Food Industry Archive

Food Processing’s list of the Best New Products of October 2008 includes Oogies, a “healthy alternative” to other salty snacks. Of course, everything is relative. Oogies, a popcorn snack, uses “all natural ingredients,” Food Processing enthuses. That list includes 100 percent corn oil, maltodextrin and corn syrup solids. Oogies contains 160 calories and provides...

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More people are staying home instead of eating out — but traffic at fast-food joints is actually up. The catch is, customers are opting for the best deals, like $1 mini-burgers or 89-cent tacos. Restaurants are rolling out cheap specials to compete for these customers, but increased ingredient costs are squeezing the profit margins on these low-priced items. “These 99-cent and...

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The Justice Department has joined 13 states in suing to block a merger that would make the world’s largest beef processor much larger. JBS, of Brazil, wants to acquire National Beef Packing of Kansas City, Mo. For $560 million. National is the fourth-largest such operation in the United States. The Justice Department says the deal would push up prices for consumers and push down prices...

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During an investor conference the other day, Heinz finance chief Art Winkleblack noted how the company’s “comfort foods” make it well-positioned to thrive even in a down economy. He also said that the company is also well-positioned to grow through acquisitions — a word not much heard lately, at least not in a positive way. The “pool of potential acquisition...

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A lawsuit by an abruptly laid-off employee alleges that Archway Cookies LLC violated state and federal labor laws because the company gave no warning before shutting down operations earlier this month. The suit, by employee Jeffrey Austen, says the company, owned by the private-equity shop Catterton Partners, broke both California law and the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining...

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Domino’s Pizza, after reporting disappointing sales and a drop in third-quarter profit, reported Tuesday that its ability to draw upon its variable funding notes had been sharply reduced from $90 million to an estimated $21.7 million — after Lehman Brothers, the primary provider of those funding notes, declared bankruptcy. Despite the fact that operating margins remain under...

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H.J. Heinz’s low-priced “comfort foods” will help the company weather the turbulent economy, according to Art Winkleblack Heinz’s chief financial officer. “Remember, we’re not selling cars or washing machines,” he said during an investor conference on Tuesday. “We’re selling one-, two-, three-dollar products. A lot of our products are...

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Kellogg has never scrimped on research and development. Its W.K. Kellogg Institute for Food and Nutrition Research is considered to be among the best research facilities in the corporate world. The company spent $179 million on R&D last year. But Kellogg can always use some new ideas. So it is asking you for yours. “Do you have a new product that’s partially or fully developed and...

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Jones Soda, which had thrived by being as different as possible from Coke and Pepsi, made a huge mistake by trying to take the soft-drink giants on directly, and now it’s fighting for its life. Even in good times, Jones’ attempt to enter the canned-soda market would have been ill-advised. Coming as it did just as the consumer economy was teetering and just before the financial...

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In what may be a harbinger of things to come, the Archway & Mother’s Cookie Co. abruptly declared bankruptcy and announced it would cease operations, taking down several storied brands, including Archway Oatmeal Cookies, Circus Animal Cookies, and Salerno Butter Cookies. The company is owned by Catterton Partners, a private-equity shop, which purchased it from the Italian food...

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