Guyenne & Gascogne has by and large benefited from its alliance
with larger counterpart Carrefour over the years, but in today's
climate of weak consumer spending, the French company is suffering
a result of its focus on...
Ahold has reached an agreement with its Scandinavian joint venture
partner ICA Förbundet over the acquisition of a 20 per cent stake
in the ICA AB retail unit previously owned by the Norwegian firm
Canica.
Higher prices for Italian tomato ingredients could be on the way as
heavy rains during the transplantation phase, hail storms and
phytosanitary problems knock tomato production, report economists,
that add new labelling rules for...
Budejovicky Budvar, the Czech brewer, has taken a different tack in
its attempt to stop arch rival Anheuser-Busch from using the
contested brand name Budweiser. But the bid to stop the US group
from using the name for entertainment...
With food scares, health concerns and sustainability issues playing
heavily on consumers' minds - and influencing their shopping habits
- the humble food label has never played a more important role. But
how can consumers be...
Rising commodity and ingredients prices continue to hit the global
food chain with US food giant Kraft the next in line to be hit by
price pressures suggesting that despite reasonable fourth quarter
figures, the soaring costs are...
Food marketers will find more evidence to support their ongoing
drive to tempt the consumer with health conscious food products
from a new report that shows Britain's tastebuds are shifting away
and fruit is the number one snack.
The purchasing clout of the major British supermarkets is often
criticised, not least for the apparently detrimental effect it has
on suppliers. But the relationship between the retailers and their
suppliers is not always one of squeezed...
Faced with rising costs for starch ingredients sourced from
stock-squeezed wheat and corn the global food industry is on the
look out for better value alternatives. A recent report on the
modified starch market suggests that the tropical...
As food makers continue to roll out new low carb food products to
meet the rise in demand from consumers, starch supplier MGP
Ingredients has agreed to link up with agri-giant Cargill to push a
new resistant starch product aimed at...
With food scares, health concerns and sustainability issues playing
heavily on consumers' minds - and influencing their shopping habits
- the humble food label has never played a more important role. But
how can consumers be...
Could the popularity of the much-vaunted - and much-criticised -
low-carb diet fad already be on the wane? Manufacturers have
invested heavily in new low-carb products to tap into the trend,
and stand to lose a lot if, as one survey...
Long-awaited changes to Europe's heavily subsidised sugar regime
are on the way after the European Commission tabled a new set of
rules that could lead to cheaper sugar ingredients, writes
Lindsey Partos.
When Stuart Rose, the new chief executive of Marks & Spencer,
unveiled his plan for turning the company round this week, the
question on most people's lips was whether it would be enough to
stave off a possible bid from his...
Britain's biggest retail group Tesco has finally made its first
entry into the massive Chinese market, finally sealing an on-off
deal with local group Ting Hsin. The UK's leading retailer now
joins Europe's biggest...
The alcohol policies of two EU Member States have been the focus of
differing judgements this week. Both France and Sweden claim that
their policies are designed to protect public health - but this, it
seems, is only acceptable when...
Dairy producers in the Baltic State of Lithuanian are in line to
receive up to €20 million in EU export subsidies for products
exported to third countries, the country's Institute of Agrarian
Economics is forecasting.
Nemiroff, one of the leading producers of vodka in the
Ukraine, says it will invest in two more bottling lines for its
newly opened plant in the town of Nemirov. The extension will
increase production of both its vodka and alcopops...
The Alpha Group, a private Russian financial company, has confirmed
that it is has bought a 10.4 per cent of the voting shares in
Russia's number two brewer, Sun Interbrew
for an undisclosed sum. The move gives the investor its...
Danish brewing group Carlsberg has confirmed that the EU Commission
of Securities and Exchanges has approved its application to delist
its 93.73 per cent stake in Polish subsidiary Carlsberg Okocim from
the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
German group Rewe has announced a multi million euro joint venture
with the Russian Marta Group to expand into the former Soviet
Union's food retail market. The project will focus on the growing
neighbourhood shopping sector...
Croatia's largest food company, Agrokor, has moved into the
Hungarian market after buying up ice cream maker Baldauf and
mineral water producer Fonyódi ásványvíz.
A US firm is to use the zero calorie sweetener sucralose for a new
chocolate drink - further evidence that opportunities continue to
grow for the sweetener produced by UK ingredient supplier Tate
& Lyle.
An increasingly sophisticated food market in the Middle East will
open up opportunities for food makers and suppliers of third
generation, added-value whey products in Saudi Arabia and Egypt,
writes Lindsey Partos.
