when I sat down to think about who next to feature in our summer spotlight series, the 1,000+ independent grocers that sell emerging products immediately came to mind. why? because their vision, commitment to the mission and the hard, humble work their teams do everyday to support local brands, farmers’ seasonal harvests, and their local communities are what summer bounty is all about. they radiate community and amplify our mission throughout their work, community events, and quest for innovation, that makes it look effortless, but is not, and it’s what draws us all to them. we can do all the research and sourcing to find new emerging products, but the only way to scale this movement is to partner with networks of independent grocers, to carry and showcase the 34,000+ emerging brands we’ve found since 2010, and showcase on our wholesale marketplace and social channels IRL. and we’re just beginning this crazy movement! #bratsummer

born out of a love for local food systems, transparency, innovation, and accessibility, these grocers have amassed a hyper focused devoted following on instagram thanks to their affordable, open, and enormous passion for the movement. their focus on education, seasonality, hyper local sourcing, serving the underserved, is constantly pushing the limits year after year, and their activities feature the perfect balance of food projects, local artisans, artists, and regional dishes that complement their mission. 

read on for our directory to uncover hidden retail gems, rediscover the joy of grocery shopping, support farms for economic development and learn how to cook seasonally. i know you'll love this tiny corner grocer guide as much as i do. 

Farm2Me Map of Independent Grocers is not just a map – it’s a vibrant, living community celebrating the hardworking shops and shopkeepers you pass by every day.

Get lost in the intricate stories of shop owners. Discover their journeys, the products they love, and the reasons behind what they do.

Take advantage of the map when you’re visiting a new neighborhood, when you’re traveling around the country / world, or just looking for something special in your neighborhood.

We’ve spent 14 years building this, so enjoy!

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Decentralization of Big Food

Big Food is ConAgra (a monopoly of Grocery & Agriculture) and they control nearly 99.5% of the food you eat – regardless of what supermarket you shop.

Earlier this month, we explored how lackluster total shareholder returns (TSRs) can force transformational change in Expect Big Change in Big Food. Now we explore some historical context and the corporate strategy megatrend we believe guides board-level decision-making. General Mills and Conagra reported quarterly earnings a few weeks ago. The big takeaway was that consumers remain in a Big Food coma after 2-3 years of multi-decade-high COVID-driven “at-home” consumption growth. Consumers are now pushing back on price increases, and retailers are investing more in their private label programs. Big Food is back to losing market share again following its short-lived outperformance during the pandemic. Predictably, these factors are forcing Big Food companies to promote and advertise more heavily this summer to improve consumer receptivity to their flagship brands ahead of the Back-to-School season.

However, we believe the COVID era will likely prove a temporary distraction from the corporate strategy megatrend that had been guiding these companies’ actions before this black swan event. In the years and decades before the pandemic, most Big Food companies had been hard at work whittling their portfolios into leaner, more agile, mega/category-specific businesses. This "Great De-Conglomeration" involved unwinding what corporate conglomeration had done to the food sector 50+ years ago. The conglomerate era of the 1950-1970s favored the creation of large diversified "holding" or "portfolio" companies, under the theory that owning multiple uncorrelated cash flow streams would generate steadier, more predictable returns for shareholders through economic cycles. However, the increased complexity and management hubris ultimately led to relatively lackluster organic TSRs and value-destructive M&A, prompting a shift towards decentralization.

In Big Food and Big CPG broadly, decentralization remains an ongoing process. General Mills and Conagra offer interesting examples of this trend, having diversified their portfolios extensively before focusing back on core operations. For instance, General Mills divested its toys and fashion units, and in recent years expanded into pet food with acquisitions of Blue Buffalo and others. Conagra shed most of its non-core assets and reoriented towards a brand- and marketing-oriented CPG company. Despite years of simplification, challenges remain, as seen with Conagra's $100 million lawsuit related to lead paint liabilities. The big strategy question for Big Food is where diversification starts and ends now, as managing large portfolios of brands and business units across disparate categories and channels remains complex. This ongoing process highlights the necessity for Big Food to focus on fewer, bigger things to stay competitive in an evolving market.

emerging products — “greenwashed”

THAT’S A WRAP