Newswatch 2009-05-11 (1)

LOBLAW EXPANDS PRIVATE-LABEL MEATS

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Loblaw Cos. here has expanded its President's Choice private-label meat brand with two new line extensions. PC “Tender and Tasty” beef features grilling, marinating, pan-fry, pot roast, oven roast and stewing cuts from Canada AAA or USDA Choice grade beef, while the PC “Free From” line features beef, chicken and pork products raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics. In a release, the company also announced a commitment to source “as much product as possible domestically” from Canadian producers.

SCHNUCKS MARKS CINCO DE MAYO

ST. LOUIS — In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, Schnuck Markets is spotlighting two vegetables common in Mexican cuisine — jicama and tomatillos — in its produce departments throughout May. Huge displays and special prices as well as recipe hand-outs are part of the deal. “With Cinco de Mayo upon us, we thought the month of May was the perfect opportunity to showcase a couple of our fresh Latin ingredients,” said Paul Simon, Schnucks spokesman. Frieda's, a Los Alamitos, Calif.-based wholesaler of specialty fruits and vegetables, has supplied the recipes and descriptive information that will be offered to customers, Simon told SN.

WEGMANS HOSTS CAKE DECORATING

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Wegmans Food Markets here celebrated Mother's Day in its bakery departments, giving kids a chance to decorate a cake for mom at a Wegmans location, or with a take-home cake kit. Children had an opportunity to decorate their cakes in any Wegmans store on Saturday, May 9, or purchase a take-home decorating kit before Mother's Day. Kits were available in Wegmans Ultimate Chocolate or Moist Vanilla.

THREE RETAILERS WIN POTATO CONTEST

EAGLE, Idaho — The Idaho Potato Commission has announced the grand-prize winners in its annual “Potato Lover's Month” retail display contest. From a field of 2,150 entrants, the winners, in descending store size, are Fred Sweany of Buehlers, Wooster, Ohio, in the 10 or more registers category; Dean Eide of Lammers Food Fest, Menomonie, Wis., in the 6-9 registers category; and Michael Schrader of Kirkpatricks Foodland, South Pittsburg, Tenn., in the 1-5 registers category. Yolanda Larson of Hurlburt Field Air Force Base in Florida and Donna Evans of Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas took the honors in the Military Commissary division. Participants were required to create a display during February featuring fresh Idaho potatoes and a dehydrated Idaho potato product, cross-merchandised with Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends and Molly McButter products. A full list of winners — including second- through fifth-place winners in each store category — along with photos of the winning displays, are available at retail.idahopotato.com.

D'AGOSTINO'S LAUNCHES MVP AWARD

LARCHMONT, N.Y. — D'Agostino's has named Dora's Naturals, South Hackensack, N.J., its Most Valuable Partner for the first quarter of this year. The Most Valuable Partner award was created this spring by Nicholas D'Agostino III, D'Agostino president and chief operations officer, to acknowledge vendors and/or manufacturers for providing outstanding quality, professionalism and exceptional customer service. Dora's Naturals is the first recipient. A provider of natural, organic and specialty dairy and soy products, including some of its own brands, Dora's supplies about 1,000 retailers in the Northeast, including 18-unit D'Agostino's.