Supermarket & Grocery Industry News

NAPLES, N.Y. -- This was a year of transition for many packaged goods marketers, paving the way for an extremely active year for new products in 2006, according to global business information provider Datamonitor. New packaged goods rollouts in the United States are up 6.5 percent from last year, though Oct. 31, 2005, as the end of low-carbmania has allowed other health-and-wellness-related trends to take hold.

WASHINGTON -- The commonly used Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) will allow manufacturers and others to meet the record-keeping requirements specified in the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, which go into effect on Dec. 9, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).

NEW YORK -- Robert Henuset, a sales manager at Yardley, Pa.-based Crowley Foods, LLC, yesterday pleaded guilty in federal court here to one count of conspiracy related to an alleged accounting scandal at Ahold-owned U.S. Foodservice, according to published reports. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff presided over the hearing.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., based here, is experiencing the smooth operation of the recently launched second stage of the grocer's retail service center in Pottsville, Pa., according to an online column last week by v.p. of consumer affairs Mary Ellen Burris.

MCLEAN, Va. -- The leadership of Retail Bakers of America (RBA) here unveiled a complete rebranding and reorganization of the 87-year-old trade association, as well as a holistic membership outreach campaign, communicating RBA's new focus on the industry, to be launched with the new year.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie here and Schaumburg, Ill.-based ACNielsen U.S. have forged a new and greatly expanded agreement under which the retailer will use ACNielsen as its new preferred provider of syndicated sales information and consumer insights, while an on-site ACNielsen team will lead Winn-Dixie's category management initiatives from a syndicated data perspective.

PORTLAND, Maine -- Kosherfest 2005, the international kosher food trade show, attracted more than 6,100 retail and foodservice buyers, manufacturers, and distributors from 36 countries, said the show's organizers, Diversified Business Communications and Lubicom Marketing Consulting, yesterday. The show was held Nov. 15-16.

WASHINGTON -- Two leading U.S. food and beverage trade groups are exploring whether a merger would best serve their purposes. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Products Association (FPA) released a joint statement on Friday about the current status of their discussions.