Perimeter

SAN ANTONIO -- Central Market, the successful gourmet spinoff of H.E. Butt Grocery Co. here, continues to build a distinctive own-brand franchise for its seven Texas stores. The retailer last week brought shoppers up to date in its e-mail newsletter, touting an armload of products bearing the CM private label.

While snacks, beer, and soft drinks score biggest for Super Bowl, retailers can gain yardage with many nontraditional products, too.

Clamping down on retail losses should be everybody's business.

NEW YORK -- In a sign that manufacturers have upped the ante on their coupon promotions, FSI coupon use was on the rise in the first half of the year, led by a 15.7 percent jump in personal care product coupons, according to the latest Marx FSI Trend Report issued yesterday.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Leading natural and organic foods retailer Whole Foods Market opened its inaugural Baton Rouge store yesterday, its third in the state of Louisiana. The nearly 50,000-square-foot location is at 7529 Corporate Blvd. at Jefferson Highway.

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- For the second straight year, the cost of unsaleable products has declined for CPG manufacturers, according to the 2005 Unsaleables Benchmark Report, which was released yesterday at the Joint Unsaleables Management Conference here, which is produced by GMA in conjunction with FMI, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

CHICAGO -- In the same month that Interstate Bakeries Corp.'s Wonder brand has launched its White Bread Fans 100% Whole Grain bread, Sara Lee, based here, yesterday introduced nationwide a similar concept: Soft & Smooth Made With Whole Grain White Bread -- a product that the company describes as looking, smelling, and feeling like white bread, but providing a "good source of whole grains." The idea behind both new breads is to allow consumers who love white bread, particularly kids, to receive the health benefits of whole grains.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Consumer packaged goods manufacturers are responding in a major way to an increasingly obese and more health-conscious nation, according to new survey data released here by the Grocery Manufacturers Association.