The Ontario Natural Food Co-op (ONFC) has hired Jennifer Hyde as its new Private Label Brand Manager.  She brings over eight years of marketing and brand management experience to her new role, and was most recently a Product Manager with Organic Meadow.

In her new position, Jennifer will manage the entire marketing life cycle of ONFC’s Private Label portfolio, which will include strategic marketing initiatives and day-to-day activities. As the company’s private label brand manager, Jennifer will work alongside the purchasing and sales teams, buying clubs, retailers, vendors and customers.

For more information on the ONFC, please visit www.ontarionatural.ca.

Wal-Mart showed in its second quarter earnings that its U.S. division has had declining traffic for seven quarters in a row, lacking sales growth for six. However, the company is investing in its small-scale stores and e-commerce. Same-store sales had a 5.6 per cent increase and a 4.1 per cent traffic growth at Wal-Mart’s Neighbourhood Markets. These smaller stores are located in urban areas and take up one third of the space of the supercentre stores.

“We’re encouraged by the performance of our small-format stores and e-commerce, areas where we’re investing significantly this year. But we wanted to see stronger comps overall in Walmart U.S.,” Wal-Mart chief executive Doug McMillon said in an official statement last week.

Wal-Mart has plans to open 180 to 200 more Neighbourhood Market stores within this year to add to the already existing 22 from the last quarter.

Target Canada has announced plans to improve its Canadian expansion and provide a better guest experience for customers following the administrative changes last spring. The chain retailer has several merchandise initiatives in the works, including a collaboration with celebrity designer Sarah Richardson. The new line with Richardson will consist of home décor to be sold exclusively at Target Canada in the fall of next year.

“We’ve been listening to our guests and taking a hard look at where we need to improve,” Target Canada President Mark Schindele told The Washington Post. “We’ve uncovered the root cause of some of our challenges and are focused on three main areas: improving in-stocks, sharpening our pricing strategy and enhancing our merchandise assortment.”

Target Canada has also teamed up with Roots to extend the Beaver Canoe line with home décor and new apparel for this fall. Some new fashion brands such as women’s wear brand Nick & Nora and Altuzarra for Target will be available in Target Canada stores soon, including a new line for plus sizes, and a new line from cosmetic brand e.l.f., among others.

A recent report by ShopVisible shows that 38 per cent of all e-commerce traffic came from mobile and tablet devices for the first half of this year. Companies on ShopVisible had an online sales increase of 18 per cent overall, with a 42 per cent increase for June specifically. While there has been a continuous increase of mobile device use for the website, the study showed that there is room for customers to adapt fully to mobile and tablet use for ecommerce purchases. The report showed that average order values were lower on mobile devices than those on a traditional desktop or laptop.

ShopVisible credits the increase to the effort that has gone into increasing site optimization, marketing, and data-driven merchandising. 67 per cent of the visits on the website were from first time visitors, with an overall traffic increase of nine per cent.

According to a recent survey by Catelli Foods, a growing number of Canadians are embracing a healthy diet made from wholesome diets like Catelli’s recently relaunched Healthy Harvest brand. The brand features products made from 100 per cent whole grain wheat.

The survey’s results showed that 95 per cent of the 16,000 participants have been making healthier food choices than they were five years ago. 54 per cent of the participants expressed that they felt more vibrant and happier when consuming healthy food.

“We do these kinds of surveys all the time in order to understand new trends and to help us better market our products,” Catelli’s marketing director Sandra Kim told Canadian Grocer. “But this one provides insights that we thought consumers would find interesting, and part of our (goal) is to engage consumers.”

Farmers’ markets are popping up all over America. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are more than 8,200 farmers’ markets operating in the country today, a 76 percent increase since 2008.

The number of farmers’ markets in Canada has increased substantially as well. In Ontario alone, the number of farmers’ markets has increased by three times since 1980. In 2008, there were 508 recognized farmers’ markets across Canada, and according to Farmers Markets Canada, that number grows by five to seven per cent each year. This year, there are approximately 635 farmers’ markets in Canada.

In 2009, Farmers’ Markets Canada conducted its National Farmers’ Market Impact Study, which involved farmers’ markets from every province, making it the most comprehensive study of farmers’ markets ever conducted in North America.

508 markets took part in the study and accounted for estimated sales worth $1.03 billion and an economic impact of $1.55 to $3.09 billion per year. That averages to approximately 28 million shippers spending an average of $32 per visit.

“The success of farmer’s markets can be attributed to a number of factors,” says Robert Chorney, chair of Farmers’ Markets Canada. “Consumers have expressed a clear desire to return to healthier, fresher, locally produced products. They have a strong belief in the integrity of shopping within their community. And, over 60 per cent of shoppers indicated that buying their food directly from a local farmer is extremely important to them.”

To remain competitive in the ongoing battle against online retailers, over half of U.S Target stores will stay open until midnight to win over late-night shoppers.

While previously, most Target stores closed at 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 p.m. on Sunday, this would apply to store hours on weeknights, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to a U.S. Labor Department survey, 0.3 per cent of customers prefer to shop after 10 p.m. and Target hopes to attract these customers over online retailers.

Among other recent changes made by the company, it recently cut prices as well as its yearly outlook following declining same-store sales.

Carmen Fortino has been named Metro’s senior vice-president and leader of its Ontario division, effective Sept. 2. He steps into the role that was vacated by Johanne Choinière in April of this year. Metro CEO Eric La Flèche made the announcement during a conference call.

Fortino is a former Loblaw executive, where he served as executive vice-president of the Ontario region. He has also held executive positions at Seroyal International, Atrium Innovations, and most recently at GNC Holdings Inc. as its executive vice-president of business development.

“Carmen is a seasoned operator with a broad experience in all facets of food retail, and more recently in the health and wellness sector internationally,” says La Flèche. “I look forward to working with Carmen and our Ontario executive team to build on the momentum we’re seeing in the business today.”

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall on August 18 for two brands of peanut and almond butters due to a possible salmonella contamination.

The recall is for nearly 12 almond and peanut butters under the brand names MaraNatha and Trader Joe’s, which may be responsible for four illnesses in the United States, although no illnesses have been reported in Canada.

The almond and peanut butters in question have been sold in Canada, the U.S., the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. The products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

According to the CFIA, salmonella-contaminated food may not appear spoiled, yet can still cause illness, especially in young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Short-term symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Salmonella can also cause long-term symptoms such as severe arthritis.