Online grocery sales decline: Survey

U.S. online grocery sales in November dropped about 10% from the year-earlier period to $7.7bln, according to the monthly Brick Meets Click/Mercatus consumer grocery shopping survey. Online’s share of total grocery sales fell more than 3% to 10.1%.Source: supermarketnews.com 

Global food tech unicorn NotCo closes $70mln in funding to fuel new B2B platform

NotCo, the fast-growing food tech company with a first-of-its-kind patented A.I. technology, Giuseppe, announced it has closed $70mln in new funding as a Series D1. The new capital will catapult the company’s new B2B Unit which will enable other CPG brands, ingredient suppliers and technology providers to leverage Giuseppe for their own innovation purposes and exponentially accelerate the transformation of the plant-based industry. NotCo will continue to operate its branded business, NotCo Food, offering products like NotMilk™, NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ through retail and food service businesses nationwide.Source: businesswire.com 

US: Washington AG appeals to block Albertsons’ $4bln dividend

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has appealed to the state’s Supreme Court in an effort to block a $4bln dividend that Albertsons Cos. is planning to pay to its shareholders. “We’re going to be taking this critical issue directly to the state Supreme Court”, Ferguson said in a statement, after a judge in a lower state court ruled that there was no reason to delay the payment.Source: supermarketnews.com 

Canada: Walmart offers select holiday food items at 2021 prices

Walmart Canada is rolling back the prices on some popular holiday foods to help financially strained shoppers. From December 8 to 28, the retailer is offering last year’s prices on traditional foods like turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, cake, ice cream and more in-store and online.Source: canadiangrocer.com

Australia: Woolworths selling $A636mln stake in Endeavour Group - term sheet

Australian supermarket company Woolworths Group is selling a $A636mln stake in Endeavour Group in a block trade, based on a term sheet seen by Reuters. Woolworths declined to comment on the sale. Endeavour did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Following the sale of the 98.5mln shares, Woolworths will retain a 9.1% stake in Endeavour, the term sheet said.Source: reuters.com 

Supermarket encourages Polish shoppers to buy “imperfect vegetables” for Christmas

Supermarket chain Lidl has launched a campaign encouraging shoppers to “give vegetables a chance” by buying less-than-perfectly shaped ones for a discounted price ahead of Christmas. “They look different but taste the same”, says Lidl in an advert featuring the carrots, celeriac and beetroot on offer. “Don’t waste food and support Polish farmers before Christmas.”Source: notesfrompoland.com 

Carrefour to launch Atacadão format in Europe

Carrefour is finalising the European launch of its hard discount cash-and-carry brand Atacadão, already available in Brazil and Morocco. The president of the French distribution group, Alexandre Bompard, recently confirmed plans to test the new store model in France from autumn of 2023. According to French media reports, the first Atacadão store could open in Seine-Saint-Denis, where an existing Carrefour hypermarket would be transferred into the cash-and-carry format imported from Brazil.Source: esmmagazine.com 

Portugal: Union Investment acquires Continente Colombo hypermarket in Lisbon

German fund Union Investment has acquired the Continente Colombo hypermarket, operated by food retailer Sonae MC in Lisbon, Portugal, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will be added to the portfolio of institutional open-ended real estate fund UniInstitutional European Real Estate, Union Investment said in a statement.Source: esmmagazine.com 

Amazon.sg teams up with Little Farms to launch close to 3,000 all-natural, healthy and delicious products on Fresh & Fast this Holiday Season

Amazon Singapore has partnered with Little Farms, one of Singapore’s leading artisanal grocery retailers, to launch its range of all-natural, healthy and delicious products including meats, seafood, dairy and grocery products on Fresh & Fast, perfect for holiday preparation and more. The extensive range of groceries also includes Little Farm’s house brand, including fruits & vegetables, meats, seafood, ready-to eat curries, hummus and dips, nuts, granola, dried fruit, cold press juices and kombucha drinks among others.Source: media-outreach.com 

Krave Mart wants to build a sustainable quick-commerce business in Pakistan

Kassim Shroff, co-founder of Krave Mart, believes private labels, wider assortment, and a 40-minute delivery time would allow quick commerce to sustain and thrive. Kassim Shroff: "Forty percent of our orders have one fruit and vegetable item. By next year, we want to have 80% orders having one fruit and vegetable item every single day".Source: restofworld.org 

Indonesia: GoTo sells $96mln stake in retailer Alfamart

Indonesia's PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia said it has sold its stake in local retailer Alfamart worth 1.5tln rupiah ($96.03mln), days after the tech firm announced its strategy to focus on accelerating profitability.Source: reuters.com 

Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt operating profit slides

Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt reported operating profit of 123mln euros ($130.7mln) for the six months to September 30, down 41.6% year on year, hit by high inflation and substantial cost increases.Source: reuters.com 

Israeli AI discounts fresh food in Dutch supermarkets

Food close to its expiration date in a leading European supermarket chain will be marked down automatically by AI. Wasteless, an Israeli startup, has pioneered dynamic pricing to mark down fresh produce and save it from being dumped. It will be rolling out its systems across 70 Hoogvliet stores in the Netherlands.Source: nocamels.com 

UK: Dole Sunshine unveils new plant-based dessert

The Dole Sunshine Company has announced the arrival of its new Fruit & Cream range which combines fruit with a plant-based cream. Available in two flavours - apple & cinnamon and peach & vanilla, the products have an RRP of £2.49 for a pack of four. Source: kamcity.com 

Portugal: Lidl opens first university campus store

Lidl Portugal has opened its first store on a university campus as part of a commitment to redevelop the building and open the campus to the community. Located on the university campus of the Faculty of Science and Technology in the New University of Lisbon, Portugal, the 1,400 square metre store is designed to offer a comfortable shopping experience in a bright and functional space, with an state-of-the-art architectural design. At the store, consumers can enjoy freshly squeezed, natural orange juice, as well as ready-to-go roasted chicken and ribs.Source: esmmagazine.com 

Dutch parliament wants ban on huge food discounts

A majority in the Dutch parliament wants to crack down on huge discounts for food products. They say such are unacceptable and are looking for a ban, as is already the case for alcohol.Source: retaildetail.eu