News Briefs

Grocers such as Cub, Fresh Thyme and Heinen’s have signed up for the expansion of Afresh Technologies, already known for its produce solution, into other core fresh departments, among them meat, seafood, deli and foodservice. The holistic AI-powered platform aims to optimize store ordering and operations by providing intelligent recommendations and streamlined ordering and inventory workflows.

“Afresh has been an incredibly supportive and proactive partner as we’ve implemented their produce solution across all of our corporate stores,” noted Luke Anderson, CIO of Stillwater, Minn.-based Cub. “Having a lightweight, fully comprehensive solution that connects across other fresh departments should unlock even more benefits for our customers and store teams.”

[Read more: "Albertsons, Afresh Complete AI-Powered Platform Rollout"]

“After proving our ability to add value in thousands of stores in produce, we have been overwhelmed by demand to launch the Afresh platform in other fresh departments,” said Matt Schwartz, CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Afresh. “We are taking the same approach of bringing easy-to-use AI-powered tools to these historically underserved, strategically critical departments.”

In the meat department, for example, associates using Afresh can save time by placing pre-filled orders for packaged fresh products with longer shelf lives, like bacon. They can also boost order accuracy with intelligent recommendations for high-value, hyper-perishable items like fresh poultry, increasing in-stock rates and profits while reducing labor overhead.

To date, Afresh customers have seen an average 3% sales lift and 25% shrink reduction in their produce departments – a collective 31 million pounds of food waste prevented so far, according to the company.

Cub’s parent company, Providence, R.I.-based UNFI, the largest publicly traded grocery distributor in America, is No. 49 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Downers Grove, Ill.-based Fresh Thyme is No. 91 on PG’s list.

SpartanNash has promoted Todd Riksen to VP, corporate controller and principal accounting officer. Riksen will oversee all of the retail organization’s accounting functions and report to EVP and CFO Jason Monaco.

This is the latest elevation for Riksen, who joined SpartanNash in 2018 as director, financial reporting and corporate accounting and was moved up in 2021 to VP, corporate controller. Before joining the Michigan-based food solutions company, he worked for nearly 12 years in the assurance practice at EY.

[Read more: "Inflation Lifts SpartanNash Q4, Fiscal 2022 Net Sales"]

"Todd has provided incredible leadership to our finance organization as we navigated a companywide turnaround these past couple of years," Monaco said. "He and his team will continue to provide best-in-class accounting support as the Company makes progress toward our long-term goals. As part of our People First culture, we are proud to promote from within to fill this critical role."  

SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 41 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan. SpartanNash also operates 147 supermarkets and employs 17,500-plus associates. 

Litehouse, Inc., a maker of refrigerated salad dressings, dips, sauces, cheese and other products, announced recent personnel changes. Andy Juarez (at left) has been named VP of operations and Ryan Whitchurch (at right) will take on the role of director of consumer marketing at the 100% employee-owned company.

Juarez brings 18 years of engineering experience to his new position, as he leads all aspects of manufacturing, quality, R&D and engineering. The licensed professional engineer previously worked at Tree Top, where he led multi-site operations, maintenance and engineering.

[Read more: "Avocados From Mexico Reveals Structural, Staff Changes"]

Whitchurch, who will guide integrated marketing campaigns and oversee shopper and digital marketing, social, PR and advertising programs, has extensive industry experience. He served in a variety of roles at agencies such as Edelman, Catalyst/Endeavor and Ketchum, where he worked with globally recognized brands including Procter & Gamble, Pernod Ricard, Sunkist and Visa.

“With their impressive backgrounds and expertise, Andy and Ryan will play integral roles in driving the growth and awareness of our diverse portfolio of brands and Away from Home division,” remarked Kelly Prior, Litehouse’s president and CEO. “Andy's extensive experience in operations and engineering will be invaluable as we continue to expand our manufacturing capabilities, while Ryan's strategic marketing expertise will help elevate our brands to new heights. Together, they will help us continue to innovate and deliver high-quality products that our consumers love.”

The Sandpoint, Idaho-based Litehouse operates five facilities across the country and offers products under brands including Veggiecraft Farms, Sky Valley and Organicville.

Stop & Shop is ready to undertake its annual Help Cure Childhood Cancer campaign, which will run in all stores from March 3-April 2. Shoppers can round up their total to the nearest dollar at checkout or donate $1, $3 or $5, with 100% of proceeds going to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund in Massachusetts, and MSK Kids, the pediatric program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

The grocer, which has run the campaign annually for several decades in partnership with its customers, has contributed more than $102 million to these two hospitals to help them make significant advancements in pediatric cancer research and care. In-store signage highlights patient ambassadors that are between the ages of 3 and 15 and are being or have been treated at MSK Kids and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

[Read more: "Stop & Shop Launches Flashfood in More New England Locations"]

“Helping in the fight against pediatric cancer is a key part of how we care for our communities at Stop & Shop, and we take immense pride in supporting the life changing work at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,” said Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid. “We’re grateful for everything our customers and associates do to support this cause – and to help these hospital partners get closer to finding a cure.”

Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC is an Ahold Delhaize USA company that operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. 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.

Ahold Delhaize has published its “2022 Annual Report,” which provides an overview of the company’s financial and ESG performance. The theme of this year’s report is “Local matters.”

The company’s CEO, Frans Muller, said that Ahold Delhaize's brands have remained laser- focused on keeping grocery prices as low as possible and making healthy food options accessible to everyone by investing in high-quality own-brand products, expanding the range of price-entry products, and offering more personalized discounts through loyalty programs.

[Read more: “Ahold Delhaize Helped Customers Save More in Q4”]

He also mentioned that Ahold Delhaize made substantial progress in its Leading Together strategy and within growth drivers of e-commerce and digitalization, health and sustainability, cultivating talent, and operational excellence.

“One example is the significant increase in our interim scope 3 CO2 emissions reduction target to 37% by 2030, in line with the UN goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius,” said Muller. “This not only demonstrates our commitment to our considerable sustainability ambitions, but also our aspiration to play a leading role in driving sustainability across the food retail sector and our value chain.”

The report will be on the agenda of the company’s annual general meeting of shareholders, which will be held on April 12.  

Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize that operates more than 2,000 stores across 23 states under the Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co., Hannaford, and Stop & Shop brands, as well as e-grocer FreshDirect, is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in the United States.

Amid rising costs of groceries and household staples, e-grocery platform Shipt has rolled out an exclusive Shipt Membership Appreciation Savings Event. From March 2 through March 5, Shipt members will save on popular items, as well as those that have seen the highest cost increases, including eggs, butter and coffee beans.

The limited-time shopping event features the following deals:

• Grocery (March 2-5): Save $15 on $60; Retailers: Target, Meijer and more grocery retailers (full list available on request)
• Baby Essentials (March 3 only): Save $10 on $30; Retailers: Target and Meijer
• Personal Care (March 4 only): Save $10 on $30; Retailers: CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens

Last December, Shipt onboarded its 200th retailer and continues to provide same-day delivery across shopping categories, including groceries, with orders received in as little time as an hour. 

Shipt is an independently operated, wholly owned subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Target Corp., which is No. 6 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, with nearly 2,000 locations. Founded and based in Birmingham, Ala., Shipt also maintains an office in San Francisco.