Keith Loria
Keith Loria focuses on how retail food operators turn trends into sales at the fresh perimeter, with a particular emphasis on merchandising, assortment and supplier collaboration in meat, deli, bakery and produce. His coverage tracks how specific departments perform, what products and formats are growing, and how retailers can reduce friction for shoppers at the case or counter. He approaches food as a business beat, translating category data, supplier strategies and consumer research into practical stories for grocery decision-makers.
Grilling season and the meat case
At Supermarket Perimeter, Loria writes on how retailers can make the meat case easier to shop, especially during peak grilling season when choice and promotion can overwhelm customers. In his work on sustainably raised meats, he highlights how processors and major suppliers position claims, work with retailers on assortment, and connect sustainability messaging to shopper expectations at the service and self-serve cases. His meat pieces tend to walk through how different brands and pack sizes perform, how merchandising tactics such as signage and bundling affect decisions, and what retailers can do to remove uncertainty and speed up selection in front of the case.
Interviews with processor executives and category managers give his meat coverage a supplier-side lens as much as a store-operations view.
Big opportunities in deli and bakery
Loria’s broader food reporting is rooted in the traditional perimeter work he does for Supermarket News, where he regularly covers deli, bakery and related prepared foods. Headlines such as “Big opportunities in deli: Convenience and value,” “What do consumers want in deli?” and “Optimism abounds for deli in 2024” show a consistent focus on how delis can balance convenience, health and price while maintaining margins. On bakery, he follows both flavor trends and department performance, with pieces like “Grocery bakery: here are the flavors trending this spring,” “What’s driving bakery growth in 2025,” and “Grocery bakery just continues to rise,” all structured around category sales data and shopper insights.
These deli and bakery stories typically combine trade reports, sales figures and retailer commentary to explain where growth is coming from, which formats (grab-and-go, in-store production, specialty items) are resonating, and how departments can adjust mix and merchandising to capture demand.
Processors adapt to sustainable meat demand
Beyond the store floor, Loria writes about how processors respond to demand for sustainable and premium meat, including claims around animal welfare, environmental impact and traceability.
In his coverage of processors adapting to growing demand for sustainable meat, he maps how companies invest in production practices, certifications and branding, then work with retailers to communicate those attributes at shelf and service counters. He treats sustainability as a business and operations issue, describing how plants and supply chains adjust, which product lines emerge, and how those changes show up in assortment and pricing in grocery meat departments. This perspective complements his perimeter reporting by connecting back-end production decisions with front-end merchandising and shopper communication.
Candy, pet products, produce and center store trends
Loria’s food beat extends into center store and adjacent categories, where he tracks innovation and sales trends in candy, pet products and other packaged goods. Articles such as “Candy aisle is turning bold and experimental,” “Retail candy dollar sales tracking 4.2% above a year ago,” and “Here’s what’s trending in pet products” illustrate his attention to flavor experimentation, packaging changes, and premiumization within familiar categories. He also has a long record of coverage on fresh produce, writing about topics like produce seasonality, local sourcing, reducing food waste in the aisle, and specific commodity performance such as potatoes, berries and other fruits and vegetables.
These pieces follow the same pattern as his deli and bakery work: category-focused, data-backed stories that show how retailers can align assortment, promotions and presentation with evolving consumer expectations.
Experience across sectors and formats
Loria is an award-winning journalist who has written for major publications for close to 20 years on subjects ranging from healthcare and travel to technology, entertainment and food.
His bylines span multiple trade and business outlets, including housing and real estate coverage, healthcare costs and operations, and commercial property markets. Across these sectors he keeps to a similar reporting format: he relies on expert interviews, industry studies, and performance metrics, then distills them into concise service pieces aimed at professionals who make operational and strategic decisions.
That multi-industry experience informs his food writing, giving his supermarket and meat coverage a clear focus on business outcomes, risk, and the practical constraints retailers and suppliers face when implementing new ideas.
4 more food journalists.
Aaron Guerrero
Aaron Guerrero is head of the digital department at Miami’s Community Newspapers, where he pairs restaurant coverage with community-facing content. He focuses on how Miami-area restaurants evolve, celebrate, and experiment through new concepts, menus, and neighborhood-focused dining experiences. He reports on restaurant openings, such as an Italian food hall at Plaza Coral Gables, new executive lunch menus, and wood-fired Latin steakhouse brunches, explaining what sets each venue apart. He also covers awards, like a Wine Spectator honor for an Italian chophouse, and events that turn dining rooms into social hubs. His bylines extend to features on sports-themed gatherings, civic renamings, local visits to restaurant programs, sponsored community pieces, and official notices. His work is straightforward and descriptive, helping readers and local businesses connect around specific openings, promotions, and dining experiences.
Aarron Fleming
Aarron Fleming reports on how courts, jails and public safety systems work over time. He is a reporter at The Daily Memphian covering public safety, the local court system, suburban news and business developments in North Mississippi. His work follows trials, sentencing, appeals, plea deals and judicial decisions, including major cases tied to Tyre Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also covers jail conditions, inmate deaths, crime data, prosecution units, trafficking, shootings and public-order incidents. His suburban reporting examines cannabis businesses, restaurant openings and how commercial growth affects communities such as Olive Branch. Fleming previously covered education in the same newsroom. He uses clear, unadorned prose to explain legal steps, deadlines, institutional problems and the political, commercial and community effects of public-safety decisions.
Alana Al-Hatlani
Alana Al-Hatlani is a food writer and editor who treats recipes, restaurants, and food features as ways to explore culture, community, and the business of eating. She works on the food team at Southern Living, overseeing and contributing to print recipes and reported features. Her pastry-focused, restaurant-tested perspective comes from time in restaurant and bakery kitchens. She helps plan and write monthly food packages, including “The South’s Most Treasured Desserts,” and wrote “8 Summer Recipes Our Editors Make Every Year.” She also writes recipe tips, ingredient explainers, restaurant guides, and reported stories about workers, owners, and communities. Her subjects include regional specialties, dining scenes, kitchen basics, and food industries. Her work has appeared with OpenTable and Yahoo. She reports on the ground, explains techniques clearly, and connects specific dishes and places to larger stories about food and livelihood.
Alana Edgin
Alana Edgin is a business reporter whose strongest focus is food, restaurants and consumer-facing businesses. She works at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and has also had work syndicated across AOL and Yahoo News. She covers new openings, closings, expansions and franchise growth, along with retail, health, services, corporate news, data incidents, business support programs and sponsorships. Her reporting includes detailed roundups of new restaurants and businesses, coverage of El Pollo Loco’s opening, and stories on burger trucks, dessert shops, Vietnamese sandwich restaurants and gourmet markets. She also contributes to food and drink reviews, including fall coffee and jerky comparisons. Edgin reports with practical “what, when, where” details, structured comparisons and clear explanations of how offers, partnerships and business changes affect consumers and the local economy.