IGA Awards of Excellence Perspective

Fresh is Key at Frewville Foodland IGA

A message to the Alliance from...
2015 IGA Australia International Retailers of the Year
Nick and Spero Chapley
Frewville Foodland IGA
Frewville, South Australia

In preparation for the 2016 IGA Diamond Anniversary Celebration February 29 at IGA WorldWide, IGA Australia International Retailers of the Year Nick and Spero Chapley explain how IGA contributes to their retailing success.

The IGA brand is really important to us because it gives us the brand recognition, structure and resources we need to be best in Australia's highly competitive grocery industry. With IGA we are able to compete with the majors, but the fact that we are independent allows us to tailor our offering to our local community. But it's more than that—it's also the fact that shoppers instantly know when they see the IGA brand that they're going to be delighted and have a great customer experience in store.

Frewville Foodland IGA is located in an affluent suburb in South Australia—it is a destination store. We have one of the largest ranges of fresh produce in the state, something the store is famous for in the local area. The unique product range includes brands customers love, a wide range of local and organic produce, and cultural and gourmet ingredients as well as a bakery, cheese bar and readily available fresh seafood.

The store is also renowned for its popular bakery department, which has recently benefited from a refurbishment. The bakery offers an extensive range of fresh bakery products including large selection of breads, pastries, rolls and cake varieties, which are all baked on site by the store's experienced team of bakers.

Customer service has been key to the store's success at the heart of the Frewville community and has been a continued focus. The team has worked hard to offer shoppers a great shopping experience, with locals treated to live entertainment and the recent opening of Nick's kitchen and coffee bar, alongside the shopping complex.

We're delighted to be recognized for our commitment to deliver a fantastic shopping experience in every aspect of the store to our shoppers. We are continually looking for ways to improve our offering through innovation and tailoring our range to the local area, which as an independently owned store is something that we have the flexibility to offer.

Thanks,

Nick and Spero Chapley

Orange


Retail News

Allegiance Retail Services purchased the intellectual property of Pathmark, including the Pathmark logo, trademarks, brand name, and the pathmark.com domain. In a separate transaction, Allegiance Retail Services also purchased the Green Way brand, a natural and organic private label line. Full Story

BJ's Wholesale Club will exclusively sell cage-free eggs by 2022. Liquid egg products will come from cage-free sources by 2025, reported The Boston Globe. Full Story

Lunds & Byerlys will close a grocery store in St. Paul in early March. According to the company, sales declines at the location made it unviable, reported St. Paul Pioneer Press. Full Story

Fast deliveries will be key for retailer growth in 2016, according to Deloitte Consulting LLP. Opportunities also exist for retailers to partner with each other to create store-within-a-store concepts. Technology will continue growing in importance both in-store and online, while consumers will rapidly adopt mobile payment technologies, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Door to Door Organics will expand to Omaha, NE. Delivery will begin Feb. 29, and the company now operates in 15 states. Full Story

Manufacturer News

Sales of 100% orange juice fell 3.9% in the four-week period ending Jan. 23 despite an average price drop of 0.5%, according to the Florida Department of Citrus. The average retail price ended the period at $6.53 per gallon, 3 cents cheaper than a year ago, while domestic sales were down 4.1% for the season on a flat retail price. Sales of 100% grapefruit juice declined 1.7% in January on an average price of $7.25 per gallon. Full Report

Foods with the USDA organic label are not perceived uniformly across food types or retail outlets even though the requirements for carrying the label are the same, according to the University of Illinois. Researchers found that organic "virtue" products, like strawberries, are more likely to be purchased based on taste, while organic "vice" products, like cookies, are more likely to be purchased based on nutrition, reported The Packer. Full Story

Ventura Foods acquired the sauces and condiments business of Wing's Foods. The acquired business will now be known as Ventura Foods Canada and will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the U.S.-based manufacturer of sauces, dressings and food oils. Wing's Asian Heritage is not part of the deal and will continue to operate as Wing's Food Products. Full Story

New Product News: Field Roast Grain Meat Co. will sell Smoked Apple Sage and Italian sausage at Publix. Full Story ... Kona Deep will launch its bottled water brand in the continental U.S. Full Story

