Newsletter

March 2017Volume 5 - Issue 2

C.A. Fortune Announcements

Please Join Us in Welcoming the Following New Employees to C.A. Fortune

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Vol. 5 - Issue 2

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•Rose Pierro, Account Manager, Natural Channel – Rose joined the C.A. Fortune team with the acquisition of her Natural/Specialty brokerage company, Wild Rose Marketing based in Boulder, CO. in November. Rose has over 35 years of experience in the natural food industry. Experience includes: President of an organization that researched ingredients to offer clean products to children with sensitivities, bakery operation and sales/trainer for a coffee company servicing the natural food industry. Rose will report to the V.P. of Sales, Natural channel, Dwight Richmond. She is truly a valuable asset to the company; welcome to the team, Rose!

•Tracy Ford, Account Manager, Specialty/Conventional Channel – Tracy joined the West region C.A. Fortune team, after 8 years with Wild Rose Marketing as an outside sales representative, in November. Prior to this, she owned Colora-do Artisan Foods which represented companies that manufactured specialty food products in CO. Tracy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Consumer Foods from the University of Georgia. She will report to Bob Wingfield, V.P. of Sales, Specialty/Conventional channel.

•Rus Clark, Client Development Manager – Rus joined the C.A. Fortune team on December 1st, after spending 10 years in the natural foods industry. He is based in the West Region, serving markets in the Denver, CO. area. Rus will be collaborating with clients and account managers to build strategies that increase and drive sales. Russ received a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State Universi-ty in Supply Chain Management and will be reporting to Rosanna Mugnolo, the Senior Director of Client Development. Great to have you onboard, Rus!

•Don Martineau, Account Manager for the Natural Channel – Don has spent 20 years in the specialty foods industry, specifically working with coffee and tea. He brings a comprehensive view of the industry with experience that includes retail management, sales, account management, brand development and production management. Don joined the West region C.A. Fortune team in December. He reports to Dwight Richmond, the V.P. of Sales, Natural Channel.

•Lindsey Smith, Account Manager for the Specialty/Conventional Channel – Lindsey joined the Central C.A. Fortune team based in the Kentucky market on Jan-uary 16th. Lindsey’s prior experience, business knowledge, and diligent work ethic is expected to bring C.A. Fortune even more success. Lindsey will report to Brian Taylor, the V.P. of Sales, Specialty/Conventional Channel in the Central Region. We are excited to welcome Lindsey aboard!

•Kelly Hottinga, Account Manager for the Natural Channel – Kelly joined the West C.A. Fortune team on January 23rd and will be providing for the Southern California market. Kelly started in the industry over twenty years ago. Kelly comes to CA Fortune with a vast knowledge and experience

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Inside This Issue

Distributor News

Retailer News

Consumer Trends

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17-29

12-17

CAF Announcements2-4

Communications29

Industry News6-12

Shows & Events30

calling on a multitude of accounts such as distributors as well as conventional and natural grocery chains. Kelly will report to our V.P. of Sales, Natural Channel, Dwight Richmond.

•Ashley Ledsworth, Director of Sales, Bakery/Deli Channel – In February, Ashley joined the West C.A. Fortune team based out of the Northern CA. office. Ashley has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University of East Bay and comes to us after a 10-year career with Safeway, where she held various positions such as National Category Manager, Senior Manager of Brand Development & Assistant Sales Manager. Ashley brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the West Market/ Ashley will report to our West region V.P. of Sales, Bakery/Deli channel, Christine Wingfield. Welcome Ashley!

•Kelly Evers, Associate Distributor Development Manager & Support Specialist – Kelly joined the Central C.A. Fortune team on February 13th and will be working closely with our Central Region Sales Managers. Kelly has a bachelor’s degree from Aurora University where she played basketball and completed multiple internships. Kelly will report to our Central region V.P. of Sales, Specialty/Conventional Channel in the Central Region, Brian Taylor. Happy to have you, Kelly!

•Jehan Palomares, Director of Sales, Specialty/Conventional Channel – Jehan joined the C.A. Fortune team in Northern CA. area (West region) in February. She has over 15 years of experience; she comes to us after most recently spending 4 years with KeHE Distributors, as the Director of National Accounts. Jehan thrives on challeng-es, particularly those that expand the organization’s reach. Jehan holds a Master’s of Business Administration degree from California State Stanislaus. Jehan will report to the West region V.P. of Sales, Specialty/Conventional channel, Bob Wingfield.

•Nicki Fisher, Support Specialist, Specialty/Conventional Channel– Nicki joined the South region C.A. For-tune team on February 20th. She brings 25 years of data entry and office experience to her role. Nicki will report to Galen Fowler, V.P. of Sales, Specialty/Conventional in the South region. We are so happy to have you on the team, Nicki!

•Sheilia Blain, Retail Specialist, Specialty/Conventional Channel – Sheilia joined the South region C.A. Fortune team under Galen Fowler, V.P. of Sales, Specialty/Conventional on February 27th. Sheilia has spent the last 21 years of her grocery career in the Specialty/Natural/Organic industry, coming to C.A. Fortune after 15+ years with Gourmet Awards Foods, Tree of Life and KeHE Distributors. She will be working in the LA. and Gulf Coast area.

•Vicky Griesman, Support Specialist, Specialty/Conventional Channel – Vicky started with C.A. Fortune, March 13th. She came to us from the Whole Foods Market, South Region with 12 years’ experience in Data In-tegrity. Before that she was in the Travel Industry worked for an airline and several Travel Agencies in Texas. Vicky reports to Marty Walsh, V.P. of Sales, Specialty/Conventional channel in the Eat region.

•Mariah Grashoff, Client Development Manager – In February, Mariah joined our central team, located out of the headquarter office. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and comes to us after 7+ years in the industry at KeHE. Mariah has a passion for Natural, Specialty and Organic products. Her manufacturer and sales agency experience will be utilized to develop and grow our brands nationally. She will be reporting to Rosanna Mugnolo, Senior Director of Client Development. Great to have you on the team, Mari-ah!

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C.A. Fortune Announcements

Please Join Us in Welcoming the Following New Employees to C.A. Fortune Cont...

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C.A. Fortune Announcements

Please Join Us in Welcoming the Following New Employees to C.A. Fortune Cont...

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•Megan Rosanelli, Account Manager, Specialty/Conventional – On March 20th, Megan joined our East Region C.A. Fortune team, based in the Greater Philadelphia Area. Megan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Temple University and comes to us after 3 years with Santucci Associates, where she man-aged various Mid-Atlantic Independents, Distributors, and Retailers. Megan will report to our V.P. of Sales, Spe-cialty/Conventional channel in the East Region, Marty Walsh.

•Toni Toscano, Technichian, Bakery/Deli – Toni’s passion for baking and pastry has helped her grow as a bakery technician for the past 9 years. She has degrees in Nutritional Sciences/Food Service Administration, Business Administration, and Pastry Arts. Toni join the team in March and will report to Rich Luzzi, the Director of Sales, Bakery/Deli channel in the East region. C.A. Fortune is excited to have her on the team and look forward to watching her grow with the company!

•Nicole Mark, Key Account Analyst, Specialty/Conventional Channel – Nicole joined the West C.A. Fortune team on March 13th in the Northern California office. Nicole came to C.A. Fortune from KeHE Distributors and has 12 years of experience working in the grocery industry. She will be reporting to our West Region Directors of Sales, Jehan Palomares and Ashley Ledsworth.

•Andrea Durham, Client Service Specialist, Customer Service – Andrea Durham joined C.A. Fortune in March, after 10 years of professional administrative support experience including: recruiting, customer service, client service, collections, and data entry. Andrea will use her strong organizational and communication skills to assist our clients. Andrea reports to Ben Adelphia, Lead Client Service Specialist, Customer Service in our Head-quarter office.

