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Retail News
More than 5,000 small businesses joined Coca Cola
Co.'s Tienda Program, which offers small Hispanic
businesses the opportunity to redesign their stores to attract
more clients. With the program, Coca-Cola provides marketing
and sales support, as well as promotional materials.
''Hispanic consumers are very important for Coca-Cola. Out of
every four soft drinks sold in the United States, we calculate
that one is purchased by a Hispanic,'' said Jorge Espinoza,
Coca Cola 's director for Multicultural Commercialization and
Customer Programming, according to Miami Herald. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
 Sunflower Farmers Market is in the process of
expanding from its current 14 stores to some 21 locations
by the end of 2008. With fifty stores planned for five years
from now, Sunflower targets consumers who want to eat healthy,
natural foods, but can not afford - or do not want to pay -
gourmet prices, reported BusinessWeek Online. Full Story
Stop & Shop may be closing some or all of the 132
Dunkin' Donuts locations in its stores and replacing them
with Starbucks, according to recent reports. The company
confirmed that the chain's leases with Dunkin' Donuts expire
next year, but it did not comment further on the reports,
reported Supermarket News. Full Story
A family-owned Long Island grocer specializing in
international and gourmet foods, Iavarone Bros. Foods, is
planning to relocate and expand its Huntington, NY store next
spring to a Woodbury facility with almost three times the
retail space. Iavarone Bros., which has four European-style
marketplaces on Long Island as well as a cafe, is continuing
to see its sales grow, according to Newsday. Full Story
Manufacturer News
Unilever signed a definitive agreement to sell its
North American laundry business to Vestar Capital
Partners, which plans to merge the business with its
existing operation, Huish Detergents Inc., to form a new
company, The Sun Products Corporation. The consideration
consists of a cash payment of $1.075 billion, together with
preferred shares in The Sun Products Corporation with a face
value of $375 million, and warrants offering the opportunity
to acquire up to 2.5% of the common equity of The Sun Products
Corporation. The businesses to be sold include the all,
Snuggle, Wisk, Surf, and Sunlight fabric cleaning and fabric
conditioning brands in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, as
well as Unilever's manufacturing facility in Baltimore, MD. Full Story
Houchens Industries Inc. completed its acquisition of
Tampico Beverages Inc., which produces refrigerated juice
drinks and is a supplier of value-added juice drink
concentrates, reported The Associated Press. Full Story
Foodservice News
Darden Restaurants instituted "a more disciplined"
tip-sharing plan, a policy servers claim is cutting into
their earnings. Under the program, waiters must give up a
greater percentage of their total sales each shift to hosts
and bartenders, 2.25%, up from 1%. The process, which is
referred to as a "tip out," allows the company to pay
bartenders and hosts a lower wage, and is one factor helping
Darden to cut labor expenses, reported The Houston
Chronicle. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Health News
Children that have the FTO gene, which is linked to
obesity, find it harder to tell when they are full,
according to a study in the Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology & Metabolism. These children with the
higher risk version of the gene tended to overeat and the
effect of the gene on appetite was the same regardless of age,
sex, socioeconomic background and body mass index, reported
BBC News. Full Story
Washington News
Jalapeno and Serrano peppers grown in the U.S. are
not connected with the current Salmonella Saintpaul
outbreak. However, FDA continues to advise consumers to
avoid raw jalapeno peppers, and the food that contains them,
if they have been grown, harvested or packed in Mexico. Full Story
In California, a measure is being considered that would
ban metal cages for egg-laying hens, metal gestation
crates for pregnant sows and veal crates for lambs. The
initiative follows more limited measures recently passed in
several other states, reported The Associated Press. Full Story
Meanwhile, the University of California Agricultural
Issues Center examines the impact this legislation will
have on California's egg industry. Full Story
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation banning
trans fats in California's restaurants starting in 2010
and from all baked goods by 2011, reported
SignOnSanDiego.com. Full Story
A proposed new rule would require about 90 chains
throughout Portland and Multnomah County, OR to post calorie
counts on their menus and ordering boards, reported The
Oregonian. Full Story
FDA is seeking comments on regulations prohibiting the
interstate shipment of certain foods to which an approved drug
or a licensed biological product was added. Specifically,
the agency is looking to find out what types or categories of
food would likely be subject to the prohibition and what the
likely impact of applying the section to infant formula and
dietary supplements. The notice is expected to be published in
