As the Internet slowly carves a place in the day to day running of
food businesses, B2B marketplace Transora, one of the ongoing
survivors in a difficult environment, has formed an alliance with
GlobalNetXchange (GNX), a B2B marketplace...
Italian energy company Edison and the French consortium bidding to
buy its majority stake in sugar maker Beghin-Say said on Wednesday
that the price was likely to be reviewed on the imminent deal.
There is just one remaining bottle of The Macallan Scotch whisky
distilled in 1841, but after almost a year of work, the company has
released a replica of the whisky offering drinkers the chance to
taste the 160-year-old Scotch.
With the four major international bottled water groups and a
handful of strong local players all keen to grow sales, the bottled
water market in East Europe has grown strongly in spite of economic
troubles in many markets - and is...
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) this week
announced potential changes to the Food Standards Code involving
the approval of oil and linters from a genetically modified,
insect-protected cotton variety as a food and...
A federal government bail-out of the Australian sugar industry was
under threat on Tuesday after business and opposition groups, in
particular food manufacturers, objected to a three cent a kilogram
levy to fund the $120 million plan...
Too much legislation can be a bad thing, at least when it comes to
restricting the free growth of the Spanish retail sector, according
to speakers at a conference held in Madrid last week.
When David Byrne, European Commissioner responsible for Health and
Consumer Protection, issued a message of support this week to the
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) ahead of its 5th annual
meeting, it is unlikely that he anticipated...
It is an undeniable truth of the western world that the days of
'going to work on an egg' are fast disappearing into the
advertisement archives of the 1970s. Busier working lives, eating
for energy rather than pleasure and...
The UK's number one supermarket group Tesco currently has around
100 convenience stores operating under the Tesco Express format,
but will lift this to more than 550 within three years following
the acquisition of the T&S...
For small and medium-sized food producers, getting their products
listed with the retail chains is a constant struggle, but as
visitors to last week's SIAL exhibition heard, the supermarket
groups are ready to listen, provided...
Japanese seasoning maker Ajinomoto lifts targets for pharmaceutical
division with the aquisition of Shimizu Pharmaceutical, an unlisted
drugmaker based in central Japan.
Mergers and acquisitions in the food industry continue this week
with acquisitive Canadian company Stake technology taking over US
ingredients company Opta Food Ingredients at the price of €28m. The
move marks a bid by Stake to build...
The effects of a downturn in German imports and the events of 11
September took their toll on Bordeaux wine exports in 2001/02,
according to the latest CIVB data.
A recent study from Japan, published in Experimental Eye
Research and reported in the latest issue of the New
Scientist, suggested that diets high in the flavour enhancer
monosodium glutamate could lead to vision loss. The glutamate...
Dutch retail group Ahold is to combine its businesses in Poland,
Slovakia and the Czech Republic into one unit, Ahold Central
Europe, in a bid to improve economies of scale.
Lengthy negotiations with minority shareholders have finally been
completed, leaving the path clear for the merger of Spanish food
groups Sos Cuetara and Koipe to form the country's third-largest
food group.
European Union leaders claimed a breakthrough on Thursday on the
path to expanding the bloc into eastern Europe after France and
Germany reached a landmark deal to control farm spending after
2007.
Things are not looking good for Ahold, the Dutch retail group which
for many years has been the darling of the stock market.
Substantial write downs from its South American business announced
earlier in the year have now been followed...
Siku, which means 'ice' in Greenlandic, is the brand name of a
range of drinks - a beer, a vodka and a bottled water - made using
water from the Qualerit glacial ice field in Greenland.
The fact that the new owners of a 15 per cent stake in the Big Food
Group, owner of the Iceland supermarket chain, are from Iceland
themselves has nothing to do with the purchase. It is all about
investing in an undervalued company,...
Ocean Spray, the US co-operative group best known for its cranberry
juices, has launched a new grapefruit juice which it claims can
give drinkers an energy boost and meet all their vitamin C
requirements.
In a bid to improve its focus and accelerate growth from January
2003 UK chemical compny Croda International will have a new name
and a new structure to its European chemicals operations.
