News Briefs

Great Lakes Foods, a wholesaler of food and nonfood products to independent supermarkets and convenience stores in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, has selected eGrowcery, developer of a retail food industry e-commerce platform, to provide online sales and fulfillment solutions to its retail partners. The first operators are expected to deploy the system later this year.

“We needed to provide our retail partners with e-commerce technology that makes it as easy for them to engage with their shoppers online as it is in the store. The eGrowcery solution provides them with everything required to start and operate an exciting website that will help retain existing shoppers and attract new ones,” said Tom Jushka, president of Menominee, Mich.-based Great Lakes Foods.

Great Lakes Foods chose eGrowcery because of the simple integration of the solution with current point-of-sale (POS) technology and its ability to work with all store sizes and delivery services, which is especially important for retailers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

“Our solution will help Great Lakes’ retailers compete more effectively with the other stores in their markets at a very reasonable cost. We’re committed to giving retailers all the tools they need, including marketing support and training, to make each deployment a great success," said Patrick Hughes, CEO of Birmingham, Mich.-based eGrowcery.

eGrowcery, which operates both in the United States and abroad, is working with a growing number of retailers and wholesalers to help them establish a store-branded e-commerce experience in which they control the shopper data. Its end-to-end, omnichannel solution integrates with back-office/POS while enabling retailers to personalize their own shopper experience.

Ridley’s Family Markets, an independent chain of grocery stores in the Intermountain West, has teamed with DailyPay, a provider of on-demand pay. Using DailyPay, the grocer’s employees have access to their pay as they earn it and can pay bills, spend, save or invest on their own schedules. 

“As a family-owned company, Ridley’s is always looking for opportunities to improve the benefits we offer our team that work so hard to make the company successful,” said Ridley’s founder Anita Ridley. “Being able to give everyone on our team access to their earned wages quickly and on the terms that work best for them fits in perfectly with our philosophy of putting our team members first.” 

Companies leveraging DailyPay as part of a financial wellness benefits package can retain employees 73% longer, according to a study commissioned by DailyPay. In fact, a survey conducted by DailyPay found that 78% of DailyPay users said that they’re avoiding late fees, 74% said that their financial stress is reduced and 59% said DailyPay motivates them to go to work.

Ridley’s is among the latest grocer to implement DailyPay. Other retailers to roll out the company’s solution include Coborn’s, Dollar Tree, Big Lots and Kroger. DailyPay has its headquarters in New York City, with operations based in Minneapolis. 

Twin Falls, Idaho-based Ridley’s Family Markets operates 29 supermarkets across Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Colorado. The grocer employs more than 2,000 associates.

Southeastern Grocers, Inc. is donating more than $1.25 million to the Folds of Honor organization. The retailer’s recent register campaign benefited the nonprofit group that provides educational scholarship to the children and spouses of fallen and disabled U.S. service members.

Between May 25 and July 5, shoppers at Southeastern Grocers-owned Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie stores gave $1, $5 or a donation of their choice at the register or online to demonstrate their support for military heroes and their families. All monies raised go directly to Folds of Honor.

On "Military Mondays" throughout the six-week effort, the SEG Gives Foundation matched in-store donations from the previous weekend, tallying $300,000 on those designated days alone. The retailer kicked off the campaign before Memorial Day with an initial commitment of $100,000 from its foundation. 

“We are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Folds of Honor in support of our American service heroes, and we are grateful for our generous associates, customers and neighbors who donated in honor of those who fought for the freedoms Americans cherish most," said Southeastern Grocers President and CEO Anthony Hucker. "We believe it is our responsibility to elevate those they left behind who carry the burden of loss every day – because military families serve too."

Since 2018, the company raised more than $6.75 million for Folds of Honor.

“Thanks to the support of this campaign, more than 1,350 lives have been changed over the last five years,” said Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, CEO and founder of Folds of Honor.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers is one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the United States, with grocery stores, liquor stores and in-store pharmacies serving communities throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The company is No. 39 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Sam’s Club is embracing a regenerative mindset as it develops new Member’s Mark products from recycled items. Take the Member’s Mark Antimicrobial Diamond Scraper Entrance Mat as an example.

“Ninety-six percent of the surface of the mat is made with material from recycled PET bottles, which results in higher water absorption than our previous mat,” said Mike McCarthy, senior merchant. “And 97% of the base of the mat is constructed with recycled crumb rubber from tires.”

The recycled crumb rubber comes in part from discarded tires that members bring to Sam’s Club auto centers. A third party collects those tires and shreds them into small pieces. The tire shreds are then processed into crumb rubber to help create the eco-friendly mats.

“It takes one passenger tire to make one mat,” said McCarthy. “Our supplier is projecting to make 400,000 of these Member’s Mark mats this year, so that could save up to 400,000 tires from the landfill.”

The mat is currently available online and in most clubs, with plans to be in all clubs by the end of July 2022.

Sam’s Club, a division of Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Inc., operates nearly 600 clubs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Sam’s Club ranks eighth.

Members of the refreshed board of directors are taking their seat at Specialty Food Association (SFA). Directors were elected during SFA’s annual meeting in late June.

New members elected this year – considered the Class of 2025 – include Jill Giacomini Basch of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese; Julie Busha of Slawsa; Nona Lim of Nona Lim; Victoria Ho of Sherpa CPG; and Jon Pruden of the Taste Family of Businesses. They will serve a three-year term, from now through June 2025.

The rest of board members are continuing their respective terms. Directors from the Class of 2023 include Tyler Lowell of C.A. Fortune; Sarah Masoni of the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center; and Sarah Wallace of The Good Bean, Inc. Returning from the SFA Class of 2024 board are Charlie Apt of Sarabeth’s Kitchen; Beth Haley of DPI Specialty Foods; Emilio Mignucci of Di Bruno Bros.; Jomaree Pinkard of Hella Cocktail Co.; and Lee Zalben of Peanut Butter & Co.

“The SFA takes pride in engaging the wisdom and expertise of our members,” remarked Laura Lozada, the group’s VP of membership. “Voter turnout was robust around a fair process that creates more opportunity, with a balanced board and a volunteer slate.”

Pruden serves as chair of the current board, with a tenure through 2023. Lim is vice chair, Pierre Abushacra of Firehook Bakery is treasurer and Giacomini Basch is secretary.

In addition to this board slate, Scott Jensen of Rhythm Superfoods LLC was appointed to a one-year term to fill a vacancy, according to the New York-headquartered SFA.

SFA recently wrapped up its Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center in New York City, an event that featured more than 1,700 exhibitors from around the world.

The Giant Co. has named Ted Williams director of non-foods, effective July 5. In this role, he will be responsible for areas like health and personal care, seasonal, general merchandise, pet supplies, candy and baby.

A 30-year industry veteran, Williams previously worked at Ahold USA as a category management business consultant and with Giant Food as the director of retail pricing and the director of grocery category management. Since then, he has been fine-tuning his skills in non-foods with retailers like CVS, Pathmark and Rite Aid. Most recently, Williams served as the COO at HLS-Higher Level Solutions, helping founder-led CPG companies develop their brand while launching into e-commerce and physical retail.

At The Giant Co., Williams will report directly to Parag Shah, VP, center store omnichannel merchandising.

With more than 35,000 associates supporting approximately 190 stores, 133 pharmacies, 107 fuel stations, and over 175-plus online pickup hubs and grocery delivery service in hundreds of ZIP codes, The Giant Co., based in Carlisle, Pa., encompasses the following banners: Giant, Martin’s, Giant Heirloom Market, Giant Direct and Martin’s Direct. Parent company 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, Giant Food, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Peapod and Retail Business Services.