Grocery

The country’s second-largest grocery retail chain is reportedly moving into hemp THC drinks.

Trends improved for only five of the beer category’s 25 largest vendors between the year-to-date (YTD) and latest four-week (L4W) periods ending June 14, according to market research firm Circana.

Kroger has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire regional grocery chain Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion, marking the company’s first major acquisition since its proposed megamerger with Albertsons collapsed in 2024.

Perceived value is reality when it comes to beverage-alcohol sales in HMSHost’s more than 1,000 dining venues located in around 80 airports across the U.S., Tyler Pitman, SVP of concept development, brand partnerships and adult beverage shared earlier this month during Constellation Brands’ Gold Network Summit.

Craft beer dollar (-9.4%) and case sales (-10.9%) straddled double-digit declines in the grocery channel for the four-week period (L4W) ending June 15, according to the most recent monthly report from market research firm Circana.

Almost exactly eight years since acquiring Whole Foods Market, Amazon is on the verge of restructuring the natural grocery chain’s leadership.

The craft segment’s dollar sales and volume declines have accelerated to start the second quarter, traditionally the lead-up to beer’s all important summer selling season, according to the most recent off-premise report from market research firm Circana.

Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand beer and wine sales licenses to the state’s grocery, convenience, mass retail and warehouse stores. However, House Bill 1379 “faced tough questioning in committee and faces a tough road to passage in the House,” Maryland Matters reported, citing a nearly three-hour debate over it last week.

Beer category dollar sales were roughly flat (-0.3%) to start the year at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Circana. Sales reached $2.854 billion at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) in the first four weeks of 2025, through January 26.

Craft beer ended its four-month streak of off-premise dollar sales improvement during the four-week period (L4W) that ended December 1, according to market research firm Circana.

The average case price for beer in grocery stores has increased +16.7% since 2019, with consumers now paying more than $4 more in 2023 than they were pre-pandemic, according to Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) founder Bump Williams in his monthly industry update.

A Washington, D.C. Circuit court panel sided with Albertsons on Tuesday refusing to impose an emergency pause on the grocery chain’s planned $4 billion shareholder dividend filed in the court a month and a half ago.

Grocery market competition, price reduction strategies for consumers, a sustainable plan for necessary divestments and the potential impact on the companies’ combined workforce were key points of contention as the CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons Companies each appeared before the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Committee last week to face tough questions about their companies’ proposed $24.6 billion merger.

The CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons Companies, Rodney McMullen and Vivek Sankaran, respectively, faced intense criticism from the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee during a hearing Tuesday regarding their plans to execute commitments outlined in the proposed merger agreement.