News

Kroger is expanding into new markets and growing its presence in the e-commerce channel with its acquisition of Vitacost.com, a leading online retailer of vitamins and supplements. 

According to the definitive merger agreement, Kroger will purchase all outstanding shares of Vitacost.com for $8 per share in cash, or approximately $280 million.

As a result of its definitive agreement to acquire CytoSport Holdings, maker of Muscle Milk products, Hormel Foods has promoted three of its executives to leadership roles with CytoSport, based in Benicia, California.

Tyson reached an agreement to acquire Hillshire Brands in deal valued at $8.55 billion that includes Tyson paying a $163 termination fee to Pinnacle Foods, a company Hillshire was in the process of acquiring.

Tyson said it will pay $63 a share for Hillshire in an all cash deal that makes the world’s largest protein producer an even more dominant player on the global food stage.

For the second consecutive year, PepsiCo has named Sunsweet Growers as Hot Fill Co-packer of the Year for exhibiting superior achievements in quality and overall effectiveness across PepsiCo's beverage supply chain.

This marks the fourth time Sunsweet is recognized as Co-Packer of the Year. The three previous awards were for the Yuba City, California, facility in 2007 and 2012 and the Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, facility in 2008.

Overstock.com is offering free Club O loyalty program memberships to active police officers, full-time firefighters, paramedics and certified emergency medical technicians.

In conjunction with its new premium tween brand for girls called I Heart UGG, UGG Australia is planning to launch on July 14 a dedicated e-commerce site that will offer the entire product line called iheartugg.com. 

The line includes footwear, loungewear, accessories and handbags and will be available in the United States, Japan and China. The new brand, the company said, has been designed to not only tap into the tween market but also to foster enduring brand loyalty among customers. 

Walmart is enhancing its perishable supply chain in the upper Midwest with a new distribution center in Mankato, Minn., slated to open in early 2015.

The retailer broke ground late last month on the 420,000-sq.-ft. facility located a little more than an hour southwest of Minneapolis. Once open in the Spring of 2015 the DC will serve stores in Minnesota and neighboring states of Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Former Amazon operations executive Jeff Helms has joined crowdsourced same-day delivery start-up Deliv as head of delivery operations.

Helms spent three years at Amazon in operations management and productivity improvement roles. Prior to Amazon, he spent four years as a professor of military science at Arkansas State University. The West Point graduate also served in the military.

CVS has announced a chain-wide effort to make it easier for customers to make health-conscious decisions when shopping for food and snacks with the launch of Gold Emblem Abound.

To view a video about the new program, click here.

Rolling out immediately, the new brand of snack products includes more than 40 items that are free from artificial flavors and preservatives.

While on summer vacation, nearby location trumps brands for many types of consumer purchases, and mobile devices will be the dominant form of search. A new study conducted by location marketing automation provider Placeable shows that proximity is apparently so important that only 1% of vacationers consider reviews when looking to replace a forgotten item.