September 01, 2011

IFDA News

The EXPO at the 2011 Distribution Solutions Conference is SOLD OUT, which means foodservice distributors will see more products and services exhibited at the show than ever before. To highlight some of the many solutions at the DSC EXPO, we have a "sneak peek" of equipment leasing and proof of delivery companies at the 2011 show. Full Story

Distributor News

Renzi Foodservice has proposed a 20,000-square-foot addition to its headquarters and refrigerated and frozen storage facility in Watertown, NY, reported the Watertown Daily Times. Full Story

Operator News

Salt mentions on major chain and independent restaurant menus increased by 144% over the last five years, according to Technomic's MenuMonitor analysis. Full Story

Noodles & Company entered into a franchise deal with Hartford Noodles LLC to open several stores in Connecticut over the next five years, its first foray into the Northeast states. The group will open its first Noodles & Company in Hartford County, CT, in 2012, with several more to come, reported Denver Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. debuted three coffee blends in its shops in the U.S. and Canada. The blends are made with 100% Arabica beans, reported Winston-Salem Journal. Full Story

Barnie's Coffee & Tea signed a corporate sponsorship with the University of Central Florida and will serve its coffee at concession points throughout Bright House Networks Stadium, the UCF Arena and Jay Bergman Field. Both hot and iced coffee will be served in the facilities, which collectively seat more than 57,531 fans. The facilities are managed by Centerplate Inc., reported Orlando Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The Star-Ledger profiles how New Jersey-based restaurants are faring in the wake of Hurricane Irene. For instance, owners of Denville, NJ-based Hunan Taste believe it will cost $300,000 to restore the restaurant to pre-Irene condition, but plans to reopen this weekend. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The University of North Texas opened an all-vegan full-service campus cafeteria. The hall, believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S., does not serve any animal products, including meat, milk or eggs, reported Reuters. Full Story

Firehouse Restaurant Group Inc. lost a trademark infringement lawsuit relating to the name and theme "firehouse." The restaurant already filed a motion to overturn the verdict, reported Jacksonville Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Industry News

Brands should think of Facebook as a loyalty program, reported Advertising Age. Some 117 brands have at least a million fans, with 40 more on pace to join this year. About 84% of a typical brand's Facebook fans are existing customers, according to DDB Worldwide and Opinionway Research. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

New! The Sept. 1 edition of the Lempert Report, hosted by Phil Lempert, takes a look at the IFIC Functional Foods Survey. Click here to view.

Google began displaying geo-targeted daily deal offers on Google.com's homepage, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Ethiopia is expanding its commodities exchange to improve its own food-distribution system. In its first three years the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange centralized the trading of coffee, sesame and navy beans. Trading volume in the last fiscal year more than doubled to 504,000 metric tons. The exchange also is spurring farmers to grow better-quality coffee, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story

Buyers are demanding a discount for Vietnam's coffee crop starting in October on speculation of record output, according to three people involved in the trade. Vietnam will produce 19.6 million bags in the current season that ends Sept. 30, according to Rabobank, reported Bloomberg Businessweek. Full Story

Meanwhile, Kenyan coffee prices climbed 6.6% at an auction as supplies of the beans declined and global prices rallied, according to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, reported Bloomberg Businessweek. Full Story

Health News

Approximately one-half of the U.S. population consumes sugar drinks on any given day, according to a data brief from CDC. Males consume more sugar drinks than females while teenagers and young adults consume more sugar drinks than other age groups. Full Story

A couple of servings of potatoes per day can lower blood pressure as much as oatmeal without causing weight gain, depending on how they are prepared, according to research funded by USDA and presented at an American Chemical Society meeting, reported HealthDay. Full Story

Washington News

California's governor proposed a package of compromise measures to protect farmworkers from grower interference. The governor remains opposed to "card-check" legislation for farmworkers unions, reported The Sacramento Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Amazon.com is offering to build a number of distribution centers if California lawmakers back away, at least temporarily, from their efforts to force the company to collect sales taxes on purchases made by customers in the state, reported The Los Angeles Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Market News

Fiscal 2012 agricultural exports are projected at $137 billion, the same as the 2011 forecast, according to USDA. The forecast for 2012 imports is $105 billion, 11% higher than 2011. The revised U.S. import bill for 2011 is $94.5 billion, a 20% jump from 2010. Full Story

Hurricane Irene affected Virginia's tomato and corn crops, according to preliminary reports. Some 3,000 to 4,000 acres of tomatoes in Virginia's Eastern Shore were partially flattened and swamped, noted a Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services board member, reported Reuters. Full Story

The first air shipments of Argentinean blueberries should begin arriving soon. The bulk of the crop, the first import blueberry crop of the season, is expected to enter the U.S. through Miami, according to the Argentinean Blueberry Committee. About 23.6 million-lbs. of blueberries were shipped to the U.S. through Aug. 27, up from 14.8 million-lbs. last season at the same time, according to USDA, reported The Packer Online. Full Story

California growers expect a normal pumpkin crop, but supplies from the East Coast and Texas could be down because of extreme weather, reported The Packer Online. Full Story

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