BENTONVILLE, AR - As Walmart gears up to host its annual investment community meeting today, Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon is preparing to announce some big strategic investments the company has planned for the fiscal 2018 and 2019. Including plans to invest $11 billion in capital expenditures, raise U.S. eCommerce growth by 40 percent, and add 1,000 online grocery locations, it looks like Walmart has big plans to prime the next few years for massive growth.
“We have good momentum in the business, we’re executing our strategy and moving with speed to win with the customer, who is more connected than ever and embracing tools that will save them both time and money,” McMillon shared in a statement ahead of the investment meeting. “We’re combining the accessibility of our stores with eCommerce to provide new and exciting ways for customers to shop. I’m proud of the team we have in place, the work we have underway and how we are positioned for success in the future.”
In the retailer’s pre-meeting news release, Walmart highlighted several new strategic plans the company plans to implement going forward, including its U.S. division’s goal to continue to prioritize store remodels and digital experiences over new stores.
This investment in digital experiences will likely include enhanced supply chain capabilities, more fulfillment capabilities, and an $11 billion capital expenditure budget for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. Other highlights from the company’s release include:
- Expectancy to grow consolidated net sales at or above 3 percent
- Anticipation of sales growth at Walmart U.S. eCommerce to be about 40 percent
- Expectancy to add 1,000 online grocery locations in Walmart U.S.
- Expectancy for effective tax rate to be approximately 32.5 percent
- Global unit growth of approximately 280 for each of the fiscal years 2018 and 2019
- Walmart U.S. expects fewer than 15 new Supercenters and 10 Neighborhood Markets in fiscal year 2019
- Walmart International expects approximately 255 new stores with a focus in Mexico and China
At the meeting, Walmart CFO Brett Biggs will also be discussing financial projections. Biggs commented, “We feel good about where we are as a company. Our plans are designed to win with both customers and shareholders as we operate within our financial framework. Our financial position is strong, which allows us to invest in the business while returning significant cash to shareholders.”
With big, headline-grabbing numbers such as $11 billion investments and 1,000 new locations, will Walmart’s new moves be enough to keep its position near the top of the retail food chain? AndNowUKnow will continue to follow this and other major moves in grocery.
SALINAS, CA & TRACY, CA – Fresh food provider Taylor Farms announced today that it has completed the company’s largest solar panel installation to date—an array spanning 300,000-square-feet and supplying 67 percent of energy needs at the Taylor Farms Pacific facilities in Tracy, California.
"I am thrilled to see yet another one of our sustainability projects come to fruition, and this is one of our most exciting projects to date," said Nicole Flewell, Director of Sustainability. "With each installation, whether solar, wind, or cogeneration, we continue to add clean power to our facilities nationwide in the most sustainable manner possible."
This 8,204 panel installation spans 7.5 acres of rooftop space, making it the largest private solar panel array in San Joaquin County, according to a company press release. The system will provide 2.256 megawatts (MW) of direct current (DC) power to the facility, produce 3,697,800 kWh annually, and reduce C02 emissions by 2,752 metric tons.
Since 2012, Taylor Farms has invested in eight major sustainable power projects in North America including, solar, wind, fuel cells, and cogeneration. The company has installed five solar arrays at facilities in Texas, Tennessee, and three facilities in California, which together generate 8.4 Million kWh/year. The company also noted that it has dedicated sustainability resources to determine the best energy strategy for each location and pursue localized incentives to make projects economically viable.
Taylor Farms Pacific will be hosting an Open House and Launch Party at its onsite Innovation Center to celebrate the installation, the people of Taylor Farms, and the company’s commitment to community and to caring for the planet. Mayor of Tracy, Robert Rickman, will deliver a keynote speech, alongside Flewell.
"This is a wonderful achievement for Taylor Farms' sustainability program," noted Rickman, in a press releases. "We're excited about not only the innovation that Taylor Farms is bringing to the City of Tracy, but what's to come with our partnership."
For more on sustainability initiatives, community outreach, and the forward-thinking produce companies paving the way forward for our industry, look to AndNowUKnow.
WATSONVILLE, CA - Plant-based and blended proteins are on the rise both at the buy-side and in foodservice. In line with the trend is the newest product line soon to be unveiled by Monterey Mushrooms; the company announced it will launch its new Let's Blend™ line at the PMA Fresh Summit next week.
“People want to eat better without giving up flavor and texture,” said Lindsey Roberts, Marketing Specialist, of the new finely-diced mushrooms, ready to blend with ground meat. “Let’s Blend works well with ground beef, chicken, lamb, pork, or turkey. It makes meat juicier without adding fat or cholesterol.”
