Entries tagged with 'supermarkets'
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Break out the cake and party favors; it's the bar code's 35th birthday. Those alternating black and white bars weren't always around to make our shopping experiences easier. The New York Times celebrates the bar code's birthday with some information behind the development and gradual use of this "technological staple of everyday life." You can add this little tidbit to your trivia database: On June 26, 1974, the first bar code was read off a 67¢ 10-pack of Juicy Fruit gum....
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Hispanic products may no longer be hiding in supermarket aisle corners like the gluten-free breads and Manischewitz yolk-free noodles. Several major chains are expanding their specialty offerings to capture business from Latinos, the country's fastest-growing population and already almost one-sixth of the U.S. total in 2008, according to this MSNBC report. Walmart is in the process of converting two stores (one in Phoenix, the other in Houston) into Supermercados aimed at Hispanic shoppers. According to the Walmart website, the Houston store opened in late April and has a bakery with over 40 traditional sweet breads and fresh corn tortillas, and a meat department with milanesa (kind of like the Hispanic schnitzel), fajitas, and arrachera (similar to skirt steak). This...
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Hardcore coffee geeks wouldn't even consider buying anything but freshly roasted whole coffee beans from a skilled local roaster. But what if you don't live near an Intelligentsia, Stumptown, or Blue Bottle roasting location? In that case, the Atlantic Food Channel gives some tips for selecting the freshest coffee beans from your local grocery store. Among them: Few markets date their bulk bins. If coffee is properly packaged in a valve bag (the bags with the internal buttons and little slits), it probably will taste fresher than bulk coffee, which has been exposed to atmosphere. Put your nose up to the valve and squeeze the bag. Evaluate the aroma. And this:...
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The Consumerist shares some tips from Consumer Reports for how to save money at the supermarket—such as choose store brands, use a bonus card, and clip coupons—but the comments from readers on how they save money are more informative and detailed than the post itself. Readers discuss their favorite stores, best store brand items, checking circulars in print and online, and more. What are your tips for saving money at the supermarket? Related Recession Grocery Shopping: What Are You Doing Differently? Where Americans Are Cutting Corners: Food...
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Photographs from mpreis.com Believe it or not, that's a supermarket at top. It's one of the handful of Austria-based MPREIS stores. More at Cool Hunting....
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While a new food labeling law goes into effect tomorrow, don't expect to find the country of origin of processed food or roasted nuts, fruit platters, turkey, bacon, juice, and mixed frozen vegetables. Will consumers adjust their purchasing habits based on this new info? We'll be looking for reports after the six month compliance period....
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©iStockphoto.com/donald_gruener A bill proposed by Massachusetts legislators would allow supermarkets to remove individual prices on each item, making customers rely instead on electronic scanners located throughout the store. Some people don't like the idea, however. The Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group says it will inconvenience shoppers by forcing them to walk to scanning stations. Critics also say it will make it harder to catch overcharges at the register. But Jon Hurst of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts says this move will ultimately benefit customers as it will lower prices and shorten lines without having to devote resources for item-by-item pricing. However, since most states don't follow this item-by-item pricing, the impact may be negligible. I'm personally a big fan of...
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-->Their pita chips taste awfully familiar to the kind at Whole Foods. And that Goddess dressing—I swear that cosmic, flowy-haired woman was on another bottle. Is Joe trying to pass this stuff off as his own? He'd never... No. Would he? Sure enough, Chow reveals that 80% of Joe-San/Josef/Giotto's products are probably produced by a third party. So where does that leave the no-middleman promise? Yikes, his fingers might have been crossed when he said that....
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Legendary New York City cheesemonger Murray's has just signed a deal with Kroger in which it will help expand the grocery chain's specialty cheese selections. From the press release announcing the pact: "We're thrilled to be pairing with Kroger," says Rob Kaufelt, President of Murray's Cheese. "As one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains, this opportunity gives Murray's an unprecedented chance to fulfill our mission, which is, simply, to bring great cheese to everyone." "Our partnership with Murray's allows us to build on their expertise as we expand our cheese offerings for our customers," said Jeff Burt, Vice President of Deli Bakery Merchandising for Kroger. The Kroger Co. operates in 31 states, either as Kroger's or as one of...
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Great great story by Kim Severson in the New York Times today on how grocery chains have begun customizing their stores to target the increasingly affluent Latino shopper: Although there is no one typical Hispanic shopper, some generalizations are driving the design of the new Latino-theme stores. Many have wider aisles because, research shows, grocery shopping is often a family outing. Hispanic families tend to be larger, and more people cook from scratch, so produce and meat departments tend to be bigger and better stocked. And loyalty to brands from the home country is strong. At Rancho Liborio, Tide is almost an afterthought. Mexican brands like Ariel dominate the shelves.But the generalizations end there. The term Hispanic applies to people...
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