SUPER REGIONALS

H-E-B

$34 BILLION IN 2021 REVENUE, 420-PLUS STORES

When San Antonio-based H-E-B opened a new store in New Braunfels, Texas, in 2021, it wasn’t enough to have 122,000 square feet of sushi; meal kits; housemade tortillas; a full-service pharmacy; Texas-themed furniture and home décor; fresh meat and dairy; a produce section with organic, locally grown and fresh-cut, ready-to-serve fruits and vegetables; and a floral department with certified floral designers. The store also had to have a barbecue drive-through. Well, not just a barbecue drive-through, but a two-story True Texas BBQ restaurant with two-level indoor seating, contactless ordering kiosks, and a window serving up brisket, sausage and “dinosaur-sized Texas beef ribs.”

H-E-B expertly taps into Texas pride and the saying that everything really is bigger in that state, and shoppers eat it all up. The grocer’s recent expansion includes two nearly constructed locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, in Allen and Mansfield, which are set to open next year. The grocery chain is also adding frozen capabilities to its distribution facilities in Temple, Texas, in an effort to grow its current facility footprint by 325,000 square feet.

Earlier this year, H-E-B opened a 50,000-square-foot e-commerce fulfillment center in the central Texas town of Leander. The facility is expected to employ 150 people and will also feature various forms of automation to pick and carry out the grocer’s home delivery and curbside orders throughout the region. This is H-E-B’s fifth e-commerce fulfillment center to be built since 2018, and the company has plans to open additional facilities by the end of next year, including one in Plano that will service the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

“At H-E-B, we’re always looking for ways to offer Texans a better shopping experience and more options to choose how they shop, pay for and receive their products,” says Kedar Patel, VP of e-commerce. “Across our business, we are adopting innovative technologies that give our partners the tools they need to provide top-quality service to our customers, whether they shop online or in our stores.”

The grocer opened its second store in Leander late last year and added an H-E-B Wellness Primary Care center to its first Leander location in May. In June, H-E-B revealed that it would donate $10 million to help build a new elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where a shooter killed 19 children and two teachers this past May. Last month, the grocer said that it would invest $10 million to remodel its store in that town.

MEIJER INC.

$25 BILLION IN 2021 REVENUE, 258 STORES

Meijer has a cult following in the Midwest for its supercenters that are open all hours and offer one-stop shopping. In September, however, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company made a surprising announcement: It’s going in another — smaller and more grocery-focused — direction with a new format and banner called Meijer Grocery.

The first two Meijer Grocery stores are expected to open in the Detroit area in early 2023 and will aim to provide simple shopping experiences and greater community access to fresh food. The Meijer Grocery locations in Orion Township and Macomb Township will be between 75,000 and 90,000 square feet in size and feature an easy-to-navigate design, both inside and via a parking area that’s wrapped around a singular corner entrance.

In comparison, Meijer supercenters measure up to 220,000 square feet and carry items such as electronics and apparel. Each Meijer Grocery location will feature fresh produce, a fresh meat counter, a full-service deli and a bakery equipped with in-store cake decorators. A pharmacy and health and beauty care area will meet other consumer needs in an easily shoppable site.

“Our customers know they can count on us for the freshest foods and best value, which has always been at the core of what we do at Meijer,” says Rick Keyes, Meijer’s president and CEO. “Meijer Grocery will now provide that same combination of freshness and value in a foods-focused format in your local community.”

Don Sanderson, group VP of foods, echoes that sentiment, noting that the store is equipped to meet the needs of community residents. “We’re excited to provide our customers with yet another way to shop,” Sanderson says. “This new concept store will not only provide our customers with everything they need on their weekly shopping trip, but also a quick and easy solution for when they realize they left the key ingredient off their list while cooking dinner.”

Meijer’s value proposition of offering convenience, assortment curation and a corporate-level commitment to the community is sure to resonate with a whole new set of shoppers who can now look forward to an easier shop in a smaller format.

The new H-E-B in New Braunfels, Texas, features nearly 30 staffed checkout lanes, plus self-checkout. The store is also the first location in the company to feature a Home by H-E-B department and a two-story True Texas BBQ restaurant.

Gonna Need Milk

MILKPEP CEO YIN WOON RANI TALKS INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND RETAIL SALES OPPORTUNITIES IN DAIRY. By Gina Acosta

s CEO of Washington, D.C.-based MilkPEP, Yin Woon Rani is responsible for helping milk suppliers and retailers sell more milk. Rani talked to Progressive Grocer about the impact of plant-based products on the dairy industry, how milk producers are innovating in the functional beverage age, and the (shrinking) carbon footprint of a glass of milk.

Progressive Grocer: Can you talk about your background and how you came to be CEO of MilkPEP?

Yin Woon Rani: My whole career has been in marketing communications. I have almost 18 years on the agency side. I have been lucky to work with clients like P&G, Smucker’s, GlaxoSmithKline, and Hasbro, and, before coming to MilkPEP, I was at Campbell Soup Co. as their chief consumer experience officer across a large portfolio of products.

PG: Why did you make the move to dairy?

YR: My role at MilkPEP feels like the job I’ve been preparing for my whole career, without knowing it. It’s wonderful to be attached to such a big, important industry and to be able to generate awareness for a category with such an impact.

PG: For people who aren’t familiar with MilkPEP, tell us about the organization’s goals and your role as CEO.

YR: PEP is an acronym for Processor Education Program. It is what is known as a “checkoff program,” which is funded by the largest dairy companies in the U.S. For every 100 pounds of milk they process, they are assessed an amount of money that the USDA gathers, which becomes the operating budget for MilkPEP. And so our mission is actually very simple: It is to encourage Americans to drink more milk every day.

PG: Let’s define what milk is today, because there’s a lot of controversy about what is milk and what is not milk.

YR: We are solely focused on dairy milk. Obviously, there’s a lot of plantbased drinks that use the “milk” moniker, though technically, under FDA standards of identity, they would not meet these standards. But in consumer language, that’s what they’re called. We feel strongly that dairy milk is unique in its nutritional profile with what it brings naturally to the table. It’s one of the reasons I’m excited to work in the category every day. Dairy milk has few ingredients, while plant-based drinks are highly fortified, yet still fall short of milk’s nutritional profile.

PG: What is the state of dairy milk consumption in the U.S. right now? YR: Consumption of dairy milk has been on a steady decline for decades for a lot of reasons. But plant-based alternatives are not the primary source of loss. In fact, we see more interaction between milk and bottled water. The plant-based category is still small in the larger picture. We sell more dairy milk in a week than is sold in an entire year for oat milk. One of the big structural reasons why milk is declining is not necessarily a loss of preference; it’s more because consumers want on-the-go beverages. To adapt, the dairy industry is increasingly investing in both extended shelf life and aseptic. Additionally, kids’ milk packs are still going well, as, again, this offers an on-the-go option.

PG: But dairy milk has seen a lot of innovation over the years, hasn’t it?

YR: Yes. Particularly with organic and lactose-free, which is one of the fastest-growing segments of milk. Lactose-free on a volume basis is growing over 5% a year and in double digits, from a dollar standpoint. Our value-added segment, which includes health-enhanced milk, is $1 billion more than the plant-based. So dairy milk is really very big, and, interestingly, within what we call traditional milk, we continue to see whole-fat growth.

PG: Milk sales were up during the pandemic, right?

YR: Yes, during the surge period and during the balance of the year, because frankly, the more people are home, the more milk they drink. We have lots of consumer data that demonstrates that milk is still considered extremely healthy — it is the healthiest beverage in consumer perception, besides water itself. People still appreciate real dairy’s nutrition profile. During the pandemic, we did a survey, and it was in the top three of most essential items in the pantry and refrigerator, up there with eggs and bread. Attitudes toward milk are more positive than one would think. Consumers not only still like real milk, but milk plays a significant role in consumers’ diets in comparison to other kinds of milk. Total dairy is also in really good shape. People will continue to eat more cheese, yogurt and ice cream than many categories could possibly match.

PG: What should grocers be doing differently when it comes to merchandising milk at the dairy case?

YR: Some retailers continue to use dairy as a loss leader to attract shoppers. Milk is one of the most planned things in the grocery cart, and if you have milk in your basket, it’s usually a big, valuable basket. But retailers need to understand what a valuable product it is, not just for consumers but for the retail channel itself. Milk has 4% of shelf space, but 10% of revenue and 20% of profit for an average store — milk is highly, highly productive. Given the pressure from other alternatives, that dairy case space is very valuable, but we do think that milk is under-spaced and under-allocated as all this alternative innovation has come.

Retailer customers are leaving money on the table by not having enough milk in stock, particularly in conventional versus value-added. This year, we’re seeing out-of-stocks at a record high in value-added milk, which is the fastest-growing, most premium-priced products. We have analysis that shows that when retailers don’t have enough holding power for milk, retailers lose $1,000 to $3,000 per store. We know that the plant-based market is over-spaced, but retailers are looking for something else that’s as interesting, as compelling, has the right graphics and has the right modern appeal, as plant-based. The milk companies are increasingly responding to that ask, and our industry innovation pipeline has only just begun. PG: Are consumers clamoring for more sustainable dairy options?

YR: Shoppers are increasingly interested in the dairy industry’s sustainability efforts. Our data says that sustainability is critical, particularly among younger people. While sustainability is not a main driver as to why they buy milk or don’t buy milk, it is definitely a consideration that will continue to have more and more importance.

The good news is that the industry is very focused on their sustainable footprint and frankly has made a lot of progress, thanks to increasingly modern and innovative dairy farming practices. In a 10-year time period, the environmental impact of producing a gallon of milk shrank significantly, requiring 30% less water, 21% less land and a 19% smaller carbon footprint. So the industry is laser-focused and super-committed to sustainability.

