Deli / Prepared Foods

DALLAS -- Leading convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Inc. here said last week it is rolling out the next generation of its fresh food program with the national launch of Pick Smart, a selection of sandwiches, grilled items, and packaged baked goods with lower fat and calorie content.

FORT LEE, Va. -- The Defense Commissary Agency here is introducing a series of shelf signs featuring dietary tips, in time to meet shoppers New Year's resolutions to lose weight and eat healthier.

Progressive Grocer places bets on which operators will merit headlines in 2006.

A health crisis convinces a former Coke exec to help fill other cups, through giving.

BOULDER, Colo. -- IZZE Beverage Company, a brand in the emerging sparkling juice category, tapped SoBe founder and former c.e.o. John Bello as a member of the company's board of directors. Bello is also a partner with Sherbrooke Capital, the venture capital group that led the $6.35 million equity-financing round for IZZE this past January.

LONDON -- It's not just U.S. supermarkets that are being affected by growing waistlines and consumers' desires to eat healthier. Sales of popular brands of traditional snack foods and sweets in Britain are suffering from a slump, according to a new study by The Grocer, a British trade publication, based on ACNielsen sales data.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. -- Note to grocers courting Hispanics: Try to gauge how long your target market's been absorbing American culture. As they acculturate, Hispanics living in the United States develop progressively more Americanized eating habits, a study by the NPD Group here found.

SUNBURY, Pa. -- Weis Markets, based here, celebrated the opening of a new superstore in Boonsboro, Md. over the weekend. Earlier this fall the 158-store chain broke ground for a new superstore in nearby Thurmont, Md.