Hy-Vee is purchasing Strack & Van Til Food Markets, a chain based in Northwest Indiana with 22 stores and 2,800 employees. Strack & Van Til will function as a subsidiary of Hy-Vee and retain its own branding, and the purchase will give Hy-Vee positioning in the eastern suburbs of Chicago.

Shoppers enjoy the freshness of in-store bakery items, and two-thirds of consumers noted at least one nutrition-related claim when purchasing functional bakery items, according to FMI -- The Food Industry Association's "Power of In-Store Bakery" report. "Food retailers have the opportunity to highlight ingredients and functional bakery items by calling attention to whole grain, minimally processed ingredients, allergen-free and other attributes," said Rick Stein, FMI's vice president of fresh foods.

Younger shoppers and high-income households spent more money on foodservice than retail foods last year, and grocers need to identify consumer preferences in order to compete in these consumer segments, according to research from FMI -- The Food Industry Association, Circana and Oliver Wyman. Offering convenient and healthful food solutions such as pre-cut produce items and meal kits could be a way of meeting this demand, FMI said.

Grocery industry leaders need to actively monitor their company's technology roadmaps and take note of what can be learned from testing, even if a particular technology implementation seems like a failure, said Mike Stigers, president of Wakefern Food Corp. "If we can set the tone to do that, and to have that accountability and responsibility and to have the courage to do that, boy, look at the millions that would be saved and that we can now invest in the things that will be much more fruitful for us," Stigers said, noting that, "[l]eadership has to have the courage to fail."

Despite recent news that Amazon is walking away from its "Just Walk Out" checkout technology, the company says it's simply tailoring the tech for venues where it works best, such as in stadium, airport and university shops where shoppers are making quick trips and purchasing fewer items, explained Amazon Vice President Dilip Kumar in this Q&A with Fortune. Since grocery shopping typically involves longer shopping lists, coupons and a desire to see real-time totals, "we felt like the Dash Cart is a much better platform for experimentation and continued invention in large-format grocery stores rather than Just Walk Out," Kumar said.

Kroger has a team dedicated to identifying and managing threats to the grocer's business, associates and customers, and that team is proactive in preventing workplace violence by taking a relational approach with associates. This initiative involves evaluating safety threats and determining what kind of support associates might need if they are going through a personal struggle or crisis, said Matt Talbot, senior manager of the retailer's threat assessment team.

PepsiCo has invested significantly in roughly 35 water efficiency projects worldwide, resulting in innovations such as capturing steam from potato frying for reuse, said David Grant, senior director of global climate and water solutions. "If you look at the way our goals are structured, it's very much about the full transformation from agriculture right through to manufacturing," said Grant.

Private-label dairy sales were $33.7 billion for the year ended Jan. 28 as private-label products outperformed brands in 10 out of 15 dairy categories and natural cheese overtook milk as the top private-label dairy category, according to data from Circana. Price and value are the biggest reasons shoppers are buying such store brands, and 54% of shoppers expect to buy private brands somewhat or much more in the future, according to Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations for FMI -- The Food Industry Association.

I often wish I had a crystal ball to predict the future of grocery shopping. With food fads changing at a lightning pace, just staying on top of trends feels like falling behind. While I haven't found a reliable crystal ball yet, I can seek to better understand the people who are the future -- Gen Z. To start my investigation of how Gen Z grocery shops, I walked around the perimeter of the grocery store with latest report releases of The Power of Meat, The Power of Seafood and The Power of Produce. Read more from Allison Febrey, FMI's manager of research and insights.

Will Rogers famously said "The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." Which is both true and the reason why -- in the realm of financial management and auditing within the food retail industry -- staying abreast of legislative changes is paramount. One such change that demands attention is the impending expiration of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. Signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017, this act represented the most substantial overhaul of the US tax code in decades. The TCJA aimed to simplify the tax system, stimulate economic growth and provide tax relief for individuals and businesses. But as we approach 2025, the expiration of key provisions in this act brings forth a myriad of challenges for the industry.

Getir is reportedly looking at restructuring possibilities that could involve breaking up the group or exiting certain markets. The global grocery delivery platform currently operates in five countries with the goal of getting orders to shoppers within 15 minutes, and two years ago investors valued the company at nearly $12 billion.