Swiss co-operative retailer Migros has ended 2003 with a slight
increase in sales compared to the previous year, with low levels of
consumer spending taking a major toll on its performance. But with
the increase coming only as a result...
Accession is due to impact inflation in Poland, with rising food
industry costs being passed on to consumers and pushing the overall
inflationary rate up to an estimated 3.1 per cent this year,
according to independent research.
Russian white sugar production from imported raw beet is reported
to be down by 23 per cent for the start of the year, as the sector
struggles against diminished supplies of raw materials and high
stocks of unsold processed sugar....
As one door closes another one opens with the Food Ingredients Asia
show that ended in Shanghai last week now replaced by the finished
foods exhibition SIAL China. At the opening event this week EU
agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler...
Ready-to-go food products continue to meet the needs of the UK
consumer, say market analysts Mintel, reflecting current
growth trends in the food industry and confirming the future
direction for food manufacturers playing to the UK...
China has recently relaxed the rules obliging foreign retail groups
to take a local partner, a move expected to lead to rapid growth in
the number of international retailers doing business there. But
despite Chinese consumers'...
Nestle's Hungarian division has announced a disappointing set of
financial results for 2003. Despite the fact that sales grew
significantly, the division was hit by the continuing strength of
the Swiss franc.
The Central and Eastern European packaging and processing sector
comes a very definite top with respect to market potential,
according to recent market research carried out for the Total
Processing and Packaging 2004, currently running...
Despite the development of a very important corpus of EU and
national legislation to protect EU citizens against currently
identified risks, several studies show that contradictory opinions
about perceived risks remain important among...
Danish fats and oils firm Aarhus United will shed a spinkling of
jobs in an effort to curb costs in the face of intensified
competition and lower than expected sales.
Driving into value-added bakery ingredients is a key area for
growth in the mature bakery market. Recently baptised Bakemark UK,
a new merger between Arkady Craigmillar, Readi-Bake and Caravan
Brill, the UK firm will tap into growing...
Hopping on board the fast-moving low carb train, Arla Food
Ingredients, the supplier of tooth-friendly sweetener tagatose,
says a new study from Australian scientists confirms the product's
low glycaemic response.
Britain's major food retail groups have frequently been accused of
contributing to the rapid demise of many town centres, with the
development of out-of-town supermarkets often leading to other
retail outlets setting up shop...
German retail giant Metro shrugged off currency effects and tough
economic conditions in its home market last year to post a 4 per
cent increase in sales - driven mainly by its larger store formats
such as cash & carry warehouses...
Convincing US consumers to buy bottled, purified tap water at a
premium price may be relatively easy for a company as adept at
marketing as Coca-Cola, but doing the same with the rather more
savvy European bottled water drinker appears...
Struggling British food retailer Sainsbury's has given itself a
£225 million shot in the arm with the sale of its US unit Shaw's to
the Albertsons chain. Despite good performances from Shaw's in
recent years - better,...
Days after EU ministers at the Agriculture Council huddled together
to chew over impending changes to the sugar regime, leading
sweeteners group Tate & Lyle tells the market that no surprises
are in store for 2005.
Exports of sugar confectionery from Switzerland rose by more than
10 per cent last year, offsetting a mediocre performance on the
home market. But with imports taking a lesser share of sales this
year, the industry hopes that focusing...
Maintaining a reliable source for food ingredient supplies has
proved to be one of the biggest challenges for Russian food
manufacturers in recent years. The National Food Ingredients
Manufacturers Union believes that a lack of domestic...
Competition in the European non-dairy sector stepped up last month
when the American organic and natural foods giant Hain Celestial
acquired the German soya-based desserts firm Natumi. A move set to
challenge the dominant player -...
One of Lithuania's leading grain processors, Malsena, has announced
that it is to invest in a pasta manufacturing venture aimed at
diversifying its current product portfolio and turning its
operations multifunctional.
Danish sugar and ingredients firm Danisco closes on its xanthan gum
production deal in China, consolidating the firm's stabiliser
presence in this emerging market. Just days after the firm posted a
weaker third quarter as higher...
The growing popularity of ethnic foods and the consumer drive for
health-conscious foods helped to lift first quarter figures for
leading spice maker and flavour provider McCormick with the US firm
reporting double digit sales growth...
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods has been hard hit by increased sales,
marketing and distribution costs of widening product portfolio. The
Russian dairy giant announced that its net income had fallen 40 per
cent, despite a significant increase...
