Retail News
Tesco stated it would withdraw from the U.S., unloading
the Fresh & Easy chain it set up in 2007. Tesco, wrote down
the value of its global operations by $3.5 billion, as it
sought to rebuild after a year in which profit fell for the
first time in two decades. The group, the world's third-largest
retailer after Walmart and Carrefour, stated abandoning Fresh
& Easy in the U.S. would mean restructuring and other one-off
costs of 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion), reported Reuters.
Full
Story
Fairway Group Holdings raised $177.5 million in its initial
public offering after pricing the shares above the marketed
range. Fairway sold 13.65 million shares for $13 each, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg, after offering them for $10
to $12, reported Bloomberg.com. Full
Story
Demand for gourmet cupcakes is softening. Crumbs states
sales for the full year would be down by 22% from earlier
projections, and the stock slipped further this week. Crumbs
in part blamed store closures from Hurricane Sandy, but others
state the chain is suffering from a larger problem: gourmet-cupcake
burnout. In the Crumbs earnings report last week, the company's
CEO stated Sandy-related closures cost it $700,000 in lost
sales in the last quarter of 2012. Crumbs also indicated that
certain locations "incapable of reaching acceptable levels
of financial performance" would need to close. The report
didn't specify how many might close, reported The Wall
Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Ninety-four percent of Americans
indicate they will remain cautious and keep their spending
for food and beverages at its current level, even as the
economy improves, according to Deloitte's 2013 American
Pantry Study. Some 92% of consumers stated they have become
more resourceful, and 86% are getting more precise in what
they buy; those attitudes have remained consistent in the
three years Deloitte has conducted the study. Eighty-eight
percent of survey respondents report they have found several
store brands that are just as good as national brands, and
only 27% plan to switch back as the economy rebounds, an eight
percentage point decline from the previous year. Full
Story
TGIC Importers assigned its California distribution to
Young's Market Company effective May 1. The move builds
upon the two companies' existing partnership in Arizona, Hawaii,
Oregon, Utah, Idaho and Washington. TGIC-owned Titan Wine
and Spirits, the importer's current California distributor,
will continue to represent more than 70 fine wine and spirits
brands in accord with its business plan structured for further
portfolio growth. Full Story
New Store News: Costco Wholesale is under contract
to buy 17 acres in the Presidio Junction development where
it plans its fourth Tarrant County, TX location, reported
Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Full
Story ... Giant Food Stores opened a Havertown,
PA store that features a Beer Garden and Eatery at the 76,000-sq.-ft.
location, reported Philadelphia Business Journal. Full
Story... Atlas Oil will open its new convenience
store concept, Earth Market, in Frankfort, IL, reported Convenience
Store Decisions. Full
Story
Manufacturer News
Procter & Gamble is planning to add weeks
to the amount of time it takes to pay its suppliers, a
shift that could free up as much as $2 billion in cash, people
familiar with the matter stated. P&G could use that cash to
fund investments in new factories overseas or to help pay
for stock buybacks. That added flexibility, however, will
come at the expense of the companies that supply P&G with
materials or services. The suppliers will have to tie up more
of their own cash in receivables or eat the interest costs
charged by banks to bridge the gap until P&G pays its bills,
reported The Wall Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
New Product News: Tessemae's
All Natural introduced new Roasted Chopped Garlic spreads.
The three flavors: Original, Cracked Pepper and Mediterranean
are marinated and slow roasted. All three Roasted Chopped
Garlic flavors are available at Whole Foods worldwide and
at www.Tessemaes.com. Full
Story... Lance is adding Xtra Fulls Toastchee
and Xtra Fulls Toasty, as well as product extensions for
its Cracker Creations, Captain's Wafers sandwich crackers
and Nekot Sandwich cookies. Full
Story... Pretzelmaker has
two new flavors of Pretzel Bites: Buffalo Blue Cheese and
Cracked Pepper& Sea Salt. Full
Story
Executives on the Move: Avitae
USA hired Norman E. Snyder as the Company's new president
and CEO. Full
Story... NTN Buzztime appointed
Kirk Nagamine as its new chief revenue officer.
