News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology
The number one global food brand is Nestlé’s Maggi range of instant soups, stocks, sauces, taste enhancers and noodles, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Unilever’s Knorr brand came second while PepsiCo’s Lay’s brand was third.
EU governments should refrain from ‘discriminatory’ food taxes and take a more holistic approach to obesity prevention, according to a joint position paper from FoodDrinkEurope and trade union organisation EFFAT.
Germany saw a decline in meat production in 2012, to just over eight million tonnes (mt), but the Federation of German Meat Industry (BVDF) said exports have continued to rise.
IFFA 2013
German exports of food processing machinery grew last year, according to figures from the German Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association (VDMA).
The European Commission has proposed reduced legislation and tougher fines among a raft of measures to protect against food fraud in light of the recent horse meat scandal.
Beverages
Last year, China was once again led the world in alcohol consumption, having swigged through more than 59bn litres of alcohol, according to market research firm Euromonitor.
Carlsberg CEO Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen says the firm is currently less concerned with building Asian margins than securing growth in a key region, particularly in markets such as China and India.
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) MD Terry Davis has responded to an attack from the CEO of retail giant Coles, who claims that Coca-Cola costs Australian consumers too much at a 60% price premium over Asia.
Market research
While it is well known that Australians claim to favour locally produced goods, more people in the US are likely to opt for brands with a Made in Australia label on them.
Eurofins reported solid growth in food testing in the first financial quarter of 2013, which also helped offset negative impacts on revenue in France, according to the bioanalysis firm.
Symrise has opened a new €10m research centre at its headquarters in Holzminden, Germany, intended to promote research dialogue between divisions.
Britain’s biggest food manufacturer Premier Foods has appointed Pam Powell as a non-executive director to boost the growth of its Power Brands range.
Increased investment in marketing and advertising will drive sales in the back half of the year, said the company’s CEO who sees the company as being on track to being ‘a premium, differentiated leader in snack foods’.
Fair Trade USA claims that draft changes to its labeling policy allowing brands with 20% certified ingredients to carry its logo are justified in composite products like chocolate because components like sugar are mainly sourced domestically in the US...
Optimising the structure of food ingredients so that they create a sediment in the stomach could help to enhance feelings of fullness, say researchers from NIZO Food Research and the IFR.
Investment in cereal makes sense for Kellogg because it cannot sideline such an important segment but snacks should really be the priority, an analyst says.
Ingredients supplier Cargill has broken ground on its first cocoa processing facility in Asia located in Gresik, in the East Java region of Indonesia.
Research
New Zealand’s blackcurrants can help stressed executives manage their busy work days, early research suggests.
Just days after Monster Beverage Co pre-emptively sued him, San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera has slapped the energy drinks giant with a lawsuit of his own accusing it of violating state law by marketing its products to kids.
Zenith International's UK Soft Drinks Industry Conference takes place tomorrow, Wednesday May 8, at the Congress Center in Central London, and will feature speaking slots for the likes of Innocent founder Richard Reed, Refresco, Vimto and Coca-Cola.
Bunge North America has expanded its oil refinery in Decatur, Alabama, and opened a new 130,000 sq. ft packaging facility there, creating 48 new jobs.
Commodities
The recent rise of India as a rice exporter and of China—somewhat unexpectedly—as an importer is paving the way for increased uncertainty to the global market for the crop, according to one expert at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Tony Vernon, CEO of Kraft Foods Inc., says the company will ramp up its revitalizing of iconic brands and investing in innovation, adding that the company will ‘not tolerate incursions into our market share’.