Dept. Fresh

Articles on the Fresh Department.

  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

Andy Jassy On Grocery, Squiggly Lines, Betting Big, & Music Lessons

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has posted his annual letter to shareholders, following in a tradition begun by founder and then-CEO Jeff Bezos in 1997.  (As usual, Amazon also posts the original 1997 message after the new missive, which is one way to indicate that as much as the business has evolved and grown, its core […]
7 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Drive-Thru Under Pressure: Why Fast Food’s Core Profit Engine Is Stalling

  The drive-thru remains the dominant revenue engine for quick-service restaurants (QSRs), generating 60%–75% of total sales at many brands. Yet today, operators are confronting a convergence of pressures: elevated labor costs, persistent food inflation, declining traffic, and slower service times according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® this is […]
5 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

OffBeat:  The Big Not-So-Easy

If you are not already watching “Shrinking,” on Apple TV, you should be. “Shrinking,” which just finished its third season and has been renewed for a fourth, is a gently comedic look at the lives and relationships of three therapists – played by Jason Segal, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford – in the Southern California […]
3 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Grocery Stores Race for Relevance with Time-Starved Consumers

  Today’s consumer is not just value-driven—they are time-starved, convenience-focused, and increasingly replacing restaurant visits with retail meal solutions. This behavioral shift is forcing grocery retailers to rethink their role, moving from traditional food sellers to meal solution providers competing directly for “Share of Stomach.” Stop & Shop: Repositioning Dinner Around Convenience Stop & Shop […]
4 min read
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  1. Department: Food

Tropical Sun taps into purple trend with sweet potato chips

World foods brand Tropical Sun has expanded its snacking portfolio with the launch of a new 300g tub of Purple Sweet Potato Chips. Made from naturally purple-fleshed sweet potatoes, the crisps are said to offer a lightly sweet flavour profile and aim to deliver strong… This story continues at Tropical Sun taps into purple trend […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Reoccurring Customer Visits Drive Incremental Revenue Faster

  The growth algorithm across all sectors of food retail—restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery service delis—has converged on one immutable truth according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®:  frequency of visits is the most reliable driver of incremental revenue and long-term profitability. What was once a convenience-store insight is now […]
5 min read
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  1. Department: Food

The Real Cost Of Shipment Damage: How One Crushed Box Can Impact Your Business

If a crushed box arrives on a customer’s doorstep, your first instinct will likely be to calculate the cost of sending a replacement. But this number is just one fraction of the entire ordeal. Shipment damage sets off a chain reaction of costs that reverberate through operations, customer relationships, and your overall brand reputation. The […]
3 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Grocers’ Biggest Strategic Misfire: Chasing Shelf Rent While Consumers Chase Dinner Tonight

  The data is not ambiguous—it is directional and disruptive. According to FMI – The Food Industry Association, the percentage of consumers replacing restaurant meals with deli-prepared foods jumped from 12% in 2017 to 28% in 2025. At the same time, 53% of consumers are assembling hybrid meals, blending prepared foods with items already at […]
5 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

AI becomes central to M&S technology transformation: these are the biggest retail stories from March

March is done and dusted, April is up and running, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful month for the retail technology space. Here’s your briefing on the most important stories from March, including VenHub Global, RTS 2026, Zalando, Nomagic, Co-op, VoCoVo, StrongPoint, Iceland Foods, AiFi, Boxbar Tech, Groupe Dynamite, and Manhattan Associates. […]
7 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Your Crystal Ball Awaits

When you were a kid, did you ever want a time machine? I did. Not to meet dinosaurs or witness history. I wanted to go back and buy stocks. Return rich. Simple plan. Then I actually thought it through. I didn’t know anything about stocks. I wouldn’t have known what to buy even if I’d […]
2 min read
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  1. Merchandising

Strings & Things updates packaging to reflect ‘real cheese’ credentials

Strings & Things has rolled out updated packaging across the full Cheestrings range with a badge saying ‘real cheese’ to highlight it’s ingredients. The new design aims to enable shoppers to quickly identify the natural dairy benefits of 8 at shelf, while reinforcing its position… This story continues at Strings & Things updates packaging to […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Why Foodservice Retailers Must Embrace the Grocerant Era

  The latest NielsenIQ report confirms what  Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has been signaling for years: the convenience channel is losing trips because it is still merchandising for yesterday’s consumer. The data is unambiguous—33% of shoppers say they’re visiting less often, and trips per buyer are down 2.2% […]
4 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Eat Real launches Multiseed Tortilla Chips

Eat Real has entered the tortilla category with the launch of Multiseed Tortillas Chips. Made from a blend of corn, flaxseed, sunflower seeds and quinoa, the new range is HFSS compliant, plant-based, gluten-free and free from artificial ingredients. Sandie Dilger, chief marketing officer at Proper… This story continues at Eat Real launches Multiseed Tortilla Chips […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

McDonald’s Has Lost the Plot — and Consumers Are Walking Away

  For decades, McDonald’s has been the gravitational center of American fast food — a brand so large, so omnipresent, that it seemed immune to the pressures reshaping the rest of the restaurant industry. But in 2024–2026, the Golden Arches have begun to flicker. Not because of a single scandal or a fleeting trend, but […]
4 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

CVS Tests Small Store, Rx-Only Format.  A Harbinger Of The Future?

