US: WinCo Foods submits plans for massive facility in Central Washington
WinCo Foods, Inc., a privately held and majority employee-owned U.S. supermarket chain based out of Boise, Idaho, has submitted an engineering proposal to the City of Ellensburg, Washington to build a distribution center within the city’s limits, according to reporting from the Daily Record News. The plans include a five-parcel, 1mln-square-foot grocery distribution center on over 100 acres. The logistical center will also include a roughly 47,000-square-foot truck returns warehouse, a nearly 800-square-foot driver waiting building, and an almost 400-square-foot check-in building, according to a city document.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Hy-Vee set to unveil its biggest store yet
Hy-Vee plans to open its largest supermarket to date, in the city of Gretna, Nebraska, just southwest of Omaha. Plans call for the 135,000-square-foot store, located at 10855 S. 191st Street in Gretna, to hold a public grand opening on Tuesday. The supermarket will be Hy-Vee’s biggest yet, and the West Des Moines, Iowa-based retailer noted that the store had been under construction for more than a year. The Gretna Hy-Vee will carry about 120,000 items, with more than 6,300 specialty products, over 8,000 HealthMarket items and 3,500 fresh produce offerings, including 120 organic items.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
Canada: Grocery giants pull Vegibec pending investigation
In light of contamination concerns relating to G&R Recycling, The Eastern Door has learned that grocery chains Provigo, Metro, and Sobeys have suspended orders from Les Jardins Vegibec. The beleaguered vegetable producer recently had its certification suspended by CanadaGAP pending an investigation. The decision came after La Presse posed questions to the regulatory body as part of an exposé on Vegibec’s possible use of contaminated water.
Source: easterndoor.com
US: Harris Teeter Delivery gets under way in Maryland
Harris Teeter has kicked off on-demand grocery delivery in Baltimore and greater Maryland through parent The Kroger Co.’s fulfillment network. Dubbed Harris Teeter Delivery, the service serves customers in selected ZIP codes across Maryland, the Matthews, North Carolina-based regional grocer said. More than 30,000 items are now available, including fresh produce, meat and seafood plus exclusive items from Harris Teeter and brands such as Boar’s Head fresh-cut deli meat.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
NYC mogul John Catsimatidis offers to buy CNN – and run it for just $1 per year
Billionaire John Catsimatidis teased that he aims to buy CNN from its corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery – and told The Post he’d “go run the place tomorrow morning and all I’d want is $1 per year”. The New York supermarket mogul first said he’d bid on the beleaguered network during an appearance on 77 WABC’s “Sid & Friends in the Morning”.
Source: nypost.com
Ahold Delhaize hits ‘roughly half’ its 1bln euro goal for non-grocery revenue
Ahold Delhaize has hit “roughly half” its goal to grow revenue from businesses beyond grocery stores to 1bln euros by 2025, CEO Frans Muller told Reuters, an effort focused on selling ads on its supermarkets’ websites and monetising insights on consumer data.
Source: reuters.com
Żabka Group contributed PLN7bln to Polish economy last year
Polish retailer Żabka Group contributed PLN7bln (€1.57bln) to the domestic economy last year, while also creating 56,000 jobs, it has revealed in its fifth annual Responsibility Report.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Australia: New campaign spreads fruit and vegetable message
Echuca-Moama residents are urged to buy and eat locally produced fruit and vegetables as part of the ‘Support Our Own. Choose Locally Grown’ campaign. The initiative is led by Healthy Loddon Campaspe coordinator Alicia O’Brien in partnership with the Victorian Government and Regional Partnerships Loddon Campaspe. “There is a huge variety of produce grown within the Loddon Campaspe region for the community to choose from including apples, avocados, oranges, pears, potatoes, tomatoes and leafy greens,” Ms O’Brien said. Further information at www.healthyloddoncampaspe.au/chooselocallygrown
Source: sheppnews.com.au
UK: Asda shoppers stocked up on hot weather essentials ahead of a scorcher of a weekend
Asda has seen sales of classic summer side dishes jump, with coleslaw (+14%), dips (36%) and bread rolls (14%) all up year on year. Asda’s Senior Director of Food Trends and Innovation, Jonathan Moore, shares his handy top tips on how to master the grill and boost flavour: “Cook over direct and indirect heat depending on what you are cooking and how thick it is. And when the coals are cooling slightly, you can drop vegetables like peppers and aubergine straight on and cook directly on them. This blisters the skin and adds another layer of flavour. Marinating your meat, fish or vegetables overnight helps develop more flavour in your food as well as choosing different charcoal from different woods to cook over.”
Source: corporate.asda.com
Slovakia: Competition heats up in grocery market
“Slovakia and Poland have a similar shopping culture. Many Slovaks cross the border to Poland to shop at Biedronka, which is why we’re planning to invest in the country”, Pedro Soares dos Santos, board chairman of Portuguese firm Jerónimo Martins, which owns Biedronka, said, according to the Czech Primetime.cz website.
Source: spectator.sme.sk
UK: Co-op and the RSPB join forces to preserve nature’s carbon ‘stores’ through ambitious peatland restoration partnership
Co-op and the RSPB have joined forces in a UK supermarket first to protect some of nature’s carbon ‘stores’ through ambitious restoration and long-term management of UK peatland.
Source: co-operative.coop
France: How Carrefour is getting started with ChatGPT
French retailer Carrefour has launched an artificial intelligence chatbot that helps customers do their shopping. The retailer is also using generative AI for some internal processes, such as purchasing and product sheets.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Bestway helping retailers drive more profit
Bestway has announced the launch of its new ‘Profit Drivers’ range. It has been created to give retailers instant recognition and identification of key retail lines that are top-selling products. These lines will receive additional focus and marketing support. According to Bestway’s Group Trading Director, Kenton Burchell, up to 200 lines have been identified as top-selling lines, and when including all variants, the collection will consist of around 300 SKUs.
Source: kamcity.com
Veg of Lund launches DUG mango smoothie onto the Swedish market
Veg of Lund introduces a new flavor of DUG smoothie. The new mango smoothie has the lowest fruit sugar content on the market, is allergen-free and is a source of omega 3. With DUG Mango Smoothie, Veg of Lund complements its range of unique plant-based foods under the DUG® brand.
Source: ir.dugdrinks.com
UK: Waitrose slashes prices on more than 200 of its products
Waitrose has slashed the price of more than 200 products as part of its £100mln plan to lower bills for shoppers this summer. A 450g pack of Waitrose watermelon chunks now costs £3.95, down 21% from £5.
Source: messengernewspapers.co.uk