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August 30, 2011 |
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IFDA NewsDSC 2011 – Get Your Innovation On: “Surviving Today’s Economy and What to Expect Tomorrow,” a workshop at the upcoming conference, will examine the impact that the struggling economy has had on the foodservice industry and how it has changed the consumer. Attendees will also come away with an understanding of current trends across key segments and occasions, who is doing well and why, how changing demographics are coming into play, and realistic expectations for the future. Arnie Schwartz, president, Foodservice North America at NPD Group, is the featured speaker at this executive track session. For full information on the conference, taking place October 24-26 in Fort Worth, click here. Distributor NewsAs of Aug. 29, U.S. average diesel fuel prices were $3.810 per gallon, down 0.025 cents per gallon from a week ago, and up $0.853 from one year ago. Full Story Operator NewsThe Top 75 limited-service burger chains saw their sales grow 1.6% last year, reaching $65 billion, according to Technomic's Top 75 Limited-Service Burger Chains Restaurant Report. More than half of the Top 75 burger chains are now fast-casual brands. McDonald's is the driver of sales growth within the category, offsetting declines by other large burger chains, while unit growth is primarily coming from emerging brands as they continue to take share from both limited and full-service restaurants. Full Story Four locations of The Melt will open by Thanksgiving, with the first location opening Aug. 30 in San Francisco; Sequoia Capital gave the startup enough capital to open 20 stores. Each Melt location has patented, custom-built cooking equipment to finish sandwiches in under 90 seconds. Similarly, all the soups will be made in advance and frozen for up to six months. The Melt has special machines to slowly defrost and aerate these soups. Should the first stores do well, the founder believes there could be 500 locations nationally by 2015, reported San Francisco Business Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Some 14 locations and the headquarters of pizza chain Giordano's are now officially up for sale in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. Bids are being solicited for the entire chain, as well as individual properties, reported Chicago Tribune. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Quiznos is expanding farther into India with a master franchise agreement to open stores in the northern and western parts of the country. The menus will be customized to local tastes and include more vegetarian options, reported Denver Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Retail NewsBJ's Wholesale Club considered a takeover from a rival in April, but antitrust concerns undermined the deal, according to a SEC filing. The strategic buyer was only identified as "Party A," reported Boston Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Industry NewsFood volume has been negative for four of the past five months, according to Nielsen Co. data from Sanford C. Bernstein. Private-label shares started picking up at a faster pace in the four weeks ended Aug. 6. As prices went up 6.3% in the period, volume declined 3.5%, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required) View Today! Breakfast sales are slow in supermarkets, reports the Aug. 30 edition of the Lempert Report, featuring Phil Lempert. Click here to view. Multi-Color Corp. entered into an agreement to acquire York Label Group for $356 million in stock, cash and assumed debt. The purchase, expected to close by early October, will increase Multi-Color's printing plants from 17 to 29, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. Full Story Latest sales & earnings for food related companies (Updated Daily - FI Membership Required) Aramark Corp. is buying Van Houtte USA Holdings Inc., also known as the Filterfresh office-coffee business of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., for about $145 million in cash, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Some 33 locations in a 62-mile radius of the crippled Fukuskima Daiichi nuclear plant had cesium-137 in excess of 1.48 million becquerels per square meter. The first comprehensive survey of soil contamination also found another 132 locations had a combined amount of cesium 137/134 over 555,000 becquerels per square meter, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required) Ulker Biskuvi sold 6% of chocolate maker Godiva to main shareholder Yilding Holding for $29.4 million, reported Reuters. Full Story
Health NewsIndividuals who eat chocolate regularly may be lowering their risk for heart disease, according to a study published in BMJ. However, experts state it should be consumed in moderation, reported HealthDay. Full Story Washington NewsThe final compliance guide on the use of video or other electronic monitoring or recording equipment in federally inspected establishments is available from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), according to a notice to be published in the Federal Register. FSIS made changes to the final compliance guide based on comments received on the draft guide. FSIS posted this final compliance guide, which makes clearer which video records are subject to routine access by FSIS. Such records would include HACCP and Sanitation SOP records and records associated with other programs that are prerequisites to HACCP. Pre-Publication Notice As a result of a new shipper review under the antidumping duty order on honey from Argentina, the Commerce Department found that Villamora S.A, an Argentine exporter, was bona fide and not sold below normal value (NV). The review was requested by Villamora S.A, and the domestic interested parties for this proceeding are the American Honey Producers Association and the Sioux Honey Association. Pre-Publication Notice Market NewsThe 2011-12 corn and soybean marketing years will be characterized by the need to reduce consumption of both crops, but the magnitude of those needed reductions are not yet known and the prices needed to make those cuts will depend on the strength of underlying demand, stated a University of Illinois agricultural economist. "Based on the most recent USDA projections, and the assumption that year-ending stocks need to be maintained at or above 5% of consumption, corn use would need to be reduced by only about 30 million bushels, or 0.2%, during the year ahead," reported Southeast Farm Press. Full Story The arrival of Irene at the start of North Carolina's crop harvest season was the worst possible timing for most farmers, according to the state's Agriculture Commissioner. Though numbers are still pending, Hurricane Irene caused serious losses to North Carolina food crops including soybeans, sweet potatoes and corn. Poultry and hog farms lost power, cutting off ventilation and cooling systems. In some cases, backup generators were flooded, reported Reuters. Full Story Sugar prices may drop at least 13% by early next year as an increase in supplies from Europe and Asia counter a drop in production in Brazil, according to broker and researcher Kingsman SA, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
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