Kraft Foods wants more of China’s snack food market so will try to accommodate more of the country’s local tastes with things like birthday-cake-flavored cookies, beef stew-flavored crackers and other flavors unusual to Americans in hopes of bumping up its trailing position with the world’s largest group of snackers.
Sara Lee Corp. says Hillshire Brands Co. is the new name for its North American business that will be spun off later this month. Sean Connolly, current CEO of Sara Lee North American Retail & Foodservice will become CEO of Hillshire Brands.
The shareholders of Kraft Foods Inc. voted today to change the name of the company to Mondelez International, Inc. The proposal was approved by more than 90 percent of the shareholders who cast a vote(1). The new name will become effective at the time of the planned spin-off of the company's North American grocery business.
The ailing San Francisco-based company secures a $225-million investment from Oaktree Capital Management, Los Angeles. The investment will help recapitalize Diamond's balance sheet, reduce its debt and support growth in its business.
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.
RSS
