Financial & Industry

03-Feb-2012 - From nature to the laboratory to supermarket shelves, FoodNavigator-USA takes a journey behind the scenes of flavor development. IFF flavorist Rich Dandrea tells us about his 20-year career in the industry.

FrieslandCampina seizes Balkan takeover opportunity under route 2020 'spearhead'

03-Feb-2012 - Dutch dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina has signed a memorandum of understanding with a UK-based venture capital firm to acquire Serbian dairy producers Imlek and Mlekara Subotica, and sees great potential to grow sales in the region.

Tight supermarket milk margins set Dairy Crest stock ‘in doldrums’, analysts

03-Feb-2012 - Dairy Crest has issued a mixed trading update for the first nine months of its fiscal year, with persistent tight margins in its dairies business sector offset by strong performance across its branded portfolio.

Low-fat ingredients delivering for Russian group EFKO

03-Feb-2012 - Last year saw sales of food ingredients jump nearly 10% for supplier EFKO, a Russian manufacturer of industrial fats, including cocoa butter substitutes, used in confectionary, diary, bakery and other food industries.

Intersnack's seven figure investment in UK snacks

03-Feb-2012 - European giant Intersnack is challenging PepsiCo and United Biscuits brands in the UK as it prepares to dramatically increase its profile, with a seven-figure investment in UK production.

News in brief

What does healthy snacking mean? Mintel asks

03-Feb-2012 - Most people consider fresh fruit and raw vegetables healthy snack choices, according to a recent survey from market research organization Mintel, but a surprising number think cookies and ice cream are also healthy snacks.

News in brief

Some 'at-home baristas' see single-cup coffee as costly, Mintel

02-Feb-2012 - While single-cup coffee made using pods is still a popular choice among devotees of the drink in the developed world, recent Mintel research suggests that cost may be a barrier to further uptake of the technology.

Nestle ups stake in Israeli firm Osem with €75m investment

02-Feb-2012 - Food giant Nestle has increased its stake in Israel-based food manufacturer OSEM by around 5% in a deal worth €75m (ILS 371.7m).

Unilever results leave analysts with mixed impressions; volumes hit in food

02-Feb-2012 - The volumes decline in Unilever’s food business of nearly 4% is a concern, claims an analyst adding that the full year results are slightly below expectations.

Hovis and Kingsmill stuck in British bread ‘slugfest’, analyst

01-Feb-2012 - After Premier Foods’ announced this week that it plans to up its spend on ‘power brands’ such as Hovis, Investec analyst Martin Deboo told BakeryAndSnacks.com that UK bread was a “terrible industry” to be in due to industry overcapacity.

DMK boosts turnover and spreads Chinese wings with new sales office

01-Feb-2012 - Germany’s largest dairy processor Deutsche Milchkontor (DMK) has opened a new sales office in China to pursue regional growth, and has hinted at further investments in the country.

News in brief

Unilever sets out ambitious sustainability goals

01-Feb-2012 - Unilever has announced the launch of The Unilever Foundation, an organisation that the Anglo-Dutch food and household care group said is dedicated to enhancing the provision of hygiene, sanitation, access to clean drinking water, basic nutrition in emerging countries.

Tate & Lyle plug gap in the market with low-moisture starches

01-Feb-2012 - Tate & Lyle has extended its native starch portfolio to include GMO-free extra dry starches with low moisture content to aid dry mix producers in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Monsanto scraps GM maize in France

01-Feb-2012 - Agriculture and biotechnology giant Monsanto has announced it will scrap plans to sell genetically modified maize in France this year, or anytime in the future.

Dispatches from ProSweets 2012

Stevia chocolate bags ISM innovation award

01-Feb-2012 - Stevia chocolate firm Cavalier has scooped an award for innovation at this year's International Sweets and Biscuits Fair (ISM).

Dispatches from ProSweets 2012

Everyone's talking about stevia at ProSweets - director

31-Jan-2012 - The sweetener stevia is the hot topic of this year’s show following its approval as a novel food in the EU, according to the show organiser.

Claims or pictures - what makes shoppers choose healthier options?

31-Jan-2012 - The role of on-pack health claims, images, information on how food is processed, health logos and nutritional labelling on the perceived healthiness of a food product has never been systematically evaluated but a new project, if funding is secured, could address that gap.

News in brief

Belgian food industry mimics Dutch 2015 palm oil pledge

31-Jan-2012 - All palm oil designated for the Belgian market will be produced based on the sustainability criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) by 2015, claims a new pledge from the food sector in that country.

Premier Foods explores marketing beyond shoestring, Mr Kipling ‘category blur’

30-Jan-2012 - Premier Foods CEO Michael Clarke says he is pursuing a strategy of 'category blur' to revive the company’s disappointing trading performance, as he announces new marketing ammunition for the bakery and snack ‘power brands’ central to the approach.

Naturex founder: “After Asia, acquisitions will be European and North American”

30-Jan-2012 - Rampant acquisitionist Naturex will make 3-4 European and North American acquisitions in 2012, once it completes a deal with an unnamed Asian supplier by the end of March, CEO, president and founder, Jacques Dikansky has told this publication.

News in brief

Dutch coalition to drive sustainable growth in business

30-Jan-2012 - Major food players DSM and Unilever, dairy manufacturer FrieslandCampina and beverage giant Heineken form part of the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC) set up to drive and promote sustainable growth in industry.

Food fraud – a greater public health risk than traditional safety threats?

30-Jan-2012 - Criminality, the global supply chain and the unpredictable nature of food adulteration for financial gain mean it can pose a greater public health risk than traditional safety threats such as pathogen contamination, according to new research.