Indian food delivery firm Zomato's co-founder Patidar resigns
Zomato Ltd said Gunjan Patidar, the company's co-founder and chief technical officer, had resigned after more than a decade with the Indian food delivery firm. Zomato, which did not say why Patidar was resigning, has posted losses narrowing in its last two quarterly results.
Source: reuters.com
Egypt: Mahaseel Masr raises funding from EIIC
Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC), the strategic investment arm of National Holding, has signed a partnership agreement with Mahaseel Masr, the first regional B2B fresh produce digital platform, to accelerate the deployment of Mahaseel Masr agri e-commerce platform.
Source: wamda.com
China: JD Logistics Airlines adds all-cargo routes
Following its existing route between Shenzhen, Guangdong province and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, JD Logistics Airlines announced that it has launched two new all-cargo routes, one from Beijing to Wuhu, Anhui province to Nantong, Jiangsu province; and the other between Shenzhen, Guangdong province and Wuxi, Jiangsu province.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
Aldi UK says December sales up 26%
The British arm of German discount supermarket group Aldi said its sales in December rose 26% compared to the previous year, reflecting the opening of new stores and consumers' search for savings in a cost-of-living crisis. Aldi UK and Ireland said its sales topped 1.4bln pounds ($1.67bln) in December for the first time.
Source: reuters.com
Cyprus: High festive spending on food, but not gifts
According to head of the consumers’ association Marios Droushiotis, the cost of a Christmas meal was around 10% up compared to last year. Though meat prices went up by 20 to 25%, this was compensated to an extent by the low prices of fruits and vegetables, which have decreased. “We were buying a field cucumber for 60 to 80 cents, while a greenhouse one was less than 50 cents. This has never happened before. Tomatoes were almost half price compared to previous holiday periods.”
Source: cyprus-mail.com
China: Dada Group's impressive 2022 year in review
This year, on-demand retail has been increasingly valued by more retail and brand partners of Dada Group, China's leading local on-demand retail and delivery platform. As a new way to connect online and offline integration, on-demand retail has promoted the integration of the real economy and the digital economy, as well as the process of industry digitization. In 2022, Dada Group has been spearheading a slew of initiatives which have expedited the digital transformation of brick-and-mortar stores.
Source: prnewswire.com
Three’s a crowd: how farmers are cutting out the supermarkets
Giving up police work to grow passion fruit might be considered an unconventional career move, but that is what Sergio Quijada Domínguez did when a hereditary heart condition forced him to retire at the age of 32 after 14 years in Spain’s Guardia Civil. Quijada, who has about 1,500 plants on his farm near Vélez-Málaga in southern Spain, found he was good at growing passion fruit - what he lacked was the knowhow to sell them. “It was the tool I was missing”, he says. “I had my product and I wanted to sell it direct to the consumer but I had no way of doing that and normal distributors added a lot to the price”. It was the man who delivered his cardboard packing cases who suggested he approach CrowdFarming, a one-stop shop to handle administration and logistics and link customers directly with farmers.
Source: theguardian.com
Vietnam: Retailers get ready for busiest shopping season of the year
With the Lunar New Year (Tết) around the corner, retailers are scrambling to stockpile goods to meet the imminent surge in demand. A representative of Saigon Co.op said stocks of fresh foods have been doubled so that its Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, and Co.opSmile stores could meet any surge in demand during Tết. To ensure consumer price stability, it has allocated most of its budget to nine items under the programme - rice, sugar, cooking oil, pork, poultry meat, poultry eggs, processed food, fruits and vegetables, and seafood, the representative said.
Source: einnews.com
DIA renovates 60% of proximity stores, adds 2,700 SKUs
Spanish retailer DIA renovated 60% of its proximity stores during 2022. The group's revamped neighbourhood store concept, which is already operational in more than 2,200 stores, will be extended to its entire network across Spain and Argentina during 2023. The new store concept is more spacious and brighter, focused on fresh products, and offers customers a faster, easier and more accessible shopping experience, DIA said.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: Produce sales have been way up. Here’s why.
People are thinking more about their health these days, which has been a big boon to produce departments in supermarkets around the U.S. Chris Mentzer, director of operations for Rastelli Market Fresh, with two New Jersey-based locations in Marlton and Deptford, noted that produce is cranking, with sales up double-digits in 2022. “We’ve been introducing plant-based meals in our department, which has been a huge trend and is only going to get stronger, so we integrated some of the foods into produce”, he said. “Also, the cost of meat and protein right now is so outrageous that people are going towards produce items and fortifying their pasta dishes with produce instead”. Still, the No. 1 reason that produce is performing so well is that customers are more committed to eating healthy since the pandemic.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Juice Plus+ partners with Food Finders to support food insecure communities with free fruit and vegetables at community marketplace
We all know that fruits and vegetables are key to a healthy family however it's not always easy to get them in your daily diet. Leading global health and wellness company Juice Plus+ believes in the value of community, and the importance of growing and sustaining a healthy family through whole food nutrition. In partnership with Food Finders, Juice Plus+ will provide nourishment to families with a free Community Marketplace Food Hub taking place on Saturday, January 28 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (PST) at Admiral Kidd Park located at 2125 Santa Fe Avenue, Long Beach, California 90810.
Source: prnewswire.com