Retail

In this week’s Checkout: market research firms IRI and NPD merge, Rao’s Homemade activates its first popup marketplace in NYC, All Y’all’s Foods supports a Texas Ranch turned vegan sanctuary and Kroger Dallas launches Restaurant Supply program.

After expanding operations to Los Angeles last month, e-commerce grocery delivery company Good Eggs has restructured its buying team, a move marked by the apparent layoffs of several buyers and the departure of longtime VP of assortment Jamie Nessel.

Online retailer Boxed announced today that it would become a publicly traded company via a merger with SPAC Seven Oaks Acquisition Corp. Seven Oaks said Boxed is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33% over the next five years, ultimately achieving $1 billion in net revenue by 2026.

Grocery delivery service Misfits Market announced yesterday the close of an $85 million round of capital led by Valor Equity Partners. Additional investors included Greenoaks Capital, Third Kind Venture Capital, and Sound Ventures. The funding will go, in part, towards helping the brand expand further into offering more center store offerings.

Whole Foods Market has issued a variety of policy changes for vendors who come in contact with store employees as it works to cut back possible routes of transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

The increased demand for products through online sellers like Amazon means that brands need to shift tactics — something that’s hard to do during a crisis; Betsy McGinn sat for a video interview with Jeff Klineman, BevNET’s editor-in-chief, to provide important advice on how brands should approach their Amazon and broader e-comm strategies as consumer behavior takes a disruptive turn to online food and beverage purchasing.

Following a year plagued by out-of-stock issues and high shipping costs, plant-based food and beverage brand New Barn is scaling back retail distribution for its product portfolio to service only the West Coast as it focuses on integrating an omnichannel strategy in 2020.

Crack the code of fresh, convenient food? Paul Coletta, CEO of fresh food and juice brand Urban Remedy, thinks he may have done it — and he’s taking radical risks in his manufacturing, distribution and retail operations in order to prove it.

From Kroger announcing a strategic alliance with UK grocery e-commerce player Ocado to Amazon Go expanding to new cities, the world of retail saw many changes this week. Here’s what it means for the shopping landscape.

The popularity of craft is changing the game for more than just brewers. To build on that excitement, some food and beverage brands are partnering with and taking notes from beer leaders on everything from innovations and packaging to distribution and marketing strategies. The result: booming business brewed for all industries involved.