Industry News

Dollar General Corp. is being acquired by affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. in a transaction with a total value of approximately $7.3 billion, including approximately $380 million of net debt. Full Story

Coca-Cola Co. is reorganizing its North American operations into three new business units - sparkling beverages, still beverages and emerging brands - to define its focus in the North American market, where it faces competition makers of healthier beverages such as juices, according to a Reuters report, citing Beverage Digest. Full Story

Hundreds of millions of dollars in new marketing and the development of new colas are beginning to pay off for Coca-Cola. The company's global soft drink sales grew faster last year than they have since 1998, despite falling sales in the U.S. Since Coke Zero's launch in June 2005, the company has sold more than 120 million cases in 14 countries. Coke also has plans for a Vanilla Coke Zero that will be rolled out with the reintroduction later this year of Vanilla Coke, which was put on "hiatus" in 2005 after sales plummeted, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Brit-vic are developing a raft of new beverage products in an attempt to stem the decline of growth in the carbonated drinks market. Innovations include a 'turbo-fizz' dial feature on the side of a can that allows consumers to increase or reduce the amount of bubbles in their drink. Drinks that change color are also being developed. Such features could be the norm within five years, according to industry experts, reported TwinCities.com. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Latest sales & earnings for food related companies (Updated Daily)

Kmart added 32 new products to its assortment of private label beverages under the American Fare brand name. The new American Fare products include vitamin water, bottled green iced tea, Free Fall and Loop energy drinks, and Fruit FX (fruit- flavored water), and a 10-pack of juice pouches with 100% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. Full Story

Friendly Ice Cream Corporation franchisee Kessler Family, LLC retained Mastodon Ventures, Inc. as its advisor to explore strategic alternatives, including the acquisition of some or all of the assets of Friendly Ice Cream Corporation should such assets be offered for sale. Full Story

KFC has been quietly adding menu items featuring chicken legs and thighs at its 5,500 domestic restaurants. The purchasing agency for Yum! Brands reported that dark-meat consumption at domestic KFC restaurants increased 50% in 2005, and 30% more during the first half of last year, according to a recent newsletter to franchisees. Dark meat now accounts for about 18% of all bone-in poultry ordered by KFC, reported azcentral.com. Full Story

Canada-based restaurant chain The Extreme Pita plans to open as many as 180 U.S. locations over the next several years. Menu items include the Market Fresh Veggie and Philly Cheese Steak, along with salads and flat-baked pitas, reported East Bay Business Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

While Peet's Coffee and Tea does not want to be another Starbucks, the company is gearing up its expansion this year with plans to open 30 new stores, a 22% increase from the company's existing 136 locations. In the past five years, it has more than doubled its number of stores, reported Inside Bay Area. Full Story

Illinois-based food fundraising company, Market Day, launched Amazing Meals in a Bag, a line of single serve frozen entrees made from all-natural ingredients, which are cooked in a parchment paper bag similar to the European Papillote method. Full Story

Swedish crisp-bread maker Wasa has seen its U.S. sales rise 50% after talk-show host Oprah Winfrey sunk her teeth into its crackers on her show, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Discount food retailer Aldi, Inc. is expanding in the Memphis, TN market, with three locations under construction and six more in the planning stages, reported Memphis Business Journal. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

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Cameron Hughes Wine is on track to sell $8 million of repurposed wines purchased from producers around the world. Three years ago, the company produced just 4,000 cases, while last year, it sold 37,000 cases and generated $4.7 million in revenue, with 33,000 cases and $4.1 million of it through Costco, reported San Francisco Business Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

With the current craze of celebrity licensing deals among the nation's wine retailers and manufacturers, it appears even lesser-known celebrities can get their own wine product lines. Paul Burrell, former butler to the late Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II, is launching a new line of wines, the Royal Butler collection, reported Tampa Bay Online. Full Story

International News

This year, Raving Brands will open restaurants in Singapore and several countries in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The company also plans to open Moe's restaurants in the Canadian province of Ontario around the same time. While a number of fast-food restaurants already have a significant international presence, the relatively young fast-casual industry doesn't have as great a foothold, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Jamaican food processing and distribution giant GraceKennedy Limited acquired the WT (Holdings) Limited Group (WT Foods) of the United Kingdom, a leading ethnic and specialty foods supplier, from Bridgepoint Capital Limited, a European private equity firm, for an undisclosed sum, reported The Voice. Full Story

Washington News

The Bush administration wants to allow ocean farming for shellfish, salmon and saltwater species in federal waters for the first time, hoping to grab a greater share of the $70 billion aquaculture market for the U.S. A proposed plan would help the $1 billion U.S. aquaculture industry roughly double over the next few decades, according to The Associated Press. Full Story

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Scientific Commission endorsed the recommendation from an OIE expert panel that the U.S. be classified as "controlled risk" for BSE, according to USDA. The controlled risk classification recognizes that OIE-recommended, science-based mitigation measures are in place to effectively manage any possible risk of BSE in the cattle population. Full Story

With official beef-safety status, the U.S. government is expected to urge Japan to raise the age limit on cattle slaughtered for its beef imports to 30 months from the current 20 or to remove the age limit completely, according to The Japan Times. Full Story

Union locals representing 43,000 Stop & Shop supermarket workers in southern New England voted to approve a new three-year contract, averting a threatened strike that would have hit consumers in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, reported SouthCoastToday.com. Full Story

Creditors of bankrupt Le-Nature's Inc. want to liquidate the drink-maker's assets, which they say could sell for as much as $40 million. Le-Nature's was forced into bankruptcy last year after a judge ruled that its founder and CEO and other directors may have engaged in criminal conduct by misreporting financial information, reported Associated Press. Full Story

As a follow-up to the recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, FDA confirmed that ConAgra Foods Inc. extended its recall of all peanut butter produced at a plant in Georgia by more than a year, back to October 2004. Full Story

Flora Foods recalled its 25-oz. jars of "Cerignola Olives" because they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. Full Story

Frito-Lay voluntary recalled 92 cases (5,520 bags) of 2-oz. bags of Fritos Original Corn Chips. Full Story

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service established a final rule requiring the disclosure of children's free and reduced price meals or free milk eligibility information under the Child Nutrition Programs. Full Notice

Market News

California's almond industry has faced cold and rain and a shrinking bee supply during this year's bloom, but it appears to be holding steady. Enough blossoms are being pollinated to assure an adequate nut harvest in late summer and fall, according to the Almond Board of California, reported The Modesto Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Although U.S. coffee roasters are believed to be stockpiling beans for next winter because of a coming smaller coffee harvest in Brazil, urgency has eased somewhat with recent evidence that Brazil's crop will be a little bigger than previously forecasted. Harvesting occurs from June to September, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service amended the fruits and vegetables regulations allowing the importation of mangoes into the continental U.S. from India under certain conditions. Full Notice

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation finalized the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Walnut Crop Insurance Provisions and Almond Crop Insurance Provisions. Full Notice

The Department of Commerce partially rescinded the administrative review for the antidumping duty order on certain frozen fish fillets from Vietnam, with respect to 38 companies for which it received timely withdrawal requests. Full Notice

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) prohibited directed fishing for Pacific cod by vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska. Full Notice

NMFS implemented approved measures contained in Amendment One to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, developed by the New England Fishery Management Council. Full Notice

NMFS announced that Virginia is transferring 150,000-lbs. of commercial bluefish quota to New York from its 2007 quota. Full Notice

NMFS published a final rule to revise the method for renewing and replacing permits issued under the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species. Full Notice