MINNEAPOLIS–Grocery Shopping Network, Inc. (GSN), a leader in technology and advertising solutions for retail grocers, is pleased to announce today that it has been awarded a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for “Product Variety Information” which includes GSN’s processes for displaying product varieties from weekly ads, circulars, and flyers displayed online. The patent was issued on June 8, 2010 and is listed as U.S. Patent 7,734,514.

“This achievement represents a milestone in the company’s history that illustrates the amount of ongoing focus the company puts into product development and innovation to deliver the best consumer experience and retail performance,” said Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network. “We are pleased to bring a significant business process to the online grocery community and look forward to working with more retail chains to offer this patented technology.”

If a consumer is viewing an interactive flyer online, this patent covers the displaying of available varieties of “on-sale” products. For instance, if a top selling product is on sale, the patented process is a method for taking a general sales item and helping shoppers find exactly the items they want by displaying all varieties of an available product at a specific brick and mortar location. This solution helps shoppers while significantly increasing basket size and sales for retailers.

Grocery Shopping Network offers retailers a broad range of services that are designed to interact with consumers via store websites and manages over 7 million unique visitors planning over 21 million shopping trips monthly, over 35 million loyalty cards, and boasts a survey/email panel of over 2 million users. Some of the solutions for retailers include a display advertising network with revenue share, food and wellness content, coupons, personalized offers, interactive circular creation, online planning as well as buying, and much more. Grocery Shopping Network is now in more than 6,300 retail locations across North America.

The Company Releases Next Generation of Online Grocery Shopping

Grocery Shopping Network (GSN) is pleased to announce the release of the next generation of GSNConnect. Featuring mobile ordering capabilities and fully supporting all of the major mobile platforms including iPhone, BlackBerry, iPad, and others; GSNConnect has been upgraded and streamlined to allow users of GSN’s enhanced proprietary technology solutions to order their groceries or plan their shopping trips while on the go.

Retail grocery outlets who work with Grocery Shopping Network, now or in the future, are now able to provide online grocery shoppers with state of the art features including savings, circular specials, in-store specials, recipes, and personalized offers based on previously shopped items from their mobile phone.

“As a leader in the marketplace, GSN’s ability to continually innovate and create technology solutions for the industry has contributed to our company’s unparalleled growth and continued success,” said Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network. “This newly developed solution combines websites, social media, and mobile media platforms to deliver improved shopper satisfaction and sales increases through the effective integration of technology advances and business acumen.”

Combined with Grocery Shopping Networks newly upgraded platform, GSNConnect will allow shoppers to plan and order items from their favorite grocer while on the go. GSN’s next generation platform also includes full logistics and back-end support including labor, picking optimization, and route trip planning. Stores can use this solution as a delivery mechanism as well as a shop-to-pick-up platform.

Hometown Illinois Grocer Adopts Latest Grocery Web Technology

Savanna, IL/Minneapolis May 24, 2010 — Grocery Shopping Network (GSN) announced today the addition of Illinois grocer Sullivan’s Foods to its technology and advertising network. Located in Savanna, Illinois; The 13 store group has served area communities for over 40 years. Sullivan’s Foods also joins the Grocery Shopping Network’s advertising network, which brings manufacturer offers directly to consumers and offers a new revenue stream for the company.

“We are anxious to bring our shoppers the best technology provider to enhance our online presence. Our customer base will be excited to know that changes are afoot on our website and the new site will be a major overhaul that will provide time, money, and quality service that reflects our goal of treating our customers how we would want to be treated,” commented Sullivan’s Foods CEO, John Sullivan. “We are very excited to be part of Grocery Shopping Network!”

This move is another example of how committed Sullivan’s Foods is to providing the very best services available to their customers. Not only will this upgrade enhance communications, it will also help shoppers find the best deals ahead of their shopping trips to Sullivan’s Foods. Sale items come standard with recipe suggestions and home cooking videos, allowing the at home chef or busy on-the-go family to plan trips and events while finding the right foods that meet their dietary needs.

“Grocers are continuing to adopt modern technology to manage the thousands of sale items and products that are specific to each store location,” said Vic Tortorici, SVP of Sales, Grocery Shopping Network.  “Technology solutions offered from Grocery Shopping Network bring speed to market and ease of use for grocers of all sizes. The solution is fully customizable for chains with limited IT staff to chains that have extensive IT and CRM management.”

The new website will include all the current features that Grocery Shopping Network provides for grocers across the country. The digital shopper planning solution includes a store wide search function which finds items from circulars, temporary price markdowns, and items that are in store but not on sale. The new website will also include the ability for in store coupon placement and manufacturer coupons which are searchable and will display next to relevant sale items to maximize the savings of shoppers.

