With more restaurants saying no to plastic straws in South Africa, and amid a concerted effort from retailers to cut down on the use of one-time plastics in their products, the move against plastic appears to be is resonating with the wider public, too.

As consumer expectations continue to shift, grocery retailers must ensure that they keep a finger on the pulse of changing demands. Here, James Butcher, managing director of grocery retail specialist, Solutions for Retail Brands (S4RB), examines the key grocery trends to keep an eye out for in 2019.

Waitrose & Partners has hit its target to remove black plastic from hundreds of products as part of its overall aim to eradicate the material from all its own label products.

The Shoprite Group recently opened a new world-class distribution centre (DC) in Lagos, Nigeria.

A big and better Checkers Mimosa Mall re-opened its doors in Bloemfontein following a major refurbishment after the store was destroyed by a devastating fire almost a year ago.

With the opening of its new store in Mams Mall, Pretoria, Shoprite created 60 new jobs. The store’s total staff complement is 140, which includes 106 women.

Consumers have become increasingly concerned about plastic waste. But if we are to experience a real shift in behaviour and make a sustainable long-term impact in our environment, we need to reinforce the message of reduce, reuse and recycle.

Pharmacy chain Dis-Chem plans to maintain its expansion pace of more than one store a month, it said in its interim results.

FoodForward SA has introduced the FoodShare Digital Platform, a technological answer to the logistical demands of an organisation that recovers surplus food in the supply chain for redistribution to registered non-profit organisations.

It is estimated that a staggering one in five SA households is food insecure, with more than 13-million people routinely experiencing hunger. This is a contravention of the constitution, which enshrines access to food as a right.

Checkers opened the doors to its new store at The Square shopping centre in Ladysmith on Thursday, 26 July 2018, creating 115 new jobs. The store’s total staff complement of 139 includes 101 youth and 104 women.

Food Lover’s Market, South Africa’s leading fresh produce retailer, today firmly established its continued commitment to a plastic-free shopping experience with the confirmation that paper bags will be available in Food Lover’s Market stores nationally as of 01 August 2018 - this is after the successful implementation of paper straws nationally and a successful pilot of paper bags in the Western Cape during the month of July.