China's packaging industry is currently undergoing a growth rate
that is set to turn the sector into one of the country's leading
industries. Fed by the continued growth of the country's food and
beverage industry,...
The Canadian subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever Canada joins
the growing ranks of manufacturers to cut the trans fatty acid
content out of food products.
Adding-value in the mature liquorice confectionery market is a key
area for growth for this flavouring ingredient and flavour
enhancer. With the launch of a new extract last year, German food
ingredients company Alfred L. Wolff is...
Spearheading growth in the increasingly mature caramel colour
market French starch manufacturer Roquette has teamed up with US
colour firm Sethness to target manufacturers in and around central
Europe.
UK supermarket giant Waitrose has emerged as the favourite to pick
up the biggest package of Safeway stores from WM Morrison. It is
expected to buy up to 25 supermarkets for between £250 million
(€374m) and £300 million.
Burgeoning Irish food ingredients group carves deeper into the US
market announcing it will buy into fast growing 'lifestyle'
beverages through the acquisition of two US companies, Oregon Chai
and Extreme Foods.
Tesco has raised £640 million (€973) by selling off 33 of its UK
stores. The supermarket chain plans to rent the stores on a long
leasehold and carry on running the operations, and claims that
customers will not see any change.
The expansion of the European Union from 15 to 25 Countries in May
2004 could signal the promise of lucrative new markets for banana
producers, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organziation.
A recent study in Bulgaria suggests that the country's eating
habits are out of step with the rest of Europe. According to the
research expenditure on bakery items is the highest per head in
Europe, whereas meat is one of the...
Companies working with soy and soy derivatives face continuing
price rises for the raw material as the US - a leading global
producer and exporter of the crop - raises concerns about the
'unusually low soybean stocks level'...
Food manufacturers using the sweetener cyclamate face change as
they come to grips with new European rules that radically reduce
the use of this man-made, non-caloric sweetener 30 times as sweet
as sucrose. German ingredients firm...
Food safety agencies the world over issue updated advice on the
consumption of fish by consumers, at the same time a panel at
Europe's food safety agency calls for further research into the
side effects of mercury.
Leading German hypermarket chain Kaufland has confirmed plans to
build its first hypermarket in Bulgaria. The outlet will be located
in Yambol, in the southeast of the country.
Wm Morrison plans to reduce prices on a further 2,000 Safeway
products over the next month as part of its move to slash prices
throughout the stores it acquired earlier this month.
Food ingredients companies head off to China with agriculture chief
Fischler next week on a mission to boost trade relations and create
new business opportunities for the food industry.
Heinz is dropping its healthy eating logo from cans of baked beans,
spaghetti and soups amid because it believes that the products will
fall foul of health targets being set by the UK government.
Franz Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development
and Fisheries, is to pay an official visit to China from 25 to 30
March 2004 to help consolidate what is becoming a vitally important
export market. Since 1978, EU-China...
The expansion of the European Union on 1 May will provide major
opportunities for British food and drink suppliers, both for
exporting their products and for establishing local production
facilities. But there are threats as well...
Bunge Europe is continuing to increase its share of the edible oils
market in the region. The US-owned agro-food giant has announced a
significant increase in its share of the Romanian edible oils
market for 2003, following its recent...
Following a visit by a key European Commission delegation, the
Bulgarian agro-food sector looks set to complete its accession
negotiations with the EU for 2004 - a move that will take it one
step closer towards the country's...
Dairy culture leader Chr Hansen carves a deeper position in
Ukraine, creating a platform to access a surging food market that
currently sees the majority of the population spending between half
and up to 80 per cent of their income...
Consolidation in the hydrocolloid industry, price pressure and
'functionality beyond texture' are on the agenda at the annual
industry event to open in San Diego at the weekend.
Somerfield, itself a takeover target last year, is the latest UK
supermarket retailer to move into the convenience store sector, a
movement led by larger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury. Evidence that
the UK's biggest High Street...
Mirroring the state of play for ingredients companies operating
into today's climate, price pressures put the squeeze on third
quarter margins for ingredients giant Danisco.
The decision by French retail group Guyenne & Gascogne to
rapidly amortise the goodwill it accumulated as part of its
investment in Spanish company Centros Comerciales Carrefour has
paid dividends, allowing the company to post...