“Attitudes toward milk are more positive than one would think. Consumers not only still like real milk, but milk plays a significant role in consumers’ diets in comparison to other kinds of milk. Total dairy is also in really good shape. People will continue to eat more cheese, yogurt and ice cream than many categories could possibly match.”

—Yin Woon Rani, MilkPEP

PG: What’s going on with organic milk?

YR: Organic is plateauing a little bit because it’s been growing for a long time and many consumers have already opted in. The lactose-free and health-enhanced segments are really the star pupils right now. It’ll be interesting to see during this inflationary period what happens, because traditional milk is still a really good deal — both in terms of cost and nutritional value. We’re watching closely to see how the inflationary part affects value-added, but I do think that is going to continue to be a big growth area.

This year’s honorees have demonstrated the many ways that they have been able to effect positive change across their market areas — and there’s much more to come.

By Progressive Grocer Staff

ompared with some of our other awards programs, which include Category Captains, Editors’ Picks and Top Women in Grocery, the Impact Awards program is a newbie, only in its second year. The reaction to it since its inception has been immense, however, with dozens of entries pouring in from a range of companies across the retail, supplier and solution provider realms. The main reason for this is that the grocery industry as a whole has plenty to share when it comes to helping to make the world a better place.

The Impact Awards honor exceptionalism in such key areas as Community Service/Local Impact; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging; Educational Support/Learning Advancement; Ethical Sourcing/Supply Chain Transparency; Food Security/Nutritional Leadership; Sustainability/Resource Conservation; and Workforce Development/Employee Support. While we PG editors were overwhelmed by the high number of outstanding submissions from companies doing amazing things in these areas, we can’t really say we were surprised, as we’ve seen and reported on many examples all year round of grocers, suppliers and solution providers improving lives, creating opportunity and positively affecting the communities that they call home — and sometimes even further afield.

This year, we recognize the incredible efforts of honorees with 33 awards presented to 26 companies that are leading the way in making a tangible difference, whether that means reducing greenhouse-gas emissions across their operations, developing nutritional programs for underserved neighborhoods, or enabling hardworking associates and local customers to realize their educational dreams. We believe that such endeavors are just the beginning for these companies as they continue to seek innovative ways to remove obstacles, increase understanding and achieve ever-more-ambitious goals. PG salutes all of the recipients of the 2022 Impact Awards, and invites readers to find out about each one in the following pages.

Whenever you shop Meijer, you help support the people, places, and values that make your community great.

Community Service/ Local Impact

The Giant Co.

When The Giant Co. opens a new store, it seeks to partner with local community organizations, especially those supporting its three pillars of corporate social responsibility (CSR): eliminating hunger, changing children’s lives and healing the planet. A signature element of its approach to CSR is associate involvement: The retailer pairs active volunteer opportunities with its financial and product donations, aiming for at least one hour of volunteer service per associate per year.

To further boost volunteer and community involvement, the company introduced a paid volunteer program in 2021, which caused volunteer hours to skyrocket from 8,000 in 2020 to more than 28,000 in 2021. The program enables full- and part-time associates to volunteer at company-sponsored events and have a portion of their service hours treated as paid, scheduled work hours.

In 2022, during National Volunteer Month (April), the grocer ran a volunteer challenge to increase engagement and raise awareness of the volunteer program. The store with the highest number of volunteer hours in each region could donate $1,000 to a charity related to one of the company’s three CSR pillars. In just one month, associates logged a total of 6,350 volunteer hours, nearly matching the 7,079 hours logged in January, February and March combined.

Schnuck Markets Inc.

Schnucks’ teammates always roll up their sleeves to volunteer for nonprofits throughout the markets/divisions they serve. In partnership with the American Red Cross and its Sound the Alarm initiative, the grocer’s associates volunteered at two events at which they installed 10-year battery-free smoke detectors for local residents.

Benefiting Beyond Housing of St. Louis, a collection drive held by Schnucks stores raised $150 of inkind donations at each location. Employees delivered 63 donated boxes of household cleaning products to the Family Support Center, where they painted, changed light bulbs and replaced ceiling tiles. Further, to support the youngest members of the community, stores held a baby product collection drive to support Nurses for Newborns. Each store again added $150 in product, which helped the grocer collect 93 boxes.

Then there were associates from Evansville, Ind.-area stores who gave their time at the Tri-State Food Bank, assisting with product sorting. Additionally, a collection drive for household cleaning products and food items was held to benefit Ronald McDonald House and its mission to provide a home away from home for families of seriously ill children. Each store once more contributed $150 worth of in-kind donations. After delivering 73 boxes to a local Ronald McDonald House, teammates helped organize and clean its warehouse.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Hy-Vee Inc.

Understanding that diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging span many business areas, Hy-Vee has focused on its workplace, marketplace and workforce.

To foster a more equitable workplace and workforce, the Iowa-based grocer began a diversity and inclusion training requirement for all employees and introduced a program called Cultural Conversations to spur discussions on timely topics. In the area of recruitment, the retailer rolled out the Perfect campaign featuring videos that represent the diversity of Hy-Vee employees.

To give back to the marketplace, Hy-Vee focused on several areas of community engagement. The retailer pledged 5,000 hours of volunteer service to nonprofit organizations to honor Black History Month, for instance. To protect people in its service areas, the company worked with partners to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in historically underserved neighborhoods.

To ensure that its products reflect a diverse marketplace, Hy-Vee works to create a pipeline of diverse suppliers by hosting quarterly brand summits where minority- and women-owned small businesses can pitch their products to sell at the grocer’s stores.

For these and other efforts, Hy-Vee won an inclusion award from the Greater Des Moines Partnership in 2021 and was recognized by the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce in that organization’s inaugural Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Workplace Excellence Awards.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Meijer Inc.

For Meijer, the notion of community is key to its diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B) commitments.

Although the company has a demonstrated history of embracing diversity efforts, Meijer has recently amplified opportunities for team member resource groups (TMRGs). Those groups now include the Meijer Disability Awareness and Advocacy Group (mDAAG), Women at Meijer, YoPro (young professionals), mVets (veterans), Meijer Pride, MOSAIC (team members of color), and Meet@Meijer (new team members). The company reports that membership in TMRGs has grown by 50% in the past year alone.

To bring its employee communities together, Meijer hosts company-wide programs such as a recent Stronger Together: Meijer Unity and Community event. Locations were encouraged to demonstrate their dedication to unity and community in a way that was unique to each store. Meijer also keeps all team members up to date on DEI&B through regularly published newsletters.

Beyond internal initiatives, Meijer partners with minority-owned businesses to enhance its supplier diversity. The retailer has held several supplier diversity summits that have resulted in the addition of 215 diverse vendors. Meijer extends its work into the community at large, too, investing nearly $12 million in organizations, structures and people addressing racial inequities throughout its multistate service area.

Navigator Sales and Marketing

During the civil unrest of 2020, food broker Navigator looked at its portfolio and realized that it didn’t represent enough diverse-owned brands. So, it set out to increase supplier diversity on grocery store shelves across America by finding brands that needed its support. As a result, Navigator increased its portfolio of women- and diverse-owned brands, which now account for 60% of its portfolio of CPG brands.

The company also started a 501(c)(3) foundation. Comprising 25 entrepreneurs and focused on education, Navigator’s foundation instructs brands on how to be successful at grocery. To help with the training, the company enlists partners such as NielsenIQ, ECRM/ RangeMe, KeHE, Costco, Albertsons Cos., Wakefern and Morgan Stanley. The Navigator Lighthouse Foundation creates a holistic success system for women and minority CPG entrepreneurs to launch and succeed in the grocery industry. Combining the successful model of Navigator’s brokering process with unique areas of support and focus has paved a tailored path for minority and women business owners to get their products sold at grocery stores.

Target Corp.

Target’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging covers not only its associates, departments and stores, but also its suppliers, customers and the communities that it serves. The retailer is working to leverage its size, scale and resources across its business to accelerate change and progress through several initiatives, including a pledge to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025. So far, Target has doubled the number of Blackowned brands in its assortment — it now offers more than 100 across every major category. The retailer further supports diverse suppliers and underrepresented businesses by investing capital, opening access to new markets, sharing expertise and engaging in sponsorships.

The retailer has also been active in building up BIPOC-owned businesses in the Twin Cities and beyond by pledging 10,000 hours of pro bono consulting services. So far, more than 100 Target team members have delivered nearly 4,000 hours of services and supported 25 projects spanning services from strategic planning and sourcing to web design and marketing. Target also unveiled its Forward Founders accelerator program in 2021 and has since mentored more than 40 early-stage food and beverage brands across three classes.

Educational Support/ Learning Advancement Dollar General Corp.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF) was founded in 1993 by thenCEO Cal Turner Jr. to honor his functionally illiterate grandfather, company co-founder J.L. Turner, and to support others’ educational journeys. Espousing the belief that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to receive a basic education, the foundation has invested in and provided financial assistance to literacy programs to increase access, enhance the quality of instruction, and inspire and advance innovation. To date, DGLF has awarded more than $216 million to further literacy and learning, enabling more than 15.2 million people to achieve their educational goals.

The foundation’s programs include grants to help adults, families and youths in need of literacy assistance through such means as high school equivalency preparation; English-language acquisition; adult education instruction; children’s education; the purchase of new technology or equipment, books, materials or software at schools, public libraries and nonprofits; summer reading programs; and helping public school libraries rebuild after disasters.

In March 2022, DGLF revealed about $5 million in grants to five national organizations to further support students and educators: Save the Children, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, DonorsChoose, Discovery Education in Partnership with the National Afterschool Association, and the Children’s Defense Fund.

Meijer Inc.

Meijer has ramped up its educational support big time. In 2022, the Midwest retailer revealed that it’s bolstering its educational benefits to give every team member a chance to earn a free education.