Clad in a high-graphic, 8-ounce package with an inspiring blended protein dish, the recyclable packaging has cooking instructions on the pack, a visible best-by date, and a cut out window to see the fresh product.
Retailers, in turn, can appreciate the added value Let’s Blend brings to the refrigerated mushroom, as well as an extended shelf-life.
Let's Blend is launching with three pre-seasoned flavors:
- Classic
- Mexican
- Italian
“It’s an easy way for home cooks to achieve the same Blend Concept that is appearing on restaurant menus nationwide,” Lindsey explained. Listed amongst popular media coverage for the movement are names like The Today Show, Food & Wine, Forbes, and more.
Now, Let’s Blend will help home cooks achieve the dishes at home they’ve been able to sample on restaurant menus, the company said.
Born from a partnership between the Mushroom Council, UC-Davis researchers, and Culinary Institute of America chefs, The Blend concept is a result of studying the flavor-enhancing properties of mushrooms and the appeal of blending them with ground meat. During a 2014 study, they found mushrooms’ umami makes for a boost in flavor when a traditional ground meat recipe is prepared with 50 percent mushrooms and 50 percent meat.
In addition to the Let’s Blend line, Monterey Mushrooms said it will showcase all the products and packages in its fresh line including clean-n-ready, vitamin D, certified-organic, whole and sliced mushrooms at booth #1906.
The team is also sponsoring the PMA Chairman's Invitational Reception and celebrating that both Lindsey and Sales Manager Erica Manfre will be honored for achievements among the 40 under 40.
It all goes down at the 2017 PMA Fresh Summit Convention and Expo, Oct. 20-21 in New Orleans. See you there!
MILWAUKEE, WI - As the business of brand building evolves, FullTilt Marketing highlights its new and improved content marketing services with the launch of an updated website. With a focus on content marketing enriched with storytelling, FullTilt’s new website shares information about its strategic positioning process and gets to the heart of what content marketing is.
“It’s about a common thread that helps brands understand that everyone has a food story and makes one food story relatable to the next,” said Managing Partner Melinda Goodman. “While all marketing starts with sound strategic planning and on-brand messaging, today’s consumer expectations and brand preference are not driven by a great TV commercial or magazine ad, but by absolute transparency rooted in authentic stories and validation from their peers that allows influencer marketing to become the new word-of-mouth advertising. That is the root of content marketing.”
For the past five years, industry veterans Heidi McIntyre and Melinda Goodman have steadily grown their boutique marketing agency to include strategic marketing, public relations, event marketing, brand management, and more, but continued changes in food marketing and online distribution channels have continued to dial in its focus on social media, influencer marketing, and personalized storytelling. This focus helps clients understand the new role of content marketing as part of a strategic brand building effort that reaches across B2B and B2C marketing and integrates a disciplined approach to focused messaging across all channels.
Telling great stories can’t be the only role of content marketing. Understanding the marketplace and the influencers that command its universe are equally important and FullTilt Marketing has spent years cultivating close relationships with influencers across food, lifestyle, and health platforms. Part of that relationship includes understanding audiences, needs, and overall perspective in the marketplace. That understanding has included the release of insights including feedback on food trends and direct feedback on how to work with influencers to promote your brand.
“Influencers aren’t just bloggers. They are content creators that can be passionate advocates for your brand and bring you face-to-face with consumers in authentic ways. Whether it’s infographics, videos, personal stories, or user generated content it’s a brave new world that requires new skills and new relationships that bring in real life (IRL) and online experiences together as one,” commented Managing Partner Heidi McIntyre.
If you are ready to tell your food story, learn more about content marketing, or get started with an influencer marketing program, the staff of FullTilt Marketing will be available for free marketing consultations at PMA. To schedule your free meeting during or after PMA, contact [email protected].
For more news like this, AndNowUKnow will keep you updated.
MONTGOMERY CREEK, CA – Commuters along Highway 299 in Northern California experienced serious delays last week when a semi-truck toppled spilling its piquant contents—79,000 pounds of onions—into oncoming traffic.
The crash, which occurred around 8:40 AM on Wednesday October 4th, didn’t cause any injuries; it did, however block traffic for the better part of the day, according to local news source the Redding Record Searchlight.
Two-way traffic was completely blocked for more than an hour before the California Highway Patrol (CHP) could clear a lane. One-way traffic was restored by 10am, but ongoing efforts to clear bagged and stray onions persisted well into the afternoon. The CHP finally reported the road open and the produce wrangled at 2:34 PM—just in time for the afternoon commute.