The second weekend in March, the second Haddon House Distribution Center, located in Howell, NJ, successfully converted to the UNFI distribution network. This is a major milestone in the integration and will enable them to serve their customers as one company.

Over the next few weeks, you may experience some challenges as they acclimate to the new ways of working together. If you have questions, please contact your Buyer – please refer to the Buyer Assignment list as needed.

Gourmet Guru IntegrationThank you for your continued support of the integration between UNFI and Gourmet Guru. They’re excited about the benefits it will bring Gourmet Guru suppliers, including a new geographic reach, access to UNFI resources, and opportunities to expand into new customer bases.

Currently they in the process of relocating items from the Gourmet Guru Bronx facility to the UNFI Distribution Centers. Items are being relocated based on geographic proximity, customer-specific long hauls, and existing business.

Successful Conversion of the Haddon House Distribution Center in Howell, NJ

Distributor News

All Current or Previous Gourmet Guru SuppliersYou should have recently received a detailed breakdown of how the integration impacts your brand assortment, including warehouse information, locations, and invoicing addresses. If you did not receive this information or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Supplier Relationship Manager.

Suppliers New to UNFIIf you were not shipping to UNFI prior to the Gourmet Guru Integration, you should have received your first Purchase Order from UNFI the week of 3/20.

Please review the Purchase Order to confirm the details are correct and that UNFI is set up in your system as a customer for billing purposes. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Supplier Relationship Manager.

The goal is to make this process as easy as possible for their suppliers. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your Supplier Relationship Manager.

Nash Finch Company, a leading national food distributor, today announced the completion of a significant expansion of a distribution center located in Lima, Ohio. This expansion represents a substantial investment and effectively doubles the current freezer capacity.

“We are very excited to announce the completion of this expansion at our Lima distribution center,” stated Alec Covington, Nash Finch President and CEO. “This important investment positions us to better serve existing customers while

at the same time providing needed capacity to add additional ones.”

The expansion of the Lima facility began with a ground breaking in August of 2009 and construction was complet-ed in April of 2010. The expansion enables Nash Finch to triple the amount of frozen volume shipped from Lima. A grand opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting is planned for July.

Nash Finch also announced today the closure of a distribution center located in Bridgeport, Michigan. Nash Finch has operated this facility since 1996 and expects to completely exit the facility by late September. All customers currently supplied by the Bridgeport facility will be transitioned to Nash Finch’s Lima distribution center.

“I want to thank all of our associates in Bridgeport for their many years of service,” commented Mr. Covington. “It is never an easy decision to close a facility but in order to best serve our customers this is a necessary move. I also thank our customers currently supplied by Bridgeport for their business and we look forward to serving them from our Lima distribution center.”

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Distributor News

Nash Finch Completes Lima Distribution Center Expansion

Successful Conversion of the Haddon House Distribution Center in Howell, NJ Cont...

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KeHE Distributors will debut its newest distribution center on April 12th in Douglasville, Georgia, near Atlanta.

The 450,000 square feet LEED-certified facility is located at 1851 River-side Parkway. It enhances the company’s network of distribution centers supporting more than 30,000 stores across North America, according to KeHE.

The grand opening festivities next month begin at 10 a.m. and will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony, guided tours, light snacks and refreshments, a Pick & Pack event to benefit Children’s Hunger Fund and samples courtesy of the event’s sponsors.

Employee-owned KeHe, headquartered in Illinois, is a natural foods distributor with 17 distribution centers in the U.S. and Canada.

Quinn Snacks was founded in Arlington, Mass., in 2011. The company’s goal was to “clean up” microwave pop-corn, which had come under fire for the material used in its bags, and trans fats and other ingredients that many of today’s consumers find offensive.

But just a couple of years later, Quinn’s founders and three of its employees picked up stakes and moved to this city, which Coulter Lewis, a co-founder, described as the ideal place for a small food company.

“When we were getting started, Kristy was calling all over the place to figure out where to get ingredients and the packaging we’d need,” said Mr. Lewis, referring to his wife, also a company co-founder. “Over time, she was calling people in Boulder three, four, five times a week for advice, and we just realized that our support network was here.”

Boulder is perhaps best known for craft beer and bicycles — there’s almost one for every person living here — and for being home to Mork and Mindy. But among foodies, it is also known as the place where new companies are challenging the old guard in the food business.

Up-and-coming food companies like Purely Elizabeth, Made in Nature and Good Karma Foods have relocated to Boulder to take advantage of the city’s deep bench of food executives, a food retail environment that prizes innovation and experimentation, and a growing pool of money for investments in food companies, among other things.

And the infrastructure such companies need — brokers, distributors, contract manufacturers — is arriving as well. The second-largest natural foods distributor, KeHE, opened an office here in 2013, and the Rodale Institute, a non-profit research group devoted to organic farming, is opening a satellite office here.

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Distributor News

KeHE To Debut Atlanta Distribution Center Next Month

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Industry News

Foodies Know: Boulder Has Become a Hub for New Producers

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“There’s an ecosystem here that supports food entrepreneurs that you just don’t find in other places,” said Justin Gold, who founded Justin’s, a nut butter company, here in 2004. “Everything you need, including a lot of experi-ence and expertise, is right here.”

The money flowing to food start-ups here still trails New York and Silicon Valley. Food and beverage start-ups in Boulder, which has just over 100,000 residents, attracted $76 million from September 2012 to September 2016, according to CB Insights, a research firm, compared with $315 million in New York and $616 million in Silicon Valley.

But the vast majority of the money in New York and Northern Cal-ifornia has gone to just a few companies. In Boulder, the money is more widely spread among dozens of companies that make every-thing from gluten-free cereals to probiotic drinks.

Indeed, the founders of small food and drink companies based here say Boulder is hard to beat as a place to start and grow. Many of them cite the help of Naturally Boulder, a kind of support organization for natural product entrepreneurs that started in 2005.

The group offers classes and programs on things like “The Ins and Outs of Great Packaging” and “Capital Rais-ing for Every Stage of Your Business.” It recently offered a program on how to make connections at a big annual foodie event, Expo West, in March.

And its monthly networking nights attract as many as 200 people, including luminaries like Steve Demos, the founder of Silk, which produces dairy substitutes, and Todd Woloson, a founder of Izze, the fizzy fruit-flavored drink company, who built businesses here long before Boulder became a foodie mecca.

Then, of course, there is Boulder’s reputation for good food. The city frequently is listed in foodie magazines as a great place to dine, and its denizens prize “clean” foods, making it a natural place to test new products.

“The household penetration of natural products is disproportionately high,” Mr. Demos said, “and the risk factor to prove viability is lower than it might be in the big cities on the coasts.”

And if entrepreneurs can’t make one of Naturally Boulder’s networking nights or morning mixers, they have a good chance of running into someone like Mr. Demos at the Whole Foods on Pearl Street downtown — a place that is to spotting food celebrities what the Polo Lounge is to spotting movie stars.

“I think that’s Mo in the checkout line over there,” said Tom Rich, vice president of Whole Foods’s Rocky Mountain region, squinting across the store at Mo Siegel, one of the founders of Celestial Seasonings.

“It’s a small place, really, and you just bump into people like that here and they’re going to give you their phone number or email address and actually respond when you call or write them,” said Mr. Rich, who got his start bag-ging groceries in the Pearl Street store and is now considered something of a legend by many food entrepreneurs.

Mr. Rich gave start-ups like Justin’s and Madhava Sweeteners a stab at selling in Whole Foods and has helped cultivate the infrastructure here that supports them.

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Industry News

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For instance, he often refers small food businesses to Green Spoon, a broker that helps them with sales and distri-bution. His referrals also have helped Green Spoon grow, expanding its services into the Midwest and Mid-Atlan-tic States.

