News Briefs

Gelson's Markets has launched AirCarbon foodware with partner Newlight Technologies, Inc.  at all of its locations in California. 

Newlight was founded in 2003 to help end plastic pollution and climate change in this generation. According to the company, the AirCarbon molecule, also known as PHB, is made naturally in every ecosystem on Earth, including in trees, animals and the ocean. After more than 10 years of research, Newlight learned how to mimic the process that occurs in the ocean to make AirCarbon foodware at scale at its manufacturing facility in California.  

AirCarbon is plastic-free, requires no food crops for production; contains no forever chemicals (no BPAs, no phthalates and no PFAS); and is certified carbon-negative basis by SCS Global Services, reducing the net amount of carbon in the air through production. AirCarbon can be melted and formed into parts, such as foodware, that are smooth and strong, providing a unique combination: the performance benefits of plastic with the environmental benefits of a plastic-free, naturally occurring material.

"We believe we must end the flow of plastics into the ocean in this generation," said Mark Herrema, CEO of Huntington Beach, Calif.-based Newlight Technologies. "For us, that means making sustainable products that people love and that also work for the environment. This launch is the culmination of over 18 years of hard work by many dedicated people, and we couldn't be more excited to launch with Gelson's as a partner."

There will be five initial AirCarbon foodware products at Gelson's: knives, spoons, forks, mixed utensils and wrapped straws.

Encino, Calif.-based Gelson’s currently operates 27 full-service specialty grocery stores in Southern California. Each Gelson’s features the full amenities of a traditional supermarket with the local flavor of a neighborhood market.

Albertsons Cos. will be offer free COVID-19 tests to customers with Medicare Part B coverage. Eligible customers can receive up to eight over-the-counter tests each month without an appointment through the end of the COVID-19 public-health emergency. Also, those enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan will be able to able to get free COVID-19 rapid tests provided in more than 1,700 of the company’s pharmacies.

“We’re committed to making COVID-19 testing easier in the many neighborhoods we serve,” said Omer Gajial, Albertsons’ EVP of pharmacy and health. “Access to free COVID testing for Medicare customers removes yet another barrier for millions of Americans.”

In January, the grocer said that higher prices and an increase in customer traffic related to vaccines led it to report higher-than-expected sales and profit for the third quarter. To date, Albertsons pharmacists have administered more than 12 million COVID-19 vaccines through the company’s more than 1,700 pharmacies nationwide. 

Eligible individuals can find their nearest Albertsons Cos. Pharmacies online. 

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons operates more than 2,200 retail stores with 1,700-plus pharmacies, 400 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 20 manufacturing facilities. The company is No. 8 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

As part of Giant Food’s sustainability commitment, the grocery store chain has teamed with environmental technology company GreenPrint on a Reduced Emissions Program for fuel locations in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Set to launch April 19, the program will automatically calculate and offset up to 30% of vehicle emissions generated from gallons of gas sold at Giant Food pumps through investments in certified carbon reduction projects, at no additional cost to the customer. These projects include reforestation, alternative energy and methane reduction.

As well as offsetting customers’ carbon emissions on all fuel sold, the Reduced Emissions Program will plant 50,000 trees over three years in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and support other local community projects with such organizations as Potomac Conservancy and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

“Giant is committed to making sustainable choices in our business that have a positive impact on the environment,” noted Giant Food President Ira Kress. “We are proud to be working with GreenPrint to reduce fuel emissions and to be bringing this program to our customers so they may join us in helping our communities and the planet.”

To ensure the program’s integrity, GreenPrint will deliver real-time audited reporting to provide details on carbon emissions, offsets purchased and retired, and project investments. GreenPrint is a PDI company with offices in Atlanta; Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; and Hamburg, Germany.

Based in Landover, Md., Giant Food operates 164 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia, with approximately 20,000 associates. Included within the 164 stores are 152 full-service pharmacies, 83 full-service PNC Banks, 26 Starbucks locations and 18 fuel stations. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. 

In an effort to support its customers with blood sugar management and overall health, Hy-Vee, Inc. and its team of registered dietitians will host a series of events throughout the month of April.

Virtual events will include on-demand and live nutrition store tours that will help shoppers put together diabetic-friendly meal plans, as well as carbohydrate-conscious freezer meal prep classes for $10. Individuals in those classes will receive a step-by-step guide, recipes, shopping list and a shoppable Hy-Vee Aisles Online link.

In addition, select Hy-Vee stores will offer free A1C screenings, with results provided immediately. Sponsors for the screenings include BD Medical, Birds Eye, California Avocados, Catalina Crunch and Sugarbreak. 

Employee-owned Hy-Vee has a team of more than 93,000 employees and operates 285-plus retail stores across eight states. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company is No. 34 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Los Angeles-area organic grocer and café Erewhon has launched a partnership with Sameday Health, a COVID-19 testing and nationwide health care provider. The new partnership enables Erewhon members to access such benefits as 30% off any appointment, including house calls, and a complimentary first vitamin shot, valued at $50. Erewhon members can redeem the Sameday Health discount by entering their email on the Erewhon website’s Member Page.

Combining a human approach with intuitive technology, client-centered Sameday Health opened its first clinic in Venice, Calif., at the height of the COVID pandemic, and is now providing expanded same-day health care at locations in Los Angeles; San Francisco; New York; Miami; Washington, D.C.; Boston; and other cities. Along with COVID testing, Sameday Health offers a wide range of health-and-wellness services, including virtual therapy and primary care, IV drip therapy, vitamin injections, health assessments, and STD testing. 

Erewhon is an independent family-owned market with seven current locations across Los Angeles, including Calabasas, Fairfax/West Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Silver Lake, Venice and Studio City, and two currently planned future locations in Beverly Hills and Culver City. It was named among Progressive Grocer’s 2022 Outstanding Independents.

Convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ACT) has received the 2022 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA), which has recognized the world’s most engaged workplace cultures since 2007.

With data on more than 2 million employees in 276 organizations across 54 industries and 96 countries, Gallup’s metadata analysis on team engagement and performance is considered one of the most comprehensive workplace studies ever.

Operating in 26 countries and territories, with more than 14,100 stores, of which approximately 10,800 offer road transportation fuel, ACT is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the United States. As workplaces worldwide faced continuing historic upheaval, ACT managed to stand out in its ability to engage and develop its people amid another year of unpredictability in the workplace. The most recently completed Gallup employee engagement survey found 60% engagement among ACT employees.

“To be recognized as a Gallup exceptional workplace among such prestigious global honorees is a proud moment for ACT,” said Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of ACT. “Protecting and promoting ACT’s winning culture is a top priority for us, and we have worked hard, together as One Team, to create a highly engaged workforce and company that has only become better and stronger through the challenges of recent years.”

First-time winner ACT was the only convenience retailer among this year’s nominees.

Laval, Quebec-based ACT is No. 14 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.