Trading Partners

The natural sweetener stevia looks set to become the next big thing, according to a report from consumer research firm Mintel. Since December 2008, when the FDA approved use of rebaudioside A (an active ingredient of stevia) in U.S. foods and beverages, the stevia market has undergone tremendous growth: by mid-July 2009, sales topped $95 million, in contrast to the $21 million racked up for all of 2008. The report forecasts that the stevia market could surpass $2 billion by the end of 2011.

Scolari’s Food & Drug plans to enhance its online presence with new digital shopper planning services that include online access to weekly circulars, printable coupons, personalized specials, recipes, wine pairings and customized shopping lists.

The State of New York has awarded $296,000 to the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) to manage, promote and expand the city’s only wholesale farmers’ market, which operates at the New Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point in the borough of the Bronx. The market, where mid-sized farmers sell directly to wholesale buyers, will join the Big Apple’s 50 other CENYC-managed Greenmarkets in providing farm-fresh products to New York City residents and businesses.

Community-based independent McQuade’s Marketplace has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Gold level certification for its Westerly, R.I., store by reducing its refrigerant emissions by 95 percent vs. standard supermarket refrigeration systems.

Grocery digital service provider MyWebGrocer has expanded its presence in the New York metro market with its first dedicated Manhattan office, and has hired Dan Vanchieri as VP of sales for the vendor’s Eastern Region.

The next phase of one of the Campbell Soup Co.’s most successful soup introductions is the introduction of 12 100 percent natural varieties of Campbell’s Select Harvest® soups -- a first for the iconic Camden, N.J.-based manufacturer.

Phil Lempert, The Supermarket Guru®, will once again serve as spokesman for Product of the Year USA, the only consumer product award voted on by consumers to recognize product innovation.

In common with other YoPlus yogurt lines, Yoplait’s YoPlus Light provides a special blend of probiotic cultures and a natural dietary fiber to aid in digestive health, but has 36 percent fewer calories.