IGA Coca-Cola Institute Perspective

Have You Taken Advantage of our New Web-based Courses?

A message to IGA Retailers from …
David Chen
International Course Developer
IGA Coca-Cola Institute

Today I am pleased to announce that the IGA Coca-Cola Institute is introducing two new Web-based courses – Category Management and Food Retailing Today – both of which are prerequisites for students who are attending the Supermarket Management Class and planning to pursue a diploma.

The Category Management course was designed to introduce students to the opportunities involved in category management, and also to enhance the Institute's International Category Management Workshop. During the online course students will explore how the category management process helps retailers and suppliers collaborate to maximize space by focusing on the consumer, the market, and the goals of the category. Additionally students will learn about category management trends, as well as a detailed set of steps they can follow to become successful category managers.

The second new course, Food Retailing Today, focuses on recent industry, lifestyle, and consumer trends and how they affect the role of the supermarket. The learning objective of this course is to help retailers better understand the constantly changing consumer behavior and how to meet their new needs.

As I mentioned, both courses are prerequisites for students who are attending the Supermarket Management Class and planning to pursue a diploma, however should you be unable to attend, we are certain that you will still benefit greatly from these online offerings.

For more information about the courses, visit the Institute Web site at http://www.igainstitute.com/ or call 1-800-321-5442 for registration assistance.

Thank you for your time,

David Chen

Retail News

Retail food prices during January were up 5.8% over the same month last year, marking the largest such increase since December 1990, led by sharp increases in dairy, eggs, fats & oils, and poultry, according to Food Institute analysis. Full Story

U.S. customers' satisfaction with the goods and services they buy at supermarkets was up in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Specifically, supermarkets raised 1.3% to 76 on the 100-point scale, the highest level in 14 years, despite the recent rise in food prices. However, the overall index fell 0.4% to 74.9. Full Story

Wild Oats stores in Ohio's Norwood and Deerfield Town Center will become Whole Foods Markets in mid-March, despite a previous FTC request for an injunction barring Whole Foods from closing any more Wild Oats this year, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. Full Story Meanwhile, a St. Louis Wild Oats store is closing Apr. 13 and a Whole Foods is opening nearby, reported STLtoday.com Full Story

Associated Grocers of New England, Inc. subsidiary AG Supermarkets, Inc. reached an agreement to buy DeVylder's Community Market in Wolfeboro, NH, reported Progressive Grocer. Full Story

Fresh & Easy opened a store in Phoenix, with nearly 80 stores projected to open in Arizona by 2010, reported AZCentral.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Freedom Foods sold seven Save-A-Lot stores in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area to Houchens Industries, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. Full Story

Meijer began offering its own-brand milk from cows that have not been treated with the synthetic growth hormone, rBST, an artificial growth hormone. The decision will affect all Whole, 2% Reduced Fat, 1% Lowfat, 1/2% Lowfat and Fat Free Meijer brand milk in gallon and half-gallon sizes. Meijer brand chocolate milk and all quart- and pint- size containers will follow suit later this year. Full Story

Manufacturer News

Kraft Foods Inc. will use a combination of price increases and supply chain productivity improvements to cover input cost inflation while its volume growth and product mix gains will leverage its overhead costs and increase operating margins, noted Tim McLevish, Executive VP and CFO. Meanwhile, the company unveiled new Kraft Bagel-fuls handheld breakfast sandwiches, DiGiorno and California Pizza Kitchen single-serve premium pizzas and a line of Kraft salad dressings with no artificial preservatives. Full Story

Sara Lee Corp. will raise bread prices during the April-June period, its fourth price increase in the last year and a half, as it tries to cope with soaring wheat costs. The increase, however, will not necessarily be across the board. Overall, Sara Lee expects to be able to take price increases across its business to offset an additional $300 million in cost increases during fiscal year 2008, said chief executive Brenda Barnes. Over the past several years, Sara Lee has cut costs, jettisoned business lines and worked to improve its products in a sweeping overhaul. The company is now at a point where it can consider more acquisitions to fit into its core categories of meat and cheese, bread and baked goods, international coffee and international household and body care products, Barnes said, reported Reuters. Full Story, Sara Lee Release