About Sullivan’s Foods:

We are Sullivan’s Foods, a customer service team where our #1 priority is to treat our customers as we would want to be treated. Our purpose is to provide the widest variety of quality goods and service while keeping in mind the value of our customer dollars. Our success will always be measured by how well we service the needs of our communities. Come and grow with us, the stores where the customer always comes first! For more information on Sullivan’s Foods, please visit our website at: www.sullivansfoods.net.

New Digital Advertising Solution Reaches Audiences of Up to 110 Million

Minneapolis, MN (Vocus) May 10, 2010 — Grocery Shopping Network is pleased to announce the release of their second and newest digital advertising network, GSN OutReach; which combines national reach, neighborhood optimization, and true purchase behavior to allow retailers and brands to target based on their goals. GSN OutReach has an ad network reach potential of 110 million grocery shoppers across the country.

“CPG brands and grocery retailers now have access to a powerful new way to advertise online. GSN OutReach delivers brands and retailers an effective vehicle to reach their super-targeted audience that guarantees an effective ROI,” said Andy Robinson, CEO Grocery Shopping Network. “At GSN we’re unlocking our expertise in reaching power grocery shoppers anywhere in the purchase process – GSN OutReach clients will reach their most valuable shoppers with online display advertising that combines neighborhood level geo-targeting with lifestyle, demographic, psychographic and offline sales data intelligence.”

 With the continued trend of shopper’s pre-planning before reaching the retail store, this second ad network placement early in the traditional purchase funnel will complement the super-impactful value of GSN’s other ad network, GSN StoreSite, and its moment of decision delivery at the bottom of the purchase funnel.

Available in the second quarter of 2010, this new ad network provides brand advertisers and grocery retailers with a method to optimize their online advertising effort by precisely targeting their best customers based on the “purchase clusters” where they live. This level of targeting eliminates neighborhood zones that don’t deliver your strongest target audience. In doing so it enables unprecedented efficiency and return on investment. GSN OutReach assists in the acquisition of new customers, reminds your most loyal purchasers and provides the ability to target purchasers of your competitor’s product – on the web – prior to shopping.

Minneapolis based Grocery Shopping Network (“GSN”) continues rapid expansion of advertising sales representatives. Responding to market demand, GSN is expanding its operations to service clients coast to coast as brands and media agencies continue to move toward online advertising backed by offline sales ROI.

“This expansion is prompted by the continued growth and emergence of the GSN StoreSITE and GSN outREACH ad products in the fast growing channel allowing CPG Advertisers to reach consumers when they are deciding what they are going to buy,” said Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network. “GSN inSIGHTS, GSN’s analytics and reporting offering have shown that our advertisers enjoy the best ROI in the industry, GSN accomplishes this by measuring the effect of offline sales from online display advertising across the GSN Ad Network.”

Joining GSN as Midwest Advertising Directors are Barb Beltrand and John Gaughan who both have deep experience with brands and digital online advertising. Both Beltrand and Gaughan will be focused on working with CPG brands and their agency and shopper marketing partners on leveraging the impact of GSN StoreSITE, the reach of GSN outREACH and the data and analytics driven from GSN’s access to POS Transaction Data from over 35 Million Loyalty Card Holders.

“Barb and John provide an excellent combination of digital experience, CPG client relationships, and business development success,” said Chuck Bolkcom, VP of Advertising Sales at Grocery Shopping Network. “Our Midwest based clients and agencies will have partners in Barb and John that can unlock the powerful combination of impact and insight provided by Grocery Shopping Network’s extensive ad network with data and analytics ROI capabilities.”

Barb Beltrand, joining as Midwest Advertising Director, brings 20 years experience in advertising and marketing including media agency planning and buying for Campbell Mithun in Minneapolis as well as consultative sales creating customized advertising and marketing programs for a wide variety of clients. She has worked with CPG clients such as General Mills, Kraft, ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Campbell’s, Pillsbury and more. Barb spent three years selling the store cobranded Real Food magazine, a relationship marketing tool to fine grocers across the country.

John Gaughan, also joins as Midwest Advertising Director, comes to GSN from North American Membership Group where he served as director of new media. Over three years, he directed revenue growth of 1,100% and was a key contributor in taking a traditional publisher into the digital age. Prior to NAMG, Gaughan was an original member of the AWS “Weatherbug” team. While at Weatherbug, Gaughan invented the “Sponsor Select” ad platform and was an integral part of the leadership team at Weatherbug.

New Advertising Directors to Work with CPG Brands and Agencies

MINNEAPOLIS–(March 1, 2010)–Grocery Shopping Network, a leading provider of technology and advertising solutions to retail grocers across North America, has opened two new offices on the east and west coasts. Brand advertising run with Grocery Shopping Network drives online impact backed by transaction based analytics that has led to the need for increased market coverage in both New York and Los Angeles.

