CSD Staff Aug 07, 2012 C-stores launch Amazon Locker program in their stores to give consumers a more secure delivery program. Convenience stores are adding Amazon.com web lockers in the San Francisco area. Amazon.com has been expanding its Locker system after testing services in c-stores in the Seattle, NYC, London and the Virginia-area. The addition of the Northern California locker locations brings the total to at least 50 locker sites in the U.S., according to the company’s Website. The lockers allow customers to have their online purchases delivered and stored at convenience stores until they pick them up. The locker banks have been placed at c-stores and drug stores so that consumers can pick up packages at a time that’s convenient for them. “When customers ship Amazon orders to an Amazon Locker, they can pick up their packages at a time and place that’s convenient for them,” said Mary Osako,…

CSD Staff Aug 07, 2012 CSDecisions E-cigs “are growing in popularity . . . no question about that,” says Chad Maynard, spokesman for ElectronicCigarette.net on the category. Electronic cigarettes might not be marketed as smoking cessation aids, but recent studies posted in the American Journal of Public Health suggest that many smokers are turning the the product for that reason. Smokers are far more aware of e-cigarettes, and are more likely to try them. The devices are not necessarily attracting young people or non-smokes, as some public health experts have feared. “People have their own reasons for trying vapors,” said Chad Maynard, spokesman for ElectronicCigarette.net. “But no one is marketing them for that purpose and we couldn’t say whether or not they would be effective. Our Website is there to help people who decide to try vaping, learn more about it and make an informed choice about which brand to…

July 29, 2012 The Age Coles now has five home brands, including Coles Smart Buy. As the supermarket wars intensify, our consumption of private-label products is going through the roof. The stigma associated with ”home-brand” goods a decade ago is gone, along with the ugly black-and-white packaging in many instances. In the year to June 2008, private-label brands accounted for 13.5 per cent of total supermarket sales but that number is forecast to surge to 33 per cent by 2017-18, according to a new report by IBISWorld. Private labels at Coles and Woolies include: Heinz, Pace Farm, White Wings, Sorbent, McCain, Crisco, Leggos, Flora, Sunrice, Golden Circle, Edgell, Impulse, and Dairy Farmers. Source: Smart Investor Money. Prices in brackets are full-price. Prices taken on 25 July, 2012 from www.aldi.com.au, Woolworths and Coles online shopping websites. There are two reasons for our growing love affair with the supermarkets’ own brands. First…

John Thistleton July 30, 2012 The Canberra Times Small shops across Canberra say they’re being bullied by a major bread supplier, with one terminating more than 40 years of dealing with the baker. Ainslie IGA owner Manuel Xyrakis says Tip Top Bakeries, part of George Weston Foods Limited group of companies, is being unreasonable with trading terms and conditions. ‘‘I have kicked them out of our shop after trading with them for more than 40 years and other shops have also stopped trading with them.’’ Customers are being greeted with this sign in the bread section. Michael Hronopoulos of IGA Palmerston said Tip Top demanded to be his sole supplier in return for a discount, but as demand for multiple varieties grew, did not provide enough supply and left him with empty shelves. Mr Xyrakis said Tip Top withdrew discounts of between 10 and 15 per cent on products, which…

July 25, 2012 Institute of Food Technologists Corn prices have soared since late May as drought conditions in the U.S. Midwest fueled expectations of lower yields and tighter supplies, according to a report issued by BMO Capital Markets. “The production shortfall is making already-stretched supplies even tighter,” said Sam Miller, Managing Director and Group Head, Agriculture, BMO Harris Bank. “The states most heavily affected by the drought are Indiana, followed by Illinois, Missouri, and southern Wisconsin. If sustained, the surge in corn prices will raise production costs for many agricultural and food enterprises.” While the latest jump in crop prices is unlikely to cause overall inflation to run rampant, it will impart some upward pressure. According to Kenrick Jordan, Senior Economist for BMO, “Corn prices had begun to rise sharply well before the latest drought and heat wave, climbing from $3.75/bushel in the summer of 2010 to an average of $7.15…