bake Special Report - January 2022 - 9

Online
traction
growing
Another key development brought on
by recent events include the acceleration
of the online marketplace for
breads and bakery products.
Mercatus, a leading provider of
the Ardent Mills family, " says Dan
Dye, chief executive officer, Ardent
Mills. " Together, we will continue
to bring nutritious solutions to
our customers and communities. "
Organic moves
Nature's Path, an organic breakfast
and snack food company,
has acquired a majority interest
in Anita's Organic Mill. Financial
terms of the transaction were not
disclosed.
Founded in 1997 and headquartered
in Chilliwack, BC, Anita's is a
miller and manufacturer of organic
whole grain flours. The company
sources organic grain from farmers
across Canada, which is then
stone-milled onsite at its facility in
Chilliwack. Anita's Chilliwack facility
also houses a retail and bulk packaging
plant, as well as an on-site
bakery that serves as a test kitchen
for education and development.
" We have been a customer of
Anita's Organic Mill since 2015
and have been using their flour in
some of our top-selling products,
like our Heritage Flakes and Flax
Plus cereals, " said Arjan Stephens,
general manager of Nature's Path.
" Throughout our relationship, we
have been continuously impressed
by the quality of Anita's flour as
well as the company's passionate
commitment to always being
organic. "
Jayda Smith, co-owner and
general manager of Anita's, highlighted
the " many synergies "
between Anita's and Nature's Path.
" Just like Nature's Path, we have
dedicated ourselves to always being
organic and non-GMO, " Ms. Smith
said. " We also share a commitment
to sustainability, by making products
that are good for both people and
the planet. We could not be more
excited about this partnership, and
the future growth it represents for
Anita's. "
Anita's said it will retain its own
distinct branding and join the
Nature's Path family of brands,
including Love Crunch, EnviroKidz
and Que Pasa.
" For 35 years, Nature's Path has
been a trailblazer in the world of
organic food, " says Taylor Gemmel,
co-owner and president of Anita's.
" And even though it has grown to
be a global success story, Nature's
Path has never deviated from its
mission: to always leave the earth
better than they found it. We are
confident our new partnership will
help take Anita's to the next level,
while staying true to our roots. "
On the horizon
ADM, a global leader in nutrition
that powers many of the world's
top food, beverage, and health and
wellness brands, recently released
its second annual list of global
Bake Magazine Digital Special Report 1 | Volume 3 | bakemag.com
grocery eCommerce solutions, is
now offering the Instacart Connect
integration to its retail clients. The
integration is yet another way
that Mercatus is helping grocery
retailers improve their online grocery
experience.
The new Mercatus integration with
Instacart Connect enables Mercatuspowered
grocery retailers to tap
into the Instacart fulfillment infrastructure
to pick, pack and deliver
orders, without giving up control
over the customer relationship. Now,
consumers can go directly to their
preferred grocer's eCommerce site
to place their orders, instead of going
through the Instacart marketplace
for their delivery service.
Behind the scenes, the order is
placed and then routed from the
retailer-owned site to Instacart, which
dispatches an Instacart shopper to
pick, pack and hand off (or deliver)
the order to the customer. In doing
so, Mercatus combines the grocer's
commerce channels with the labor
flexibility of the Instacart fulfillment
workforce.
" We know that building digital
connections that result in a morelasting
customer loyalty is vital to
ensuring grocers have a healthier,
more valuable eCommerce proposition, "
said Sylvain Perrier, president
and CEO, Mercatus. " Grocers own the
customer connections and control
more elements when a customer
shops online. "
9
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