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May 09, 2011 | |
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IFDA NewsCommodity volatility and the resulting inflationary pressure will directly affect independent and regional chain operator customers. During a timely session titled "Commodity Volatility: Strategies to Reduce Risk" at the upcoming IFDA/IFMA Sales & Marketing Conference, Dave Donnan, partner at A.T. Kearney, will provide strategies for minimizing risk and insights on helping operators apply practical solutions. The session takes place July 17 in Washington DC. For full information on the conference and the many expert resources on the agenda, click here. To see a recent Bloomberg's interview with Donnan talking about rising food prices and the impact on food manufacturers and consumers, click here. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has reopened the comment period for the hours of service rulemaking. The agency has placed four new studies in the docket and is providing stakeholders with the opportunity to examine and respond to the new information. The agency's action means that FMCSA will not meet the July 26 deadline to finalize a new rule as required by the settlement agreement. The addition of the new studies appears to be an admission by the agency that they did not have enough justification to move forward with their proposal and needed additional scientific background. Information on the new studies is available on IFDA's Regulatory Watch. For more information contact the IFDA government relations department. Operator NewsMcDonald's is planning a $1 billion update of the majority of its 14,000 locations by 2015. After revamping 280 stores in various markets last year, McDonald's is opting for the Tampa, FL model and will spread that design to upwards of 800 locations this year, roughly triple what it did last year. In addition to Tampa, McDonald's is renovating stores in the New York City market, where the new designs are flashier. Other highlights include removing fiberglass tables, adding second drive-through windows and dividing dining areas, reported USA Today. Full Story New York City restaurants paid tens of millions in out-of-court settlements since 2005, making the city a harder place for them to do business, according to experts. Some restaurateurs are opting to open businesses in other cities because of the "litigious atmosphere in New York," according to the EVP of the city chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, reported Crain's New York Business. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Retail News7-Eleven is planning to nearly double its number of stores in Hawaii to 100 during the next five years. If successful, the company would have control of nearly a third of the c-store chain market in the Islands, reported Pacific Business News. Full Story (Subscription Required) Walmart has 10.5% grocery market share in Oregon, where it operates 30 stores, reported OregonLive.com. Walmart has slightly more than 4% of the Portland, OR market, placing at No. 6 behind WinCo Foods, according to The Shelby Report of the West. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Kroger Co. hired an organized crime manager. The executive oversees investigators in each of Kroger's 17 divisions across the nation, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. Full Story Meijer Inc., Gordon Food Service and Spartan Stores Inc., West Michigan's largest food retailers, have a $700 million impact on the region. Meijer's Homegrown program pumps $40 million into Michigan's economy. West Michigan's agricultural industry is second only to the region's manufacturing sector when it comes to economic impact, according to economic development agency The Right Place, Inc., reported MLive.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required) A South African tribunal will determine whether Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s acquisition of Massmart Holdings Ltd. will be completed on May 9. A report commissioned by South Africa's economic development and agricultural departments estimates that if 1% of Massmart's purchases shifts to imports away from domestic suppliers, it could lead to roughly 4,000 job losses in South African industry, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Industry NewsOcean Spray will close its Bordentown, NJ-based manufacturing facility and relocate to Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley in 2013. The company stated the facility is becoming too expensive to operate, reported The Star-Ledger. Full Story (Free Registration Required) New! The Food Institute discusses price perspectives in the May 9 edition of the Lempert Report, hosted by Phil Lempert. Today's edition also takes a look at what Foursquare is all about. Click here to view. Coca-Cola Co. is adding 19 flavors to its Freestyle soft drink fountain, bringing the total number of available flavors to 125. The approximately 400 outlets that have Freestyle dispensers will get a software update with the new flavors, which include "gummy bear" (every flavor of Sprite, mixed) and "Creamsicle," reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Latest sales & earnings for food related companies (Updated Daily - FI Membership Required) McDonald's and Coca-Cola ranked in the top 10 of Millward Brown Optimor's 2011 study of the Most Valuable Global Brands. Full Story Danisco A/S's largest shareholder, Elliott International L.P., raised its stake to more than 10% and could jeopardize E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.'s takeover bid. The shareholder gradually increased its stake in Danisco since DuPont revealed plans to take over the company, and while the raised stake is not large enough to block the deal DuPont will eventually need to secure 90% of the shares to squeeze out minority shareholders and delist the company, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required) Retail sales of kids' foods hit the $10 billion mark at the end of 2010, according to Kids Food and Beverage Market in the U.S., a report from Packaged Facts. This includes sales from all retail channels and reflects an increase of 25% from 2005. Growth of 40% is expected from 2010 to 2015. Full Story France's FSI strategic investment fund may invest in ham company Madrange as the government seeks ways to restructure the French pork industry. Rival ham makers Paul Predault, Jean Caby and Broceliande cooperative are considering separate bids for Madrange, reported Reuters. Full Story Irish bottle and packaging maker Ardagh Group plans to list in the U.S. as early as the third quarter of this year. Ardagh, which produces around 25 billion food and drink containers a year, would use proceeds for funding possible acquisitions, capital expenditures and repaying debt, reported Reuters. Full Story Washington NewsGenetically modified fish sold in California would be labeled under a bill approved by the California Assembly Health Committee. Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) authored AB 88 in response to FDA's review of an application to approve the farming and sale of genetically engineered (GE) fish, though "there hasn't been any forward progression on the application" to sell GE fish eggs to approved growing facilities since then, according to an FDA spokesperson, reported The Los Angeles Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Market NewsDestructive storms in Alabama caused a confirmed chicken death count of nearly 3.2 million to the state's nearly $3 billion-a-year poultry business. Widespread power outages also shut down feed mills, processing plants and rendering facilities, disrupting a tightly coordinated production cycle. "It may take up to a year to smooth this thing out, maybe more," and prices could rise, stated the head of the Alabama Farmers Federation's poultry division, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required) The weak value of the U.S. dollar will help the Northwest cherry export business in 2011. In 2010, 28.4% of the 14 million 20-lb. box Northwest cherry crop was exported. Canada took 1.4 million boxes in 2010, while Taiwan, Hong Kong and China together took about 1.31 million boxes. Japan demanded 305,000 boxes of Northwest cherries, with Australia importing 250,000 boxes, reported The Packer Online. Full Story Some California crops are finding success in brisk global markets, including rice, processing tomatoes and nuts, spurred by improved economies and diets and a shift from staple grains to more protein-rich food. Other crops are enjoying indirect boosts from worldwide commodity pricing patterns, while some, most notably the state's dairies, are not, reported The Sacramento Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Monsanto is renewing its interest in wheat, committing more resources to creating new traits and seed varieties. The company will focus its efforts on biotechnology and traditional breeding to achieve a drought-tolerant trait and increased yield. The company will likely not commercialize a Roundup Ready wheat, reported STLToday.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
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