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Meeting consumer wellness demands in center store with organics

Mark Hamstra | Feb 02, 2022 From breakfast to baby food, organic grocery products continue to grow in sales Increased consumer interest in health and wellness has helped drive sales of organic center store products during the pandemic, and the trend is expected to continue. In addition, the expansion of retailers’ private label organic assortments is making … Continued

Raley’s completes purchase of The Bashas’ Company

The newly formed Raley’s Companies to include Raley’s, Bashas’ and other divisions   Raley’s announced Wednesday the completion of its acquisition of The Bashas’ Company, a deal first announced in October. The Bashas’ Company, which operates more than 100 grocery stores in Arizona (and two in New Mexico), will now join a newly formed enterprise, The Raley’s … Continued

A Grocery ‘Christmas Carol’: The Ghost of Supermarkets’ Future

As the holidays and a new year approach, Solomon Partners’ Scott Moses takes a look at supermarkets’ past, present and future:   “One of the most impactful books I read as a boy was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I was recently inspired to re-read the book. As many readers know, the classic story … Continued

Storms Ahead for Grocery Industry?

Pall of economic challenges hangs over retailers as pandemic fallout drifts into new year Russell Redman | Dec 08, 2021 As the sun sets on 2021, the sight dawning on the horizon for the grocery industry in 2022 looks anything but clear. A haze of supply chain disruption, rising inflation, labor shortages and pandemic hangover … Continued

Natural Grocers sets another record with fiscal 2021 net sales

Victoria A.F. Camron | Nov 19, 2021 Co-president Kemper Isely credits founding principles, product selection and affordable prices for Natural Grocers’ 18th straight year of sales growth Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage’s net sales in fiscal year 2021 exceeded the company’s record-breaking sales of just a year ago, co-president Kemper Isely announced Thursday. Lakewood, Colo.-based … Continued

Food inflation stands out in October consumer pricing surge

Shoppers report higher price tags, spending for groceries   Much to the dismay of U.S. shoppers, consumer prices jumped more than 6% in October, boosted mainly by surging gasoline prices but also continued high inflation for food. The Consumer Price Index (all urban consumers) rose 6.2% year-over-year (unadjusted) for October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor … Continued

Price hikes expected to propel grocery sales growth

Manufacturers, retailers anticipate dollar share gains as 2021 winds down, survey finds   Amid supply chain snags and surging costs, grocery manufacturers and retailers expect price increases to spur dollar sales growth heading into next year, new research shows. Six in 10 manufacturers and seven in 10 retailers think consumer packaged goods (CPG) dollar sales … Continued

Fresh or frozen, plant-based proteins are making inroads

Expanding selections and multi-faceted marketing are enhancing the popularity of plant-based meat alternatives Richard Mitchell | Oct 06, 2021 Plant-based meat alternatives are popping with potential. Approximately 20% of U.S. consumers purchase plant-based meat at least occasionally and sales account for about 2% of fresh and frozen meat department revenues, reports Information Resources Inc. (IRI), a Chicago-based … Continued

FMI sizes up pandemic’s financial impact on food retailers

Double-digit same-store sales gains partly offset by higher costs, Industry Speaks 2021 study finds     Consumer demand for groceries swelled by 50% last year, lifting food retailer same-store sales nearly 16% industrywide, according to new research in FMI-The Food Industry Association’s “The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2021” report. On average, grocery retail comparable-store sales … Continued

Pandemic trends, supply shifts impact center store shopping

Strong in-store and online sales continue to benefit center store, but supply chain shortfalls linger   As grocery customers return to more in-store shopping, it’s clear that the online grocery shopping they embraced during the pandemic isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Over 40% of shoppers currently order groceries online, according to Acosta research and … Continued