In addition to Whole Foods, other grocery stores in Boulder, like Lucky’s Markets, Alfalfa’s Market and even King Soopers, a regional Kroger chain, serve as a testing ground for young companies.

Birch Benders, a pancake mix business that is working to dent sales of Bisquick and Aunt Jemima, got its first shot at Lucky’s, an organic grocery chain that Kroger took a stake in last year. Matt LaCasse, one of Birch Benders’s founders, had landed in Boulder in 2011 after graduating from Yale and was looking for a way to stay at the end of a long ski season.

In 2011, Lucky’s asked Birch Benders to demonstrate its product in one of its stores. Customers flocked to its table for samples served with juice. But it didn’t move off the shelves.

Now Birch Benders mixes are sold in Target, Safeway, Giant Eagle and Whole Foods.

“I don’t know that in another city, a retailer would have stuck with us for as long as Lucky’s did,” said Lizzi Acker-man, the company’s chief operating officer, who was just named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list of food entre-preneurs. “They really gave us a chance to get it right.”

Birch Benders also tapped into other local resources. The company started with money from friends and family but was quickly able to get financing from Boulder Food Group, a private equity firm started by Tom Spier using money from the sale of Evol Foods, which he co-founded.

But B.F.G., as it’s known here, isn’t the only local investment firm focusing on the local food scene. Mr. Woloson, formerly of Izze, heads up Greenmont Capital Partners, which has made investments in Madhava Sweeteners, based in nearby Longmont, and Door to Door Organics, a grocery delivery business in Lafayette.

Now, other financial interests are circling. Last fall, Rabobank, a big Dutch bank, held its third Food Bytes confer-ence in Boulder, attracting more investors and company executives than it had to previous rounds of the event, which were held in San Francisco and Brooklyn.

Then there’s New Resource Bank, which provides services for companies with so-called triple bottom lines — so-cial and environmental, along with financial. It chose to open its second branch in Boulder last year.

“We looked at Los Angeles, Seattle and a few other places, and the Boulder area really came out on top in terms of having a critical mass of the types of companies we work with,” said Vincent Siciliano, the bank’s chief execu-tive. “One of the big draws in Boulder is the fact that they have hundreds of start-up food businesses.”

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Industry News

Foodies Know: Boulder Has Become a Hub for New Producers Cont...

Produce wholesalers and distributors now have a new tool to de-velop food safety plans that comply with FDA regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

“Wholesalers face many of the same food safety regulatory chal-lenges that other members of the produce supply chain do under FSMA, but the unique nature of the wholesale produce business means the rules apply differently to these types of companies,” says Dr. Jennifer McEntire, vice president of Food Safety & Technology, United Fresh Produce Association. “It’s critical that wholesalers and distributors understand their responsibilities under the new rules, and this new publication provides step by step guidance on assessing how the rules apply to your operations and developing the appropriate company food safety plan.”

Developed with the support of the National Association of Perishable Agricultural Receivers (NAPAR), which had previously published a food safety plan builder for wholesalers written by Dr. McEntire, the new publication includes a summary of each of the major FSMA rules and how they impact wholesalers, including a step-by-step review of the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule, which requires the development of a food safety plan. The publication includes templates developed by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance that companies can use to develop and implement their food safety plans.

“The Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule applies to facilities that are required to register with the FDA, which applies to most wholesalers and distributors,” says John Motley, president of NAPAR. “These companies need to develop a food safety plan to be considered in compliance with this rule, as well as to meet customers’ expecta-tions and requirements.”

Wholesalers can download the new publication “How to Build a Food Safety Plan” on the United Fresh website for $100 for United Fresh members and $300 for non-members.

The USDA has issued a final rule regarding the agency’s National List of Allowed and

Prohibited Substances for the National Organic Program. The agency renewed 187 of 198 substances submitted by the National Organic Standards Board as part of the 2017 sunset review. The document became effective March 15. Click Here for the Full Notice

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Industry News

New Food Safety Tool for Produce Wholesalers Now Available

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USDA Issues Final Rule on Substances in National Organic Program

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A food-technology startup based in the Bay Area announced that it had produced the world’s first chicken strips grown from animal cells in a lab—no actual chickens required.

Memphis Meats dished up deep-fried samples of the its poultry in San Francisco, the Wall Street Journal reported, and those who sampled it said that while it seemed spongier than a whole chicken breast, it basically tasted like the real thing. The company also touted a piece of lab-grown duck served with orange sauce.

But don’t expect to see high-tech chicken tenders hit your grocery store soon: The company estimates it costs under $9,000 to make one pound of the meat, the Journal reported. Memphis Meats expects price should come down in the next several years and let them offer their products publicly in 2021, according to Business Insider.

The ultimate goal: Cater to America’s massive appetite for poultry while ditching the meat industry’s less savory side effects.

“Americans spend roughly $90 billion per year—just on chicken,” Memphis Meats said in a statement Wednes-day. “But while poultry products are delicious and satisfying, the process by which they are made is not. It involves environmental degradation, animal welfare concerns and public health risks.”

The average American consumes about 7,000 animals in their lifetime, and current rates of meat consumption require a considerable toll on land and water resources while resulting in greenhouse gasses. Memphis Meats, which calls its product “clean meat,” debuted a lab-grown meatball last year and plans to produce Thanksgiving turkey.

Certain grain-based foods provide meaningful contributions of needed nutrients, including fiber, iron and folate, to children, according to a study published on-line Feb. 20 in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients. The Grain Foods Foundation, Washington, and Nutritional Strategies, Inc., Paris, Ont., conducted data analysis from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009-12. The study determined grain food sources of energy/nutrients in U.S. children and adolescents. The study involved a 24-hour recall method from 6,109 chil-dren from the ages of 2 to 18. All grains provided about 23% of the dietary fiber, 39% of the folate and 35% of the iron in the total diets of the children. The study found bread, rolls and tortillas are meaningful sources of thiamin, folate, dietary fiber, iron and niacin. Ready-to-eat cereals contribute meaningful levels of fiber, iron, vitamin A, zinc and B vitamins (like folate, thiamin, vitamin B12 and niacin).

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Industry News

Lab-Grown Chicken Strips, Made From Animal Cells, Debuted By Startup

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New Study Links Grain Foods to Vital Nutrients for Children

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“We understand that children don’t consume enough of certain key nutrients,” says Yanni Papanikolaou, author of the study and vice-president of Nutritional Strategies. “Yet our research shows certain grain foods, which are often children’s favorites, provide meaningful contributions to those nutrients lacking in their diets. With this insight, we can hypothesize that if children consume more of these grain products, they could get closer to recommended nutrient intakes.” Most American children do not consume enough fiber, iron, vitamin A or folate, according to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. “Not meeting nutrient recommendations can stall childhood development, ranging from stunting growth to cog-nitive delays,” says Dyan Hes, M.D., medical director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York. “Ensuring that our children consume adequate amounts of essential nutrients will facilitate success in the classroom as well as happy and healthy development.”

As retailers look to expand and continue the race to win over consumers’ hearts, prime real estate and flourishing markets can be key to a successful strategy. As one grocery outlook report has outlined, Texas looks to be the new leading focus for expanding chains.

According to JLL’s 2017 Grocery Tracker, buy-side growth over 2016 put Texas as the most coveted state, with 3.04 mil-lion-square-feet of new grocery space. This number accounts for little over 16 percent of the total growth throughout the year across the U.S.

JLL emphasized that Texas is particularly attractive to retail strategies, as strong residential growth allows for chains to potentially capitalize on the strong shopper base and inherent opportunities.

“Grocery operators have been capitalizing on Texas’ continued population growth, especially in metro areas like Houston and Dallas. 2016 data revealed that the Houston market experienced record single-family sales for the second time in three years and is second in annual new home starts behind Dallas,” the report stated.

