A slow but steady recovery at Iceland and innovative new customer
schemes at Booker will help the Big Food Group improve over time,
but for the first quarter of the year, the company managed little
more than a 'satisfactory'...
Safeway, the UK food retailer, has maintained sales and profits
during a difficult first quarter dogged by uncertainty over the
future of the chain. A resilient performance by the embattled
chain.
A new €3.5 million marketing campaign designed to promote the
consumption of fish and seafood was backed last week by the Spanish
Ministry of Agriculture. The campaign will also highlight the risks
of eating immature fish, which has...
Two companies at the forefront of the branded wine revolution have
joined forces to create a new brand with global sales aspirations.
Germany's Racke group and South Africa's KWV International launched
Golden Kaan at last...
Embattled Dutch retail chain is facing a new investigation to add
to the ones currently being carried out by the US authorities. But
this probe is much closer to home, being carried out by the public
prosecutor in Amsterdam.
Confectionery producers in Ukraine are confident that they will be
able to increase output by 10 per cent this year, mainly as a
result of a recovery in exports to Russia.
Strong growth in the US, but a slowdown in Europe marked the global
organic food and drink industry last year. Supply-demand imbalances
and trade barriers are some of the challenges the industry faces
today.
Food producers are being urged to take advantage of the growing
number of single person households by creating more products
designed for individual consumers. Singles across Europe spend more
than €140bn each year on food, drink...
Private agri-giant sells French oils company to joint European
venture following approval from the European Commission. The cash
back will be used to reduce debt.
Natural food colours offer not only colouring attributes, but
additional health benefits that could be leveraged into significant
value-addition for the final product, write market analysts Frost
& Sullivan. So why are New Zealand...
Food safety is making international headlines as the United States
and the European Union continue to take dramatically different
positions over this contentious issue. A food policy think-tank
raises concerns that these transatlantic...
The popularity of absinth, the lurid green drink, is on the rise,
despite being banned in the early part of the century. A German
assessment of the safety of the drink found that consumers could
still be at risk, albeit from alcohol...
Europe's food industry has welcomed yesterday's decision not to
further reduce the threshold level for the labelling of GM
ingredients in foodstuffs, but remains deeply concerned about the
new labelling requirements also...
Sales of Britvic's new milk-based carbonate Freekee Soda, launched
earlier this year, have been disappointing - evidence of the
difficulty of marketing any new product to that most fickle of
consumers, the teenager, claim market...
Somerfield, the UK supermarket group, is pleased with its recovery
but wants to increase the pace of development for its new store
formats to consolidate its position in the convenience store
segment.
Not content with criticising UK market leader Tesco at every turn,
Friends of the Earth is now gunning for world number one Wal-Mart,
accusing it of exploiting planning loopholes to extend floorspace
at 40 Asda stores. But Asda has...
Last week's agreement on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy -
even watered down as it was - has been welcomed by the EU's food
and drink manufacturers as a step in the right direction.
US spice maker McCormick & Company saw profits in the
second-quarter climb 19 per cent, helped by solid sales growth and
interest income from a purchase-price adjustment.
Belgian retail group Colruyt has reported profits up 22 per cent
for 2002/03, well ahead of analysts expectations and despite
continued troubles at its computer retailing arm.
Basque retailer Eroski remains committed to expanding its business
this year, despite the increasing levels of red tape which are
slowing down new store development.
Bill Grimsey, chief executive of the Big Food Group which owns the
Iceland retail chain, has welcomed the suggestion that Morrisons is
leading the bidders for Safeway, but repeated calls for a more
intelligent assessment of the UK...
On the second day of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)
Annual 2001 meeting in New Orleans, US nutrient systems company
Fortitech and chemicals...
Unilever Bestfoods, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods producer, is
unlikely to win many new followers for its Marmite brand with its
latest advertising campaign - but then, as market analysts
Datamonitor point out, that is not really...
Frank Curci, head of the Tops Markets supermarket group in the US
has carried the can for the $29 million in accounting
irregularities recently uncovered at the Ahold unit - the latest in
the ongoing saga which has seen the rapid...
