Perimeter

NEW YORK -- Such value-added products as mixed-vegetable side dishes, frozen fruit salads, and packaged ethnic rice dishes are providing retailers with the biggest growth opportunities in the $45.6 billion market for private label foods and beverages, according to "The U.S. Market for Private Label Foods and Beverages," a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts.

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. -- Natural and organic grocery chain Whole Foods Market opened its first location on the New Jersey Shore yesterday, at Chapel Hill Shopping Center here. The occasion also marked the opening of the company's 170th store.

NEW YORK -- According to double-blind taste tests conducted in 10 locations across the country by Meyers Research Center for the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), consumers by a 51-percent-to-49-percent say the prefer the taste of private label items over their national brand counterparts in 12 popular categories.

QUINCY, Ill. -- Local residents Diane Roderick and Tom Lane decided to tie the knot at the place they first met 14 months ago -- a large and bustling Hy-Vee supermarket at 36th and Broadway. The couple wed Saturday afternoon before about 75 guests at the store where Lane has worked as assistant produce manager for the past 15 years. Quincy boasts two Hy-Vee locations.

New York, N.Y. -- The EFFIE Awards, which recognize effective advertising and marketing campaigns, presented its slate of winning client and agency partners at a ceremony held last week here.

WILMINGTON, Del. --Timed to coincide with the release of the Fantastic Four's first movie in July, a collaboration between the Produce for Better Health Foundation and Wal-Mart Stores hopes to find families flying the produce departments at over 1,700 Wal-Mart Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets on June 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to "Build a Fantastic You with 5 A Day The Color Way."

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Kroger led all retail banners last year in frequency and page participation of co-marketing promotions with CPG companies, according to a new white paper from marketing information company Marx Promotion Intelligence/TNS Media Intelligence.

GARDINER, Maine -- Associated Grocers of Maine, the biggest private employer here, said last week that it would proceed with a $5 million expansion of its warehouse, according to published reports.