Tree of Life To Be Sold—UNFI Purported Suitor
While not as mighty as General Motors, to those who grew up in the industry during the 1980’s Tree of Life’s demise signals the complete transformation of the industry. Consolidation is king! Once upon a time natural distribuors were regional, all with the exception of Tree. Rock Island and Stow Mills in the Northeast, Mountain […]
The Suburban Cheapskate: Love Affair Blooms, With Cassava Chips
When you find yourself holding food up to the light like it’s a shard of medieval stained glass, you’re either at the peak of a high caused by your favorite illegal substance or you’re humbled by a sliver of the divine. We may find that the cassava chip will someday be hailed as a design […]
The Suburban Cheapskate
If you knew me personally, the first thing you’d ask when you heard that I’m writing for this site would be: “Why would they want YOU to write articles for THEM?”You might wonder what a guy who never buys organic is doing here. If you thought that I’m looking to be saved, for a messianic […]
The Urban Cheapskate: Goes to the Food Court
You may have heard of the Suburban Cheapskate. Well, long before that there was the Original Urban Cheapskate. Unfortunately, staff at this website misplaced the original UC column but managed to pirate the name. Now the Urban Cheapskate is back to correct the editorial oversight and advise: Accept No Substitutes! Recently, our Cheapskate was forced […]
The Urban Cheapskate: Shops at Manhattan’s Integral Yoga Natural Foods
Recently Your Original Urban Cheapskate went shopping at Integral Yoga Natural Foods to pick up some bulk mixed nuts, dried pitted prunes and wheat-free raspberry newtons. The mixed nuts are obscenely expensive, but he was going out of town for a few days and always tries to carry along something edible so he doesn’t starve […]
Hartman Group on Tesco’s Fresh and Easy Failure
While we were among those who initially reported that U.K. giant Tesco’s willingness to spend up to $1 billion dollars to enter the U.S. had Whole Foods bigwigs shaking in their granola boots we were wrong. We got our proverbial viewfinder in by the market research mavens at the Hartman Group last February. In their Tesco White […]
Natural Products Expo West Blooms Amid Economic Collapse
Well every March hope springs eternal in Anaheim. No, NBN isn’t talking about some Disneyland parking lot attendant hoping that this season he’ll get promoted to wearing a Mickey costume, we’re talking about the big organic kahuna New Hope’s Natural Products Expo West. We’ll have reports from the show, including what we hope is some […]
The Suburban Cheapskate: THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCO
Think global, act loco I’m in Orange County, California. That simple statement elicits reactions. Ok any simple statement will elicit some kind of reaction; even indifference has its facial tics. But when you’re the subject of television soap operas and you are populated by the crème de la crème of affluent trailer trash, you tend […]
Whole Foods and The Federal Trade Commission Battle Royale
While NBN is a frequent critic of Whole Foods but the claim that they are creating a monopoly is baseless. Even for those of us who favor greater regulation of business this makes no sense.All the trends points to the opposite fact. Natural and organic products are everywhere. Products that once available only in natural […]
UNFI Michael Funk Steps Down
Michael Funk, the man who transformed distribution of natural and organic foods stepped down as CEO of United Natural Foods. The company named former Performance Food Group chief Steven Spinner as its new CEO and president. Funk will be chairman of the Board and will remain actively involved in strategic growth initiatives and key customer […]
