News Briefs

A last-mile delivery platform for ethnic foods has gotten a boost to expand its partnerships with independent grocers. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Bakkal Corp. recently received $3 million seed funding from new and existing vendors as it plans to expand its services, internal teams and marketing efforts.

Bakkal first rolled out its last-mile delivery platform in the Los Angeles area in late 2021 and entered the San Francisco region earlier this year. The company’s goal is to improve access to online grocery orders and deliveries from neighborhood ethnic retailers.

["Read more: "Multicultural Grocers Drive Sales by Catering to Increasingly Diverse America"]

"We believe small grocery stores are a key part of our community and culture. Consumers from diverse ethnic backgrounds have access to healthy and affordable food through these organizations. Ethnic grocery options deserve more than a tiny corner of the grocery store," said Founder and CEO Murat Karslioglu. "We are digitizing the ethnic grocery supply chain and making it easier for small local stores to source inventory. By helping high quality and international brands stock their products reliably at stores, we increase affordable food options."

According to company information, the latest infusion of capital has increased the company’s valuation to $20 million. The company operates offices in the U.S. in California, as well as in Istanbul, Kyrgyzstan and Tel Aviv.

In an effort to stem hunger in its communities, Stop & Shop is introducing a new seasonal program that provides locally grown fresh vegetables to families in need. This month, the retailer will hold distribution events in stores across its multistate footprint.

Consumers facing food insecurity in these areas can access locally grown produce such as corn, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant and peppers. Stop & Shop is working with regional and local food banks to coordinate donations in New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York.

The first event took place Aug. 12 at the Neptune City, N.J., Stop & Shop. Hundreds of clients of the Fulfill book bank could drive up and receive produce and other grocery essentials from the retailer’s team of associate volunteers.

At the same time, Stop & Shop is supporting local growers and farmers by sourcing fresh produce from their businesses. Shoppers can learn more about those products and suppliers via signage at Stop & Shop stores.

Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC is an Ahold Delhaize USA company that employs 58,000 associates and operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Its other brands are Food Lion, FreshDirect, The Giant Co., Giant Food, Hannaford, Peapod, and Retail Business Services.

 

Trader Joe’s Wine Shop in New York City’s Union Square has permanently closed. The unexpected move came on Thursday, Aug. 11, when shoppers encountered a letter posted on the door of the East 14th Street location.

“We have been operating our small Wine Shop in the Union Square neighborhood for over 15 years, and we thank you for your business and support throughout the years,” the letter noted. “It is now time for us to explore another location that will allow us to optimize the potential of our one and only license to sell wine in the state of New York.”

Wine shop associates will be paid for their scheduled shifts through Aug. 28 and have the opportunity to transfer to another New York City Trader Joe’s location, the letter added.

The Union Square wine shop opened in 2006 shortly after the East 14th Street grocery store location, which was the first Trader Joe’s in the Big Apple and remains open.

“We look forward to sharing with you our plans to offer an even better wine shop experience to our New York customers as soon as they are finalized,” the posted letter concluded, followed by the sign-off “All of us at Trader Joe’s.”

A company representative has confirmed the wine shop’s permanent closure to a local press outlet. 

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents 1.3 million workers in grocery stores, meatpacking plants and other industries across North America, has accused Trader Joe’s of “engaging in an illegal union-busting technique that has been utilized by other national corporations facing organizing campaigns of their own, like Starbucks and Amazon.” The wine shop closing was allegedly in response to employees’ organizing efforts and intention to file for a union election, according to Washington, D.C.-based UFCW. Last month, workers at a Trader Joe’s store in Hadley, Mass., voted to form an independent union.

With more than 500 stores in 40-plus states, Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s is No. 27 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. 

Alternative-dairy company New Culture has appointed Binita Bhattacharjee, Ph.D., VP of process development and engineering. In her new role, she will lead the organization’s fermentation and downstream processing teams and work with external co-manufacturing and research partners to enhance production capacity and launch the company’s animal-free mozzarella designed to stretch, melt and bubble like traditional cheese.

Most recently, Bhattacharjee was senior director of process development at biotech company Amyris. Her 15-year industry experience spans functions such as technology evaluation, process development, techno-economic modeling, logistics and engineering for sustainable products. She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and her bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

"Binita is a world-class engineer, scientist and leader with deep experience harnessing bioprocess to produce innovative, sustainable products," said Inja Radman, Ph.D., co-founder and chief science officer of San Leandro, Calif.-based New Culture. "By adding her to the helm of our impressive fermentation and downstream process development teams, we are one step closer to bringing New Culture mozzarella to market."

New Culture is working on producing the dairy protein casein without any animal inputs to make its alternative mozzarella cheese, which will be rolled out in 2023. The business is backed by such investors as Kraft Heinz's Evolv Ventures, ADM Ventures, S2G Ventures, Mayfield, CPT Capital, Ahren Innovation Capital and Future Ventures.

BP’s Ampm c-store chain is now bicoastal with the opening of a location in New York City. The store, at 824 Allerton Avenue in the borough of The Bronx, is the first of its kind on the East Coast and represents the company’s ambitious expansion plans: It aims to increase the number of strategic convenience sites from around 2,000 to 3,000 by the end of the decade.

The Bronx Ampm is based on the store model of Thorntons, the fuel and c-store banner acquired by BP last year. The space includes fresh fruit, groceries, nonfood items and a hot prepared food area.

"As BP transitions toward becoming a net-zero company, convenience will play a huge role in delivering our integrated strategy. The experience customers feel at our retail sites will be key to attracting them in and ensuring they return. Because New Yorkers are always on the go, the Empire State is a perfect fit for this expansion," said Dave Lawler, chairman and president of Houston-based BP America.

Added Greg Franks, SVP mobility and convenience, Americas: "This store sets the stage for us to maximize the large BP footprint along the East Coast.”

Currently, BP operates several retail models across the United States, spanning company-owned retail stores, strategic partnerships, brand licensing, wholesale, business-to-business, dealer-owned and franchise-owned locations.  

Hy-Vee has expanded its Scan & Go program that runs on FutureProof Retail (FPR)’s Mobile Checkout Platform to even more locations. The Midwestern grocer’s Scan & Go offering rolled out at select Des Moines, Iowa, locations last year and has since been implemented at several dozen Hy-Vee locations, with more in the pipeline.

FPR’s solution enables customers to scan items with their phones, pay in the app and exit the store after scanning a QR code on their way out. Shoppers can also weigh their own produce and scan a barcode on the scale screen. While shopping, customers can view their basket total at any time and bag items at once. The app also applies all deals, promotions, coupons and perks to the shopping basket.

According to Hy-Vee, Scan & Go provides additional convenience for time-pressed customers.

With FPR’s help, the grocer was able to set up the platform and integrate it with its existing systems in just a few months. FPR integrated its scan-and-go solution with Hy-Vee’s existing point-of-sale and promotion systems, permitting customers to amass Hy-Vee Fuel Saver Rewards and use digital coupons while shopping with the app.

“Hy-Vee set a new record in driving adoption at launch, especially in its new flagship stores,” noted Will Hogben, CEO of New York-based FPR. “Hy-Vee is a leading innovator in retail technology and new store formats, and we are thrilled to be their partner for new checkout technologies.” 

Employee-owned Hy-Vee operates more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states and has a team of more than 93,000 employees. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company is No. 30 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.