Among other initiatives, Meijer is partnering with four online universities — Colorado State University Global, University of Maryland Global Campus, Walden University and Western Governor’s University — to provide bachelor’s degrees to team members. The free educational programs, which allow for flexible scheduling and self-paced courses, include more than 40 eligible fields of study. The program also features academic advisors who can coach students during their educational journeys.

In addition to college programs, Meijer provides support for team members to pursue a free high school diploma, GED or English-language learners’ program. The retailer has more than doubled its tuition reimbursement to the IRS maximum of $5,250 each year for all team members for traditional brickand-mortar educational institutions.

In the name of its founders, Meijer awards the Fred and Lena Meijer Scholarship to help team members offset the cost of a traditional education. That scholarship can be used in conjunction with tuition reimbursements. Now in its 46th year, the program recently bestowed $10,000 scholarships on four Meijer team members and $5,000 on 106 recipients.

Rich Products Corp.

In a city facing high childhood poverty and low graduation rates disproportionately affecting people of color, building the next generation of leaders is among Rich Products Corp.’s core values and directly aligns to the work that the Say Yes organization does to address and overcome the financial, academic, social and health obstacles that Buffalo, N.Y., public-school students face. That’s why Rich’s recently pledged $1 million to continue supporting the work of Say Yes Buffalo.

Since 2012, Say Yes Buffalo has partnered with the Buffalo public-school system to increase graduation rates by providing students with a comprehensive support system and post-secondary tuition scholarships. In the years since its launch, Say Yes Buffalo has supported more than 8,000 students, including more than 2,000 college-bound Say Yes scholars.

Rich’s support extends to creating meaningful connections with students through mentorship and on-thejob experiences at Rich’s Buffalo headquarters. Rich’s also engages in an active relationship with Say Yes through board service and by acting as a conduit for meaningful connections between other educational partners within and around Buffalo. Additionally, the company creates career exposure and awareness for Say Yes students. For example, this past summer, one of Rich’s culinarians delivered a multiweek culinary series for summer students.

Ethical Sourcing/ Supply Chain Transparency Giant Food

Giant Food’s efforts to ensure greater product transparency fall into four key categories: empowering customers to shop based on environmental and social impact, ensuring ethical and just supply chains, conserving and regenerating natural resources, and advancing circular and safe products/packaging.

The grocer’s easy-touse environmental social impact rating system, powered by HowGood, analyzes each product ingredient against environmental and social criteria, including farming practices, treatment of animals, labor conditions and chemical use, making it easy for customers to make informed choices when they shop. Additionally, all of Giant Food’s store-brand products will feature clear on-pack bioengineered food disclosure well ahead of the federal bioengineered labeling.

Giant Food also maintains a robust animal welfare policy and upholds its human rights policy that all people involved in the food supply chain should be treated fairly, justly and with respect, as well as conserving and regenerating natural resources by promoting regenerative agriculture and sourcing a wide array of certified-sustainable products, including such key commodities as seafood, coffee, cocoa, tea, palm oil, soy and wood. Further, Giant Food maintains a stringent sustainable chemistry policy, is moving toward 100% sustainable plastic packaging, and has instituted a leading sustainable seafood policy that covers a wide range of products.

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Raley’s

Believing that customers should know exactly where their food comes from, Raley’s works with a small number of trusted, fully vetted meat, poultry and egg suppliers, including many local farms, all of which share its deep commitment to ensuring safe, healthy and humane conditions throughout the supply chain.

Beyond that, Raley’s closely monitors its private label sourcing partners’ adherence to its rigorous standards and to government regulations. Its quality assurance team manages and digitally scales out this complex process using the Collaborate+ system, a configured version of the CMX1 for Grocery platform from CMX.

With Collaborate+, Raley’s has turned previously manual tasks into digitized, automated actions. During the supplier vetting, onboarding and review processes, the Collaborate+ portal collects acknowledgments, signed documents, audits and certifications to manage vendor compliance across multiple programs and regulations. All vendor-supplied information is reviewed and verified against industry and regulatory standards through an automated review and approval workflow managed within Collaborate+. Raley’s will reject suppliers during onboarding for not meeting standards, or pause onboarding until corrective actions are taken. For vendors without mature policies and procedures, the grocer will conduct on-site visits, observe the operation’s process, review programs, and provide feedback on meeting and maintaining Raley’s standards.

A charcuterie board's best friend since 1902.

Ethical Sourcing/ Supply Chain Transparency

Whole Foods Market

Ethical sourcing has been a goal for Whole Foods since it first opened its doors in 1980, and the company believes that its customers should know where their food comes from. As such, the grocer continuously works to promote supply chain transparency, fair trade and workers’ rights in the products that it buys and sells. Through its Sourced for Good program, Whole Foods looks to build thoughtful, long-term partnerships with partners that it can trust, and collaborates with farms, producers and international third-party certifiers to ensure that participating suppliers generate positive impacts for workers, their communities and the environment.

Additionally, Whole Foods has transitioned all 365 by Whole Foods Market tea to be certified by either Fair Trade USA or Rainforest Alliance. All of that brand’s packaged coffee is responsibly sourced and certified according to an approved third party, and 365 chocolate bars, chocolate chips and baking chocolate are certified by Fair Trade USA. Additionally, Whole Foods is a member of Conservation International’s Sustainable Coffee Challenge, a collaborative effort of companies, governments, NGOs, research institutions and others to create a more sustainable coffee sector.

Food Security/ Nutritional Leadership Giant Food

Giant Food’s Healthy Living Team (HLT) is a forward-facing service that supports, encourages and connects the grocer’s local communities and associates to foods and services that improve their health and well-being. Consisting of 11 licensed nutrition professionals, the HLT not only provides free nutrition services, but also works to increase knowledge of healthy food and its benefits, the affordability of food in underserved areas, and access to healthy food in the communities served by the retailer’s stores.

Since the 2018 launch of a neighborhood health improvement program in Ward 8 of Washington, D.C., a community with the highest rates of poverty and of chronic disease in the district, Giant Food has invested $2.4 million in improving health outcomes in the area through programs such as Produce Rx, which began in 2019 and has tripled in scope over the past three years.

In 2021, the HLT expanded Giant Food’s nutrition incentive programs into Prince George’s County, Md., and revealed the first Ward 8 Healthy Living Microgrant recipients.

Additionally, working with local organizations, the HLT and the Giant Food Business-to-Business Team have collaborated on the development of healthy, affordable meals that are delivered directly to participants, and education outreach programs on nutrition.

Hy-Vee Inc.

To combat the very real problem of food insecurity, Hy-Vee shored up its support of food banks in a number of ways over the past year. Indeed, the retailer has proved to be a pivotal link between consumers in need and healthy, nutritious meals.

One of those efforts was the creation of Food Bank Fridays, a campaign through which customers could donate $1 or $5 at their local Hy-Vee or Dollar Fresh Market store, or online. As part of that campaign, Hy-Vee and its customers have raised $1 million for local food banks.

In another way of raising awareness of the need to assist local food banks, Hy-Vee started a social media campaign highlighting food banks that benefit from donations and assistance. That program was managed by engaged Hy-Vee employees. The grocer also donates products to improve access to food. Over the past year, Hy-Vee gave out nearly 7,500 hams to families in need and delivered more than 17 semi loads of food donations to food banks. Through its broader One Step philanthropic program, the grocery chain has provided 2.1 million water bottles. Beyond the local communities it serves, to assist on an international basis, the retailer packaged 300,000 meals for residents of war-torn Ukraine in 2022.

Meijer Inc.

Meijer gives back at least 6% of its profits each year, including a substantial amount of funds for hunger relief. Helping needy families, a longtime pillar of the retailer’s charitable efforts, is reflected in its impactful forms of assistance.

Case in point: Meijer’s yearround Simply Give program that provides foods to pantries across the Midwest. Customers can purchase a $10 donation card at the instore or online checkout point to be converted to a food-only gift card for donation to area food banks; on select days, Meijer will match or double match customer donations.

Since 2008, the program has generated more than $69 million through contributions from shoppers, team members, the company and Meijer’s food bank partners. The Meijer LPGA Classic golf tournament also supports that cause, raising $1.25 million in 2022 alone and more than $8.65 million over the past nine years.

In addition to its fundraising initiatives, Meijer runs a food rescue program that provides food that would otherwise go to waste to local food pantries. Further, to make it easier for pantries to serve their clients, Meijer has given more than 100 reconditioned tractors and trailers from its fleet to nonprofit groups transporting food.

Natural Grocers

Natural Grocers partners with local food banks, donating 5 cents per shopping trip each time a customer brings their own bags. The grocer also reduces prices as products approach their sell-by date, and then donates unsold products (of verified quality) to local food banks. Company in-kind food and product donations totaled more than $3 million in fiscal year 2021.

Meanwhile, nutrition education is one of Natural Grocers’ five founding principles. It’s the only national chain to support full-time nutritional health coaches (NHCs) in all stores, with the primary responsibility of providing free nutrition education to customers and the community. NHCs provide educational activities such as classes, lectures, seminars, health fairs, community events and store tours. In the past five years, more than 30,000 people optimized their health through free coaching sessions, about 8,000 free in-store nutrition classes were held, and more than 115,000 attendees were educated and empowered.

Natural Grocers’ programs are supplemented by outside experts and print and online materials. Its Health Hotline, published 11 times in fiscal year 2021, includes in-depth articles on health and nutrition, recipes, and profiles of sale items. The free publication is available by mail, in stores and online. The company plans to continue its mission of knowledge, access and affordability.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co.

