by Kevin Payne | Jul 24, 2018 | Retail Grocery
Are you loyal to a particular grocery store? What are you loyal to? I’ve been a loyal Oakland A’s fan since I was a young boy back in 1968. Since then, there’s only been one year where I didn’t make the hour-long drive to their ballpark to see a game and I now go to Spring Training every year. Most of us are loyal to a team, a cause, our friends. Many of us can also call out our favorite stores we regularly shop at. What makes us loyal to a particular grocery store? Grocery Store Loyalty A recent article in Food Dive references a...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Mar 27, 2018 | Retail Grocery
And is it authentic? And has it been properly handled? The 1984 Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef” commercial is a classic as Clara Peller, with a voice probably unlike any other human being, demands to know why the hamburger patty in her fast food restaurant burger is so small. Today, consumers are increasingly demanding answers to, “where did the beef come from?”, “is it truly grass fed?” and “has it been properly handled during processing and shipping?”. These questions are not just about beef either. They’re about poultry, pork and...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Mar 13, 2018 | Freshness Management, Retail Grocery, Supply Chain
“Flower power” and “cool baby” were popular phrases in the 1960s, and those of us in the fresh and perishable food supply chain industries still like to think about flowers and being cool (or cold). But, it’s a downer when we read that we’re still wasting 40% of our food every year. It bums me out. Why? Because it doesn’t have to be this way. We have the ability to reduce pre-consumer perishable food waste by 50% or more. The reason we, as an industry, haven’t made much of a dent in this problem is that too often we approach it by...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Dec 19, 2017 | Retail Grocery
The retail grocery industry has never been more in flux. Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods transformed the landscape as the online giant planted its foot squarely in the food segment and cut prices, forcing other grocers to follow suit and kicking off a price war. Newer market entrants like Lidl and Aldi are further forcing down prices. Changes in trucking laws relating to electronic logging devices (ELDs) are likely to drive the cost of shipping and goods higher. Then there’s the issue of the increasing scope of e-commerce with...Continue Reading...
