Australia: Woolworths and Coles respond to new supermarket ban impacting millions of shoppers
The Western Australian government has expanded restrictions on non-compostable produce bags after initially banning their use for loose fresh fruit and vegetables in October last year. As of this month, the flimsy items, otherwise known as barrier bags, can also no longer be used for nuts and confectionery, with all major supermarkets, businesses, manufacturers, retailers and distributors forced to comply. Speaking to Yahoo News, Woolworths confirmed it began offering compostable bags to customers in all of its Western Australian stores from October 1, "in line with the state government's new requirements. This is a great development in broader efforts to reduce single use bags in our fruit and veg departments, and follows a similar move in South Australia in 2022", the spokesperson said. Coles has also made the switch to an environmentally friendly alternative, however, it is understood the new restrictions won't impact ALDI as its produce bags already comply with new compostability design standards.
Source: au.news.yahoo.com
UK: New Morrisons Daily arrives in Virginia Quay
Morrisons reported: "Morrisons has opened a new Morrisons Daily store in Virginia Quay to provide a fresh and affordable shopping experience to those local to the East London store. Morrisons now has over 700 franchise stores operating in forecourts and local neighbourhoods across the UK".
Source: morrisons-corporate.com
Markus Kaser appointed Deputy Chairman of SPAR Austria Board
The Supervisory Board of SPAR Austria has appointed Markus Kaser (54) as Deputy Chairman of the Board with effect from January 1, 2026. Markus Kaser has been with the company since 1998 and has served on the SPAR Executive Board since 2021, where he is responsible for assortment management, marketing, CSR, sustainability, IT, as well as the business divisions, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt. This position had not been filled at SPAR Austria in recent years.
Source: spar-international.com
BILLA Bulgaria's online sales soar by close to a quarter
BILLA Bulgaria has reported a 28.7% increase in online customers and a 23% rise in online value sales in the first half of 2025, compared to the previous year. This success is attributed to the REWE Group-owned retailer's partnership with the Glovo delivery platform, which offers online shopping in the cities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, and Pleven.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: FareShare Midlands opens major new facility to combat food poverty and unemployment
FareShare Midlands reported: "A ground-breaking facility dedicated to food redistribution and skills development is operated by FareShare Midlands thanks to the generous support of The Sir Peter Rigby Charitable Trust. Located in Gravelly Park, Birmingham, the Hub is run by FareShare Midlands, the region's leading food redistribution charity".
Source: faresharemidlands.org.uk
UK: Falling confidence in the economy sees consumers cutting back
KPMG reported: "Consumer confidence in the UK economy fell during the last quarter, reaching the lowest point so far this year, according to KPMG's latest Consumer Pulse survey. KPMG's poll of 3000 UK consumers saw the number of people feeling that the economy is worsening increase from 51% to 62% in the last three months - and up from 43% since 2025 began".
Source: kpmg.com
Dutch ecommerce worth 17bln euros in first half of 2025
In the first half of the year, consumers in the Netherlands spent more than 17bln euros online. Compared to the same period last year, this represents a decline of 1%. Spending on services fell sharply, while spending on products increased slightly. These data come from the latest Thuiswinkel Market Monitor, which provides an overview of online consumer purchases in the Netherlands.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
'Delivery robots will happen': Skype co-founder on his fast-growing venture Starship
City dwellers around the world have long been used to rapid delivery of takeaway food and, increasingly, groceries. But what they are not entirely used to - yet - is the sight of a robot pulling up to their front door. The co-founder of Skype, Ahti Heinla, believes his new venture is about to change that. Heinla is the chief executive of Starship Technologies, a startup that, he claimed, is able to operate deliveries run by trundling robots at a small profit - and cheaper than a human delivery driver, even in small towns and villages where delivery has not previously been viable.
Source: theguardian.com
Sprouts Farmers Market and Careit rescue 30mln pounds of food across the U.S.
Natasha Tofil, Sprouts Farmers Market Environmental Compliance Manager: "We're very produce-centric and proud that we can provide fresh food to our local community partners that feed those with diet restrictions who need a nutritious meal. In the past, we would have to turn away nonprofits who requested donations, but with Careit, we have been able to easily onboard them to our program and foster more meaningful connections at a local level - the heart of our communities".
Source: nicolecommunications.prowly.com
US: Upshop's latest tech ties operations together behind AI-powered 'cockpit'
Grocery tech company Upshop introduced Upshop 360, a unified operating system for grocery, during Groceryshop. The system embeds AI across all operational data to give retailers a real-time, accurate and AI-powered "cockpit". The cockpit tells the grocer what is happening in every store and what to do next, like optimize replenishment, trigger markdowns before waste happens and direct worker tasks to unlock the most margins.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Hy-Vee buys Circle K convenience store in Wausau, Wisconsin
Hy-Vee Inc. is making two new acquisitions in Wausau, Wisconsin. The supermarket and convenience-store retailer is acquiring the County Market grocery store, located at 220 S. 18th Avenue. It is also acquiring the adjacent Circle K convenience store.
Source: cspdailynews.com
US: Brain Corp and Driveline launch ShelfOptix™: The first fully managed, robot-powered shelf intelligence service
Brain Corp, the autonomous technology company creating transformative solutions in robotics and AI, and Driveline Retail, one of the largest retail service networks in the U.S., announced the launch of ShelfOptix, a fully managed service that provides robot-powered shelf intelligence at scale without the cost or complexity of technology ownership.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: New Whole Foods Market Daily Shop in Arlington, Virginia, to open October 23
Whole Foods Market will open a new location of its smaller format store, Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia on October 23, 2025 - the first of its kind outside of New York City.
Source: media.wholefoodsmarket.com
