Leading French retail chain Carrefour France has launched a range
of alternative packaging formats to the tin can for processed
vegetables, signifying another move away from traditional methods
of packaging. Anthony Fletcher reports.
ICI subsidiary National Starch, which supplies starches to a wide
range of markets including the construction, packaging and textile
industries, has given an identity boost to its food products
division in a bid to gain an edge in...
Ahold has moved a step closer to completing its programme of
disposals aimed at plugging the fraud-related €1 billion hole in
its accounts. The sale of BI-LO and Bruno's in the US will bring in
up to $660 million, and leaves...
Number one dextrose producer Corn Products International will drive
operations forward in Korea, buying up the remaining slice of its
Korean business from Doosan corporation.
Campina, the Dutch dairy co-operative that last month announced
merger plans with Denmark's Arla Foods, has announced it is to
focus investment across its milk, yoghurt and dairy-based dessert
divisions in 2005, a move set to...
Frozen and chilled baked goods are the leading lights among US firm
General Mills' bakery and cereal products as the company begins a
tentative recovery against high raw materials costs, writes
Chris Mercer.
Chocolate consumption in the UK is slowing down as health and diet
concerns impact sales, a trend which has created opportunities for
major players to roll out sugar free and low carbohydrate products,
according to market analysts...
EU Advocate General Francis Jacobs has said that the ban on the use
of the name 'Tocai' for Italian wine should be upheld. The
announcement reignites arguments surrounding Geographical
Indications (GIs) and the right to...
Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa are strong growth areas
for the flavours market while in western Europe low calorie and low
carb diets will continue to spur demand, claims a new report,
writes Lindsey Partos.
Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa are strong growth areas
for the flavours market while in western Europe low calorie and low
carb diets will continue to spur demand, claims a new report.
Forecourt convenience stores are becoming increasingly important
revenue sources for the leading supermarket groups, either as part
of their own petrol retail business or in partnership with fuel
companies. But maximising the potential...
One of Sweden's biggest meat and cheese processing companies,
recently under pressure from increased competition, will soon be
supplying sandwiches as well as the fillings by establishing a new
business unit to exploit the growing...
Solnechnie Produkti is confident that its low-calorie brand of
mayonnaise has the potential to occupy seven per cent of the
domestically produced generic mayonnaise market in Russia and two
per cent of the mayonnaise market in general,...
Discount food retailer Lidl is forecast to continue its phenomenal
European success in 2005 and Eastern Europe, especially Hungary, is
a main target for growth - a move likely to squeeze smaller
domestic producers but aid big brands,...
A dot.ru company has opened an online wine store in Russia in
anticipation of the coming electronic shopping craze, despite what
sceptics might say, writes Angela Drujinina.
Competition continues to bite for Swedish speciality fats and oils
business Karlshamns with the firm announcing it will pour Euros
6.68 million (SEK60m) into cost-cutting measures.
Britain's biggest brewer Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) is to
combine its Indian brewing assets with those of United Breweries,
the largest beer maker on the sub-continent, to form a group
accounting for more than 50 per...
Big Food Group, the British company behind the Iceland retail and
Booker wholesale chains, has confirmed that it has accepted a
takeover from Baugur, the Icelandic investment group which already
owns a number of British retail groups....
The exaggerated - and not always correct - advertisement of
biologically active additives (BAAs) in food supplements has
resulted in a number of products being removed by the Russian
authorities, writes Angela Drujinina.
The bolt-on acquisition of Rhodia Food Ingredients earlier this
year helps boost sales for Danish ingredients and sugar group
Danisco in an otherwise challenging 2004/05 first half.
Major Dutch bakery ingredients firm CSM confirms the sale of its
confectionery unit to focus on core business. The
Diemen/Breda-based company said it expects to complete the sale of
the unit to CVC Capital Partners in the first quarter...
Widespread procurement and more than 100 years in business help
French hydrocolloid producer Colloides Naturels International (CNI)
assure supplies for gum arabic amid global shortfalls in stock,
writes Lindsey Partos.
Low carbohydrate bakery products have become common place in the
US, but competition is about to get tougher as the growth surge
slows, according to a new report from Euromonitor International.
