A lot is happening at grocers including retailers competing ways to reduce Thanksgiving meal costs, SNAP e-commerce access increasing, food-as-medicine efforts and how food insecurity impacts grocers. More broadly, certain food items continue to increase in price. And the conversation about weight loss drugs continues.
Grocers: Thanksgiving, SNAP e-commerce, food-as-medicine…
Walmart, Aldi competing lower Thanksgiving prices https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/10/19/walmart-aldi-thanksgiving-dinner-meal-prices-inflation-2023/71240849007/.
SNAP: BJ’s adds SNAP online payment for Instacart customers https://www.grocerydive.com/news/BJs-wholesale-club-instacart-grocery-delivery-snap-ebt-online-purchasing/698051/.
Kroger’s now accepts online SNAP Nationwide https://www.grocerydive.com/news/kroger-snap-online-purchasing-chainwide/697865/.
Albertsons grants to help signups for SNAP, WIC https://www.grocerydive.com/news/albertsons-awarding-6m-in-grants-to-support-snap-wic-sign-ups/697625/.
Instacart monthly stipend to help those in Chicago access healthy food https://www.grocerydive.com/news/instacart-grocery-stipends-food-inequities-chicago/697578/;
Instacart addressing food deserts in S.C. https://progressivegrocer.com/instacart-fighting-food-deserts-through-municipal-partnership. In-store restaurant offerings as the cost of restaurant meals increases https://www.grocerydive.com/news/grocers-replicating-restaurant-experience-meals/698112/.
Food: which are rising in price? and more…
The rising cost of orange juice: reduced yields, smaller oranges https://thetakeout.com/orange-juice-price-more-expensive-citrus-crop-explainer-1850959949. The price of olive oil surges
https://www.realsimple.com/olive-oil-prices-surging-7974058. Will sugar prices rise due to drought? https://www.tastingtable.com/1420764/usda-sugar-supply-drought/.
Chipotle raises prices for the 4th time in 2 years
Social media pics of shopping carts at different price points https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/10/07/grocery-prices-rising-social-media-complaints/71087569007/.
Beware!
Ahead of holidays retailers offering samples in pickup orders to increase impulse buying https://www.modernretail.co/marketing/retailers-are-adding-incentives-to-add-more-impulse-purchases-to-curbside-orders-ahead-of-the-holiday-season/.
Weight loss drugs continue to appear in the news…
First it was Walmart, now restaurants look for signs of weight loss drugs’ impact on sales https://www.reuters.com/business/weight-loss-drug-worries-add-us-restaurants-weak-traffic-woes-2023-10-26/;
yet Coca Cola CEO brushes off the impact of these drugs https://retailwire.com/coca-cola-is-ready-to-take-on-wegovy-and-ozempic-for-weight-loss/.
For reading…
Juicy Juice’s survey on parents weigh in on the challenges of making their children’s school lunches: it’s not pretty https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/parents-would-rather-clean-the-bathroom-get-a-cavity-filled-than-pack-lunchboxes-according-to-new-survey-from-juicy-juice-301948138.html.
The good, bad and ugly of fast food apps including rewards, points, usability and more https://www.tastingtable.com/1424948/fast-food-loyalty-apps-ranked-worst-best/.
Income spent on food by country and U.S. incomes from 1997 to 2021 https://www.foodpolitics.com/2023/10/weekend-thought-how-much-of-your-income-do-you-spend-for-food/.
Who cooks meals: the gender gap across the world narrowed during the pandemic but has widened a bit; do you know in which country men cook more meals than women? https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/10/30/1209473449/worldwide-women-cook-twice-as-much-as-men-one-country-bucks-the-trend.