July 17, 2008

Operator News

The economic slowdown has taken its toll on some of Central Florida's struggling restaurants, with a small but growing list recently ending operations in the area including: Donatos Pizzeria and Roadhouse Grill. Applebee's, Bennigan's and the Melting Pot have each closed one location in the region. Several independent restaurants also shut down. Metromedia Restaurant Group, the company that owns Bennigan's, Ponderosa and Steak and Ale, closed seven "underperforming" Florida restaurants because of the "slow economy and its impact on the entire casual-dining industry," according to Orlando Sentinel. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Starbucks Corp. will expand in China, even as it is closing underperforming U.S. stores, reported Bloomberg.com. "There will be more innovation, more new products, more resources, not only investment," said Wang Jinlong, the company's Greater China President. Full Story

Retail News

The supermarket pharmacy business is growing in services and tie-in opportunities, according to the Food Marketing Institute's Supermarket Pharmacy Trends 2008 report. From 2002 to 2007, several key benchmarks were up including median number of prescriptions filled per day and median percentage of prescription sales from generic drugs, reported Supermarket News. Full Story

Speedway SuperAmerica LLC added Javo Beverage Company, Inc.'s ice coffees and lattes to its beverage program at most of its 1,600 convenience stores. Full Story

iTradeNetwork, Inc. signed a multi-year agreement with Save Mart Supermarkets, Inc. to provide ITN's Collaborative Solutions for Fresh Food. Through this program, Save Mart will collaborate online with its supply chain partners in the areas of procurement and transportation management. Full Story

Lianhua Supermarket Holdings plans to open 15 hypermarkets a year across China. Lianhua, a joint venture partner of Carrefour in Shanghai, opened China's first supermarket in Shanghai in 1991 but started its hypermarket business just seven years ago, reported Guardian.co.uk. Full Story

Industry News

The Washington Post examined the hurdles that the food industry and the federal government are experiencing with produce traceability. Full Story

To compensate for rising gas prices, 63% of consumers are reducing their spending, while 78% of consumers are combining shopping trips, 52% are now eating out less and 51% are staying home more often, according to a survey by The Nielsen Company that was conducted during the first week of June 2008, when regular gas averaged $3.98. Increased fuel prices are also causing 32% of consumers to use more coupons as a way to save money and 28% of consumers report doing more of their shopping at supercenters, where more items are in one store. Full Story

Meanwhile, to stretch their food dollars consumers are trading down in many areas, notes Brian Todd, President and CEO of The Food Institute. "Consumers are going from national brands to private labels and from more expensive produce, and that would include organics, to lower-priced produce," reported MSNBC. Full Story

More consumers are now "brown bagging" their lunch in order to save money, versus visiting local cafes and bistros. Meanwhile, some are turning to cheaper alternatives like subsidized or free corporate cafeterias and fast-food restaurants. As a result, several lunch-hour restaurants claim increases in both wholesale food prices and vendors' fuel surcharges, as well as cutbacks from consumers are putting a squeeze on their profits, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Chocolate is beginning to feel the pinch from the country's sluggish economy. While normally considered recession proof, the industry is not immune to consumer spending, according to Bryan Merryman, COO of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. Surging imported cocoa prices, costly distribution, rising fuel prices, combined with customer's lack of dispensable income are causing the industry to suffer, with an only 0.1% rise in sales in the last month, reported Reuters. Full Story

Latest sales & earnings for food related companies (Updated Daily)

Fresh Harvest Products, Inc. expanded and enhanced its commitment to its natural and organic product offerings through a new initiative to build natural and organic brands and products, including nonfood environmentally-friendly products. Full Story

Redux Beverages is planning a new look for its energy drink. The company was prompted to make changes to its product by the end of July after receiving a letter from FDA. The majority of the objections raised by FDA concern the chalky-looking fonts used to spell out the name of the product and some of its ingredients. Full Story

Monterey Gourmet Foods is partnering with Acosta Sales and Marketing Company to expand its Monterey Pasta Company brand of refrigerated raviolis and pastas in the retail grocery channel. Full Story

Skinny Nutritional Corp. entered into a distribution agreement with Power-Pak Beverage for the Southeastern Pennsylvania region. Full Story

China's consumer price index rose 7.9% in the first half over the same period last year, 0.2 percentage points lower than the first five months, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Prices for food rose 20.4%, contributing 6.64 percentage points to the overall CPI rise, according to China Daily. Full Story

Tyson Foods Inc. plans to buy 60% of Chinese poultry processor Xinchang Group, reported Reuters. Tyson signed a framework agreement with Xinchang, which is pending due diligence and government approval, according to James Rice, Tyson's Shanghai-based country manager. Full Story

India is expecting a good rice, corn and soybean crop this year because of "encouraging" monsoon rains, the country's farm minister claimed. The government hopes that a good monsoon-driven harvest will bring down the price of food, reported BBC News. Full Story

Health News

A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, all three approaches led to weight loss and improved cholesterol. Full Story, Full Study

A child's vitamin K status could have important long-term implications on bone health, and higher levels could benefit children with arthritis, suggests a study published in Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, reported Food Production Daily. Full Story

Washington News

The House Judiciary Committee passed the credit card fee bill, which is backed by retailers that accuse Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. of levying excessive fees, reported CNN Money. Full Story, FMI Release, NRF Release

Mexico's health and agriculture officials will meet with FDA officials in an effort to clear Mexican tomatoes of any link to the recent salmonella outbreak, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

Effective Aug. 18, USDA will begin listing retail stores receiving meat and poultry products involved in Class I recalls, according to the official Federal Register Notice. Full Notice

A guidance on the standard of identity for white chocolate was published by FDA. Full Guidance

Two top executive for a franchisee that owns 11 McDonalds restaurants in Nevada pleaded guilty to federal felony immigration offenses for encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the U.S. These charges stem from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the company will pay a $1 million fine. Full Story

Market News

The EU will accept a WTO compromise on banana imports to relieve a long-running dispute with Latin American and African, Caribbean and Pacific nations, reported The Associated Press. The European Commission is ready to cut import charges on Latin American bananas to $185 per metric ton by 2015 if all countries agree to drop further legal action. Full Story

Produce for Better Health Foundation's Fruits & Veggies - More Matters logo is now featured on over 1,000 different food labels in stores nationwide. Before being approved to carry the logo, food products must meet strict nutrition guidelines for total fat, saturated fat, trans-fat, added sugar, fiber, and sodium content. Full Story

Tyson Foods and Syntroleum Corporation gave final approval for plans to build and fund Dynamic Fuels' first renewable synthetic fuels facility in Geismar, LA. Dynamic Fuels is a 50:50 venture between Tyson and Syntroleum to convert low grade, inedible fats and greases into renewable transportation fuels for the military and civilian markets. Full Story

Colorado wheat farmers face a below-average crop this year, stunted by persistent drought. Analysts are projecting statewide production of 56 million bushels, a 40% drop from last year's 94 million, reported The Denver Post. Full Story

The Arkansas Agritourism Initiative is designed to help consumers find local vendors as well as farms that offer tours or other attractions. Organizers launched a website that will help promote the industry through the state's tourism department and other avenues, reported The Associated Press. Full Story

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