SmartBrief’s food and beverage readers this week were particularly drawn to stories about food retail, including a grocer ranking from Progressive Grocer. Walmart, Amazon and Kroger ranked first, second and third, respectively, on the 2020 PG 100 list of large food retailers, with the top 100 companies seeing sales jump by 11.6% in 2020 to $2.1 trillion, according to the publication.
Grocery readers were also interested in stories about global and regional operations consolidation for Whole Foods Market, which the retailer said would not affect “any store or distribution center-based roles.” News about Amazon dropping its “Go” moniker in favor of the Amazon Fresh name and Kroger’s latest grocery delivery center in Florida also garnered clicks.
News from Hershey dominated the CPG world this week, with the company making its Ice Cream Shoppe Bars available online for the first time, and also announcing its acquisition of Lily’s Sweets, a producer of no-added-sugar chocolate bars, baking chips, peanut butter cups and other chocolate confections.
A story about restaurants facing confusion and concern over the CDC’s new mask guidance took the second spot on this week’s list. “Because restaurants welcome people who are both vaccinated and not fully vaccinated, operators will still need to work with their state and local regulators to ensure they are in line with all other mandates in place,” the National Restaurant Association’s Larry Lynch said.
Read the full Top 10 now:
- Walmart, Amazon, Kroger top 2020 PG 100 list
- Restaurants face confusion over new CDC mask guidance
- Whole Foods plans to streamline some operations
- Report: Amazon ending “Go” in favor of “Fresh”
- Sen. Sanders calls for universal school meals
- Hershey takes its Ice Cream Shoppe Bars online
- Kroger adds new grocery delivery center in Fla.
- 11 more schools in NYC will offer halal meals
- Hershey to buy Lily’s Sweets chocolate brand
- Health-conscious shoppers turn to tech for guidance
Related stories:
- Is the future of produce all in the genes?
- What’s next for dairy alternatives?
- Farmers’ markets played a bigger role in feeding America in the pandemic
_______________________________________________
If you enjoyed this article, you can sign up for the FMI dailyLead, ProChef SmartBrief or Restaurant SmartBrief to get news like this in your inbox. For even more great news content, sign up for any of SmartBrief’s 275+ free email newsletters today, free.