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Retail News
The
most popular category in frozen foods is vegetables, which
account for 40% of shopper purchases, according to
Frozen Food Departments: Store Traffic and Shopper Satisfaction,
conducted by Leo J. Shapiro & Associates in cooperation with
Frozen Food Age magazine. Nearly two-thirds of shopping
trips result on frozen foods sales; the proportion rises to
three-fourths among regular (as opposed to fill-in) trips.
Upscale
shoppers tend to buy frozen sweets: pies, ice cream, and desserts;
moderate income buyers lean towards meat and seafood. Chicken/turkey,
pies, and breakfast/waffles are bought by larger households;
dinners, seafood, and ice cream are more often purchased by
smaller households. Full
Story
The
smaller grocery store format is spreading as grocers are coping
with rising costs and limited capital and find themselves
pressed to find more profitable formats. "It's safe to speculate
that a lot of the growth in the grocery business in the years
ahead is going to be focused on these small stores," said
Bill Bishop of Willard Bishop Consulting. "The bigger stores
have probably gotten themselves to the point where they are
full of a sufficient fraction of merchandise and they are
not growing and not producing the full margin potential, they
are not profitable," Bishop said, reported The Associated
Press. Full
Story
7-Eleven
plans to test centralized distribution for bottled and canned
beverage deliveries at 300 stores in Los Angeles next year,
according to Joe DePinto, president and chief executive. The
average 7-Eleven gets 62 deliveries a week, including 18 to
20 deliveries from beer, water and soft drink makers. Eventually,
if the Los Angeles test is successful, Mr. DePinto wants to
consolidate distribution for groceries and frozen foods, reported
The Dallas Morning News. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
CVS
Caremark Corporation successfully completed the subsequent
offering period of its tender offer for all of the outstanding
common stock of Longs Drug Stores Corporation. CVS Caremark
expects a short-form merger on or about Oct. 30 to complete
the Longs acquisition. Full
Story
Analysts
predict strong Halloween retail figures as sales of seasonal
candy reached $201 million in the 52 weeks ending Sept. 6,
an increase from last year's $174.8 million, according to
Nielsen. However, senior Mintel research analyst Marcia Mogelonsky
found that confectioners, concerned with decreased consumer
spending, introduced 35 chocolate products for the Halloween
season, compared with 49 from last year, reported The Associated
Press. Full
Story
Wal-Mart
quadrupled its share of the Detroit area's grocery market,
capturing 11.8% of the area's market share in October
this year, compared to 2.6% in July 2007, reported Crain's
Detroit Business. Full
Story
(Free Registration Required)
In
related news, Wal-Mart will focus on expanding its international
business by putting more capital toward emerging markets
and store remodeling projects. In the past five years, Wal-Mart
allocated roughly 67% of its capital in its international
division toward mature markets, and over the next five years,
it will allocate roughly 47% toward mature markets and 53%
for emerging markets, reported Reuters. Full
Story
Manufacturer News
PepsiCo reached an agreement to acquire Spitz International
Inc., a Canada-based maker of sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
Upon completion of the acquisition Spitz will continue its
Canadian operations in Bow Island and Medicine Hat, Alberta,
and will report into Frito-Lay North America. Full
Story
MillerCoors
will revamp its Coors Light packaging with a two-sided
cold-activated label that will be featured on 12- and 16-oz.
cans launching in stores in April. The entire lineup of Coors
Light cans (10-oz., 12-oz., 16-oz. and 24-oz.) will contain
a two-sided Rocky Mountains logo that turns blue when beer
reaches optimum temperature, reported Brandweek. Full
Story
Fresh Harvest Products, Inc. increased the distribution
of its Wings of Nature organic snack bar line to include
five new regions: three regions in the southeast and two regions
in the southwest. Full
Story
Samuel Adams and other craft brewers organized a hops
sharing program, in which larger breweries released their
flowers to smaller counterparts, reported The Charlotte
Observer. Full
Story
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. launched Beech-Nut Advancing
Nutrition, including foods that are free of added sugars
and fillers. Full
Story
Foodservice News
Nearly 25% of restaurant visits from June through August
were prompted by the offer of a deal, a 9% increase from
the same period of 2007, according to research by The NPD
Group. Overall restaurant traffic for the quarter was up 1%,
with all of the gain coming from deal-making. Full
Story
Texas Roadhouse plans to reduce its company-owned restaurant
openings from 29 in 2008 to approximately 15 in 2009.
