Grocery Roundup: Purpose, Personalization And Partnerships

This week in grocery, Whole Foods Market Director of Global Recruiting Andres Traslavina and Nona Evans, director of the company’s Whole Kids and Whole Cities foundations, appeared on Assurity’s Good Business podcast to discuss the mission-centric elements of the business. The episode, which went live Tuesday (March 23), was first in a two-part series, according to a news release.

“You know, as a mission driven company, Whole Foods Market has always been clear on its purpose,” said Evans. “It’s been stated different ways over the years to the higher purpose that Whole Foods is nourishing people and the planet.”

She pointed to Whole Foods’ three foundations — the two she spearheads, as well as the Whole Planet Foundation — as examples of this purpose in action, saying that maintaining each foundation’s specific focus helps these organizations be successful in their missions.

Traslavina agreed, saying, “The success of the programs of the foundations have to do with … the laser focus,” and added that the foundations “use social channels to talk about the mission, to keep people informed … and as you know, social channels have worldwide presence.”

NASA Turns Satellite Data Toward Agricultural Insights

NASA has announced that its “Food Security and Agriculture Program” NASA Harvest, which uses “earth data for informed agricultural decisions,” is partnering with Israeli data-driven farm management company CropX to leverage NASA’s network of satellites to analyze soil conditions, reports The Spoon. In addition to NASA’s satellite data, the partnership will also use CropX’s underground data-gathering tools to derive a more comprehensive understanding of soil health. Their findings will be shared both with government officials and with farmers worldwide.

“Soil health and nutrient management is at the very root of food security and sustainable agriculture concerns — an accurate understanding of what is actually happening underneath the ground is essential,” Nadav Liebermann, CTO of CropX, said in a statement printed in NoCamels. “Satellite imagery has long been an integral part of CropX algorithms, and our partnership with NASA Harvest will deliver valuable agronomic insights by connecting critical data at different depths underground and from an expansive network of satellites in space. We are looking forward to working with the NASA Harvest team to improve farming decision-making worldwide — in both developed and undeveloped regions.”

“We are in a constant race to produce and supply enough food in order to feed a rapidly growing global population, with finite land and natural resources … CropX unites our space-led vision with on-farm intelligence and results,” added NASA Harvest program director Inbal Becker-Reshef.

Southeastern Improves Digital Couponing With Ultra-Personalization

Southeastern Grocers is building out its digital coupon features, working with digital marketing company Eagle Eye Solutions in partnership with marketing platform Neptune Retail Solutions to develop more personalized offers based on consumers’ previous shopping behavior, reports Progressive Grocer. As grocery has moved increasingly online in the last year, the print circular format, with hundreds of SKUs advertised at once, has proved not to translate. As such, grocers are left to find digital solutions that pare down the number of SKUs on offer, posing the challenge of how to forefront the most relevant deals and discounts.

“Our goal is to provide the best possible value for our customers by sharing curated promotions and offers through the channels they use most often,” Adam Kirk, SVP of Marketing at Southeastern Grocers, said in a press release.

Neptune Retail Solutions’ platform derives its personalized recommendations from a range of first-, second- and third-party sales data, which will be combined with Eagle Eye’s personalization platforms, to make offers as relevant as possible.

“The customer connection ecosystem we are building to meet Southeastern Grocers’ retail vision relies on a unified collaboration with our partners,” Eagle Eye CEO Tim Mason said in a statement. “By providing a steady stream of high-value, relevant offers from reputable CPG brands, Neptune enables us to create combinations of coupons and offers that will drive customers into SEG stores, increasing sales lift and customer engagement.”

Albertsons Builds Out MFC Technology

Micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs), mini warehouses that fulfill several thousand orders per week, can be a key way for grocers to expand their delivery capacity, reaching new areas without the steep investment that comes with opening traditional warehouses. Recently, FreshDirect and other Ahold Delhaize retailers have been looking to MFCs to drive their eCommerce growth. Now, Albertsons is stepping up its own MFC presence, reports Grocery Dive, adding seven new MFCs this year to its current pilot, which includes two already open MFCs.

As Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said in a recent conference, “We see a lot of promise in the ability of an MFC to get that cost down so that the [grocer’s digital] business is profitable and equivalent to what our core business is.”

Amid increasing private-label sales, Sankaran also predicted these brands would beat out smaller competitors, saying, “I believe we will always remain a house of brands, no question about that. There’ll be A brands and B brands. And I think in the United States it’s going to be harder and harder for C brands and D brands to continue to win, because we’ve all developed … a pretty powerful own-brand portfolio.”

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