The Rise in Demand for Cold Storage and Its Impact on the Food Retail Industry
For many years, cold storage has been the pillar of many industries, such as food retail and pharmaceutical, to maintain the integrity of temperature-sensitive products. It has been a key tool to keep the cold supply chain intact and help cool products in large volumes efficiently and effectively. Today, cold storage facilities are indispensable in the food retail industry due to the growing demand for perishable food products, the need to meet the complexities of the supply chain, and changes in consumer behavior and demographics. According to Grand View Research (a U.S.-based market research and consulting firm), the demand for [...]
Holiday Season in Times of Soaring Food Prices
The upcoming fall and winter holidays are highly anticipated events for most Americans. However, the soaring prices of gas, essential items, and especially groceries, threaten how we celebrate this year. As we are in the thick of inflation, consumers and retailers are challenged with how to balance expenditures versus cash flow. As expected, retailers are honing their strategies throughout the holiday rush in light of the current economic realities. On the other hand, consumers are focused on buying food items that bring them value as they carefully recalculate how much they should spend on holiday meals and other favorites without [...]
Despite Current Supply Challenges, the Decision to Utilize CO2 as a Refrigerant Can Give Retailers a More Secure Place in The Future
The past couple of years have presented challenges for the global supply chain and our industry has not been excluded from those challenges. Supply chain issues from the COVID pandemic combined with contamination at a naturally occurring CO2 site have had a lingering impact on CO2 gas production and its availability. CO2 is produced as a byproduct of several manufacturing processes such as the formation of hydrocarbons or various distillation and fermentation processes. After CO2 gas has been isolated it is purified into various levels, removing impurities, moisture, and non-condensable gases resulting in different grades of CO2 for various applications. [...]
A Look into the Future — Food Retail Predictions for 2023
The food retail industry has been immensely challenged, disrupted, and altered in the past several years, especially since the onset of the global health crisis. Now, as consumer behavior changes and the adoption of technology throughout the food retail landscape booms, the industry is in constant transition. Year over year, we have seen different trends and innovations shaping the food retail industry and the coming year isn’t any different. Soon enough, 2023 will be right at our doorsteps, bringing with it new trends in food, retail operation, and grocery shopping. Here are some food retail predictions for 2023 and how [...]
The Impact of Gen Z on the Food Retail Industry
The food retail industry isn’t new to adjusting store operations to accommodate customers’ ever-changing needs and shopping behavior. When it comes to demographics, food retailers have shifted tides for boomers who constantly want to shop in-store, while at the same time adopting the online revolution to cater to the demands of the millennials. Now, times have changed because the new kids on the block, Gen Zs are here and they are slowly but surely shaping the food retail landscape. Dubbed ‘digital natives’ and born into technology, Gen Z is disrupting industries worldwide and rapidly influencing how we do things in [...]
The Role of E-Commerce in Today’s Complex Food Retail Landscape
The accelerated use of e-commerce in the food retail space has greatly changed how we do things. As consumers, it has become a convenient choice to get our food for our dinner tables from restaurants or grocery stores. As for grocers, the integration of e-commerce in their brick-and-mortar store operations has both increased their market share and boosted their bottom line. Providing this platform for customers to shop remotely has helped food retailers meet their customers, wherever they are. Safe to say that e-commerce has brought revolutionary advantages to both consumers across demographics and to grocers of all sizes and [...]
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Guidance on Refrigeration Systems Reporting
Refrigeration Systems and Chillers Facilities with a refrigeration system and/or chillers requiring 50 pounds or more of a high-GWP refrigerant are required to register their facility, keep records of their refrigerant usage, and report that information to the Department. This information is used by the Department to calculate emissions from maintenance of and leaks from these sources. A high-GWP refrigerant is any compound or blend of compounds with a 100-year GWP value equal to or greater than 150. The Department maintains a list of high-GWP refrigerants and their 100-year GWP values, for informational purposes. Read More >
Is Online Grocery Meeting its Saturation Point
Online grocery has been an extension to our everyday lives in one way or another, especially during the Covid lockdowns. Fast forward to today — grocery e-commerce platforms play a key role for consumers and retailers worldwide in terms of conveniently meeting our food supply needs. These platforms have come to serve as a viable channel for food retailers to showcase their food products. With the accelerated adoption and use of technology in the food retail space, it comes as no surprise that numerous online grocery platforms are sprouting up in different sizes and formats. Whether it’s your local organic [...]
How Food Retailers Can Combat the Rising Cost of Goods and Commodities
The recent inflation happening around the globe is adversely affecting many different industries, especially food retail. From the supply chain to food production and processing, to retail store operations, every sector is feeling the impact and bearing the brunt of inflation. The rising cost of goods and commodities continues to be a global challenge and greatly affects how consumers behave when it comes to their buying decisions. Not just that, but inflation affects retailers regarding how they strategically operate in the hopes of boosting their numbers without sacrificing the other key elements of their business. These days are complex inflationary [...]
Get Ready for the Holiday Season — Tips for Grocers on Preparing for the Busy Months Ahead
According to a quote from Benjamin Franklin, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” This saying holds true and resonates with all of us, not just in our personal lives, but also in business and commerce. This is particularly true in the food retail industry which is composed of an interconnected web of business elements — planning and preparation are vital to success. In the next few months, the industry will once again face its busiest season of the year, and grocers are encouraged to start gearing up for it now. Is it too soon for grocers [...]