How Whole Foods’ suppliers are shifting from shelves to screens to better sell on Amazon
As a result of Amazon encouraging more crossover between online and brick-and-mortar shopping, some brands that had previously stayed offline are jumping on—and they’re retooling their packaging and products to sell better online. Lillabee Baking, for example, redesigned its paperboard baking mix boxes into pouches to make them more durable for shipping and more appealing for e-commerce. And cider company Red Jacket Orchards debuted a 52 oz. version of its beverage online, instead of the single serve or 64 oz. version it sells in stores, to optimize shipping costs. Read more at Inc…
Amazon makes $1 billion splash in health care, buying PillPack
Amazon has just acquired access to a big chunk of the U.S. prescription drug market by buying PillPack, a medication subscription service that packages people’s pills into daily packs and delivers them monthly. The prescription drug industry was already in the midst of a shakeup as insurance companies and drug-benefit managers team up to take on what they suspected would be a move from Amazon. Industry watchers say the most immediate threat from the deal is to pharmacy chains like Walgreens and CVS. Read more at Bloomberg…
Behind Conagra’s $10.9B deal for Pinnacle Foods: Why the frozen food aisle is suddenly so hot
The deal announced yesterday is the biggest global food deal yet this year, according to financial markets platform Dealogic. It puts a spotlight on frozen food, which is a bright spot for growth among the otherwise lackluster center-store categories. But center store still commands more sales than perimeter categories—$344 billion last year, to be exact. And, in the last year, frozen sales were up 1.8 percent, outpacing dairy and packaged groceries, according to Nielsen. Read more at Forbes…
This female founder raised over $1 million for a zero-waste beauty brand
Sure, many companies sell “all natural” beauty products, but they’re wrapped in plastic packaging that ends up in the landfill. So says Ethique, a zero-waste beauty brand in New Zealand that sells waterless shampoos, moisturizers, serums and more in solid form, packaged in compostable boxes free of laminates and plastic coatings. Read more at Forbes…
Palm oil sustainability group suspends Nestle on failure to submit report
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil suspended Nestle’s membership as a result of the company not submitting an annual report to explain how it had ensured—and would ensure in the coming year—that it was using sustainable palm oil. Read more at Reuters…
