January / February 2012

The year 1973 was an interesting one on many fronts. Richard Nixon was president of the United States and battling through the Watergate scandal, gas prices soared, the first U.S. space station was launched, and the world population was almost 4 billion.

Throughout its 103-year history, the Grocery Manufacturers Association has been proud to have served as the collective voice of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry and as a laboratory for new ideas.

As in any economy, your company's ability to pull a profit in 2012 will depend on the value you present and how efficiently you deliver it. Some companies might turn to lower-cost substitutes or try to stretch materials, while others will justify a higher price point by highlighting quality.

As a major food-producing nation, Brazil doesn't need to look outside its borders for groceries. Brazilian food companies launched 15,000 SKUs in 2010, the U.S. Agricultural Trade Office in Sao Paulo reports.

In a concerted effort to control spending at a time of higher food and fuel prices, consumers are adjusting their shopping trip missions and weeding out non-essential purchases. Stocking up is less popular than it was a few years ago, as many consumers have focused on spreading out their spending o

At Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain Wawa, employees are reminded that they're not just making sandwiches–they're helping friends and neighbors have a better day.

Can small-scale purveyors of local food co-exist peacefully with mass-market grocery stores?

Throwing your company's weight behind a worthy cause might seem to be a no-brainer for boosting both business and consumer goodwill.

In the past, the flow of information between retailers and manufacturers often stopped at the retail door. When consumers requested specific products, retailers didn't always pass along the information to suppliers, in part because the adversarial relationship that had developed between major

Diversity recruitment is the most popular type of diversity program currently offered by retailers responding to a recent survey conducted by Retail Leader, followed by in-company diversity networking groups, alternative avenues for recruiting minority candidates and financial incentives to in

Bigger isn't the only way to go in the fiercely competitive grocery industry. After 14 consecutive quarters of declining same-store sales at its major banners, Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu is renewing its focus on supply-chain services to independents, which have been fundamental to the co