Last month Shoppers Food & Pharmacy announced a partnership with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), saying it will support the association’s “Stop Diabetes” campaign, a program that funds community outreach and education programs aimed at raising awareness of the nation’s diabetes epidemic.
In support of the campaign, the company offered the customers at all 56 Shoppers locations the opportunity to purchase a “Stop Diabetes” paper placard at the cash register for $1. All proceeds from the sale, which began August 30 and ran through September 14, were donated to the ADA, whose mission is to prevent and cure diabetes while improving the lives of the nearly 30 million Americans estimated to be living with the disease.
Along with the in-store fundraiser, Shoppers representatives also participated in “Step Out Baltimore: Walk to Stop Diabetes,” a fund raising event with the goal of generating $500,000 in donations for the Association. “Step Out Baltimore,” a family-friendly occasion consisting of a three-mile route that took participants through scenic Patterson Park and back to the waterfront, where they enjoyed a day filled with face painting, pumpkin painting, bounce houses, live music and complimentary lunch.
Shoppers’ contributions to the “Stop Diabetes” campaign will help to fight an epidemic that remains among the nation’s leading health crises. The number of cases of diabetes and pre-diabetes among American of all ages and ethnicities continues to increase, underscoring the importance of the Association’s mission to battle the disease. For more on the ADA’s work, as well as facts on diabetes, visit www.diabetes.org.
Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the voice of the nation’s food retailers, launched its U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends 2014 report in June and recently compiled additional resources related to the study’s
key findings. The report reveals dramatic changes in the consumer universe that have impacted the way food retailers do business.
FMI advocates on behalf of the food retail industry. FMI’s U.S. members operate nearly 40,000 retail food stores and 25,000 pharmacies, representing a combined annual sales volume of almost $770 billion. Through programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations, FMI offers resources and provides benefits to more than 1,225 food retail and wholesale member companies in the United States and around the world. FMI membership covers the spectrum of diverse venues where food is sold, including single owner grocery stores, large multi-store supermarket chains and mixed retail stores. For more information, visit www.fmi.org and for information regarding the FMI foundation, visit www.fmifoundation.org
HP Hood, one of the largest branded dairy operations in the U.S., announced its recognition by the Winchester-Frederick County (VA) Economic Development Commission as Dairy Food’s 2013 Dairy Processor of the Year. The company’s numerous plant expansions in Winchester have offered quality jobs for the county’s citizens over the years, establishing the company as an integral part of the community.
Founded in 1846, today Hood is one of the largest branded dairy operators in the country. Using
state-of-the-art high-temperature manufacturing with current and emerging packaging technologies, Hood provides a variety of branded and private label products including fluid dairy, citrus, cultured foods, frozen desserts, extended-shelf-life dairy and non-dairy beverages.
And speaking of beverages, a recent blog by Justine Hofherr of the Boston.com staff states, “Since we are on the subject of beverages, because Starbucks has taken over the world with the pumpkin spice latte (PSL), they think they can do anything they want like create a latte that tastes like beer. The Dark Barrel Latte, made with a flavored syrup that reportedly tastes like dark stout beers like Guinness, is the coffee company’s latest latte venture, according to The Irish Independent. The creamy drink is topped with whipped cream and dark caramel sauce. It’s only available in select markets at the moment, but those who have heard about the new beverage have responses ranging from ecstatic to suspicious, to ‘….just plain horrified.’”
In still more beverage news, The Coca-Cola Co., Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and PepsiCo have pledged to reduce beverage calories consumed per person nationally by 20 percent by 2025. The “Balance Calories Initiative” was announced last month at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York as part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
“I am excited about the potential of this voluntary commitment by the beverage industry,” President Bill Clinton said in a statement. “It can be a critical step inn our ongoing fight against obesity.”
The beverage companies will leverage their marketing, innovation and distribution capabilities to increase consumer interest in and access to beverage options to help consumers reduce calories consumed. Through these efforts, water and other lower-calorie beverages are expected to grow significantly.
Each beverage company will provide calorie counts and promote calorie awareness on all beverage company-controlled point-of-sale equipment nationwide, including more than 3 million vending machines, self-serve fountain dispensers, and retail coolers in food stores, restaurants and other locations.
Among other efforts, the companies’ end aisle and checkout displays will feature only reduced-calorie beverages; reduced-calorie beverages will be repositioned on shelves; and coupons will be provided for no/lower-calorie options.
The beverage companies will retain an independent, third-party evaluator in conjunction with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to trace progress and interim benchmarks toward their commitments.
Congratulations to two of the convenience store chains in our region: Wawa and Sheetz were both among North America’s top five c-store retailers, according to a study by Market Force Information. Also recognized in the top five were QuickTrip, RaceTrac and Speedway.
Ahold’s Stop & Shop chain in New England recently celebrated its 100th birthday commemoration at stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In honor of the milestone all stores on the day of the anniversary welcomed customers, served cake and gave out 100th anniversary balloons. Many stores also hosted other activities like food samplings, balloon artists and face painting for kids. Five stores had special appearances by New England Patriots alumni and cheerleaders. Stop and Shop New England president Joe Kelley visited the Somerville, MA store where Stop & Shop was founded in 1914.
And speaking of Ahold, Giant/Landover has introduced RxTimer Cap, an electronic cap that is an alternative to the traditional prescription medication caps. The caps let customers know exactly how long it has been since their last dose. Containing a built-in LCD timer, Rx Timer Cap works like a stopwatch, keeping track of the hours and minutes since a patient last opened the container and took his or her medication.
Every time the cap is opened, the timer resets to zero. When the cap is closed, the timer automatically begins counting up the hours and minutes since the medication was last consumed. There are no alarms to program or buttons to press, and it works with any prescription medication.
Whole Foods along with Wine.com has created a new, national initiative, Wine Club by Whole Foods Market. The goal, the company said, will be “to bring extraordinary, one-of-a-kind wines from around the world directly to wine lovers’ homes” and will “offer Wine Club members four shipments of six bottles each a year at the price of $125 per shipment, including shipping costs.”
And speaking of Supermarkets I’m sure most of our readers watched the Demoulas saga as it played out in Massachusetts for the past months. Did you know that MIT recently hosted a forum to talk all things Market Basket because the strike was the kind of stuff academics like to feed on? The forum discussed key lessons learned from the Market Basket saga as well as how to use them in teaching future business practices. It’s not surprising to see academics take up the Market Basket discussion as several professors followed the summer protests closely, with some attending employee rallies and others speaking with the media about the story’s wider implications.
Birthday wishes to my grandson RJ Bestany (13) and my daughter-in-law Stephanie.