DES MOINES & SALT LAKE CITY - Capital City Fruit, a leading grower, shipper, repacker, and supply chain manager for fresh fruits and vegetables, has selected the ReposiTrak Traceability Network® to power its food traceability program. This strategic move sets into motion traceability data intake from Capital City Fruit suppliers, and will add traceability data sharing for the company’s retail customers.

“As a distributor, we have two important responsibilities related to traceability: taking in accurate data from our suppliers and sharing the data out to our valued customers,” said Food & Occupational Safety Specialist James Barth of Capital City Fruit in the recent release. “Our partnership with ReposiTrak makes it easy to do both while also helping us to meet the requirements of FSMA 204.”

For over 75 years, Capital City Fruit has been a trusted source of fresh, consistent fruits and vegetables, with a strong focus on food safety and regulatory compliance. Today, the company supplies fresh produce and food boxes, as well as cross-docking and logistics services. Its customers include retail grocers, convenience stores, foodservice operators, and food manufacturers – and it also reaches consumers directly through gift basket delivery and workplace wellness subscriptions.

“Traceability recordkeeping is new, it’s time-consuming, and data integrity is at issue,” said ReposiTrak Chairman and CEO Randy Fields. “More than 40% of the tens of thousands of traceability data files we’ve received have contained some type of error. For that reason, we put every file through an error detection process upfront, and our team works directly with suppliers to make corrections. All this happens before the data reaches Capital City Fruit and its customers.”

The ReposiTrak Traceability Network is the largest and fastest-growing food traceability network in the industry. It is designed to simplify food traceability by enabling food suppliers and manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice operators to seamlessly exchange traceability data without the need for new hardware, software, or ongoing manual effort.

Through this partnership, Capital City Fruit will gain the ability to collect, store, share, and retrieve traceability records for thousands of products — improving visibility from source to shelf. Importantly, ReposiTrak puts all food traceability data through a rigorous, 500+ point error detection process and works with suppliers to make corrections so that the data is as complete and accurate as possible before it reaches Capital City Fruit and is passed along to its valued customers.

By joining the ReposiTrak Traceability Network, Capital City Fruit will be able to:

• Seamlessly ingest Key Data Elements from its diverse base of produce suppliers
• Provide required traceability data to downstream customers with ease
• Ensure continuous FSMA 204 compliance across the supply chain
• Minimize operational disruption with a scalable, cost-effective solution

For more information about Capital City Fruit, visit capitalcityfruit.com. To learn more about the ReposiTrak Traceability Network, visit repositrak.com.

QUINCY, MA - Stop & Shop, the neighborhood grocer, is rolling out a bold new brand campaign, Good Things Are in Store, developed in partnership with independent creative agency Curiosity. The integrated campaign marks Stop & Shop’s first major work with Curiosity since the agency won the business in May 2024.

At the heart of the campaign is Justin – a hyper-enthusiastic store associate who takes pride in sharing all the ways Stop & Shop is delivering more value to customers. Whether he’s filming the commercials during his break, singing about weekly deals and harmonizing with customers, or tallying the 10,000+ sale items in store (he counts them. Every Friday.), Justin is the embodiment of the brand’s commitment to being a go-to destination for savings, quality, and convenience.

The campaign is rooted in Stop & Shop’s longstanding brand ethos to “Feed the Moment” and represents a fresh chapter for the company—one focused on rebuilding trust and reinforcing its role in helping customers get more for their money, every time they shop. Good Things Are in Store will evolve over time to highlight Stop & Shop’s broader strategic pillars, including quality, assortment, and freshness. But Justin’s tireless energy and sincere dedication to customers are here to stay.

“When our customers walk into our stores, we want them to immediately feel that their feedback has been heard and that they are getting great deals by choosing to shop with us. Rebuilding this customer trust takes time, and we are committed to earning it one trip, one cart, and one conversation at a time,” said Karen Mitchell, Chief Marketing Officer at Stop & Shop., in the recent release “This campaign is a fresh, authentic way to show how we’re evolving – offering better value, quality products and a broad assortment, and a shopping experience that feels both reliable and welcoming. Justin brings this to life in a way that is fun, memorable, and unequivocally Stop & Shop.”

