US: New IGA program aims to help solve food desert crisis
IGA USA Inc. is rolling out a new resource to support urban and rural communities in their work to solve the food desert crisis. According to the independent grocer alliance, the IGA Community Development program aims to help expand access to fresh, affordable food in underserved areas by matching funding from communities, non-profits and other developmental entities with independent retailers.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: 99 Ranch Market opens its second Las Vegas store in Summerlin
99 Ranch Market announced it is opening at Boca Park Plaza in Summerlin, Las Vegas' premier urban and residential community. Highlights include: Fresh Produce - Locally sourced and imported fruits and vegetables, supporting both everyday cooking and traditional Asian recipes.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Walmart hits $1tln market cap, fueled by growth of e-commerce, new businesses
Walmart hit the $1tln market cap threshold on Tuesday. The retailer, which has tried to compete with Amazon by growing its digital businesses, joins a group mostly comprised of tech companies. Walmart has also won over higher-income shoppers during a period of elevated inflation in recent years.
Source: cnbc.com
US: Kroger doubles down on large-format stores as it chases growth
As Kroger continues to redirect its growth strategy in the wake of its unsuccessful effort to merge with Albertsons, the nation's largest conventional supermarket chain is banking on its large-format Marketplace banner to give it a much-needed competitive lift. Kroger's plans for expanding its Marketplace banner span several states.
Source: grocerydive.com
Belgium: HelloFresh opens pop-up store for last-minute decision makers
HelloFresh has opened "The No-Need-To-Go-To-The-Store Store" at Antwerp Central Station, where commuters can pick up a complete meal kit to prepare at home. The pop-up will later move to Utrecht.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Riverford sales rise 6% as UK organics market enjoys biggest boom in two decades
Consumers searching for healthy food from trusted sources have fuelled the UK organic market's biggest boom in two decades, according to vegetable box seller Riverford. The delivery business, which sells meat, cheese, cookbooks and recipe boxes alongside vegetables, recorded a 6% increase in sales to £117mln in the year to May 2025, as the UK organic food and drink market grew by almost 9% in that year, according to new figures from the Soil Association. The strong growth, significantly outpacing the wider food market, helped the employee-owned business give a £1.1mln bonus to workers. Rob Haward, the chief executive of the Devon-based company which delivers about 70,000 boxes a week, said the company had gained new customers and existing clients had spent more. "We haven't seen the market grow as much as this for 20 years", he said.
Source: theguardian.com
SPAR Austria welcomes state-of-the-art EUROSPAR supermarket in Güssing
After a year of construction, the newly built EUROSPAR supermarket in Güssing opened, located adjacent to the former SPAR store. A key highlight is the fresh produce market which brings together fruit and vegetables, bread and pastries, and delicatessen items.
Source: spar-international.com
UK: Aldi cuts prices across hundreds of products
Aldi invested more than £22mln in reducing prices on hundreds of products last month to boost its appeal with cash-strapped consumers. Reductions included everyday staples and nutritious options, with Red Lentils reduced to 99p from £1.39. Sweetcorn (55p from 59p).
Source: kamcity.com
More veggies, higher quality, and greater choice!
HelloFresh Group reported: "HelloFresh is making significant product investments across all markets to deliver greater recipe variety, a larger menu, improved ingredient quality and more personalized meal experiences. We're excited to share the recent updates in the DACH market that offer our customers a noticeably better product experience. The key updates: More Vegetables - Effective immediately, 90% of our weekly recipes contain at least 200g of vegetables per serving. With these recipes, customers can cover half of the WHO recommended daily intake of vegetables and fruit in just one meal!".
Source: linkedin.com
Belgium: Colruyt to deliver groceries using driverless vehicles in Leuven
Next month, Collect&Go, Colruyt Group's grocery delivery service, will launch a pilot project in Leuven to deliver groceries to people's homes using unmanned, self-driving electric vehicles.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Co-op price-match ad banned after Aldi complaint 
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued three rulings against convenience retailer Co-op after supermarket chain Aldi challenged a price-matching ad. The rulings were against an ad that appeared on the retailer's website. Text on the advert read: "EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS, PRICE MATCHED TO ALDI" beside images of various groceries with a roundel and tick symbol with text that stated, "ALDI PRICE MATCH FOR MEMBERS". Below were hyperlinked tabs that said "Milk, butter cheese and eggs, Food cupboard, Meat, fish and poultry, Fruit, veg and salad, Bakery and cakes, Household and pet" with images of the items and their prices for members and non-members with "See more" headings below.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
