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Retail News
Performance Food Group Company signed a definitive
merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of The
Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management in a
transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion. The
transaction will be structured as a combination of Performance
Food Group and Vistar Corporation, a foodservice distributor
controlled by affiliates of Blackstone and Wellspring. Full Story
Delhaize
Group aims to open approximately 150 stores in 2008, in an
effort to support its growth initiatives. The company is
planning to accelerate its store opening program at Food Lion
and Plus Hellas. Full Story
Safeway Inc. will
operate its truck fleet with biodiesel fuel in an attempt
to reduce its carbon footprint. The move adds one more segment
to what Safeway leaders call their "green energy tree" that
includes recycling, making facilities more energy efficient,
and using sustainable sources of fuel and energy such as wind,
solar and now biodiesel, reported The Contra Costa
Times. Full Story (Free Registration
Required)
Several "mom and pop" supermarkets are thriving in
Leominster, MA, reported The Leominster
Champion. Bourbeau's Market, Desilet's Market , and Lien's
Market are all still viable presences in their respective
areas of the town due to their personalized services. Full Story
Walgreens will acquire 20 drugstores
in Puerto Rico from Farmacias El Amal, a family-owned
chain of 61 drugstores. El Amal will continue operating its
other 41 stores in Puerto Rico. Full Story
BP will offer 56 U.S. retail sites for commercial
use. The sites are located in major marketing areas
including Phoenix; Los Angeles; Atlanta; Chicago;
Indianapolis; Cleveland and Columbus, OH; Albany, OR;
Pittsburgh; and Seattle, reported CSP Daily News. Full Story
Circle K West Coast teamed up with The Nec'tar
Cappuccino Group to evolved its private label canned energy
drink, Talon & Vixen Energy, into a hot beverage
offering, reported Convenience Store News. Full Story
Manufacturer News
European and American chocolate makers hope that
demand from China and India can keep growth from
declining, reported Business Week. In the past five
years the value of chocolate confectionery sales in China has
nearly doubled, to $813.1 million, while sales in India have
increased 64%, to $393.8 million, according to market
researcher Euromonitor International. That is much less than
the nearly $35 billion European chocolate market, but while
European chocolate sales are growing a mere 1% to 2% annually,
sales in the two Asian nations show no sign of slowing. Full Story
Treasure Valley Business Group Inc. was acquired by Creo
Capital Partners, which is building a portfolio of food
companies around the nation. Treasure Valley, a privately held
food marketer, sells a variety of products to more than
250 customers throughout the U.S. and Mexico. Full Story
Consumers are not getting the information they are
looking for from product manufacturers, according to a new
survey from Deloitte & Touche USA, LLP. Instead, due to
the rise of social networks and internet sites, consumers are
learning more about product features, labels, ingredients, and
warnings than ever before, but on their own, noted the survey,
reported Progressive Grocer. Full Story
Giant Eagle relaunched the former LeNature's bottling
and water purification plant in Latrobe, PA, renaming the
facility the Chestnut Ridge Beverage Co., reported
Pittsburgh Business Times. The company is producing
Giant Eagle-brand bottled water and is expected to also
produce flavored water, teas and carbonated beverages. Full Story
Sara Lee US Foods opened a 182,000-sq. ft. warehouse in
Haltom City, TX. The warehouse includes 90,000-sq. ft. of
freezer storage space, 42,000-sq. ft. cooler facilities, a
25,000-sq. ft. shipping/receiving dock, and additional areas
for other activities, reported Dallas Business Journal.
Full Story (Free Registration Required)
The Oregonian profiles Gleukos Inc., maker
of a new sports drink that founder Mark R. Jensen hopes
will challenge market leaders Gatorade and Powerade while also
providing runners a faster refueling option. Full Story
Tasty Baking Company rolled out a new low-fat product
line, which includes: Low-Fat Raspberry-Filled Koffee Kake
Cupcakes and Low-Fat Chocolate Iced Vanilla Cupcakes.
