Industry News

Jim Hertel 10/18/2019 Progressive Grocer As established CPG brands and grocery retailers rifle their playbooks in search of strategies for driving growth in a marketplace where sales volume and profit are suffering continuous contraction, they need to give special attention to, and bookmark, the section on innovation. Innovative product development and distribution is the lifeblood of food retailing and many in the industry — particularly those anchored in the traditional space — are in need of a serious infusion if there’s to be any hope of turnaround for them. Dramatic, sanguinary metaphors aside, the reality is that traditional grocery stores can no longer expect to be successful simply by serving as CPG-supplied ingredient warehouses — enabling at-home meal preparation by stocking ubiquitous recipe requirements. Seismic shifts in share within the $1.3 trillion food market are making that role increasingly untenable and unprofitable. The remaining pathway to growth is innovation. And…

10/18/2019 CSNews BOSTON — Price and speed are a winning combination for convenience stores. According to new analysis by Edge by Ascential, the U.S. convenience and discount channels are projected to grow faster than all other offline retail channels over the next five years, reflecting consumers’ increased focus on price and speed, even if it means more limited assortment. Non-food discount, food discount and c- stores are all projected for annual growth rates above 5 percent, whereas all other offline retailers, aside from membership club stores, are projected at annual growth rates of 3 percent or below. C-stores are projected for the highest growth at 5.4 percent, with discount and non-food discount stores projected at 5.3 percent and 5 percent, respectively. The forecast seems to reflect broader economic trends. Paychecks remain relatively steady as unemployment continue at historic lows; however, wages remain stagnant for many workers, placing increased sensitivity on…

Alex Norcia OCT 21 2019 Vice Instead of banning sales, regulators are trying to figure out what’s actually causing harm. Colorado is once again at the forefront of drug policy in America. Since an explosion of deadly vape-related illness across the country this summer, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has explicitly advised people to stop vaping products that contain THC oil, which has been tied to many—but not all—cases. Because a definitive cause has not been isolated, the agency has also warned that the best way to prevent yourself from getting sick is to cease vaping entirely. Accordingly, and also in response to the dramatic uptick in teen vapers in recent years, several states have raced to ban some vapes completely—a move that’s unlikely to result in safer nicotine consumption. Colorado, meanwhile, is poised to respond to the panic with deliberate caution, not a flash of frenzy. As the…

Frank Chung@franks_chungnews.com.au OCTOBER 22, 2019 NEWS.COM.AU It’s the “social enterprise” that aims to make you feel good about buying its products. But customers aren’t being told the full story. It’s the Melbourne-based social enterprise that aims to make you feel good about buying bottled water by pledging all of its profits to anti-poverty initiatives in developing countries. But confidential financial statements reveal the company behind Thankyou water, personal care and baby products is falling short of its goal of giving “100 per cent” of its profits to “ending extreme poverty”. Although it has given away more than $6.2 million since its inception, Thankyou has failed to give away 100 per cent of profits, while racking up sizeable expenses and generous staff salaries. Last year, the charitable business — which has an annual revenue of nearly $31 million — paid out less than half of its profits to charity. Thankyou Group’s…

10/22/2019 CSNews WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — Cumberland Farms is now officially part of the EG Group. The United Kingdom-based company completed its acquisition of the convenience store chain on Oct. 22. Based in Westborough, Cumberland Farms operates 567 c-stores in seven Northeast states and Florida. The deal brings EG Group’s U.S. network to 1,680 c-stores and gas stations across 31 states. In all, the network sells more than 2.5 billion gallons of fuel with merchandise sales of more than $3 billion on an annualized basis. “The Cumberland Farms acquisition represents another significant step in our ambition to build the most compelling, comprehensive and effective convenience customer retail network across the [United States],” said Zuber Issa, founder and co-CEO of EG Group. “Cumberland Farms is a well-invested, modern retail network. The Haseotes family have also invested in creating a leading edge warehouse and commissary, established supply and logistics, developed an effective e-commerce…

Sue Mitchell Oct 23, 2019 AFR Amazon is turning up the heat on Woolworths and Coles by launching a discounted subscription service for regularly bought goods such as pet food, toilet paper and nappies. A year after launching its food and grocery offer, known as Amazon Pantry, Amazon has launched Subscribe & Save, which enables customers to get a 10 per cent discount and free delivery when they sign up for repeat deliveries on products they buy on a regular basis. Amazon Australia’s new country manager, Matt Furlong, said Subscribe & Save would be available on thousands of household essentials including packaged food and beverages, nappies, pet supplies, vitamins and beauty products and brands such as Carman’s, Coca-Cola, Heinz, Huggies, L’Oreal, Omo and Vegemite. “Time and money are two of our most precious commodities and ‘Subscribe and Save’ gives Amazon customers a simple way to save on both,” said Mr…