Market Trends

Retailers are turning to high-quality house brands to help polish their image and win the loyalty of a choosier breed of deli shoppers.

When a shopper picks up a jar of pasta sauce, it's often just a beginning. Many also seek ingredients that will make it their 'own,' and other components to complete the meal.

ATLANTA - As consumer concern grows about how food-producing animals are treated, retailers are looking for ways to show they're interested, too. A new certification logo from Atlanta-based United Egg Producers may help.

INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets is launching a Hispanic grocery store called Savin*$ Mercado, modeled after the chain's low-cost store, Savin*$, The Indianapolis Star reports.

AMSTERDAM - Royal Ahold NV said on Thursday its U.S. Foodservice subsidiary would acquire certain assets of U.S. distributor Lady Baltimore Foods, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

CHICAGO - Overall consumption of CPG products appears to have returned to normal a year after the tragic events on Sept. 11, 2001, but consumer shopping and purchase behavior continue to be influenced by concerns about the economy and national security, according to the latest report from Information Resources Inc.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma supermarket operator Homeland has emerged from bankruptcy as a fully owned subsidiary of Kansas City-based Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., the companies announced late Monday.

WASHINGTON, DC - The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and UCCnet will present Collaborative E-Commerce: An Implementation Summit, Oct. 23-25 in Phoenix, Az.