News Briefs

  • 2/8/2023

    Too Good To Go Program Expands to Miami

    Too Good To Go

    Too Good To Go is on the go. The company that connects consumers with surplus food from grocery stores and restaurants is now operating in Miami.

    Through the Too Good to Go app, consumers can purchase food from local businesses for a third of the retail price. In Miami, the company is partnering with more than 65 Miami food businesses including grocers, eateries, cafés and bakeries and reported that it’s continuing to add collaborators on a weekly basis.

    [Read more: "Too Good To Go Launches in Los Angeles"]

    “Too Good To Go’s expansion into the Miami market is an exciting one. The vibrancy of the Miami food scene makes this city well suited to adopt our easy to use solution to ending food waste and saving money. We’re thrilled to offer Miami businesses a way to earn incremental revenue from surplus food and invite all businesses to start saving with us today,” said Chris MacAulay, country manager for Too Good To Go.

    Available in the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android, the Too Good to Go app was created in Denmark in 2016 and launched in the U.S. in 2020. A certified B Corp, the organization estimates that it has saved 4.3 million meals from going to waste in the U.S. through more than 10,000 partners in 13 states.  

  • 2/8/2023

    Raley’s Partners With Instacart for Online SNAP Integration in California

    Instacart Raley's teaser

    The Raley’s Companies is expanding its e-commerce functionality with the help of Instacart. Customers using Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can now place orders online at 83 Raley’s banner locations across California.

    Raley’s rolled out the online functionality at 15 stores in Nevada earlier this year, giving customers using SNAP benefits the ability to purchase groceries for same-day delivery from Raley’s, Bel Air Markets and Nob Hill Foods banners.

    [Read more: "Instacart Adds Discounted Membership for SNAP Recipients"]

    “As part of our continued commitment to nourishing the health and well-being of the communities we serve, we’re proud to enable EBT SNAP payment acceptance online for the first time in California through our partnership with Instacart,” said Chelsea Minor, executive director, community impact & public affairs at Raley’s. “Pairing online benefits acceptance with same-day delivery will increase access to healthy food, and we look forward to the positive impact this new offering brings to Raley’s customers across California and Nevada.”

    “We’re proud to partner with Raley’s – an independent, family-owned grocer that has served the Northern California community for generations – to enable online EBT SNAP payment acceptance and help more local families put nutritious food on the table,” added Sarah Mastrorocco, VP and general manager of health for San Francisco-based Instacart. “Nutrition security is a fundamental area of focus for Instacart because we know that access to healthy foods can play a critical role in promoting well-being and preventing disease.”

    With more than 235 locations across four states and four Tribal Nations under eight well-known banners, West Sacramento, Calif.-based Raley’s is No. 48 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

  • 2/8/2023

    Rite Aid Commits $1M to EmbraceRace to Accelerate Racial Equity Initiatives

    Rite Aid Diversity Teaser

    Rite Aid Healthy Futures has committed an additional $1 million to EmbraceRace to support its work helping children learn about race in healthy, identity-affirming ways.

    Founded in 2016, EmbraceRace drives progress by creating and curating tools, resources, discussion spaces and networks that parents, early-childhood educators and other adults need to raise children who are thoughtful, informed and brave about race. The organization aims to reach more than 5 million parents and caregivers by 2025.

    [Enter Progressive Grocer’s 2023 Impact Awards honoring ESG efforts]

    The latest funding from Healthy Futures will support EmbraceRace’s continued creation of self-directed online resources for parents and guardians interested in learning and strengthening their caregiving practices. The grant will also fund new place-based groups that bring together people in the organization’s early-childhood community, as well as EmbraceRace’s field infrastructure, evaluation tools, and a national conference attracting many leaders and practitioners in the field.

    Rite Aid Healthy Futures is entering its fourth year of partnering with EmbraceRace. The latest grant builds upon $1 million issued to EmbraceRace in 2020, which helped the Amherst, Mass.-based organization become an emerging leading voice in the early racial learning community.

    “EmbraceRace addresses the critical need to ensure racial awareness, learning and sensitivity are introduced to kids at early ages,” said Matt DeCamara, executive director of Rite Aid Healthy Futures. “At a time when it’s so important to work for racial understanding and equity, their programs provide parents, caregivers and educators with the resources to guide kids through the constant challenges associated with bias and discrimination. Rite Aid Healthy Futures is proud to support EmbraceRace as it meets this moment of great need and influences the futures of countless children and families.”

