April 13, 2011

Operator News

Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to launch an Asian-inspired venture this summer in Washington, DC. ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen will offer grilled and braised meats, vegetables, aromatic herbs, spicy sauces and garnishes. Similar to Chipotle's burrito outlets, ShopHouse will have customers move along a service line and customize their meals, reported Bloomberg Businessweek. Full Story

Thirty-three million Americans are expected to celebrate the Easter holiday by dining out, according to research from the National Restaurant Association. Lunch and dinner are the most popular meals for Easter celebrations. More than half of consumers will be looking for an Easter buffet on Apr. 24. Full Story

Chains such as Denny's, IHOP, Friendly's, Sizzler and Applebee's are adding healthier fare due to consumer demand. For the first two months of 2011, the top-selling entree at Applebee's was a sirloin and shrimp entree from the chain's diet menu. The chain's under-550-calorie menu, which debuted in 2010, now accounts for up to 8% of sales; IHOP's Simple & Fit menu also accounts for 8% of entrees sold, reported USA Today. Full Story

Charlie Brown's Steakhouse plans to invest more than $3 million to renovate its restaurants and will try to appeal to a younger customer base, according to the new CEO. The company will renovate restaurants beginning in late summer or early fall, reported The Courier-Post. Full Story

When visiting restaurants, Hispanics are much more likely to have children with them than non-Hispanics, according to The NPD Group. More than half of restaurant visits from Spanish-dominant Hispanics and a third of visits from English-speaking Hispanics include parties with children. In contrast, just 29% of visits by non-Hispanics include parties with children. Full Story

Industry News

Consumers prefer certain private-label products over others, and some do not even know they are purchasing private-label brands, according to a study by Market Force Information. Walmart's Great Value emerged as the most familiar private-label brand across all categories, with 14% of consumers identifying it. Full Story

New! The Apr. 13 edition of New Products Hits and Misses with Phil Lempert discusses: Cranberry Naturals Classic Cranberry Reduced Calorie Juice Cocktail, Wow Baking Company Peanut Butter Wheat Free & Gluten Free Cookies, Mina Harissa Spicy Traditional Moroccan Red Pepper Sauce, Manna Organics Bavarian Style Sourdough Whole Rye Bread and Two Degrees Apple Pecan Nutrition Bar. Click here to view.

Steven Roberts Original Desserts and a subsidiary plan to invest $4 million during the next five years in a 100,000-sq. ft. bakery facility in Robeson County, NC. Steven Roberts produces cheesecakes, layer cakes, pies, tarts, cookies and other dessert items for restaurants and hotels, reported Denver Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Consumer goods packager Silgan Holdings Inc. will buy Graham Packaging Company Inc. for about $1.3 billion in cash and stock, reported Reuters. Full Story

KKR & Co. agreed to pay $159 million for a 10% stake in Vietnamese fish sauce maker Masan Consumer Corp., a unit of Masan Group Corp., reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story

Israeli exports of matzo declined 20% from a year ago, mainly due to the strengthening of the shekel, according to exporters. Exports in December and January, the peak months, totaled $6.7 million. For all of 2010, exports fell 18.5%, to $13 million, reported The Lakeland Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Health News

Women who ate dried apples every day for a year lowered their total cholesterol by 14% and their levels of LDL cholesterol by 23%, according to a study presented at the Experimental Biology meeting, reported HealthDay. Full Story

Washington News

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposed the initiation of a U.S.-Mexico cross-border long-haul trucking pilot program to test and demonstrate the ability of Mexico-based motor carriers to operate safely in the U.S. beyond the municipalities and commercial zones along the border. The pilot program is part of FMCSA's implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement cross-border long-haul trucking provisions, and would allow Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate throughout the U.S. for up to three years. U.S.-domiciled motor carriers would be granted reciprocal rights to operate in Mexico for the same period. Full Notice

Speedway will buy 27 Gas City stores for more than $70 million, according to documents in Gas City's bankruptcy case. Alimentation Couche-Tard will acquire five stores, reported Naperville Sun. Full Story

FDA made available a draft guidance for industry, Safety Labeling Changes - Implementation of Section 505(o)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The guidance concerns new provisions to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that authorize FDA to require certain drug and biological product application holders to make safety related labeling changes based upon new safety information that becomes available after the drug or biological product is approved under the Act or the Public Health Service Act. Full Notice

USDA issued research grants to spur production of bioenergy and biobased products. The long-term goal for the research projects is to implement sustainable regional systems that materially deliver liquid transportation biofuels to help meet the Energy Independence and Security Act goal of 36 billion gallons per year of biofuels by 2022. Full Story

Market News

Americans will consume more than 70 million-lbs. of avocados for Cinco de Mayo this year, according to the California Avocado Commission. Farmers claim their harvest appears smaller than last season's crop, but that ample supplies will be available for the holiday, reported California Farm Bureau.

Georgia and South Carolina peach shippers expect big volumes and outstanding quality this spring, with deals beginning early and likely getting the jump on California fruit. The South Carolina peach crop could be seven to 10 days earlier than normal, reported The Packer Online. Full Story

Southern California farmers claim they will be shipping lots of sweet corn before the Easter holiday. Farmers began harvesting sweet corn in early April, although a freeze in February reduced harvest volumes to about one-third of average for this time of year. In the Imperial Valley, farmers expect volumes to improve back to normal by Easter, and that some stores may even run pre-holiday specials on corn, reported California Farm Bureau.

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