the July 29 Federal Register. Full Notice
Global News
In the UK, Asda increased its online grocery sales
by 71.8% for the 12 weeks ending June 15, compared to a
year ago, according to TNS Worldpanel. Sainsbury's, meanwhile,
grew its online sales by only 17.3% over the same 12-week
period, reported The Independent. Full Story
Tiger Brands Limited intends to acquire 74.7% of
Chococam from Barry Callebaut. Chococam manufactures
cocoa-based consumer products, which it sells in Cameroon,
Nigeria and other countries of Central and West Africa. Full Story
Nippon Meat Packers Inc. will establish a joint venture
with a seafood processing firm in Japan and other local
partners to cultivate bluefin tuna. By the end of 2009, the
new firm aims to start supplying the fish to domestic sushi
restaurants and supermarkets, targeting sales of $9.3 million
in fiscal 2010, reported TradingMarkets.com. Full Story
Diageo PLC is in talks to acquire a 30% stake in Cobra
Beer, according to the Financial Times. Cobra
already held talks with other financial and strategic buyers,
reported Market Watch. Full Story
Both Groupe Danone SA and Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. are
hiring separate investment advisers to estimate a value
for the business, as the dispute between the two companies
escalates, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription
Required)
Krispy Kreme UK aims to sell £50 million of its
signature U.S. doughnuts by 2013 as the company looks to
expand its business in the UK, reported Financial
Times. Full Story
Cornish pastries could soon be given protected status by
the EU to stop copycats benefiting from its name, reported
BBC News. Full Story
Market News
Diamond Fruit Growers will merge its sales and
marketing operations with Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers. The
companies plan to merge after Diamond Fruit completes
harvesting its cherry crop, around Aug. 15, reported The
Packer Online. Full Story (Subscription Required)
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ECONOMIC DOWNTURN PRESENTS
OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES FOR
RETAILERS
The
future of food retailing for the next three to
five years will be dramatically affected by two
major trends: food inflation and the emergence of
small format stores, according to the annual
Future of Food Retailing webinar presented
by The Food Institute and Willard Bishop, which
examined the state of the food and consumables
retail industry in 2007 and beyond. Food price
inflation will exceed current "conventional
wisdom," and be a factor for three or more years,
predicted Willard Bishop during the webinar. In
fact, predictions about the rate of inflation have
generally been underestimated. However, this food
price inflation can benefit food retailers with
winning shopper value equations and solid plans to
take advantage. If you missed The
Future of Food Retailing webinar and would
like to purchase a recording, click
here. | |
Looking to find out which areas or states of the
U.S. are the leading producers and/or sellers of cattle, hogs,
lambs, or broilers? USDA's Regional Agricultural
Profiles System is a great tool to find that data and view it
on a map, based on the 2002 Census of Agriculture. The system
allows users to query selected variables from the Census and
view the results in maps, charts, and tables. The system also
allows two common regional aggregations: USDA Farm Production
Regions and ERS Farm Resource Regions (get details about these
regions). Broad variable categories include basic farm
characteristics, agricultural land use, crop and livestock
production, sales of farm products, and government payments
(see the Data Documentation section for a complete list of
variables). Full Story & Database
Farmers and environmentalists are at odds over what to
do about the Midwest's erosion-prone land. Options include
planting crops in hopes of good yields and high grain prices,
or planting trees, native grasses, or ground cover that act as
a natural flood buffer to avoid future floods, reported The
Associated Press. Full Story
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 How Can You Comply With Complex Food Safety
Regulations?
The
Food Institute's HACCP & U.S. Food Safety
Guide - 2nd Edition provides clear
explanations of the recent regulations and
requirements issued by FDA and USDA regarding
the handling and sanitation of food products.
Authored by Olsson, Frank & Weeda, P.C., this
guide includes information on applying HACCP plans
in the plant, mandatory HACCP systems in general
and specific HACCP requirements for seafood, meat
& poultry. For details, click
here. | |
Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc. will reduce
its work force by 26% as it cuts back its fresh pineapple
operations and trims staff. Rising fuel, fertilizer,
packaging, and other costs have overrun price increases,
resulting in operating losses of more than $62 million within
the past three years, reported The Associated Press. Full
Story
USDA declared three more counties in California primary
natural disaster areas. The number of California counties
affected by the April freeze increased to 10. Full
Story
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IGA Coca-Cola Institute Perspective 