The chains to lay the biggest claim on the Texas market were Kroger and H-E-B, specifically in the Houston and Dallas regions. JLL note that Kroger opened around 35 percent of all new Texas stores in 2016, with mainly a suburban focus.

Close behind the Texas appeal for growing chains in 2016, came California. The state boasted almost 11 percent of total square footage added last year, with a heavy focus in Southern California.

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Industry News

New Study Links Grain Foods to Vital Nutrients for Children Cont...

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Texas Comes Out on Top in Retail Space Added for 2016

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As the buy-side sector looks forward to the rest of 2017, JLL stated that a continued focus will be convenience. As consumers shift their needs and the way they shop, the chains at the top of the list are projected to be the ones who match and meet those consumer requirements. Value-added, grocery delivery, speed through technology, and urban concepts will all be ongoing points of focus.

Forget four leaf clovers, it seems kale is a lucky ingredient this year. According to a new data, foods that incorporate kale as an ingredient have seen substantial growth in sales over the last year.

Using ingredient data from Label Insight, Nielsen’s Product Insider tool found that the curly green vegetable has expanded beyond more traditional savory categories such as pas-ta sauce, prepared foods and side dishes to yogurt, breakfast and even frozen sweets.

Between February 2016 and 2017 sales dollars increased by as much as 391 percent in frozen breakfast entrees with kale and 125 percent in vitamins and supplements with kale. Pasta sauce with the vegetable also saw sub-stantial sales growth at about 60 percent.

But it seems that consumers prefer their kale in products rather than as the starring attraction. Kale on its own only saw dollar sales increase by about five percent during that same time period, according to the report.

Americans will spend more than ever as they celebrate Easter nearly three weeks later this year than last, the National Retail Federation said. According to NRF’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, spending for Easter is expected to reach $18.4 billion, up 6 percent over last year’s record $17.3 billion and a new all-time high in the survey’s 14-year history. Those celebrating plan to spend an average of $152 per person, up 4 percent from last year’s previous record of $146.

“Most consumers have almost an entire extra month to shop for Easter this year, and by the time the holiday comes the weather should be significantly warmer than last Easter,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “That should put shoppers in the frame of mind to splurge on spring apparel along with Easter decorations. With the economy improving, consumers are ready to shop and retailers are ready to offer great deals whether they’re buying Easter baskets or garden tools.”

According to the survey, consumers will spend $5.8 billion on food (purchased by 87% of shoppers), $3.3 billion on clothing (50%), $2.9 billion on gifts (61%), $2.6 billion on candy (89%), $1.2 billion on flowers (39%), $1.1 billion on decorations (43%) and $788 million on greeting cards (48%).

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Industry News

Texas Comes Out on Top in Retail Space Added for 2016 Cont...

Consumer Trends

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Seeing Green: Kale-Incorporated Product Sales Soar

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Later Easter Expected to Bring Record Spending

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The 50% of consumers planning to buy clothing is up from 45% last year and is the highest level in a decade while the $3.3 billion expected to be spent is up 9% from last year.

With shopping lists in hand, 58% of consumers will head to discount stores, 46% will go to department stores and 26% will shop at local small businesses. In addi-tion, 27% will shop online, up from 21% last year. Among smartphone owners, 28% will research products on their devices while 18% will use their phones to make a purchase, while another 9% will use apps to do their research or purchase products.

“Easter continues to be a traditional holiday for consumers of all ages, especially young families who are planning to spend a bit more for this celebration,” Prosper Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow said. “With the later timing of Easter, we will see more con-sumers shopping for special deals, especially on apparel and decorations.”

Consumers plan to celebrate Easter in several different ways: 61% will visit family and friends, 57% will cook a holiday meal, 52% will go to church and 17% will go to a restaurant. Children will have plenty to look forward to after the Easter Bunny arrives: 35% of consumers will have an Easter egg hunt and 16% will open gifts. In addition, some consumers will celebrate with more leisurely activities: 43% will watch TV, 10% will shop online and 9% will head to the movies or shop in a store.

What could be said twenty years ago is even truer today: The U.S. food retailing business has never been more competitive. According to The Future of Food Retailing: Value Grocery Shopping in the U.S., a new report by mar-ket research firm Packaged Facts, there are a number of trends putting pressure on food retailers of all stripes, from supermarkets whose bread and butter is groceries to supercenters and drugstores for which food is a smaller but still crucial part of the product mix.

“Food retail is evolving. The customer is king, and perhaps more than anytime in history, the consumers are firmly in control. Competition from multiple channels is unrelenting, and retailers must be creative and innovative in their marketing, products offerings, services, and even store designs just to garner even a semblance of consumer loy-alty,” says David Sprinkle, research director, Packaged Facts.

In The Future of Food Retailing: Value Grocery Shopping in the U.S., Packaged Facts identifies several trends im-pacting the food and beverage retail market. Three of the most prominent are:

- the incursion of e-commerce onto the food retailing landscape- the evolution and expansion of contactless payment options- the rise of the smaller store formats

The E-Commerce EffectFor several years e-commerce has been one of the fastest growth areas for grocery and consumable products. Retailers covet e-commerce shoppers because they tend to be less price sensitive, spending noticeably more than in-store only shoppers and driving higher margins. E-commerce shoppers are also desirable because they

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Consumer Trends

Later Easter Expected to Bring Record Spending Cont...

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Trends Shaping the Future of Grocery Retailing

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tend to stock up, placing two large orders per month on average, with items in their baskets often double or even triple what is typically found in the carts of in-store shoppers.

Not surprising given Amazon’s inexorable inroads into consumables, many brick-and-mortar chains have begun making it possible for shoppers to order online and pick up in store. By some estimates, brick-and-mortar stores now average more than 100 e-commerce orders per week. The practice is so popular that even Amazon wants a piece of the pie and is reportedly considering establishing up to 2,000 “click and collect” stores and possibly even some full-scale grocery stores.

Unsurprisingly, even the ever savvy and mighty Walmart is not immune to the allure of e-commerce. The supercen-ter juggernaut is working to get up to speed and dramatically boost its digital operations to better compete with the likes of Amazon, which presently has the advantage of a larger online presence in international markets, a larger selection and number of products online, and a more successful mobile app and customer loyalty program in Amazon Prime. Walmart’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com in August 2016 was a decisive strategic step in boosting the retailer’s digital operations.

Use of Mobile Payments, Apps, and Screenless Payment AccelerateEspecially as Millennials and Gen Z come of age, a growing aspect of shopping convenience will be the ability to pay wirelessly or by tapping a card on a reader. Many experts predict 2017 will see accelerated growth in contactless transactions due to a variety of factors, including America’s continued transition to the EMV electric standard for smart payment cards requiring insertion rather than swiping.

Rapidly gaining ground are apps designed to speed up the payment process, keep track of transactions, calcu-late and apply customer rewards, and help shoppers bypass lines. For example, since introducing the popular Walmart Pay in 2016, Walmart has already added two new features to the mobile app: the ability to refill pre-scriptions and skip pharmacy lines and the ability for users of Walmart Money services to submit information for the transaction privately rather than filling out paperwork in stores, also skipping the line. Also getting into the app game, Target plans to introduce a mobile payment option in 2017, although it is not yet clear whether it will be embedded in the core Target mobile app, Target’s Cartwheel discount/coupon app, or both.

On a similar note, screenless payment is shaking up online grocery shopping. A pioneer in this area is Amazon with its voice-activated Alexa home assistant and developing cashier-less Amazon Go brick-and-mortar stores, where sensors automatically calculate purchases as customers load up and leave the store.”

Smaller Stores Bigger Than Ever If there’s one thing every grocery shopper wants, it’s the convenience of being able to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible, and for a growing number of shoppers and retailers smaller stores are the ticket. In Europe, ALDI and Lidl have long wielded the smaller store advantage vis-à-vis the huge hyper- markets, and both chains are expanding in the U.S.

