IGA Global Rally Perspective

2012 IGA Global Rally: A Whole New World of Opportunity

A message to the Alliance from...
Mark Batenic
IGA CEO

With the extremely successful 2011 Global Rally in Vancouver now behind us, today I'd like to take this opportunity to officially announce that we have some equally exciting plans for next year's event. We have decided to expand your opportunity for learning and information sharing by holding the 2012 IGA Global Rally in conjunction with the annual convention of the National Grocers Association, next Feb. 12-15 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

Development for this special event is already underway, with IGA executives and NGA officials meeting here in Chicago this week to work out some of the details. Right now we know that we will have our annual Awards of Excellence dinner on a night when there are no NGA events planned, and that our program will also feature a short IGA general session and a series of IGA workshops that outline the benefit of our brand while complementing NGA's content.

So as you can see, it's never too early to start planning. While we use your IGA Global Rally feedback from this year to create a joint program with NGA that will benefit both existing and prospective IGA members alike, we ask that you begin making your plans to join us at this unique learning opportunity.

Stay tuned to The Independent View for more information about the 2012 event in the coming months, and watch your mailbox for the upcoming annual edition of the Grocergram—a magazine that will be packed with photos and insights from our great Vancouver experience.

Looking forward to sharing more with you soon.

Mark Batenic

Retail News

Some 40% of adults voluntarily share brand preferences and opinions with friends and family. Those ages 30 to 49 are the most influential in sharing brand opinions, with 50% of them providing recommendations and sharing preferences with people they know, compared to 42% of those under 30 and 40% of those over 50, according to Crowd Science's JustAsk! survey. About 8% follow their favorite brands via social media. Full Story

Williams-Sonoma Inc. is preparing to take its e-commerce site live in more than 75 countries by the end of June, reported The San Francisco Chronicle. Web orders are the fastest-growing source of revenue for the company. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Three Stater Bros. supermarkets earned the Gold Award from EPA's GreenChill Partnership. Full Story

New Store News: Trader Joe's is looking for sites in Dallas, Houston and Austin, TX, reported The Dallas Morning News. Full Story (Subscription Required) ... Publix Supermarket broke ground on a 28,800-sq. ft. location in West Kendall, FL, which is on track to open in November. Full Story

Procter & Gamble and Kroger and its family of stores joined together to support the USO in its mission to help American troops and their families. Through the partnership Kroger will donate $250,000 to the USO. Full Story

The Kroger Co. is committing $250,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to assist storm and flood relief efforts in communities across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and other affected areas in the Southeast. Full Story

Southern California-area Ralphs Grocery Company customers will earn double points on qualifying purchases at Ralphs when they buy fuel at participating Shell locations beginning May 2. Full Story

Manufacturer News

Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. confirmed that its board of directors received an unsolicited proposal from a third party in March. Ralcorp's board of directors unanimously concluded that the proposal is not in the best interests of shareholders and determined not to pursue the proposal. The company stated it is not in discussions with any third party regarding a sale. Full Story

New Product News: The Coca-Cola Company introduced Honest Tea zero-calorie Classic Lemonade, sweetened with organic stevia. Full Story ... Cargill and United Supermarkets are rolling out the Genuine Texas Beef brand in Texas at United Supermarkets and its Market Street and Amigos stores. Full Story

Kellogg Company will commit $400,000 to support disaster relief efforts following the devastating tornadoes in the Southern U.S., as well as other natural disasters this spring. The contribution includes cash and product donations to Feeding America. Full Story

Foodservice News

Raw coffee costs reflect 7% of the sale price of a typical drink at Starbucks' cafes, compared with a far higher percentage for bagged coffee, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst. Beverages accounted for about 75% of sales at company-owned stores for the past three fiscal years, and the company's U.S. retail stores contribute about 70% to total revenue, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, Inc.'s Board of Directors determined to engage in a sale process as well as a broad evaluation of the company's other strategic alternatives. Full Story Meanwhile, the company is considering expanding The Boathouse Restaurants concept in Canada, as well as utilizing it as a complementary concept within the U.S. Full Story

Toppers Pizza plans to open 100 restaurants by 2013 and 500 by 2020. The company currently has 28 units. Full Story

Restaurant Roundup: Cold Stone Creamery is launching ColdStoneCakes.com, an online cake ordering website. Full Story ... Danone's YoCream International, Inc. launched Activia Frozen Yogurt in four flavors. The product will be available at frozen yogurt shops and restaurants. Full Story ... White Castle made online ordering available in all locations. Full Story

Health News

Children who sit down to eat with their families are less likely to be overweight and eat unhealthy foods. Researchers found kids who eat with their parents at least three times a week had 12% lower odds of being overweight, according to the study, published in Pediatrics, reported Reuters. Full Story

