The announcement yesterday that DMV International and Arla Food
Ingredients could merge is a further example of how the rising
power and ongoing growth of the multiple retailers is putting
constant pressure on ingredients companies...
Hungarian food canners, who are already struggling to survive
following the country's EU accession, fear a lot of businesses may
collapse if the EU adopts proposals to reduce import duties on Thai
canned corn - though how many...
Russia must ease limits on the foreign ownership of companies and
improve regulatory transparency in order to attract more foreign
investment, claims a new OECD report.
Two of Britain's biggest agriculture companies, faced with an
increasingly unstable market and rising costs, have announced they
will merge to insulate themselves and compete more effectively
through local grain markets, writes...
CSM, the €2.8 billion Dutch bakery ingredients company, is still
hoping for a year end close on the sale of its confectionery unit,
that together with biochemicals, sugar and bakery supplies complete
the CSM stable.
Small Swiss ingredients firm Veripan has linked up with food
production system giant Buhler to bring a bakery ingredient system
to a wider market and the opportunity for bakers to have a 'two in
one' service.
Premier Foods has added another popular British food brand to its
diverse portfolio with the acquisition of the Bird's Custard brand
from US-based food giant Kraft. And this continued focus on 'Great
British brands'...
Dutch lactoferrin supplier DMV International and Arla Food
Ingredients could soon be part of the world's largest farmer-owned
dairy company as their owners Campina of the Netherlands and
Denmark's Arla Foods announce plans...
Nestlé is to buy almost half of German frozen pizza firm Wagner so
it can tap into the lucrative German market and expand Wagner's
brands abroad, as competition hots up in the European frozen pizza
sector, reports Chris Mercer.
London-based sugar ingredients, milk powder and nut product firm
Napier Brown Foods marked its first year after flotation on the
alternative investment market (Aim) with profit before tax of £2.1
million (€3.04m) for the half year.
Dutch potato starch supplier Avebe has finished off 'a difficult
year' with €0.4 million in profit, the 5000 strong co-operative
reports. But a tight economic climate, a poor harvest, and the
strong euro left their mark,...
Penford Food Ingredients announced earlier this week that it has
expanded its manufacturing capabilities to make sure supplies of
potato starch are consistent after a poor harvest in Europe,
reports Philippa Nuttall.
French firm Danone has pulled out of the chaotic race to buy
Serbian soft drinks firm Knjaz Milos, warning that it is not
prepared to commit itself in Serbia until there is political and
legal stability for investors, reports Chris...
Cargill is to increase its stake in the Romanian edible oils market
with the acquisition of the local company Olpo Podari. And with
another possible acquisition on the cards, the giant US
agribusiness group clearly sees significant...
Price increases for key raw materials used by the food industry
threaten over the next 12 months as low global stocks remain open
to unexpected disruptions.
Tate & Lyle, the world's only maker of the increasingly popular
sweetener sucralose, must prioritise needs of existing customers as
demand for the additive 'far exceeds our expectations.'
At 3.15 million tonnes world tea production in 2003 beat 2002
supplies but prices remained firm reflecting season variability,
reports the UN food and farm body, adding that China has pushed up
green tea supplies.
Russian vodka brand Topaz has beaten off prestigious competition to
emerge as the country's best-tasting vodka brand, according to a
recent taste test by the Russian alcohol producers' association.
But the company has been...
Swedish speciality fats and oils firm Karlshamns builds up supplies
of pumpable fats and liquid margarine as industry spikes demand for
convenience fats, reports Lindsey Partos.
Japanese aspartame supplier Ajinomoto will ramp up production of
its sweetener on the back of growing demand for low calorie food
and beverages, the Tokyo-based firm announced this week.
Looking to new market gains in the UK, US and Australia German
ingredients group Degussa has revamped its line of bakery cream
systems to target food makers with a competitive package, writes
Lindsey Partos.
China has been the dominant supplier of many herbs, spices and
ingredients to the Russian market for the last 10 years, but a
reduction in Chinese crop areas to make way for more profitable
products has given local growers from the...
Bidding for Serbian soft drinks producer Knjaz Milos, which was
last week thrown into disarray amid allegations of bribery and
political squabbling, has been extended until 6 December in an
attempt to save the country's reputation...
Maker of the low-cal, low-carb sweetener tagatose teams up with the
number four flavour house Symrise to trial new flavour systems that
could bring cost savings to food manufacturers in their flavour
formulations, writes Lindsey Partos.
