Dairy Crest has been praised for its “Churchillian” decision to defer its planned raw milk price reduction while it continues talks with protesting farmers.
Israeli supplier Lycored has paid an undisclosed sum for a Ukrainian firm specialising in fungal pathogen-derived carotenoids in a move that brings a natural beta carotene into its portfolio.
Unilever has become “Nestle-like” in its delivery of strong and consistent results, according to Andrew Wood, senior research analyst at Sanford C Bernstein.
Natural ingredients supplier Naturex has reported a healthy 15% growth in sales for the first half of its financial year on the back of ‘positive contributions’ from the firm’s new acquisitions.
Pre-tax profit at Tate & Lyle’s Speciality Food Ingredients (SFI) division took a hit in its first quarter from strikes in Turkey and lower volume sales in sucralose.
The Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT’s) investigation of Premier Foods’ sale of its vinegar and pickles business to Mizkan Group is unlikely to hamper the process, according to financial analyst Clive Black.
Hundreds of British milk farmers picketed outside Arla and Robert Wiseman Dairy plants last night, protesting over plans to cut the price paid to suppliers for raw milk.
Weather woes, UK promotional pressure and the gravity of Britvic’s Fruit Shoot recall due to flawed packaging design have put a dampener on the firm’s stock rating with analysts.
UK supplier Gee Lawson has debuted organic red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) into a sector dominated by Chinese supply and which has won a European Union health claim for cholesterol maintenance.
Iglo Foods Group is mulling over its future strategy following owner Permira’s cancellation of plans to refinance the business with a reported €500m after efforts to sell it failed.
2012 has seen a “remarkable” rise in merger and acquisition activity involving the UK food and drink industry, with much of it taking place in the past two months, according to industry commentators.
High purity stevia volume sales at PureCircle have increased by more than 20% year-on-year, PureCircle reported in a pre-close update for the second half of its financial year.
UK firm Ulrick & Short has vowed to step up its research into launching new functional clean label ingredients and extending the uses of its additional raw material crop base.
Premier Foods’ sale of its ethnic flour business Elephant Atta for £34m was a sign of how desperate it was to right its balance sheet, according to market commentators.
Global ingredients firm DSM has pumped €20m into its Delft factory in the Netherlands, on top of a separate €100m investment in research and development in the region.
Mars has opened a €80m (RUB 3.3bn) chocolate factory in Russia’s Ulyanovsk region as it looks to capture a greater share of the highest value BRIC chocolate market.
Netherlands-based SVZ has completed its acquisition of Mondi Foods from Sono International, following approval of the deal by competition authorities and the Dutch works council.
Ingredient specialist Palsgaard has won an award for its dedication to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from the Danish liberal party, the largest party in Denmark.
Vion Foods Group will cut hundreds of jobs as the firm focuses on optimising production and integrating recently acquired businesses, says the company.
Food mogul Nestlé has recommenced operations in Azerbaijan through a registered company following suspended trade of its entire product range in March due to supply problems.
Monsanto faces the loss of billions of euros in revenues from its genetically-modified (GM) soy in Brazil after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that any decision reached in a local court case should apply nationally.
Plant extract specialist Vitiva has opened an innovation centre in Slovenia to cater to increased consumer demands for joint involvement in application development.
R&R Ice Cream is recalling three flavours of a ChokaBlok ice cream products in the UK over fears they are contaminated with fragments of broken lolly stick.
French food ingredients firm Diana Group has fully acquired mushroom extract producer Arômes de Chacé in a deal that sets the scene for further buy-outs for the group in 2012, says the company.
Solbar is preparing for strong global growth in the wake of its acquisition by farmer agri-cooperative CHS, according to Todd Watson, CHS global protein sales and development manager for food and food ingredients.
Dutch food additives firm Siveele will benefit from considerable investment in the business from Chinese manufacturer Pangbo Biological Engineering, with preservatives being one focus for future development.
Flavours and fragrances giant Symrise outlined plans to grow the menthol category for foods and personal care products after confirming the completion of a €16m expansion in Holzminden, Germany, yesterday.
Market expansion group DKSH has announced plans to open its second innovation centre in Mumbai, India to help companies introduce confectionery and bakery products tailored to the Indian market.
National Starch Food Innovation has strengthened its presence in Turkey by clinching a formal deal with distributor Univar to reach more customers in the country.
LycoRed is facing a wave of consumers demanding natural alternatives to existing colours and is responding with new formulations in addition to broader product development.
Soy protein firm Solbar has outlined big plans for growth in several fields, including dietary and sports nutrition following the completion of its acquisition by US-based farmer co-operative CHS in February 2012.
Danish ingredients giant, Chr Hansen, is taking fire at Poland’s lucrative local cheese sector with a new, revived cultures line it says targets production requirements of the nation’s favoured cheese.
French ingredients firm, Roquette, has bought three Indian starch production sites forming a new joint venture business in a bid to strengthen market presence in the strong Asian market.
Cereal giant, Kellogg, has sealed its buy-out of Pringles for US$2.7bn, set to triple international business and stack it into second place on the global snacks market.
Kraft-owned Cadbury has expanded its sharing bag portfolio with a chocolate-coated toffee popcorn product, in a bid to burst into the UK’s rattling £42m (€52.46m) popcorn market.
Tate & Lyle revealed big plans for innovation as it reported soaring sales and profits driven by market forces that benefited its development of sweeteners and speciality ingredients.
UK grocery giant Premier Foods has halved IT operational costs in a project launched in conjunction with Google Enterprise that will enable it to coordinate cross-functional business projects more efficiently.
Dairy giant Fonterra has entered into a “mutually beneficial” agreement that will see it process dairy ingredients in the Netherlands for the first time.
UK food group Premier Foods will need to rid businesses in order to stabilise following its ‘truly awful’ full year results, analysts say, but predictions of sell-offs remain mixed.
New Britain Palm Oil (NBPO) has received applause from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for committing to source 100% RSPO-certified palm oil supplies by the end of 2012.