Washington News

The number of Americans receiving food stamps increased to 44.2 million in February, up from 44.19 the previous month, a record, according to FNS statistics. Full Story

USDA introduced an internet-based mapping tool that pinpoints the location of "food deserts" around the U.S. and provides data on population characteristics of census tracts where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods. Full Story

Six L's issued a voluntary recall of one lot of grape tomatoes because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Full Story

Safeway is voluntarily recalling five Signature Cafe prepared salads and two salads sold at deli counters in cooperation with the Taylor Farms voluntary recall. The salad products were made by Taylor Farms using grape tomatoes sourced from grower Six L's that were recalled due to possible Salmonella contamination, and the recalled Signature Cafe and deli salads were sold at Safeway, Vons, Pavilions and Pak N Save stores in multiple states. Full Story

Bay Valley Foods, LLC issued a voluntary recall of approximately 188,181-lbs. of Reduced Sodium Chicken Noodle Soup because the products may contain may contain Cream of Chicken Soup. Full Story

Quinault Tribal Enterprise issued a voluntary recall of all canned seafood products because the products were not adequately processed according to the USDA's low-acid canned food regulations. Full Story

Legislation in the Texas House would make it easier for individuals to start food-based businesses from their home, reported San Antonio Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required) Meanwhile, the Colorado Legislature may join more than a dozen other states with a "cottage foods" designation. If approved, the designation would allow farmers to sell to the general public certain foods prepared at home, reported Desert News. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The average number of food and beverage advertisements that children two to 11 viewed on children's programming fell by 50% between 2004 and 2010, according to research from The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Association of National Advertisers. Advertisements for cookies fell by 99%, while advertisements for soft drinks fell by 96% and advertisements for fruit and vegetables juices increased by 199% in the same time period. Full Story

Global News

U.S. agricultural exports to Italy in 2010 totaled $1.8 billion and agricultural imports from Italy totaled $3 billion, noted FAS. The U.S. mainly imports from Italy processed food products and exports commodities. Wine dominates Italy's food exports, followed by pasta, virgin and extra-virgin olive oil, canned tomatoes, cheese, biscuits and baked goods. The U.S. is Italy's largest non-EU market. FAS Report

Kraft Foods will open a $80 million manufacturing facility in Pernambuco, Brazil. The new plant will initially produce chocolate and powdered beverages. A biscuit line will be added in 2012. Full Story

Greencore Group Plc is reportedly considering a bid for Uniq Plc, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Greencore is working with Barclays Capital to study a possible acquisition of all or part of Uniq in a deal that may value the food group at about $167 million, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story

The European Commission cleared the proposed acquisition of sole control over the assets of German chocolate manufacturer Schwartauer Werke GmbH & Co. KG Kakao Verarbeitung Berlin by Cargill. Full Story

Danisco's board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders accept DuPont's raised offer for the company, reported Reuters. Full Story

Danisco initiated an expansion of its cellulose gum production facility in China to match growing demand from the global food and oral care industry. The expansion, which will increase production by an annual 5,000 metric tons, is planned for completion in early 2012. Full Story

Priszm Income Fund's sale of its Ontario and British Columbia restaurants to Soul Restaurants Canada Inc. was delayed. The transaction was expected to close on or before Apr. 30. The parties continue to work to address outstanding matters in order to enable Priszm to seek the necessary Court approval of the transaction in its proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Full Story

Market News

Arabica coffee futures hit their highest price in 14 years on May 2 because of concerns that upcoming harvests will not be enough to supply growing international consumption. Coffee for July delivery rose 1.8% to settle at $3.0510/lb. on the IntercontinentalExchange, with supplies reduced by poor harvests among some major producers, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Market prices for chicken breast meat averaged $1.26 per pound, down 10% from a year ago, while market prices for wings fell 38%, to $1.00 per pound in the first quarter of 2011, according to Pilgrim's Pride. The company also succeeded in negotiating additional price increases with some of its retail and foodservice customers in response to continued increases in feed costs. Full Story

Stocks or regional populations of smaller, short-lived fish can collapse because of overfishing just as frequently as stocks of large, long-lived species such as cod, tuna and sharks, according to a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reported CBC News. Full Story

The Department of Commerce is preliminarily rescinding new shipper reviews under the antidumping duty order on fresh garlic from China for Shenzhen Bainong Co., Ltd. and Jining Yifa Garlic Produce Co., Ltd. The firms' sales were found to not be bona fide, and the department is also preliminarily rescinding a new shipper review for Yantai Jinyan Trading Inc. after determining that there was no sale or entry during the original, unextended period of review. Full Notice