Stop & Shop has a long-standing history of giving back to the neighborhoods that it serves, with a focus on fighting hunger. In 2021, the company undertook research and situation analysis on the extent of food insecurity in conjunction with community food banks and food pantries across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to help prepare for one of its biggest annual fundraisers. The Turkey Express Program is a month-long initiative dedicated to donating meals to hunger relief organizations throughout the grocer’s footprint each year ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Stop & Shop aimed to provide more than 22,000 turkeys to families, food banks and food pantries in the Northeast to help meet the need for holiday assistance caused by the pandemic. During its donation events, Stop & Shop provided visuals of the loading, transporting and distribution of frozen turkeys, and the company also had a helping hand from local professional sports partners, including the New York Giants, the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders. Stop & Shop was able to use these partnerships and the resulting media attention to successfully promote awareness of food insecurity, the need for food assistance, and the value in food donations by large organizations.

Sustainability/ Resource Conservation Afresh

Fresh food technology company Afresh wants to eliminate food waste and make fresh food more accessible. Unifying previously separate processes, the company’s artificial intelligence-powered Fresh Operating System empowers grocers to order the right amount of food at the right time by offering a simple, accurate way to manage store-level operations via tablet.

Since 2019, Afresh has prevented 7.9 million pounds of food waste and 3,818-plus metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions, while saving more than 140 million gallons of water. By the end of 2022, its system will be in nearly 3,300 stores. For its retail partners, Afresh can help reduce food waste by 25% and boost produce operating margins by 40%. In fact, Albertsons Cos. saw such transformative results using Afresh that the Fresh Operating System is now rolling out to more than 2,200 Albertsons stores in 34 states.

Afresh also has plans to offer full fresh replenishment across meat and seafood, prepared foods, bakery, and dairy. Eventually aiming to effect change at the distribution center level as well, the company will drive critical decisions across every step of the supply chain to help companies reach sustainability goals while providing shoppers with fresher food.

Future Farm

Working with software company CarbonCloud, Future Farm mapped the carbon footprint of its plant-based Future Burger, which is worth 15% of all company sales. Future Farm is now offsetting the emissions in collaboration with ClimatePartner, which helps companies take climate action, to help prevent Amazon deforestation in its home country of Brazil. As a result, Future Burger is now 100% carbon neutral, with the rest of the company’s portfolio to follow.

Additionally, Future Farm is reducing its packaging by 17% and transitioning packs to 100% recyclable materials, including 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, thereby avoiding the use of virgin plastic. Future Farm has also joined the Global Compact Brazil network to work with other companies toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

So far, the company has saved/

The Giant Co.

In June 2021, The Giant Co. presented its partner Rodale Institute, a global leader in regenerative organic agriculture, with a check for $1.1 million to support organic farm consulting, farmer training and research. Through this program, farmers receive support with their transition to organic farming, and training in regenerative organic agriculture.

The funds were raised through the retailer’s first Healing Our Planet campaign, in 2021, during which customers could round up their checkout purchases to the nearest dollar. The campaign raised $2.3 million, which went to Planet Bee Foundation and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful as well as to Rodale. Additionally, Giant Co. associates contributed 500-plus volunteer hours toward environmental initiatives and the future of food throughout 2021.

This year, Rodale received a compensated for 748 tons of carbon dioxide on H1’s multidimensional global platform through the carbon-neutral burger. With its packaging initiative, Future Farm will reduce about 100 tons of post-consumption waste.

For the future, the company is focused on building a medium-term sustainability plan based on such global standards as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Global Reporting Initiative, becoming more involved in global platforms like B Corp, and developing internal policies regarding sustainability and diversity and inclusion.

donation of $1,099,208 from the 2022 Healing Our Planet campaign, as well as help spreading its message for World Water Day on March 22. April 2022 was Earth Month at The Giant Co., which again partnered with Rodale, this time to teach students at the Henry Lawnton School in Philadelphia about the importance of gardening, with soil, tools and seeds donated by the grocer.

Through these efforts, The Giant Co. continues to seek new paths toward a sustainable future.

Sustainability/ Resource Conservation Giant Food

Advocating for sustainable programs and initiatives that support the environment is a key community pillar at Giant Food. The grocer is committed to increasing fresh food donations and healthier choices in-store and online, reducing food and plastic waste, and taking bold climate action in its operations.

Like The Giant Co., its sister Ahold Delhaize USA banner, the grocer works with HowGood, an easy-to-use environmental and social impact rating system that analyzes each product ingredient against various environmental and social criteria, enabling customers to make informed choices when they shop.

Giant Food’s sustainability partners include GreenPrint, a PDI company, with which it collaborated to offset up to 30% of consumers’ vehicle emissions generated from gas sold at its gas pumps and to make the 30th Annual Giant National Capital BBQ Battle 100% carbon neutral for the first time through investments in certified carbon reduction projects; Volta, which offers electric vehicle-charging stations near the front doors of Giant Food stores; and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association, both of which the grocer has teamed with on the Giant Clean Water Partnership, helping local dairy farmers improve their land and water to create a more sustainable supply chain.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh has been saying goodbye to much of its carbon footprint as it becomes the first carbon-neutral meal kit company. The business has achieved key environmental milestones by, among other things, sourcing 100% of its electricity from zero-emission wind energy and working with local suppliers to reduce emissions related to transportation. To cover emissions from its internal operations, business travel and box deliveries, HelloFresh has purchased carbon offsets for the past two years.

Reducing waste is also a priority. HelloFresh continually works to improve its predictions of customer demand, thereby lowering the amount of unsold and unused food. While the business treads more lightly on the earth from an energy and production perspective, HelloFresh has also focused on ways to lessen the environmental impact of its products used by

Inmar Intelligence

While a lot of people talk about the impact of e-commerce from shopper need and grocery business standpoints, the rise of the digital marketplace has had a ripple effect on the environment. Heeding the fact that the e-comm return rate is three to five times greater than items purchased in store — and can result in up to 5 billion pounds of items going to landfills each year — Inmar Intelligence is helping to reduce the level of accompanying waste. consumers. For example, the company plans to help customers make betterfor-the-planet meal choices through the increased use of carbon labeling and other sustainability communications.

Recognizing that sustainability efforts require both action and benchmarks, HelloFresh finalized a life cycle assessment (LCA) in April 2022. Conducted by a verified third party, the LCA found that the carbon emissions of HelloFresh meals are 4% fewer compared with restaurant delivery and 31% fewer compared with grocery.

One of Inmar’s solutions is an end-to-end returns platform shown to achieve a 99% landfill diversion rate while reducing the consumption of greenhouse-gas emissions, fossil fuels and the release of methane. The platform hinges on a network of processing facilities that combine a human assessment of a returned product’s condition with machine learning to determine the best course of action. Many products can be returned to shelf or inventory through convenient consumer drop-off locations, and later sold at full or a discounted price.

Inmar also teams up with liquidators to sell items through secondary markets and donates goods to charities, to the tune of 51 million items a year. If merchandise can’t be sold, recycled or donated, it can be sent to an energy-from-waste facility to generate electricity.

MG2

Depending as it does on cooperation, PCC Markets’ approach to sustainability is a team effort.

From a design standpoint, the cooperative grocery store chain strives to create surroundings that are both inviting and inspiring. Architectural design firm MG2, based, like PCC, in Seattle, worked with the grocer to create a store layout that resembles an open-air market, with local touches that reflect each neighborhood.

For PCC’s location in Ballard, Wash., the co-op and MG2 used building materials that didn’t contain chemicals included on a “red list” of toxic substances. Further optimizing materials, the flooring is made from exposed, polished and sealed concrete, while 100% of the wood is FSC-certified. Heat-, energy- and water-saving features are an intrinsic part of the store design.

Inside, displays are geared toward transparency, spotlighting alliances with local producers. The space is also designed for interaction between customers and staff.

Through their collaboration, PCC and MG2 pursued the goal of achieving Living Building Challenge (LBC) Petal Certification, a high standard for sustainability. They achieved that objective in December 2020, with the store in Ballard, Wash., becoming the first LBC Petal Certified grocery store in the world, paving the way for PCC locations in West Seattle and Bellevue, Wash., to achieve such certification.

New Seasons Market

As part of its ongoing commitment to mitigate the impacts of climate change from single-use packaging and waste, New Seasons Market recently transitioned its private label Partner Brand Fresh Pasta packaging from plastic clamshell-style containers to an environmentally preferable alternative, PaperSeal MAP trays. This innovative packaging from Graphic Packaging International uses 91% less plastic than traditional plastic packaging and has eliminated more than 120,000 plastic clamshells from the company’s waste stream annually. The new packaging is made from FSC Certified fibers that are fully recyclable once the food-safe liner has been removed. Package labeling tells consumers how to recycle and dispose of all materials properly. In addition to reducing material impact, the trays extend product shelf life from 12 to 20 days, preventing food waste.

Further, last year, the grocer discontinued the sale of single-use water bottles in stores, including 1-liter or smaller bottles of still water in single-use plastic, fiber, aluminum or glass containers. To help customers transition their habits to reusable bottles, New Seasons installed longer water faucet spigots in deli seating areas to ensure that customers could safely refill their own containers. The grocer also expanded its selection of reusable bottles and offered bonus loyalty points to customers shopping with reusables.

Phononic

Phononic’s Intelligent Actively Cooled Tote, built with a solid-state core and designed with thermoelectric cooling technology, is an innovative way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and support climate goals while meeting the demanding performance needs of the market. Available as both a refrigerator and a freezer, the tote protects chilled and frozen food at precise temperatures. It makes quality, safety and freshness possible for grocers while also providing a way to meet critical sustainability mandates.

Using just water mixed with naturally available carbon dioxide as its refrigerant, the tote’s cooling system has a global warming potential (GWP) of 1 or less and is nontoxic and nonflammable. Phononic’s totes work within many different fulfillment systems, including micro-fulfillment centers, grocery curbside, and transport and delivery operations.

Since the tote cools or freezes only the number of customer orders needed, based on demand, it also allows for demand-based energy savings. By leveraging the tote in their fulfillment operations, grocers can achieve an estimated 2.6% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per store by eliminating the need for dry ice in delivery and transport operations (72% of the savings impact), eliminating highGWP refrigerant leakage (15% of the savings impact), and reducing energy consumption (13% of overall impact).

