PepsiCo offers $6 billion for Pepsi Bottling Group. and PepsiAmericas — The soft drink giant currently has minority stake in both companies but wants to take sole control in order to “unlock significant cost synergies,” according to CEO Indra Nooyi. “When you have a flat-to-shrinking profit pool, slicing it 20 ways to Sunday is not the answer,” she said. The two...
Food Industry Archive
April 2009
Things are not looking good for Starbucks. McCafe’s continue to spread — almost 70 percent of McDonald’s outlets now offer specialty coffee, and the Chicago Tribune has reason to believe McDonald’s will launch a national advertising campaign for its coffee starting in May. “McCafe is a game-changer in coffee,” a Deutsche Bank analyst wrote in a recent memo to...
Visits to Burger King drop unexpectedly — Shares for the burger chain took a tumble after the company admitted it faced an “unanticipated traffic slowdown” in March resulting in lower-than-expected revenues for the third quarter. Analysts expect rival McDonald’s to do better, though both chains are benefiting from the economic squeeze on consumers. [Sources: Reuters,...
Companies like McDonald’s, PepsiCo and Kellogg are getting increasingly smart about reducing the amount of packaging they use. In terms of environmental impact, packaging may not be the most important part of the food chain, but it does make a difference — and it’s what makes the first impression on consumers. As I mentioned in an earlier post, McDonald’s recently...
Burger King has done it again. Angry parents and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood are protesting a new ad featuring SpongeBob SquarePants and the Burger King icon dancing to a new version of one hit wonder Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” The original begins “I like big butts and I cannot lie” but in this version it’s “square butts”...
Mars cocoa to go sustainable – Mars Inc. announced intentions to get its entire cocoa supply certified as sustainable by the Rainforest Alliance by 2020, beginning next year with Galaxy Chocolate in the UK. The Organic Consumers Association called the move an improvement over current practices, but said Rainforest Alliance does not have the strongest standards. Mars’ announcement...
Kroger is asking customers to design their own reusable shopping bags. Those who enter get a free bag, and the winning entries (decided by user votes on the website Kroger has set up for the promotion) will get up to $1,000 in free groceries. The move underscores how far the trend of reusable bags has come. A few years ago, cloth bags were mostly associated with hippies at co-ops specializing...
After Food and Drug Administration inspectors found salmonella bacteria in “critical areas” of a Setton Pistachio plant in California, the company expanded its recall to include the majority of its 2008 crop, an estimated 60 million pounds of product. Its initial recall affected only 2 million pounds of nuts. And even though roasting should kill salmonella bacteria, the recall...
Ilene Gordon steps in at Corn Products International — Gordon, 55, has been named president, chairman and CEO, replacing Samuel Scott, who is retiring. Gordan was president and CEO of Rio Tinto’s Alcan Packaging unit, but will start at Corn Products effective May 4. The move will make CPI the fourth major food company in Illinois to have a woman at the helm. [Sources: Chicago...
Minnesota-based chicken producer Gold’n Plump Poultry last week settled two religious accommodation suits involving prayer times for its Muslim employees. And in an unrelated case, a Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee is losing his store because he refuses to carry pork products. The number of religious accommodation cases has skyrocketed over the last decade, and a great many of them...
- 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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- Nutrition Study Misses the Point of Organic
- Meat Industry: Meatless Monday Threatens Our Way of Life
- New Strategy Against Bottled Water: Satire
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