H.E. Butt Grocery, Food Lion and Kroger rank the highest for loyalty, respectively, according to Bond Brand Loyalty's 2021 report. The survey looked at loyalty programs, brand influence and rewards and redemption.

The Orville Redenbacher hot air popper gets a nod from reviewer Bryan Holt as the best home popcorn maker, but the Wabash Family Farms stovetop popper with integrated stirrer offers a better old-fashioned experience. Holt details these and five other brands and types.

Nordic Ware is 75 years old this year and has been providing bakeware and cookware to Walmart for 35 years. Nordic Ware executive Jennifer Dalquist recently gave Walmart US President and CEO John Furner a tour of Nordic Ware's Minnesota headquarters, and the two talked about the partnership.

Unilever's plans to spin off its Tazo and T2 tea brands, Instacart's entry into grocery microfulfillment and Walmart's 100% tuition assistance for employees caught SmartBrief readers' attention this week. Campbell's Soup's redesigned labels and its sale of 100 nonfungible tokens to support Feeding America led this week's Top 10 list.

Albertsons is preparing for the possibility of bringing back COVID-19 restrictions because of rising cases brought on by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. CEO Vivek Sankaran said the grocer is actively discussing possible new restrictions and will be prepared to enact them if needed.

Sandy Douglas, former CEO of Staples, will take over as CEO and join the board of directors at UNFI effective Aug. 9. Douglas takes over for Steve Spinner, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Consumers are looking for hybrid meal options and time-saving solutions, according to the Food Industry Association's 2021 Power of Foodservice at Retail report. "This analysis underscores the power in convenience-driven retail foodservice observed by the grocery shopper," said FMI's Rick Stein.

Shoppers still value online shopping as they begin to return to brick-and-mortar stores and want to continue having both options, according to an 84.51° report. Barbara Conners, vice president of commercial insights at 84.51°, said hybrid shoppers are here to stay and retailers need to stop thinking of shopping in-store and online as different things.

Grocers and other retailers are using technology including artificial intelligence to quickly crunch data and manage price optimization during the current period of inflation. Sporting goods retailer Academy Sports and Outdoors uses AI software from Revionics, which uses a data-driven approach that helps retailers balance pricing across categories and products.

Google Assistant reportedly is testing a "fast checkout" prompt, automatically filling out payment information and addresses to streamline the shopping experience. The feature appears to still be in the pilot stage.