June 2012 - Oser Communications Group

12
GROCERY & DEPARTMENT STORES
GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2012 www.gourmetnews.com
Grocery & Department Stores
Safeway, Whole Foods top Greenpeace
seafood sustainability report
Retailers are first two to reach top rank in
report’s six-year history
In the sixth year of its seafood sustainability
report “Carting Away the
Oceans,” environmental group Greenpeace
acknowledged significant progress
made by U.S. grocers in 2011, including
the top two highest ranked, Safeway and
Whole Foods.
“Through varying combinations of progressive
policy development, public support
for conservation measures, and the
elimination of unsustainable seafood inventory
items, Safeway and Whole Foods
have transformed themselves into undeniable
leaders within the industry. Although
the two retailers are extremely different in
business model, consumer demographic
and size, they have each found ways to
excel in their promotion and adoption of
sustainable seafood,” said a post on the
organization’s blog.
Particularly, both retailers had chosen
more sustainable sources for their privatelabel
canned tuna products—an often-forgotten
but hugely significant area for U.S.
seafood consumption.
Overall, the report notes huge progress
in U.S. seafood sustainability, but points
out areas of improvement such as the continuing
sales of “red-listed” (unsustainably
fished) species by various retailers, including
all the top scorers.
The complete report can be downloaded
at www.greenpeace.org. GN
PCC Natural Markets begins
turning food scraps into organic fertilizer
Pilot program uses organic, sealed
harvester for groceries, institutional
cafeterias.
PCC Natural Markets (PCC), the nation’s
largest member-owned grocery retailer,
is testing a solution to the
mountains of food scraps being discarded
daily by U.S. groceries.
The retailer has selected its Issaquah,
Wash. store as the site for its first on-site
food scrap “harvester,” a partnership with
Washington clean technology firm WIS-
Erg Corporation.
The two-step process includes an odorless,
sealed harvester that grinds the food
scraps, as well as a finishing process that
results in an organic liquid fertilizer with
bio-stimulatory effects, called WISErganic.
The fertilizer is then available for
sale to PCC customers in all nine of the
market’s locations.
“The WISErg Harvester enables businesses
like ours to turn the problem of
food scrap disposal into an opportunity for
our communities and the environment,”
said Tracy Wolpert, PCC’s CEO. The technology
allows grocery stores to lower their
carbon footprint by significantly reducing
the volume of food scrap waste that must
be transported offsite by truck.
The innovative harvesting technology
has been quietly on-site for six weeks and
continuous digital monitoring and feedback
confirms that the harvester performs
well. The base fertilizer has also been
subject to early testing at Washington
State University, and the goal to produce
an organic fertilizer with bio-stimulatory
effects that can compete on cost and efficacy
with consumer-oriented synthetics
appears within reach. The fertilizer also
improves soil health, unlike petroleumderived
synthetics.
The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) estimates that approximately 100
billion pounds of food is wasted each year
in the United States. Food that gets
thrown out accounts for almost 34 million
tons of the solid waste generated in the
United States; less than 3 percent of that
food waste is recovered.
The biggest single element of this waste
stream is “organics”, the term used by regulators
to describe food scraps and compostables,
according to a 2009 study by
the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Food scraps retain large amounts of
nutrients. Recovering those nutrients and
turning them into fertilizer helps solve a
serious environmental problem.
Headquartered in Seattle, PCC Natural
Markets is a certified organic retail cooperative
with nine stores, annual sales of
$161 million and an active membership of
46,000 households. GN
Harris Teeter updates mobile phone app
Harris Teeter has released an update to
ht mobile, significantly changing its mobile
application, both improving existing
functions and introducing new features
to make it easier for shoppers to use
their smartphone to organize their
grocery shopping.
Harris Teeter launched its first version of
ht mobile April 2011, and it included a collection
of tools to allow customers to shop
using their smartphone. ht mobile gave
users the option to create shopping lists on
their mobile device, view personalized e-
VIC offers, browse the company’s weekly
ad and find Harris Teeter stores. With the
latest version released today, Harris Teeter
built upon its existing ht mobile platform
and enhanced features like the shopping
list but also introduced new features to
make the application more user-friendly
and accessible for shoppers.
The newest version of ht mobile shows
vast improvement to not only the visual aspects
of the application, but the technology
behind it as well:
• Updated shopping list, offering access to
personalized e-VIC specials and Favorites,
the ability to save e-VIC coupons, barcode
scanning technology and auto complete
search capabilities
• Enhanced store locator, adding GPS
technology and driving directions
• Ability to view your list offline
• Seamless integration with your desktop
shopping list
• Text message notification and ability to
pre-order subs and sliced meats and
cheeses in select stores
• Ability to refill or transfer prescriptions
using a Harris Teeter pharmacy
The company is also committed to the evolution
of ht mobile and will continue to add
new features, including a recipe function
that allows shoppers to choose a specific
recipe through ht mobile that will then automatically
populate the shopping list
when instructed.
To learn more about navigating ht mobile,
please watch an informational video
about the application and the features available
by visiting harristeeter.com.
If you do not have ht mobile, please
help us achieve 100,000 downloads by
downloading it for free from either the
iPhone App Store or Android’s Google
Play Market. Also, if you are logged in
and use the ht mobile app between May
9th and June 5th, you could win $200 in
Harris Teeter gift cards. For more information,
visit harristeeter.com. GN
BRIEFS
ALDI to enter Houston
market by spring 2013
Discount grocer ALDI, known for offering quality
store brands at low prices, is preparing to enter
the Houston market with 30 new stores over
the next three years.
The first ALDI stores in Houston will open in
the Spring of 2013, with more than 10 new
locations. The retailer currently has 37 stores
in Texas, most in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro
area. The new stores are expected to bring
400 jobs and an investment of over $100 million
into the Houston community.
The Houston stores will feature higher
ceilings, improved natural lighting and
environmentally friendly building materials,
such as recycled materials and energysaving
refrigeration and light bulbs, offering
customers a simple and easy-to-navigate
shopping experience.
Customers can expect to find more than
1,400 of the most frequently purchased fresh
produce, fresh meats and high-quality grocery
items under ALDI exclusive brands at up to
50 percent less than traditional supermarkets
(according to the store’s price comparison).
According to ALDI, these savings come from
smart practices such as a smaller store
footprint, open carton displays and
encouragement of customers to bring their
own shopping bags.
A grocery retailer that has grown without
merger or acquisition, ALDI opened 75 stores
in the United States in 2011 and plans to open
more than 80 stores in 2012.
Maristella’s Fine Foods
seafood arancini in 250
new retail locations
Seafood company Maristella’s Fine Foods
has reached agreements with several regions
of Whole Foods Markets, Market Basket and
Kings to carry their line of authentic Sicilian
seafood arancini.
Inspired by an old family recipe, the arancini
are made from arborio from the Po Valley in
Northern Italy; a three cheese blend, peas, all
natural herbs and seafood. The new line will
be sold in over 250 new locations throughout
the United States.
“We have seen an overwhelming response
from retailers and consumers. We are extremely
excited to be partnering with such fine
retailers,” said Robby Brandano, Maristella
President and CEO.
During the 2011 International Boston Seafood
Show, Maristella’s arancini emerged from a field
of more than 100 entries to be one of eight
finalists for best new retail product. The line is
available in five varieties, using wild-caught
crab, salmon, scallops, lobster and shrimp.
The company also produces frozen seafood
pot pies in four gourmet flavors.