Browsing Archive: December, 2009
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 30, 2009,
In :
retail
Good news before 2009 ends....Holiday retail sales this year increased approximately 3.6 percent compared with 2008, and were bolstered by online shopping and electronics purchases, according to data from SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard.
Excluding auto and gasoline sales, there was a jump in purchasing the week before Christmas, the data shows, both online and at retail outlets across the U.S. Previously, the National Retail Federation had predicted a one percent decline in 2009 seas... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Friday, December 25, 2009,
In :
retail
Retail sales are continuing to rise in China, in a further sign of the resilience of the country's economy during the recession. The National Bureau of Statistics has reported that retail revenues in China expanded by 15.8% in November, to 1.13 trillion yuan ($165.5bn; €116.1bn; £103.8bn), although this rate of growth was down by 5% year-on-year. Urban areas delivered an increase of 16.5%, to 760.6 billion yuan, compared with an improvement of 14.4%, to 373.3 billion yuan, in rural markets. O... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Thursday, December 24, 2009,
In :
general
As 2010 is at our doorsteps, I like to share my expectations for coming year for food industry. 2009 was a year of global crisis, we have observed serious shifts in consumer behaviors. I believe in 2010 the effects of these shifts will continue. The most prominent change was the shift for cheaper alternative brands. This shift helped to prosper the private label market in 2009. I think the private label market will keep growing in 2010 since several researches' findings (most of which was ci... Continue reading ...
US food company HJ Heinz has acquired the remaining 49% of Egyptian condiments and sauces maker Cairo Food Industries which was its joint venture partner. Commenting on the deal, Heinz senior vice president Michael Milone said that it also furthered Heinz' global strategy to focus its product portfolio on core categories. “The acquisition of the remaining 49% shares of Cairo Food Industries fits perfectly into Heinz’s global strategy to focus its portfolio on three attractive core catego... Continue reading ...
French Dairy Company Lactalis has confirmed that it is in negotiations over the acquisition of Russia’s Efremovski combine, located in the Toula region.Lactalis already operates its own plant in Russia, where it produces processed cheese. Efremovski would be the French group’s first acquisition in Russia and will allow it to enter the hard cheese segment, representing around 65% of the country’s cheese market.
It is expected that a deal could be reached by mid-January.
Source: just-food... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 21, 2009,
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 21, 2009,
In :
M&A
Pruning
I love grapes. I recently had the opportunity to sample some grapes still growing on the vine. They were sweet and delicious. I wondered what made a grape vine successful and productive. Now I understand that it is the same process that makes our lives successful, happy, and productive.
The success of the grape vine and the production of juicy grapes are dependent upon the proper pruning of the vines. Only the green shoots from the plant bears the grapes. The vines must be trained ... Continue reading ...
Cadbury workers – as well as some politicians – fear that a foreign takeover could lead to local job losses and pay cuts in the UK and Ireland. Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Cadbury’s trade union Unite, said in a statement: "Cadbury is a great UK success story – and it was and is not for sale. But suddenly, a hostile bid and swarming speculators has thrown its future, its investment plans and the jobs of thousands of workers here and in Ireland up in the air.” The ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Friday, December 18, 2009,
In :
beverages
Coca Cola France has reformulated FANTA STILL only three months after the French government approved a form of the natural sweetener. France is the first European country to approve a stevia sweetener under a rule allowing member states to approve ingredients for a limited two year period, before the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gives full EU approval. The French decision to give the green light to 97 per cent purity rebaudioside A (Reb A) came in September, but food and drink m... Continue reading ...
JBS, Brazilian meat group, has announced a deal that will make it the largest lamb producer in Australia.
The company said yesterday (15 December) that it had agreed to pay Dutch meat business Vion Food Group US$30m for lamb processor Tatiara Meat Co.in Australia. The transaction, arranged through JBS's local subsidiary Swift Australia. Tatiara exports to the US, Canada and Europe and has annual revenues of around A$200m.The deal is subject to regulatory approval. JBS had also acquired in S... Continue reading ...