The campaign will run across the brand’s Northeast footprint of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, across mixed media including TV, CTV, radio, digital media, online videos, and paid social. In-store extensions will connect the campaign to customers’ real-world shopping trips, supported by placements in Stop & Shop’s owned channels, including Savory magazine, and its weekly circular.

“Stop & Shop is making a lot of great changes to improve the shopping experience for its customers. Creating the character of the overly enthusiastic associate, Justin, allowed us to convey the genuine commitment of the brand in a welcoming way,” said Pam Fraser, Creative Director at Curiosity. “After an extensive search, we knew we made the right decision casting Stuart Hicar as Justin. He kept us laughing constantly, on and off camera, and we look forward to him being the face of the brand for years to come.”

View the campaign spots here: Attention Shoppers, Passion, Dusting, and Cardio.

ROSEMONT, IL - US Foods Holding Corp., one of the largest foodservice distributors in the United States, announced results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 Highlights

• Total case volume increased 0.9%; independent restaurant case volume increased 2.7%
• Net sales increased 3.8% to $10.1 billion
• Gross profit increased 4.2% to $1.8 billion
• Net income increased 13.1% to $224 million
• Adjusted EBITDA1 increased 12.1% to $548 million
• Diluted EPS increased 20.0% to $0.96; Adjusted Diluted EPS1 increased 28.0% to $1.19

“Our second quarter performance underscores the strength of our team's continued focus on execution and delivering value to our customers. This momentum has fueled further market share gains with independent restaurant, healthcare, and hospitality customers, resulting in record Adjusted EBITDA of $548 million and a 40 basis point increase in Adjusted EBITDA margin to a record 5.4%,” said Dave Flitman, CEO, in the recent release. “Looking ahead, we have a long runway of growth and profitability as we pursue our ambition to become the undisputed best in our industry. I am incredibly proud and appreciative of our talented team of 30,000 associates, whose dedication and hard work are delivering on our promise to help our customers Make It.”

“Our results demonstrate the consistent execution of our strategy and continued progress on our self-help initiatives,” added Dirk Locascio, CFO. “We delivered top-line growth and margin expansion combined with accretive share buybacks, which resulted in 28% Adjusted EPS growth. US Foods continues to generate strong cash flow, funding record capital investment to support growth and drive attractive returns, while delivering on our commitment to return capital to shareholders through share repurchases.”

Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2025 Results

Total case volume increased 0.9% from the prior year, driven by a 2.7% increase in independent restaurant case volume, a 4.9% increase in healthcare volume, and a 2.4% increase in hospitality volume, partially offset by a 4.0% decrease in chain volume. Total organic case volume increased 0.5%, which includes 2.3% organic independent restaurant case volume growth. Net sales of $10.1 billion for the quarter increased 3.8% from the prior year, driven by case volume growth and food cost inflation of 2.5%.

Gross profit of $1.8 billion increased by $71 million, or 4.2%, from the prior year, primarily as a result of an increase in total case volume, improved cost of goods sold and inventory management, partially offset by an unfavorable year-over-year LIFO adjustment. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 17.6%. Adjusted Gross profit was $1.8 billion, an increase of $85 million, or 5.0% from the prior year. Adjusted Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 17.8%.

Operating expenses of $1.4 billion increased by $52 million, or 3.8%, from the prior year, primarily as a result of an increase in total case volume and higher distribution, selling, and administrative costs, partially offset by continued distribution productivity improvement as well as actions to streamline administrative processes and costs. Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales were 13.9%. Adjusted Operating expenses were $1.2 billion, an increase of $31 million, or 2.6% from the prior year. Adjusted Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales were 12.3%.

Net income of $224 million, increased by $26 million, or 13.1%, from the prior year. Net income margin was 2.2%, an increase of 18 basis points compared to the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA of $548 million, increased by $59 million, or 12.1%, from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 5.4%, an increase of 40 basis points compared to the prior year. Diluted EPS was $0.96; Adjusted Diluted EPS was $1.19.

See the full report here.