Natural colours have overtaken their synthetic counterparts for the first time ever, and the trend towards clean label products is one of the key drivers according to new data from Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research.
Meat solutions in the Americas helped Sealed Air Corporation offset struggles in tough markets during its fourth financial quarter (Q4), according to president and chief executive officer Jerome Peribere.
CSM has released a 2012 unaudited trading update to inform potential buyers from the US and Europe on business progress ahead of its mid-year divestment.
After multiple abortive attempts in 2011, ConAgra Foods has announced that it has reached a ‘definitive agreement’ to buy Ralcorp Holdings, the largest manufacturer of private label food in the US.
Sealed Air claimed its food packaging business is ‘back on track’ compared to Q2 despite dropping $20m in net sales and nearly $7m in operating profit year-on-year.
CSM’s soon-to-be axed bakery supplies business shined in the third quarter alongside a ‘satisfactory’ performance of the future bio-based business, its CEO said.
Walmart says it is confident it will reach its goal of using sustainably sourced palm oil for all of its private label products by the end of 2015, although it won’t give any details about how much progress it has made to date in North America.
Taghleef Industries (Ti) has received regulatory approval to complete the acquisition of Applied Extrusion Technologies (AET Films) for an undisclosed amount.
Kraft Foods shareholders have approved the name Mondelez International as the new name for the company’s global snacks business after it splits into two separate companies later this year.
General Mills sees great potential for its snacks and cereals segments outside North America as population growth in emerging markets looks set to soar.
Huhtamaki declared that demand for packaging held up well in the first three months of 2012 as both sales and operating profits climbed year-on-year thanks mainly to stronger performance in North America.
JBT Corporation said its food operations had experienced a tough year as restructuring costs combined with a fall in demand for processing equipment to drive down profits.
Leading US packaging players Sonoco and MeadWestvaco have both cautioned that earnings for the end of 2011 are likely to fall short of expectations on weakening demand from Europe and North America.
Kraft Foods has said it will cut about 1,600 jobs from its US and Canadian workforce over the next 12 months, as it prepares to split into two separate companies.
JBT Corp has blamed a drop in demand for its decision is to cut 115 jobs in its food processing division and shift some operations out of Europe in a bid to make annual savings of US$9m by the end of next year.
Food giant Kraft has announced plans to introduce BelVita breakfast biscuits to the US market following European success and plans a string of other snacks product launches in 2012 to appeal health conscious consumers.
Bemis declared a dip in sales volumes as the effects of food inflation reverberated up the supply chain and forecast of a slowdown in the economy into 2012.
Dutch bakery ingredients supplier CSM has issued a profit warning, claiming it will not meet its earnings expectations due to lower spending from recession hit consumer.
Sonoco’s packaging printing division, Trident hopes to provide 'global coverage' to customers through its new alliance with German prepress company Janoschka.
Analysts estimate that the ingredients division of Associated British Foods (ABF) is likely to have a tough second half in line with the “lacklustre” operating performance in the first six months.
The global market for flexible packaging is projected to be worth more than US$71bn with worldwide consumption set for annual growth of more than 4 per cent to reach almost 22.5m tonnes by 2016, said a new report by Pira International.
A trio of leading trade bodies across the US and Canada and teamed up to form a ‘virtual’ association called the North American Plastics Alliance (NAPA).
Huhtamaki today blamed the ongoing weak economic conditions in North America for a 5 per cent year-on-year drop in Q1 EBIT but hailed strong performance in its flexible and film operations as evidence that packaging demand remained robust.
Swiss company Aryzta said its hike in revenue growth in the first six months of the financial year 2011 has been underpinned by its strategic acquisitions including Fresh Start and Maidstone Bakeries but it notes ongoing input cost pressures.
Huhtamaki said its decision to reveal for the first time in 2010 a definite forecast for its full year EBIT did not signal a huge jump in its operating profits or a change in the overall economic environment.
Wild Flavors and its subsidiary Pouch and Pack Concepts is installing high speed pouch filling equipment at factories in the US to meet growing demand for spouted pouches.
AB Enzymes has entered a partnership with The Ingredients Company for sole distribution of its baking enzymes in the United States and Canada in order to strengthen its presence in the region.
Guala Group has teamed up with two companies in a bid to dominate the emerging spouted flexible packaging market in the United States and Canada, said one of the partners in the deal.
A clear aluminium oxide coated barrier film to be launched onto the North American market offers significant cost savings over similar previous metallized packaging, said the US company behind the move.
Rexam said demand for beverage cans continues to fall in Europe and North America but was confident of meeting market expectations for the full-year as cost reductions and currency gains had offset weak sales.
The market for food processing machinery is improving but more slowly than expected with most growth seen in the poultry and fish sectors, said Marel Food Systems.
