Retail News
Purchasing decisions in 2010 will be affected by factors
such as brand innovation, retailer assortment, proliferation
of store brands and healthy eating preferences, according
to the Nielsen Company. Walmart's "Project Impact"
strategy and other similar retailer initiatives will test
consumer preferences for clean aisles and lower prices vs.
broader product selection. In the first few months of 2010,
sales of healthier eating alternatives should be a good indicator
of consumer confidence. Full
Story
The Nielsen Company revealed its list of the top five
consumer goods spending trends for 2010. Trends include
a restraint in spending remaining the norm, value remaining
a top priority, store brand growth continuing, grocery consolidation
intensifying and assortment wars escalating. Full
Story
View
Today! Click
here to watch The Lempert Report, featuring data from
The Food Institute. The Dec. 17 report focuses on employment
figures.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is ending e-coupons for Kroger
loyalty cards. The decision comes as Kroger changes its
online coupon site and looks to stop redirecting visitors
to P&G's site, reported The Associated Press. Full
Story
About
30% of Oakland, NJ-based ShopRite's NetGrocer.com business,
which it co-owns, comes from servicemen and women stationed
overseas. The site receives "a couple of thousand orders
a week," stated manager Drew Vitulano. The online business
now accounts for about 15% to 20% of the Oakland ShopRite's
business, reported
The Record. Full
Story
Chicago
mayor Richard M. Daley is pressing aldermen, union leaders
and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to resolve their differences
and allow for the retailer's expansion in Chicago, reported
Crain's Chicago Business. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Kowalski's Markets is the exclusive Twin Cities vendor
of Akaushi beef, a choice variety of meat rarely found
outside of Japan. The company's nine locations will charge
$39.95 per pound for rib eye and $7.99 per pound for ground
beef, with a variety of cuts in between, reported Minneapolis
/ St. Paul Business Journal. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Manufacturer News
 Sara
Lee Corp. will reduce salt in its products by an average of
20% over the next five years. Full
Story
Food safety concerns was voted as the top food story and
biggest issue of 2009, according to a survey from Hunter
Public Relations. Meanwhile, childhood obesity was voted as
the top food story of the decade. Full
Story
The
Middleby Corporation acquired all of the shares of Doyon Equipment
Inc., a manufacturer of baking ovens for the commercial
foodservice industry. Full
Story
Mergers
and acquisitions (M&A) activity is expected to pick up in
2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Transaction
Services practice. "M&A activity in 2010 will be driven
by strategic buyers who have access to capital and the strategic
vision to capitalize on some of the best values we have seen
in recent times," stated Bob Filek, Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers
Transaction Services.
Full
Story
Foodservice News
M-C McLane International, which plans to open a new 64,000-sq.
ft. headquarters and distribution center near Bush Intercontinental
Airport, is changing its name to McLane Global - Trading,
Logistics and Sales to reflect its burgeoning global business
and other long-term growth strategies, reported Supermarket
News. Full
Story
Nash-Finch Company acquired a 400,000-sq. ft. warehouse
distribution facility in Columbus, GA for its distribution
business serving military commissaries and exchanges. The
distribution center will be operated by MDV. Full
Story
The Honeybaked Ham Co. is attempting to expand into other
markets. The company is adding restaurants to stores,
seeking to grow its catering and corporate gift businesses,
opening kiosks in supermarkets, rolling out seasonal desserts
and is considering partnerships, perhaps with an ice cream
chain, to grow beyond ham, reported USA Today. Full
Story
The
sectors predicted to experience the largest percentage increases
in the number of franchised establishments include quick
service restaurants (3.1%) and retail food (2.4%), according
to the Franchise Business Economic Outlook for 2010,
prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for the International
Franchise Association's Educational Foundation. Full
Story
Washington News
California Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) introduced
legislation aimed at increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables
in school breakfasts and lunches. The bill instructs USDA
to put in place a plan to promote the use of salad bars in
schools. The legislation authorizes $10 million for fiscal
years 2011 and 2012 to help schools purchase salad bars and
fruit and vegetable bars for their cafeterias. Full
Story
Maine's attorney general, responding to complaints by
lobstermen, opened an investigation into allegations of
price-fixing among some lobster dealers, reported The Associated
Press. Full
Story
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
confirmed Merisant Worldwide, Inc.'s plan of reorganization.
The decision may allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy
as early as Jan. 8. Full
Story
Lallemand, Inc. filed a petition with FDA proposing that
the food additive regulations be amended to provide for
the safe use of vitamin D2 bakers yeast as a dual purpose
nutrient supplement and leavening agent or dough relaxer in
yeast-containing baked products. Full
Notice
USDA invited state departments of agriculture, state agricultural
experiment stations and other state agencies to submit proposals
that help to market, transport and distribute U.S.-produced
food and agricultural products domestically and internationally.
