Frozen Foods

Recognizing recession-weary consumers are buying more shelf-stable products, Del Monte, General Mills, Kraft and others are focusing their marketing and R&D efforts on the formerly unsexy center of the supermarket.

While big-box retailers BJ’s and Costco had a tough time in April as net and comparable-store sales tumbled during a time of economic recession and plummeting gasoline sales, Target managed to stem its recent sales declines and Wal-Mart actually saw higher sales during the month, driven by increased traffic and a strong showing in seasonal and discretionary items.

Safeway’s O Organics and Eating Right brands have expanded their international distribution with upcoming debuts at the ShopRite and Exito supermarket chains in South Africa and Columbia, respectively.

Amid countless reports on how the economy affects everyday purchases, very little has been written about how shopping patterns are tied directly to paychecks -- or more specifically, how paydays at the start and end of each month create spikes in supermarket sales. Specifically, how much of a lift can retailers expect on the first week of each month? Which categories are most likely to spike at the beginning of the month? Has the average first-of-the-month spike increased in recent years?

Midwest supercenter pioneer Meijer, Inc. has rolled out the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System in all 185 of its locations in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Sea Star Seafood, one of the first seafood processors to embrace steam-cooking technology, has introduced the Beacon Light Steam Series line of microwavable seafoods.

In an effort to eliminate paper use and demonstrate its commitment to the environment, Yoke’s Fresh Markets has reduced the volume of printed materials for its Monthly Savings Guides -- by over 100 tons.

Eating just one-and-a-half servings of tart cherries could considerably increase antioxidant activity in the body, according to new University of Michigan research reported at the 2009 Experimental Biology meeting in New Orleans. In the study, healthy adults who ate a cup-and-a half of frozen cherries had higher levels of antioxidants, specifically five separate anthocyanins, the natural antioxidants that give cherries their red color.