Gourmet News

Dollar Tree CEO Witynski Stepping Down

Published January 24, 2023

Mike Witynski, who has been in leadership positions at Dollar Tree since 2010 and served as CEO since 2020, is stepping down from the Board and leaving the Company. Executive Chairman Rick Dreiling will expand his role to assume the position of chief executive officer, effective Jan. 29.

“The opportunity to work with the talented and dedicated team at Dollar Tree has been the most rewarding of my career. During this especially dynamic period, we made the historic and consequential move to ‘break the dollar,’ and also rose to the historic opportunity to retool the Company’s leadership ranks to face the challenges ahead with fresh eyes. As I depart, I have full confidence that this team will continue to move the Company forward through the years ahead,” Witynski said.

“We greatly appreciate Mike’s contribution over his career with Dollar Tree,” Dreiling said, “which included the acquisition and integration of Family Dollar, navigating COVID, and contributing to the company’s current transformation strategy. Dollar Tree will continue to thrive, grow and win in the marketplace in this next chapter, and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with the extraordinary Dollar Tree team to advance our focus on delighting customers, associates and other key stakeholders.”

Ned Kelly, lead independent director of the board, said, “We are grateful to Mike for his contributions and leadership during this unusually dynamic time and wish him well. Rick is energized and excited about the opportunities at Dollar Tree. His decades of retail experience will serve the Company well over the years ahead.”

Dreiling has a demonstrated track record of creating exceptional shareholder value with more than 50 years of retail experience at all operating levels, including expanding the footprint and offerings of several respected retailers and leading the successful transformation of multiple retailers.

The Company’s operations continue to track consistent with its expectations, and the leadership team will report earnings on Wednesday, March 1.

Dollar Tree, a Fortune 200 company, operated 16,293 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of Oct. 29. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree Canada. To learn more about the Company, visit www.DollarTree.com.

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Southern Glazer’s SG Proof App Available for Apple Devices

Published January 24, 2023

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has launched SG Proof app is now available on the App Store for Apple device users and is coming soon to Google Play.

Available at no cost to current Southern Glazer’s customers, the app offers all the features and functionalities of SGProof.com, Southern Glazer’s industry leading B2B eCommerce platform, plus a new Barcode Scanning feature available exclusively on the SG Proof app.

“We are excited for the convenience and enhanced experience that this investment will bring our customer partners,” said John Wittig, chief commercial officer. “Whether ordering from behind the bar or in the office, we want our customers to have convenience at their fingertips. The SG Proof app is one more way we’re making it easier for our partners to manage their businesses.”

With the new Barcode Scanning feature, customers can use their phone’s camera to scan a product’s barcode. If the product is in Southern Glazer’s portfolio, it will automatically load into the app for quick, on-the-go checkout.

The app also includes a “Remember Me” option, ensuring fast, convenient access to SG Proof by eliminating the need to login each time.

SGProof.com is part of Southern Glazer’s Proof digital ecosystem, that includes the 24/7 online shopping experience for customers, as well as customer relationship management and customer advocacy services. Proof® empowers Southern Glazer’s sales team to spend more time delivering consultative solutions and insights that help customers grow their businesses.

Southern Glazer’s customers can click here to download the app today: https://apple.co/3HaTGlb.

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USDA Issues Details of Dairy Aid Programs

Published January 23, 2023

Photo: USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the details of additional dairy aid, including a second round of payments through the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program and a new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program. The update to PMVAP and the new ODMAP will enable USDA to better support small- and medium-sized dairy operations who weathered the pandemic and now face other challenges.

“The Biden-Harris administration continues to fulfill its commitments to fill gaps in pandemic dairy aid for producers. USDA is announcing a second set of payments of nearly $100 million to close-out the $350 million commitment under PMVAP through partnerships with dairy handlers and cooperatives to deliver the payments.,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “USDA is also announcing new assistance targeted to small to medium size organic dairy farmers to help with anticipated marketing costs as they face a variety of challenges from weather to supply-chain challenges.”

Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program

PMVAP assists producers who received a lower value due to market abnormalities caused by the pandemic and ensuing federal policies. As a result of the production cap increase, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will make PMVAP payments to eligible dairy farmers for fluid milk sales between 5 million and 9 million pounds from July through December 2020. This level of production was not eligible for payment under the first round of the PMVAP. Payment rates will be identical to the first round of payments, 80 percent of the revenue different per month, on fluid milk sales from 5 million to 9 million pounds from July through December 2020. USDA will again distribute monies through agreements with independent handlers and cooperatives, with reimbursement to handlers for allowed administrative costs. USDA will contact handlers with eligible producers to notify them of the opportunity to participate.

As part of the first round, PMVAP paid eligible dairy farmers on up to 5 million pounds of fluid milk sales from July through December 2020. The first round of payments distributed over $250 million in dairy aid to over 25,000 eligible farmers. These dairy farmers received the full allowable reimbursement on fluid milk sales up to 5 million pounds.

More information about the PMVAP production cap increase is available at www.ams.usda.gov/pmvap.

Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program

The new ODMAP, to be administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, is intended to help smaller organic dairy farms that have faced a unique set of challenges and higher costs over the past several years that have been compounded by the ongoing pandemic and drought conditions across the country. Many small organic dairy operations are now struggling to stay in business and FSA plans to provide payments to cover a portion of their estimated marketing costs for 2023. Final spending will depend on enrollment and each producers projected production, but ODMAP has been allocated up to $100 million.

The assistance provided by ODMAP will be provided through unused Commodity Credit Corporation funds remaining from earlier pandemic assistance programs. The assistance will help eligible organic dairy producers with up to 75 percent of their future projected marketing costs in 2023, based on national estimates of marketing costs. This assistance will be provided through a streamlined application process based on a national per hundredweight payment. The payments will be capped at the first five million pounds of anticipated production, in alignment with preexisting dairy programs that target assistance to those smaller dairies that are most vulnerable to marketing challenges. This program is still in development.

Details about the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program will be available and updated at www.farmers.gov as more details are released in a Notice of Funds Availability later this year.