Sustainability/ Resource Conservation

Shelf Engine

Through its mission to reduce food waste through automation, Shelf Engine is working to help preserve the planet by generating the most accurate food orders for supermarkets so they can stock what will sell instead of what will spoil on the shelf. Its predictive artificial-intelligence and machine-learning technology forecast and automate orders of highly perishable products by pairing sales data with real-world and real-time factors and solutions, thereby eliminating human error in the ordering process.

Shelf Engine works with four of the top supermarket chains in the United States, as well as regional and local grocers in more than 3,000 locations, helping them achieve a 32% average food waste reduction, a 7% sales lift and 15% gross-margin expansion. In 2021 alone, the company’s technology helped prevent 4.5 million pounds of food from reaching landfills, which translates to a decrease of more than 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide. In the process, nearly 450 million gallons of water were saved. This year, Shelf Engine aims to expand its location count by more than 200% and triple the size of its footprint in each store through entry into dynamic and challenging new categories of highly perishable products.

Simple Mills

Simple Mills follows a basic commitment to revolutionary food design that advances regenerative-agriculture principles, elevates farmers, empowers eaters and inspires peers so its food system can nourish people and our planet, now and for generations to come. The recent addition of planetary health to that commitment has driven the cracker and snack producer to ensure that 100% of its new product launches will advance regenerative agriculture through at least one key pathway. Simple Mills is further dedicated to diverse ingredient design, building direct contracts with farmers who prioritize regenerative principles and investing directly in sourcing regions.

As such, the company has formed a partnership with PUR Project, allowing it to source organic coconut sugar from farmers in Java, Indonesia, who implement regenerative agroforestry, intercropping and composting. Simple Mills is also engaged in the Almond Project, which is a five-year study focused on driving proof points for ecosystem benefits in almonds to promote restorative orchard management practices throughout California. For customers, the company provides straightforward, accessible resources on its website to encourage them to learn more and get involved in its mission to create a healthier ecosystem.

Volpi Foods

Specialty cured-meat producer Volpi Foods is working toward a more sustainable future for its industry through its Raised Responsibly program and its paper-based Eco-Pack packaging. The company’s sustainability-focused standards program ensures animal welfare that allows for natural, free movement; no gestation crates; and no added hormones. Volpi is committed to solely sourcing from nearby farms employing environmentally friendly practices, including working with suppliers to enact additional restrictions that yield a better environment for the animals and a better-quality product.

As demand for pre-sliced meats skyrocketed, Volpi sought out sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic packages, and in 2021, the company converted its entire pre-sliced lineup to Eco-Pack, which marked a first for the pre-sliced meat industry. The packaging has a renewable structure that is distinctive, functional and Forest Stewardship Council Certified, ensuring that the paper material is derived from responsibly managed forests. The packaging also achieves 70%-75% plastic reduction compared with standard deli packs, and the paper material is curbside recyclable once separated from the thin liner. During the 2021 calendar year, Volpi’s switch to Eco-Pack helped divert more than 45 tons of single-use plastic.

Workforce Development/ Employee Support Milo’s Tea Co.

Milo’s believes that by providing associates with the means to learn and grow, it creates a culture of “home” for all associates. In 2021, Milo’s implemented two training systems to give associates the training they want and need: High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) and Milo’s University.

Specifically created for manufacturing associates, HPWS gives participants a clear path for advancement from day one. Through hands-on and written assessments, HPWS creates high-functioning and agile operations facilities where associates are well trained in multiple work areas. In just the past year, Milo’s has seen 509 associates advance through the HPWS process.

Milo’s University is the company’s learning management system that gives all associates access to courses in both soft skills, such as communicating and email writing, and hard skills, such as mastering spreadsheets. In 2021, Milo’s had an internal promotion rate of 71.23%, and so far in 2022, it has promoted 30.19% of associates.

The company is currently in the process of augmenting its new Leaders as Coaches initiative that gives managers the tools to succeed. Milo’s also encourages associates to further their learning outside of the organization by funding conference attendance, certifications and more, as well as providing tuition.

Natural Grocers

Natural Grocers has designed its initiatives to attract, engage, develop and retain its workforce. It positions its employees — known collectively as “Crew” — for success by providing significant virtual and in-person training annually. All Crew receive training in customer service skills, product attributes and nutrition education. New store managers and assistant store managers receive four weeks of in-person operational and managerial training. The Store Manager Accelerated Readiness Training Program is geared toward high-potential candidates who wish to rise to a store manager position. During 2021, Natural Grocers promoted internal candidates to fill 100% of regional manager positions, 87% of vacant store manager and assistant store manager positions, and 78% of vacant department manager positions.

The company’s pay is above federal and state minimum-wage levels for all Crew and includes regularly scheduled pay increases, no pay caps for store Crew who wish to stay in current positions, and birthday pay — given whether the Crew member chooses to work or takes time off. The retailer also offers Crew access to free immune-boosting and stress-busting supplements. Additionally, Natural Grocers created its Heroes in Aprons Fund in 2021 to provide short-term financial assistance to qualifying Crew or their immediate family members who experience hardships.

Southeastern Grocers

Southeastern Grocers (SEG) considers itself a people-first organization, and provides associates with a large assortment of benefits, including 401(k) matching, associate discounts, quarterly bonuses and health benefits. The company’s focus on education and advancement is also on display through training programs, scholarships and GED completion programs.

Beyond standard benefits, SEG offers eight diverse resource groups for its associates: African Americans F.O.C.U.S., Asians & Pacific Islanders for Resource and Education, Emerging Leaders, Military Families, Pa’lante (Hispanic Associates and Allies), SEG Pride, the Women’s Development Network, and the Working Parents Network. Additionally, the company’s corporate leadership development platform, dubbed SEG University, provides personal and professional development resources to help associates advance their careers through leadership courses, lunch-and-learn sessions, and other engaging workshops.

The SEG Cares Foundation is an associate-funded nonprofit that has supported thousands of associates facing unexpected hardships since its inception in 2013. The company has been certified as a Great Place to Work for two consecutive years and was the only grocer featured in Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces list for 2021, earning high marks for employee happiness and satisfaction at work.

Workforce Development/ Employee Support Vital Farms

Vital Farms is a Certified B Corp that prides itself on providing a people-first culture. Through engagement surveys, quarterly feedback, development conversations and culture-building events, the company enables its crew members to grow professionally and personally through a full understanding of their unique needs. Further, the egg, butter and ghee purveyor undertook an employee survey in 2021 that allowed its leadership team to learn more about its crew members’ needs, thoughts and areas for opportunity. The survey found that 96% of crew members believe that Vital Farms found ways to collaborate as a team while working remotely, and 90% of crew members felt supported if they needed flexible working arrangements.

Through further employee engagement and feedback, Vital Farms adopted a permanent remote workforce and also launched Cluck University, an online learning platform that provides extensive training options for both its production facility and remote crew members to improve their functional and interpersonal skills The company is especially invested in crew safety and well-being, and has taken measures to ensure that its production crew feels valued and engaged by working with local sports medicine trainers to help employees with ergonomics and slip-resistant safety-toe shoes.

AT GIANT, WE HAVE A COMMITMENT TO be a Better Neighbor. Neighbor.

From serving our customers and creating opportunities for our associates to excel, to championing causes we hold dear, our mission to care for our community drives everything we do.

READ ABOUT THE EFFORTS WE TOOK IN 2021 IN OUR BETTER NEIGHBOR REPORT:

Grinding It Out

SAUSAGE AND HAM BRANDS FIND NEW WAYS FOR SHOPPERS TO ENJOY CLASSIC MEATS.

By Lynn Petrak

f steaks and chops are the flashier cuts, and plant-based proteins are the attention-seeking upstarts, sausage and ham are the stalwarts of the meat case. Staples of diets dating back centuries, these proteins are familiar, versatile across dayparts and, at least compared with more premium meats, affordable at a time of skyrocketing food prices. While these products are mature and considered core items by grocers, manufacturers have been working on innovations in recent years, driven by consumer interest in a greater range of flavors and formats. There has even been a bit of borrowing from both the flashier and upstart kind of meats, with more premium sausage and ham offerings, and even some plant-based alternatives.

Creativity Takes Shape

In the sausage segment, many innovations have taken the form of, well, new forms. Standard links and patties may still reign, but various processors have come out with their own takes on sausages.

Category leader Johnsonville Foods, of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., now offers strips that resemble and cook like bacon but are made from sausage. That item won a best new product award from Toronto-based BrandSpark International in 2021, based on a national survey of nearly 15,000 U.S. shoppers.

In that same mashup vein, Westminster, Colo.-based Niman Ranch recently unveiled a breakfast sausage made with applewood smoked bacon. That variety is part of Niman Ranch’s newer line of fresh sausage links.

Some processors are downshifting into smaller sizes, which are appealing to consumers for reasons ranging from portion control to smaller households to a desire to trim costs. North Country Smokehouse recently added a new organic ham steak and a “petit ham” that weighs just over a pound and serves four.

“Consumers want convenient, modestly portioned pack sizes, and that’s hard to find in the ham category,” explains Mike Kelly, VP of business development and national sales for the Claremont, N.H.-based company. “Couple that with the limited options available in the non-GMO, organic and Certified Humane protein category, and it was clear to us, we had a winner.”

When venerable beef processor Schweid & Sons, of East Rutherford, N.J., recently decided to get into the pork category, the company opted for a smaller patty size for its fresh breakfast sausage. The premium patties are 1.5 ounces each and sold in a 12-pack.

Meanwhile, given the continued popularity of high-protein diets over the past few years, snacks made with sausage and ham represent different ways for people to enjoy cured or processed meats.

