March 2023

Natural Grocers ESG Report Outlines Commitment to Sustainability

Colorado-based Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage recently released its environmental, social and governance (ESG) report for the 2022 fiscal year, showing they are on track to fulfill their environmental, economic, and social commitments as outlined in their “triple bottom line” of having a positive impact on the health of consumers, the environment, and the economies of the communities they serve.

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H-E-B Earns Top Spot on Retailer Preference Index List

San Antonio, Texas-based H-E-B achieved first place among American grocery stores on the Retailer Preference Index (RPI) released by data analytics firm dunnhumby. The sixth annual RPI is based on a survey of 10,000 consumers and retailers’ financial results.

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Amazon to Double Down on Brick and Mortar Stores

Amazon has announced that it will be investing heavily in its physical grocery store business, following a brief pause in opening new Amazon Fresh locations due to external factors.

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Online Grocery Sales to See Uptick in the Next Five Years

According to the Brick Meets Click/Meracatus Five Year Grocery Sales Forecast, online grocery sales in the U.S. will experience an annual growth rate of 11.7% over the next five years.

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New Hope March 2023 Retail Update

It’s Almost that Time…

We are thrilled to be welcoming our community back to Anaheim in just a few short days and show off the innovation that has happened in the past year.

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Chocolate Cravings

If you haven’t spent much time perusing the aisles for chocolate indulgences lately, even during this past Valentine’s Day, you might not realize how much has changed.

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Leading CBD Brand Charlotte’s Web Joins the Big Leagues as the “Official CBD of Major League Baseball”

Leading CBD brand Charlotte’s Web is about to play ball as the “Official CBD of Major League Baseball (MLB)” for this year’s MLB season.

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Walgreens Wins Medly Bid, Closes All Pharmaca Locations

Last month, pharmacy giant Walgreens reached an agreement to acquire the 22-store, Boulder, Colorado-based Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacies, a deal that resulted in the closure of all locations by the end of February.

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The Growing Popularity of Electronic Shelf Labels at Retail

For one Mid-Western grocer, Schnucks Market, ESL (Electronic Shelf Labels) was a must after some firsthand experience. 

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Sprouts Now Offering “Less-Than-Perfect” Produce

Sprouts Farmers Market has introduced a program in its 130 California stores meant to reduce food waste by offering imperfect organic produce at a reduced price. The program, Rescued Organic, was announced by the natural and organic grocery chain in January.

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Hy-Vee Goes State of the Art

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee is going bigger and better as they expend their reach with “state of the art” stores. That is apparent with the opening of their new Janesville, Wisconsin store which is 97,000 square feet and is the retailer’s sixth “state of the art” grocery store.

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Go Grocer Goes North

Chicago-based Go Grocer has gone north opening a store in Milwaukee’s Third Ward neighborhood. Like the Chicago stores, the Milwaukee store will offer fresh foods and meals and locally sourced items. 

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New in New England: Mom’s Organic Market Opens First Store in Massachusetts

Rockville, Maryland-based Mom’s Organic Market opened a new Massachusetts store in February. Just 30 minutes outside of Boston, Burlington will be the first Mom’s location in New England.

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Wegmans Rolls Out Smart Cart Test

Rochester, New York-based Wegmans confirmed that it’s piloting Shop-E, a frictionless checkout device from Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup Shopic, in supermarkets at 675 Alberta Dr. in Amherst, New York, and at 3195 Monroe Ave. in the Rochester, New York.

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Southeastern Grocers Launches Curbside Pickup

Jacksonville, Florida-based Southeastern Grocers Inc., (SEG) is expanding its online shopping options. The retailer is launching curbside pickup at nearly 300 Winn-Dixie stores and Harveys Supermarket locations throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

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Whole Foods Market Battles Inflation, Absorbs Price Increases

In a response to skyrocketing prices, Whole Foods Market asked suppliers during a virtual summit in December to help lower prices and to prioritize the company when filling out of stock products, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

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Whole Foods Market Finds Success with Automated Checkout

Amazon launched its Just Walk Out seamless checkout at two Whole Foods Markets last year, and early reviews suggest the tech is giving those stores an edge over the rest.

