US: Consumers' preferences for produce often don't match up with their behavior, report finds
Many consumers' purchasing behavior around produce conflicts with their beliefs around food waste, nutrition and local shopping, according to The American Food Journey report from Lettuce Grow and The Farm Project, a group co-founded by actor Zooey Deschanel to reconnect people with food and support small farmers. The study surveyed 1,500 U.S. residents over 18 about their food system knowledge, preferences and behavior. Although 80% of survey respondents listed locally grown produce as a top priority, 60% admitted they do not know the origins of their supermarket produce. About two-thirds (67%) of respondents said they are concerned with the number of human touchpoints on their fruits and vegetables, but 1 in 5 millennials admit to not knowing why they wash their produce.
Source: fooddive.com
US: Hannaford debuts Spring Into Plant Based campaign
Hannaford Supermarkets has joined forces with the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) on a Spring Into Plant Based campaign designed to help shoppers discover and enjoy a range of plant-based foods.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Albertsons gains 11mln households in 2020, posts record sales year
Delivering its ongoing message of “transformation”, Albertsons Cos. President and CEO Vivek Sankaran discussed the company’s robust growth, accelerated digital presence and enhanced technological capabilities as key factors contributing to record sales and historic success at its recent fourth-quarter 2020 earnings call.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
Turkey: Alibaba raises stake in Trendyol
Alibaba is raising its stake in Trendyol to 86.5%. The major ecommerce platform from Turkey received an additional 330mln dollars (273mln euros) investment from Alibaba, which was already one of its existing partners. The capital increase means that the value of Trendyol is now estimated at over 9bln euros. But according to Turkish tech blog Webrazzi, rumors are that more investment money is heading to Trendyol.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
Mercadona supermarket chain generates almost 4% of all jobs in Spain
A study carried out by members of the Valencia Institute of Economic Research (IVIE) has reached the startling conclusion that the supermarket chain Mercadona generates 2.2.% of the entire GDP of Spain and is responsible for as much as 3.89% of all employment in the country, including not only those employed directly by the company but also those working in ancillary services and subsidiary companies.
Source: murciatoday.com
UK and Ireland: M&S Food selects RELEX Solutions to provide forecasting, ordering, and allocation management
RELEX Solutions has been appointed by M&S Food to supply unified planning solutions that will transform the company’s forecasting, ordering, and allocation processes. The implementation began in March 2021 for M&S Food’s 1,050 stores and 13 distribution centres throughout the UK and Ireland. M&S Food will benefit from RELEX’s state-of-the-art, AI-driven tools for forecasting, fresh optimization, store and DC ordering, allocations, and capacity and delivery flow smoothing. The solution will also bring awareness of store shelf space into supply chain planning.
Source: retailtimes.co.uk
UK: Why online supermarket Ocado wants to take the human touch out of groceries
In a warehouse larger than 3 football fields, 3,000 bots scuttle along at 13 feet per second, swerving to avoid each other in a complex dance governed by artificial intelligence. Their goal? To get your groceries much faster than humanly possible. The south-east London warehouse is run by British online supermarket Ocado and features the latest in its automation technology. The company started out developing the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) for its own use, but the system has proved so successful it licenses it to other supermarkets.
Source: edition.cnn.com
Poundland owner Pepco shuns London to float in Warsaw
Poundland owner Pepco announced its intention to go public in Poland, in a blow for London’s financial market. Pepco said it intends to apply for listing and admission to the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and said it had chosen Poland as it is the firm’s largest operating area.
Source: cityam.com
China: Dada Group's JDDJ, JD and Miss Fresh collaborate to deliver more fresh products for consumers within 1 hour
Dada Group ("Dada"), China's leading local on-demand delivery and retail platform, and Miss Fresh, China's digital community retail platform, announced that they have built collaboration to offer more consumers with the convenient one-hour shopping service. Since April, Miss Fresh's stores and warehouses have officially launched on JDDJ, Dada's on-demand retail platform and also launched on JD.com through the "Omni-Channel Fulfillment Program".
Source: prnewswire.com
Switzerland: Migros opens new store format BRIDGE in Zurich
Interstore | Schweitzer has implemented its Flexstore™ concept to design the new 2,000 square-metre BRIDGE market for retail giant Migros in Zurich, Switzerland. The idea behind BRIDGE is to connect a diverse fresh food market with creative catering and a venue for events.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK Grocery sales up 5.7% as consumer confidence increases: Kantar
Take-home grocery sales in the UK rose 5.7% in the 12 weeks to 18 April, new data from Kantar has shown, with the research firm noting that consumer confidence appears to be increasing amidst a relaxation of social restrictions. “There is a growing sense that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and people are becoming more comfortable with venturing out to the supermarket", commented Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. Market leader Tesco (27.0% market share) saw sales up 6.4%, while second-placed Sainsbury's (15.3% share) was up 6.0%. Of the so-called 'Big Four', Asda (14.8% share) saw the biggest sales growth, of 8.0%, while Morrisons (10.0% share) saw its sales rise by 7.2%.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Poland: UOKiK fines Jerónimo Martins for alleged incorrect labelling
Poland's consumer watchdog, UOKiK, has fined Portuguese retail group Jerónimo Martins (which operates the Biedronka chain) more than 60mln zlotys (€13.2mln) for reportedly labelling fruit and vegetables as grown in Poland when they were imported. UOKiK said consumers who made 'patriotic' choices had been misled, at a time when the government has been encouraging Poles to buy Polish products to support the economy during the coronavirus crisis.
Source: esmmagazine.com