A majority of you sure think so...
 
Supermarket News Daily

OCTOBER 7, 2022

Walmart ups the automation ante

Walmart is deepening its commitment to an automated supply chain with a deal to acquire grocery automation specialist and partner Alert Innovation.

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How about 'chairman' too?

After nearly three years on the board of directors, and over a year as vice chairman, Stater Bros. CEO Pete Van Helden has been named chairman, succeeding Phil Smith, who is retiring from the post.

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Costco sales growth levels off

September’s results marked a slowdown from August, when Costco generated increases of 11.4% in net sales and 10.1% (8.7% excluding fuel and FX) in total comp sales.

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Loblaw has middle- and last-mile delivery covered

Canada’s largest supermarket operator said yesterday it has launched short-haul, middle-mile service for its PC Express e-grocery service using autonomous vehicles from Palo Alto, Calif.-based Gatik, marking the first fully driverless delivery fleet in Canada.

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How shrinkflation is affecting loyalty

The ultimate takeaway? Food & beverage companies need to ensure they maintain positive consumer perception or risk losing goodwill permanently. Take a listen. 

TAKE A LISTEN

And the winner is...

We asked: Is plant-based a fad that's fizzling?

You answered: 

  • Yes, it’s on the way out (56%)
  • Nope. Total growth engine (38%)
  • Other, tell us in the comments (6%)

A majority of you think plant-based products are on the way out, according to our LinkedIn poll earlier this week. This is what else you had to say:

Randy Adams, Category Manager/Buyer at Martin & Bayley Inc.
Spoke with a Frito driver the other day in a store. I asked him if he's actually sold any of the Beyond Meat Jerky. He said, "I have a shipper in every store, and I have not sold a single unit." He went on to say that he's talked to his superiors, and tried to tell them that the floor space being devoted to Beyond Meat could be much better used selling Doritos or some other item. His best store though, was this. He said, "I have a small c-store that is owned by a man from India. He told me that he's not allowed to eat beef, but he'd beef before he'd eat that plant based stuff."

Jennifer Czech, National Account Manager at Schwan's Company
I believe this is like all other mainstream alternative products, they have a market and will continue to have a place on shelf but market size and adoption is capped to a degree.

Joe Watson, CPP, Retail, Foodservice & Wholesale SME
Consider how long it took for organic to become mainstream...I believe similarly plant based (those products which aren't part of the fruit and vegetable category) will take time to develop. I also believe price parity will be important to gain a broader portion of consumer demographics...that may be the harder hill to climb at least initially. Economies of scale will be the winning formula for plant based products. But before that happens there will be a consolidation of producers. 

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Want to join the conversation? Check out the LinkedIn poll here, or email your thoughts to SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected]. And stay tuned for a new poll next Tuesday. Happy Friday!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?