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Loveland City Council to Vote on Whole Foods Market Development Plan

City Council Members in Loveland, Colorado, will vote this month on whether to approve a development plan that would bring a 40,000 square foot Whole Foods Market grocery store to the city. The development would also include 250,000 additional square feet of retail and dining space.

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Whole Foods Market Now Accepting Zappos Returns

Zappos.com announced that customers can now drop off returns at all Whole Foods Market locations nationwide without a return label or shipping box.

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New King Soopers Opens in Thornton

King Soopers has opened their fourth Thornton, Colorado location at 13525 Quebec Street in Northeast Thornton. The newest of 12 total stores throughout Colorado, this store is the first “large-scale marketplace format.”

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New Surprise Sprouts is the Forty-Sixth Arizona Location

Sprouts Farmers Market opened a new store in Surprise, Arizona last month. The new store is a renovated former Toys R Us and marks the 46th Sprouts location in Arizona.

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New Fry’s Location Coming to Surprise

The latest Fry’s Marketplace opened last month in Surprise, Arizona.

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Rouses Markets Continues to Fight for Gulf Coast Market Share

The former Winn-Dixie grocery store facility on Pass Road in Biloxi will be converted into the newest Rouses Market on the Mississippi Coast. It is the retailer’s first store in Biloxi.

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Aldi Strengthens Presence in Gulf Coast with New Regional HQ, Distribution Center

German discount grocer Aldi has begun construction on a new location in Rouses Market’s headquarter city of Thibodaux, Louisiana. The new store is part of Aldi’s large Gulf Coast expansion plan.

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H-E-B Expands College Delivery Service to U.T. Austin

In partnership with the University of Texas at Austin, H-E-B is offering same-day grocery delivery service to students, faculty and staff. Access to fresh groceries on campus is limited and H-E-B is stepping in to fill a void in the market.

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UNFI News March 2023

  • UNFI Northeast Repack Transition
  • UNFI DC Assortment Optimization
  • UNFI Discover Launched
  • UNFI Unloading Service

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UNFI Spring and Summer Show ’23

United Natural Foods wrapped up its Natural and Conventional Spring and Summer show in Orlando on Wednesday February 8th.

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Emerging Trends from The UNFI Show

Here is a brief snapshot of the emerging trends from the UNFI Show.

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KeHE Summer Show

The KeHE Summer show events were a great success! The highlights are…

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Eggstra, Eggstra!

The price of eggs has been in the headlines a lot recently. Hilarious memes abound but eggs are no joke to Berkeley Bowl.

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Luke’s Local to Open Third Location

Luke’s Local, which currently has two locations in San Francisco on Cole Street and Union Street will be opening a third location in North Beach on Green Street.

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Aptos Natural Foods Closing

This once thriving store is now closing its doors after 33 years in business.

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Elliott’s Fine Nutrition Closing Citrus Heights and Folsom Stores

After 30 years of a successfully run business, the Elliott Family has decided to close the Citrus Heights and Folsom locations.

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Moscow Co-op Celebrating 50 Years Serving the Community

The Moscow Food Co-op is a cooperatively owned grocery store in Moscow, Idaho. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary throughout 2023.

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AFS Former CEO Receives Service Award Posthumously

The Food Industry Association honored its 2023 Executive Leadership Awards recipients last month. Among the seven honorees was former Associated Food Stores CEO Bob Obray, who died in August of a rare neurological disease.

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Remembering Roger Dierberg

Roger Dierberg, the longtime leader of Dierbergs Markets, passed away in January at the age of 88. Dierberg was a third generation grocer who joined the company in 1969 after a career at St. Louis-based McDonnel Aircraft.

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Milestones March 2023

PRESENCE New Hires and February 2023 Anniversaries

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Wedding Bells – Nikala & Josh

We are excited to share that our Contracts Coordinator, Nikala Purcell, got married to Josh Coles on February 3rd! Please help us congratulate this happy couple!

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Help Wanted March 2023

March 2023 PRESENCE Job Opportunities

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