US: FoodShot winner About Fresh talks transforming healthcare to improve food accessibility
“We need to broaden the definition of what constitutes access to food”, says About Fresh CEO Josh Trautwein. Boston-based About Fresh wants to strengthen the link between food accessibility and health outcomes through its Fresh Connect initiative.
Source: agfundernews.com
US: New Dollar General store opens in Albany
A new Dollar General store has opened in the Good Life City. The new store, located at 104 Lockett Station Road, will feature household essentials including food, cleaning supplies, paper products, over-the-counter medicines, hygiene products and baby items. The new store will also feature fresh fruits and vegetables including lettuce, tomatoes, onions, apples, strawberries and more.
Source: walb.com
US: Walmart poo-poos Amazon Fresh price increases
Walmart pokes the bear: After Amazon announced that it was raising prices for grocery delivery, rival Walmart shot back with a reminder that it built its massive retail empire around being the low-price leader. The retailer said in a tweet that the new $150 minimum order for free delivery from Amazon Fresh “is looking pretty stale right about now”.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Albertsons launches health app as consumers seek wellness and convenience
Albertsons announced the debut of Sincerely Health, a digital health and wellness platform accessible on 16 of its grocers’ apps and websites, including Safeway, Vons, Acme and Albertsons itself.
Source: pymnts.com
US: Foodcellar Market the first to rollout Instacart’s Scan & Pay checkout tech
Long Island City, New York, grocer Foodcellar Market is the first retailer to fully deploy Instacart’s new Scan & Pay checkout technology. The system, which has been operating for several weeks, allows Foodcellar Market customers to scan items with their smart phones as they shop, and also allows them to skip checkout lines by paying with their mobile devices.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Kroger expands farmers market concept
The Kroger Co. is growing its partnership with Market Wagon to bring its digital farmers market concept to more customers. Kroger Farmers Market, which was developed as an e-commerce marketplace for local farmers and businesses, is now available to shoppers in the Columbus, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tennessee, markets.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Alibaba-backed Pakistani e-commerce platform Daraz cuts workforce by 11%
Alibaba-owned e-commerce platform Daraz Group is reducing its workforce by 11% to prepare for the 'current market reality', Chief Executive Officer Bjarke Mikkelsen said.
Source: reuters.com
REWE delivers food to rural Germany using a fully stocked bendy bus
The advent of a new mobile shopping experience in Germany is imminent, as food retailer REWE and railway firm Deutsche Bahn (DB) trial a supermarket-on-wheels that will drive to the doorsteps of rural villages in northern Hesse.
Source: internationalsupermarketnews.com
Mercator in takeover bid for Montenegro’s Supermarketi Franca
Slovenian retailer Mercator, through its Montenegrin unit Mercator-CG, has submitted a request to the local regulator for the approval of its planned acquisition of Supermarketi Franca. The request was announced by Montenegro’s Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZK), in an announcement published in the Official Gazette.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Italy’s Gruppo Unicomm plan six new store openings
Italian regional retailer Gruppo Unicomm opened 18 new stores during 2022, in the various regions in which it operates. For 2023, the group is planning six new openings and 12 renovations of existing stores. Gruppo Unicomm closed 2022 with an estimated turnover of €2.7bln, which represents 13% annual growth, and 9.6% growth in terms of like-for-like sales.
Source: esmmagazine.com
First batch of Taiwan-grown blueberries hit 7-Eleven shelves
The first batch of blueberries to be grown in Taiwan went on sale at convenience store chain 7-Eleven, hoping to break Taiwan's dependence on imports of the highly nutritious fruit.
Source: focustaiwan.tw
UK: Why cashierless Amazon Fresh stores are introducing manned checkouts
Strategic u-turn at Amazon Fresh: in London, customers of the supermarket chain will now have the choice between automatic checkout using Just Walk Out technology or paying at a traditional, manned checkout.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Lidl announces new strategy, expanding plant-based and reducing animal products
The German discount supermarket chain Lidl has revealed plans to pursue a more sustainable business strategy to 2025, with a focus on reducing the number of animal-based products in its offering and increasing its range of vegetable proteins.
Source: vegconomist.com
Hungary stats office launches probe into embargo breach on retail sales data
Hungary's Central Statistics Office (KSH) has launched a probe into a violation of the embargo on the country's December retail sales data published earlier on Monday, it said in an emailed statement. The KSH said that local business portal Portfolio published a story on Saturday in which they said an economic research institute had sent them an analysis with details of the retail data that were meant to be published only on Monday morning. Portfolio did not publish the analysis.
Source: reuters.com