Small Businesses Oppose Petition Over Imported Shopping Bags
U.S. small businesses that supply the branded shopping bags for retailers and foodservice businesses across the country have denounced a petition by Novolex—a private-equity owned, multi-billion-dollar packaging giant, saying it misuses U.S. trade laws to drive them out of the market.
The Alliance for Responsible Trade in Paper Bags, representing hundreds of U.S. workers in the specialty paper bag market, is opposing a trade petition from a group calling itself ‘The Coalition for Fair Trade in Shopping Bags’ requesting that the Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission impose antidumping and countervailing duties on imported shopping bags from nine different countries. The targeted imports range from restaurant carryout bags to high-end retail shopping bags.
‘The Coalition for Fair Trade in Shopping Bags’ is led by Novolex—a $6 billion, highly automated producer of stock paper bags owned by Apollo Global Management and the Carlyle Group, two of the largest private equity firms in the world. Already the dominant player in the U.S. packaging industry, Novolex controls an estimated 75 percent of U.S. production of paper bags.
“U.S. trade law is intended to protect American companies and workers from unfair foreign trade, not drive out competitors that offer more appealing product choices,” said Terri Ethridge, Partner at AnnJoy, a Florida-based supplier of custom branded packaging. “Novolex is not a reliable supplier and refuses to meet the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses. American small businesses like ours provide superior customer service, dependability, quality, and variety compared to Novolex. They only brought this case because they don’t want to compete against us in the marketplace.”
Novolex’s trade petition targets imported product from no fewer than nine countries—Portugal, Turkey and Colombia to producers in southeast Asia—while notably excluding Mexico, from which Novolex itself imports products.
“This trade petition is really about one company trying to knock its competitors out of the market so it can force retail and restaurant customers to accept its mass-produced stock paper bag offerings,” said Andrew Straitman, CEO of Commonwealth Packaging Co., a third-generation, family-owned custom-packaging provider based in Harrisburg, Pa. “Novolex doesn’t even make many of the types of bags that they are trying to shut out of the market. They can’t keep up with what their competitors are offering, so they’re asking the U.S. Government to do their dirty work by imposing duties that give them an unfair advantage while sticking consumers with higher prices.”
Just last month, Novolex announced a price increase of 19 percent amid declining raw material prices—highlighting the unparalleled pricing dominance it already exerts over the U.S. market. Meanwhile, the highly automated company’s hoped-for market gain from its trade ploy would come at the expense of lost jobs for hundreds of U.S. workers.
“Novolex is complaining about low-priced imports, but everyone in this industry knows that they are the dominant market player with tremendous pricing power, which only gets stronger if they get a successful outcome in this case,” said Gordon Summerfield, senior VP of sales and marketing at Trevose, Pa.-based S. Walter Packaging Group, which has supplied packaging products to the retail industry for over 120 years. “Trade law should not be used to reinforce anticompetitive behavior in the U.S. marketplace.”
The USITC will hold a hearing on the Coalition for Fair Trade in Shopping Bags petition on Thursday, March 14. Later this spring, the Commerce Department will issue a final decision on duty levels and the ITC will determine whether injury actually exists.
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The Fresh Market Presents Gourmet Easter Meals
The Fresh Market is helping its guests celebrate the joy of spring and create an Easter to remember this year. With a focus on fresh, gourmet food, The Fresh Market is the perfect one-stop-shop for everything guests need to host a beautiful, stress-free meal and celebration. The specialty fresh food retailer’s prepared meals, sides, and desserts, which include several new options this year, make entertaining effortless, offering incredible flavor without all the fuss.
The Fresh Market’s variety of ready to heat and ready to cook meals are available to pre-order online in advance through Mar. 27 at 2 p.m., with pickup in store Mar. 28-31:
- Easter Ham Meal (Serves 8-10): Ready to heat. $99.99 – Note that members of our Ultimate Loyalty Experience save $10 ($89.99 for members)! Includes:
- Spiral Sliced Bone-In Honey Ham (9 lb)
- Fresh Pineapple Slices (16 oz)
- Green Beans with Sea Salt and Black Pepper Butter Steamer Bag (2 lb)
- White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes (2.5 lb)
- Soft Golden Dinner Rolls (12 ct)
- Deluxe White Cake (7 in)
- The Fresh Market Reusable Thermal Tote
- Easter Ham Meal for 4: Ready to heat. $64.99. Includes:
- Spiral Sliced Bone-In Honey Ham (3.5 lb)
- Fresh Pineapple Slices (16 oz)
- Green Beans with Sea Salt and Black Pepper Butter Steamer Bag (2 lb)
- White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes (2.5 lb)
- Soft Golden Dinner Rolls (4 ct)
- Strawberry Bar Cake (18 oz)
- The Fresh Market Reusable Thermal Tote
- Herb Gremolata Lamb Market Meal Kit for Two. $19.99. Includes:
- Premium Lamb Steak
- Asparagus
- Herb Gremolata
- Gnocchi
- Olive Oil and Seasoning Packets
- Easter Rack of Lamb Meal for 2: Ready to cook. $49.99. Includes:
- Your Choice of French Cut Rack of Lamb – Seasoned or Unseasoned (1.5 lb)
- Seasoned Asparagus (1 lb)
- Mascarpone Whipped Potatoes with Rosemary (1 lb)
- Hand Dipped Chocolate Strawberries (8 ct)
- The Fresh Market Reusable Shopping Bag
- Easter Prime Rib Meal for 2: Ready to heat. $54.99. Includes:
- Fully Cooked Prime Rib (1 lb)
- Seasoned Green Beans (1 lb)
- Mascarpone Whipped Potatoes with Rosemary (1 lb)
- The Fresh Market Rosemary Horseradish Aioli (4 oz)
- The Fresh Market Reusable Thermal Tote
- Easter Brunch Meal for 4: Ready to heat. $19.99. Includes:
- Choice of: Quiche Lorraine, Broccoli Cheddar Quiche, or Spinach Tomato Quiche
- Tropical Fruit (24 oz)
- Blueberry Muffins (4 ct)
- The Fresh Market Reusable Shopping Bag
The Fresh Market is also offering several a la carte mains, sides and desserts (including the new Italian rum cake and Lemon Cheesecake) for purchase through the Easter holiday.