    Philadelphia-based Rite Aid operates 2,300-plus retail pharmacy locations across 17 states. The company is No. 21 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

  • 2/8/2023

    Walgreens to Offer Virtual Supplier Diversity Summit

    Walgreens Interior Teaser

    Walgreens has become the latest retailer to offer a Supplier Diversity Summit. Scheduled for the week of March 28, the virtual showcase for diverse businesses and entrepreneurs will give participants across the country the opportunity to meet Walgreens’ merchandising team, pitch their products and receive feedback, with the ultimate aim of gaining placement in their local Walgreens stores.

    During the event, Walgreens will work to boost sourcing from suppliers that are at least 51% owned, operated and managed by people who are disadvantaged, disabled, military veterans, LGBTQ+, minorities and/or women.

    [Read more: "Walgreens Continues Consumer Health Care Push in Q1"]

    “Meeting the needs of our diverse patients and customers is imperative to our role as America’s community health care destination.” noted Alethia Jackson, SVP of environmental, social and governance and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. “We are looking forward to connecting with diverse suppliers that will ensure our shelves benefit everyone, providing a wider selection of products and services.”

    The summit will focus on grocery and household, beauty and personal care, health and wellness, and general merchandise, among other categories. All sourcing and product submissions will be made through ECRM company RangeMe’s online product discovery and sourcing platform. Solon, Ohio-based ECRM will qualify suppliers, create curated meeting schedules and facilitate face-to-face virtual meetings with Walgreens buyers. All meetings will be conducted via ECRM’s virtual meeting platform, ECRM Connect.  

    Included in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and U.S. Healthcare segments of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens operates nearly 9,000 retail locations across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and is No. 5 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

  • 2/8/2023

    SpartanNash Kicks Off Annual Special Olympics Campaign

    SpartanNash SO

    SpartanNash has long counted on customers to be good sports when it comes to supporting the Special Olympics. The Michigan-based food solutions company is kicking off its annual in-store fundraising campaign to support Special Olympics athletes, including 16 of its own employees.

    From now through Feb. 19, shoppers at SpartanNash-owned stores and fuel centers can donate by rounding up their purchase or giving an additional $1, $5 or $10 at checkout. Online donations are accepted through the company’s Fast Lane program.

    This marks the 39th year that the SpartanNash organization has teamed up with Special Olympics. To date, the SpartanNash Foundation has donated nearly $9.9 million to the cause.

    Participating banners include Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery, Supermercado Nuestra Familia, Forest Hill Foods and Ada Fresh Market. Donations at those stores will go directly to Special Olympics affiliate organizations in the states of Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

    “We consider SpartanNash part of the Special Olympics family,” said Tim Hileman, president and CEO of Special Olympics Michigan. “Not only are they actively involved in making sure our athletes are able to attend State Summer Games, they are on the sidelines cheering them on as they compete. It’s advocates like SpartanNash who are empowering our athletes, providing them the support and resources to spread a message of inclusion statewide.”

    SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 41 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. SpartanNash also operates 147 supermarkets and employs 17,500-plus associates. 

  • 2/7/2023

    Save A Lot Aims to Update, Expand Core Merch Systems

    Save A Lot New Look Store Teaser

    Supermarket chain Save A Lot has selected SymphonyAI Retail CPG for data-driven supply chain solutions that aim to provide more accurate end-to-end insights and enable grocers to better meet shopper needs while reducing stockouts and substitutions. Among the solutions that Save A Lot is implementing are Master Data Management (MDM), Core Merchandising, Insights, Vendor Portal and Retail Operations.

    “At Save A Lot, we have undertaken a strategic transformation from grocery retailer to licensed wholesaler,” said Jennifer Hopper, the company’s CIO. “With SymphonyAI Retail CPG technology, we get best-in-class solutions and can evolve to full end-to-end supply chain optimization that best supports our owner/operator Retail Partner network while giving us enhanced business agility, efficiency and scalability.”

    [Read more: "Save A Lot Completes Refinancing Deal"]

    SymphonyAI Retail CPG supply chain management and optimization solutions give retailers real-time inventory visibility, including data synchronization to centralize ownership and data flows for business agility in an omnichannel environment, along with unified order management and complete store and channel insights, all with the aim of increasing shopper satisfaction, reducing waste and measurably decreasing out-of-stocks through higher organizational intelligence and improved decisions.

    “We are pleased to partner with an innovative grocery wholesaler like Save A Lot to speed and streamline supply chain and store operations, enhancing both shopper experience and business performance,” said Raj Marimuthu, general manager of supply chain management at Dallas-based SymphonyAI Retail. “We lead the industry in MDM and merchandising capabilities with a seamless path to full end-to-end AI-based insights, including demand forecasting AI — all with a compelling ROI value proposition.

    With more than 850 stores in 32 states. Earth City, Mo.-based Save A Lot is No. 60 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

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