Earlier this year, Johnsonville revealed that it was testing a line of summer sausage sticks, available in original, beef and garlic varieties. Johnsonville’s sausage sticks, piloted in Circle K convenience stores and select Walmart locations, sell for $1.49-$1.79 each and are also available in eight-stick pouches with a suggested retail price range of $7.99-$8.99.

“Making delicious sausage has given us a way to deliver against consumers’ growing demand for portable, protein-forward snacks that taste good,” says Brand Manager Jackie Hendricks. “Through consumer and product

Key Takeaways

Manufacturers have been working on sausage and ham innovations in recent years, driven by consumer interest in a greater range of flavors and formats. Some processors are transitioning to smaller sizes, which are appealing to consumers for reasons ranging from portion control to smaller households to a desire to trim costs. Given the continued popularity of high-protein diets, snacks made with sausage and ham represent different ways for people to enjoy cured or processed meats.

research, we’ve seen excitement for a more snackable version of Johnsonville summer sausage, which has been preferred over other mainstream meat snack competitors.”

Sausage and ham are also common ingredients in co-packaged products, including high-protein snack kits and still-trendy charcuterie kits. For example, Oceanside, Calif.-based salami company Olli Salumeria has added a new pepperoni sausage and mozzarella snack kit, complementing its line of other salami and cheese pairings. Also in the snacking arena, the venerable Smithfield brand, of Smithfield, Va., came out with a Meat Lovers Power Bites product, made with sausage, bacon, ham, eggs and cheddar cheese, which can be heated in the microwave in under a minute.

The Right Stuff

Flavor is another differentiator in ham and sausage, especially since consumers have higher expectations for quality and the overall eating experience. To deliver on those expectations, some processors are focusing on their unique cuts and processes.

Niman Ranch, for example, offers an Uncured Jambon Royale ham, described as denser than traditional hams and with a robust flavor. To appeal to those looking for a different kind of taste, North Country Smokehouse sells a Spicy Pork Cajun Tasso ham that’s rich on smoke and seasoning. The club store retailer Costco has gained some cachet among lovers of Iberico ham leg, because the Issaquah, Wash.-based retailer offers a version sourced from southern Spain.

Although sausage and ham have an intrinsic and often-signature taste on their own, added flavors are elevating these kinds of proteins to appeal to consumers’ more adventurous palates. Flavor additions include bold seasonings like North Country Smokehouse’s Cajun Tasso, as well as culinary-inspired ingredients.

Schweid & Sons’ new breakfast patties, for example, include an Italian variety made with fennel, rosemary and sage, and an apple flavor that includes real apple pieces and cinnamon for a sweet and savory kick. Italian cuisine was also the inspiration for a new sweet Italian sausage variety introduced by the Carando brand of Smithfield Foods; the pork sausage is blended with Italian herbs and spices.

As a base for sausage, chicken tends to be paired with ingredients that ramp up its flavor. To that end, the Chelsea, Mass.-based Al Fresco All Natural brand recently added new varieties to its chicken sausage portfolio, including Chicken Burrito, Nashville Hot Chicken, Chicken Parm and Fried Rice.

Beyond flavor, many of today’s sausage and ham products are made from natural or organic ingredients, including the meat itself. Schweid & Sons touts the fact that its breakfast patties are sourced from humanely raised U.S. pork that contains no antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones, and are made without fillers, nitrates, nitrites or artificial flavors or colors

Meanwhile, natural meat company Applegate Farms, of Bridgewater, N.J., has upped the ante on its offerings with a new premium brand called The New Food Collective that uses pasture-raised meats and small-batch production methods. Meats are procured from small farms in Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri that abide by regenerative agricultural practices.

The New Food Collective line includes fresh sausages that have been touted as the first pork products to be certified by the Denver-based American Grassfed Association (AGA). Asserts Gina Asoudegan, VP of mission and innovation for Applegate: “The American Grassfed Association standard is a leap ahead of anything else out there. The organization’s name focuses on pasture, and these new sausages deliver on that. But AGA also stands for no antibiotics, no genetically modified feed and the highest animal welfare standards.”

The better-for-you movement that spurred a plethora of natural and organic products has also led to options like sugar-free hams. Hamilton, Texas-based Pederson’s Natural Farms is one example; the company offers a no-sugar spiral sliced ham that’s also raised without antibiotics or growth stimulants, and is free of artificial ingredients.

As manufacturers carve out their own niches with certain types of pork and, to a lesser extent, beef and chicken, there are more plant-based alternatives coming to market. Several alt-meat companies carry plantbased sausages, among them Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Field Roast and Pure Farmland. At least in deli meats, there are some plant-based and vegan sausage products available from brands such as Plantcraft and Lightlife. While these offerings are a considerably smaller part of the overall ham and sausage market, they represent the burgeoning general plant-based market.

Reflecting innovations in formats, Johnsonville's Sausage Strips mimic bacon but have a signature sausage taste. Smithfield's Carando brand recently introduced a new Italian sausage variety in tune with consumers' taste for authentic flavors.

Clean Stores for the Advantage

LEARN HOW EFFICIENT DAY CLEANING SATISFIES CUSTOMERS AND EMPOWERS EMPLOYEES.

By Mike Perazzo

ver the past few years, store managers have weathered a lot of change, and it’s not over yet. Supply chain disruptions, shocks to the labor market and the rise of e-commerce continue to resonate through the food retail industry, according to New York-based global consulting group McKinsey & Co. Yet many things remain the same. While online shopping grows in importance, it will never replace the in-store experience. In fact, a whopping 95% of consumers purchased grocery items from a traditional brick-and-mortar store, according to a report from Chicago-based PowerReviews.

In food prep areas, a more complete daily cleaning process controls grease before it gets out of control. These processes and compact, easy-to-use tools remove grease particles before they have a chance to harden into a stubborn, tacky mess.

This means that, despite all of the disruption, consumers still crave the in-person experience. They want to spend time in a visibly clean store, complete with a spotless entry, gleaming floors, fresh restrooms, and no slippery or sticky spills to navigate. They also demand this high level of sanitation no matter what time of day they shop.

Delivering a consistent level of clean throughout the day can be difficult. Labor is expensive and hard to find, and the workers you have are already stretched thin. Asking them to take on unpleasant, time-consuming cleaning jobs with inefficient tools won’t deliver the results that today’s consumer demands. Even worse, it may damage your store’s valuable brand.

There are better processes and tools to make cleaning easier and more effective. Here’s how to optimize labor, deliver consistent and repeatable results, and protect your store’s brand.

Clean Entryways

Entryways make that important first impression, so they must be spotless. Yet entries take a constant beating from heavy foot traffic and weather-related messes like pools of rainwater or tracked-in ice melt. Some, but not all, of this dirt, grit and chemical residue will be trapped by walk-off mats. The rest will move through the store, marring floor finish, creating dangerous wet spots, and, in the case of ice melt, leaving a sticky, hard-to-remove residue.

Your overnight cleaning team will typically service the entryway floor with an autoscrubber, but that tool isn’t available or practical for day cleaning. A low-tech bucket and mop offer a quick fix, but mopping comes with its own issues. It’s physically demanding and time-consuming, and doesn’t actually remove dirt, grit and chemical residue as much as spread it around. Mopping also leaves floors wet, creating a dangerous slip-and-fall risk. Cleanliness There are smaller-footprint floor machines has never been more vital to that clean entryways quickly and effectively. These easy-to-use tools employ extractive technology to fully remove and contain a grocery’s messes. After one pass, floors are clean, reputation and dry and safe to walk on in a fraction of the cleaning time. This lets employees focus on bottom line. higher-value customer service tasks.

Create Fresh Restrooms and Empowered Employees

The state of your store restrooms can make or break reputations. Food retailers invest in building out large, bright, inviting restrooms. It doesn’t take much, however, to turn the most appealing interior into an unpleasant, brand-damaging experience. Studies show that customers won’t return to a store with littered, smelly, soiled or unsanitary restrooms, and really, who can blame them? In this case, waiting for the nightly cleaning team isn’t an option, but asking employees to tackle this unpleasant job with a bucket, mop and rags isn’t ideal, either. With these tools, workers must kneel, bend, twist and get really close to an offensive and The cleanliness of restrooms can make or break a retailer's reputation. Studies show that customers won’t return to a store potentially dangerous mess. with littered, smelly, soiled or unsanitary restrooms. A good A better, more empowering solution is a spray-andsolution for cleaning restrooms is a spray-and-vac machine. vac machine. This technology works quickly to produce

reliable, repeatable results. Employees dispense specifically designed cleaning chemicals onto restroom surfaces, and then power-spray the soil and chemical slurry to the floor. Finally, workers suck up the slurry with a powerful vacuum, eliminating spread and focusing on removal.

This method is superior to buckets and mops in many ways. The process is faster, more complete, and leaves restroom floors dry. The machine reaches all surfaces while allowing employees to remain in a standing position. This means they can clean without twisting, bending, or having to touch dirty, disgusting surfaces.

Remove Greasy Messes from the In-Store Kitchen

In-store food prep areas are busy, hard-working and potentially greasy spaces. This hard, tacky grease can be so difficult to remove that many grocers buy expensive deep-cleaning services a few times a year on top of their regular nightly cleaning routine.

A more complete daily cleaning process, however, controls grease so well that those expensive add-on services may no longer be necessary. These processes and compact, easy-touse tools remove grease particles before they have a chance to harden into a stubborn, tacky mess.

Workers flood the floor with a grease-removing cleaning chemical, agitate the solution with a deck brush and suck up the slurry using vacuum extraction.

This fast, effective process leaves floors and even stubborn grout lines clean, dry and grease-free. It’s so quick and effective that employees can clock out early or shift their attention to other tasks.

