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Retail News
Consumer interest in healthy, organic and
sustainable products is on the rise, showing a commitment
to organic foods and green products not only for personal
health benefits but also for the environment, according to a
recent MamboTrack study by Mambo Sprouts Marketing, which
surveyed the buying habits of 1,000 natural product consumers
and forecasted their expected purchases for the coming year.
Despite a tougher year ahead, consumers are willing to pay
more for green environmentally friendly products in 2008. Most
natural consumers indicated they would pay more for
environmentally friendly products, with seven in 10 consumers
willing to pay up to 20% more. Full
Story
More people visit the deli for lunch than for dinner
and retailers have an opportunity to build their customer
base, according to Foodservice Opportunities from the
International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association. The report found
the heavy deli users are people who make frequent visits to
specialty grocery stores, club stores and sit-down
restaurants, reported CSP Daily News. Full Story
Demand for specialty whole-bean bulk coffee is
growing, although sales remain flat in mainstream
supermarket channels, specialty food outlets are reporting
aggressive category growth. For example, Balducci's is
experiencing double-digit sales gains, noted John Coleman, its
wine, cheese, coffee and tea buyer. The 12-store specialty
chain carries over 45 stockkeeping units of whole-bean bulk
coffee, including locally roasted beans and 20 store-brand
varieties, reported Supermarket News. Full Story
Supervalu Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to
acquire eight Albertsons stores in Wyoming, and will
continue to operate these stores under the Albertsons banner
name. Full Story
Close to 35% of Tops Markets' customers use
self-checkout at least some of the time, according to
Frank Curci, the new CEO of Tops. About 20% used them when the
program was implemented, according to a Buffalo News
Commentary. Full Story
Sunflower Farmers Markets plans to open new stores in
Utah as it expands throughout the West. The company
currently has 13 stores in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and
Nevada and plans to have a total of 50 throughout the West in
the next five years, reported Deseret Morning News. Full Story
Aldi plans to build a $40 million, 500,000-sq. ft.
distribution center and regional headquarters in Haines
City, FL, according to The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Manufacturer News
Anheuser-Busch Cos. is planning to invest more into
digital advertising to attract young, web-savvy
"contemporary adults." The brewer is increasingly using the
web to spread and fine-tune its advertising, as it allows the
company to test edgy material, reported STLtoday.com.
Full Story
Hass Avocados is partnering with Michelob brands to
launch in-store promotions throughout December. The
promotions will offer customers a significant discount if they
buy three Hass Avocados from Mexico and a six-pack or more of
Michelob beer, reported Supermarket News. Full Story
Thomas Kemper Soda Co. entered into a distribution
agreement with Coast Beverage Group, which will add Thomas
Kemper to its upscale portfolio of non-alcoholic beverages
distributed in the greater Los Angeles area. Full Story
Lean Pockets introduced a line of whole grain
sandwiches, which include: turkey, broccoli and
cheese; turkey and ham with cheese; three cheese and broccoli;
chicken, broccoli and cheddar; ham and cheese; meatballs and
mozzarella; and supreme pizza. Full Story
Dominion Citrus launched a new line of FreshFix fresh
cut fruit and vegetables and FreshFix smoothies and
juices. Dominion Citrus will market the new line of
fresh cut fruit and vegetables in a variety of formats, from
single-serve to party platters, under the new brand FreshFix
as well as under retailers' private labels. Full Story
Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. will introduce two bagged
gourmet salads that are expected to be available to
retailers nationwide by Feb. 11. The new blends, Tender Garden
mix and 7 Lettuces salad mix, will join the Dole Fresh
Discoveries line, reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Foodservice News
Pollo Campero aims to have 500 restaurants across
the U.S. by 2013. Pollo Campero is opening its first
Florida locale this month and plans at least four more outlets
in South Florida in the next 18 months, according to South
Florida Sun-Sentinel. Full Story
Cuppy's Coffee, Smoothies & More, Inc. signed
franchise agreements to open more than 200 locations in
2008. In 2007, the chain opened 17 cafes, 24 dual drive-thru
units, four kiosks, and 13 mobile units, giving the franchise
a total of more than 60 stores nationwide and a presence
within 24 states. Full Story
Deerfield Triarc Capital Corp. will acquire Deerfield
& Company LLC, a fixed income asset manager in which
Triarc owns a majority interest, for $225 million. Triarc is a
holding company and, through its subsidiaries, is the
franchisor of the Arby's restaurant system. Full Story
Antitrust regulators cleared Darden Restaurants Inc.'s
sale of the Smokey Bones Barbecue & Grill restaurant
chain to Sun Capital Partners for about $80 million,
reported The Associated Press. Full Story
Marco's
Pizza signed 472 new stores for expansion, and plans to be
in 12 states by early 2008. Full Story
Wendy's launched the Stack Attack, a new double
cheeseburger which will sell for $0.99. Full Story
Health News
Wild salmon, skim milk and citrus fruit are three of
ten "super healthy" foods, according to the Centers for
Science in the Public Interest, reported The Dallas Morning
News. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Washington News
FDA is expected to make a decision on marketing meat
from cloned animals in the very near future. Critics are
attempting to delay the action, while biotechnology companies
plan to unveil a campaign that would enable consumers to learn
whether the meat and milk they are buying comes from cloned
animals, once the government allows those products to hit
store shelves, reported Baltimore Sun. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
A $516 billion spending bill working its way through
Congress includes $513 million for FDA food-safety
programs for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, up $56
million from the 2007 fiscal year, reported USA Today.
