NEWS WATCH: STUDY: RETAILERS HURT BY ONLINE SMOKES SALES... DOLE FOLLOWS FUNCTIONAL FOODS TREND

STUDY: RETAILERS HURT BY ONLINE SMOKES SALES

gal Internet cigarette sales are falling short, and retailers and distributors are losing sales as a result, the American Wholesale Marketers Association concluded as a result of a study. Prompted by convenience distributor members who cited Internet sales as their biggest problem, the AWMA visited 30 randomly selected online vendors in June. Using a credit card, an AWMA researcher was able to buy cigarettes from 11 of them. The organization said its findings support the need for tougher federal legislation to ensure states are able to collect excise taxes due on cigarettes. Cigarette sales in supermarkets are declining but remain one of their biggest Center Store categories in terms of dollar sales, representing about $5 billion in annual sales.

DOLE FOLLOWS FUNCTIONAL FOODS TREND

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- Following moves by other food companies to highlight their offerings' nutritional advantages, Dole Food Co. fruit and vegetable products will get new logos this month as part of a new "Superfoods" campaign to promote foods with specific health benefits. Certain nutritionally dense food products will get one of eight logos labeling them a "Superfood" for skin, brain, joints, heart, immunity, eyes or bones, or containing antioxidants. The Dole Nutrition Institute, based here, also plans to distribute food guide brochures and posters to retailers and schools, providing what Dole says is an easier-to-follow alternative to the government's new food pyramid. In addition, Dole said it is producing a Superfoods cookbook that will be tipped into 275,000 copies of Prevention magazine this fall.