Grocery Guys

In a scathing new study, dollar discount stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General are accused of being harmful to the local environment.

Titled the Dollar Store Invasion, which was released by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), the study shows how dollar establishments (more than 34,000 in the U.S.) are levying a heavy toll on local communities, especially those of race. The negative impact is so great that at least 75 cities and towns have successfully blocked new store projects since 2019, and the ISLR is calling for more anti-trust regulation.

Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson sat down with one of the co-authors of the report, ISLR Senior Researcher Kennedy Smith, and dove deeper into these accusations in the latest episode of the SN Off the Shelf podcast. Have a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening. 

What does the omnichannel customer look like? Well, according to a recent report: This person is more likely to be a Millennial, they have children, and they’re very interested in natural and organic offerings.

And that’s just to start. Why should you care about the omnichannel shopper? You should care because these consumers, shoppers who buy groceries both online and in-store, are on the rise and have the potential to be strong sales opportunities for supermarket operators.

In this special edition of our SN Off the Shelf podcast — SN TechWire — SN spoke with Brian Wynne, CEO of the newly rebranded marketing firm Acosta Group about strategies to navigate competition at the shelf and the evolving customer journey. Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening. 

The annual National Grocers Association show just ran from Feb. 26-March 1 in Las Vegas, and the show was the best attended since 2017, according to NGA CEO and President Greg Ferrera. There were plenty of vendors, plenty of retailers, and a buzzy energy throughout the whole show. 

Hot topics included Inflation, what retailers can be doing to recapture stomach share from restaurants, and retention, retention, retention. Workers are looking for purpose, and, the consensus at the show was — grocers have to help drive home the narrative of the “why” of what they do, not just the “what” or “how.”

There were also lots of nifty tech innovations on the show floor: here’s a look at 5 of the coolest we saw.

Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson tuned in with Executive Editor Chloe Riley live from the National Grocers Association show. Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening. 

Deloitte released its 2023 consumer products industry outlook, which looks at labor, supply chain, inflation — and how all of the above are affecting consumer perception of retail value. 

SN sat down with Nick Handrinos, vice chairman and leader of Deloitte LLP’s retail and consumer products, to break down the data: what it means, and how retailers should be thinking about and approaching consumers in the year ahead. 

Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

Amazon recently announced that it’s halting the rollout of its Amazon Fresh retail stores while it re-evaluates the concept’s economics. In a recent fourth-quarter conference call with analysts, Amazon president and CEO Andrew Jassy said: 

“We’re doing a fair bit of experimentation today in those stores to try to find a format that we think resonates with customers.” 

It remains to be seen exactly what that format will look like. 

Supermarket News contributor Diana Blass did a deep dive with SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley on what’s been working for Amazon in grocery (as well as what hasn’t), in addition to where things are headed. We take a look at:

• What’s holding back Amazon’s growth in the grocery space
• Amazon’s retail competition when it comes to technology
• And what the path forward for Amazon Fresh may be

Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

Ongoing challenges in a tight labor market have been forcing supermarket retailers to rethink their strategies around recruiting and retention, as well as their overall standard operating procedures, in an effort to keep rising labor costs in check.

So what’s a grocer to do? Mike Cook, aka “Grocery Store Mike,” has some thoughts.  

“I think it’s going to continue being a challenge,” he said of hiring grocery workers. “I talk to retailers every day — it doesn’t matter the size of their organization. They have one thing in common and that’s the need for top talent.”

Cook, who has over 35 years in the grocery industry, started as a part-time courtesy clerk, and worked his way up to serve in-store leadership positions with both traditional and specialty food formats. He now specializes in hiring, training, and developing company leaders for both small and large grocery store operations.

Supermarket News spoke with Cook, an executive recruiter for grocery retail at Frontline Source Group, to talk about hiring, retention, and managing your ecommerce labor strategy.

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

Retail deli prepared seafood, and to-go meals made with seafood are both potential areas of growth for 2023 — so says a new report from market research firm 210 Analytics. 

Last year saw an 11.9% sales  increase in deli and prepared foods vs. 2021. Consumers are hungry for protein variety and seafood is a great, higher-margin way to service that need, according to the report, “Seafood at Retail Q4 and YE 2022.”

Consumers are also generally seeking value from grocery, a trend that’s translating in an even bigger way for seafood.

Other growth trend highlights from the report:

Supermarket News spoke with Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, for a breakdown of the report, as well as a look at trends and predicted growth for seafood in 2023. 

Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening. 

The supermarket sector’s growth leaders in 2022 were Aldi, H-E-B, Publix, and Grocery Outlet, according to a new report from professional services firm JLL.

Last year, Aldi added 49 stores, totaling nearly 804,000 square feet of new space, while San Antonio-based H-E-B, added 12 new stores last year for a total of 1.2 million square feet. Publix and Grocery Outlet also saw significant growth. 

Supermarket News spoke with James Cook — Americas Director of Retail Research for JLL, and also host of the weekly podcast “Where We Buy,” which covers retail and real estate, as well as the host of the video show “Everything We Know About Retail” — for a breakdown of the report, as well as a look at trends in grocery store growth. 

We also take a look at:

Take a listen!

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks so much for listening.

The past few months have seen grocery foodservice endeavors ramping up. Hy-Vee, for example, first had a partnership with Wahlburgers in 2017 to open dozens of locations of that burger brand, including freestanding units. 

Now this week, the company said that any Wahlburgers restaurant locations it opens moving forward would be inside its stores exclusively, saying, quote: “With the changing nature of the restaurant business combined with staffing challenges, we are evolving our strategy when it comes to standalone Wahlburgers restaurant locations.”

And it’s not it’s not just Hy-Vee. Other grocery chains are expanding their in-store branded restaurant locations.

Kroger has been rapidly rolling out Mix Food Halls, operated by Kitchen United, in its stores, featuring several well-known restaurant brands. These include Fuku Fried Chicken, Wow Bao, Genghis Grill, Hardee’s, Pei Wei Asian Kitchen, Nékter Juice Bar, Nathan’s Famous, Saladworks, Wing Zone, Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop and Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. And a whole bunch more. 

H-E-B has also been expanding its own-brand in-store restaurants, including South Flo Pizza and True Texas BBQ, which was actually recently named the best chain barbecue restaurant by Texas Monthly. H-E-B said it’s going to include both those concepts in a new, two-story, 97,00-square-foot supermarket in Lake Austin, Texas, along with, what else: a coffee shop that offers breakfast tacos and a full bar.

The Fresh Market also had an interesting foodservice-adjacent moment: rolling out a shoppable livestream cooking show promoting their Valentine's Day offerings.

Supermarket News tuned in with our sister publication Nation’s Restaurant News to see what the restaurant world makes of all this grocery restaurant business. 

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

It was a mixed bag in 2022, but overall, the stock prices of publicly traded food retailers outperformed the market.

Many grocery stocks started the year strong, but as inflation ramped up quickly in the first half of the year — and the economic outlook became gloomier amid rising interest rates and the fear of a possible recession — several companies’ stock prices faltered. 

Take Kroger for instance. In a year that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall 8.9%, the S&P 500 lose 19.4% and the NASDAQ tumble 33.1%, even a flat performance by Kroger Co. could be considered a win for investors, however.

Some analysts believe Kroger is well-positioned for the year ahead, however, given its strong private label offering, its focus on fresh foods, and its data analytics capabilities.

SN spoke with Scott Mushkin, founder and CEO of R5 Capital, about what the trend in grocery stocks means, and where it’s pointing us in 2023. 

Take a listen. 

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.