'Don't push food companies across the border', warns Belgium's Fevia
Fevia, the umbrella trade association of the Belgian food industry, has called on the government to take measures quickly to strengthen the competitiveness of food companies and to stabilise the Belgian food chain for the future.
Source: esmmagazine.com
New Zealand: Supermarket chain Huckleberry offering investors a discount on groceries for life
Organics grocery chain Huckleberry is offering shoppers a 10% discount on groceries for life in exchange for investing in its capital raising. The Auckland supermarket with stores in New Lynn, Grey Lynn, Glen Innes and Royal Oak, has begun a crowdfunding capital raising on Equitise, aiming to raise $1.8mln to be able to double its store footprint and launch its own brands of pantry items. Huckleberry chief executive Darren Guo said Huckleberry had plans to become the “Whole Foods of Down Under” and roll out an e-commerce offering in New Zealand.
Source: stuff.co.nz
UK: Free fruit added to Asda's £1 meals for kids for Easter
Asda’s popular £1 kids cafe meal deal is being extended to cover the Easter holidays. A free piece of fruit - apple, pear or banana - is also being added to the deal. It was launched to help customers manage the cost-of-living crisis.
Source: expressandstar.com
Lidl invests €110mln in fifth logistics facility in Portugal
Lidl Portugal is to invest around €110mln in a new logistics warehouse in Loures, in the Lisbon district, which should be completed by the second quarter of 2024, the discounter said.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Kaufland.cz to launch in Czechia in April
Following a successful launch in Slovakia, Kaufland has announced it will go live with its Kaufland.cz e-commerce platform in the Czech Republic on April 12.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Switzerland: Migros sees sales growth of 4.2% in FY 2022
Swiss retail group Migros has reported a 4.2% year-on-year increase in sales to CHF30.1bln (€30.7bln) in its financial year 2022 despite a challenging market environment, while retail sales declined 0.3% to CHF24.7bln (€24.7bln).
Source: esmmagazine.com
Spain inflation falls more than expected to 3.3% in March
Spain's consumer price inflation slowed to 3.3% in March, its weakest annual rate since August 2021 and down from 6.0% in February, preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute showed. The government cut value added tax on essential foods such as bread, cheese, milk, fruit and vegetables and cereals to 0% from 4% to ease the inflation pain.
Source: reuters.com
Poland: Allegro net results turn red
Poland's largest e-commerce platform, Allegro, posted a net loss of 1.92bln zlotys ($444.11mln) in 2022, a steep decline from the previous year's profit of 1.09bln zlotys, the company said.
Source: reuters.com
UK supermarket Morrisons says sales momentum building
British supermarket group Morrisons returned to underlying sales growth in its latest quarter, saying it was benefiting from a push to improve its price competitiveness. Morrisons' like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, rose 0.1% in the 13 weeks to January 29, its fiscal first quarter. Total revenue was up 3.4% to 4.71bln pounds.
Source: reuters.com
Spain: SPAR services new communities with three new store openings
SPAR Spain partner Líder Aliment expands its retail presence by opening a new SPAR Supermarket with a sales area of over 300m² in the town of Valdivia, Province of Badajoz. The store offers a good choice of fruit and vegetables, bakery products, frozen food, deli, and butchery. SPAR Spain partner Grupo Cuevas continues the rollout of SPAR Express stores in the northwest of the country. Two new SPAR Express stores with a sales area of 150m² each were opened in the towns of Palanquinos and Villacedré in León.
Source: spar-international.com
UK: Planet Organic puts administrators on standby in race for survival
The organic food and consumer products chain, which employs 360 people, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as it continues rescue talks, Sky News learns.
Source: news.sky.com
France: Système U sees 2022 turnover up 4%
French retailer Système U has reported a turnover of €23.88bln in its 2022 financial year, a 4.0% increase excluding fuel, while turnover including fuel topped €30bln for the first time.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Ocado defeats AutoStore in London high court patent feud
British online supermarket and technology group Ocado won a high court legal action brought by Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore after the judge dismissed its patent infringement claims.
Source: reuters.com
US: UNFI plans new distribution center in Manchester, Pennsylvania
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) is adding a 1.3mln-square-foot distribution center in Manchester, Pennsylvania, to its supply network. Plans call for the temperature-controlled facility, which UNFI will lease, to be constructed over the next 15 months. Located at 1025 Locust Point Rd. in Manchester, the new DC is near another UNFI DC in York, Pennsylvania, which the company noted has seen rising demand.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: Albertsons refreshes O Organics own brand with new look
Albertsons Cos. has unveiled a redesign of its O Organics private brand that includes an updated logo and new-look packaging. Albertsons said that O Organics, the leading organic brand sold at its two dozen retail banners, now has an assortment spanning more than 1,500 products, ranging from organic fresh fruit and vegetables to organic dairy and meats, organic cage-free certified eggs, organic snacks and organic baby food, among other offerings.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: Hungryroot reports highest revenue growth in the company's history
Hungryroot, the only grocery and recipe delivery service designed to make healthy eating easy, personal, and sustainable, announced that 2022 marked its strongest year of revenue growth since the company's inception in 2015, closing the year with over $237mln in net revenue (+47% YoY). The company has also seen tremendous growth in January, even beyond the strength of 2022.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Kroger Delivery expands to Austin, Texas
The Kroger Co., America's grocer, announced the official opening of a new spoke in Austin, Texas. This facility opening means customers can tap into Kroger's incredible selection of fresh items, unique Our Brands products and favorite national brands, as well as individualized offers for the groceries most important to their families - all delivered directly to their door by a friendly, professional associate.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: JackBe raises $11.5mln in Funding
JackBe, an Oklahoma City-based premier curbside drive-thru grocer, raised $11.5mln in funding. The funding came from various individual investors and strategic partners such as GP Investments, LLC, as well as a WeFunder campaign.
Source: finsmes.com
Qualcomm-backed Aravita wants to help Brazilian supermarkets control food waste
It’s estimated that about a third of all food produced worldwide every year, which is approximately 1.3bln tons, is estimated to be wasted. Aravita, a Brazilian artificial intelligence startup, thinks that supermarkets are the best place to start fixing this problem. Aravita is developing an AI-powered solution for supermarkets that looks at variables, including climate, seasonality, consumer behavior and economic scenario, to manage the purchasing of fresh food - mainly fruits and vegetables - to reduce the instances of surplus items and lost sales due to waste.
Source: techcrunch.com