The credit squeeze isn’t putting American farmers in any immediate danger, and despite volatile pricing, demand for crops should hold steady, executives from Monsanto said today as the company released its third-quarter results. Monsanto is the world’s largest producer of cropseed. CEO Hugh Grant told analysts on Wednesday that, although grain markets are in turmoil, rising...
Food Industry Archive
October 2008
The downturn is hitting the casual-restaurant sector more than most. Pretty much everything is going against them: customers avoiding them like the plague, rising costs, and no access to credit, which many of them need if they are to have any hope of competing. As I note over at The Big Money, this is no time for a rich management buyout offer, and Tillman Fertatti, the CEO of Landry’s,...
Safeway in recent years has zigged where (at least in retrospect) it should have zagged. It tried going upscale, offering more and better fresh produce, and gourmet selections. In essence, it tried to be the middle-class-man’s Whole Foods. Nobody could have known that the recession would hit consumers so hard so fast, sending so many of them to bargain chains like Wal-Mart and Kroger,...
Will small grocery stores built by major chains prove to be a successful alternative to huge supermarkets? Perhaps, over the long run. But will they prove to be successful during possibly severe recession? We may soon find out. Wal-Mart tomorrow will open the first four of its Marketside stores in the Phoenix area. Wal-Mart is calling the four stores a “test” of the concept....
Good news, junk-food peddlers: as the economy sinks, people are buying fewer (pardon the term) “wellness” products. As reported by Food Processing, a study from Faith Popcorn’s firm BrainReserve has found a sharp drop in demand for organic products – more than half of consumers surveyed say they are buying fewer of them. Nearly half say they are eating less healthfully, and...
Lipton Milk Tea recalled in Chinese melamine scare — After discovering traces of melamine in samples of its powdered Lipton Milk Tea, Unilever recalled four batches of the beverage that were sold in Hong Kong and Macau. [Source: CNN] Yum Brands adding calorie information to menus — As part of a larger health and wellness program, company-owned Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken,...
Once again, California seems to be setting nation’s pace on legislation: in the wake of a state law mandating restaurant chains to include calorie counts on menus or menu boards, Yum Brands has announced that it will do so nationwide starting in 2011. Yum owns KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and other chains. The company wants to see a national law modeled on California’s. That makes...
- QuikTrip Campaign Gets Honest and Scoffs at Obesity Concerns
- No Action from New Cadbury Contestants, But Plenty of Talk
- Anticlimactic End to High Profile Agriprocessors Immigration Raid
- Industry Should Find Alternatives to BPA
- KFC Winning Chicken War Over El Pollo Loco
- Hershey and Ferrero's Cadbury Interest Unlikely to Push Up Kraft Bid
- FDA Accused of Caving to Industry in Oyster Row
- Agriprocessors Verdict, Pending Immigration Charges, and a Bizarre Response
- Burger King Goes Too Far in Price War
- More on Starbucks Barista Discontent over Pushing Via
- Food Companies Cut Down on Ingredients, If Not Sugar or Fat
- Assault on Salt Inspires New Products and Strategies
- Dairy Industry Attacks Sodas to Defend Chocolate Milk
- Dean Foods Accused of Silk Soy Milk 'Bait and Switch'
- Kraft Battle for Cadbury Takeover Just Beginning
- Glenn Beck More Popular Than Ever Despite Boycott
- Meat Industry: Meatless Monday Threatens Our Way of Life
- Food, Soda and Candy Bar Companies Unite to Fight Obesity
- Despite Industry Efforts, 'H1N1' Will Never Replace 'Swine Flu'
- New York City Attacks Sugary Soft Drinks with Ad Campaign
- Industry Should Find Alternatives to BPA
- New 90 Calorie Coke Can is Good Business Strategy, If Nothing Else
- No Industry Enthusiasm for PETA's Vegan Proposal
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- Is Starbucks Good or Bad for Independent Coffee Shops?
- 'Smart Choices' Label Dumbs Down Nutrition
- Big Brands Warn of Sugar Crisis
- Wal-Mart Regrets Exec's Comments on Health Care for Immigrants
- Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic
- Meat Industry: Meatless Monday Threatens Our Way of Life
- New Strategy Against Bottled Water: Satire
- Is John Mackey Clueless About Whole Foods' Customer Base?
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