Kraft Foods said yesterday (15 December) that it had received clearance from US competition authorities to proceed with its proposed acquisition of UK confectioner Cadbury.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Kraft revealed: “The US competition condition to the offer is now satisfied.” According to a spokesperson for the company, Kraft now only requires regulatory clearance in the EU. Last week, the European Commission has exteded the deadfline for reviewing the proposals until... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 16, 2009,
In :
fresh food
Fresh Del Monte Produce is to launch a fresh fruit range with a ‘naked’ twist for the UK market.
The Del Monte Naked Fruit range includes extra sweet pineapple, orange, kiwi and melon products, which are pre-peeled, sliced and ready-to-eat, designed for “healthier ‘on the go’” snacking and dining, The new range will be available from January 2010. Continue reading ...
Cadbury yesterday (15 December) attacked predator Kraft Foods after the US food giant claimed Cadbury was opening its shareholders to "significant risk". Kraft, issued a statement and questioned the defense of Cadbury as an independent company which was centered on move to raise its sales, margins and dividend targets.Kraft questioned how the company could meet the loftier goals and insisted its bid would give better value to Cadbury investors.
"Kraft seem to have run out of ideas," a Cadbu... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 16, 2009,
In :
private label
Changing role of brands opens door to private label growth.
New research by The Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash., found the role of brands has shifted over time, creating new opportunities for store brands to move to the forefront and "perhaps even leapfrog national brands in such critical areas as ingredients, flavors, preparation, even packaging,"
In a webinar, which was also announced in this blog, titled "Private Label 2010: Three Key Battlegrounds for Brand Loyalty," Senior Vice President o... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 16, 2009,
In :
management
In December issue of Harvard Business Review (HBR) an article by Kale, Singh and Raman talks about a new M&A management model mainly applied by newly emerging multinationals of India, Korea, Turkey...Here is a short abstract from this article where also Ulker Group's management style for Godiva acquision has been extensively reviewed.
"Bucking conventional wisdom, some emerging multinationals are preserving the identity of companies they’ve taken over. By allowing them operational autonomy... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 16, 2009,
In :
retail
A 12-week analysis of more than 2 million grocery shoppers by Concept Shopping, Inc., Lisle, Ill., reveals that the top 10 percent of a given store's customers visit more than twice a week, spend more than $39.00 per visit and represent nearly 40 percent of the store’s total sales.
The study also found that these "most valuable" shoppers tend to remain very loyal to the store, with 95 percent continuing to shop there throughout the year. Conversely, only 34 percent of the store's worst sho... Continue reading ...
Consumer spending in Spain is likely to fall by almost 10% over the holiday season this year, with the climate unlikely to improve substantially in 2010, according to new figures. Deloitte, the consultancy, has predicted that expenditure levels in the country will decline by 9.1% over the festive period, compared with an average of 6.3% across Western Europe as a whole. Miguel Angel Fraile, general secretary of the Spanish Retailers Association, suggested that shoppers may be postponing making ... Continue reading ...
The comments by Roger Carr, Cadbury's chairman, came in a formal defence document issued to its shareholders today designed to thwart a £9.8bn hostile bid from Kraft.
Alongside the verbal rebuttal, Cadbury also laid out a series of targets for the next four years which it hopes will be enough to persuade shareholders to knock back Kraft's existing offer. They are:
Organic revenue growth of 5pc to 7pc a year
Margins of 16pc to 18c by 2013
80pc to 90pc operating cash conversion from ... Continue reading ...
Employees from a Chinese dairy company have been taken into police custody on suspicion of selling tonnes of melamine-tainted milk powder.
Three people from the Shaanxi Jinqiao Dairy Co, in northern Shaanxi province, have been detained and accused of producing and selling toxic food, Chinese state media reported yesterday.
The police operation comes just over a year after a nationwide contamination scandal involving the lacing of milk powder with the industrial chemical killed six and s... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 14, 2009,
In :
M&A
The Power of Commitment
There is a common thread that runs through successful activities, a common trait among successful people, and the key to the achievement of goals. That thread and trait is commitment. Merely wishing that something will occur or hoping that an act will lead to success is not sufficient; there must also be a commitment.
