Rising raw material prices, considerably higher energy costs and
continuing retailer pressure have cut margins at Ter Beke, a
Belgium-based processed meats and fresh ready meals manufacturer.
Children should be protected from exploitative marketing techniques
used on the Internet, according to a new report from the
International Obesity Task Force.
American-owned food group Sara Lee is going back to basics with a
new marketing campaign designed to remind food lovers of the joys
of eating - shirking the trend towards functional foods.
Premier Foods' strategy of acquisitions and price increases helped
boost first half operating profits by 12.7 per cent and margins by
almost one percentage point.
Crown has launched bowl-shaped cans aimed at the single-serve food
market in Europe and North America to meet the growing demand for
ready-to-eat convenience products.
Food firms must carefully target their health food products to
specific sectors of the population if they are to succeed,
delegates at this week's Vitafoods event learned.
Yesterday American-owned Sara Lee reported a massive 77 per cent
drop in third quarter operating profit from $189m last year to $42m
in 2006, impacted by a vast portfolio cull.
Tingyi, manufacturer of China's leading instant noodle brand,
MasterKong, said sales of its ready to drink beverages surged in
2005, and additional capacity being added this year will continue
growth from this segment of its...
UK company Multiple Marketing has developed a new range of
functional cereal bars in an attempt to cash in on the increasing
demand for nutritionally beneficial and innovative wellness
products that deliver functional health benefits.
UK manufacturer Premier Foods has achieved flat sales but a
year-end like-for-like grocery profit rise of 5.4 per cent -
bolstered by rewarding acquisitions and a huge marketing drive.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has launched a multi-lingual website
in a marketing effort to provide international customers with easy
access to information on its product portfolio.
The global private label goods trend will continue to enjoy record
expansion and eat into famous brand profits if manufacturers fail
to adopt winning strategies to combat competition, say analysts.
Food and beverage companies can expect declining prices for
processing equipment to continue for another three years, according
to a study by Frost & Sullivan.
Tate & Lyle believes that developing a better understanding of
food manufacturing concerns will enable the company to deliver
better ingredient solutions.
Cargill Juice Beverage Applications believes it can help beverage
companies capture new trends and develop products in categories
they may not have tackled before.
Despite the launch of new health-conscious products, more
advertising spend and a bid to maintain competitive prices in
Western Europe, Unilever's sales and margins in the region
continued to tumble in the third quarter.
Sucralose supplier Tate and Lyle warns profits at its European
sugar refining business have been "substantially reduced"
due to higher costs and oversupplies.
UK snack manufacturer Walkers is taking the lead in seasonal snack
product launches, with plans to introduce special products for the
Halloween and Christmas periods.
The UK marketer of Shreddies breakfast cereal can continue to make
claims that the product helps boost children's concentration in
school but it must make their evidence clearer to viewers of their
ad, said authorities last week.
Rexam, which shed its UK glass unit for a £24m loss earlier this
year, said today it has benefited in the first half of 2005 by
successfully passing on aluminium price increases to its
beveragecan customers.
US sales of wholegrain cookies have skyrocketed 1,364 per cent in
the past year, marking them as the nation's fastest growing
wholegrain bakery product, according to market researcher AC
Nielsen.
To get an idea of how a higher prices for commodities and a
competitive European food market are hurting companies' bottom
lines, one only has to look at the financial results published by
threecompanies this week.
BakeMark UK, subsidiary of Dutch ingredients firm CSM, is hoping to
cash in on the rapidly growing UK market for Indian foods,
announcing yesterday the launch of a new Indian snack product.
The US caps and closures market is forecast to grow to $676m
(€551m) in 2011 from revenues of $598m (€488m) in 2004 with
consumer preference forcing the industry to switch to plastic from
metal and glass, according to projections...
Private label organic juices are boosting sales volumes, helping to
propel the organic juice sales in North America to increase by a
considerable 21.4 per cent in 2005, claims UK market analysts
Organic Monitor.
Organic and low/no sugar are the tags food manufacturers should be
looking at adding to their packaging if they want their products to
enjoy strong and sustained growth, said AC Nielsen.
A fresh round of price cuts from the two biggest UK food retailers
increases the pressure on suppliers' margins and intensifies
competition between own-label and branded producers, forcing them
to find new ways to adapt, writes...
A dip in profits for US cereal giant General Mills highlights the
rising threat of private label competition on the cereal market,
making branded players work harder to justify higher prices to
consumers, writes Chris Mercer.
Despite a slower final quarter, Austria-based packaging provider
Mayr-Melnhof has reported strong financial results for 2004, on the
back of a number of acquisitions the company has made in the past
year, writes Simon Pitman.
Lower cost baking equipment suppliers could lose out after the UK's
APV Baker announced its intention to implement price reductions and
a new marketing strategy, reports Chris Mercer.
Canny acquisitions have led Britain's cake sector whiz kid, Inter
Link Foods, to report another strong profit rise, but the company
should tread carefully amid rising debts and a sluggish home market
that prizes quality over...
One of Sweden's biggest meat and cheese processing companies,
recently under pressure from increased competition, will soon be
supplying sandwiches as well as the fillings by establishing a new
business unit to exploit the growing...
Retailers and suppliers are increasingly turning to high quality,
speciality breads to try and jazz up Britain's dormant bread sector
and raise profits by inspiring consumers, writes Chris
Mercer.
The ingredients division of Danish cultures and colours firm Chr.
Hansen pulled in a DKK 369 million (€49m) profit for the year on
sales of DKK 3.4 billion (€460m), a slight dip on the previous year
on rising costs.
Chr Hansen's full year results reveal that the continued growth of
the China market is helping the ingredients company to fight off
the problem of increasing costs.
Russian confectionery group Mechta has launched a new premium
product line - the latest in a growing number of local producers
entering an upmarket segment which was once the sole domain of
western companies. Angela Drujinina reports.
Russian edible oils producer Solnechnie Produkti has reported sales
growth in excess of that for the market as a whole, the second
major producer to do so in as many weeks. As with market leader
NMZhK, Solnechnie Produkti's growth...
New products, a promising joint venture and rapid distribution have
put Swiss baker Hiestand in a commanding position at the end of the
year, and the good times are set to continue, according to market
analysts.
European bakery ingredients leader CSM will chip away at its German
subsidiary as the firm announces job cuts and restructuring efforts
to bring about savings and underline its focus on becoming an
international bakery supplies player.
UK developer and marketer of high-nutrition food and drink
products, Nutrinnovator today reported on trading for the last six
months and confirmed its future focus on functional food and
beverages.
Cereal-based food giant Cerealia has annouced the creation of a new
business sector in order to improve its marketing and sales
organisation in Northern Europe, reports Chris Mercer.
With retail sales of yoghurt set to continue significant growth
this year in the Asia Pacific region, the number of niche launches,
particularly those focusing on health-giving qualities, is on the
increase, as the latest look at...
First half sales at Aarhus United fell 3 per cent, eroded by price
competition in bulk oils, but improved volumes, particularly in
Mexico, and reduced costs helped it generate solid operating
profits.
CSM, the Dutch food ingredients company, is considering the sale of
its sugar confectionery unit in order to concentrate on its core
bakery supplies and sugar operations - despite a very poor
performance from the bakery unit in the...