From Forbes: “CVS Health is pushing forward with plans to open nearly 20 smaller “pharmacy-only” stores by the end of this year. “The healthcare giant Monday opened the first such pharmacy-only store this year on Chicago’s West Side where access to healthcare and pharmacy services can be a challenge. Executives said the new pharmacy will […]
2 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Checkout free stores demonstrate good technology but bad value equation as Amazon and Aldi exit UK

In September of last year, we reported that Amazon was binning its ambitious Amazon Fresh experiment in the UK, just four years after the US online giant launched its first grocery store in London. It has shuttered its 19 Fresh stores, with plans to convert five of these into Whole Foods Market locations. The first […]
3 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

From Pitch to Purchase Order: How to Ace Your Next Retail Buyer Meeting

When it comes to getting your products on the shelf, securing a meeting with a buyer is only half the battle. The real challenge lies in what happens during your time together – whether at the buyer’s office, at an ECRM Session, or in a virtual meeting. To help brands navigate this journey, I sat […]
6 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

The Innovation Conversation:  From Vegas To Kalamazoo, A Focus On Tech (Part 2)

Today, Tom Furphy and KC engage in an extended debrief after their trips to a pair of innovation-focused  conferences – Tom to Shoptalk 2026 in Las Vegas, and KC to Western Michigan University’s Food Marketing Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Following up on last week’s conversation, they consider the two sides of a Shoptalk debate about […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

Inside Amazon’s Plans For “A New Kind Of Supercenter”

Business Insider reports that “Amazon is moving deeper into Walmart’s territory with a new kind of supercenter. Internal documents show how that strategy is taking shape. “The e-commerce giant is planning to build a number of large-format stores that combine a Walmart-style supercenter with a robotics-powered warehouse, including previously unreported locations, according to internal documents […]
3 min read
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  1. Channel: Restaurants

Panda Express: A 40-Year Case Study in Scalable Grocerant Strategy

  From a single mall-based concept in 1983 to a $6+ billion powerhouse, Panda Express has quietly engineered one of the most disciplined growth stories in foodservice. For restaurant operators, c-stores, and grocers, Panda is not just a brand—it is a blueprint for how the “Grocerant” model (prepared foods + convenience + bundling) scales profitably […]
4 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Easter 2026: A $25 Billion “Grocerant” Moment — What Restaurants, C-Stores, and Grocery Must Do To Win

  Easter is no longer just a holiday—it’s a high-velocity, cross-channel food commerce event. With consumers projected to spend nearly $25 billion this year, Easter 2026 represents a record-setting opportunity to capture incremental visits, increase basket size, and reinforce brand relevance across restaurant, convenience store, and grocery channels. Data released by the National Retail Federation […]
4 min read
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  1. Channel: Delivery

Advertising in Everyday Moments with DoorDash’s Vassili Samolis

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Vassili Samolis, Head of Ad Product at DoorDash, one of the world’s leading local commerce platforms that helps businesses of all kinds grow and innovate, connects consumers to the best of their neighborhoods, and gives people fast, flexible ways to earn.  Follow Vassili on LinkedIn at: […]
2 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Grocers Step Up: Solving Parents’ Time Crunch with Better-for-You Meal Solutions

  Back-to-school is no longer just a retail event—it’s a high-stakes meal solutions moment, where grocers have a unique opportunity to solve one of the most persistent pain points for families: time-starved parents seeking nutritious, convenient, and kid-approved food options according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. In 2026, the […]
5 min read
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  1. Department: Food

Co-op opens 11th store with EG on the Move

A Co-op franchise store opened this week at a new EG on the Move roadside service station in Essex. The Co-op and petrol station in Norton Heath, Chelmsford, also includes a Greggs bakery. Co-op’s store will offer meal deals, self-service Starbucks coffee, bakery products, fresh,… This story continues at Co-op opens 11th store with EG […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

The Innovation Conversation:  From Vegas To Kalamazoo, A Focus On Tech

Today, Tom Furphy and KC report from two different tech-centric conferences – Tomorrow from Shoptalk 2026 in Las Vegas, and KC from Western Michigan University’s Food Marketing Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  In the first of a two-part Innovation Conversation, they focus on the degree to which business leaders in the future will have to think […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Your Views:  A Surge In Dynamic Opinions

Got a lot of responses to our coverage of the national backlash against electronic shelf labels, and concerns about dynamic/surge pricing. MNB reader Rudy Dory wrote: We have had ESLs for over twenty years. We have never had a complaint about surge pricing. Wanting to ban ESLs in smaller units like ours would penalize people […]
9 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Descript vs Veed vs Kapwing: Who’s Winning AI Video in 2026?

By Jenny Liu, Director of Product @Yipitdata New YipitData analysis of 1,300+ mid-market and enterprise companies shows Descript widening its lead in AI video editing, driven by accelerating customer growth and a step-change in monetization. Descript is emerging as the clear leader in AI video editing — and the gap is widening. That’s the pattern […]
6 min read
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  1. Channel: Restaurants

Crowning the Comeback: How Burger King Is Reclaiming Its Throne in Fast Food’s Marketing Cycle

  The quick-service restaurant (QSR) sector has always been defined by cycles—periods of menu innovation followed by simplification, bold brand storytelling followed by value-driven messaging, and digital disruption followed by a return to operational basics. Few brands illustrate this pendulum swing more clearly than Burger King, which is now signaling a strategic return to form […]
4 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces
  2. Shopper & Customer
  3. Technology & Innovation
  4. Trends & External Forces
  5. Associates & Employees
  6. Merchandising
  7. Stores & Formats

Walmart to Expand Digital Shelf Labels Chainwide

Walmart will deploy digital shelf labels (DSLs) chainwide this year, doubling the approximately 2,300 U.S. locations currently using the technology (Walmart U.S. operates more than 4,600 stores). With more than 120,000 items in a typical Walmart store, managing price changes manually requires significant associate hours. Additionally, these DSLs are equipped with LED lights that make […]
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