W.H. Murray, a man who climbed Mount Everest, offered the following insights to achieving a task or goal.
"Until one is committed, there is hesitance, th... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Friday, December 11, 2009,
In :
confectionery
On last Monday, cocoa futures climbed to the highest level since 1985 in London, boosted by speculation that supplies from the world's leading producer Ivory Coast may start to dwindle soon as disease is affecting yields there.
London's March cocoa rose about one per cent, to a peak of £2,249 a tonne. It was similar in New York where the benchmark March cocoa contract crept up $2 to finish at $3,378 per tonne, according to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO).
Cocoa production in ... Continue reading ...
European regulators have pushed back the deadline for their review of Kraft’s $16.1bn bid for Cadbury after the American company offered concessions, they said on Wednesday.
The European Commission has extended the deadline by ten working days from December 14 to January 6, its daily list of mergers and takeovers under review showed. This is in order to review concessions put forward by Kraft to help ease anti-competition concerns, although European regulators did not give further det... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Friday, December 11, 2009,
In :
food news
Today the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned of the fourth consecutive rise in its monthly Food Price Index, a ‘food basket’ made up of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar.
Food prices reached a peak in June 2008, causing serious food security concerns and rioting in some parts of the world. For the food industry, higher ingredient costs were passed along the food chain and had an impact on the bottom line of many businesses – not to mention end consumers... Continue reading ...
Unilever has recalled an estimated 10 million cans of its Slim-Fast ready-to-drink products in North America. The company said all flavours of the canned slimming beverage could be tainted with the micro-organism Bacillus cereus, as it issued a nationwide voluntary recall across both the United States and Canada.
The products are packaged in paperboard cartons and the affected products were also sold as individual cans at certain outlets.
Unilever said it was working with the US Food a... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 9, 2009,
In :
retail
The US retailer Wal-Mart revealed in its company-wide quarterly statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it would close approximately 23 outlets and certain access points in Seiyu subsidiary in Japan.
Wal-Mart bought shares in Seiyu in 2002, Japan's fifth-biggest retailer, later in March 2008 acquired majority interest and Seiku became a subsidiary of Wal-Mart. Seiku owns 371 stores in Japan (as of October 2009)
Source: just-food.com and wal-mart corporate site ... Continue reading ...
Confectionery, magazines and soft drinks are the top categories purchased frequently by the most shoppers on an impulse basis, according to a Front-End Focus consumer study.
Of the respondents, 90 percent told researcher Dechert-Hampe & Co. they occasionally purchase items from the checkout, which makes up more than one percent of total store sales.
The study, sponsored by Mars Chocolate North America, The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., The Coca-Cola Co. and Time-Warner Retail Sales & Marketing, show... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Tuesday, December 8, 2009,
In :
general
The UN Climate Change Conference got underway in Copenhagen. Over the next two weeks, delegates from 192 countries will be negotiating targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in particular by developed countries.
Throughout the conference, food production and agriculture will be much discussed. As the Confederation of the Food and Drinks Industries of the EU (CIAA) points out in a paper prepared in advance of Copenhagen, the issues of climate change and food security are "intrinsi... Continue reading ...
This news supports my comments few weeks ago that in Cadbury deal we should keep an eye on Hershey-Nestlé coalition....I still beleive there are good reasons and mutual benefits for them in such a joint take-over action. Most probably Cadbury will support any non-Kraft offer which is somehow higher than original Kraft bid.
US chocolate giant Hershey has been in contact with Nestle over a possible joint bid for Cadbury, according to reports.
An offer between the two could challenge the hos... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Tuesday, December 8, 2009,
In :
Marketing
Shopper marketing concept gets more and more important in FMCG. That's why although this is not a dierect food news I wanted to share it with you....
