World’s first plastic-free Trust Mark launches

Environmental group A Plastic Planet has debuted a new label to help consumers find food and drink products packaged without plastic. The UK supermarket chain Iceland has said it will adopt the seal on its own private label products this month as it works toward a goal to eliminate single-use plastic packaging by 2023. Dutch grocer Ekoplaza, which recently unveiled an entirely plastic-free aisle, and tea brand teapigs are also using it. Read more at Packaging News…

Major supermarket chain goes ‘boutique’ with new downtown store

California supermarket chain Raley’s opened a new grocery concept in downtown Sacramento this week. Market 5-ONE-5 is one-fifth of the size of a traditional supermarket—with most of that space devoted to healthy local food, including a butcher and deli, prepared foods and a bar. Raley’s carefully curated the limited selection with the help of a dietitian and is managing the store independently of its other supermarkets. The “ONE” in the name, by the way, stands for organic, nutrition and education. Read more at Sacramento Bee…

Whole Foods is selling home décor now

Succulents, candles and pottery, oh my! Plant & Plate is a mini-store within the new Whole Foods Market in Bridgewater, New Jersey that sells premium home decor. “Three years ago, we really started being a lot more proactive in the housewares category,” says the retailer’s Whole Body coordinator Genevieve Monette. “It’s a category that’s been growing for us and doing well.” Read more at Co.Design…

Cod and ‘immune broth’: California tests food as medicine

Meet the Ceres Community Project, a California-funded pilot project that puts teenagers in the kitchen to prepare nutritious meals for sick, low-income adults. Over the next three years, researchers at several California universities will assess whether providing these meals to patients with congestive heart failure or Type 2 diabetes affects their prognosis, readmission rate and referrals to long-term care. Read more at The New York Times…

Rite Aid-Albertsons: We’ll be top 5 health, food and wellness player

As Rite Aid and grocery chain Albertsons integrate their businesses, executives say there’s plenty of room in Albertsons stores to expand health and wellness efforts, including RediClinic retail clinics. Rite Aid says its Medicare Part D business is projected to grow 50 percent this year through its pharmacy benefit management business. Combined, the two companies will have 4,868 stores and 4,327 pharmacies. Read more at Forbes…