Safeway Opens Lifestyle Store in Boulder
A report in Supermarket News on the opening of Safeway’s new lifestyle store in North Boulder, Colorado quotes from a Safeway press release that sounds like the store followed all the analyst’s advice reports on how to compete with Whole Foods. But NBN knows natural shoppers can smell a phony wannabe a mile away, so […]
Whole Foods Quarterly Report Shines Bright
While Wild Oats shares are handled with care (think volatile, folks, like liquid nitrogen) news from Austin, Texas, land of Whole Foods Market make shareholders happier than a pig in that word my mother hates. WFM reported a sales growth of 22% and an increase in profits of 26% during the fiscal first quarter ending […]
Burkle Buys More Oats As
Yucaipa Group Increases Stake in Wild Oats Supermarket bigwig Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Investment group increased its share in Wild Oats to 14.9% last week after purchasing 1.5 million share of Oats at $12.50 per share. Analysts cite Burkle’s interest may have to do with the impending sales of Albertson’s. Regardless Yucaipa’s increased interest is good […]
Former USDA, Hershey Exec, To Head Organic Trade Association
The Organic Trade Association announced last week that Caren Wilcox, former director of Governmental Relations for Hershey Foods, will replace Kathleen DiMatteo, who announced her resignation last year. Wilcox joined Hershey after serving as Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S.D.A. In addition, as noted in the OTA website, Wilcox recently served as a […]
Organic Year End Review, Strong Growth, Less Supply
Hot on the heels (or should we say hooves) of Stonyfield Farm’s look at importing organic milk from New Zealand to satisfy demand for their organic yogurt, comes a study from the Organic Institute. The Institute, a London research group, reports that limited supplies are impacting organic food sales. The good news: demand is growing. […]
Japanese Unveil New Chip, Potato Chip not Computer
Japanese snack maker Tohato introduced what the company calls a revolutionary potato chip, (actually though we the word revolutionary, might be a bit of an ovestatement, sort of like calling Wells Fargo Banking, personalized). As reported in Japan Today, the ‘Jagasane: Bacon & Black Pepper’ has a different flavor on each side of the chip: […]
Nutrition News Overload–Guidelines on What Not To Believe …Or Vice Versa
Regular readers know that NBN is constantly writing with great distress about poor reporting on supplements and the studies associated with them. It’s like asking your 78-year-old mother what she thinks about the latest I-Pod. She doesn’t know, doesn’t care and doesn’t want to. But reporters should do better, don’t you think. Well lately some […]
Got Milk Gets Bashed As Book Suggests Dairy Leading Cause of Osteoperosis
A new book suggests that milk may be a leading cause of osteoporosis. The Milk Imperative by Russell Eaton looks a numerous studies all of which suggest milk isn’t the health food all those cute got milk mustache advertisements want us to believe. Most notably, countries with the highest dairy product consumption, such as the […]
Nation’s Food Banks Suffer Shortages: Katrina Diverts Donations
A recent story in USA Today noted a dramatic decline in donations to Food Banks across the U.S. According to a study by America’s Second Harvest (the national network of food banks) the decline is linked to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Donations to Katrina are leaving food banks across the nation with bare shelves. […]
Who Owns Whom? Or A Fruit Loop And An Organic Oat Flake Walked Into A Bar
Wondering if the same folks who make Fruit Loops make your favorite organic cereal? Or if that energy bar you buy before heading to Pilates class is made by the same company that pumps out Kit Kats? Check out the Organic Consumers Association corporate ownership chart. While a rapid and dizzying rate of mergers and […]