Major marketers like Procter & Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline are making increased use of shopper marketing in an effort to reach consumers at the decisive stage of the purchase process. A new study from Nielsen, the research firm, found that 9% of Americans "dislike" or "hate" grocery shopping, while 38% regard it as "a chore, but not difficult," and... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 7, 2009,
In :
retail
Retail sales in Russia will rise by 3% next year, with many multinational firms hoping to expand their presence in the country in order to tap into this growing market, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Total retail revenues stood at $480 billion (€319bn; £288bn) in the European nation last year – up by 27.5% on an annual basis – with food taking a 45.3% share of this figure. PricewaterhouseCoopers has predicted that 2009 will be a year of "consolidation" given the challenges of the e... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 7, 2009,
In :
Marketing
Kraft, the US food giant, is continuing to develop its presence on Apple's iPhone, as part of its broader effort to connect with consumers using mobile marketing. The owner of brands such as Oscar Meyer Deli and Philadelphia first launched its iPhone application, the iFood Assistant, late last year, charging consumers 99 cents to download it. Alongside a diverse mixture of recipes and videos, the device provided a range of other services, such as a virtual shopping list and a grocery store loc... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 7, 2009,
In :
confectionery
Nestlé has followed in the footsteps of Cadbury by announcing its flagship Kit Kat chocolate brand will be certified Fairtrade from next year.
The fmcg giant has scored a publicity coup by gaining endorsement from the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.
“The next step is to make all other produce Fairtrade where possible – in particular my own favourite, the Yorkie,” he said.
“This will depend largely on the Ivory Coast producing the large quantity and quality needed for Nestlé ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 7, 2009,
In :
frozen food
Unilever is reportedly considering the sale of its Italian frozen food business Findus Italy.
The consumer goods giant is working with Goldman Sachs on a deal worth up to €800m.
Birds Eye Iglo and the Findus Group are among the potential buyers, according to the Financial Times.
Findus Italy was the only part of Unilever’s European frozen food business that it kept when it sold Birds Eye and Iglo in 2006.
source: the grocer Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 7, 2009,
In :
confectionery
Barry Callebaut's chief executive said in an interview in a Swiss newspaper that the company still aims to dispose of its consumer chocolate business in 2010 following the failure of an attempt to sell to Spanish food group Natra earlier this year.
Barry Callebaut has taken a strategic decision to exit the consumer chocolate business and focus on its industrial operations. But a plan to sell its consumer interests, including the Alprose and Sarotti brands, to Natra in exchange for a 45-49 pe... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, December 7, 2009,
In :
M&A
"How Would You Perform Your Job If No One Ever Knew?"
What happens when others do less than is expected? What is our reaction? Our expectations for the performance of others may be very high. In many cases, we would not settle for less that the best.
We expect airplane mechanics to do their jobs because passenger's lives depend on it. We expect a nurse or doctor to do their best because our health and well-being depends upon it. We expect a sports player to do his or her best because we ha... Continue reading ...
Ocado, the online grocer, and French retail giant Carrefour have remained silent on speculation that the pair are engaged in talks over a potential partnership.
According to UK reports, executives from the two groups have met to discuss Ocado providing its software to facilitate the delivery of Carrefour products in France, beginning in Paris. The joint venture has the potential to boost Carrefour's online sales in its domestic market.
A spokesperson for the French group declined to com... Continue reading ...
LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kraft Foods made its formal $16.1 billion offer to Cadbury shareholders, triggering a two-month takeover fight for the chocolate maker and a frosty response from Britain.
UK business secretary Peter Mandelson warned the U.S. food giant it would face a backlash if it tried to buy Cadbury on the cheap. "If you think that you can come here and make a fast buck you will find that you face huge opposition from the local population ... and from the British government,... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Thursday, December 3, 2009,
In :
general
I have discovered a new facility in the blog site I am using. So, if you open one of my postings, now you should be able write your comments in the box you will see at the very bottom of my post. Let me know please if you have any problem in commenting. You are also very welcomed to send your comments directly to me ( turgut@ziyal.com) I can post them in the blog... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 2, 2009,
In :
beverages
British drinks giant Diageo Plc plans to eventually brew its Guinness beer in South Africa now that its new joint venture brewery near Johannesburg has started up, but local production is still some years off.
