George Anderson

Dollar sales of frozen and refrigerated plant-based meat, poultry, and fish substitutes fell 6.5% during the 12 weeks ended Aug. 11 to $242.05 million, reports. Chicago-based market research firm Circana. Unit sales dropped 10.6% during the period, even as prices for plant-based alternatives have become more comparable to animal proteins.

Cold storage is at the heart of the grocery industry's efforts to safeguard the nation's food supply, but it's clear that market demands and labor challenges make increased material handling automation a business imperative.

H-E-B promises to deliver orders placed through its Favor app in as little as 45 minutes. The service, called H-E-B Now, offers no delivery or service fees on orders over $25 placed through the end of 2024.

After an extended period of inflationary pressure, discussions about consumer demand for value have become almost like white noise. However, new research finds that the most valuable food-at-home shoppers — millennials with children between the ages of four and 12 — have an expanded definition of value that, if properly addressed on store shelves, could lead to significant market basket gains for responsive grocers.

Americans are increasingly looking to purchase healthier and tastier foods while running up against the reality that some items may stretch their limited household budgets. In recent years that has led to a decrease in unit sales as inflation pushed the cost of what consumers were buying upward.

Egg sales are on an extended winning streak as consumers continue to reward grocers for delivering the nutrition, product choices and value they seek. Category dollar sales jumped 43.3% during the 12 weeks ended Sept. 8 (compared with the same period a year ago), while units were up 4.3%, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana.

More and more consumers are signing up to have groceries delivered to their homes. But new research suggests many want their orders delivered even more quickly than they are now. This has led some to speculate that we are nearing a tipping point for ultra-fast drone deliveries to become commonplace.

Dollar sales of frozen Asian foods in natural and conventional channels combined fell 4.0% to $313.8 million during the 12 weeks ended Nov. 3, reports Chicago-based SPINS. Unit sales dropped 4.7%.

The work of managing grocery cold chains is never done with more T's to cross and I's to dot than in any other area of food logistics. With a new year approaching, grocers have an extended list of priorities, all vital to safeguarding food supplies and moving them quickly from point to point within the cold chain before reaching their final destination on the tables of households across America.

Tens of millions of Americans receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits every year. The program reduces poverty and food insecurity rates and contributes to local economies where benefits are redeemed. New research shows the importance of SNAP participants to food retailers and explores how stores can more effectively connect with these value-focused shoppers.