AUSTIN, TX - Whole Foods Market and Instacart have launched a new phase in their partnership and will now be collaborating to offer Whole Foods shoppers new convenient in-store pickup options. While Instacart and Whole Foods have had a longstanding partnership for Instacart's one-hour delivery service, according to Fortune, now Instacart shoppers will be embedded in Whole Foods stores, meaning a faster, more streamlined service for online shoppers.

"Instacart makes it extremely easy for our customers to buy Whole Foods Market products from 15 cities and have them quickly delivered—whether buying fresh ingredients for dinner tonight or sending healthy foods to loved ones in another city,” said Walter Robb, Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. “We are thrilled to add this additional convenience for our customers.” 

“Instacart and Whole Foods Market are two companies that share a common vision to create great grocery shopping experiences,” said Apoorva Mehta, CEO and Founder of Instacart. “Whole Foods Market is our most requested shopping destination, and we’re happy to be working together to create a seamless, quick option for customers with busy lifestyles.”

According to a press release, Whole Foods will be testing this new service at select Austin and Boston stores over the next month, before launching the program nationwide. Currently, Instacart offers Whole Foods shoppers its delivery services at all of its 15 locations in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Colorado, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, San Jose, California, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

To learn more about Whole Foods and Instacart's delivery options check out this great video:

In order to celebrate this new expansion of their partnership, Whole Foods and Instacart have announced a new contest in which Instacart users can vie for the chance to win free groceries for an entire year. The companies will be including hidden game pieces in Instacart delivery bags starting September 12th, with five chances to win. For more full contest rules and details check out Whole Food's website here.

Congratulations to Whole Foods and Instacart for this exciting new phase in their partnership!  

Whole Foods Market

CINCINNATI, OH – Kroger will be hiring 20,000 employees to fill a variety of positions in its nationwide chain of stores, according to a press release.

"Kroger's growth trajectory creates more job opportunities for current and future employees," said Katy Barclay, Kroger's Senior Vice President of Human Resources.  "Right now in our stores across the country we have openings for bright, hard-working associates who are passionate about making a difference for customers every day."

According to Wall Street Journal, this announcement comes at a time when the company is looking to accelerate its expansion as part of its strategy announced in 2012. 

The decision also comes in stark contrast to a report issued by the U.S. Labor Department, showing that U.S. job growth had slowed to its lowest level of the year this August and a weak consumer spending market. Kroger has seemed immune to these economic trends, posting stronger-than-expected sales and profit figures for in 2014 and a 30% rise in its stock price.

It is from this position of strength in the industry that Kroger is able to announce a hiring plan of this magnitude.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for any future updates on Kroger and its operations.

Kroger

ANTIOCH, CA - IFCO is releasing a free new downloadable booklet detailing the top 5 things growers and retailers should know about RPCs and Food Safety.

To download the book for yourself, fill out the form on IFCO's website here for access to the PDF.

“IFCO food safety standards are leading the reusable plastic container (RPC) industry, providing a food safe solution that optimizes the fresh supply chain,” the company shared on its website.

By signing up online and downloading the “IFCO RPCs and Food Safety Book,” readers will have access to:

• 5 must-know facts on how RPCs affect food safety
• A detailed look at IFCO's SmartCycle wash process for RPCs
• Detailed analysis for how IFCO's wash process destroys bacteria
• Information on how IFCO regularly meets and exceeds safety standards in third-party audits and regularly scheduled test programs
• Much more!

I'd reccomend that all produce and retail professionals give this invaluable resource a look over. It's certainly a great asset to the industry.

IFCO

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA – The Allen Lund Company has announced that it will be undertaking a major expansion of its Charlotte, NC office space.

 "We are currently in an expansion mode with anticipated growth of 25-30% in the coming year," stated Manager Jim McGuire. "With our inbound freight growth, as well as the natural growth of our existing customers, we will be doubling our staff in the next few years. Adding additional sales and business development personnel will be key to our success."

 "We are experiencing growth in many regions of the country,” seconded Eddie Lund, Vice President of Sales and Branch Operations. “Our Charlotte office is a specific example of our plan to expand organically where we have excellent leadership in place."

According to a press release, the Charlotte office has been open since 1998.

Congratulations on the impressive expansion, Allen Lund!

Allen Lund Company

MILWAUKEE, WI – Roundy's has announced that it will be divesting itself of three Wisconsin Pick 'n Save locations. Two of the stores, one in Milwaukee and one in West Allis, will be closed outright, and the third Saukville location will be sold to Piggly Wiggly.

"Roundy's signed a definitive sale agreement with Piggly Wiggly that we believe will provide better stewardship for this store and the community it serves," said James Hyland, Roundy's Vice President of Investor Relations. "We believe that under the new ownership, this store and their employees will prosper."

Regarding the two store closures, which the company has announced will go into effect on November 5th, 2014, Hyland said that it was just a part of the normal business cycle.

"The opening, closing and sale of stores are part of our normal course of business and we make these decisions based on results and the level of consumer demand in the market," he commented. "Despite our initiatives to remain competitive in these two locations, we have made the strategic decision to close these two stores."

Piggly Wiggly has announced that it will be relocating its own store in Saukville across the street into the much larger Pick 'n Save it will be acquiring from Roundy's.

"It's an exciting thing for our organization and all our team members," said Pat Fox, President of Fox Bros.

Regarding the motivation behind the sale, Fox shared with the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel that it was a move that made sense for all parties.

"If you look at the Milwaukee market, there are certain areas that are just over-stored. There's no other way to say that and this would be an example of that,” he said. "It was a natural consolidation in the marketplace.”