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As a result, the smaller store strategy will be even more important to Walmart and Target, both of which have been fielding smaller formats to offset inroads made by dollar stores and to fill the gap between full-sized supercenters and stores too small to warrant their investment. Walmart’s experiments with small-format stores include its Neigh-borhood Market stores—which measure approximately less than one-quarter the size of a Walmart Supercenter—and currently number about 700, with expansion ongoing. Walmart also recently added two Walmart Pickup and Fuel shops as a way to test additional pickup options. Customers order online and pick up at the smaller stores, which carry convenience store basics as well as fuel. The orders are delivered from larger Walmart stores to the smaller stores.

Target, too, has been opening small stores, though mostly in urban areas where space is tight. In late 2016, Target opened three smaller format stores in New York City, and according to reports CEO Brian Cornell envisions open-ing hundreds of smaller Targets, making them a major part of future growth. Overall in 2016, Target opened 32 “flex-format” stores occupying less than 50,000 square feet, with plans for at least 16 more in 2017. The smaller stores afford Target entry into high-rent urban areas that can’t handle typical big-box stores. Along with the small-er size, the stores’ product selection is tailored to the surrounding demographic.

As of early 2017, even the smallest value grocery format of all—dollar stores—is going even smaller. Looking to tap further into the all-important Millennial cohort, in January 2017 Dollar General began testing in Nashville a 3,400-square-foot concept called DGX, with plans to open a second DGX in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Snacking, now accounting for half of all eating occasions, is driven by three primary consumer needs: nourish-ment, optimization and pleasure. Understanding attitudes and approaches to snacking based on these drivers is critical as manufacturers and retailers navigate “the modern era of snackified eating,” said Tamara Barnett, vice-president of strategic insights for The Hartman Group.

“Snacking is not just an interesting phenomenon of consumer behavior … it really is a crucial demand space for product and marketing development and strategic portfolio planning,” Ms. Barnett said during a Feb. 28 webinar presentation detailing findings of recent research about snacking behaviors.

Of the 91% of consumers who report snacking multiple times throughout the day, 8% forgo meals altogether in favor of all-day snacking. Time pressures and commitments, as well as the decline of meal planning and cooking skills, have upended traditional daily food rituals.

“How we go about planning, acquiring and consuming food has been disrupted, and the result of that disruption has been in many cases the displacement of meals and a lot of variation in when and how and what gets con-sumed,” Ms. Barnett said.

An elevated focus on food and beverage for nutrition and a growing interest in global flavors have fueled an evo-lution in snacking behaviors and preferences, Ms. Barnett said.

“Snacking was about diversion and fun before,” she said, indicating a more recent shift toward health and well-ness, fresh and premium.

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Forecasting the Future of Snacking

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Forecasting the Future of Snacking Cont...“The food industry has responded to this desire for fresh and minimally processed food and beverages, and there has been a proliferation of small, premium quality brands that are now competing with those larger legacy brands.”

As the line between meal and snack becomes increasingly blurry, the three main drivers for snacking occasions provide “coherence to the messiness of snacking” and may help manufacturers, marketers and retailers understand consumer challenges and identify opportunities, Ms. Barnett said.

Fifty-six per cent of all snacking occasions reflect some need for nourishment, or snacking that addresses hunger and provides sustained energy. Key attributes of these snacks include whole grains, fiber, protein, fat, probiotics and minimal sugar, Ms. Barnett said. Examples include Greek yogurt, fruits and vegetables, nut and granola bars, and ready-to-drink tea, water and smoothies.

Thirty-four per cent of snacking occasions reflect some need for optimization, or snacking that provides quick en-ergy, recovery, mental focus or stress management, such as products with protein, caffeine, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and botanicals. Examples include energy and sports drinks, energy and granola bars, meat snacks, kombucha and coffee.

Forty-nine per cent of snacking occasions reflect some need for pleasure, or snacking that fulfills a desire for craving, comfort, indulgence and reward. Examples include chocolate and candy, baked goods, ice cream, chips and popcorn and carbonated soft drinks.

Snacking drivers change across the day. Snacking for nourishment is more prominent in the morning, when consumers are more likely to choose fruit or nutrition bars to satisfy hunger. In the evenings, consumers tend to snack for pleasure, indulging in after-dinner candy, ice cream or salty snacks.

“Snacking has become a highly customized activity for consumers,” Ms. Barnett said.

But while snacking has become a solution for many, it may also serve as a source of tension, she said.

“Consumers may see snacking as an unhealthy emotional crutch or potential trap,” she said.

Twenty-two per cent of snacking is aimless, driven by boredom, unrelated to hunger and often followed by guilt and regret. Food and beverage companies should recognize their roles in creating as well as resolving these ten-sions, Ms. Barnett said.

“Consider how your snacking offerings can mitigate some of the concerns that they (consumers) have about im-balance or overconsumption or aimlessness, and continue to create offerings that satisfy those desires for nourish-ment and optimization and pleasure, but while also being practical.”

Additionally, snacks should be developed to deliver on the increasing need for nourishment, optimization or plea-sure on the go.

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“Consider not only how package design can simplify on-the-go user experiences but even how the product itself can really enable a mobile lifestyle,” Ms. Barnett said.

Finally, she said, the future of snacking will fully embrace freshness. Retailers and manufacturers alike should consider offering a product mix that reflects the desire for fresh but also recognizes the role for iconic and more processed favorites, she said.

“Think about fresh expectations that consumers now have when it comes to snacks,” Ms. Barnett said. “Does your product formulation as well as all aspects of… the product signal contemporary notions of freshness and quality, or does it need to revamped?”

Meijer says it is investing more than $375 million in new and remodeled stores this year across its six-state foot-print, including the retailer’s first stores in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the Green Bay, Wisconsin, market.

The investment includes the construction of seven new Meijer supercenters and 22 different remodel projects. While Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin will each welcome new Meijer supercenters later this year, dozens of other Meijer stores have begun or will soon begin remodel projects to further enhance the customer shopping experience, according to Meijer President and CEO Rick Keyes.

“These projects represent an investment in our customers, team members and the local communities that have sup-ported us for so long,” said Keyes. “We’re also excited that at long last we’ll cross the bridge and open our first

stores in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”

Meijer says its continued focus on remodeling stores reflects the company’s commitment to providing its customers with the best shopping experience. This year’s remodel investment means that, by the end of 2017, Meijer will have remodeled and upgraded nearly 90 stores since 2010.

The company says its new store commitment follows its focus on steady growth throughout its operating area. The opening of each new Meijer store represents as many as 300 full- and part-time jobs. When including this year’s stores, Meijer will have opened more than 50 new stores since 2010.

The new Meijer supercenters opening in 2017 will be in Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; McCordsville and Franklin, Indiana; and Greenfield, Howard (Green Bay) and West Bend, Wisconsin.

In addition to the new supercenters, Meijer says it is aggressively remodeling stores in five different states, includ-ing key markets like Detroit, Cincinnati, Louisville and suburban Chicago. Six Meijer supercenters in Michigan alone will be updated, with the stores in Mt. Pleasant, Commerce Township and Algoma Township slated for major remodels.

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Meijer Entering New Markets As It Embarks On $375M Project

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While the depth of the remodel varies based on several factors, these projects include a variety of specific store enhancements, including improved store layouts, expanded grocery and health and beauty sections, as well as lighting, heating, refrigeration and parking lot improvements, according to Meijer. Additionally, the introduction of newer technology in key areas during the remodel process will result in more energy-efficient stores.

Grand Rapids-based Meijer operates more than 230 stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Ken-tucky and Wisconsin.

