Topco opens new Hong Kong office

As part of Topco's direct global sourcing initiative, a new office was opened in Hong Kong this month. The Hong Kong office will be responsible for sourcing food and non-food products procured from Asia, developing closer relationships with suppliers in the region and overseeing Topco's stringent product quality and safety program. With a base of operations in Asia, Topco will be positioned to generate greater savings on imported goods, more closely monitor product quality and further enhance service for members. Also, Pandora Ho has joined Topco as Director of Asian Sourcing. She, along with a Director of Quality Assurance, will lead the new office. Most recently, Ho served as Senior Regional Procurement Manager, Retail Supplies for Starbucks Coffee Asia Pacific. (12/15/10)

Topco names new Senior Vice President, Center Store Procurement

Robin Vogel recently joined Topco as Senior Vice President, Center Store Procurement, reporting to Frank Muschetto, Executive Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer. Most recently, Vogel was with Sara Lee Corporation in Chicago where she served as the company's Vice President of Procurement Operations and was responsible for setting the company's overall global procurement strategy. Vogel holds a master's degree in business administration from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in industrial and management engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Vogel is succeeding Dennis Dangerfield, Vice President-Purchasing for Valued Added Grocery, who is retiring after more than nine years with Topco. (12/3/10)

Topco wins 2010 PLMA Salute to Excellence awards

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) recently announced that Topco products won Salute to Excellence awards in two categories. Topco's winning entries include Food Club Doodle Pops -- colorful frozen ice pops that come in six fruit flavors -- which won in the Children's and Baby Foods category, and World Classics Trading Company Stackable Oil and Vinegar -- an innovative duet of stackable glass bottles that contain imported extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar of Modena -- which won in the Condiments and Dressings category. Each year, the PLMA honors companies for innovation and creativity in the development of store brand products. This year's panel of judges evaluated more than 400 products, judging each entry on its appearance, taste or performance, packaging and presentation and value. All winning entries will be on display between November 14 and 16 at the PLMA's 2010 Private Label Trade Show in Rosemont, Ill. (11/3/10)

Retail Merchandiser highlights Topco

In its September / October edition, Retail Merchandiser magazine devoted its cover story to Topco and focused on the company's accomplishments in cost savings, innovation, brand development and quality as well as with NuVal and TopSource. The article also discusses Topco's influence on its manufacturering partners in areas such as sustainability and green initiatives. Additionally, the report includes separate stories on Topco's Creative Services and Quality Assurance departments. To download a copy of the 12-page article, click here. (10/21/10)

Amber Pharmacy joins Topco

The Topco membership recently approved Amber Pharmacy's application to become an Associate Member, participating in the Pharmacy program. Amber is a privately-held specialty pharmacy company which provides medications to patients suffering from chronic illness. These medications typically are injectable and / or infusible, high cost, and part of treatment therapies that require complex care such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, hemophilia, etc. They are usually distributed directly to patients and their physicians and not through retail stores. In addition to offering pharmaceuticals, Amber Pharmacy is involved in overall care management by working with physicians, nurses, insurance companies and caregivers on developing treatment protocols and resolving administrative issues. Amber is based in Omaha, Neb., and has distribution facilities in Omaha, Dallas, Philadelphia and Chicago. William R. Kaplan, Sr., the company's CEO, will serve as the member principal to Topco. (10/15/10)

Refreshed Full Circle Web site speaks to brand's target consumers

Topco recently launched an updated Full Circle brand Web site to further engage natural and organic consumers. The redesigned site, which is clean, friendly, approachable and easy to navigate, clearly communicates Full Circle's benefits and wellness message: "Return to a natural way of living." The site features Full Circle's story and an overview of its products, health and wellness information, the brand's commitment to sustainability, recipes and menu ideas, and a list of store locations where consumers can buy Full Circle products. (8/20/10)