The EU and Canada have reached an agreement on the protection of a
number of wine and spirit terms, including Bordeaux, Champagne and
Grappa. But the EU's fight for protection of these names is likely
to be much harder when it...
The UK Food and Drink Federation (FDF), the self-styled voice of the UK food and
drink manufacturing industry, has launched a new website dedicated
to providing information for food manufacturers about the out of
home and foodservice...
Telepizza, the Spanish fast food pizza producer, has decided to
play to its strengths and focus on its takeaway business, the
company announced yesterday. Its plans to open a 120-strong chain
of La Piazza pizza restaurants have been...
Nestlé's strategy for exploiting the functional food opportunity
seems to rest in careful partnerships with other top FMCG
companies. By aligning its interests in nutraceuticals with other
partners it can spread risk, speed up...
Rhodia Food, a subsidiary of French company Rhodia, has
strengthened its position in Australia with the signature of a
distribution agreement with Australian chemical giant Orica.
The battle to buy up UK supermarket retailer Safeway is still very
much on, as the Competition Commission announces that its enquiries
are ongoing and that the final decision on the four main rival
bidders is still some way off.
Dutch company DSM continues its strategy to develop activities in
the field of life sciences with the announcement this week that it
has acquired Plasticoat, the cheese coating business with an annual
turnover of €10 million, from...
Gordon's, currently the biggest gin brand in the UK, has launched a
£5m advertising campaign designed not only to boost sales of the
brand but also to reinvigorate the UK gin market as a whole,
according to brand owner Diageo.
Consultancy firm Market Advice reports that the Russian
confectionery industry is in good shape. The agency has produced a
detailed analysis of the industry and predicts that off the back of
increased demand for all things sweet,...
The European food and drink industry - the second largest world
exporter of processed foodstuffs - made calls for a fairer playing
field for members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at a
conference held in Brussels last week.
Winners of the inaugural 'Ireland The Food Island Food & Drink
Industry Awards' were announced Friday, which included Kerry,
Glanbia and Dew Valley for categories as diverse as environmental
best practice, innovation...
Marks & Spencer is the first retailer in the UK and Ireland to
use a new type of eco-friendly wrap for its butter packaging.
LeanCover is said to be very resource efficient and has a low
environmental impact.
South Africa's Distell group is hoping to push international sales
of its market-leading Nederburg brand after a significant
investment in brand support, production and logistics. Germany,
Ireland and Canada top the list of major...
Privately-held Swiss botanical extracts company Emil Flachsmann is
to come under the wing of flavours multinational Frutarom,
following an agreement between the two companies announced this
week. The combined businesses expect sales...
A satisfactory fourth quarter helped Danish ingredients giant
Danisco achieve a 17 per cent increase in earnings per share for
the 2002/2003. The company reports a particularly strong
performance from its texturant products which...
Convenient breakfast cereals, soluble Spanish coffee, snacks you
can eat with one hand and confectionery bubbles all feature in
Mintel's latest monthly round up of new product innovation.
Bakery firm Entenmann's is expanding into the UK frozen dessert
category with a range of serve-from-the-freezer products. The move
is part of the brand's bid to become a major player across all
ambient, chilled and frozen...
Growing consumer awareness about health issues and the potential
benefits of a healthy diet, mixed with concerns about genetic
engineering, have created an expanding market for natural and
organic products. A look at the Mintel Global...
Fairtrade mangoes from Burkina Faso, Mexico and Equador have been
given a major distribution boost in the UK this week, with the
announcement that the two leading supermarket groups, Tesco and
Sainsbury's, are to add them to...
Longer working hours, higher incomes and the demand for convenience
and variety are among the key growth drivers for ready meals,
according to a recent report from market analysts
Euromonitor.
The innovative world of flavours is experiencing more rapid growth
than the overall food industry, giving fresh momentum to the
essential oils and oleoresins market, confirms a new study from
Frost & Sullivan.
Talks on solutions to combat the growing global incidence of
chronic disease continued this week when officials from the World
Health Organisation (WHO) met in Geneva with representatives of
some 30 food, beverage and producer associations.
