Meijer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced that it is opening a new concept store in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park that will provide a tailored grocery offering and a broad variety of general merchandise.

Called Meijer Marketplace, the new store will be 96,000 sq. ft., about half the size of Meijer's largest supercenters.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An e-cigarette brand announced that its disposable e-cigarettes now are available at H-E-B and Meijer stores.

The company said that this marks Blu Cigs' transition from online sales to retail by being sold in all of H-E-B's 329 stores across Texas and Mexico, as well as Meijer's 196 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Each disposable e-cigarette equals about 20 to 30 traditional cigarettes, the company said.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Is this the nutritional Twilight Zone?

Despite the common perception that kids are always reluctant to eat their greens, a new survey by Midwest retailer Meijer found that almost 6-in-10 adults don’t think they’re eating enough fruits and vegetables, while kids seem to be eating enough.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer's free prenatal vitamins prescription program filled its 1 millionth prescription this week, the company announced Wednesday.

The retailer said that its program, which launched in May 2008, has garnered nearly $14 million in savings to Midwest families. The Meijer free prenatal vitamins program offers such brands as TriAdvance, Trinatal GT, Trinatal Ultra, Vol-Nate, Vol-Plus and Vol-Tab, and enables any customer, regardless of insurance or copay, to have his or her prenatal prescription filled free of charge.

IRVINE, Calif. — Dr. Sears Family Essentials, whose products are sold at such retailers as The Vitamin Shoppe, Whole Foods, H-E-B, Meijer and Fred Meyer, has announced the launch of its all-natural baby care line.

IRVINE, Calif. — A line of popped whole grain crisps has expanded to include three new varieties.

Dr. Sears Family Essentials' Popumz now includes barbecue, ranch and cheddar varieties. The all-natural crisps are packed with protein, fiber and omega-3 DHA, the company said. The new flavors join the current lineup of sweet Popumz flavors of chocolate, vanilla and caramel.

The new Popumz crisps will retail for $3.99 per box of five 0.75-oz., single-serve bags.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced that its most recent food pantry donation program has exceeded $2 million in total food donations.

According to the retailer, its latest Simply Give program, which ran from March 20 through May 14, garnered more than $270,000 in donations for 195 local food pantries. Overall, the program, which debuted in November 2008 and aims to replenish the shelves of local food pantries in each city and town where a Meijer store is located, has helped to feed more than 250,000 families throughout the Midwest.

IRVINE, Calif. — Dr. Sears Family Essentials on Tuesday announced the flavor line extension of its Cool Fuel ready-to-drink shakes, adding chocolate banana to its lineup.