No word was forthcoming on the fate of the onions involved, but I would speculate that some residents of the Redding area may be shorted some sweetness and spiciness in their soups, salads, and sandwiches this week.
For more on all things produce, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
MONTEREY, CA - Mustards Grill Owner & Executive Chef Cindy Pawlcyn was whipping up some delicious concoctions with Sunkist Growers’ citrus.
The Chef and Napa restaurant owner took that time to share with me some insights on what is piquing foodservice interests in using citrus.
“What’s happening for us in the restaurant industry with citrus is that we’re learning more about it’s year-round availability,” Cindy explains, showing off some of the dynamic twists chefs can do with the fruit.
Her Citrus Ceviche, for example, offered some California flair, while the Whole fruit Valencia Orange Bread Pudding used every piece of the orange. She explained that she even caramelized the orange peel for the dish.
“There’s a bunch of fun fruits like the striped zebra lemon that has a pink flesh,” Cindy added to the category’s possibilities, naming off creative possibilities like wonderful mandarin oranges, pink ruby grapefruits, and more.
Hear all about Cindy’s excitement for the produce in our brief video interview above.
PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WI – With PMA Fresh Summit just a couple of weeks away, Good Foods announced its new line of refrigerated salad dressing will be showcased at PMA on October 20-21. If you can’t catch the new line at PMA, the six varieties–Asian Ginger, Beet Balsamic, Apple Thyme, Avocado Ranch, Blue Cheese, and Classic Caesar–are also now available nationwide.
"Consumers are demanding fresher, cleaner dressings and dips that deliver incredible flavor without having to add artificial ingredients or preservatives," said Mandy Bottomlee, Marketing Director, in a recent press release. "We’re excited that we are able to offer a line of dressing based on real, simple ingredients like fresh herbs, fresh produce, and cold-pressed juices.”
Chicago-based market researcher Mintel showed in its May 2016 “Sweet & Savoury Spreads” Category Insight that 30 percent of Americans who buy chips or dips agree that “no artificial ingredients” is an important nutritional attribute, the company said. While shelf-stable dressings have seen flat to declining growth over the last few years, the refrigerated offerings have grown to a $400M category with sales up 3.1 percent, according to data from IRI Worldwide.
Good Foods dressings are made with natural ingredients including fresh herbs, like shallots, parsley, chives, and dill; fresh produce, like carrots, avocados, apples, onions, and garlic; and cold-pressed juices, like carrot, beet, apple, lemon, and orange. All Good Foods’ dressings are high pressure processed to capture the flavors and to maintain freshness.
Check out the new line at PMA, and look for it in your local produce section.
For more PMA announcements, keep following AndNowUKnow
WALKER, MI – After making moves to streamline its information technology services (ITS) department this August, Meijer Inc. is reportedly continuing to restructure its tech operations, laying off employees and transitioning positions previously held within the company to outside firms.
“We are making changes to our ITS structure that will enable us to provide even more solutions in both the digital and physical space for Meijer customers,” Chief Information Officer Terry Ledbetter said in a statement about the company’s partnership with IBM. “Other changes include realignment of some teams and the elimination of some current roles. We are working closely with those affected by this change to help them through this process.”
Michigan-based business news source MiBiz reported that the retailer is continuing to streamline by both laying workers of and by “redbadging” employees; 113 redbadged employees will continue to work on Meijer’s corporate campus, but will now be employed by tech giant IBM Corp. Another 65 employees were terminated this week.
These changes come on top of the 46 layoffs and 25 employee transfers undertaken in August. And MiBiz’s internal sources noted that Meijer’s internal ITS department will be paired down to approximately 300 employees by the end of the year.
Will the retailer’s recent moves pay dividends as more grocers look to online selling for the future of fresh produce? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.
NEW ORLEANS, LA - How do you harness the power of talent and keep its energy focused on boosting the business? Center for Growing Talent by PMA (CGTbyPMA) looks to give you the answer, sponsoring sessions focused on talent at the rapidly-approaching Fresh Summit Convention & Expo.
Head of the strategy, culture, and change management consulting firm Pro-Voke, Steve Campbell is one of the experts on hand to show you how. With 30 years in the supermarket business under his belt before founding Pro-Voke, he is slated to mediate the Fresh Summit workshop “Great Teams + Great Culture = Peak Performance,” which will provide insights from pros who understand the impact culture has on an organization’s success
When I ask Steve what exactly does “great culture” looks like, he hints that, “it’s not about throwing an annual company barbecue.”
Increasingly, employees across all generations cite work-life flexibility as key to a positive work experience.
Steve says that organizations that do a better job retaining employees, have “stopped thinking about work/life balance and started thinking about work/life integration. Employees want their work life and the rest of their lives to mesh to help them engage and be satisfied.”