Food Lion has plans to remodel 93 stores in the greater Greensboro, North Carolina, market this year. In an effort to make shopping easier and more affordable for its customers, the company says it will make a $178 million investment in its stores. This includes remodeling the stores, additional price investments throughout the year and investments in associates and the community through Food Lion Feeds. A complete list of the company’s greater Greensboro-area stores can be downloaded here.

“We’re proud to have been a part of the greater Greensboro community since 1968 and are excited to bring our newest format to this market,” said Food Lion President Meg Ham. “We look forward to making significant invest-ments in our stores, our customers, our associates and our communities to offer a new grocery shopping experi-ence. We want to ensure our customers can easily find fresh, quality products to nourish their families at affordable prices every day, delivered with caring, friendly service every time they shop.”

Since Food Lion launched its “Easy, Fresh and Affordable…You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day!” strategy, the grocer says it has brought enhancements to its Greensboro stores, including product expansion, new registers, price investments and enhanced service.

When the remodels are complete, key benefits customers will be able to take advantage of include: refreshed stores designed to be easier to navigate so customers can get in and out of the store quickly; and expanded va-riety and assortment that is relevant to customers in each store, such as more local products, natural and organic selections and healthier snack options.

Greensboro is the fifth market to be remodeled, and the stores are expected to be completed on a rolling basis between March and August 2017. Food Lion will continue to launch enhancements across its more than 1,000 stores in 2017, as well as remodel additional markets over time. The company previously completed 142 stores in greater Charlotte in 2016; 162 stores in the greater Raleigh area in 2015; and 76 stores in the greater Wilmington and Greenville markets in 2014.

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, North Carolina, since 1957, has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates.

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Online grocer FreshDirect will be launching service in the Washington, D.C. market in the near future, a spokesman for the company told SN Friday.

The New York-based retailer last month indicated it planned to launch service in a new city in the second

quarter, but did not say where.

The Washington Business Journal however this week reported that visitors to FreshDirect’s website in the Wash-ington area are seeing ads that say “Hey, D.C., we’re coming to your area soon!” In addition, job postings at the retailer’s website are seeking a business manager and route delivery driver for a Capitol Heights, Md. location from which it will launch service shortly.

A spokesman for the company in an email to SN Friday confirmed the forthcoming Washington expansion but declined to provide additional details.

FreshDirect said last month its expansion would be funded in part through $189 million in new financing it re-ceived last year. Its plans call for expansion to additional geographies in 2018, officials said.

Sprouts Farmers Market opened its first Sunshine State store on Wednes-day in Tampa’s Carrollwood community. The 27,000-s.f. store is located at 15110 N. Dale Mabry Highway. The Phoenix, Arizona-based grocery chain plans to open its second and third Florida stores in Sarasota and South Tam-pa (1523 S. Dale Mabry Highway) in April and May, respectively.

Sprouts touts its offerings of fresh, natural and organic foods across all categories, including produce, meat and seafood, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, packaged groceries, deli, baked goods, dairy products, frozen foods, natural body care and household items. It operates more than 250 stores in 13 states.

Sprouts offers a free mobile app that includes digital coupons and features “Double Ad Wednesday” when two of the grocer’s ads overlap, allowing shoppers to save more.

The new Carrollwood Sprouts, along with the soon-to-open South Tampa store, will donate unsold and edible groceries to Feeding Tampa Bay through the grocer’s Food Rescue Program.

“In the Tampa Bay area, one in seven adults and one in four children struggle with hunger,” said Thomas Mantz, executive director of Feeding Tampa Bay. “At Feeding Tampa Bay, we provide fresh, nutritious foods to the individ-uals and families we serve so that they can have healthier lives and better opportunities. We are thrilled to have Sprouts join our region and become a partner to us. Their focus on health and nutrition paired with their commit-ment to giving back will only further our impact on our food insecure neighbors.”

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In 2016, Sprouts says its stores and distribution centers donated approximately 18 million pounds of product through the Food Rescue Program, which is equivalent to 15 million meals. Food that is not fit for donation is provided to local cattle farms and composting facilities. Sprouts’ evolving “zero waste” initiatives help close the loop on food waste while reducing the impact of hunger and the company’s environmental footprint, the company reports.

Sprouts says it also is committed to donating up to $2,000 to Feeding Tampa Bay through a “Share to Care” cam-paign on the Sprouts Facebook page and will donate $3,000 to the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA Veggie Van, which distributes fresh, nutritious produce for a nominal fee to urban neighborhoods without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.

Industry veteran Abel Porter has been named the new president and CEO of Fairway Markets, replacing Jack Murphy, SN has learned.

Porter, a former CEO of Smith’s Food and Drug and president of Foodland Supermarkets, is tasked with

rebuilding performance of the iconic New York supermarket chain in the aftermath of several years of financial struggle culminating in a stay under Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

In an exclusive interview with SN, Porter said the opportunity to lead the storied brand and its high-volume stores drew him out semi-retirement, and he pledged to work toward “regaining credibility” with Fairway’s customers, employees and suppliers.

“I am very fortunate to have this opportunity,” said Porter, who said he worked alongside Murphy in a consulting role for Fairway before the board of directors quietly named him to succeed Murphy this month. “Fairway is an iconic brand in the largest market in the country, with some of the highest sales-per-square-foot of any supermarket. We have great employees who’ve been with us for a long time. We have a unique offering of organic, natural, specialty and conventional products, and great perishables, all under one roof. That’s a very unusual combination in New York, and something that Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s can’t do.”

Fairway however has struggled to turn its destinations into profits. The company lost more than $300 million and racked up $267 million in debt in the five years heading to last May’s pre-packaged Chapter 11. For the fiscal year ended March 29, 2015, the latest full-year reported, Fairway lost $46.5 million on sales of $798 million across 15 New York metro stores. Average net sales per square foot per week were a robust $1,041, but down from nearly $1,500 in 2011 and comparable-store sales were falling as a result of competitive openings, chiefly by Whole Foods.

Sources trace Fairway’s financial troubles to heavy debts and high costs amassed while under the control of its previous owner, Sterling Investment Partners, which acquired a majority stake in the company from its founding

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family in 2007 and subsequently pursued an aggressive growth strategy despite operating in the red. Fairway raised $159 million in a 2013 IPO that envisioned the possibility of hundreds of stores along the East Coast, but it grew to only 15 locations by the time of its Chapter 11 filing last spring which wiped out stockholders.

Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of New York’s Strategic Resource Group, said Fairway has been further beset by millions in legal and professional fees related to its bankruptcy. “That money should have gone to pricing and back into the business,” he maintained.

Reorganization under Chapter 11 last summer cut Fairway’s debts in half, while its debtors became its owners and trade vendors and employees were paid in full. Today the company is owned by a consortium led by Blackstone Group’s GSO Capital Partners.

Murphy was brought in under the chain’s previous owners to address its cost and sales crises in late 2014. Like Porter, Murphy also took the role out of retirement. Porter credited Murphy for having stabilized the company and “foundational” work to trim costs both before and after its bankruptcy. Under Murphy, Fairway achieved more cost-efficient labor contracts and pulled out of several deals to build high-profile stores while pursuing a strategy for neighborhood-focused units at a lower cost, like the one that opened in January in Brooklyn’s Georgetown neighborhood. That store, Porter said, was off to a very strong start.

According to Flickinger, “Jack Murphy did what he could at Fairway but he was dealt a horrible hand.”

Porter spent nearly 20 years at Smith’s Food and Drug in his native Utah, where he worked his way from stock boy to president and CEO. He later served from 2001 to 2014 as president of Honolulu-based Foodland Super-markets, helping that chain modernize its approach. Porter also serves on the board of Associated Grocers of Salt Lake City. Although Porter makes his home in Salt Lake City, he said he was now spending about 75% of his time in New York.

