Retail Beat

• Craft brewers say "Yes, we can"
  Oskar Blues Brewery owner Dale Katechis went out on a limb 10 years ago when he began packaging Dale's Pale Ale in aluminum cans, which are lighter and less expensive to ship than bottles. Flash forward to today, and some 200 craft brewers have overcome the canned beer stigma and followed suit. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Food & Beverage (12/3)     

• Village Foods owner transfers ownership to employees
  Joe Lueken is receiving global attention for his plan to retire and transfer ownership of his three Village Foods grocery stores to hundreds of employees on Jan. 1. "I guess it's really resonating with people right now," said Brent Sicard, who will be president and CEO of the chain, with two stores in Bemidji, Minn., and one in Wahpeton, N.D. Duluth News Tribune (Minn.) (12/2)     

	Pass it on. Cans are America's most recycled packaging. Go to Cancentral.com/sustainability to download our sustainability report.

Trend-Spotter

• Smartphones bring retail changes
  A report from Perception Research Services notes that 54% of shoppers now own smartphones and use them to compare prices and gather product information. "While the digital age has changed the retail landscape, it does not mean the end of all brick and mortar stores as we know them," said Jonathan Asher, executive vice president at PRS. "It does, however, mean that retailers and manufacturers need to adapt to a world in which shoppers are armed with a tremendous amount of information at their fingertips (literally)." Progressive Grocer (11/30)     

Fresh Ideas

• The easy appeal of clementines
  Sweet and easy-to-peel clementines are in season now in California, where the popular Algerian variety is grown on about 500 acres. Commercially grown clementines are also popular, but they lack the same intensity of flavor. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (11/30)     

Health, Nutrition & Pharmacy

• Higher fruit, vegetable intake may not prevent weight gain
  Participants who incorporated fruit juice in their diets for eight weeks gained between 3.5 and 5 pounds, while heavier participants who had higher fruit and vegetable intake also showed weight gain. The study in the International Journal of Obesity suggests that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may not reduce hunger or carry long-term weight-loss benefits, researchers said. Reuters (11/30)     

• Researchers explain how food ads affect obese children
  Overweight and obese children may be more susceptible to eating high-calorie, sugar-laden foods they see in advertisements because they have greater activity in the reward areas of the brain compared with those at a healthier weight, researchers reported in the Journal of Pediatrics. Researchers found that children at a healthy weight showed increased activity in brain areas associated with self-control when viewing food logos. eMaxHealth.com (12/1)     

Supplier News

• Unilever still selling off food businesses, CEO says
  Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, said the company is not done selling off food businesses as it sharpens its focus on personal care products and emerging markets. "You've seen us do divestitures, but there is still a little bit more to be done," he said. The company's food brands, including Hellmann's and Knorr, account for about 30% of sales. Bloomberg (11/30)     

• Specialty food is focus of Thought for Food & Son
  Thought for Food & Son, founded in Marlboro, Mass., in 2005, provides marketing and packaging for specialty food brands, such as Bakery on Main, a maker of gluten-free granola. "Because we specialize in the food industry, we understand what it takes to get food products on the shelf," said Alan Casucci, who runs the business with sons Tyler and Ethan. Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.) (12/2)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by FMI dailyLead® readers in the past week.

• SUPERVALU sale reportedly stalls as funders remain wary (Bloomberg)

• Utah is about to get its first Trader Joe's (The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah))

• Asian Supermarket opens in Mich. (Detroit Free Press)

• Sustainability moves to the next level (Just-Food.com (free registration))

• Hostess may be revived by Flowers (The Wall Street Journal)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Government Affairs

• Supermarket wine sales gaining support in Tennessee
  A plan to allow wine sales in grocery stores is likely to move forward in the Tennessee General Assembly. Currently, all alcohol in the state must be sold to distributors and then retailers, with any alcohol stronger than beer sold only in the state's 501 liquor stores. Kingsport Times-News (Tenn.)/The Associated Press (12/2)     

FMI Spotlight

• Support FMI's hunger relief efforts at Midwinter
  Registration for the Food Industry Golf Tournament on Jan. 20 is now open. Funds go to support FMI Political Education efforts and Food for All. Learn more and register today.     

Food Safety and Security

• Campaign encourages shoppers to choose cage-free eggs
  The Choose Cage-Free campaign has been launched in the U.S. and Canada by the World Society for the Protection of Animals. "Buying cage-free eggs supports better hen health and welfare, and provides safer, more wholesome eggs for consumers," said U.S. Executive Director Anne Lieberman, who claimed that 95% of egg-laying hens in the U.S. are raised in tiny, crowded cages. Progressive Grocer (11/30)     

Daily Quote

Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time." --Betty Smith, American author