Anders Moberg, chief executive of Dutch retail group Ahold, has
called for a group of disillusioned shareholders in the company to
back down from their threat of legal action in the interests of the
company's future development.
As the first case of mad cow disease sends US cattle prices
plunging on the markets and dozens of nations ban US beef imports,
new research shows that problems are starting at home in the
American kitchen as consumers begin to get...
While arch rival Sainsbury struggles to get even the basics right,
UK supermarket group Tesco continues to seek new methods of driving
its business. The company has also announced a share placement
which should help it raise £810...
India looks set to consolidate its somewhat unexpected position as
the world's largest whisky market in 2003, stretching further ahead
of its nearest rivals, according to a new report from market
analysts Canadean. ...
Speciality cakes is one of the fastest-moving sectors in the UK
baked goods market, and producers are continually looking for new
products to extend their presence in this sector.
When UK retailer Tesco announced in November last year that it was
to expand trials of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags on a
number of non-food items, its decision was met with a storm of
protest on the grounds that the...
More than other area of the packaged food market, chilled food
exhibits a qualitative difference between developed and emerging
regions, according to a recent report by market analysts
Euromonitor.
Pinpointing growth areas in the food industry, leading US flavours
company International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) is to break
ground on a new facility in the bakery and savoury application
areas.
An emergency decree passed late last month by the Italian
government in a bid to save dairy giant Parmalat from collapse
looks set to win support from the European Commission on the back
of guarantees that there will be no state bail-out...
Danone, the French dairy product, bottled water and biscuits group,
may have said that it is not interested in acquiring any assets of
bankrupt Italian group Parmalat, but this does not mean that it is
not on the acquisition trail.
Migros and Coop, the two leading co-operative food retailers in
Switzerland, have reported solid gains for 2003, despite continuing
tough conditions in the Swiss market as a whole.
Carrefour,
Europe's biggest food retailing group, has continued to prove that
growth can be achieved by companies with a major international
spread despite ongoing currency exchange rate concerns.
Organic foods in Europe is the focus of an upcoming hearing
organised by the European Commission with the ultimate aim to
formulate an action plan to boost the sector.
Sainsbury, the perennial underachiever in the UK retail sector, has
again reported a mixed set of quarterly results, with the Christmas
period boosting revenues towards the end of the third quarter and
offsetting another poor performance...
2003 was a year of frustrations for UK supermarket group Wm Morrison. Its
bid for larger rival Safeway made last January was not finally
approved until December, an 11 month period in which Morrisons'
continued improvement was...
German wholesale and retail giant Metro has ended 2003 with sales
growth at its expanding international business offsetting the
continued depression in its home market.
Opening Slovenian borders to allow increased imports of food
products made in the rest of the EU - and the ending of export
agreements with some non-EU countries - is likely to lead to more
pressure on domestic manufacturers, according...
Preliminary sales figures for 2003 released by Dutch retailer Ahold
today will make for broadly encouraging reading after a turbulent
year marked by fraud revelations and major restructuring moves.
As the scandal surrounding Italy's food and giant Parmalat deepens,
Berlusconi's government rustles up emergency measures to tackle
'Europe's Enron', with a strategy to save jobs and pay the
suppliers.
The European energy drink market has seen something of a slowdown
in growth in the last couple of years, as we reported earlier this week, with a plethora of
'me-too' products launched in the 1990s falling by the wayside in
US agro giant Cargill continues to spread its wings, announcing a
new Japanese collaboration for the distribution of its low-calorie
sweetener erythritol.
The trademark battle between Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar and US
giant Anheuser-Busch has continued this week with the resolution of
a dispute between the two players in South Korea.
Sales of pastries and baked goods suffered last summer because of
the exceptionally hot weather, but an excellent performance during
the colder winter months helped UK baked goods and sandwich
retailer Greggs to end the year on a...
Ireland kicks off the year with the presidency of Europe and, as
part of the scientific programme linked to the six-month
responsibility, the country will organise an international food
conference for the 17 and 18 June in Dublin.
The Big Food Group is thought to be the company most likely to
emerge victorious in the bidding war for UK convenience store
operator Londis, a reflection of the continuing improvement at the
company which just a few years ago was...
Some 47 per cent of UK parents regard their children's diet and
exercise as one of the top three things they worry about, and for 8
per cent this issue is their biggest cause for concern, according
to the findings of a recent...
Ireland's food and drink industry had a good year in 2003, at least
on export markets. The latest data from Bord Bia, the Irish food
board, show that exports were 2 per cent higher in 2003 than the
previous year despite weaker...
The world's top supplier of industrial chocolate to the
confectionery industry delivered a solid set of first quarter
figures yesterday with net profit rising by 17 per cent, boosted by
the integration of recently acquired US...
German retail group Schwartz is to open up to 30 stores in Hungary
over the next two years under its Lidl discount store banner,
according to reports in the Hungarian press.
French beverage group Castel is clearly confident of future growth
in Russia and the CIS. The company recently announced that it is to
invest heavily in BIH Brasseries Internationales Holding (Eastern),
its holding company in Armenia,...
Kalev, Estonia's leading confectionery producers, has acquired 99.1
per cent of compatriot Jarle, a producer of sweet and savoury baked
goods, according to the Baltic News Service.
Yu-Point, the largest grain trading company in Serbia and
Montenegro, is about to expand further with the help of a €12
million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development and Fortis Bank, a leading Dutch-Belgian...
Voicing his full support for reform of Europe's agricultural
policy, UK farm minister Lord Whitty told farmers this week to
'seize the opportunities' that could pave the way to a profitable
future.
Funding to bolster research into new food uses for cereals and
oilseeds is behind a fresh R&D strategy released by the UK
cereals industry this week, a move designed to open up new market
opportunities for the sector.
The spectacular growth rates of the late 1990s may be a thing of
the past, but the functional energy drink market in western Europe
shows little sign of running out of steam, according to a recent
report.
US moves into the emerging East European organic market were
highlighted this week in a new report from the US government that
reveals the market potential for US organic products in the Czech
Republic.
The recent announcement of a first confirmed case of BSE in the US
shows that concern about the safety of meat and meat products is
far from over, and that consumer demands for meat whose source is
traceable and quality unimpeachable...
What started out as a simple takeover of the UK-based convenience
store group Londis by Irish counterpart Musgrave now looks set to
become this year's equivalent of the Safeway affair, with a number
of rival bids thought to be...
Europe's largest food retailer Carrefour has followed its decision to withdraw
from the race to acquire Ahold's Brazilian assets with a further
reduction in its presence in Latin America.
Investment fund Russia Partners II has acquired the Moscow-based
Ice-Fili ice cream producer and confectionery group Zvezdny,
according to a report in the Vedomosti newspaper.
Japan looks set to regain its crown as the leading market for
flavoured alcoholic beverages (FABs), despite continued strong
growth in the market which usurped its position, the US.
The hypermarket store format is expected to take an ever increasing
share of Hungarian food and drink retail sales over the next few
years, according to a report in Menedzsmentforum.
Bunge, the world's top oilseed processor, last week said it was
looking to cream off a gain of about $2 million, or 2 cents per
share, on the sale of its US bakery business to privately-held Dawn
Food Products.
Moscow-based snack food company Bridgetown Foods has said that it
expects its trade turnover to double in 2004 compared to the US $65
million that the company is estimated to earn this year, according
to general director Dmitry Vasilyev.
