Deli / Prepared Foods

In a finding that CPG companies — and the grocers that sell their products — will no doubt cheer, the 14th annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI), conducted by New York-based brand and customer loyalty and engagement consultancy Brand Keys, has determined that the “Decade of the Brand” is now upon us.

Food manufacturers received a range of grades — from good to failing — from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which recently issued a report card rating 128 food and entertainment companies’ policies on food marketing to children. Three-quarters of the companies rated got F’s for having insufficient policies or none at all.

The SunOpta Grains and Foods Group has completed an upgrade and retrofit at its Alexandria, Minn., aseptic processing and packaging facility, and has begun producing natural broth and soup products for a major international CPG company.

Spring arrives this month, and with it a bountiful new crop of center store opportunities. Among the occasion-based initiatives on tap are Hershey’s Easter product lineup, which includes some exciting new items; McCormick’s virtual workshop offering inventive ways for consumers to enliven their holiday celebrations; and Kraft’s big new partnership with NCAA and CBS Sports, which will begin rolling out a range of marketing initiatives during March Madness.

Grocery Shopping Network (GSN) has opened two new offices, on the East and West Coasts, for increased market coverage in both the New York and Los Angeles markets.

Challenged by some of the toughest economic times on record, foodservice operators — from restaurateurs to supermarketeers alike — are employing menu innovations to entice recession-weary diners.

Big Y Foods’ proposed 45,000-square-foot World Class Market and pharmacy in the Berkshire County town of Lee, Mass., will represent a new prototype for the New England grocery chain.

According to the 2010 results of EquiTrend, an annual brand equity study from global market research firm Harris Interactive, Hershey’s Kisses rated the highest of over 1,000 brands across 42 categories.