Walmart has been public about supporting American manufacturing wherever it makes business sense and that commitment was reinforced last week at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new factory in Santa Ana, CA, that will cut and sew apparel exclusively for the retailer. Does “made in the USA” messaging hold more sway with American consumers today than it did 10 years ago?

Kroger is bringing back an accelerator program designed to help local fresh food suppliers from across the country gain access to the supermarket giant’s store shelves. Are accelerator programs such as Kroger’s a good way to onboard local and regional suppliers?

Foxtrot recently secured $100 million in new funding to open 50 locations over the next two years as it seeks to “modernize the nostalgic corner store experience” with a focus on discovery, local and digital. Has the in-store experience during the pandemic become a more important driver of customer acquisition for digital-first players?

Small and medium-sized independent farms have discovered online selling in recent years with the arrival of numerous farm-to-door delivery apps, possibly threatening the popularity of farmers markets.  Do you see emerging online growth opportunities for small and medium-sized independent farms complementing or replacing farmers markets?

The “Save my business!” plea that helped many local stores and restaurants salvage sales in the early months of the pandemic is losing relevance as the economy and job market recovers, according to a new survey. Have local retailers begun to lose much of their pandemic-related support and goodwill?

Whole Foods Market announced last week an organizational realignment that includes fully centralizing product buying. Does shifting to centralized buying offer more benefits or risks for Whole Foods?

Retailers like to tell their customers the lengths they go to to find unique products to sell. In Walmart’s case, the chain’s merchants rely on a variety of resources when they go looking for new products, including recently, social media. Has the pandemic changed how retailers source new products?

According to a new survey, 65 percent of retailers established or expanded their local and domestic manufacturing sources in order to gain better control of their supply chain during the pandemic.  Will the pandemic provide a long-term or a temporary boost to onshoring or nearshoring?

Surveys show consumers are eager to buy from independent retailers and restaurants faced with challenges created by the spread of COVID-19. Some of this community support may have been extended to local farmers and food purveyors as well. In what ways have you witnessed the local foods movement gaining momentum during the pandemic?

Consumers’ recently renewed refocus on their local communities amid the pandemic will become a long-term trend bringing about the “Decade of the Home,” according to an Accenture study. Is the “Decade of the Home” ahead of us as Accenture predicts?

A recent forum featured a guided walking tour of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood to explore retailers that have mastered experiential retailing. When should a retailer hold true to their brand vs. adapting to the local market?

Shake Shack’s founder and acclaimed restaurateur said his sustainability choices have largely been done for “intuitive” rather than “intentional” reasons. What lessons might retailers and brands learn from Danny Meyer’s approach to sustainability and transparency?

Localization has been embraced to protect market share and profitability. Yet, localization just might hasten the death of certain banners. What suggestions would you have for avoiding the negatives of SKU proliferation that tend to occur with increased localization?

For manufacturers of even the biggest brands, sharing the story behind the products offers the transparency, intimacy and respect today’s consumers crave. Are consumers as open to hearing the backstories of established food brands as they are to upstarts?

At the new Natoora store concept in the U.K., customers can expect the vegetables to be broken out into many more categories than a traditional — or even an organic — grocery store. Do you see a concept such as the new Natoora store having appeal beyond a limited audience?

Your neighborhood grocery store is once again caught between a rock and a hard place. In this metaphor, the rock is ecommerce competition from Amazon and larger, more traditional retailers. The hard place is the spate of emboldened new retail formats. Where are the biggest opportunities for independent supermarket operators to improve their business results?

Kroger recently launched a new website, Kroger.Com/WeAreLocal, to more loudly broadcast its local goods and invite more local suppliers to work with the grocery giant. What do you think of Kroger’s plan to emphasize and build on its local assortments?

Whole Foods is accelerating its shift to more centralized buying under Amazon.com’s ownership while also eliminating brand representatives from selling on store floors, according to reports. Is centralizing buying a smart strategy for Whole Foods?

Why are small food brands suddenly such big sellers? Thanks to technology-driven companies, Millennials are accustomed to having lots of choices for niche products and services that meet their very specific needs What do you think is driving the success of smaller brands in the grocery channel?

Luby’s, the Texas-based cafeteria chain, will bring its famed Mac & Cheese to retail for the first time. But the dish will only reach the frozen food aisles of another Texas institution, H-E-B. Do you see grocers partnering with local restaurants or food trucks as a solid strategy for achieving growth?

Target is looking to shorten the distance from farm to plate with a planned test of vertical farms, an agricultural technique that involves growing plants and vegetables indoors in climatized conditions. What do you think of Target’s vertical farming test? Do you see more potential benefit to the supply chain or marketing efforts?

In 2001, a seven-year project concluded that it was possible for the soft goods industry to improve consumer responsiveness while still reducing the time merchandise sits in the supply chain pipeline. Why do you think retail’s supply chains are still largely built for mass selling instead of speed?

Before the new Wegmans in Midlothian, VA ever opened its doors, 24,000 people had signed up for its rewards card. According to reports, the store’s lot was completely full before it officially opened for business this past Sunday. What is it about Wegmans that draws such large crowds whenever the chain opens a store in a new market?

Whole Foods’ decentralized buying approach often gets credit for the grocer’s ability to partner with small, local manufacturers. But it’s a pain for suppliers. What steps should national retailers using a decentralized approach take to make the buying process easier for its large and small vendors?

While many consumers first find out about the stories of local food artisans at farmers markets or sites like Etsy, Williams-Sonoma for the fourth straight year will bring many to its stores as part of its monthly Artisans’ Market program. What further approaches could retailers use to capitalize on the appeal of local food purveyors?

