Trading Partners

Americans Against Food Taxes, a new coalition of concerned individuals, working families, and small and large businesses, will combat new taxes on beverages and food, including a tax on juice drinks and soda currently under consideration by some members of Congress. Last week, the coalition launched a Web site, www.nobeverageandfoodtaxes.com.

Point-of-sale (POS) efficiencies and total cost of ownership are increasingly becoming the focus of cost-conscious retailers, according to a recent study from the Aberdeen Group.

After several consecutive years of flat sales and stale performance, in-store bakery department performance is on the rise, but there still remains ample room for continued improvement, according to the latest insights revealed in Progressive Grocer’s 2009 annual Bakery Operations Review.

Supervalu’s new CEO -- and soon-to-be president -- is shaking things up, as evidenced by the pending departures of two longtime executives and a realigned customer-focused leadership and operating structure alongside the creation of a new health-and-wellness division to facilitate stronger alignment between the Minneapolis-based company’s pharmacy and health and beauty operations.

Verlaque Fine Foods manufacturers high-quality balsamic reductions infused with fruits native to South Africa.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) said yesterday that Intertek, an international provider of quality and safety solutions, has joined RILA and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) as a sponsor in the development and rollout of a worldwide manufacturing standard for consumer goods.

At its recent 56th Annual Stockholders Meeting and Banquet dinner in Bangor, full-service wholesaler Associated Grocers (AG) of Maine, Inc. presented several “Retailer of the Year” awards to independent grocers who have demonstrated leadership and innovation.

Despite numerous warnings about the risks posed by cardiovascular diseases, Americans are still not doing enough to improve their heart health, says Datamonitor consumer markets analyst Mark Whalley, author of the report “Opportunities in Heart Health: Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors.”