"grocery" news and stories

Wow.

As if it wasn't already the world's largest retailer (aside from Wal-Mart, of course), Amazon.com has added groceries to their ever-expanding list of "stores." I remember back when online groceries and home-delivery was first introduced with PeaPod and WebVan. Both of them subsequently tanked, but perhaps the idea was ahead of its time. Amazon must believe that now is the time. Currently, they are only offering over 10,000 non-perishable items like breakfast cereal, microwave popcorn, and boxed macaroni and cheese.

Has anyone used it? Do you find that it's any cheaper? Faster? I imagine the convenience factor is likely the most attractive feature, but if you have to go to the market anyway to buy perishable items, I can't see that there is much convenience there anyway.

NPR's Melissa Block recently spoke with noted nutritionist Marion Nestle about grocery shopping, food advertisements and healthy eating, all of which are the subjects of Nestle's new book What to Eat. Nestle talks about how grocery stores lure shoppers through their aisles and how food manufacturer's advertising "crosses an ethical line" by marketing products to children. Nestle calls for restrictions of television advertising and, if possible, the elimination of cartoons on food packaging. In an additional clip, she goes on to talk about the trend toward organic offerings by large supermarkets and the move to weaken organic standards.

It looks like Trader Joe's is set to open a store in yet another Joe-less town. Though they have not released the address yet, Trader Joe's has confirmed that they are planning to enter the Pittsburg market. Local speculation and city officials say that the specialty grocer has plans to move into the Wheeler Paint Co. building on Penn Ave in the neighborhood of East Liberty. There are only five TJ's locations in Pennsylvania at the moment, so this should be good news to Pittsburg residents who are fans of the store.

Now that TJ's has store-opening almost down to a science, it's no surprise to hear that the store should be open by the end of the year.

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A few months ago, I mentioned that some food producers were testing out a new advertising strategy where they add smells to their packaging , trying to lure customers in with scents that promised how tasty their products would be. Grocery stores also appear to be applying this technique. The flyer pictured here, for example, is one I recently received in the mail from my local supermarket that tried to lure me with its sensory (scent-sory?) appeal.

To experience the smell, the oven door had to be "opened," but I was cautious in my approach because the warning label read "Do not open if you are highly sensitive to fragrances." How strong could this smell be? Keeping the flyer at a distance, just to be safe, I peeled back the label. It actually smelled pretty good and, much to my surprise, not entirely unlike the blueberry muffins it was trying to represent.

One small sample wasn't overwhelming, but I certainly can't imagine a whole store filled with them. Like the perfume samples that infest so many magazines, I can imagine advertisers increasing the strength of their scents until they're overwhelming. Walking through the bakery section and smelling fresh breads is one thing, but once the cereal aisle starts to smell I think the idea will lose a lot of its appeal.

The last time we checked in on GroceryLists.org, there were about 800 lists, but today they're up to more than 1,100. Though they're still working on getting a list from every state in the country, the site is sort of like Post Secret for non-creative types. In fact, like Post Secret,  they're working on a book that will present all that they've learned from reading other people's lists. For example, you can take a look at what you need to throw a great party (hint: "'boys please' in puffy, iron-on letters" is critical) and learn that some people need far more help than they can get at the grocery store.

Judging from the way the collection at GroceryLists.org is growing, it seems that a lot of people must keep lists. I know that I do. Of course, I never see anyone at the market walking around with a list besides me. Not that there's anything wrong with that.... Do you keep a grocery list, or do you just walk into the store and hope for the best?

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