The Grocers Supply Co., Inc. joins Topco

The membership recently approved The Grocers Supply Co., Inc.'s application to become a Full Member of Topco. The privately held Houston-based company, which has annual sales in excess of $3 billion, services grocery stores in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Grocers Supply will participate in Dairy / Bakery, Grocery, Health & Beauty Care / General Merchandise, Pharmacy, Processed Meat, Produce / Floral, Fresh Meat and Not-for-Resale programs. Grocers Supply is also licensed for the Clear Value, Dining In, Full Circle, PAWS, Top Care, World Classics Trading Company and the general merchandise "X" brands. David W. D' Arezzo, Chief Operating Officer at Grocers Supply, will serve as the member principal to Topco. (7/8/10)

Topco publishes new Supplier Quality and Food Safety Expectations Guide

As part of its ongoing effort to ensure the quality, safety and regulatory compliance of Topco products, the Quality Assurance team recently developed a Supplier Quality and Food Safety Expectations Guide. This reference tool provides prospective and existing vendors with Topco's general safety expectations and requirements for facilities that manufacture Topco and member-label products. It also contains information on Topco's quality tiers, NuVal, regulatory requirements, supplier approval criteria, product monitoring, product recalls / withdrawals and supplier performance issues. Topco has sent the new guide to all existing vendors and will provide it to prospective vendors whenever appropriate. To view the guide, click here. (7/2/10)

Topco expands distribution center network to West Coast

Topco recently opened a distribution center in Manteca, Calif., to directly service all West Coast members with the same non-perishable products that are currently available through the Midwest distribution center in Joliet, Ill. The distribution center will significantly reduce delivery lead times and allow West Coast members to more effectively manage inventory levels of HBC, specialty grocery and select general merchandise items. The new distribution network is also significantly contributing to Topco's commitment to sustainability by reducing carbon emissions by 66 percent for the West Coast members. (7/2/10)

Topco Quality Advisory Council sets first meeting for September

The inaugural Topco Quality Advisory Council meeting is scheduled to take place September 14 and 15 in Skokie, Ill. The newly formed council will work to leverage the collective quality assurance resources of Topco and its members through the sharing of best practices in the areas of in-store safety, product safety and quality assurance, regulatory compliance and efficient management of product issues. One quality assurance representative from each of the following members-owners will serve on the council: Big Y Foods, Inc., Brookshire Grocery Co., Giant Eagle, Inc., Golub Corporation / Price Chopper Supermarkets, Hy-Vee, Inc., Meijer, Inc., Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., Save Mart Supermarkets, Spartan Stores, Inc., Schnuck Markets, Inc. and Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (6/24/10)

Testing ensures suppliers' breads meet rising customer expectations

So that it consistently delivers high-quality breads, Topco requires its suppliers to send representative samples to an independent bakers cooperative for review. Representatives from Topco's Quality Assurance and Procurement teams recently visited the cooperative in Chicago to assess its bread-scoring operations along with its Topco-directed, bimonthly sampling program. Bread samples are scored on a wide array of quality factors, including size, shape, color, volume, texture and flavor / odor. The bread scores are then monitored and recorded to ensure that a vendor's breads demonstrate a consistent quality and consistency during the course of a year. (6/18/10)

Full Circle products now available in Beijing

More than 140 Full Circle SKUs are now selling in China. With the assistance of foodservice member UniPro Foodservice, Inc., Topco has successfully introduced non-perishable Full Circle products at Jenny Lou's Supermarket in Beijing -- a leading supermarket for Westerners as well as affluent Asians who live in the Chinese capital. BiRite has also opened BHG Markets, another supermarket chain in China, and it will begin offering Full Circle items in the next few weeks. (6/10/10)