Additional low-fat cake, cookie and snack bar varieties are
scheduled to debut throughout 2008. Full Story
Foodservice News
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. agreed to
acquire the assets of four Red Robin franchised
restaurants for a total of $8.1 million. In addition to
these four existing restaurant locations, the company also
expects to acquire the development rights to the territories
formerly subject to exclusivity provisions in their respective
franchise agreements. Full Story
Investment adviser Loeb Partners Corp. raised its stake
in restaurant and bar operator Ark Restaurants Corp. to
9.5%, according to an SEC filing. Ark Restaurants owns and
operates 23 restaurants and bars, 24 fast food concepts,
catering operations, and wholesale and retail bakeries,
reported The Associated Press. Full Story, SEC Filing
Dinner
by Design began plans to expand in Ohio by identifying
more than 40 new franchise territories in the state. Full
Story
Thirty
Saladworks units are slated to open throughout Florida,
according to the terms of an area-agreement deal recently
signed with FranBiz, reported QSR Magazine. Full
Story
Papa Gino's Pizzeria and D'Angelo Grilled
Sandwiches unveiled a completely artificial trans fat-free
menu at more than 370 locations. Full Story
MOOYAH Burgers & Fries partnered with
text-ordering provider GOMOBO to offer its guests the
ability to text message their orders to any of the company's
restaurants. Full Story
Health News
Simple front-of-pack nutritional labeling and
endorsement by health organizations are most efficient in
informing consumers, according to a Unilever study. These
labels could help consumers make healthy food choices,
reported Food Production Daily. Full Story
Washington News
Pennsylvania dairies can now label milk as being
hormone-free, as long as they include a disclaimer stating
such milk has not been shown to significantly differ from
other milk, reported The Associated Press. Full Story
Approximately 69% of Americans have a high level of
confidence in the nation's food supply. Meanwhile,
46% of consumer are "somewhat" or "very likely" to buy
meat, milk and eggs from cloned animals, according to a survey
by the industry sponsored International Food Information
Council, reported the Desert Morning News. Full Story
A federal judge struck down Texas laws banning
out-of-state retailers from shipping wine directly to
Texas consumers. The ruling could require out-of-state wine
retailers to buy their wine from Texas wholesalers, making the
overall impact of the ruling unclear, according to The Wall
Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription
Required)
Global News
German retailer Metro AG agreed to sell its
245 Extra supermarkets to Rewe Group in order to focus on
its hypermarkets. Full Story
Dutch retail company Spar International is looking to
expand its footprint in India through licensing agreements
with Indian retailers. Spar has already signed a licensing
agreement with Dubai-based Landmark Group's Max Hypermarket to
set up seven hypermarkets and supermarkets in the country,
reported Business Standard India. Full Story
Grocery retailer Waitrose is interested in buying some
of Somerfield's UK stores. Somerfield, which is owned by a
private equity consortium, appointed Citigroup to hold an
auction of the group. Information was sent to various
potential bidders, including Waitrose, Marks & Spencer,
Aldi and Lidl, reported The Scotsman. Full Story
Belgian discount supermarket chain Colruyt NV bought
Enco catering Services NV. Enco distributes mainly poultry
and poultry-related products to the foodservice market,
reported Nasdaq. Full Story
The quality and safety of Chinese
seafood production has improved, as a result of a recent
crackdown on the use of illegal veterinary drugs, according to
the Chinese agriculture ministry, reported The New York
Times On The Web. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Coffee is gaining popularity in The Netherlands
again, which can generally be attributed to the coffee pod
machines of Philips and Sara Lee/DE, according to a
Research and Markets report. The growth of tea in the
Netherlands is slowing down, however, with overall off-trade
volume sales of the drink growing by less than 2% in 2005. Full Story
Italian mozzarella is under threat from an infection
spreading through herds of water buffalo. The Italian
government set up an emergency commission to try and stop the
spread of the disease, which affects milk production, reported
BBC News. Full Story
Research and development is crucial for continued
success in the Brazilian flavors market, to meet the
challenge of imitating natural tastes, reported Food
Navigator. Full Story
Market News
California's tomato processors intend to contract
11.8 million tons of tomatoes from farmers, 2% less than
the 2007 contracted production reported in August, according
to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Full Story
The early January freeze could
severely limit Immokalee's winter tomato shipments,
slowing movement into March, and Florida strawberry growers
will likely miss out on some Valentine's Day promotions,
reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
Kona Blue Water Farms raised $2.6 million to
expand its current operations in
Kona, HI, and is seeking further funding to begin
international expansion. The company sustainably raises Kona
Kampachi, a Hawaiian yellowtail fish.
Full
Story
Whole grains continued its strong growth last year,
with the number of new whole grain products launched almost
matching the peak of 2006, according to Mintel's Global New
Products Database. However, the market reveals a relative
plateau has been reached in the category, with last year's 601
new products being only slightly down on the 620 launched the
year before, reported NutraIngredients.com. Full Story
The seasonal ebb and flow of California celery sales
found most post-holiday prices softening. Grower-shippers
report the quality of the celery is good to excellent, but
that the winter deal's volume will likely not be as large as
the 2007 bumper crop, reported The Packer Online. Full Story (Free Registration Required)
USDA decreased the assessment rate established for the
California Date Administrative Committee for the 2007-08
and subsequent crop years from $0.95 to $0.75 per
hundredweight of dates handled. Full Notice
USDA amended the regulations regarding the importation
of animals and animal products into the U.S. Full
Notice
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