Full
Story... Price Chopper named Troy Johnson
vice president of deli/foodservice, reported Supermarket
News. Full
Story
Foodservice
News
McDonald's franchisees are objecting to requests from
corporate to improve customer service and possibly sales.
The franchisees, strained by smaller margins from McDonald's
value-oriented strategy, view the request to "smile more"
as just the latest order from a demanding McDonald's. Independent
owners control roughly 90% of the chain's 14,000 domestic
restaurants, and a sampling of them characterized their relationship
with corporate as 1.93 on a scale of zero to five, reported
Crain's Chicago Business. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Doritos Locos Tacos enabled Taco Bell to hire 15,000 employees
last year, according to company CEO Greg Creed. The cross-promotional
item, launched in march 2012, was purchased 375 times, or
slightly more than one million per day. "We believe we
can add 2,000 new restaurants in the next 10 years, because
what we have is proprietary and exclusive. Nobody else can
make a Cool Ranch Doritos Taco. And that's just in the U.S.,"
Mr. Creed told The Daily Beast, reported ABCNews.
Full
Story
Restaurant Roundup: Joe's Pizza opened a new Joe's
Pizza in the Union Square section of New York City, marking
the first expansion of the landmark pizza establishment founded
in 1975. Full
Story... An American barbecue chain will open
its newest location in Winchester, VA Full Story
and the Sacramento, CA area. Full
Story
Health News
Food packages with any sodium claim resulted in more positive
attitudes toward the claim and the product healthfulness than
did packages with a taste control claim, although all mock
packages were identical nutritionally, found a study published
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Having
hypertension increased ratings related to product healthfulness
and purchase intentions, but there was no difference in reported
understanding between hypertensives and normotensives. Study
Abstract
Washington News
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled proposals for
immigration reform that would remove the threat of deportation
for undocumented workers and allow them to become U.S. citizens.
The proposed bill would give farm laborers a faster path toward
U.S. citizenship than other undocumented workers. The bill
would give legal status to undocumented workers who were employed
in agriculture in the past two years, reported Reuters.
Full
Story
Claims of unpaid fuel rebates apparently led to the raid
on the headquarters of Pilot Flying J as part of a federal
criminal investigation, according to the company's CEO. Pilot
Flying J does business with about 3,300 trucking companies,
reported Knoxville News Sentinel. Full
Story
Wegmans Food Markets is recalling approximately 1,100
affected units of Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Roasted
Red Pepper Dip because some tubs may not list milk and eggs
on the label. Full
Story
Global News
UK supermarkets have become one-stop shops for 8 million
consumers, according to a survey commissioned by finance
giant Santander. They are being encouraged to purchase all
their nonfood items from supermarkets, as well as the weekly
grocery shop, by convenience, cost and rewards such as loyalty
points. The findings reveal that 98% of Britons buy at least
some nonfood items from supermarkets, reported DailyMail.co.uk.
Full
Story
Nearly 5% of European "beef" products were contaminated
with horse meat, and the percentage was sharply higher
in a few countries such as France and Greece. The EU, Switzerland
and Norway organized Europe-wide tests in February after horse-meat
DNA was found in products labeled as beef in a number of countries.