Clean Spills for Safety

Spills happen, but accidents become dangerous slip-and-fall hazards if not addressed immediately. Mops and buckets may seem like a quick, easy fix for unexpected messes, but these tools are cumbersome, time-consuming and unpleasant to use. Mops also leave floors wet, creating another slip-and-fall hazard to worry about.

Instead, choose a better spill response process, driven by vacuum extraction, to completely remove the spill and the risks of a wet floor. Vacuum extraction sucks the mess away, prevents stains from penetrating the finish and leaves floors dry. Switching to an easy, satisfying process like this empowers your employees to finish the task quickly, lessening your slip-and-fall liability through reduced time to dry (TTD).

Keep Cooler Cases Clean

Refrigerated display cases are a challenge to clean, but running them with clogged drains, dirty fans and dusty condenser coils costs money. An EPA study reported that as little as 0.042 inches of dirt on condensing coils will cause a 21% drop in efficiency and can increase refrigeration energy use by 35%. Continuing to run dirty equipment leads to expensive service calls and decreased refrigerated display case life.

Unfortunately, manually cleaning these display cases is slow and laborious, and comes with the risk of injury from sharp sheet metal and coil surfaces.

Having dedicated display case cleaning machines makes servicing this equipment in-house easy and fast. These tools use advanced processes to spray, clean and vacuum away dirt, germs, liquids and food residue. Cases look clean, smell fresh, work more efficiently and last much longer.

Cleanliness has never been more vital to a grocery’s reputation and bottom line. Investing in better day-cleaning processes will engage employees by empowering them to drive store cleanliness, no matter what happens throughout the day.

An EPA study reported that as little as 0.042 inches of dirt on condensing coils will cause a 21% drop in efficiency and can increase refrigeration energy use by 35%. Continuing to run dirty equipment leads to expensive service calls and decreased refrigerated display case life.

Mike Perazzo is EVP of sales at Hamilton, Ohio-based Kaivac Inc., which offers a comprehensive line of commercial cleaning solutions.

Links in the Chain

HERE’S WHAT GROCERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVOLVING COLD-STORAGE SOLUTIONS.

By Mike Duff

Ensuring that refrigeration is as green as possible can earn a grocer recognition, as in the case of Meijer, which, for the second year in a row, earned a U.S. EPA GreenChill program citation for having the lowest corporate-wide refrigerant emissions rate of all of the GreenChill Partners.

he cold chain is an evolving presence in the grocery business, one that has been driven by increasing demand and technological innovation to address conditions in the marketplace today across a range of concerns, including food safety, sustainability and labor. Woodstock, Ga.-based Primus Builders has a broad view of cold-chain development, as it is, at the core, a refrigerated facility construction company, although it has developed additional related operations over the years. According to Erik Gunderson, founding partner and COO, the course of the business is following broader food-sector trends that have affected supply from field to store shelf. One of them is labor.

Key Takeaways

The evolution of building for the cold chain has been affected by the increased understanding of food safety and appropriate product handling. Automation is playing a larger role in cold-storage facility development, in part to address labor issues. The market has prompted equipment manufacturers to innovate with clean energy and sustainable materials.

“There is certainly a demand on human resources, so we have been seeing a tremendous demand for more automation, and it hasn’t slowed down,” affirms Gunderson. “It’s only accelerated. So we’re continuing to see more automated facilities that are justifying their capital costs. We’ve seen a higher level of interest and higher level of investment, and that’s across the board: That’s with foodservice, that’s with grocery, that’s with … public refrigerated warehouses and third-party logistics, all deploying automation to streamline and mitigate labor shortages.”

He adds that interest in sustainability is rising again as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, and even if not everyone wants a LEED-certified building, consumer concern and the cost of energy are twin influences pushing companies to enhance efficiencies.

“We’re seeing an investment in energy efficiency in 2022 more than what we saw a couple of years prior,” notes Gunderson.

High-Quality Facilities and Robot Workers

Another key trend having a substantive effect on investment in the cold-storage sector is the advent of developers that are building more Class A refrigerated facilities, but speculatively.

Gunderson observes that demand for cold storage is such that those facilities are still filling up with customers. Of course, all things are never equal, and some companies, particularly those with prior experience in cold storage, seem to be in a better position to thrive.

“Class A cold-spec buildings are in high demand,” he says. “Those that we’re seeing that are most successful are bringing in cold-storage industry experts. Those that are doing it properly and building a high-quality building are getting their buildings bought out or leased out.”

One reason that food retailing and foodservice operations are working with developers of Class A buildings is energy efficiency. “In these new-generation facilities, the energy efficiency is so much greater than in a lot of the older facilities,” says Gunderson. “There are tremendous energy gains that are being experienced by the people who move into the new boxes.”

The demand is coming across the board — everyone from small foodservice operators to food manufacturers to third-party logistics operators. Even if major supermarket operators aren’t yet using the new spec facilities, Gunderson observes, they have contemplated doing so.

“It’s only a matter of time” before they dive in, he adds.

The evolution of building for the cold chain has been affected by the increased understanding of food safety and appropriate product handling. The companies building new facilities are using technology both as they work with builders in raising facilities and in managing them afterwards. The ability to connect with technology via cell phone is an element that may not seem exactly like a breakthrough, but it has substantive benefits.

“There is a higher level of owner involvement,” explains Gunderson. “There is technology in terms of surveillance with just our cell phones that provides 24/7 access. There are a lot of project management and cost management platforms that are shared between us and our clients. That didn’t happen 10 years ago.”

In operation, systems are so sophisticated, he says, that “there is now the ability to run diagnostics preevent, pre-problem,” and thereby pre-empt trouble.

At the same time, automation is playing a larger role in cold-storage facility development, in part to address labor issues in a sector where chilly working conditions can limit the pool of potential employees.

“The use of machines in construction and in buildings will continue,” asserts Gunderson. “Automation in the cold supply chain will continue to develop. It’s really hard to work in environments like this. There are regulations that limit time of exposure. That goes away with robots.”

Primus has developed an operation within the business to help clients install the right automation.

“We started our automations or solutions group going on half a decade now, and it took some years to get traction with it, but what we’re able to provide is a third-party view with a construction background on how to get things done and find best-of-class for our client,” says Gunderson. “We’re not trying to sell a particular piece of equipment; we’re trying to find bestof-class [solutions] for our client.”

“The cold chain is certainly evolving to encompass more innovative equipment designs and technology, with an emphasis on reducing energy consumption. Consumers drive demand, and they want sustainably produced products, which means following food and beverages throughout the supply chain is part of the narrative.”

Turn to Natural

Refrigerants used in cold-chain systems are under scrutiny. The present generation of synthetic refrigerants, which reduced the use of chlorofluorocarbons, has a problem: The replacement of one with the other reversed the decline in Earth’s ozone layer, but the synthetic refrigerants commonly used today, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), are potent greenhouse gases. As such, effecterra, a consultancy that works with companies using refrigeration to effectively reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact, promotes both the use of natural refrigerants and the development and deployment of equipment that uses them.

Although progress has been made by increasing the energy efficiency of systems that continue to use synthetic refrigerants, natural refrigerants have a much lower carbon footprint. This is true despite the fact that one common natural refrigerant is carbon dioxide, according to Chris Vallis founding partner and chief strategy officer at effecterra, which has offices in Reno, Nev., and London.

In fact, the three commonly used natural refrigerants are carbon dioxide, propane and ammonia, and they

To become more energy efficient, Interstate Cold Storage is investing to improve efficiencies, upgrading its ammonia-based refrigeration system, its evaporators and the exterior siding on its buildings.

actually were in use as far back as the 19th century. Chlorofluorocarbons emerged as alternative gases because each of the natural refrigerants had a drawback, Vallis points out. Of the three major natural refrigerants, carbon dioxide requires high-pressure processing in operation, propane is explosive and ammonia is toxic.

“The reason those synthetic chemicals exist is because they were designed to remove risks,” notes Vallis. “Today, with other technology — modern quality systems, standards and codes of practice — we’ve got around to making these technologies safer. We can measure leaks. We can have sensors that can tell you when there’s a leak instantly.”

So, natural refrigerants, once a cause for concern, are much safer today in the quantities used and the systems that employ them, and their prospects are better than those of synthetics, because international agreements, government regulations and, especially, companies at the end of the cold chain, including grocers, are starting to demand them as an alternative to HFCs, which have a much larger carbon footprint.

“Natural refrigerants are future-proof,” Vallis says. “They’re regulation-proof. They are more complicated and potentially more expensive and maybe less energy efficient. But to me, that’s the right place to go. The problem is, there’s no specific champion of those technologies, because nobody has [intellectual property] on a chemical compound that is natural.”

Meeting Needs

According to Charles Betts, national sales manager at Interstate Cold Storage, in Fort Wayne, Ind., a lack of sufficient cold storage in the market at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth made things tough for vulnerable companies.

“Smaller customers are feeling the squeeze of labor issues, as cold storages are performing less case picking, less repacking, and rather focusing on streamlining the business to operate full with efficient door turn times,” says Betts.

Automation is expanding to meet the labor issue, both in terms of finding and developing workers, he notes, but even as cold-chain operations deal with that, they have to cope with rising electrical rates. Interstate Cold Storage is investing to improve efficiencies, upgrading the company’s ammonia system, evaporators and exterior siding to create the best possible seal at consistent temperatures.

Monitoring continues to be a critical function that Interstate Cold Storage has kept abreast of, notes Betts. “Both in-house and third-party monitoring were robust prior to the pandemic, including hi-def cameras, temp monitoring and engine room compression,” he observes.

At the same time, the marketplace, as it develops, has new needs it wants help addressing. “There has been a steady uptick in [business-to-consumer] fulfillment, but there are few facilities designed to efficiently pack and ship,” says Betts.

Meanwhile, Shannon Welch, managing partner at Jurupa Valley, Calif.-based West Coast Cold Storage, notes that the company assumes a specific place in the market.

