The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
Ever since announcing its controversial plan to merge with Albertsons, Kroger has stuck steadfastly to the message that completing the deal is essential for the company as it navigates the nation’s highly competitive grocery market. But that narrative developed serious cracks this week as Kroger executives delivered another lackluster quarterly earnings report to investors with the fate of the controversial combination still in the hands of a trio of judges.
In his prepared remarks at the start of an earnings call on Thursday, Kroger President and CEO Rodney McMullen highlighted the company’s desire to complete the merger before saying he would not entertain questions about the deal. Minutes later, however, he reversed course, responding in stark terms to an analyst’s query about what Kroger would do if the transaction it has so fiercely defended collapses.
While McMullen emphasized that Kroger sees the merger as a way to grow and provide added value to shoppers, he also declared that Kroger would be able to thrive on its own — and suggested that Kroger never really believed that combining with Albertsons was essential to its future.
“We’ve always made sure that we don't need to do mergers to make our business successful, and that was one of the reasons that we’ve always been proud of what Kroger has done,” McMullen said.
Kroger has fought vigorously for more than two years to overcome strident opposition to its deal with Albertsons. Could a single exchange between its top executive and an earnings call participant signal that it is getting ready to throw in the towel?
In case you missed it
Kroger gives consumer savings a holiday twist
Offering savings for shoppers has been a key effort for Kroger this year — especially as it communicates the value of its proposed merger with Albertsons — and the grocer has a new savings event in time for the holidays.
On Wednesday, Kroger kicked off its 12 Merry Days of Deals event, which lets customers clip different a digital deal, such as 10% off holiday home decor and a half gallon bottle of private brand orange juice for $1.99, on the grocer’s website or app each day through Dec. 15. People can redeem the deals in-store or online through Dec. 17.
Instacart grows partner roster to combat food insecurity
The grocery technology company unveiled two new partnerships this week aimed at improving vulnerable populations’ access to food.
One of the collaborations will embed Instacart’s SNAP eligibility screener on the care management platform for Medical Home Network, allowing the more than 80 federally qualified health centers that the organization works with to access the tool. The other newly announced partnership gives people enrolled in select SCAN Chronic Special Needs Plans access to a supplemental grocery benefit to use on Instacart.
Busting salad bar theft
Picadeli, an artificial intelligence salad bar provider, announced Tuesday a partnership with technology company Digimarc Corporation to embed digital watermarks into Picadeli’s branded packaging. The tie-up aims to prevent “the increasing problem of retail shrink and food fraud in the fresh and prepared foods market” and enable automated product verification and ensure pricing accuracy at self-checkout, the companies said.
Picadeli has struck deals with Weis Markets, Schnuck Markets, Coborn’s and other retailers to offer its AI-powered salad bars.
Impulse find
Which food products will be hot in 2025?
As 2024 comes to a close, grocers and their technology vendors are peering into their crystal balls to predict which products will fly off supermarkets’ shelves in the new year.
Protein innovation appeared on the trend predictions from Instacart, Kroger and Whole Foods Market, with Kroger dubbing 2025 the year of “The Protein Renaissance.”
As consumers look to boost their daily protein intake, these companies expect meat and plant-based protein to take center stage. Instacart noted that people are already adding protein to ice cream and flatbreads. Kroger predicts chicken, yogurt and cottage cheese will remain popular as beans, lentils and hemp seeds become more mainstream. Whole Foods expects people to incorporate more protein in both snacks and meals, with cottage cheese serving as a star ingredient in recipes.
Global flavors also stood out as a common thread among trend predictions. Instacart highlighted that global cuisines — especially Asian-inspired ones — are already growing in the U.S.
Whole Foods expects consumers will turn to more “international snacking” with items like chamoy candy, mango sticky rice chips and chili crunch oil edamame. Kroger predicts sauerkraut and kimchi will gain more popularity as consumers seek out “acidic, briny and fermented flavors.”