Les Petits Voyageurs, a range of four lunchboxes designed to help
children get a balanced meal and parents to provide them with it
with the minimum of fuss, is one of the most innovative products
launched at this week's SIAL...
Today marks the final time the doors of global food exhibition SIAL
will open in 2002. As visitors continue to pour through the
entrance of six exhibition halls, the popularity of this vast food
show remains certain. On the final...
Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland said on Wednesday that
quarterly earnings fell almost 18 per cent because of high
commodity prices that cut into its corn and oilseed processing
margins, but the results beat analysts'...
Higher volume food and beverage flavour product sales to existing
customers contributed to a net increase for the third quarter for
flavours company Technology Flavors & Fragrances.
According to a research study published today by Standard &
Poor's Rating Services, the credit quality of mainstream German
food retailers is coming under pressure.
US federal regulations on using the term "organic" only went into
full effect on Monday, but they are already rapidly transforming a
niche of the coffee industry and will cost consumers more, experts
say.
Swedish company Ceba Foods launched a non-dairy alternative to milk
and soya drinks on the Spanish market this week. Oatly Organic is
free from lactose, milk protein and soya, and the company claims, a
more wholesome accompaniment...
Food ingredients company Opta Food Ingredients this week boasted a
healthy 24 per cent increase in revenue for the third quarter with
the demand for fibre products largely fuelling the growth and
catapulting the company into the black.
New organic food labels regulated by the US Agriculture Department
which were launched this week have been welcomed by most US
producers as a useful marketing tool, but the move could shut out
many smaller European farmers from the...
Analysts of the Japanese functional food market shed light on the
€8.4bn Japanese nutritional supplement market with the release of a
new report. Growth remains, strong despite general economic
downturn, with the forecast optimistic...
New report reveals that growth in value-added products designed for
specific applications is set to drive the food additives market in
the US. Flavours will gain nearly fifty per cent of the market,
with alternative sweetners revealing...
Over 5000 exhibitors from 98 countries are boasting their wares in
Paris this week as SIAL, a fantastic celebration of food and drink,
opened its doors on Sunday to an expected 130,000 visitors. One key
issue being discussed here...
Bunge, the world's largest oilseed processor, which recently
acquired a 55 per cent stake in rival French-based Cereol, said
yesterday that quarterly earnings rose sharply as a slump in the
Brazilian currency helped boost the...
It is an undisputable fact that modern consumers are constantly
driving food developers to new heights - and it is nowhere more
evident than in the field of health. At SIAL, the food and drink
industry extravaganza taking place in...
A dispute over the rights to one of Russia's best-known brands,
Stolichnaya, has spread to Germany where the vodka and other brands
owned by the SPI Group have been banned from sale.
Sales of organic juices in Europe are projected to reach €90
million in 2002, according to a study by Organic Monitor which
states that the rise in popularity is a result of consumer demand
for healthy foods.
Spain's food and drink exports continue to grow steadily each year,
but the economic difficulties expected in many of its core overseas
markets will force the industry to concentrate on more product
promotions.
Genetically modified foods, currently fuelling fiery debates across
the world, could help to make the life of the cook more pleasant.
In a new study from Japan, researchers claim to have identified the
enzyme that releases a tear-duct-tickling...
A successful trial of three Marks & Spencer Simply Food outlets
has prompted the company to extend the number of stores to 40 in
railway stations across the UK over the next three years.
The Brussels authorities has ruled that the acquisition of French
Champagne house by Frere's CNP company will not lead to any
dilution of competition in either the wine or the perfume sectors.
In a week of news awash with food safety scares, consumers will
find some comfort today with a report from the UK Food Standards
Agency that reveals health risks arising from mixtures of low-level
pesticides in foods - the so-called...
Speakers at a recent conference on the draft wine law currently
going through the Spanish parliament have stressed the beneficial
effects the law is likely to have on improving quality and reducing
over-production.
Like Carrefour last week, French retailer Casino has reported third
quarter results severely impacted by the effect of exchange rates,
in particular from its Latin American unit. But sales nonetheless
progressed during the quarter.
Carlsberg's head of supply chain, Jette Knudsen, is to leave the
group in December after a disastrous summer season which saw the
company recall millions of cans of sour-tasting beer from the
domestic market.