The authorities found 200 positive samples out of 4,497 tested,
or 4.4%. Nearly a quarter of all positive tests in the 27
EU nations occurred in France, while Greek samples accounted
for nearly 20% of all EU positive tests, reported The Wall
Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Hong Kong supermarket prices have risen by an average
of 6.8% over the past year, with eggs, infant formula
and canned fish soaring above the prices of other household
basics, according to a survey from The Consumer Council. The
highest average increases were seen in the prices of canned
fish, which leapt 18.1%; eggs, up 17.5%; and milk powder,
which was 17.3% higher. The only decline was in alcoholic
drinks, whose prices fell 5%, reported South China Morning
Post. Full
Story
The increasing number of new H7N9 avian influenza in China
could pose meaningful risk to the U.S. protein and restaurant
industries, according to Fitch Ratings. Among the most
exposed are firms with a growing presence in China, such as
YUM! Brands, McDonald's, Tyson Foods, and JBS S.A. Fitch thinks
rising consumer fears around avian influenza in China, or
elsewhere, could cause a meaningful pullback in chicken consumption
with fewer restaurant visits, lower retail chicken sales,
and reduced export activity. Full
Story
Meanwhile, China intends to speed up the improvement of
food safety standards and clarify existing standards by
the end of the year, according to the State Council. Other
food safety efforts, including intensifying supervision of
various sectors, severe punishments for safety violations
and improving the credit system system, will also see an increase
in efforts this year, reported China Daily. Full
Story
The Japanese ice cream sector can expect positive growth
over the next five years, according to Canadean Group.
Artisanal ice cream should display the most growth, with a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.6% to 2017. The artisanal
category of ice cream held a value share of 16.2% and a volume
share of 23.4% for 2012. Hypermarkets and supermarkets remain
the top channels for the sector over the past few years, reported
FoodBev.com. Full
Story
Canada Bread Company plans to close
its bakery in Shawinigan, Quebec. The closure will improve
efficiencies in Canada Bread's network by reducing overhead
and supporting a focus on higher margin products and new market
opportunities. The Shawinigan bakery produces a
variety of snack cakes under the Chevalier, Cadbury and Obsession
brands. The company closes the facility May 3.
Full
Story
Market News
U.S. hog farmers may produce a record amount of pork as
exports slump the worst in more than a decade, prolonging
a global glut into a fifth consecutive year. USDA estimates
the 10.66 million metric tons produced will be the most since
at least 1970, while exports fell 14% in the first two months,
the most for the period in government data since 2000. Futures
may drop 19% to 72 cents/lb. by the end of the year on the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange, based on the median of nine trader
and analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Demand
for pork from the U.S., the biggest exporter, is weakening
as importers from South Korea to Japan expand domestic output
and China and Russia stop purchasing meat produced with the
feed additive ractopamine. Full
Story
The first crops of this year's harvest in New Jersey are
nearly ready. Scott Walker of Jersey Asparagus and Walker
Bros. farms in Pittsgrove stated this year's asparagus crop
has peeked its head above the soil and should be ready for
harvesting this week. Over at Mood's Farm Market in Mullica
Hill, peach and plum trees started blooming last week. According
to another farmer, strawberries will be ready the first week
of May, reported NJ.com. Full
Story
California almond growers lost at least $70 million due
to high power winds reaching speeds of 50-miles-per-hour.
The 2% crop loss, or about 50-lbs. of nuts per acre, was experienced
statewide, according to an assessment by the Blue Diamond
Member Relations Manager, reported Western Farm Press.
Full
Story
Prices for fluid milk at retail food stores rose 11.6%
in 2007 and 6% in 2008, according to ERS' Households'
Choices Among Fluid Milk Products: What Happens When Income
and Prices Change? report. When prices increase or incomes
fall, households tend to switch to less expensive product
- those that have a lower fat content or by switching from
organic to conventional milk. However, when incomes increase,
households do not always buy more expensive product. Full
Story
Researchers successfully transformed cellulose into starch,
shedding light on a previously untapped nutrient source
from plants not traditionally thought of as food crops, according
to a study published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. The research explores the idea that
food can be created from any plant and could reduce land-grown
crops that require fertilizers, pesticides and water, reported
Science Daily. Full
Story
Farmers are increasingly working with organizations to
introduce flowers and plants to help feed bees. One organization,
"Project Apis m." created the Seeds for Bees program
to contribute to bee nutrition, reported California Farm
Bureau Federation. Full
Story
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