CSM, the Dutch food ingredients company continues to shed non-core
activities, signing off its stake in natural alcohol supplier
Koninklijke Nedalco in a €24 million deal.
Ahold has completed the sale of another of its international units,
in Spain, adding €685 million to its bank balance as it continues
its restructuring in the wake of a €1 billion fraud scandal,
writes Chris Jones.
Food formulators looking to improve the flavour profile of North
African ready meals may start to trial argan oil, the edible
speciality oil that is only sourced from Morocco.
Russian consumers are getting a taste for a particularly French
delicacy -snails. Frozen food giant NP Kairos has joined forces
with Escargots, a specialist supplier of grape snails, to supply
the Russian market under the brand Russkaya...
Plans for EU sugar reform are unfair and would only benefit the
biggest producers, according to 10 member states including
Slovenia, Hungary and Latvia, as new discussions split opinions in
eastern Europe, reports Chris Mercer.
A new bakery capable of producing up to 70 million bread loaves per
year is set to be built in Moscow by Swedish firm Cerealia to serve
the growing convenience food industry with cosmopolitan products -
and by-pass customs duties,...
J Sainsbury, the UK's third largest food retailer, has continued
its move into the convenience store sector with a third acqusition
this week. But is this really the answer to the questions about the
ailing company's long-term...
Announcing its half-year results back in September, the UK-based
confectionery group Glisten said that it expected to make further
acquisitions in niche markets, as it sought to build on strong
sales over the last three years....
Heineken, the Dutch brewer, has continued to extend its reach into
some of the world's lesser-known beer markets with an agreement to
take a controlling stake in Nigeria's Consolidated Breweries,
writes Chris Jones.
A focus on strong brands in a market dominated by own label
products helped Arla Foods UK post impressive growth figures in
2004. And with increasing pressure on milk suppliers from the
multiple grocers likely to curb profitability,...
A Russian ingredients company is finding it hard to meet growing
demand for its egg protein products because of problems finding
buyers for the by-product - powdered egg yolk. Angela Drujinina
reports.
Australian beer giant Foster's has teamed up with Russia's leading
brewer to become the latest contender for riches in the Russian
beer market gold mine, but the competition is strong, writes
Chris Mercer.
Belgian ingredients group Orafti has walked away with three awards
at this year's Ingredients Russia 2004 exhibition, more than any
other company, but major international groups did not have it all
their own way, with a number...
Glenmorangie's final set of interim figures before its takeover by
French luxury goods group LVMH underline the importance of the
acquisition, with the whisky maker's premium brands all performing
ahead of expectations.
UK sweetener firm Tate & Lyle strengthens its position in the
South African ingredients market, buying up small ingredients
supplier Dolcre for €1.9 million.
Britain's top food retailer Tesco has posted third quarter results
which surpassed even the most optimistic analysts' forecasts,
underlining its ongoing dominance of the UK market.
Belgian ingredients group Orafti has walked away with three awards
at this year's Ingredients Russia 2004 exhibition, more than any
other company, but major international groups did not have it all
their own way, with a number...
Competing with cheaper corn and wheat alternatives, potato starch
firm Avebe unveils a new research and development centre to bring
the Dutch company closer to its customer needs.
US giants PepsiCo and General Mills have bought their way in to the
Romanian snacks market in anticipation of strong growth in the next
few years, though analysts warn that growth is far from that of the
Czech Republic, the regional...
A new deal between organic food retailers and farmers may help to
bridge the gulf between low organic food consumption and rising
levels of organic farming in the Czech Republic and Poland,
writes Chris Mercer.
FG Palm Oil has launched a new ingredient at this week's
Ingredients Russia show which it claims makes it ideal for
producers struggling in Russia's harsh winter - a palm oil with a
lower melting point. Angela Drujinina...
The Russian Union of Grapes and Wine Producers is launching an
annual exhibition and conference to address the challenges of
inadequate raw material supplies that have decimated the Russian
wine industry in recent years, writes Angela...
Number one cultures supplier Chr. Hansen is up for sale as its
major stakeholder decides to pull away from the ingredients slice
of the company to focus on the pharmaceutical unit. The move will
make the company's still growing...
After several months of tight margins and dipping sales vegetable
fats and oils supplier Aarhus United has turned the corner with
improved growth in the third quarter, helped by a strategy to focus
on the core market of speciality...