Selected proposals will be funded through the Federal-State
Marketing Improvement Program. Full
Story
Global News
The Russian State Duma passed a law on retail trade that
places regulations on retailers, including a shortened
period of payment for delivered goods, possible limits on
retail prices and a cap on stores' retail margins. The legislation
will also restrict retail chains from acquiring stores if
the acquisition would cause their market share in the region
to exceed 25%, reported The Moscow Times. Full
Story
Market News
The outlook for fresh vegetables this winter indicates
reduced acreage and supplies, noted ERS. At the same time,
demand is expected to continue to be relatively soft as consumers
remain conservative with regard to both away-from-home eating
and premium products such as hothouse and organic vegetables.
Meanwhile, in the coming year, acreage of vegetables used
for processing is expected to decline, led by tomatoes. After
2009's record large crop, strong world supplies, and slowing
export demand, tomato processors are expected to contract
for about 10% fewer acres in 2010. ERS's
Vegetables and Melons Outlook
Florida OJ sales rose for the eighth straight month thanks
largely to lower prices, but the gains came partly at
the expense of declining grapefruit juice sales. OJ sales
rose 4.2% in the month ending Nov. 28 compared to the same
period a year ago, according to Bob Norberg, deputy executive
director of research and operations at the Florida Department
of Citrus. Mr. Norberg credited the sales increases mostly
to lower retail prices, which averaged $5.38 a gallon for
the recent month. Grapefruit juice sales fell 6.2% during
the recent month, reported Lakeland Ledger. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
Florida pink grapefruit will be featured in 220 Waitrose
stores in and around London during January and February.
The promotion builds upon a multiyear marketing relationship
between Waitrose and the Florida Department of Agriculture
and Consumer Services. Full
Story
Ground planted to asparagus in California fell from 40,000
acres to 20,000 acres in recent years, according to the
California Department of Food and Agriculture. Despite cutting
their harvest in half, asparagus growers are still seeing
prices slowly decline. Last year, 90% of domestic consumption
was imported, up from less than 60% at the turn of the century,
stated Gary Lucier, USDA agricultural economist. Lower cost
operations in Peru and Mexico account for 99% of the imports,
reported California Farm Bureau. Full
Story
November's pork-belly stocks were likely the highest for
that month since 1992, according to brokerage Allendale,
while prices for hogs collapsed. Sales of items like bacon
cheeseburgers and BLT sandwiches are also up at restaurants,
despite declines in traffic, according to Bonnie Riggs of
The NPD Group, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full
Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Product sales of Certified Angus Beef brand topped 663
million-lbs. from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009, growing
4.6% over the fiscal 2008 total of 634 million-lbs. Representing
more than half of the brand's sales, the retail division sold
343.5 million-lbs. Full
Story
In 2008, exports of fresh cultivated blueberries from
Canada amounted to 9,840 metric tons and were valued at
$48 million, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Canada also exported 21,621 metric tons of frozen cultivated
blueberries worth around $81.5 million, bringing the total
value close to $130 million. Full
Story
Arizona-based Hickman's Egg Farms' five million laying
hens provide eggs to Sprouts, Safeway, Fry's, Trader Joe's,
Walgreens, Bashas' and other retailers throughout the Western
U.S., and at Foodland stores in Hawaii. In 1998, the company
owned about 340,000 laying hens, reported Phoenix Business
Journal. Full
Story (Free Registration Required)
California's dairy farmers will receive a temporary adjustment
in the minimum price of milk, according to the state's
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). CDFA is increasing
the minimum prices of all milk usage by varying amounts for
a temporary three-month basis from January through March 2010.
The adjustment includes three cents per gallon on fluid milk
products. Full
Story
USDA unveiled a new pilot project under the "Know
Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative for farmers
to establish high tunnels, also known as hoop houses, to increase
the availability of locally grown produce in a conservation-friendly
way. The three-year, 38-state study will verify if high tunnels
are effective in reducing pesticide use, keeping vital nutrients
in the soil, extending the growing season, increasing yields
and providing other benefits to growers. Full
Story
FDA is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect
approval of a supplemental new animal drug application (NADA)
filed by Elanco Animal Health. The supplemental NADA provides
for use of two-way combination Type B and C medicated swine
feeds formulated with ractopamine hydrochloride and tylosin
phosphate following use of tylosin tartrate medicated drinking
water consistent with the sequential use approved for single-ingredient
tylosin medicated swine feed. Full
Notice
The International Trade Commission is scheduling a full
review to determine whether revocation of the antidumping
duty order on Sorbitol from France would be likely to
lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within
a reasonably foreseeable time. Full
Notice
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IGA
Coca-Cola Institute Perspective 
