Breaking News on Food Marketing and Retailing

AB InBev pledges to slash water use at breweries

18-Mar-2010 - Anheuser-Busch InBev has set new environmental targets for 2012 that include plans to reduce water use and cut carbon emissions.

Unilever comes out top in corporate responsibility rating

17-Mar-2010 - A new ranking of major food and beverage companies by their corporate social responsibility is published today, with Unilever, Nestle and Danone occupying the top three spots.

News in brief

Cognis for sale despite IPO plan

17-Mar-2010 - Private equity-owned Cognis is still being offered for sale by Permira and Goldman Sachs, according to reports, even though plans are already underway for an IPO.

Abuse of migrant and agency workers rife by UK meat processors, report

15-Mar-2010 - There is widespread abuse and exploitation of migrant and agency workers in the UK meat and poultry processing industries, a new report has said.

Raisio set to drive European healthy snacks market, analyst

15-Mar-2010 - Raisio’s acquisition of UK premium snacking company Glisten will provide the Finnish group with a platform from which to drive the healthy snacking market in central European countries such as Germany and the Benelux countries, claims a financial analyst.

News in brief

Nestle moves Jenny Craig into France

08-Mar-2010 - Nestlé has announced the launch of its Jenny Craig weight management programme in France, combining ready-made meals with individual consultation.

Nestle explains logic of shareholder-community focus

05-Mar-2010 - Corporate responsibility is not just about writing cheques for charity or mitigating impacts, says Nestle boss. It’s about creating value for communities and stakeholders in the long term.

News in brief

Nestlé completes Kraft pizza acquisiton

02-Mar-2010 - Nestlé is starting the integration of Kraft’s frozen pizza business into its international organisation, after competing the acquisition yesterday.

PepsiCo accepts Dr Pepper firewall to close bottling deal

02-Mar-2010 - PepsiCo has agreed to set up a ‘Chinese wall’ to ensure that the acquisition of its two largest bottlers does not jeopardise competition with rival Dr Pepper Snapple.

Weekly comment

What's the colour of money? Bonuses should be green

01-Mar-2010 - Never before has the dangling of golden carrots in the boardroom been so closely scrutinised. DSM and others’ decisions to ensure those carrots have green shoots of sustainability attached to them is a wise and forward thinking move.

Coke unveils plan to buy most of its largest bottler

25-Feb-2010 - Coca-Cola has revealed plans to buy the bulk of its largest bottler following a similar move from rival PepsiCo last year.

News in brief

Date confirmed for Kraft probe by MPs

24-Feb-2010 - A committee of politicians in the UK will meet next month to investigate the controversial takeover of chocolate firm Cadbury by US food giant Kraft, reports the Press Association.

Romanian industry fears junk food black market and fraud

24-Feb-2010 - The Romanian food industry association Romalimenta Federation believes the proposed junk food tax will boost the black market and stimulate fiscal fraud, and in the worst case could harm food safety.

Carlsberg beats Heineken on beer volume and profits

23-Feb-2010 - Brewing giants Heineken and Carlsberg have struggled through a tough year for beer and reported a mixed set of financial results.

Brewers brace themselves for Russian beer tax hike

22-Feb-2010 - Carlsberg and other big brewers operating in Russia are turning to premium products to protect themselves from a massive hike in excise duty on beer.

Nestle powers ahead despite recession

19-Feb-2010 - Recession-hit 2009 wrecked havoc for multinationals in many sectors, but Nestle’s full year results show a company relatively unscathed and still reporting good growth rates.

Kraft silent on pension freeze impact for Cadbury

18-Feb-2010 - Kraft has announced that it will begin to end pension increases for current and non-union hourly employees from year end 2019 but the US food group did not provide any clues in regulatory filings as to the future of the 100-year-old Cadbury pension fund.

Lotus Bakeries posts hike in profits

16-Feb-2010 - Belgian bakery group Lotus Bakeries showed a hike in profits last year following on from the sale of its Harry’s Benelux operations and a fall in financial costs.

EU Menu surveys could lower costs for industry

15-Feb-2010 - EU food safety bodies have signed up to a plan to develop common methodologies for collecting food consumption data across the bloc, which will allow for more accurate exposure assessment and could reduce compliance cost for industry.

Danone improves sales on "reset" yoghurt prices

11-Feb-2010 - Price cuts have helped Danone recover from a dip in dairy sales at the start of the year to report a healthy increase in fourth quarter sales.

Dairy Crest plans overhaul of milk factories

03-Feb-2010 - Dairy Crest has earmarked £75m over three years in its latest trading update for spending on new equipment at its liquid milk dairies.

Kraft bid wins over 74% of Cadbury shareholders

03-Feb-2010 - Kraft’s takeover of UK chocolate firm Cadbury is now unconditional, as 74 per cent of Cadbury shareholders yesterday accepted the offer of 840p per share plus a 10p dividend.

Crown eyes acquisitions; forecasts demand rebound in US and Europe

03-Feb-2010 - Crown Holdings said it is looking to make acquisitions in emerging markets and expected demand in its North American and Western European packaging sectors to bounce back this year.

News in brief

Soy firms coordinate Haiti donations

02-Feb-2010 - A multinational alliance called SoyFoods Haiti Alliance Relief Effort, or SHARE is coordinating donation and delivery of protein-rich foods to the Haiti earthquake relief effort.