Trading Partners

NAPA, Calif. -- Another small manufacturer in the booming organic/natural foods industry has been snatched up by a larger player. Homegrown Naturals, Inc. here said yesterday it has acquired Annie's Naturals, the leading maker of all-natural and organic salad dressings and condiments.

MATOSINHOS, Portugal -- Modelo Continente SGPS, the Portuguese retail arm of the Sonae Group, which operates a total of 480 stores, including hypermarkets, supermarkets and specialty retail stores in Portugal and Brazil, is installing self-checkout systems at its hypermarket locations.

COLORDAO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Growth in the multicultural marketplace will be enormous over the next couple of years, and since these consumers are among the biggest purchasers of general merchandise and health and beauty care products, retailers would do well to prepare for this growth, according to a new report by the General Merchandise Distributors Council Educational Foundation.

LUFKIN, Texas -- Brookshire Brothers staged its first-ever cooking show yesterday at the civic center in its headquarters town here, drawing in hundreds of would-be gourmands, and building recognition of its new Fresh Harvest banner. The company plans to hold the event annually, and eventually take it on the road to some of its 70 stores, Bruce Bryant, the chain's advertising director, told Progressive Grocer.

Progressive Grocer asked a panel of experts to assess the current state of category management and suggest how it could be improved. Their answers point the way to the next step in the practice's evolution.

Want the skinny on the changing face of category management in the field? Ask a food broker.

In a little less than a year, CPG CatNet has grown into a major online resource for category management professionals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Kathy Siefken, executive director of the Nebraska Grocery Industry Association was honored by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) based here, which presented her with an award of excellence in state government affairs at the Food Industry Association Executives Annual Meeting last week.