National Brands membership continues to grow

Associated Grocers of Florida, Inc. and King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc. recently joined the National Brands program, bringing its total membership to 38. Already, each new member is participating in six initiatives. The 11-year-old Topco National Brands program is a central point for strategic planning and tactical execution for National Brand incremental sales opportunities. Some of the program's well-recognized supplier partners include ACH Food Companies, Bumble Bee Foods, ConAgra Foods, H.J. Heinz Co., Hormel Foods, Kimberly-Clark, Mars Inc., Morton International, Nestlé SA, Pinnacle Foods Group, Sara Lee, StarKist Co. and The J.M. Smucker Co. (6/10/10)

TopSource taps new Fuel Director, expands program objectives

Eric Christianson was recently named the new Director of Fuel. In his new role, Christianson is responsible for all facets of the TopFuel program, which supports members with retail gasoline stations and transportation fleet operations. Most recently, Christianson served as Murphy Oil's Manager, Renewable Fuels Supply and Trading, a role that focused on overseeing the company's retail fuel stations at Wal-Mart retail locations across the country. Christianson has been tasked with expanding the scope of the TopFuel program. Some new opportunity areas include fuel transportation as well as equipment and management services. Christianson will work out of TopSource's office in Braintree, Mass. (6/2/10)

Topco holds suppliers to global food-safety standard

Earlier this month, the Quality Assurance department completed notifying all Topco- and member-label food suppliers that their facilities must meet Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification requirements by yearend. Providing safe, high-quality products is a hallmark of Topco, and requiring these facilities to obtain certification to one of the GFSI-benchmarked standards is another safeguard in ensuring the highest and strictest controls are placed on the supply chain. As part of the certification process, suppliers must submit to a third-party, GFSI-benchmarked audit of their facilities. All Topco QA Food Technologists are certified expert practitioners of Safe Quality Food (SQF) Systems and well versed in other GFSI standards. They will review facility audits and communicate to suppliers about GFSI requirements whenever necessary. (5/27/10)

Super Show delivers member savings, highlights innovation

A record 1,070 representatives from 51 members and customers and more than 170 exhibitors participated in Topco's annual Super Show this week in Schaumburg, Ill. During the major private-label event, members saw a wealth of new offerings from Topco's programs and brands, took part in productive one-on-one meetings with vendors and attended member advisory meetings to discuss sales and merchandising strategies and upcoming initiatives. They also experienced the build up and buzz about the show's 64 Super Buy opportunities -- impressive aggregation purchasing initiatives -- and viewed brand displays that highlighted new, sustainable and better-for-you items as well as innovative and cost-saving initiatives. (5/19/10)

Academix takes on a whole new look

Topco's General Merchandise program recently completed a refresh of the Academix brand. Updates to the line of school and office supplies include more attractive packaging as well as new product segmentation. Academix is now divided into Tween, Academix Jr., and home office segments - a change designed to further differentiate items for consumers and better appeal to their specific needs. Items within the new Tween segment can typically be found on school supply lists, such as markers, erasers and pencil sharpeners. The Academix Jr. products focus on children's items, including crayons, paints, glue and chalk, and the home office lineup includes solid sellers like writing instruments, calculators and staplers. This is a soft conversion and members will begin to see new packaging on store shelves during the next few months. (4/9/10)

Harvest Club set to expand its produce lineup

Looking to build on the success of its current offerings, Harvest Club will soon introduce additional produce items, including apples, onions, carrots and mushrooms. Harvest Club will provide 3- and 5-pound bags of apples in six-plus varieties. It will also offer four types of onions, four varieties of premium carrots and three kinds of mushrooms. All of these new SKUs will be available in traditional size packs. Already, the brand offers different varieties of bagged potatoes, cut fruit and cut vegetables. To communicate quality, Harvest Club will deliver these items in clean, contemporary packaging. The bagged apple packaging will also provide consumers with recipe suggestions. (4/1/10)