Foodservice News

Burger King will add hot dogs to its menu nationally starting Feb. 23. The Kraft Heinz-sourced hot dogs will come in two varieties, classic and chili cheese. The company will only compete with Sonic nationally due to regional preferences for the product. "It's more regional, very localized, because every region seems to have a favorite kind of hot dog," Food Institute CEO and President Brian Todd said, reported CNBC. Full Story

Due North Holdings partnered with Hotland Co. Ltd. to bring 1,000 Japanese restaurants to the U.S. by 2020. The new venture, Pacific Restaurant Partners, is exploring concepts like ramen restaurants and quick-service restaurants that serve Japanese foods. The first concept is projected to open on the West Coast in the near future, with another opening in Arizona by the end of 2016, reported Phoenix Business Journal. Full Story

Panera Bread is expanding delivery to more than 10% of its restaurants in 2016. Currently, delivery service is available at just 25 locations in Louisville, KY, and Charlotte, NC, and it will expand to between 200 and 300 company-owned and franchise locations. The program will move forward using in-house delivery drivers, reported St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Full Story

Panda Restaurant Group is expanding beyond Chinese food by investing in small restaurant companies. Panda Restaurant Group took stakes in Pieology Pizzeria and Just Salad, and plans to make additional minority-stake investments in fast-casual and fast-food chains, reported Bloomberg. Full Story

Buffalo Wild Wings is expanding its R Taco restaurant chain. The company announced plans to open a store in Omaha, NE and is looking for franchise partners in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK, St. Louis, MO, Des Moines, IA and several markets in Texas. Full Story

The National Restaurant Association acquired the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals (NRFSP). NRFSP focuses on providing certificates for individuals seeking credentials in a variety of food safety disciplines. Full Story

Mrs. Winner's Chicken & Biscuits is planning resurgence across Southeastern markets after it closed all of its company-owned stores and filed for bankruptcy in 2010.The first targeted growth market is Atlanta, where the company signed two franchise deals to open six restaurants. Full Story

Restaurant Roundup: Buffalo Wild Wings opened a location in West Windsor, NJ, reported NJ.com. Full Story ... Ruby Tuesday's will open a location in Kearny, NJ, reported The Jersey Journal. Full Story ... Whole Foods Market will open five 365 by Whole Foods Market locations across the U.S. Full Story ... News: Dickey's Barbecue Pit opened stores in Bartonville, TX, and Riverbank, CA.

Health News
Red raspberries may help prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer's disease, according to a study in Advances in Nutrition. Researchers found certain compounds in the berries possessed anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and metabolic stabilizing properties, helping reduce the risk of metabolically-based chronic diseases, reported EurekAlert. Full Story
Washington News

Supermarket chain Joe Caputo & Sons faces a lawsuit alleging it failed to pay for $3.6 million of produce from Anthony Marano Co. According to the suit, Caputo & Sons did not dispute the debt, but advised Marano it is unable to pay "due to cash flow problems." Marano also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order that would restrict the transfer of any Caputo & Son's assets until the debt is paid, reported Crain's Chicago Business. Full Story

California asked the federal government to declare a fishery disaster related to a nearly three-month delay in the Dungeness crab season and the closure of the rock crab fishery. Governor Jerry Brown said direct economic losses already reached an estimated $49 million in the foregone catch, excluding any additional impacts on processors and other suppliers, reported ABC7News. Full Story

Sen. Dianne Feinstein relaunched a water bill to divide California's water supply among competing interests. California's House Republicans are demanding more certain deliveries of water for agriculture, while Democrats representing the environmentally sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta seek more water for those interests, reported Fresno Bee. Full Story

Lawmakers in Boston may ban food products from farms that keep animals in restrictive cages. The proposal, which would prohibit sales of eggs, pork and veal raised in small spaces no matter the area of origin, has enough signatures to be placed on the ballot in November, reported Washington Times. Full Story

Hawaii lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban the farming of genetically engineered fish. Supporters of the ban are concerned about the safety of the fish for human consumption and its potential effect on native species, while opponents call the ban premature, reported Washington Times. Full Story

