Here’s How Grocers Can Gear Up for the Upcoming Holiday Season
The next few remaining months of the year signal the start of the busy and exciting days ahead, especially for food retailers. This coming holiday season, consumers are eager and excited to celebrate with their loved ones as restrictions are beginning to ease and more people are getting comfortable adapting and living with the pandemic lifestyle. Since consumers were not able to gather for the fall and winter celebrations last year, it is expected that there will be an increase in consumer spending for the holiday season this year. Twenty-nine percent of US consumers are planning to spend more on [...]
Self-Contained Propane (R290) Display Cases Are the Future of Merchandising
Years of research regarding air pollution, how it affects the earth’s atmosphere, and climate change, have pushed people and industry to develop alternative behaviors and strategies to protect against harmful elements that have the potential to further destroy the environment. The refrigeration industry, in an effort to protect against global warming, has put forth initiatives to help eliminate harmful greenhouse gases. Government regulations continue to put the squeeze on synthetic refrigerant usage resulting in the rebirth of interest in natural refrigerants. HFCs, in particular, have been targeted by regulators as a result of research supporting HFCs as being harmful to [...]
The Past is Connected to the Present – History and Evolution of Natural Refrigerants
According to a famous American Astronomer, Dr. Carl Sagan, “You have to know the past to understand the present.” If history has taught us one thing, it is that the past is connected to things that are happening right now. Whether in business or in life, history tells us that in order for us to understand what is happening around us today, be it ideas, changes or events, we must learn to look back and understand its origin. In the refrigeration industry, the present push towards the use of natural refrigerants to curb the effects of climate change is not [...]
Back-to-School Food Products That Are on Top of Shoppers’ Grocery Lists This Year
Most school districts have opened for in-person education and parents are back working in the office, family meal preparations are slowly going back to pre-COVID days. However, the pressure for planning family meals has also resurfaced. That’s why easy and quick meal preparations are back gaining traction once again. Healthy and simple meals for the kids as they go back to school are one of the vital tools necessary to successfully navigate the school year ahead. As parents prepare for their children’s in-person education this fall, these back-to-school food products are on top of their grocery lists: Healthy Snacks Parents’ [...]
A Guide to Seafood Merchandising to Boost Grocery Sales
Product merchandising plays a key role in influencing store sales and bigger customer baskets. When it comes to merchandising food products, such as seafood which has been in the spotlight over the past few months, correct positioning and in-store promotions are essential to keep up with the demand and to keep sales growing. As customers continue to prioritize their health and wellness and become more conscious of what they eat, seafood remains on nearly every customer’s grocery list. This gives solid leverage for grocers wanting to take advantage of the opportunity by incentivizing them to strategize ways on how to [...]
How CO2 Training Plays a Critical Role in the Future of Refrigeration
The future refrigerants are geared towards the welfare of the environment. With sustainability at the core of the upcoming and existing refrigeration regulations from different agencies like EPA-SNAP and CARB, natural refrigerants are going to be the highlight in the commercial and industrial refrigeration industries moving forward. Since natural refrigerants such as CO2 are not like the usual HFCs and CFCs refrigerants that we’ve been used to applying in the food retail industry, special skills and knowledge are needed by those who work in the refrigeration industry. CO2 refrigeration training for technicians, engineers, and contractors plays a critical role in [...]
Maine, Virginia, and Rhode Island have recently joined other states in adopting the EPA’s SNAP rule.
Maine, Virginia, and Rhode Island have recently joined other states in adopting the EPA’s SNAP rule, prohibiting the use of certain refrigerants like R-404A. The states impacted and implementation dates are ... Read More>
Phasedown of HFCs: Establishing the Allowance Allocation and Trading Program under the AIM Act
On September 23, 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan signed a Final Rule titled, “Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Establishing the Allowance Allocation and Trading Program under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act.” This final rule is the first regulation under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020 to address the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators, air conditioners, and many other applications. This final rule establishes the HFC production and consumption baselines from which reductions will be made and codifies the phasedown schedule, establishes an initial methodology for issuing allowances [...]
E-Commerce Trends that are Shaping Food Retail
As a sign of the times where everything is seemingly on demand, the adoption of e-commerce in the food retail industry has skyrocketed over the past year. Online grocery platforms have helped retailers stay afloat and kept consumers at home stocked up with their groceries and other essentials. In 2020, we have seen the promising value of e-commerce in our daily lives, most especially when buying groceries online. Fast forward to this year; it is expected that the adoption of e-commerce platforms will continue to rise. Almost 60% of American consumers are now shopping for groceries online and according [...]
Factors Influencing Store Traffic Today
Store traffic is usually used as a metric to gauge the success of retail business strategies. However, the recent public health crisis has made it challenging to stick to foot traffic as a measure of success as we continuously shelter in place. Things have changed, and with the increased adoption of online grocery platforms and grocers slowly building micro-fulfillment centers to support online orders, a growing number of customers are now having their groceries delivered right to their doorsteps. Still, nothing beats the experience of pushing shopping carts through grocery stores, navigating the aisles, and carefully choosing products while having [...]