In addition, no Easter would be complete without beautiful spring flowers and the perfect Easter basket. The Fresh Market has festive treats to make those baskets extra special for guests of all ages. The retailer’s extensive floral department has everything from tulip bunches to fresh roses to spring lilies and rose lilies. For inspiration on making Easter even more special, The Fresh Market will host an Easter shoppable livestream on March 7 at noon featuring Chef Anna Rossi.
Voted as the “Best Grocery Store in America” by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards in 2023, 2022 and 2021, “America’s Best Customer Service 2021” by Newsweek and Statista and a top 5 most trusted grocery retail brand for specialty and natural/organic foods in the 2022 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, The Fresh Market helps guests discover the best with time-saving meal solutions, unique ingredients, and delicious food for any occasion. From fresh produce and exceptional meat and seafood to signature baked goods and thousands of organic options, the specialty grocer has something to please every palate. The Fresh Market operates 161 stores in 22 states across the United States, inspiring guests to discover new flavors and cook with confidence. For more information, please visit www.thefreshmarket.com or follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.
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KNAPP, Takeoff Team to Grow eGrocery Fulfillment Innovation
Takeoff and KNAPP announced an evolved and integrated partnership to accelerate hardware and software innovation for eGrocery fulfillment through:
- A new network-strategy oriented product suite: Rollout of a comprehensive product portfolio designed to meet evolving industry needs
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- A joint voice in the industry: Further integration of key functions from commercial to technical teams to streamline delivery of seamless End-to-End eGrocery fulfillment solutions
- Coordinated technology roadmap: Additional R&D collaboration for continued innovation at the cutting edge of eGrocery fulfillment
Takeoff and KNAPP have expanded their partnership to offer a modular product portfolio to provide food retailers with right sized automation and unique capabilities for their operation. With profit-driving fulfillment models for high-, mid- and low-volume operations, retailers can choose different technologies and solutions to realize their eGrocery strategy and fulfill their promises to the end customer. Retailers are now empowered to construct an intelligent, interconnected fulfillment network without being constrained to a single solution, having to engage with different hardware and software providers, or compromising on operational excellence.
“After operating alongside and growing with our retail partners over the past 7 years, we are excited to offer our retail grocery partners new solution modularity with our partner KNAPP,” commented Takeoff co-founder Jose Aguerrevere.
KNAPP Group VP of Food Retail Solutions Rudolf Hansl added, “Automation remains foundational in addressing rising labor costs and offering an optimal customer experience at the lowest cost to serve. Through Takeoff’s expertise we were able to further develop our modular solution for micro fulfillment. In addition, we will enhance our existing portfolio within this new, intensified partnership to make it easier than ever to deploy rightsized automation for any retailer, anywhere.”
In the next phase of their partnership, Takeoff and KNAPP are bringing their sales, solutions engineering and technical product teams closer together. Together, this will provide retailers with a unified, streamlined experience and access to the industry’s largest dedicated team enhancing eGrocery fulfillment.
Seven years ago, Takeoff created the hyperlocal fulfillment category with a custom, grocery-native platform – Micro Fulfillment Centers were born. After extensive technology evaluation, Takeoff partnered with KNAPP, a globally recognized leader in intelligent automation and specialized software solutions. Together, Takeoff and KNAPP offer an unmatched experience, global reach, flexible architecture, industry-leading operator productivity and ultimately, eGrocery profitability. The future of eGrocery fulfillment is led by Takeoff and KNAPP.
Takeoff Technologies offers eGrocery solutions that empower grocers to thrive online using hyperlocal fulfillment. Founded in 2016, Takeoff’s solutions range from fully manual fulfillment technology to highly automated Micro Fulfillment Centers powered by a seamless integration with global automation leader KNAPP. Takeoff Technologies is driven by a mission to transform the grocery industry by making online grocery operations as efficient and cost effective as traditional brick-and-mortar stores. With over 180 employees and approximately $1 billion in sales processed through Takeoff fulfillment centers, Takeoff is building on a meaningful track record to continue driving innovation in a rapidly growing eGrocery industry.
KNAPP is the technology partner for intelligent value chain management. Headquartered in Austria, the KNAPP group provides all-in-one solutions for automation and digitalization, from production and distribution to the point of sale. Excellent service and long-term collaboration make KNAPP the strong partner behind the success of their customers in the sectors healthcare, retail, food retail, fashion, wholesale and industry. The solution portfolio for grocery comprises innovative automation concepts for both online and brick-and-mortar food retail.
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