A new Harris Poll finds that Americans are split 50/50 on whether it is important to them to purchase locally made items when they go shopping at the grocery store. Would grocers be better off simply focusing on local for fresh categories or do you think there are opportunities in others, as well?

Products organically made within 200 miles of the retail outlet and without wheat were the hit of the 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York this week. Which of the current food sales drivers — including locally-produced, organics, gluten-free, etc. — do you think will be the most important for retailers over the next year?

Local sourcing has come a long way. Today, locally produced products are a big deal in retail marketing, and Seattle-based Bartell Drugs has used its 125-year history in the Puget Sound region and its relationship with local suppliers in the promotion of a successful new private label. Is local sourcing an effective means for regional retailers to differentiate their private label from national chains?

Recently, in a casual dinner conversation, a “know it all” but well-informed industry professional asserted that Whole Foods was doomed to fail. The reason: Store managers are allowed to significantly impact what merchandise gets put in each individual store. Are stores only paying lip service to localization efforts while still relying on standardization?

The online grocery market has a new player and it’s Overstock.com. Yesterday, the off-price e-tailer announced the launch of Farmers Market on its site. Do you agree with Patrick Byrne that Overstock.com’s Farmers Market is unique to online grocery services available in the market today?

When visiting stores, One may see a lot of local products that should have a “Buy Local” sign or shelf talker, but don’t. If stores are going to buy local brands, they should sign them and be proud of them. It will build consumer traffic, loyalty and profits. Are grocers missing opportunities to support local products?

“Foods with a local or natural connotation to them have much more potency with consumers than the average retailer thinks,” said Bill Bishop, best known for his years running Willard Bishop Consulting and now chief architect at Brick Meets Click. Do you agree or disagree with the view in this commentary that grocers are failing to fully address the buy local opportunity?

City Grocery in Oxford, MS and American Grocery in Greenville, SC are two restaurants that source top quality ingredients for their fine dining offerings. Their names imply that if raw materials don’t actually come directly from a retail grocer, they could. Is the connotation of “grocery” an inducement to fine dining?

According to AT Kearney’s report, Buying into the Local Food Movement, demand for local food “is spreading — from rural farm market stands to supermarket shelves.” But, they ask, are large grocery retailers capturing the growing “locavore” market?

According to a study from A.T. Kearney, consumers have trust issues when buying local food at national and big box retailers. How can big box stores and national chains improve trust around local foods?

The local movement has—perhaps not so surprisingly—gone extreme in San Francisco. Last week, the city held a second-annual week-long celebration of local manufacturers. What’s the likelihood that locally-made movements will become more prevalent across the U.S. in the years ahead?

Consumers like to see “green” claims such as natural, organic or sustainable on food labels, but “Grown in the USA” also is gaining popularity, according results of a recent survey. How strong is the trend toward “Grown in the USA” and locally-grown movements?

With concern growing about food insecurity, shortages and price increases, there is less resolution than ever about the relative wisdom of where and how our food should be produced. Where do you stand on the argument between locally-produced food versus that produced through methods of mass production?

As the population of “localvores” — consumers who regularly purchase locally grown/procured products — grows, retailers will continue to think of interesting ways to better serve this consumer type. Are community farms an answer for retailers looking to address the increased demand for locally grown fresh food?

Wegmans’ Jim Heberle is excited. “We aimed for ripe tomatoes before Memorial Day, and we made it,” he told Syracuse’s Post-Standard newspaper. The we Mr. Heberle referred to are all of the people working on Wegmans’ Organic Research Farm in Canandaigua, N.Y. What are your thoughts on Wegmans’ approach to running its Organic Research Farm?

Safeway Inc. last week launched a “Locally Grown” campaign. The move appears to take a page from retailers such as Whole Foods that have marketed their commitment to sustainable, organic and locally grown foods to bond with eco-conscious consumers. What do you think of Safeway’s “Locally Grown” campaign?

According to a store manager at a local Crescent City, CA area Walgreens, corporate management has given him some dollars and the green light to pick up locally produced goods. Would you recommend local sourcing for large chain retailers?

People who take pride in what they do have different ways of showing it. One route taken by some European food producers is to demand that authenticity be verified through being awarded either PDO or PGI status. Do Americans place as much importance on authenticity of food origins as other nationalities do?

Residents in the Tri-Cities area straddling Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky have a taste for blackberries…good old-fashioned blackberries – sweet, juicy, jet-black and the size of your thumb. Danny Shelton grows them in nearby New Market, Tenn., and sells them by the pint in Food City, part of a program initiated by K-VA-T Food Stores…. What do you think of K-VA-T’s localized approach to buying produce, meat and even packaging? Is localized merchandising an effective option for all regional grocers or just in certain regions?

Shoppers are opting for locally grown produce over organic alternatives, according to the Shopping for Health 2008 survey released by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Prevention. When cost is the same, 50 percent of consumers surveyed said they would choose locally grown produce versus organic (28 percent). Do you also see a “battle” between locally grown and organic as to which delivers the freshest produce?

Duncan Innes, founder of Sussex and the City, a supermarket located in Brighton, England, has taken the ‘buy local’ mantra to a logical, albeit extreme conclusion. Mr. Sussex and the City only sells products grown and/or manufactured within 50 miles of the store. Do you think a grocery concept similar to Sussex and the City would make it in the U.S.? How keen are American consumers to buy local or, at the very least, to purchase products made in the U.S.?

A report on the WLOX News Web site says watermelon farmers in Mississippi are upset about their inability to get large chain stores to purchase from them. Farmer Clarence Lee told WLOX, “The chain stores will not buy our produce. They ship it in from out of state.” Mr. Lee claims independent grocers and smaller chains have been more willing to do business with local growers. Are the policies of large chains excessively restrictive when it comes to buying produce from local farmers?