Sprouts signs on with Instacart as US grocers experiment with delivery
Phoenix and Tuscon, Arizona, will be among the first markets to be able to order groceries for delivery from Sprouts Farmers Market via Instacart. It's just the latest deal for Instacart, which has strengthened its relationships with several large grocers including Kroger and Albertsons since Amazon bought Whole Foods Market in July. Sprouts currently works with Amazon Prime Now to offer delivery in eight cities. Read more at CNBC…
Diet Coke’s new cans and flavors are millennial-friendly
U.S. consumers are inching away from sugar and artificial sweetener-laden sodas and toward energy drinks and flavored waters—and that’s a problem for Diet Coke. In an effort to “modernize” the brand and appeal to today’s young consumers, Coke has launched four new fruity flavors and a new look for its diet sodas. The new can is slender—like Red Bull—and taller. To get there, Coke interviewed thousands of consumers and spent two years on the redesign. Read more at CNN Money…
This 24-year-old started her own turmeric business to help Indian farmers
Trendy turmeric is appearing in coffee and tea drinks in upscale cafes across the world, but that luxury status is a long way from the fields of India where turmeric grows. That’s why Javeri Kadri started Diaspora Co. last year—to bring the same kind of direct trade and traceability that has transformed the coffee and cacao supply chains to spices. She sources the ingredient directly from a southern Indian city called Vijayawada, from a fourth-generation farmer. Spice farmers often get a raw deal and work in convoluted supply chains where they see little profit. “We are here to put money, equity and power in the hands of Indian farmers, and to disrupt and decolonize a colonial, outdated commodity spice trading system that profits only the trader,” the company says on its website. Read more at Munchies…
Walmart is facing a federal lawsuit over deceiving buyers of organic eggs
Underscoring consumer confusion around production practices in the egg industry, a lawsuit filed against Walmart accuses the retailer of misleading shoppers about its Organic Marketside brand eggs. On-package labels say the eggs came from hens with outdoor access, but the lawsuit claims that the producer of the eggs, Cal-Maine Foods Inc., keeps the birds inside enclosed structures with screens to let air in. Such enclosed structures meet standards for organic livestock, but many consumers expect more for the premium they pay on organic goods. Read more at Fortune…
Fresh Thyme to replace 365 by Whole Foods in College Mall
What was formerly planned to be a new 365 by Whole Foods Market store in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana, will now be a new Fresh Thyme Farmers Market location. Fresh Thyme has opened 66 locations since it was founded five years ago. Read more at Herald Times Online…
