India: Flipkart Group CEO connects with farmers behind fresh produce delivery
Flipkart is focused on ensuring inclusive growth for all its partners, including farmers who are part of the company's direct sourcing efforts to ensure freshness, quality, and convenience for customers. Recently, Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Flipkart Minutes Vice President, Kabeer Biswas, interacted with some of these farmers from Malur, who bring their fresh produce directly to the Flipkart Minutes Fulfillment Stores every morning. Kalyan met Krishnappa, a seasoned farmer with 17 years of experience, cultivating capsicum, cucumber, and chillies across his 4-acre land, and Padma, who has been growing fresh coriander, methi, and palak on her 3-acre farm for the past decade, nurturing her fields with dedication.
Source: digitalterminal.in
Belgium: Strikes break out at Lidl after failed negociations
Strikes broke out in a small number of Lidl's Belgian supermarkets on Thursday: employees are protesting against the failure to take adequate measures to ease workloads. There is no general strike movement at Lidl, but some supermarkets in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia remained closed on Thursday, writes L'Echo.
Source: retaildetail.eu
First EUROSPAR supermarket in Finland launched
Ylöjärvi, located west of Tampere, is the first city in Finland to have a versatile EUROSPAR supermarket as part of the Tokmanni store portfolio. Tokmanni, the SPAR licensee in Finland, will renew all of its food departments selling fresh food to align with the international SPAR brand.
Source: ir.tokmanni.fi/en/news-and-media via spar-international.com
Ocado Group named by Fortune and Statista as one of the most innovative companies in Europe
Ocado Group reported: "Ocado Group has been named among the top 100 most innovative companies in Europe by Fortune and Statista in it's first-ever ranking of 'Europe's most innovative companies'."
Source: ocadogroup.com
China's Meituan prepares to launch 'Keeta' Food delivery app in Kuwait
Chinese food delivery giant Meituan is gearing up to enter the Kuwaiti market through its popular app Keeta, with operations expected to launch by late 2025 or early 2026.
Source: timeskuwait.com
Fresh Direct drives sustainability with 100% LEAF certification for British growers
Fresh Direct has announced that it is strengthening its environmental standards by ensuring that all contracted UK fresh produce growers will be LEAF Marque certified by the end of 2025.
Source: farming.co.uk
UK: The Wholesale Group makes solid start
The Wholesale Group, the buying group created at the start of the year by combining the members of Confex and Fairway Foodservice, has revealed solid trading figures. The group, which has an annual collective turnover of nearly £4.5bln, reported 2.47% growth in value and a 2.13% rise in volume during the first half of 2025.
Source: kamcity.com
MBK plans to sell its troubled Korean supermarket chain Homeplus
MBK Partners is seeking to put up for sale its embattled South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus, to avert liquidation of the retailer, the Northeast Asia-focused private equity firm said.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Starship Technologies delivery robots make their way to 10 Downing Street to meet PM Keir Starmer
Starship Technologies' delivery robots made it to 10 Downing Street to celebrate game changing innovation against a backdrop of London Tech Week 2025. In a LinkedIn post, Lisa Johnson, VP, Corporate Comms & Public Affairs (Global) at Starship, said: "Team Starship Technologies had a blast at 10 Downing Street. We joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Peter Kyle (Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) to celebrate innovation and show how tech is already changing the world".
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
DUG Foodtech extends launch to 1,400 Rossmann stores in Poland - expands European presence
DUG Foodtech is continuing its European expansion. DUG Barista will in July be available in 1,400 Rossmann stores across Poland, further strengthening the brand's presence in Central Europe. With this launch, DUG Barista will be available in over 3,000 Rossmann stores across Europe.
Source: ir.dugdrinks.com
Organic food market booms in Belgium, Colruyt leads
The organic food market in Belgium is experiencing rapid growth, outpacing overall food spending, data from GfK and Nielsen showed. Colruyt Group, which operates the Colruyt Lowest Prices, Okay, SPAR, and Bio-Planet chains, dominates this market with over a 35% share, driven by strong sales of its own-brand Boni Bio products.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Rogue imports of 'Dubai chocolate' may threaten Britons with allergies, FSA says
Pistachio-filled "Dubai chocolate" is one of the UK's hottest food trends but food safety officials warn that rogue imports could pose a serious threat to those with allergies. The chocolate has become so popular it is one of the factors blamed for a shortage of pistachios. The scale of the demand inspired specialists such as Lindt to launch their own versions as well as supermarkets from Lidl to Waitrose.
Source: theguardian.com
Carrefour first major European grocer to adopt VusionGroup EdgeSense tech, following Walmart roll-out in US
VusionGroup has announced a partnership with Carrefour to trial what is pitched as a new generation of connected stores powered by EdgeSense technology. Carrefour becomes the first major European grocer to adopt the tech, following its deployment by Walmart in the US.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
Uber grocery executive named to lead delivery operations
Uber announced it has promoted Susan Anderson to serve as its global head of delivery. In her new role, Anderson oversees strategy and operations for Uber Eats in over 30 countries and is a member of Uber's executive leadership team.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Amazon restructures grocery leadership as it further integrates Whole Foods
Amazon has named a restructured leadership team for its Worldwide Grocery division that includes top executives from Whole Foods Market, according to a report by Business Insider, which cited a corporate memo that was confirmed by an Amazon spokesperson. Karen Christensen, who has worked at Whole Foods for nearly 30 years and is the grocer's SVP of merchandising, will lead North America Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, per Business Insider's report.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Consumer Price Index - May 2025
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in May, after rising 0.2% in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The cereals and bakery products index rose 1.1% over the month and the fruits and vegetables index rose 0.3%.
Source: bls.gov
US: T&T Supermarkets announces largest California store in Chino Hills
T&T Supermarket Inc. reported: "T&T Supermarket Inc., Canada's largest Asian grocery retailer, is thrilled to announce their second store in Southern California at the Crossroads Marketplace Chino Hills, set to open in Fall 2026. Following the announcement of their upcoming store in the Great Park community of Irvine, this will mark T&T's sixth planned location in the United States".
Source: prnewswire.com