Grocery Shopping Network, a leading provider of technology and advertising solutions to retail grocers across North America, has added 2000 stores to their network in 2009 and has experienced growth to over 7 million unique visitors per month to their client’s websites. Grocery Shopping Network has gained significant market coverage through their audience delivery and successful execution for top CPG brands.

“This expansion is prompted by the emergence of the GSN StoreSITE and GSN outREACH ad products in the fast growing channel allowing CPG Advertisers to reach consumers when they are deciding what they are going to buy,” said Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network. “GSN inSIGHTS, GSN’s analytics and reporting offering have shown that our advertisers enjoy the best ROI in the industry, GSN accomplishes this by measuring the effect of offline sales from online display advertising across the GSN Ad Network.”

Grocery Shopping Network’s New York office will be led by Vic Bonavita & Sean White as East Coast Ad Directors. Vic has over 15 years of media sales and marketing experience with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – News), Time Inc., Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDE – News), and Conde Nast Publications; Vic brings expertise in media sales and marketing as well as strategic program creation and implementation.

Sean White brings 12 years of consultative sales and media planning experience, including more than 8 years working with top Consumer Packaged Goods companies such as Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT – News), Campbell’s Soup (NYSE:CPB – News), Unilever, Nestle, and PepsiCo; Sean will create solutions that meet the needs of Grocery Shopping Network’s clients.

Leading the Los Angeles office is Marlin Jeter as West Coast Ad Director. Bringing over 12 years of experience developing and selling online marketing programs for Consumer Packaged Goods companies and Over the Counter pharmaceutical brands, Marlin’s contacts and experience working directly with manufacturers and advertising agencies implementing digital marketing programs compliments Grocery Shopping Network and its wide range of offerings for shoppers which include recipes, nutritional content, videos, savings, personalized offers, coupons, and much more. Marlin’s background includes heading up national online sales for industry leading Lifestyle portals in their infancy stages such as Life Script, Revolution Health, and drkoop.com.

“These very talented consultative sales experts partner with brands to reach grocery shoppers as they plan and execute their grocery shopping trip,” said Chuck Bolkcom, VP of Advertising Sales. “All three of these executives have a keen understanding of the needs of CPG marketers from ad planning and execution to the importance of the data that is needed to make profitable decisions. We are excited to have Vic, Sean, and Marlin join our team.”

Grocery Shopping Network, based in Minneapolis, MN now operates satellite offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Tampa Bay.

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Marvin’s Food Stores has announced today the addition of Grocery Shopping Network’s digital shopper planning platform to the website for their 21 stores located in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Operating 35 grocery stores in total, this is the second launch for the C.V.’s Family Food group with Grocery Shopping Network. The new website for Marvin’s Food Stores will have applications designed to save their shoppers time and money by assisting in pre-shopping planning.

“It’s a privilege to expand the relationship with C.V.’s to another of their store banners with the launching of Marvin’s website,” said Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network. “GSN provides the best platform for Marvin’s shoppers to use for saving time and money while providing excellent content for meal planning, cooking, entertaining, and healthy eating. GSN’s proven solutions consistently increase sales for retailers by serving their customers better.”

The website’s cornerstone is an interactive weekly circular that displays current sale items and suggests recipe ideas for shoppers. After a shopper profile is created, the website will allow you to input your dietary requirements and then select recipes that fall within your dietary profile or match your personal preferences. In addition to including shopper ratings for recipes and easy to follow videos, the website also provides shoppers with access to a database of printable manufacturer coupons that are updated on a daily basis with new offers that can be broken down by department.

“Marvin’s customers will now have access to our store specials online for planning their weekly shopping trips. It is our goal to serve our customers, and we see the new website as a way to deliver easy time and money savings to our customers” said Jim Galloway, from Marvin’s. “The launch of our new website adds a personal touch to our digital communications by bringing our store to the consumer wherever they access the internet.”

About C.V.’s Family Foods:
C.V. Combs has been involved in the grocery industry for over 50 years. He started as a clean-up/sacker/errand boy for a local grocer. From there, he worked for several wholesale and retail companies in the industry. In 1970, he opened his first store. And in 1981, in a move to be closer to his parents, he opened his first C.V.’s Family Foods in Paris, Arkansas. Since then, 14 stores now operate under the C.V.’s Family Foods banner. In 2004, he purchased 21 Marvin’s Food Stores to bring the total to 35. For more information on C.V.’s Family Foods, please visit their website at www.cvsfamilyfoods.com.

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Grocery Shopping Network, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Chuck Bolkcom as Vice President of Advertising Sales. In this newly established position, Chuck will oversee advertising sales, strategic sales, sponsorship sales, and all digital sales. Grocery Shopping Network is a marketing partner of retail grocery stores and their websites. For brand advertisers, GSN provides display advertising with insights based on loyalty card/shopper data, web behavior, and point of sale data. Chuck will report directly to CEO Andy Robinson, his appointment took effect on December 2^nd, 2009.

