Consumables

At first blush, there appears to be nothing special about Dollar General’s first Southern California store in the suburb of Montclair. It occupies about 7,500 sq. ft. of space in an aging strip center, and a small banner hung on the exterior beckons to passing motorists and pedestrians, “Now Open.” Inside, more signs explain the bare-bones merchandising of familiar brands to shoppers unfamiliar with the Dollar General value proposition.

NEW YORK — One of the first lessons in life that children learn is that getting sick isn’t fun, and going to the pharmacy isn’t too exciting either. In 2004, pharmacist Charles Tabouchirani decided to change that by opening Cherry’s Pharmacy, a store that specializes in dealing with children.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola’s Honest Tea brand began the rollout of its Not Too Sweet Tea, a traditional sweet tea with 40% less sugar and calories than the leading sweet teas. The new addition to Honest Tea’s lineup is brewed with organic black tea leaves and is sweetened with “just a tad” (25 g) of organic cane sugar and organic stevia. Each 16.9-fl.-oz. bottle contains 100 calories, compared with leading brands of sweet tea, which contain an average of 43 g of sugar and 174 calories per 16.9-fl.-oz. bottle.

WASHINGTON — A consumer group is urging the Food and Drug Administration to review a proprietary point-of-purchase nutrition rating system that it said is "inconsistent with FDA guidance statements and enforcement correspondence, federal nutrition programs and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine."

For niche brands, getting a foot in the door of mass market retail is no easy feat, and the stakes remain high as retailers have, in recent years, trimmed SKU counts and grown increasingly risk-adverse.

SOUTH DEERFIELD, Mass. — Yankee Candle has introduced a limited-edition collection of scents inspired by and created for men.

The company's limited-edition Man Candles collection features four fragrances: Man Town, a masculine blend of spices, woods and musk; First Down, a combination of orange, patchouli, vetiver and leather; Riding Mower, which features the scent of freshly cut grass; and 2 x 4, featuring the scents of freshly planed wood and sawdust.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola reportedly is gearing up to roll out mid-calorie beverages in select markets.

Scott Williamson, a Coca-Cola spokesman, was quoted as saying that the beverages, which will be marketed under the Sprite and Fanta brands, is "a limited test of new formulations to see if they might appeal to consumers."

ORRVILLE, Ohio — J. M. Smucker, has decreased the list price for many of its packaged coffee products due to sustained declines in green coffee costs.

Items sold under the Folgers, Dunkin' Donuts, Millstone and Cafe Bustelo brand names will see price decreased of an average 6%. The company noted that the Dunkin' Donuts brand is licensed to J. M. Smucker for packaged coffee products sold in such retail channels as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores and drug stores.