Marks & Spencer's new chief executive Stuart Rose has completed
his review of the company's business, and it makes for pretty
depressing reading for M&S shareholders - not least the 'middle
class and boring'...
Ahold, the Dutch retail group, faces a serious setback in its
efforts to rebuild its financial credibility after its Nordic joint
venture partner Canica decided to sell its 20 per cent stake in the
Swedish ICA group - a stake which...
Price cutting by the major UK retail chains has taken its toll on
Iceland's burgeoning recovery in the first quarter - and changes at
Safeway and J Sainsbury are likely to keep the pressure on prices
well into the second half.
Efforts by Scotch whisky makers to attract a younger client base
are coming thick and fast, as distillers seek to break the
stranglehold of white spirits on the UK youth market. But is the
'pipe and slippers' image of whisky...
In what is likely to be a clear warning to food makers, McDonald's
faces a damaging court case after a US public interest group
accused the fast food giant of falling short of promises to remove
artery clogging trans fats used...
Thousands of food ingredient specialists will pour through the
doors of the Las Vegas Convention Center tomorrow to learn about
the latest formulations as the 2004 IFT annual meeting kicks off in
the gaming capital.
The Korean biotech company Eugene Science has teamed up with Archer
Daniels Midlands (ADM), giving ADM the marketing rights in Europe
and North America for Eugene Science's Euchol phytosterol
technology.
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods has confirmed the creation of a new top
management position with the appointment of former Danone executive
Jacques Ioffe as deputy CEO for Strategy and Business Development -
a move that boosts the company's...
The French are among the most frequent breakfasters in Europe,
according to a recent study - but traditional tastes are changing
rapidly with cereals beginning to take considerable market share
from the less trendy crackers and biscuits....
After months of unsuccessful talks, the US yesterday successfully
secured a World Trade Organisation panel to investigate its claim
that the Mexican 'discretionary tax' introduced for corn sweeteners
such as high fructose...
Salt levels in pizzas, baked beans and canned pasta still vary
greatly, despite repeated claims by manufacturers that they are
taking action to lower the level of the ingredient, shows a study
by the UK Food Standards Agency. More...
Being the biggest does not mean being the best, it appears.
Europe's largest food retailer Carrefour has announced that it will
not meet its sales targets for 2004 after a second poor quarter
from its French hypermarket division.
UK sugar and dairy powder supplier Napier Brown Foods will buy up
glucose supplier James Budgett Sugars in a deal announced this week
worth £17.5 million (€26.2m).
UK-based Northern Foods, one of the biggest suppliers to UK retail
giant Marks & Spencer, wants to establish new conditions before
agreeing to proposed price cuts and margin improvements, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Two of the UK's troubled supermarket groups head up this week's
round up of news from the European retail arena. Neither Marks
& Spencer nor J Sainsbury have had much to be happy about in
recent months, and, frankly,...
Hanging as a persistent threat to the chocolate industry witches'
broom disease is capable of wiping out entire cacao crops and
sending the price of chocolate rocketing. Despite ongoing research
into the threat confirmed by the...
The thorny issue of the way in which the food industry promotes its
products to children is to be addressed by the UK's Food Standards
Agency. But will the latest government action plan - which is still
based on voluntary action...
US giant processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and currently the
world's number three food group will ramp up production capacity at
four of its key processing plants at the company's North American
Oilseed division.
Leading chocolate ingredients supplier Barry Callebaut is targeting
the European chocolate and cappuccino vending mix business with the
acquisition of cappuccino mix company AM Foods from Nordic dairy
firm Arla Foods.
American wine consumers believe wine bottles should still be sealed
with a natural cork, despite the claimed technical benefits of
screw-caps and synthetic corks, although they appear to be more
willing to consider alternative closures...
Philip Green, the billionaire retail entrepreneur, has renewed his
bid to take over ailing clothing-to-food group Marks & Spencer
amid an increasingly bitter battle of words with opponents of the
bid.
Heinz of Poland has confirmed that its production facility in
Pudliszki in the west of Poland is undergoing production trials for
Heinz products that are currently manufactured in western Europe,
suggesting that big change could be...
Rakvere Lihakombinaat, an Estonian meat processing business owned
by the Finnish HK Ruokatalo group, says it is mulling plans to
start exporting its meat products to the vast Russian market,
according to a Ruokatalo manager in charge...
The Central Bank is expecting deflation of food prices in the
summer months, while prices will grow in September through
December, but at a lower pace than in April when the growth was
much higher than expected creating uncertainty...