“We at GSN are excited to have Chuck Bolkcom join our team. GSN looks forward to having Chuck combine his past media experience into one of the fastest growing verticals today, the grocery shoppers” commented Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network. “Chuck has an inherent understanding of building businesses by understanding the needs of the clients within the channel; we are excited to have him join our organization as the leader of our advertising initiatives.”

Mr. Bolkcom joins Grocery Shopping Network from Cynopsis Media, a Epublisher of television industry trade publications, where he was President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to holding that position, Chuck worked with Vuze, Inc., a broadband video content delivery network; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Media Advisory practice and Reed Business Information, where he ran RBI’s Television Group. Chuck’s past multimedia experience spans over 2 decades and compliments Grocery Shopping Network and its wide range of offerings for shoppers which include recipes, nutritional content, videos, savings, personalized offers, coupons, and much more.

Grocery Shopping Network has experienced exponential growth year over year since it was founded in 1996. The company has driven the growth of available impressions within their network from 10 million a month to over 100 million a month from 2008 through the 2009 calendar year through the company’s vigorous client acquisitions within the supermarket website category and the continued execution of their diverse business development program. Chuck will manage this growth for digital advertising within the network. Industry wide, there has been incredible growth in the digital grocery vertical due to the state of the economy and grocery shoppers desire to save money.

Chuck Bolkcom, VP of Advertising Sales, exclaimed “I’m excited to join a team that has built the unique ability to reach grocery shoppers at the moment of decision – as they plan their shopping and are immersed in information and offers from brands. GSN’s combination of impact and insight – make it very valuable to our CPG clients and their agencies.”

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Grocery Shopping Network announced today the addition of UCookTM, an iPhone app that empowers shoppers with the digital weekly specials circular from their favorite grocer, and a rich interactive recipe database with nutritional information, plus a shopping engine. The first version is free and is connected to a growing list of grocery stores across the country that is powered by GSN’s web services solutions.

Andy Robinson, Grocery Shopping Network CEO, has high hopes for the new addition to the Apple app store. “The new UCook app will give the grocers we serve a new way to provide value to their mobile customers. Not only does this app give shoppers great recipes, but it also gives them quick and easy access to weekly specials in their grocery store. Our grocery partners are excited to offer this solution to the public at no charge. ”

The UCook app can be found in the iTunes App Store. UCook boasts over 60,000 kitchen-tested recipes with photos and nutritional information. The UCook app also gives shoppers an easy to use shopping list which keeps track of sale items and recipes for purchase at their local grocery store. (The same features and recipes are also available at the GSN-powered grocery store website.)

This application’s store footprint is expanding rapidly, empowering shoppers at major grocery chains across the country including Apple Market, Cashwise, Coborns, Country Market, Country Mart, CV’s Family Foods, D’Agostino, Festival Foods, Food City, Foodland, Giant – Carlisle, Haggen, Homeland Stores, Hy-Vee, Kings Super Markets, Lucky Supermarkets, Martins, Plumb’s, Remke Markets, SaveMart, Scolari’s, Strack & Van Til, Top Food & Drug, Ukrops, United Supermarkets, Ultra Foods, and many more.

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Scolari’s Food & Drug announces the addition of digital shopper planning services from Grocery Shopping Network. The online grocery platform from Grocery Shopping Network will provide interactive service for customers, offering online access to the weekly circular, printable coupons, personalized specials, recipes and wine pairings. Customers are also able to build and print customized shopping lists.

GSNConnect lets shoppers view every page of the store’s weekly circular before it’s available in print. Customers can click on the advertised item and it will then be placed on the shopping list where they can adjust the quantity. It also connects customers to manufacturer coupon offers, unadvertised specials customized to each consumer, and information about products –which would normally only be seen in store. In addition, over 64,000 kitchen-tested recipes and more than 160 cooking videos are available.

By implementing the program, Scolari’s aims to enhance their web presence and give customers a personalized shopping experience where they can reduce the stress and time associated with grocery shopping by being able to pre-shop the entire store, aisle by aisle.

Customers who register will receive personalized savings opportunities, and can save grocery lists for future use, including frequently purchased items.

Scolari’s and Grocery Shopping Network will launch GSNConnect in October 2009. Shoppers will then have access to the new features which will provide a more efficient planning experience prior to entering Scolari’s for their weekly shopping trips.

About Scolari’s

Scolari’s Food & Drug is the largest privately owned grocery store chain in Northern Nevada with 13 stores. Scolari’s also operates 4 stores in the central coast area of California. There are 9 superstores, which offer a variety of specialty departments such as Fresh Produce, Service Meat and Fish, Bakery/Deli, Full Service Floral, Video Rentals, expanded Health and Beauty Departments, Pharmacies and 4 smaller, more traditional grocery stores offering a full array of brand name groceries.