The new brewery at Sedibeng, south of Johannesburg, built by Diageo and Heineken started brewing its first Amstel and Windhoek beers four weeks ago, and is expanding to compete against the dominant local brewer SABMiller Plc .
"Our intention is to build the Guinness brand in South Afr... Continue reading ...
American banks JP Morgan and Bank of America are ready to lend Hershey more than $7bn (£4bn) to help it bankroll a bid for Cadbury that would challenge an offer for the UK chocolate maker from Kraft Foods.
City sources say Hershey is ready to offer $17bn, trumping Kraft's $16.2bn bid, which has fallen in value because the shares component has been hit by a fall in its stock price.
Hershey, which is smaller than Cadbury and already has debts of around $1.5bn, would help to fund a bid by m... Continue reading ...
Nestle India has confirmed that it is mulling a proposal that would see the company take ownership of the healthcare and nutrition business of Speciality Foods. In a note to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Indian unit of the Swiss food giant said that its board was meeting on 7 December to consider a possible deal.
Speciality Foods' healthcare nutrition business includes such brands as Resource, Optifast and Spert.
Source: just-food.com Continue reading ...
Consumer Reports assessed 382 chickens from 100 stores in the USA in its regular survey of chicken safety and found campylobacter in 62 per cent, salmonella in 14 per cent, and both bacteria in 14 per cent. A total of 34 per cent of birds were clean of both pathogens, which is double the figure found in 2007, but Consumer Reports did not find this cause for celebration.
The consumer watchdog called it a “modest improvement” and said the number of clean birds was still far smaller than t... Continue reading ...
Kraft Foods remains the favourite to buy Cadbury, a leading industry analyst claimed even if US chocolate maker Hershey tables a bid for the Dairy Milk maker.
Andrew Wood, senior research analyst covering European food companies at Sanford Bernstein, said Kraft was still the front-runner to buy Cadbury. Wood suggested, however, that a "likely" bid from Hershey - either on its own or alongside Ferrero or Nestle - would mean an acquisition of Cadbury would not be the "steal" that Kraft had ho... Continue reading ...
New York-based GfK Custom Research North America said America is entering a new age of "green pragmatism" in which attitudes toward environmentalism are shifting away from altruistic motivations toward more practical drivers such as saving money, improving health or safety, and offering better value.
Although more consumers than ever report they are making lasting changes in their environment-related behavior, new data from GfK Roper Consulting, the research firm's consumer trends divi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 2, 2009,
In :
beverages
New research from Mintel forecasts a positive reversal of fortune for this year’s wine sales.
Finally, some news to which retailers can drink: After declining 3.2 percent last year, U.S. wine sales are expected to grow 2.1 percent in 2009, as America finally puts the worst of the recession behind it.
Despite last year's slump, research from Mintel International Group, Chicago, indicates the wine market expanded 20 percent between 2004 and 2009, thanks to strong growth in the value s... Continue reading ...
Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Wednesday, December 2, 2009,
In :
confectionery
IRI reported flat dollar sales for 2009 Halloween candy sales (officially -0.07 percent). However, overall confectionery dollar sales have increased 3.6 percent for the most recent 52-week period. Halloween candy and gum saw a late spike in sales during the four-week period ending November 1, 2009. However, sales were soft in the early Halloween selling season this year. This would be anticipated in light of the continuing difficult economic climate.
For the most recent 52-week pe... Continue reading ...
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About This Blog:
| getfoodnews |
| Turgut@Getfoodnews.Com |
In this blog I try to compile the news related with food industry. This includes food companies, retailers, ingredients, regulations, mergers&acqusitions and others. In each post I try to designate the source of the news and add a link to the original document.
I hope you find it useful. For any comments please feel free to send me an email (turgut@getfoodnews.com). You can post your comments inside the boxes appearing at the end of each posting when clicked the headline.
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