Porter said his priorities at Fairway include cleaner, better merchandised stores, faster checkouts, improved stock conditions and expanded e-commerce. He also plans new advertising that he said would restore faith in a brand shaken by its well-publicized financial troubles. He also said Fairway needs to put more attention on particular customer cohorts like Asian and Kosher shoppers.

“There’s no silver bullet,” Porter said. “We just need to build on our strengths, and be sure we can execute at a high level. Our focus will be getting credibility back with our customers and I think we have the team to do that.”

Porter said the company would continue to operate its Bronx, N.Y. warehouse and commissary, despite acknowl-edging a recent New York Post report that said it had explored the possibility of selling the unit. The facility opened in 2015 with the capacity to serve 60 to 80 stores. The Post report said Fairway has been unable to jump-start sales following its exit from bankruptcy, and that it was looking to selling the Bronx facility as a means to trim costs ahead of debt service due later this year. Porter however pointed to advantages in cost and quality of central prep for fresh and prepared meals that are a signature of its stores.

“I’m not going to say the floodgates are open,” Porter said in regard to costs. “We are going have to be very careful how we spend, because we have some limitations. But we’re going to get better at inventory control, make sure we’re getting the turns we need in perishables and the deals we need from vendors. We owe it to our people to give them security. They have hung in there through a lot, and been very creative.”

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According to Flickinger, Porter is “one of the best procurement people in North America,” and lauded his success in taking corrective actions at Smith’s when that chain had overspent resources on expansion in the 1990s, and for the turnaround in Hawaii. Flickinger however was quick to add that Fairway could be Porter’s biggest chal-lenge, citing its high costs, heavy competition and a need for support from a supplier community burned by recent financial implosions at A&P and Associated Wholesalers Inc. Flickinger also expressed reservations about Porter’s commute, saying such cross-country arrangements historically have rarely ended well.

“I think this hiring should be very good news for vendors but there’s not a lot time,” Flickinger cautioned. “Vendors will need to decide by the June who they’re going to support for the holiday season and if they start tightening terms, that could a very tough challenge for Fairway.”

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced Joe Grieshaber has been named president of Fred Meyer Stores, replacing Jeff Burt, who resigned today to pursue other interests. Mr. Grieshaber has been serving as president of Kroger’s Columbus division.

Succeeding Mr. Grieshaber will be Dan De La Rosa, who has been promoted to serve as president of Kroger’s Columbus division. Mr. De La Rosa currently serves as vice president of merchandising for Fred Meyer Stores.

Joe Grieshaber Promoted to President of Fred Meyer DivisionJoe Grieshaber will serve as president of the company’s Fred Meyer di-vision, based in Portland, Ore., effective immediately. Fred Meyer Stores offers one-stop shopping at multi-department stores in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

“Joe is known throughout the retail industry as an exceptional leader who always brings out the best in his people and teams,” said Fred Morganthall, Kroger’s executive vice president of retail operations. “His depth of experience will help the Fred Meyer team build on their successes and continue to innovate and deliver a unique shopping experience for our customers.”

Mr. Grieshaber began his career with Kroger in 1983 as a store management trainee in Nashville, Tenn. He has served in a variety of leadership roles with Kroger, including meat merchandiser, district manager, and as vice president of merchandising for the Columbus division. In 2003, he was named group vice president of perishables merchandising and procurement, where he was responsible for fresh and natural foods throughout Kroger’s family of stores. He was promoted to president of Dillons in 2010, and was named to his current role in 2015.

Mr. Grieshaber and his wife, Vickie, have three grown daughters and five grandchildren.

Dan De La Rosa Promoted to President of Kroger’s Columbus DivisionDan De La Rosa will serve as president of Kroger’s Columbus division, which operates food stores primarily in central, northwest and southeast Ohio.

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“Dan is a dynamic leader who combines a passion for people with strong experience in both merchandising and store operations,” said Fred Morganthall, Kroger’s executive vice president of retail operations. “Dan’s commit-ment to associate development and putting the customers first will help ensure the Columbus division’s continued success.”

Mr. De La Rosa joined the company as a clerk’s helper in the Ralphs division in 1980, where he served in a number of store operations and merchandising roles, including store director, director of Corporate Brands for both Ralphs and Food 4 Less, and district manager. Since 2007, Mr. De La Rosa has served in a variety of mer-chandising roles, including regional director of merchandising for the company’s western region. In 2013, he was promoted to vice president of meat and seafood merchandising for The Kroger Co., and in 2015 he was named to his current role as vice merchandising for Fred Meyer.

Mr. De La Rosa and his wife, Denise, have one grown daughter.

Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 443,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,796 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering – a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service – in addition to our 2,255 pharmacies, 784 convenience stores, 319 fine jewelry stores, 1,445 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America’s most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.

Together with its store guests and company associates, the SpartanNash Founda-tion’s scan campaign to provide shelter raised $202,350 on behalf of 79 local Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The 2017 fundraising total represents an 82 percent increase over last year’s retail scan campaign. In 2016, the SpartanNash Foundation raised $114,500 through its partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Since 2006, more than $1.5 million has been raised by the company and its charitable giving arm to support Habitat for Humanity county and state-based affiliates and their hardworking homebuyers.

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia. The Christian housing organization has since

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grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in nearly 1,400 communities throughout the U.S. and in more than 70 countries.

Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.

Through financial support – such as the SpartanNash Foundation’s retail scan campaign—volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves.

Between Feb. 8 and 19, the SpartanNash Foundation hosted the companywide scan campaign in Spartan-Nash-owned stores, giving store guests the opportunity to donate $1, $5 or $10. One hundred percent of dollars raised go directly to local Habitat for Humanity affiliates, with many SpartanNash stores teaming up to support the same affiliate in their area.

“The SpartanNash Foundation and its predecessor, the Spartan Stores Foundation, have a long history of sup-porting Habitat for Humanity, and we are proud to continue that tradition with this year’s retail scan to provide shelter,” said Meredith Gremel, vice president of corporate affairs and communications and executive director of the SpartanNash Foundation. “The generosity of our store guests during this fundraising campaign was incredible. We are most grateful to all who joined forces with the SpartanNash Foundation and our associates to support this worthy cause.”

Check presentations to the 79 Habitat for Humanity affiliates will take place in the coming weeks, hosted by the local SpartanNash stores that raised the most money on behalf of their Habitat partner. Top fundraising efforts included:

- Eighty-five Family Fare Supermarkets, D&W Fresh Markets, Valu Land and VG’s stores and Quick Stop locations in Michigan raised $95,000 on behalf of Habitat for Humanity Michigan, which will in turn be distributed to 36 county Habitat for Humanity affiliates.- Thirty Family Fare Supermarkets, D&W Fresh Markets and Forest Hills Foods stores and Quick Stops in Kent County (Mich.) raised $42,000 on behalf of Habitat for Humanity of Kent County.- Fourteen Family Fare Supermarkets, Supermercado Nuestra Familia and No Frills stores in and around greater Omaha, Neb. raised $14,000 on behalf of Habitat for Humanity of Omaha.- Four Family Fresh Market and Econofoods stores in New Richmond, River Falls, Somerset and Hudson, Wisc. Raised $8,400 on behalf of St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity.- Four Family Fare Supermarkets in Fargo and West Fargo, N.D. and Moorhead, Minn. raised $7,100 on behalf of Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity.- Five Family Thrift Center and Prairie Market stores in Rapid City, S.D. raised $6,600 on behalf of the Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity.- Three Econofoods stores in Red Wing and Cannon Falls, Minn. raised $4,600 on behalf on Goodhue County Habitat for Humanity.- The Econofoods in Northfield, Minn. raised $3,300 on behalf of the Rice County Habitat for Humanity.

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For a complete list of stores that participated in the companywide scan campaign and the Habitat affiliates they partnered with, visit: spartannash.com/Habitat-for-Humanity.

