Wal-Mart Losing Sleep?
One wonders what the folks in Bentonville think about Tesco. Well, Wal-Mart has had a mighty tough time in the UK, as its ASDA subsidiary battles with Tesco, so they doubtless have a healthy respect for the company. If they could have their preference, they probably would rather Tesco not get a beachhead here, as […]
Tesco, Part II
If a good gauge of interest is how quickly the industry responds to a piece we run, then the item we did about Tesco and its plans to enter the US market indicate that the industry is paying close attention. The item wasn’t on the web for 15 minutes before my phone was ringing, and […]
Tesco Challenges
The Pundit has been keeping his eye on Tesco since long before it announced earlier this year its intention to spend up to £250 million a year or just shy of $500 million a year to open new stores roughly modeled after the Tesco Express format they use in the U.K and several other countries. […]
Food Predictions For 2007
Here is the Pundit’s first opportunity to run a prediction list for 2007. Expect a lot of these to come. Marriott International has tasked its top culinary folks — Brad Nelson, Vice President of Culinary/Corporate Chef, and Matthew Von Ertfelda, Vice President, Restaurants and Beverage, Lodging Operations — to predict the food and beverage trends […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — The WIC Program
Our article on the WIC Program prompted one reader to write: I had an opportunity to speak with Stephen Christianson who manages WIC, and I asked if there is any evidence that this actually increases the consumption of fruits and vegetables. He said that he didn’t know! My point was: let’s say a family has […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Fresh Foods vs. Perishable
Bryan Silbermann of the Produce Marketing Association, with a coincidental assist from Karen Caplan of Frieda’s, both keep a watchful eye on consumer perception of the business and so argued for the use of the name Fresh Foods rather than Perishable in the title of this web site. We ran Bryan’s letter last Wednesday along […]
Mysteries Of Food Storage
A national survey sponsored by the American Plastics Council shows what a difficult time America’s young people have in the kitchen. The Council surveyed 539 young Americans between the ages of 18-34 years old, and found things like this: “Whether they’re heading off to college, setting up their first apartment or starting a family, many […]
New Cheese Introduction Provides Lesson in Marketing
BelGioioso has introduced a new cheese called Crescenza-Stracchino. I have never heard of it before, but the people at BelGioioso give it this description: The cheese originated in the Lombardy and Romagna regions of Italy and, due to the lack of refrigeration, was traditionally made only during the autumn and winter months as the cows […]
Wal-Mart’s Good Fish Story
Looks like Wal-Mart’s green initiative spearheaded by CEO Lee Scott is really starting to influence the kind of press the company is receiving. Marc Gunther, a senior writer from Fortune magazine, spent a day on a fishing boat off Kodiak Island in Alaska: They caught another 500 pounds of pink salmon, which sells for 35 […]
Pundit’s Mailbag
I’ve been digging through the mail all weekend — e-mail, snail mail and voice mail. There is lots of stuff in here. Many are well-wishers sending their best for the new launch. It was a lot of work launching the site, and it is a lot of work trying to do a good job every […]
