home shopping delivery service that is part of the Rohlik Group, has launched a trial in Italy, initially focused on the Lombardy region. Using the slogan ‘Eat well, live well’, the brand is seeking to shake up the online grocery segment in Italy, through its innovative and sustainable model, according to CEO Andrea Colombo.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Portugal: Sumol+Compal launches juices produced with HPP technology
Portuguese beverage company Sumol+Compal has launched its first range of natural refrigerated juices produced with High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology. This technology uses high pressure to eliminate undesired micro-organisms, preserve nutrients and extend the shelf life of the product, without using artificial colouring and preservatives. In addition, HPP technology does not use heat in the production process, keeping the fruit cold and ensuring that the final product offers the taste of fresh fruit.
Source: esmmagazine.com
SPAR enters international partnership agreement with Whywaste
SPAR International has announced a worldwide partnership with food tech company Whywaste to support their food waste reduction strategy at retail. SPAR country organisations will be able to use Whywaste's digital solutions in their day-to-day operations to reduce food waste in stores. Whywaste provides a portfolio of solutions that addresses food waste-related challenges that occur in grocery retail. One part of the portfolio is an advanced digital date-checking app that identifies and keeps track of products that are about to reach their sell-by date. Identifying products at risk of reaching this date at an early stage helps retailers take the appropriate action to ensure that goods are sold rather than wasted. Results from SPAR stores using Whywaste’s solutions show that they have been able to reduce their food waste by up to 40%.
Source: spar-international.com
Recycling campaign: Carrefour customers in Romania can exchange plastic bottles for fruits & vegetables
Carrefour Romania announced a new edition of its “Plata cu PET” (Payment by PET) initiative aimed at encouraging people to recycle more. As part of this campaign, which will kick off on September 22, customers can exchange plastic/glass bottles or aluminium cans for fresh fruits and vegetables. For each such packaging collected, clients receive one fruit or vegetable. The amount doubles for each rPET DORNA bottle, made of 100% recycled and 100% recyclable plastic, recycled within this campaign.
Source: romania-insider.com
US: Instacart offers grocers the future of grocery in a bundle
Instacart is rolling out a suite of products designed to help grocers offer shoppers a next-gen grocery ecosystem. The company is debuting Connected Stores, a bundle of new and existing Instacart Platform technologies that will help grocers build a unified, seamless, personalized experience both online and in-store. Connected Stores includes: The new Caper Cart, Scan & Pay, Lists, Carrot Tags, FoodStorm Department Orders and Out of Stock Insights.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Study: Food retailers see potential digital sales pass them by
Food retailers can do more to optimize the digital grocery experience for customers - and get a better return for themselves. The OSF Digital 2022 Grocery Omnichannel Retail Index (ORI) found that grocers are falling short in trying to increase what goes into shoppers’ virtual carts. For example, just 58% of food retailers recommend additional products in the cart before checkout, up from 35% in 2019, despite the fact that pitching complementary products or popular items together can boost basket size and provide more customers convenience, Quebec City-based OSF noted in the report.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US Foods Fall Scoop products help operators increase menu profitability
US Foods Holding Corp. announced the launch of its Fall 2022 Scoop™, themed “Money Making Menus - Products Positioned for Profits”. Fall Scoop features 22 innovative, labor-saving products that offer upsell, swap and add-on opportunities to help increase menu profitability and retain and attract diners. In today’s environment, when rising labor costs, increased food costs and diner satisfaction are the top three concerns on an operator’s mind (Datassential 2022), US Foods is bringing solutions to help operators address these pain points and continue to drive profitable growth. With Fall Scoop, US Foods is making it easier for operators to discover on-trend, versatile, pre-prepped products that deliver profit-building menu opportunities and back-of-house cost savings.
Source: businesswire.com
PlantX Life to acquire online domain veganessentials.com
PlantX Life Inc. ("PlantX" or the "Company"), the digital face of the plant-based community, operating a one-stop shop for plant-based products, is pleased to announced that it will acquire the online domain www.veganessentials.com, and certain associated intellectual property and assets.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Launching Jupiter, the creator-first recipe and grocery shopping platform
Jupiter, the creator-first recipe and grocery shopping platform, launched with over 60 individual creator storefronts, including Molly Baz. With Jupiter, creators seamlessly integrate creator's social and web content into beautifully curated, branded, and shoppable recipe stores, where home cooks browse, shop individual recipes for ingredients, manage grocery lists, and get same-day grocery deliveries all from individual storefronts from each food creator.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: BrightDrop breaks into grocery industry with eCart for optimized online order fulfillment and pickup 
BrightDrop is expanding its business and product portfolio with the launch of a new temperature-controlled eCart that helps streamline order fulfillment and pickup for online grocery purchases. Online grocery is a rapidly expanding market that’s expected to reach $240bln by 2025. Kroger, America’s largest grocer, is slated to be the first customer to introduce the BrightDrop Trace Grocery into its e-commerce operations, beginning this year.
Source: gobrightdrop.com