5@5: UNFI to sell Shoppers Food & Pharmacy | Pediatricians call for soda taxes

Parent company of Shoppers plans sale of the Baltimore region grocery chain

Executives at United Natural Foods Inc. plan to sell 36 Shoppers Food & Pharmacy stores in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area to an as-of-yet unknown buyer. The lack of clarity surrounding the timeline of the sale and future of the retail chain has rankled Shoppers employees who are now uncertain about their continued employment. Read more at The Baltimore Sun …

To curb kids’ sugary drink habits, pediatricians now call for soda taxes

Together with the American Heart Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics has “endorsed a range of strategies designed to curb children’s consumption—including taxes on sugary drinks, limits on marketing sugary drinks to kids and financial incentives to encourage healthier beverage choices.” Consumption of sugary drinks are on the decline, but even so, most U.S. kids and teens continue to consume around 150 calories per day from them. Read more at NPR …

A bagel dog, a blizzard and the birth of a new plant-based brand

Alpha Foods launched in 2015 with the aim of pleasing omnivorous customers with frozen comfort food alternatives that taste like the real thing. The partners behind the brand have pursued “a mass-market retail deal rather than launching first in specialty natural food channels,” which is an odd first move for a plant-based brand, because they trust that vegans and vegetarians will find their products no matter where they are located. Read more at Forbes …

Before Tom’s of Maine could go zero waste, it had to figure out how to compost toothpaste

Tom’s of Maine has finally found a way to repurpose the 30,000-plus pounds of extra toothpaste that once ended up in landfills each year. A nearby large-scale commercial composting facility has discovered that the company’s natural toothpaste actually beneficial for composting purposes due to its toxin-free composition. Read more at Fast Company …

Aldi launches new ‘Local’ concept in store in South London

The Aldi Local concept differentiates itself by offering easily portable goods in a smaller format. However, the company has stressed that this was not “a move into convenience retailing … [Aldi Local] is still twice the size of a typical convenience store.” Read more at Retail Gazette …