Against the backdrop of soaring prices for locust bean gum, getting
the best price for the customer is a challenge hydrocolloid
producers must meet if they want to ensure ongoing contracts,
reports Lindsey Partos.
Increasing investment in new product development is expected to
help British confectionery and soft drinks producer Cadbury
Schweppes to achieve its ambitious targets for long-term growth,
according to analysts Goldman Sachs. And...
Two thirds of edible oil producers in Russia believe that a
proposed new state standard on spreads in 2005 will hurt small
manufacturers, writes Angela Drujinina .
PepsiCo has the potential to dominate the emerging snacks market in
Eastern Europe after buying out General Mills' 40.5 per cent share
in Snack Ventures Europe (SVE) for $750 million (€560 million),
writes Chris Mercer.
Prices for cocoa remain relatively volatile as political unrest in
Ivory Coast, that produces some 40 per cent of global cocoa crops,
keeps the market nervous.
Unilever Portugal has restructured its joint venture with local
food manufacturer and retailer Jeronimo Martins, a further step
towards the simplification of the company's business units.
Chris Jones reports.
Baltika Brewing president Taimuraz Bolloev has announced his
resignation as head of Russia's largest brewing company, bringing
the curtain down on an era of unprecedented growth.
Prices for the popular hydrocolloid gum arabic used in a range of
food applications have doubled in 12 months as political turmoil
and poor stocks leave the market exposed, writes Lindsey
Partos.
China may become the first country in the world to operate the
commercial production of genetically modified rice, ushering in
cheaper and constant supplies for the popular food staple and
ingredient.
Irish baker IAWS is taking on France's specialist bakery,
confectionery and foodservice sectors by acquiring leading domestic
distributor Groupe Hubert, and could exploit the declining number
of independent on-site bakers in...
Consumers' health could be at risk depending on where they shop and
how much money they earn, a bleak assessment by the National
Consumer Council of the current state of healthy eating promotions
in many of Britain's leading...
The prices charged by the leading UK grocers for their
Internet-based delivery service are being investigated by the
Office of Fair Trading, a probe which has prompted fierce denials
of wrongdoing by the major supermarket groups....
Growth in the food retail sector across Europe is being driven not
by sales of food but rather by the ever-widening range of non-food
goods, claims a new report. But while Carrefour and its French
compatriots continue to dominate...
Nearly half of the world's vanillin supplies are sourced from China
but since tighter production rules arrived there a few years ago
there are now only two major Chinese producers left in the country,
reports Lindsey Partos....
Brewer Yarpivo is growing twice as fast as the rest of the Russian
beer market, which itself has been expanding at an annual rate of
seven per cent. Angela Drujinina uncovers the strategy
behind the success.
Booming sales for its popular sweetener give UK starch and sugar
business Tate & Lyle the necessary leverage for the firm to
re-enter the FTSE 100 index after a seven-year break.
China continues to pull on global commodities with demand for US
soybeans rising in 2004/05 by nearly 50 per cent on the previous
year, reports Lindsey Partos. China's total contracts for
soybeans reached 6.6 million tonnes by...
A breakthrough into the US market boosts the bottom line for UK
natural flavours firm Treatt that saw sales for the year across the
Atlantic rising by over 40 per cent to €10 million, parallel to a
sales dip elsewhere, writes Lindsey...
Supplies for a range of vegetable oils used extensively by the food
industry are slated to rise for 2004/05 year on stronger yields for
peanuts, soybeans and rape seed oil, building up global stocks to
about 390.5 million tons.
Norwegian firm Orkla says that its subsidiaries within the CEE
region have shown the greatest capacity for growth, and as a result
the group is planning to expand its operations here further,
writes Bogdan Tudorache.
Swedish manufacturer Semper aims to increase exports of baby food
to Russia, as the market there is growing much faster than in many
other countries, writes Angela Drujinina.
Global drawdown in cereal stocks, the essence of a raft of
ingredients, may turn the corner this year as a new report from the
UN food agency predicts world cereal production will hit a record
2.04 billion tonnes in 2004, an increase...
Scientists in Ireland claim to have dramatically improved the
quality of gluten-free bread, presenting an opportunity for bakers
as the number of people with a known gluten intolerance grows,
writes Chris Mercer.
