Supermarket Perimeter - December 2021 - 3

Editor's note
Editorial
JOHN UNREIN
Editor
ANDY NELSON
Managing Editor
EMILY PARK
Digital Associate Editor
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TROY ASHBY
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GRETCHEN WAGNER
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LILY ALVAREZ
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MICHAEL BARBEE
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DUSTIN PICKMAN
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HANNAH CARNEY
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LAUREN JULIANA
Audience Development
Coordinator
JON HALL
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CARRIE FLUEGGE
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NORA WAGES
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ANNIE FOURNIER
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ELISABETH SPILLMAN
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MARJ POTTS
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BECKY WHITE
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FIONA DANKER
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JIM WHITE
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ABBY CHRONISTER
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Corporate
CHARLES S. SOSLAND
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L. JOSHUA SOSLAND
President
STACI GRECO
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
MEYER SOSLAND
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor
JIM SALADIN
Chief Marketing Officer
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supermarketperimeter.com
DECEMBER 2021 - 3
ANDY NELSON
anelson@sosland.com
The
waiting
game
Most grocery shoppers don't think about the production
and logistical miracles often needed to get the foods they
buy from field to fork -especially perishable foods fighting a
battle against the clock.
That changed during Round 1 of COVID, with many US
grocery shelves looking like those in Soviet Russia. And in late 2021, images of container
ships idling off the coast of US ports are driving the point home again, as are the return of
empty shelves in some stores and higher prices in most.
Looking at foods sold in the grocery perimeter, some categories have been hit much
harder than others.
Companies like Los Angeles-based World Variety Produce, owner of the Melissa's brand,
won't have too much trouble waiting and waiting and waiting some more for hardy items
like imported citrus.
Figs, currants, berries, kiwifruit and a host of other imported items are another matter.
Companies like World Variety are facing the tough decision of whether to bring in some of
these items by air, which is much more expensive, or not to bring them in at all.
Other perimeter departments, like meat, haven't been hit nearly as hard, at least when it
comes to imports. Most meat sold in the United States is sourced domestically.
And the perimeter in general is actually faring pretty well in at least one respect, said Rick
Stein, vice president of fresh for Arlington, Va.-based FMI - The Food Industry Association.
Traditionally, center-store has enjoyed much more supply-chain stability. That's not the case
now. The perimeter may still be having its usual supply chain issues, but in comparison to
center-store's new problems, fresh comes off looking pretty good, Stein said.
That said, managers of all store departments, perimeter and center-store, will breathe a
lot easier when the current transportation/labor/logistics problems are fixed. But retailers
shouldn't be holding their breath, Stein said.
" The demand is going to be hard to fill, especially with the labor force we have. I think it
will be a rocky road for at least another 18 months. "

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