Food Industry Archive

Yesterday I noted the impact of the Chinese tainted-milk scandal on a number of global food companies. Today, the Wall Street Journal takes an in-depth look at the problem. The scandal, the Journal states, “exposes one of the pitfalls of a key strategy of the world’s big multinational food companies: relying on local suppliers in emerging markets.” Yes, it does that for sure....

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Over on The Big Money, I note an article in Advertising Age about Starbucks‘ split with its lead ad agency, Wieden & Kennedy. Starbucks hasn’t relied all that heavily on traditional advertising, and many of its successes have come from co-branding efforts with other companies. Many of those were handled by agencies other than Wieden & Kennedy, with whom Starbucks now has...

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Many of the news reports about Chinese food products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine make sure to mention that U.S. consumers are safe, since the United States doesn’t import dairy products from China. But that doesn’t mean U.S. companies, along with companies around the world, are safe. On Monday, the British candy maker Cadbury has recalled all of its Chinese-made...

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I recently criticized an article in Food Processing magazine as beingnot much more than a puff piece celebrating the “green” initiatives of food companies. Many such initiatives aren’t much more than public-relations, but the magazine treated all of them as equal. The magazine has redeemed itself somewhat with an in-depth look at Hormel’s construction of a plant in...

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Diamond Foods cuts costs, triples Q4 profit — Nuts and snacks company Diamond Foods reported earnings of $2.6 million for its fourth quarter, compared to $774,000 in the same period last year. The company’s earnings increased 75 percent over the previous year. Diamond saved nearly $2 million in 2008 by restructuring its walnut processing operations, consolidating warehouses, and...

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A dustup this week over whether Bank of America would continue to finance expansion for McDonald’s franchisees highlighted how the restaurant industry is being affected by the credit crisis. Ironically, as I note in an article for The Big Money, McDonald’s is doing just fine — so far. Other restaurants? Not so much.

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More evidence that companies focused on home-cooking are profiting from the recession (or whatever it is): McCormick, the king of spices, posted better-than-expected earnings on Thursday. As more people cook at home, of course, they buy more spices. McCormick has been able to swallow up a competitor (Lawry’s), boost marketing spending, and even pass along higher costs to consumers in its...

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If you’re going to collude with your competitors to fix prices, the best time to do it is when prices in general are going up. It provides some cover. That’s what the federal government thinks may be happening in the tomato business and the egg-processing industry, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Prosecutors are probing both to determine whether there is collusion among...

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The first paragraph of an Associated Press article today: Combating the growing obesity problem among children will require stronger action at all levels from food makers to governments and schools, witnesses told U.S. lawmakers Tuesday at a hearing about how foods are marketed to kids. Notice anything missing there? That’s right, “parents.” Don’t get me wrong, I think...

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A couple of interesting tidbits from CNBC’s Eurocentric blog, which is using Germany’s Oktoberfest as an excuse to examine the state of the beer industry: It turns out that German makers of weissbier (wheat beer) are being hit hard by rising wheat prices, and competitors have an advantage thanks in part to Germany’s purity laws, called “the Reinheitsgebot,” which...

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