Full Story
The House approved an energy bill to increase the fuel
efficiency of U.S. cars and trucks, boost production of
renewable motor fuels like ethanol and cut energy use in light
bulbs and appliances. The Senate approved the same bill last
week. The bill will increase production of renewable motor
fuels like ethanol to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022.
However, it will require billions of new gallons of ethanol in
the next decade to come from nonfood "cellulosic" sources like
wood chips, switchgrass and other agricultural waste, reported
Reuters. Full Story
Global News
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed
the diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a
13-year-old beef cow from Alberta. The animal's carcass is
under CFIA control, and no part of it entered the human food
or animal feed systems. The CFIA expects to detect a small
number of cases over the next 10 years as Canada progresses
towards its goal of eliminating the disease from the national
cattle herd. Full Story
Groupe Danone SA is ending a joint venture with
China's Mengniu Dairy Co. The contract was ended
because the prerequisites for further investments have not
been met within the agreed time-frame, and both parties agreed
the joint venture would be automatically be terminated on Dec.
18. Full Story.
Barry Callebaut extended its portfolio to include
more than 40 different varieties of origin chocolate.
Origin chocolates are made from beans harvested in one
specific country or growing area and have more expressive
flavors and fruity, herbal, spicy or floral notes that reflect
the growing conditions, according to the company. Full Story
Pernod Ricard will purchase either Absolut or
Stolichnaya in its attempts to add a premium vodka label
to its portfolio, however, it has not yet finalized any
acquisition plan. The group had yet to pick which of the two
brands it wants to acquire, reflecting the problem of spending
months discussing a possible acquisition of a leading global
vodka brand, only for two to come along at once, according to
a company spokesperson, reported Beverage Daily. Full Story
Mexico-based Bachoco reached an agreement with Grupo
Agra, a table eggs company. The agreement establishes a
rent scheme of the facilities, which include laying hens farms
with a capacity of approximately one million hens, a table
eggs processing plant, distribution centers, and the Agra
brands. Full Story
Nestle SA agreed to sell its Maitre Paul unit to Fortis
Private Equity and investment company Clearwood. The
agreement is subject to approval by the Maitre Paul board, but
is expected to be finalized in the near future, reported
Interactive Investor. Full Story
The consortium of Carlsberg and Heineken was given a
Jan. 21 deadline to make a formal bid for UK brewer
Scottish & Newcastle. The UK's Takeover Panel issued the
notice after being approached by Scottish & Newcastle,
reported BBC News. Full Story
Friesland Foods and Campina are exploring a merger
between its cooperatives and dairy companies. Together the
companies employ around 22,000 people, and between them have
some 17,000 associated dairy farms in The Netherlands, Germany
and Belgium. Full Story
Market News
Acreage of processing tomatoes will likely decline
by 10% in 2008. Despite the expected reduction, it is
likely that growers will push processors for another increase
in contract pricing reflecting increased costs for the third
consecutive year, reported USDA's Economic Research
Service. Full Report
State officials began surveying Alabama seafood
processors, dealers and other related businesses to decide
how to allocate federal hurricane recovery money intended to
revive the Gulf Coast fishing industry. Alabama is set to
receive about $15 - $85 million appropriated by Congress this
year to help Gulf Coast fisheries rebound from hurricanes
Katrina and Rita in 2005, reported Press-Register. Full Story
Congress' failure to ensure that there are enough
migrant workers could cost New York agriculture hundreds of
millions of dollars in lost crops and hundreds of
thousands of acres in lost farmland, according to analysts.
Nationwide, there are about 1.6 million full-time farm
workers. About 80% of those workers are foreign born, and
nearly seven out of ten are working illegally, according to
Craig Regelbrugge, a vice president of the American Nursery
and Landscape Association, reported The Associated
Press. Full Story
NMFS revised the 2008 final harvest specifications
and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish
fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management
area and Gulf of Alaska. Full
Notice
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IGA Coca-Cola Institute Perspective 
