| Industry
News Smaller grocery stores that "fit the neighborhood
... will expand and offer significant value to shoppers," noted
Jim Hertel, managing partner at Willard Bishop, who spoke during the June 29 Food
Institute webinar on The Future of Food Retailing. Mr. Hertel also cautioned
retailers about blindly cutting the number of sku's in their stores without having
a full understanding as to how this could affect their customer base and their
shopping habits. A recording of this informative event can be purchased here.
Sales
of SoBe's Lifewater are up 85% in the past year, while overall sales of bottled
water are off 5%. PepsiCo cut four cents off the price of Lifewater when the recession
hit, reducing it to an average of $1.18 across different unit sizes. Lifewater's
small share of the bottled water market nearly doubled, to 3.8%, for the year
ended on May 16 excluding Wal-Mart sales, reported Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Full
Story View Today!
The June 30 edition of New Products Hits and Misses with Phil Lempert
profiles items including Talenti Gelato Caribbean Coconut, Wild Veggie
the Souper Drink Red Bell Pepper Flavor and Lean Cuisine Spa Cuisine Apple Cranberry
Chicken. Five new products are evaluated each week. Click
here to view. Taco
Bell is expected to introduce a permanent menu for the morning daypart at
its 5,600 restaurants in the U.S. in late 2011 or 2012. Offerings will include
mid-priced, portable foods, such as the Double Ham & Cheddar Melt for $1.79, reported
Nation's Restaurant News. Full
Story (Free Registration Required) Convenience
stores are investing in their foodservice programs, contributing to nominal growth
in the segment of 1.5% in 2009, according to the 2010 Technomic Leading Convenience
Stores Foodservice Report. Examples of upgraded foodservice offerings include
7-Eleven's takeaway pizzas, introduced at more than 1,100 units last fall, as
well as Cumberland Farms' foodservice-focused concept store with an all-day prepared
foods island with breakfast sandwiches, baked goods and pastries, to-go salads,
fruit cups and yogurt and toasted flatbread sandwiches and pizzas. Full
Story International
News Kraft Foods is revising the brands and countries
it will focus on in developing markets as a result of
its acquisition  earlier
this year of Cadbury Plc. Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates, Halls lozenges and Trident
gum, three Cadbury brands, make the list of 10 "power" brands getting the bulk
of the marketing money in developing markets, stated Sanjay Khosla, Kraft's president,
developing markets and global categories, reported Reuters. Full
Story Asda's new chief executive plans to direct
the retailer from temporary promotions and other discounts to the chain's
pledge of "everyday low prices." CEO Andy Clarke stated that "We're very much
moving away from gimmicky price messages, and underpinning and underlining the
actual price - because that's what really counts." The retailer is now tending
toward longer price rollbacks that last for up to 12 weeks and launched a new
"price guarantee," reported The Wall Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required) Health
News About
71% of Americans still are not aware of the recommended daily amount of salt intake,
according to Mrs. Dash's Salt Reduction Survey. Persistent health warnings
have not incited Americans to cut back on salt in their diets, as 58% are consuming
the same if not more salt compared with two years ago, but of those attempting
to eat healthier foods 54% consider the calorie count but only 39% consider salt
intake. Full
Story Washington
News The
United Potato Growers of America, along with companies including General Mills
Inc. and Dole Food Co., allegedly "entered into an admitted and overarching
agreement to manage the supply of potatoes in the U.S. for the purpose of
elevating the sales prices," according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District
Court for eastern Idaho. According to the lawsuit, the defendants in 2004 formed
regional and national cooperatives for the "sole purpose of creating a national
vehicle for potato growers and their co-conspirators ... to reduce potato output
and fix prices." The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed
by Brigiotta's Farmland Produce and Garden Center Inc. Other defendants include
the United Potato Growers of Idaho and Wada Farms, Inc., reported The Packer
Online. Full
Story (Subscription Required), Court
Filing 
The
Transportation Department issued a clarification stating that it would abide
by a provision in legislation that states no airline can be made to stop serving
peanuts until 90 days after Congress and the Transportation secretary receive
a peer-reviewed study that finds "severe" allergic reactions to the tiny peanut
particles that might be present on a plane, reported USA Today. Full
Story Market News The
2010 dry bean planted area is estimated at 1.74 million acres,
up 13% from last year. Area to be harvested in 2010 is forecasted at 1.67 million
acres, up 14% from a year ago. Planted area of sweet potatoes is estimated at
113,800 acres for the 2010 season, up 4% from last year. Soybean planted area
for 2010 is estimated at a record high 78.9 million acres, up 2% from last year.
Area for harvest, at 78.0 million acres, is also up 2% from 2009 and will be the
largest harvested area on record. USDA
Acreage Report 
Inventories
of U.S. processed tomato products in California were approximately 5.7 million
tons, stated on a raw product equivalent basis, as of June 1, according to
the California League of Food Processors. Inventory is 30% above the prior-year
level. Full
Story | 
