Supermarket & Grocery Industry News

WILMINGTON, Del. - Fruit and vegetable offerings by quick-service, quick casual, family, and casual dining restaurants are increasing, but foodservice operators are still largely missing opportunities to appeal to their customers' interest in better health -- and to ring up better sales in the process.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Craig Fuller, president and c.e.o. of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), testified late last week before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health regarding electronic prescribing technology.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Giant Food, Inc. of Landover, Md. and the Procter & Gamble Company were honored yesterday with the inaugural Unsaleables Innovation Awards, presented by The Grocery Manufacturers of America during the 2004 Joint Industry Unsaleables Management Conference.

DANBURY, Ct. - Bristol Technology is once again working with Progressive Grocer as sponsor of the 2004 Category Captains awards program. The program honors CPG companies whose innovation, commitment, and leadership in category management raise the bar for all supermarket industry suppliers.

NEDERLAND, Texas - Market Basket, a privately held supermarket chain with stores in Texas and Louisiana, has completed the rollout of Retalix's DemandAnalytx store forecasting and ordering system after a pilot showed substantial improvements in out of stocks and inventory.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Food, beverage, and consumer products manufacturers reported that the cost of unsaleable products declined to 1.11 percent in 2003, compared with a record high of 1.18 percent in 2002, according to the Grocery Manufacturers of America-Food Marketing Institute 2004 Unsaleables Benchmark Report.

NEWTON, Mass - Now that its software solution has fully integrated with StoreNext's latest ISS45 Version 8 point-of-sale (POS) system, MobileLime, a service of Vayusa, Inc., says shoppers will have the convenience of paying for groceries using their mobile phones while grocers build customer loyalty and a stronger bottom line.

PITTSBURGH - Up to 70 cases of salmonella poisoning throughout Pennsylvania had been linked to a deli product sold at Sheetz convenience stores by Friday afternoon, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health said it expected the number to continue to increase throughout the weekend.