According to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, Fox plans on adding as many former Pick 'n Save employees to the Piggly Wiggly staff as possible during the transition process.  

Piggly Wiggly 

Roundy's

IRWINDALE, CA - Ready Pac Foods has announced the hiring of Jay Ellis as its new Chief Sales Officer. In his new role, Jay will be responsible for utilizing best practices in order to meet Ready Pac's sales targets and ensure top quality customer service for the company's clients and partners.

“Jay is an accomplished sales professional with over 25 years of experience driving extraordinary revenue growth and profit growth within world-class companies,” said Tony Sarsam, Chief Executive Officer for Ready Pac. “He has played a pivotal role in developing those companies’ business strategy and training the professionals responsible for execution.”

Before joining Ready Pac, Jay held important positions at Nestle USA, Gillette Company, Oral-B Laboratories, and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Inc., according to a press release. Most recently he managed the $1.8 billion Nestle Frozen Business at Walmart for Nestle.

He graduated with a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from San Diego State University.

Congratulations on the new position, Jay!

Ready Pac Foods

NEW YORK, NY - Just the other night, I was flipping through the TV channels and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked as if it was raining grapes on David Letterman’s head! See Dave’s “Grape Break” for yourself…

It starts out innocent enough with Paul Shaffer and the rest of the Late Show band playing an admittedly catchy ditty, but it only gets even more bizarre after that. When was the last time you saw someone eating grapes from a fishing line?! Hopefully they were from California!

We should all have our own grape break at least once a day – just be careful if someone tries lowering one by fishing line!

I’ve seen my fair share of absurd segments on Letterman’s show, but this one takes the grape. 

LOS ALAMITOS, CA - Frieda's is encouraging its retail partners to get a jump on the fall season with its wide variety of hard-shelled winter squashes like the well-known Butternut and the foodie’s darling Delicata.

“Winter squashes are not just for show. Shoppers love them because they are delicious and full of nutrients,” said Karen Caplan, President and CEO of Frieda’s Inc. “These winter squashes are easy to prepare, healthy, and filling, as well as beautiful as home décor. They are winners—any way you slice them!”

According to a press release, Frieda's already has its Butternut, Delicata, Kabocha, Acorn, Spaghetti, Gold Nugget, Sweet Dumpling, Carnival, Hubbard, and Turban Squashes available for produce aisles.

Frieda's says that the best course of action for retailers is to take advantage of this diverse product offering with a variety squash display. These displays, together with signs showing shoppers that the products are “totally edible” and some halved samples highlighting the color contrast between skin and flesh, can add a rustic and bountiful feel to produce aisles.

Squash is an excellent source of vitamin A and C and can be included as an easy component for one-dish meals. For example, Frieda's recommends halving or quartering the squash, scooping out the seeds, and roasting, baking, or steaming the delicious vegetable with the skin on.

Frieda's is also making its product information, high resolution images, and extensive recipe database available to retailers. Interested parties can contact a Frieda's representative for access to these resources as well as to pre-book product for fall promotions.

Frieda's

BAJA PENINSULA - With Hurricane Norbert winding its way along the Baja Peninsula, weather forecasters like Rich Thompson with the National Weather Service are warning of 90mph winds, 20-40% chances of rain, thunderstorms, and the threat of flooding.

Any hurricane of this magnitude is of course a cause for concern for the plethora of growers responsible for Baja's asparagus, bell pepper, cucumbers, green onion, squash, strawberry, and tomato crops.

The Weather Channel is however reporting that the 35 mile wide center of the storm is unlikely to make landfall if it maintains its current path. Together with the likelihood that cooler water temperatures will weaken the storm over the course of the weekend, this makes for some great news for growers.

This will hopefully ensure that Southern California's growers in areas such as Imperial County, Coachella Valley, and San Diego County will remain largely unaffected by the course of the storm.

One thing I do know is that my thoughts will be with the people of the Baja Peninsula and the California coast this weekend as this event plays out.

In another optimistic piece of news, when asked to compare the strength of Hurricane Norbert to Hurricane Marie which affected the coast of Malibu, CA last week, Thompson confidently told the LA Times that "Hurricane Norbert is definitely much weaker than Marie.” With any luck, Hurricane Norbert will pass by North America's West Coast without doing major damage to residents or growers.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for any further news on Hurricane Norbert and other important weather updates. 

NEWARK, NJ - John R. Moritz, a former SVP of Marketing at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Fox Business reports that U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty also ordered Moritz to pay $3.2 million in restitution.

Moritz plead guilty in federal court in March for fraudulently using company funds to buy tickets to high-priced events including the 2011 Super Bowl, Lady Gaga concerts, Yankees playoff games, Broadway shows and more.  The tickets were supposed to be used to reward A&P employees for good work, but instead Moritz allegedly resold more than 7,000 tickets over the internet, pocketing more than $1.2 million.

Moritz admitted in court that he used the money he made from the scheme to make mortgage payments on multiple homes and buy jewelry, airplane flights, hotel stays and groceries.

NJ.com reports that Moritz served as the company’s Senior Vice President of Marketing for only 10 months before he was fired in October 2011 after the company uncovered the fraud and notified federal officials.

The scheme allegedly occurred from 2010 to 2011. This was an especially difficult time for the company financially. In 2010, A&P declared bankruptcy, and emerged from bankruptcy in 2012. In 2011, A&P told workers that the company would not survive without reducing wages. The unions, which represented the workers agreed to 3-6% wage cuts, a 5-year wage freeze, and reductions in vacation and sick time.

A&P