Content about Food

SEATTLE — People looking for a nice red or white to go with dinner might be able to find it online.

Amazon.com announced Thursday the launch of Amazon Wine, which will feature more than 1,000 wines from wineries around the country, and offer information such as details on tasting notes, food-pairing recommendations and total case production.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Wegmans Food Markets on Monday announced it has worked closely with the Monmouth County Food Bank and the American Red Cross in New Jersey on food and ice distributions since Hurricane Sandy came through the area last week. 



Target and CVS are some of the first retailers to group adult multivitamins and supplements available in gummy format into one 4-ft. set. The idea is to make shopping vitamins and supplements easier. For the 12 weeks ended Sept. 9, SymphonyIRI Group tabulated $202 million in sales of multivitamins, up slightly by 0.8%, across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart).

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. — Abbott and its foundation, the Abbott Fund, on Friday announced that $1 million in funding and product donations will be made to support relief efforts in response to Hurricane Sandy. The Abbott Fund grants will be provided to long-standing relief organization partners, including the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Direct Relief International and World Vets. 

Abbott product donations have been made to Direct Relief International and Feeding America.

MELVILLE, N.Y. – The Hain Celestial Group, a natural and organic products company, announced Monday the closing of the acquisition of Premier Food's portfolio of packaged grocery brands and its Histon manufacturing based in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.

"This acquisition furthers our goal to expand in the United Kingdom, and positions the newly expanded Hain Daniels business in the top 40 of all food and beverage suppliers in the U.K.," said Irwin Simon, founder, president and CEO of Hain Celestial.

LONDON — According to published reports, Alliance Boots earlier this week partnered with Jamie Oliver, British chef and media personality known worldwide, to launch a "deli-inspired" lunchtime range of food called Jamie Does Lunch.

"[This] marks the first time the celebrity chef and former Sainsbury's brand ambassador has launched an 'on-the-go' range with a high street retailer," reported Marketing Magazine, which is based here. Like Walgreens in the United States, the U.K. retailer is looking to expand its "fresh" footprint. 

FORT LEE, N.J. — Supermarkets are facing increased competition from dollar stores, according to a new survey from Perception Research Services International.

MINNEAPOLIS — While Supervalu has completed its overhaul of its value proposition across its Jewel-Osco banner, the grocer will be analyzing the impact before replicating the price repositioning across its entire chain, the Minnesota-based supermarket chain announced Thursday morning. "We continue to have a market-leading price position amongst conventional food retailers in three markets," Wayne Sales, Supervalu president, CEO and chairman told analysts during the second-quarter conference call.

 SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — According to Nielsen analyses issued Thursday, higher consumer confidence levels, increased impulse buying and consumer intent to spend more could all lead to an upside surprise in 2012 holiday spending. 

For sales in 89 categories across five key departments (food, beverages, alcohol, health/beauty and homecare), Nielsen is forecasting spending for November and December 2012 to reach $98.3 billion. Nielsen expects dollar sales to increase 2.3% and unit sales to remain generally flat (0.1%). 

Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5 phones in the first weekend; thus, the new smartphone was available, so the newly compatible iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Wrist Monitor has a lot of potential. Right now, it’s one of the hottest selling items in the blood-pressure monitor space with more than $137,000 in sales for the 12 weeks ended Aug. 12, up a whopping 45,882.2% across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart), according to SymphonyIRI Group. The new wrist monitor adds motion sensor technology to increase accuracy.

Frozen food unit sales were up in the drug channel, outpacing unit growth in other channels, according to SymphonyIRI data. 


Hand-held frozen foods are the stars of the category, according to Mintel. Frozen breakfast food dollar sales were up 3.6% in the drug store channel, according to SymphonyIRI data, for the 12 weeks ended Aug. 12. Frozen appetizers and snacks also had single-digit growth.