ConAgra acquires the private-label pita chips business of Kangaroo Brands. ConAgra says that pita chips are a growing category and a natural fit with its private-label snacks business. The purchase includes a manufacturing facility in Milwaukee.
We’ll soon learn if Twinkies will still be available on grocery store shelve in the future. Hostess Brands, which makes the snack cake and other baked goods, went into Chapter 11 in January, and has been on the verge of closing its doors and liquidating. But potential buyers have stepped forward recently, and there are at least two institutional investors interested.
Top snacking trends were found at the National Confectioners Association’s 2012 Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago last week, and the show filled with plenty of visitors. Fun sweets, foreign flavors and healthy snacks emerged as things to watch. Thousands of new confectionery and snack foods were presented during the show, as the hottest new products from more than 560 companies lead the industry with the new flavors.
Consumer demand for the Right to Know is spreading nationally, and the national Just Label It coalition of 525 diverse organizations working for GMO labeling congratulated the California Right to Know 2012 Initiative for its record success in being the first state to gather enough signatures to put the labeling of genetically engineered foods on a statewide ballot this fall.
Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals is developing new lipid-rich flours that enable produce developers to create bakery and dessert products with super nutrition and taste. Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals was formed between Solazyme and Roquette as an ingredient solutions provider that develops natural, functional ingredients, like those featuring microalgae, for food and beverage applications.
Historically, wholesale prices don’t go down, but flattening prices for grains, especially wheat, should bolster margins as the impact of lower or stable commodity prices should be more apparent in the second half of 2012.
Hoping to capitalize the healthier eating trend, Planters teams with a magazine brand to win adult shoppers with Planters Nut-rition Men's Health Recommended Mix.
Baking Equipment Manufacturers and Allieds (BEMA) expands its educational platform to include an ingredients panel at its 2012 annual meeting. Members of the panel include Charlie Moon, Flowers Foods, and Hayden Wands, Bimbo Bakeries USA.
Recently, Delkor was among 10 Minnesota firms honored by Governor Mark Dayton for success in international business. Delkor was given the 27th Annual Governor’s International Trade Award for significant investments to develop markets in Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Australia and New Zealand.