But, he also stresses that there is more to promoting peak performance than offering work-life integration.
“In successful companies, there’s a culture of people coming together around a shared vision and a shared purpose,” Steve comments. “They know what’s important, and they also know how to say no to things that aren’t part of their strategy.”
Additionally, Steve says that a fully engaged employee is someone who brings the full measure of “head, heart, and gut” to every task.
“When employees are included and feel like they are making a contribution, when they feel like their values are connected to the organization’s values, then there’s intrinsic motivation for them to want to stay and succeed,” he explains when I ask how an employer can tap that measure of commitment.
Conversely, he adds, people who aren’t engaged—who “quit, but stay,” as he says—can be detrimental.
The session, which I was told will be highly interactive, includes panelists like Michael Burchell with McKinsey & Company, Kristen Diver of the restaurant industry’s The Dinex Group, Evan Kelsay at LinkedIn, and well-known produce industry senior strategist Julie Krivanek.
When it comes to attracting the talent you want to retain, Executive Director of the nonprofit, charitable CGTbyPMA Margi Prueitt shares her thoughts.
“The global fresh produce and floral industry is competing for talent with better-known companies like the Amazons, Googles and big banks of the world. We have to be attractive to people who don’t know much about us,” she says. “Our companies must build cultures that differentiate them from that competition, and the talent strategies and skills that will make their companies successful…CGTbyPMA exists to help our industry do just that.”
If attracting, developing, and retaining talent are amongst your key priorities, this year’s Fresh Summit includes a plethora of education and networking events.
Thursday, Oct. 19, will offer a pair of additional talent-themed workshops on attracting diverse candidates, and on motivating and engaging employees in today’s digital age, while Friday will offer a Talent Industry Reception in the evening.
CGT will also hold the already-sold-out annual Women’s Fresh Perspectives Leadership Breakfast on Thursday morning, as well as the 5K Race for Talent fundraiser on Friday morning.
CGTbyPMA’s oldest student-attraction program, the Pack Family Career Pathways Program, will bring 40 university students from all over to be immersed in industry career opportunities at Fresh Summit, with the help of industry mentors. The year-long leadership 2017 Emerging Leaders Program, designed to develop promising employees, will hold its capstone class and graduation for this year’s 40 young leaders.
“The produce industry is an incredibly robust, passionate environment. If organizations can extend some of that same muscle into their people, some really great things can happen,” Steve concludes.
To learn how CGTbyPMA can help your company attract, develop, and retain talent—and the multiple ways you can show industry leadership—visit www.growingtalentbypma.org.
We will see you in New Orleans October 19-21 for the 2017 Fresh Summit.
CALIFORNIA - Gelsons Market shoppers got an extra treat when Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey decided to make the location their first trip to a grocery store in quite some time, as reported by People Food.
Oprah could say on hand her last time grocery shopping was Thanksgiving of last year, Ellen however simply had to say “years” since her last trip.
Luckily for my reporting heart, the two show-stopping celebrities went straight for the produce and dove right into the fruits and veggies (almost literally).
“Oprah’s touched all the peaches everybody! Whoever wants a peach, Oprah’s touched them,” Ellen shouted to shoppers.
She also treated the world to Oprah holding some strategically-placed melons, despite the fact that all Oprah wanted to do was knock on them to see which one she liked best.
The cucumbers had a time to shine, as Ellen double-checked with Oprah what might be a better size to shop for when picking out the vegetables. She also took the time to hose down the organics for the Gelson produce employees. Thanks Ellen!
It turns out Oprah is also a big fan of cauliflower–not only does she slap some florets (is that a Josie’s Organics label I spy?) but she also stacked up on her own O, That’s Good! line including the cauliflower mashed potatoes that she seemed extra excited for.
The show-stopper that I loved was how excited Oprah was seeing a passer-by’s cart and heading straight for the contents.
“Are these Brussel’s sprouts?” she asks the shopper excitedly. “Oh, we need some of these.”
Also, it turns out while she may be a brilliant philanthropist, investor, and beyond, Oprah is very easily startled by Halloween decorations, much to Ellen’s delight.
Woman after my own heart, excited consumer Stephanie came up for a sample of O, That’s Good! and, when asked what she was making with her groceries, informed the two stars that it was Taco Tuesday to which Ellen said, “Why don’t we come help you cook?”
And she meant it.
See for yourselves the hilarity when Ellen and Oprah drive Stephanie home personally in the video above. (Hint: Ellen has probably not driven in a while, either.) What a great way to kick off my week, I hope you agree!