“Our perspective is a little unique,” explains Welch. “There are several major cold-storage corporations that own most of the cold storage in the U.S. But like all major companies to work with them, you have to fit into their business model. We see cold chain evolving to help the mid-market companies that need higher levels of customer service, and maybe won’t meet the minimum financial requirements of those bigger corporations: the companies that are too big to do everything in house, but not so large that they have the financial and logistic resources required to work with the major cold-chain companies.”

The inland California location of West Coast Cold Storage means that it has a particular acquaintance with the produce industry, and Welch says that the influence of trends in that sector is affecting the cold chain and operators within it.

“The desire from the market to not move produce so far from where it has grown requires the ability to store that produce close to where it was grown,” she observes. “This requires more specialty cold-storage solutions, but smaller, for those resources.”

Power is of particular concern to West Coast Cold Storage. “This is always a challenge, especially in California with a struggling power grid,” says Welch. “One of the big investments we made was in thicker insulation panels.”

Less Energy Consumption

On the consumer-facing side, Cooler Management works with clients to install and oversee storage equipment, including branded cold fixtures. Cold-storage functionality in store settings requires consideration of energy efficiency, sustainability and aesthetics, according to Mark Inkrott, managing partner at Columbus, Ohio-based Cooler Management.

“The cold chain is certainly evolving to encompass more innovative equipment designs and technology, with an emphasis on reducing energy consumption,” says Inkrott. “Consumers drive demand, and they want sustainably produced products, which means following food and beverages throughout the supply chain is part of the narrative. Equipment today is more efficient than ever, and that is important to consumers. We are seeing cold-storage solutions that not only look beautiful aesthetically, but they also efficiently maintain temperatures, and engage shoppers at the point of sale with digital and branded creative. Additionally, retail real estate is more of a premium than ever; thus, we have seen an evolution with smaller footprints. Equipment that can easily be moved around a store has become popular with many new brands we are working with.”

Cooler Management has to face issues that correspond with those in the larger marketplace, including supply chain disruptions and finding qualified labor, especially from tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians.

“The biggest challenge we have seen in the past few years has been a lack of skilled labor in the field, coupled with long lead times on equipment,” notes Inkrott. “We are fortunate to work with great vendors; however, many times when a specialty skill is needed, we are scouring the entire country for installers, electricians, plumbers and other trades for things like walk-in coolers. To address these challenges, retailers and brands are looking to Cooler Management to manage these processes for them. We’ve worked hard over the years to streamline these processes and develop the necessary relationships for our customers, while putting an operations team in place to complete these tasks on our customers’ behalf.”

At the same time, he says, the market has prompted equipment manufacturers to innovate with clean energy and sustainable materials.

“As the ag and food industries implement carbon-reducing initiatives, the rest of the supply chain will need to evolve and develop equipment standards that match those initiatives,” observes Inkrott. “We are not only working with vendors who are creating technological advances in store equipment, but the industry is continuing to advance our knowledge centered around creating environments that ensure equipment runs with the lowest possible energy footprint.”

“The reason those synthetic chemicals exist is because they were designed to remove risks. Today, with other technology — modern quality systems, standards and codes of practice — we’ve got around to making these technologies safer. We can measure leaks. We can have sensors that can tell you when there’s a leak instantly.”

—Chris Vallis, effecterra

Engaging the Digital Shopper

FROM UNIQUE CONTENT TO TECHNICAL UPGRADES, RETAILERS ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO EARN MORE E-COMMERCE DOLLARS.

By Emily Crowe

-commerce is a booming segment for food retailers, and it’s becoming increasingly obvious that digital shoppers are in it for the long haul. Online grocery sales are expected to surpass 20% of the overall U.S. grocery retail market by 2026, according to a study from Mercatus/Incisiv. What’s more, the Adobe Digital Price Index has found that grocery shoppers even remain relatively undeterred by high e-commerce grocery prices, spending $64.6 billion in August alone. Whether through ads, influencers or short-form videos on social media, back-end upgrades that make the buying process more seamless, or myriad other tactics, investing in ways to engage the digital shopper has never been more paramount for retailers.

Forward-Facing Tactics

While some of today’s digital shoppers are simply looking for an easy way to place an order and be on their way, many others use social media platforms, food blogs or recipe sites to find inspiration for meals. A recent survey from New York-based digital shopper marketing platform Chicory found that nearly half of respondents said they’re likely or very likely to make a grocery purchase directly from a food site

The Kroger Co. is among the grocers investing in infrastructure and loyalty to create a better experience for online shoppers.

that gives them meal-planning inspiration, which underscores the significance of off-site content and other such resources.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp., for example, became the first mass retailer to make its products available through Instagram Checkout in 2020, and the platform’s e-commerce solutions and influencer capabilities have grown exponentially since then. Embracing the often youth-oriented world of TikTok, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market used a trending audio clip to promote its popular Berry Chantilly Cake, and Sprouts Farmers Market went viral on the social platform when a user praised the Phoenix-based grocer’s $5 deli sandwiches.

“If brands and retailers aren’t yet leveraging off-site content to acquire new customers, they need to start,” says Yuni Sameshima, Chicory’s founder and CEO. “Today, winning at the shelf requires meeting consumers in moments of inspiration, well before they hit the retailer’s store or site.”

Other media channels, both third-party and owned, are being used by grocers to bring unique, often shoppable content to online consumers. The Fresh Market is seeing success with its San Mateo, Calif.-based partner Firework, which has brought its full suite of live-commerce and short-form shop-

Key Takeaways

With many shoppers using social media platforms, food blogs or recipe sites to find inspiration for meals, retailers are beginning to employ off-site content and other such resources to increase e-commerce profitability. Media channels, both third-party and owned, are being used by grocers to bring unique, often shoppable content to online consumers. While forward-facing tactics are important, focusing on the back end can be just as critical.

pable video capabilities to The Fresh Market’s owned media channels.

According to Kevin Miller, chief marketing officer at the Greensboro, N.C.-based grocer: “With Firework, we’ve finally been able to replicate those premium customer experiences in the digital sphere — and based on the response from our customers, it has been a resounding success. What we’ve been able to accomplish with Firework in such a short period of time has been nothing short of transformative.”

While Walmart does engage with third-party platforms, the company is also focusing on its own real estate by bringing a bevy of upgrades to its website and app to help enhance the customer experience. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is aiming to make e-commerce shopping easier, more engaging and more personalized while also setting itself up for future online success.

Walmart has refreshed its registry site experience to make the gift registry process simpler, and is also working with New York-based visual outfitting and styling solution Stylitics to show clothing customers how to style outfits or what accessories to add. Additonally, new online filters will let shoppers view only EBT- or SNAP-eligible items, with EBT-eligible products easily identifiable through clear badging.

“Our goal is to create a seamless site and app experience that makes it easier for customers to find value and savings, whether they’re shopping for familiar weekly essentials or something new and different,” wrote Tom Ward, EVP and chief e-commerce officer for Walmart U.S., in a recent company blog post. “More robust content on item pages – videos, images and more – ensures when a customer lands on a product they’re interested in, they have all the information they need to feel confident purchasing it.”

Continued Ward: “Not only are these enhancements making the e-commerce experience even easier and more convenient for our customers right now, but also, they are creating a strong foundation for us to build upon as we accelerate the site experience in the future.”

Investing in Data, Loyalty and Infrastructure

While these forward-facing tactics are important as a means of directly capturing a shopper’s attention, focusing on the back end to help beef up the overall online shopping experience can be just as critical. A new initiative from Walmart Luminate, the retailer’s suite of data products, is using qualitative research and data to explain “the why behind the buy,” and turning it into actionable e-commerce insights that can help the retailer and its merchants make the shopping experience even better for customers.

Research, customer surveys and testing are important parts of the process, according to Linda Lomelino, senior director of product management at Walmart Data Ventures, and the company is making sure that its merchants and suppliers deeply understand the drivers behind customer perceptions, opinions and attitudes.

“I could run a video survey or a quantitative survey to try to understand the life of a young mother with kids under the age of 5,” Lomelino explains. “As a result of that, I may learn a lot about their experiences and be able to identify opportunities to build out new products and services that meet some of the needs of that customer.”

Getting a better handle on what customers want to see on its e-commerce website can give Walmart and its suppliers a leg up on creating a unique and personalized experience. “A lot of the data that we’re presenting is giving them a really deep and broad perspective not only on the customer, but also the operational aspects, and that is allowing them to think very differently about retail going forward and really anchoring it in the customer,” Lomelino says.

For The Kroger Co., part of engaging the digital shopper has meant investing in its membership program and the very infrastructure that makes online grocery shopping possible. While the Cincinnati-based grocer experienced a 6% drop in digital sales earlier this year, it was able to recapture its e-commerce crowd in the second quarter, thanks to its solid omnichannel strategy. Kroger’s digital sales grew 8% over that period and delivery solutions were up 34%, attributable in part to its national rollout of the Boost membership program.

“Early in the second quarter, we introduced our Boost membership nationwide, and it’s already showing promising results, including an increase in overall household spend among members,” explained CEO Rodney McMullen during a September investor’s call discussing the company’s Q2 results. “We remain focused on adding new members and are encouraged that enrollment is in line with our internal expectations and projections.”

The grocer is also making continued investments in its Ocado-powered customer fulfillment centers (CFCs), and now has 18 total CFCs and spoke facilities across the country. According to McMullen, demand also remains strong in Kroger’s pickup business, and the company was able to increase capacity and shorten wait times to help improve customer experience while also investing in technology and process efficiencies to help improve the bottom line.

Walmart's latest research is helping the retailer and its suppliers better understand what today's e-commerce consumers want.

“If brands and retailers aren’t yet leveraging off-site content to acquire new customers, they need to start. Today, winning at the shelf requires meeting consumers in moments of inspiration, well before they hit the retailer’s store or site.”