The retail scan campaign to provide shelter is the first of four fundraising campaigns the SpartanNash Foundation will execute in 2017. Upcoming scans will support Special Olympics (May 3-14), patriotic partners (June 28-July 9) and community food pantries (Aug. 30-Sept. 10).

The Kroger Co. launched a new website,www.krogerstories.com.

“We believe customers, associates and other stakeholders are increasingly making decisions about where to shop, where to work, and who shares their values based on how well they understand the ways a company makes a difference for their people, communities and the planet,” said Jessica Adelman, Kroger’s group vice president of corporate affairs. “And in this equation, we believe that stories—credible, authentic, human stories—matter more than perhaps anything else.”

The new website features a variety of voices—produced by both freelancers and Kroger associates—sharing sto-ries about Kroger’s great people, innovative projects, and the ideas that are changing the way people eat, drink, and think about food. The multi-media site will feature long and short-form written content as well as video and photographic storytelling.

“On any given day, nearly half a million Kroger associates are doing incredible work. We get a fresh chance to make personal connections, to lift people up and lighten their load,” said Ann Reed, vice president of Customer 1st Promise. “Krogerstories.com is designed to elevate these unique stories and share the difference our wonderful associates make for our customers, communities and each other.”

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Grocery business Albertsons Cos held preliminary talks to merge with Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. , Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Bloomberg said the early stage discussions took place in recent weeks and involved a plan to take Sprouts private. Doing so would add the natural and organic foods-focused business to theAlbertsons suite of supermarket brands, which includes Safeway, Vons and Shaw’s.

Albertsons is backed by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Manage-ment. Representatives forAlbertsons and Sprouts did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while a spokeswoman for Cerberus declined to comment.

Shares of Sprouts spiked to a four-month high on Thursday and Friday amid a surge in stock options trading.

Supermarket consolidationAn acquisition of Sprouts would underscore the consolidation sweeping the U.S. grocery industry, as regional chains struggle to compete against online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc., big box stores such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and discount chains such as ALDI Inc.

big box stores such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and discount chains such as ALDI Inc. A planned initial public offer-ing for Albertsons’ has been delayed since October 2015. At the same time, Krogers stock is up more than 140 percent over the last five years despite falling 23 percent over the previous 12 months.

Sprouts is among the niche retailers such as Fresh Market Inc and Whole Foods Market Inc. facing pressure from Albertsons and Kroger, who now sell some of the same specialty and organic products at lower prices.

Fresh Market was acquired by another private equity firm, Apollo Global Management LLC., for about $1.36 billion in cash in 2016.

Target Corp. unveiled design elements for the company’s most ambitious store re-de-sign to date, with plans for the first fully reimagined store to open in the Houston suburb of Richmond near Grand Parkway Southwest. From the stage at Shoptalk, the retail and ecommerce event held in Las Vegas, Target’s chairman and CEO Brian Cornell introduced Target’s newest store redesign plans as part of the company’s commitment to invest billions of dollars over the next three years to reimagine hundreds of existing stores.

“With our next generation of store design, we’re investing to take the Target shopping experience to the next level by offering more elevated product presentations and a number of time-saving features,” said Cornell. “The new design for this Houston store will provide the vision for the 500 reimagined stores planned for 2018 and

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Target Reveals Next Generation Store Ideas

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2019, with the goal of taking a customized approach to creating an enhanced shopping experience.”

In October, Target will open its first fully reimagined store 35 miles southwest of Houston, conveniently located off of the Grand Parkway Southwest in Aliana’s Market Center. There, the new 124,000 square-foot store will offer guests the newest shopping experience as Target evolves its stores.

In addition to the Houston location, 40 additional stores will receive elements of Target’s next generation re-de-sign when they are updated in October 2017. Guest feedback and learnings from this new design will influence Target’s customized approach to the 500 stores being reimagined in 2018 and 2019.

Design FeaturesTo create an experience that’s uniquely Target, the modernized de-sign features will include glazed, large glass windows at the front of store, stenciled concrete floors and unique lighting throughout. Additionally, the new design offers two entrances, each with a specific guest need in mind. Guests can enter through one entrance to find displays of exclusive brands and inspiring seasonal mo-ments, and the other for easy pick-up of online orders and groceries. Illustrations of the elements that make up Target’s next generation store design are below. Additional features include:

Elevated, cross-merchandise product presentations will amplify Target’s exclusive style assortment across apparel and accessories, home, jewelry and beauty, encouraging guests to browse.

For time-starved guests, the second entrance will offer easy access to grocery, a Wine & Beer shop, self-checkout lanes and a dedicated Order Pickup counter within steps from each other.

- Outside this entrance, guests will find dedicated parking spaces where team members will bring out online or-ders.- An enhanced grocery department design will feature woodgrain fixtures, a robust assortment of fresh produce as well as quick grab-and-go options and meal solutions.

New for Target, curved, more circular center aisles will feature merchandise displays to engage guests with com-pelling products in unexpected places.

Store team members will be equipped with new technology—available in all stores this fall—to search inventory, take payment from a mobile point-of-sale system and arrange delivery, all from the sales floor.

Target’s investment to reimagine 600 stores by 2019 is part of the company’s strategy to create a smart network, with stores, digital channels and supply chain working together to meet guests’ needs. This announcement follows Target’s previously shared plans to open more than 100 small-format stores over the next three years, curating the best of Target for dense urban neighborhoods and college campuses.

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Wegmans has announced opening dates for its two new stores in northern New Jersey, while plans remain in place to open its first store in New York City next year.

The Rochester-based supermarket chain said Tuesday that a 113,000-square-foot Wegmans will open July 23 in Hanover, followed on Sept. 24 by the opening of the compa-ny’s 108,000-square-foot store in Montvale.

About 500 workers will be employed at each store. Both will feature The Burger Bar, a family-friendly, casual restaurant counter that serves delicious burgers, fresh salads, flavorful sandwiches, specialty milkshakes, soup, and sides. In addition to the supermarkets, space will be leased to a third-party owner at each location for a wine, beer, and spirits shop, Wegmans said.

The grocery chain plans to open its first New York City store in Brooklyn next year, though no date has been set.

Another Wegmans is planned for Harrison in Westchester County.

Wegmans currently operates 46 stores in upstate New York and another 46 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virgin-ia, Maryland and Massachusetts.

Whole Foods Market will close its centralized Austin catering kitchen next month, transferring catering operations into its stores here – a move that could result in up to 93 jobs being lost, according to a letter the retailer sent the Texas Workforce Commission.

Most of the employees currently working at the catering kitchen, at 6201 Bolm Road in East Austin, are expected to find work at Whole Foods stores in the Austin area, a spokeswoman said.

In Central Texas, Whole Foods operates stores in Bee Cave, the Arboretum area in Northwest Austin, The Domain in North Austin, Arbor Trails in Southwest Austin and its flagship location in downtown Austin at 525 N. Lamar Blvd.

Catering services provided after the centralized kitchen closes should be largely similar to those currently avail-able, the company said.

“We’re shifting management of catering services in Austin to our five local stores, where culinary innovation and prepared foods are a major focus,” Whole Foods said in a written statement.

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“After May 1, each of our stores will work with customers across Austin on catering orders.

“We’re looking forward to enhancing the culinary services offered at our Austin stores and giving shoppers the added convenience of being able to place and pick up orders at their neighborhood Whole Foods Market.”

Whole Foods intends to continue occupying the space on Bolm Road, transforming it into an internal test kitchen managed by the company’s Global Culinary & Hospitality division.

News of the closure comes just a few weeks after Whole Foods said it would shutter three regional kitchens – in Everett, Mass.; Landover, Md.; and metro Atlanta – that employ about 500 people.

The items made in those kitchens, such as prepared foods, will be shifted to a combination of existing Whole Foods stores and outside vendors, the grocer said.

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