Industry News

About one-fourth of consumers will shop for groceries at a lower priced store than they do today if food prices continue to rise, according to a survey released by Citigroup Global Markets. That compares with 12% of consumers who said they have begun shopping at lower priced stores already. Meanwhile, 35% of consumers said they have been spending less on "splurge" items, such as wine and chocolates, and 30% said they have been trading down to less expensive products, reported Supermarket News. Full Story

The Washington Times examines the challenges that face national restaurant chains hoping to embrace the eat-local trend. For example, this month Chipotle is hoping to serve pork exclusively from nearby Polyface Farm in its Charlottesville, VA restaurant, following 17 months of complex negotiations and logistics, including buying extra cooking equipment, developing new recipes, adjusting work schedules and investing in temperature-monitoring technology for Polyface's delivery van. Additionally, in recent months, Phil Petrilli, Chipotle's operations director for the northeast region, visited the Charlottesville outlet about every two weeks, four times as often as he visits other restaurants in the region. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The convenience-store industry's share of total retail sales is expected to grow by four percentage points from 2006 to the end of 2008, according to U.S. Convenience Stores - A Market Analysis report. In 2008, sales through convenience stores will constitute around 17% of the total retail industry of the country, reported CSP Daily News. Full Story

A Sun Capital Partners, Inc. affiliate acquired Timothy's Coffees of the World Inc. Headquartered in Toronto, Timothy's is an operator and franchisor of a retail chain of 166 stores, approximately 70% of which are located in Ontario, under its Timothy's World Coffee, mmmuffins, and Michel's Baguette brands. Full Story

Red Bull will launch new Red Bull Cola in June, reported Brandweek. The move comes as Red Bull has fallen behind Monster as the top energy drink in terms of sales volume - Monster owns 27.6% of sales compared to Red Bull's 24.6%, according to Beverage Digest. Full Story

The Daily Update is a substantially abbreviated version of Today In Food. You can get a subscription to Today In Food, which usually has over 30 news items each day, as well as access to the archives for just $49.95 per year. Click here to sign up.

Food Institute News

The Food Institute's Article Index has been updated through February 25, 2008! FI Members click here to search for articles that have appeared in the weekly Food Institute Report. Search by company or by subject. To learn about becoming a Food Institute Member, click here.

J. H. Chapman Group LLC J.H. Chapman Group, L.L.C., the food industry's leading investment banking firm, provides the highest quality financial advisory services for divestitures, acquisitions, financings, recapitalizations, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. The firm has completed transactions of more than four billion dollars for clients, ranging from closely-held food businesses to Fortune 500 companies, in the U.S. and Europe. Headquartered in Chicago plus a Paris office, its eight principals are seasoned operating and financial executives with impressive credentials. Food industry expertise encompasses retail and foodservice products, food ingredients and technology, and restaurant chains. To learn more about this 20-year Food Institute member visit: www.jhchapman.com Interested in seeing your company featured here? Email us for more details.

About Us | Publications | Merger & Acquisition Search* | Report Article Search* | Ask an Expert

* Members only

International News

In Canada, the foodservice industry's share of the total food dollar dipped to 39.4% in 2007 from 39.7% in 2006 due to weakness in Central and Atlantic Canada. Since 2000, the foodservice industry's market share has slowly eroded from 40.5% - the result of slower economic growth in many regions, rising gasoline prices and fewer international visitors to Canada. In 2007, combined commercial and non-commercial foodservice sales in Canada rose 3.6% to $57.7 billion, marking the industry's weakest growth since 2003. In contrast, sales of food and alcohol from retail stores grew 5.0% to $88.6 billion, according to the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association. Full Story

Health News

Older women are encouraged to eat plenty of protein as their bodies find it much harder than men's to replace the muscle lost as they age, a study suggests. Differences in the way male and female bodies metabolize food means older women do not use protein as effectively to maintain muscle, reported BBC News. Full Story

Washington News

U.S. regulators requested more information about Diageo PLC's proposed joint distribution venture with vodka maker Ketel One. The Federal Trade Commission asked for more information under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

Market News

Coring knives used to cut and core lettuce during harvesting could explain contamination, according to a University of Georgia researcher. Preliminary research is showing that the process of dipping knives into contaminated soil when cutting and coring lettuce heads in the fields may push bacteria into the lettuce, reported The Produce News. Full Story

SUSTAINABILITY: TRENDS IN THE MARKETPLACE: A Webinar hosted by The Food Institute and Mintel The Food Institute and Mintel hosted an insightful webinar that explained sustainability and revealed some of the most important issues facing manufacturers today. This 45-minute webinar led by Mintel's Lynn Dornblaser focused on sustainability issues pertaining to food and beverage, but also drew from the non-food sector. Examples from Mintel Global New Products Database across various categories were used throughout the presentation. Lastly, Dornblaser provided some interesting thoughts for the future. Click here for details.