Enhanced vendor Web site automates payment review process

Topco's Treasury and IT teams recently completed a major enhancement to the vendor portal Web site, providing suppliers with more detailed payment information while also improving internal efficiencies within the Vendor Customer Service department. Vendors are now able to log on to the site and quickly view the payment status of recently processed invoices as well as specifics on previously paid bills. In addition, they can easily review payment details and images of supporting documentation for any deductions Topco has taken on those payments. Because the site is now updated in real time, Topco customer service representatives are no longer necessary to provide this information to vendors, allowing the employees to focus on more complex vendor payment issues. Approximately 650 vendors are now signed up to use the enhanced site. (3/18/10)

Topco names new innovation executive

Glenn Backus has joined Topco as Senior Vice President of Innovation. He will be responsible for all facets of innovation in product, packaging and branding and report to Topco Executive Vice President Randy Skoda. Most recently, Backus was with San Antonio, Texas-based H.E. Butt Grocery Company, where he led the effort to tailor the grocer's store experience and created new and unique ways to connect with its customers. Prior to that time, Backus was President of Sunflower Markets LLC, a subsidiary of SUPERVALU Inc. He also spent 14 years at Trader Joe's. "Glenn not only understands product and branding innovation, he has a history of leading it," said Skoda. "With the industry adapting to constantly changing consumer behaviors, the concept of innovation has become even more of a business imperative for Topco." (3/12/10)

Kroger chooses NuVal for 'Health Matters' initiative

Kroger, one of the country's largest grocers, has incorporated NuVal into a new health and wellness pilot initiative. The "Health Matters at Kroger" pilot, which Kroger introduced last week at nearly two dozen stores in and around Lexington, Kentucky, will use NuVal's easy-to-understand, 1-to-100 scoring system to help guide customers to more nutritious foods. Kroger selected NuVal after it rigorously evaluated competing nutritional rating systems. In addition to the Kroger announcement, United Supermarkets, L.L.C. also formally introduced NuVal in its Market Street stores last week. United Supermarkets will continue to roll out NuVal in other retail outlets throughout the year. NuVal scores are already available on more than 40,000 food and beverage items at Price Chopper Supermarkets, Hy-Vee, Inc., and Meijer, Inc. NuVal is a joint venture between Topco and Yale University-affiliated Griffin Hospital. (3/12/10)

Topco unveils new mission statement, strategic pillars

The gains that member-owners have made in private brands in recent years have not gone unnoticed by the competition. Wal-Mart has set its private brand target at 40 percent, and national brands are responding with a combination of new value-oriented offerings, deep discounts and more promotions. Topco has revamped its strategic plan to operate effectively in this new environment, said Topco Executive Vice President Randy Skoda. As part of that process, Topco has updated its mission statement to emphasize that it will enable members to achieve a "sustainable competitive advantage, relative to their national competitors, by providing aggregation, innovation and knowledge management solutions." To support its new mission statement, Topco has developed five strategic pillars, which Frank Muschetto, Topco's Executive Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer, identified at the conference as financial benefits, growth, innovation, customer intimacy and corporate social responsibility. For each pillar, Topco's leadership has identified and integrated a number of key initiatives and success metrics into the multi-year business plan, Muschetto said. (3/3/10)

New Topco LLC board members announced

Topco's membership recently voted to expand the board of Topco LLC from eight to 10 directors. As a result, three member executives were appointed to the board during the AMC while another well-respected director concluded his term. J.H. Campbell, Jr., President and CEO of Associated Grocers, Inc., Peter Lynch, President, CEO and Chairman of Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., and Rick D. Rayford, President and CEO of Brookshire Holdings, Inc., will serve on the board, which focuses on strategic direction, financial oversight and member growth. Meanwhile, Martin W. Arter, President and CEO of Affiliated Foods Midwest, concluded his four-year term on the board. Separately, Dennis McIntyre, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Stater Bros. Markets, stepped down as Co-Chairman of Topco's Operations Committee after serving a successful three-year term. Ron Taylor, Senior Vice President of Corporate Procurement and Logistics at Hy-Vee, Inc., will become the new Co-Chairman of the Operations Committee. (3/3/10)

