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Industry
News
Hormel Foods and Herdez
Del Fuerte, S.A. de C.V., reached a definitive agreement
to create MegaMex Foods, a 50/50 joint venture to market
Mexican foods in the U.S. The venture expands an existing
agreement between the two companies and the portfolio
includes brands such as Chi-Chi's, Herdez, La Victoria,
Embasa and Dona Maria, among others. Full
Story
J.M. Smucker Co.'s
top priority in 2010 will be to expand the traditional
Folgers coffee business, according to Co-Chief Executive
Richard Smucker. While the food company  inherited
Folgers' existing customers, the brand has also seen
new business from budget-conscious shoppers who are
forgoing their gourmet brews for lower-cost coffee during
the recession. Folgers grew at more than double the
retail coffee category rate in April and raised its
market share, according to the company, reported The
Canadian Press. Full
Story
Jack in the Box Inc.
entered into a purchase and sale agreement for 55 of
its 61 Quick Stuff convenience stores and gas stations.
The all-cash transaction is expected to be completed
by the close of the company's fiscal year ending Sept.
27. In addition, the company is currently in negotiations
with several other bidders on the remaining Quick Stuff
sites and also expects to complete the disposition of
those locations by the end of the current fiscal year.
Full Story
Northwest-based discount
and ethnic grocery stores are enjoying success despite
the recession. Asian grocer Uwajimaya will open
its fourth store on June 29, while family-owned Grocery
Outlet will continue its growth by opening four or five
locations this year, reported The Seattle Times.
Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Yum! Brands, Inc.'s Northampton,
MA-based KFC-Taco Bell location was the company's
first restaurant awarded LEED Gold certification
by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program. Full
Story
 The
Food Marketing Institute's set a new date for its Future
Connect conference, Oct. 12-14, at the Hyatt Regency
in Dallas, TX. Full
Story
In response to a recent Daily Brief
survey, 14% of respondents agreed with the statement,
"Has the H1N1 flu virus negatively impacted your
business," while 86% disagreed.
International News
 Brinker
International Inc. closed all eight of its underperforming
restaurants in the UK,
stated a company spokeswoman. The shuttered restaurants
included six Chili's Grill & Bar units, one Maggiano's
Little Italy and one Romano's Macaroni Grill, reported
Nation's Restaurant News. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Washington News
Excentus Corporation filed a lawsuit
against Safeway, Inc., alleging patent infringement
and the misappropriation and
theft of trade secrets. The lawsuit seeks injunctive
and equitable relief along with unspecified damages.
Full
Story
OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs
(VPP), have grown steadily since inception in 1982,
with the number of employer worksites in the program
more than doubling, from 1,039 sites in 2003 to 2,174
sites in 2008. Although industries represented have
not changed significantly, with the chemical industry
having the largest number of sites in the VPP, the number
of sites in the motor freight transportation industry
increased tenfold from 2003 to 2008. In a report on
the programs, the Government Accountability Office notes
that OSHA's oversight is limited because it does not
have internal controls, such as reviews by the national
office, to ensure that regions consistently comply with
VPP policies for monitoring sites' injury and illness
rates and conducting on-site reviews. Full
Report
Market News
The U.S. pork industry lost an estimated
$4 billion over the past 20 months,
according to Dave Warner, spokesman for the National
Pork Producers Council. Although a drop in exports worsened
matters, feed costs may have been the biggest problem.
Producers were losing up to $45 a head in mid-2008,
which dropped to about $11 a head when the swine flu
outbreak hit in late April, and have since climbed to
$20 a head, reported The Associated Press. Full
Story
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The
Future of Food Retailing
A webinar
presented by The Food Institute and Willard
Bishop
The
combination of food inflation and the recession
has had predictable and well-documented
consequences, such as growth in private
label shares. However, some retailers, notably
Wal-Mart, appear to be leveraging the economic
downturn as they fundamentally change their
shopper value propositions. If successful,
these changes will alter supplier relationships
as well as the landscape for competitive
food retailers, in potentially seismic
magnitude and with long-lasting dimensions.
Join Jim Hertel, Managing Partner, and Craig
Rosenblum, Partner, both of Willard Bishop,
and moderator Michael Sansolo, editor, columnist,
and FI Board Member, as they provide their
unique and unparalleled insights into the
Future of Food
Retailing in a 1-hour webinar
to be held June 23, 2009 at 1 PM (EST).
To sign up or for more information, click
here or contact Sue Antista at 201-791-5570,
ext. 212 or santista@foodinstitute.com.
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Broiler meat production is expected
to total 8.87 billion-lbs. in second-quarter 2009,
down 6% from a year earlier. Higher expected feed prices
and relatively weak hog prices in 2010 should result
in a 2010 pork production of 22.3 billion-lbs., down
1.8%. Commercial dairy cow slaughter will increase due
to the Cooperatives Working Together program and will
offset the decline in beef cow slaughter. Rising costs,
reflecting demand for feeder calves to stock rain-improved
pastures and rising corn prices, will dampen enthusiasm
for feedlot placements aimed at post-summer markets.
ERS
Report
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