South Carolina's House budget panel approved using $40 million to offer state aid to farmers whose crops were damaged by floods last October. Farmers could recover up to 20% of a loss, up to $100,000, with payouts from grants and crop insurance combined not exceeding 100% of the loss. Eligible farmers must have lost at least 40% of a crop due to the flood and be located in a county declared a disaster, reported The State. Full Story

USDA is seeking public comment on a draft report prospectus for the second State of the Carbon Cycle Report. The report will study the impact of climate change on food security, including carbon cycle processes, stocks and flows in the context of and interactions with global scale budgets. In addition, it will survey carbon stocks and fluxes in soils, water, vegetation, aquatic-terrestrial interfaces, human settlements, agriculture and forestry. Comments will be accepted through the next 30 days. Full Notice

EPA established a final rule regarding residue tolerances for diflubenzuron in or on multiple commodities. The new rule affects tolerances in or on carrots, peaches, plums, prunes, peppers and eggplants, among other commodities. Full Notice

King Soopers voluntarily recalled gourmet bread pudding due to an undeclared walnut allergen. The product was sold in deli departments at King Soopers and City Market locations. Full Story

Global News

Restaurant Brands International Inc. established BK Spain 2016 S.L., a joint venture between Burger King Europe GmbH and the shareholder of BK QMI Spain S.L., to accelerate net restaurant growth potential and continue to expand the Burger King brand in Spain. BK Spain signed a long-term master franchise and development agreement. Full Story

Acadian Supreme acquired the plant and assets of Acadian Fishermen's Co-operative, one of the largest lobster processors in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The cooperative will continue as the supplier of raw products for the plant. Whitecap International Seafood Exporters will continue to be the company's and the brand's exclusive exporter, reported Atlantic Farm Focus. Full Story

The world's top avocado-producing countries united to create the World Avocado Organization (WAO). The group's primary purpose will be to promote avocado consumption in the EU, Asia and other parts of the world. The founding member nations of the WOA include Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and the U.S., reported The Produce News. Full Story

United Arab Emirates-based Agithia Group is seeking to rapidly boost sales through acquisitions as well as organic growth, with the goal of reaching over $1 billion in revenue by 2020. The food and drink producer is primarily interested in water, juice and dairy companies in the Persian Gulf, reported Reuters. Full Story

Haitian farmers are contending with up to 70% crop losses due to drought. The country is facing its worst food crisis in 15 years, according to the United Nations World Food Program, and the number of food insecure people within Haiti doubled since September. Food prices in the country reached the highest level since 2008, reported Miami Herald. Full Story

Market News

California's grape crush estimate totaled just under 3.9 million tons for all varieties in 2015, a drop of 7% from the year before, according to California Department of Food and Agriculture's preliminary report. Concentrate production was 11% of the total grape crush at 434,612 tons. Tons crushed of raisin type varieties totaled 92,432 tons, down 41% from 2014, and tons crushed of table type varieties totaled 70,711, down 25% from the previous year. Full Report

About 75.3 million bushels of fresh-market apples had yet to ship as of Feb. 1, a 21% decrease from the same period last year, according to the U.S. Apple Association. Washington accounted for 64.9 million bushels, followed by New York at 4.2 million bushels, Michigan at 3.4 million bushels and Pennsylvania at 1.1 million bushels, reported The Packer. Full Story

Modesto-area farmers could pay more for water this year. The Modesto Irrigation District board proposal would increase the fixed charge by 10%, from $40 per acre to $44. However, extra fees based on consumption would double on the low end, representing what's delivered in dry years, and could increase as much as 300% in wet years, reported Modesto Bee. Full Story

Most farmers collect more in crop insurance than they pay in premiums, according to the Environmental Working Group. The report determined that farmers received an average of $2.20 in claims for every dollar paid in premiums between 2000 and 2014. The Obama administration proposed in its fiscal 2017 budget getting rid of almost $18 billion in payments during the next decade, reported Des Moines Register. Full Story, Full Report

February 11, 2016
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