Lidl GB raises hourly wages for frontline employees

Lidl GB raised entry-level pay by 50p to 60p per hour for entry-level workers 23 and older and says it is now the “highest paying supermarket in the UK.” Wages for those workers are increasing from £10.85 to £11.35 within the M25 and £9.50 to £10.10 outside of London. Lidl says the increases, which will […]

EU table grape forecast shows slight changes for 2021-22

Grapa awards Jupiter Group ARRA table grape exclusivity in India in 'unprecedented move'

The European Union table grape production is forecast to increase slightly with exports decreasing in the 2021-22 marketing year, according to a USDA report. The production forecast is 1,386,000 metric tons (MT), up just one percent from the previous season, mostly due to dry temperatures in May that favored fruit setting increasing volumes in Italy. Production […]

Fruits of Thought: The Great Resignation And The Joy of Produce

All over the United States, businesses are experiencing difficulty getting fully staffed. This is especially a problem in restaurants and hospitality establishments that downsized a great deal or even closed during the pandemic. In August one in 14 workers in these industries quit. Partly this is because it is easy to quit as comparable jobs […]

Packaging in a visual society: Transparency, sustainability and social stances matter

Packaging is playing a larger role in produce retailing, and technical advances, sustainability and the use of more advanced graphics, along with ongoing consumer concerns for hygiene and food safety are driving development. Consumer trends, including the increasing use of curbside pickup and home delivery, will be the touchstone of effective packaging development and deployment. […]

Asda study shows consumers won’t pay premium prices for sustainable products

Sourcing sustainable bananas for foodservice and wholesale markets

What would help drive up purchases of sustainable products? It’s pretty simple: Lower prices. According to new research done by supermarket chain Asda, green labeling and increased product options are not what gets consumers’ attention, but the cost of those items. More than 75% said they would have a more sustainably-focused mindset if prices were […]

How Margin Creep kills the Golden Goose

UK grocery sales see significant spike, grow by fastest rate in more than 10 years

There is a concern that is being circulated throughout the industry that affects everyone in it and their business: per capita produce consumption is going down. This is not a new phenomenon as consumption has been slipping over the past 20 years. Everyone seemed to recognize that this is not a good thing and is […]

Capital markets across Europe show big interest in Greenfood’s sustainability bond

Sweden’s Greenfood AB, a leader in healthy, convenient food from fruits and vegetables to sandwiches, was granted a four-year sustainability bond worth SEK 1,050 million. Greenfood Group says the bond, which is linked to its sustainability targets, drew huge interest from Nordic and European capital investors and became oversubscribed. It had received the highest potential […]

Big Five supermarket CEOs commit to sweeping climate change efforts at COP26 Summit

The five big supermarket chains promised to cut carbon emissions in their operations by 2030 during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow. Leaders from Co-Op, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose all said they would do their part in helping to save the environment by trimming food waste, reducing […]