Tyson Foods, Inc. is working to offset higher costs through its risk management activities and by increasing finished product prices. The company projects that its international business will grow from $3 billion in annual sales to at least $5 billion by 2010, driven by the expansion of the Tyson operations in other countries. Full Story

Packaged-food firms are now touting packages that contain less than 100 calories, having witnessed the popularity of 100-calorie packs with calorie-conscious consumers, reported USA Today. For example, Quaker introduced 11 single-serve products at 90 calories since 2007, while ConAgra offers Hunt's Snack Pack Fat Free Pudding at 80 calories and David Seeds Pumpkin Seeds at 90, and General Mills is introducing Fiber One yogurt from Yoplait, with 80 calories. In 2007, 82 single-serve products touting fewer than 100 calories hit the market vs. seven in 2003, according to Tom Vierhile, director of Datamonitor's Productscan Online. Full Story

Foodservice News

Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon closed 27 restaurants across the nation, with the highest concentration of closings in Florida. Restaurant officials blame slow sales and the rising cost of utilities, wages and property insurance in Florida in particular, reported Heraldtribune.com. Full Story

Organic To Go signed a definitive agreement to close a $10 million equity private placement made by Inventages Venture Capital Investment Inc. The financing consisted of the sale of 7.1 million shares of common stock, an unconditional five-year warrant to purchase 4.3 million shares of common stock and a conditional warrant to purchase a certain number of shares of common stock. Full Story

Ruth's Chris Steak House, Inc. completed its acquisition of all the operating assets and intellectual property of Mitchell’s Fish Market, which operates under the names Mitchell’s Fish Market and Columbus Fish Market. The acquisition also includes Cameron’s Steakhouse which operates under the names Cameron’s Steakhouse and Mitchell’s Steakhouse. The operating assets and intellectual property were purchased from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC for approximately $92.0 million. Full Story

College students are demanding that schools purchase regional produce, as they have become increasingly concerned about the source and quality of food they are eating, reported Advertising Age. This has forced major foodservice companies to seek grass-roots alternatives and allowed some regional firms with good local connections to make their way into the $5 billion on-campus-dining market. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Eatec Corp. was acquired by Agilysys Inc. for $23.2 million. Eatec develops inventory and procurement software used by restaurants, hotels, stadiums and other entertainment venues, reported East Bay Business Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Daphne's Greek Café began to qualify interested parties for franchise opportunities in 17 states across the nation through the launch of Daphne's International, the franchising arm of the company. The restaurant chain currently operates 80 locations in four states. Full Story

Boston Market added four new menu items: Chipotle Meatloaf, Asiago Creamed Corn, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and a French-style Apple Gallette dessert. These dishes are part of Boston Market's strategy to consistently introduce new products throughout 2008. Full Story

Washington News

USDA is seeking comments for a proposal that would require canned vegetables purchased for feeding programs to contain a low sodium formulation of 140 milligrams per serving. To date, the agency has received only seven replies and comments must be submitted by Feb. 22. Full Notice

USDA's twin mandates of promoting the nation's agriculture and monitoring it for safety are being questioned in the wake of a beef contamination scare that prompted the nation's largest-ever meat recall. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro who chairs the House subcommittee responsible for USDA's funding, called for USDA to be stripped of its responsibility for food safety. Meanwhile, Rep. George Miller, who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, noted that the U.S. Government Accountability Office has started investigating the safety of the National School Lunch Program, reported CBSNEWS.com. Full Story

America's five-decade trade embargo on Cuba is expected to remain in place for the foreseeable future. Even with Castro's resignation, no one expects any quick changes in the economic standoff between the two nations. U.S. lawmakers and business groups, who have seen their foreign competitors take advantage of opportunities in Cuba, believe the trade and travel restrictions will be lifted eventually, but not any time soon, reported STLtoday.com. Full Story

Global News

The European Commission asked for information on The Hershey Co.'s pricing practices, reported Forbes. This is the first indication that European regulators are now looking at the U.S. candymaker, which does only a small portion of its business in Europe. Hershey also revealed it is named in about 50 civil antitrust suits in the U.S. and three in Canada on behalf of consumers and distributors in connection with price-fixing allegations. Full Story

