Trading Partners

The Haiti relief effort demonstrated just how much mobile phones have become an integral part of our everyday world in a way that nobody will ever forget: with the sending of a quick text message, we’re saving lives.

C.V.’s Family Foods this week added Grocery Shopping Network’s (GSN’s) digital shopper planning platform to the Web site for its 21 Marvin’s Food Stores located in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma, joining the company’s 14 stores already on the GSN network.

In an effort to better understand of the wants and needs of shoppers across its expanding operations, Tyler, Texas-based Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC) is expanding the deployment of its enterprise software solution across its more than 150 Brookshire, Super 1 Food, Olé Foods, and ALPS (Always Low Price Store) stores in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Homes and Gardens Best New Product Awards (BNPA) program has revealed its top winners for 2010, in tandem with research and insights from its companion second annual BrandSpark American Shopper Study.

Safeway, Inc. plans to join forces with FishWise — a nonprofit organization focused on improving the sustainability and financial performance of seafood retailers, distributors, and producers — to develop and implement a more comprehensive sustainable seafood policy.

Regional independent grocer The Markets (www.themarketsllc.com), based in Bellingham, Wash., has installed an electric car charging station in an effort to serve the more than 1,000 electric vehicles in the state, as well as encourage electric-car ownership among consumers.

Jeffrey Noddle, the retiring executive chairman of Minneapolis-based Supervalu, Inc., has received the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Sidney R. Rabb Award for his exceptional service to the community, and involvement in and strong advocacy on behalf of the supermarket industry, and Gary Phillips, retired president and CEO officer of Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) in Kansas City, Kan., has garnered the FMI Herbert Hoover Award for his personal and professional excellence in serving the food retail and wholesale industry.

On the heels of news that it will dramatically expand its fresh food offerings, Walgreens has named grocery and c-store veteran Jim Jensen divisional merchandise manager for the new category.