Greetings all. I hope this finds everyone healthy and doing well. As this tumultuous time seems like it may be coming to a close, we must remain laser focused on the near future. We can all reflect, analyze, and strategize, and while COVID-19 revealed many strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for us all, we are well advised to use that knowledge to our advantage through 2021. We at Best-Met Publishing have started the initial work for putting together our Annual Market Studies. We are focused as a team to delivering the most comprehensive and detailed analysis of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic retail food markets to you. If you have any questions or interest in these products, please let us know and we will be happy to share.
It has been good to see store openings starting to occur a little more frequently as it appears as though we are coming out of the gray and dark days of this pandemic. To wit, Associated Supermarket Group has added another store to its portfolio. Extra Jumbo Supermarket by Antillana, located in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, opened its doors for business in early April. Owner José Grullón will offer customers in the neighborhood savings on items that enrich local food and culture preferences. The Extra Jumbo market brings a much needed fresh approach to the retail food landscape in the area and it caters to the taste preferences of the neighborhood in a vibrant, well-designed store. The 12,000 square foot site was previously a theater, and kudos to Jose for keeping much of the ornate décor in his design. You should check out the ceiling if you have a chance to get to the store. Congrats to Jose and the Extra Jumbo team!
And Allegiance Retail Services, LLC, announced the debut of its northernmost location with the grand opening of the first Connecticut Foodtown, as the new Super Foodtown of New Hartford, CT was opened by Allegiance member Mike Fernandez. Mike acquired the 24,000 square foot 58-year-old Marandino’s Supermarket back in 2019 and has completely remodeled and transformed the formerly “tired” but successful store into a state-of-the-art supermarket.
“I came up here because I was looking for a life-changing moment for me and my family,” Mike told us. “We’re most probably going to migrate out here sometime soon and make our residence here. We want to leave the city.” He also noted that since coming to New Hartford, the town’s residents have been very friendly, warm and welcoming. “I’ve had nothing but positive interactions with our customers. We’ve invested a lot of capital into the store with new technology and extensive renovations. We are providing new services to the area with free delivery, ATM and a vastly greater product selection.”
Shoppers will be welcomed to the store by the new orchard-style produce market, which will include organic produce, fresh cut flowers and seasonal plants.
The New Hartford Foodtown will also offer value-priced items under three private label selections – the Foodtown brand, Rancher’s Legend brand Angus beef, and its earth-friendly line of Green Way natural and organic products. The newest addition to the Green Way label will be introduced as well, the Green Way organic chicken line. Additional features added to the supermarket will be an enhanced selection of fresh prepared foods, including store-made salads and Boar’s Head store-made sandwiches, fresh pasta, expanded international cheeses and fresh baked artisan breads. “We are excited to have a first-class supermarket to serve the Connecticut shopper. The entire Allegiance team congratulates Mike Fernandez and looks forward to the success of the store,” said John T. Derderian, president and COO of Allegiance Retail Services. Best wishes to the Fernandez family!!!
While at Mike Fernandez’s opening I ran into Wayne Pesce, the Connecticut Food Association’s (CFA) president. Wayne was bringing me up to speed on the wine sales in grocery store situation in the Nutmeg State. Connecticut remains one of only a handful of states that prohibit wine sales in food stores and there is plenty of evidence in neighboring states that suggests allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores will have little to no negative impact on local businesses. In fact, he stated, allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores is likely to yield significant benefits to consumers and the state’s economy.
The debate boils down to convenience and leveling the playing field for who is eligible to sell wine at retail. Allowing traditional grocery stores to sell wine returns it to its appropriate and traditional role as part of a meal, encouraging healthy consumption, at the same time consumer choice and convenience. I won’t steal Wayne’s thunder on this. For his complete column go to page 24 of this issue, or to foodtradenews.com to see how he lays out the case for grocery store wine sales in Connecticut. And also, he said that June 28 is the date for CFA’s annual golf tournament at Lake of Isles golf course in North Stonington, CT. While registration details will be coming soon, he wanted to make sure you save the date.
Kudos to Goya Foods as the company donated $10,000 to support the reconstruction of the Little Angels Child Development Center, home to 200 children in Providencia, Colombia. This donation is part of First Lady of Colombia Maria Juliana Ruiz’s “Ayudar Nos Hace Bien” initiative, supported by the Colombian Consulate of New York, to rebuild many of the areas in the region that were devastated due to extreme weather conditions. Goya’s donation is part of the company’s “Goya Gives” program and celebration of its 85th anniversary. A check presentation was held at Goya Foods in Jersey City where Rafael Toro, director of public relations for Goya Foods, presented the check to Susana Berenguer , Cónsul General Central of Colombia. Well done, Goya!!!
Saw a nice piece in Crain’s New York Business recently where Gus Lebiak, president and COO of Krasdale Foods, was interviewed. While we are all aware that many food retailers are coming off the best 12+ months they have ever had, it seems for NYC grocery store owners the latter days of the pandemic are bittersweet. With restaurants and eateries reopening, items that used to fly off the shelves are starting to linger a little longer. “We’ve seen demand slow,” confirmed Lebiak, “Things are going back to normal. I understand people are hungry for a restaurant.”
Items shoppers aren’t quite so ravenous for include canned soup, whose sales declined by 25 percent in the week ended March 7. Frozen vegetables were down 11 percent and cold cereal dropped 8 percent.
As we all witnessed a year ago, supermarket shelves were wiped out as panicked shoppers stocked up on toilet paper, dried beans and other staples. The hysteria slowed after a few months, but shoppers kept returning because dining out was impractical if not impossible. “Our stores adapted quickly and captured new customers,” he said. The question for grocers now is how many shoppers who stayed loyal during the pandemic will stay that way as outdoor dining becomes feasible again and indoor dining rebounds. In supermarkets’ favor, a lot of stuck-at-home people took up cooking. And while lockdown introduced them to the convenience of online shopping it also exposed the limitations. It’s harder to substitute items or try something new if it’s not right in front of you. Consumers also got reacquainted with products they stopped using long ago. Sales of Crisco, for instance, jumped by nearly 15 percent after years of decline. Sales for some food categories remain strong, including snacks and sweets, and spices turn over faster than before, a sign of people cooking from home and perhaps broadening their culinary horizons.
We have all faced the difficult obstacles created by COVID-19 and for the most part we have overcome and thrived through the adversity. Let’s continue to stay focused in our efforts to get back to normalcy.
Get your vaccine when you have the opportunity, wear your mask, wash your hands, maintain social distance when you have to, yada, yada, yada. Some trade events are scheduled to occur in the next few weeks. Check our trade calendar on page 29, and I do hope I will see you out there. Be safe and as always you can reach me at 201.250.2217 or [email protected]