SABMiller's Chinese partner, China Resources Enterprises Ltd., may make a major acquisition to strengthen its supermarket division. China Resources is pondering a "large-scale acquisition" in one of the 15 Chinese provinces in which it operates. China Resources also expects to increase its capacity and beer sales by a fifth this year to meet rising consumption, according to Guardian Unlimited. Full Story

Mars UK will launch an online platform that will allow members of the networking site Facebook to buy real chocolate bars such as Twix or Galaxy, reported Food Production Daily. Full Story

Asda is embarking on a large-scale expansion plans this year and plans to open 22 stores, reported BBC News. Full Story

Quebec's agriculture and agri-food sector is so closed in by its regulations, systems and structures that is "suffocating," according to a government report. The agriculture and agri-food sectors should focus on health and wellness, new products and methods, and diversified food processing, reported Canadian Cattlemen. Full Story

Heineken warned that prices will rise as it passes on the higher costs of barley, hops and packaging to consumers. The warning came as the Dutch brewer reported a fall in profits after a large fine from the European Commission for fixing prices, in addition to raw material prices rising by 15%, reported BBC News. Full Story

Sports protein drink WheyUP will be sold at gyms, health food stores and retail stores throughout Australia through a partnership with International Health Investments, a distributor of sports supplements and nutritional products, reported The Business Journal of Phoenix. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Starting Apr. 15, food products containing Chinese rice will require mandatory certification that they were tested for the experimental genetically modified variety called Bt63 as a result of an emergency regulation enacted by the European Commission, reported Time. Full Story

Market News

Smithfield Foods, Inc. plans to reduce its U.S. sow herd by 4% to 5%, or 40,000 to 50,000 sows, which will ultimately result in production of 800,000 to one million fewer market hogs annually. Smithfield, which cited the economics for raising hogs today as the reason behind this action, currently raises 18 million market hogs annually. Full Story

Grower-shippers expect promotable volumes of high-quality strawberries, sweet potatoes and asparagus for Easter. And the earliness of the holiday this year should not pose supply problems, reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Integrated Fresh Solutions formed a new company, Fresh Link Tomato, which provides sourcing opportunities from major tomato-growing regions. The new company is based in Naples, FL, and will also have operations in California and Mexico, reported The Produce News. Full Story

Hawaii's fresh papaya production for 2007 is estimated at 29.8 million-lbs., up 12% from 2006, reported Pacific Business News (Honolulu). Full Story (Free Registration Required)

A Beltrami County, MN herd tested positive for bovine tuberculosis, the fourth positive herd detected since October 2007, stated the Board of Animal Health. The news will likely result in the downgrade of Minnesota's bovine TB status, as required by USDA, reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Cold weather slowed the almond bloom in Northern California, and farm advisors are saying this is the latest bloom in memory, about two weeks later than average. The late bloom allowed farmers to clear downed trees and branches from orchards so bee hives could be placed, and once warm temperatures arrive, it is anticipated the trees will quickly move into full bloom, reported California Farm Bureau.

Rangeland grass conditions in California have greatly improved due to recent rain. Vegetation gained considerable amounts of nutrients allowing ranchers to lighten up on supplemental feeding of cattle, and natural water supplies have eliminated the need for many ranchers to provide supplemental water, reported California Farm Bureau.

Pruning in California's winegrape vineyards is almost complete, although expected rain will cause a halt. Bud break usually happens in March and observers say it will probably happen about the average time this spring because of weather. Growers are anticipating a good crop due to adequate chilling hours, reported California Farm Bureau.

USDA amended the regulations concerning the importation of animals and animal products by adding Mauritius to the list of regions where African swine fever exists. Full Notice

USDA amended the Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by adding a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, to the list of quarantined areas and by restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. Full Notice

USDA amended the Mexican fruit fly regulations by designating a portion of San Diego County, CA, as a quarantined area and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. Full Notice

International Trade Administration issued a rescission of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of certain in-shell raw pistachios from Iran. Full Notice