Full
Story
Some 88% of restaurant patrons believe that restroom cleanliness
reflects the overall hygiene standards throughout the restaurant,
including kitchen and food prep areas, according to a survey
conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by SCA Tissue
North America. Full
Story
McDonald's Corp. confirmed that it is asking franchise
leaders to support the McDouble, served with two hamburger
patties and one piece of cheese. Franchisees are recommending
their colleagues vote to approve the new sandwich for the
dollar menu, according to a memo, which also notes that the
the double hamburger with two pieces of cheese would be sold
at a higher price, reported Crain's Chicago Business.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
 In
related news, McDonald's
will reintroduce the McRib and partnered with Bullseye,
a hyper-targeting ad service, to market the sandwich to mobile
phone users, reported Brandweek. Full
Story
Meanwhile,
in 2007, more than 91% of fish for McDonald's originated
from sustainable fisheries, according to the company's
fourth Corporate Responsibility Report, Responsible food
for a sustainable future. Some 82% of its packaging is
made from renewable materials, according to McDonald's. Full
Story
Starbucks
will double its Fair Trade Certified coffee purchases to 40
million pounds in 2009 as
part of a joint initiative with TransFair USA and the Fairtrade
Labelling Organizations International. Full
Story
Meanwhile,
Starbucks
launched Starbucks Shared Planet, consisting of thirteen
measurable goals to be achieved by 2015. Initiatives include:
100% of the company's coffee will be responsibly grown and
ethically traded; 100% of Starbucks cups will be reusable
or recyclable; the company will significantly reduce its environmental
footprint through energy and water conservation, recycling
and green construction; and contribute one million community
service hours per year. Full
Story
The New York Times on the Web examines how New
York City's menu laws are impacting restaurants. For instance,
Le Pain Quotidien removed or changed numerous menu items,
according to vice president Jack Moran. Its quiche Lorraine
was reduced to 6-oz. from 11. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Health News
Consuming cooked or processed broccoli may reduce the
absorption potential for anti-cancer compounds, according
to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry. Consumption of the cooked vegetable led
to lower body levels of sulforaphane bioavailability, 3.4%,
compared with 37% from raw broccoli, reported Food Navigator
Europe. Full
Story, Study
Abstract
Washington News
A class action lawsuit accuses the nation's largest egg
producers of conspiring to restrict supply as part of a broad
scheme to boost prices. The litigation's targets include
Cal-Maine Foods, Pilgrim's Pride and Rose Acre Farms, as well
as the United Egg Producers. The restaurant lawsuit filed
in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia is one of six separate
suits facing the egg industry. Some name a handful of companies
while others, like the T.K. Ribbing's restaurant suit, target
16 major producers and interest groups, reported MSNBC.
Full
Story
Easterday Ranches Inc. is suing USDA to rewrite the beef
country of origin labeling provision. Meat packers and
retailers are opposing the rules, claiming they would be expensive
and burdensome. In the lawsuit, Easterday Ranches Inc. contends
that labeling will increase record keeping and operating costs
and deter meat packers from buying Canadian-born cattle from
Easterday's feedlot, reported The Associated Press.
Full
Story
An independent panel of science advisers disagrees with
FDA's assessment that the chemical BPA is safe. The advisers
found that FDA had not considered all the scientific evidence
available in concluding that BPA is safe, reported MSNBC.
Full
Story, FDA
Statement
TOPS Friendly Markets initiated a voluntary recall of
its Patak's Dopiaza Mild Curry Cooking Sauce because it contains
undeclared butter. Full
Story
Global News
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc's. nine-unit franchisee
in Hong Kong will enter into receivership, a type of bankruptcy.
The two-year-old franchisee retained a financial adviser to
help it find liquidators and plans to close five of its stores
immediately. Full
Story
Econiche received approval from the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency, as the cattle vaccine to reduce the
risk of E. coli O157:H7 contamination meets efficacy and safety
requirements for full licensing. The regulator stated
that the vaccine, developed by Bioniche Life Sciences, can
now be used by Canadian cattle producers and veterinarians.
Full
Story
Market News
Tree Top purchased Sabroso, a manufacturer and seller
of fruit purees, which will operate as a subsidiary of the
grower-owned cooperative, according to Tree Top, reported
The Yakima Herald Republic. Full
Story
Bluefin tuna stocks in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean
face a rapid decline in population due to excessive fishing
and underreporting of catches, according to the International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT).
In its report, ICCAT claims that about 61,100 tons of the
Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna stocks were
likely caught in 2007, compared with the allowable catch of
29,500 tons and a declared catch of 32,000 tons, reported
The Japan Times. Full
Story
U.S. tree fruit and apple industry leaders
cautioned against a rush to approve Chinese fresh apples and
sand pears for export due to political purposes. Meanwhile,
U.S. fresh potato industry leaders stated they remain frustrated
with the lack of progress of winning access to China's market
after five years of effort, reported The Packer Online.
Full
Story (Subscription Required)
The American Blueberry Co. will open a
30-acre facility in Hulbert, OK by late 2009 or early
2010. The company plans to grow blueberry plants from March
to November, reported The Packer Online. Full
Story (Subscription Required)
Hops contain substances that control pathogenic
bacteria in the intestines of chickens, according to Agricultural
Research Service scientists and cooperators. Certain bacteria
in the intestines of chickens not only can cause contamination
of meat during processing, but also may pose production losses
by causing disease in the broiler chicken. Full
Story
Some 37% of the world's ocean fish catch
is ground up for animal feed, according to research to
be published in November in the Annual Review of Environment
and Resources, reported Reuters. Full
Story
Horizon Organic implemented sustainable
farm practices at its Kennedyville, MD-based farm. Solar
panels were installed and a berm and dam structure was put
in place to minimize erosion near its stream bank. Full
Story
Frozen pomegranate seeds are now available at some California
retail stores. A Madera firm called Stiebs Pomegranate
Seeds is producing the seeds in a 10-oz. freezer bag, reported
California Farm Bureau.
USDA's Peanut Stocks and Processing report will be
released on Oct. 29 at 3:00 p.m. Full
Report
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau established a
13.4 sq. mile "Leona Valley" American viticultural
area in northeastern Los Angeles County, CA. Full
Notice
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau extended
the comment period for Notice No. 83, Proposed Revision
of Distilled Spirits Plant Regulations. Full
Notice
NMFS wants to implement Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management
Plan for the Spiny Lobster Fishery of Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands. Full
Notice
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IGA
Coca-Cola Institute Perspective 