Members come together to 'Connect for Success'

The past decade has been a time of considerable change in the grocery industry, and, during that period, member-owners became stronger by banding together through Topco. The collective buying power of Topco's membership has helped level the playing field or given members the upper hand against other players in the marketplace, said Topco President and CEO Steve Lauer in his opening remarks at the Annual Membership Conference (AMC) last week. Lauer shared his thoughts with more than 200 attendees including senior executives from 39 member-owners, representing over 91 percent of Topco's member purchases. Lauer said Topco has evolved to meet the growing needs of its members and has introduced a wealth of innovative new products, brands, programs and major initiatives. In addition, Topco has continued its focus on lowering product costs. The result from these efforts has been record sales and earnings for eight consecutive years, Lauer said. (3/3/10)

Quality Assurance given new regulatory roles

Topco's Quality Assurance department recently announced two revamped positions to better monitor and review federal regulations that affect products and processes. Carrie Gianotti is now the department's Regulatory Compliance Manager and Kristin Althoff is an Associate Regulatory Specialist. In their new roles, Gianotti and Althoff will review all product labels to ensure they comply with labeling regulations, provide nutrition and product claim recommendations to Topco and member owners, maintain documentation and certification for kosher and organic products, and provide support for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. In addition, Althoff will serve as Topco's Recall Coordinator and will be responsible for providing vendors and members with information about any Topco-related recalls. (2/10/10)

World Classics launches brand Web site

World Classics Trading Company recently unveiled its brand Web site, www.worldclassicstrading.com, to highlight its more than 400 premium food items. Romantic travel images and beautiful landscape photography provide a rich backdrop for the site, which uses graphic elements that are consistent with World Classic's eye-catching product packaging. Visitors to the site can navigate through an extensive list of fine products that is broken down into six categories: beverages, breakfast and bakery, deli, meat and seafood, fruits and vegetables, indulgences, and pantry. They then can click on the site's "Locations" button to quickly discover Topco members that carry World Classics products. The site also includes sections with recipes, news, contact information, and an adventure section that continues to develop Hudson, a fictional character featured on many World Classics products who travels the globe in search of innovative and delicious offerings. (2/4/10)

Prominent physician group endorses NuVal

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM), a leading organization of top physicians committed to disease prevention and health promotion, has officially endorsed the NuVal nutritional scoring system as an easy and effective way to help consumers learn about the food they buy. "The ACPM supports evidence-based and meaningful nutrition labeling that can guide consumers to healthier eating," said ACPM President Mark B. Johnson. "ACPM has reviewed the NuVal nutritional rating system and found that it meets the ACPM criteria for support." This is the first time that an independent medical or public health organization with national stature has endorsed a non-governmental nutrition guidance system. NuVal representatives also announced this week that a new Harvard University study links NuVal's scores to health outcomes. The study demonstrated that the more someone filled their diet with high scoring items, the less likely they were to be afflicted by ailments like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. NuVal, which is a joint venture of Topco and Yale University-affiliated Griffin Hospital, is currently used in Price Chopper Supermarkets, Hy-Vee, Inc. and Meijer, Inc. United Supermarkets, L.L.C. guests will begin seeing NuVal scores on shelf tags and point-of-sale signage in the spring. (1/22/10)

Topco, Schnuck Markets executives named to Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday announced that Howard Popoola, Topco's Vice President of Quality Assurance, and Michael O'Brien, Schnuck Markets, Inc.'s Vice President of Produce and Floral, will serve on the new U.S. Department of Agriculture Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. The committee will advise Vilsack on issues affecting the fruit and vegetable industry. Popoola and O'Brien were selected from individuals nominated by their peers, and they each will serve a two-year term on the committee. Committee members represent fresh fruit and vegetable growers, importers, brokers, shippers, processors, wholesalers, retailers, industry trade associations, foodservice suppliers, fresh-cut processors, and state departments of agriculture. (1/8/10)