• Bloomberg reports that October marks a new beginning for Kraft and its Mondelez International spinoff.
"Kraft’s North American grocery business, which today will list on the New York Stock Exchange as an independent company, is starting life with a handicap: years of underinvestment in new products and marketing.
"The original Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), founded in 1909, is becoming two companies -- an international snacks business called Mondelez International Inc. and Kraft Foods Group, the North American grocery enterprise. While the snacks business has grown almost 30 percent a year since 2009, its spun-off sibling is saddled with a portfolio of aging brands in need of freshening as it confronts potent rivals and rising commodity costs. To goose growth, Kraft Foods will spend more on marketing and research and has unleashed edgy new TV commercials that are already generating buzz on Youthful."
• Reuters reports that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has expanded a warning "about beef possibly tainted with E. coli," releasing a list of "dozens of products made from beef voluntarily recalled by XL Foods, whose plant in Brooks, Alberta, was temporarily shut by the agency after contaminated beef products sickened several people.
"The list ranges from ground beef to roasts and steaks, and includes products from retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Costco Wholesale Corp, and smaller chains."
• Local press reports say that Wegmans wants to build a 12, 300-square-foot cheese aging facility in Chili, New York, next to its headquarters. The company, in a filing, says that it will be “used by the Company to ripen soft-ripened and washed-rind cheeses, like brie and other specialty cheeses, in a process called 'affinage'."
• In Florida, the Sun-Sentinel reports that Winn-Dixie is opening one of its specialty supermarkets, in Lake Worth - the first of the format that the company has opened in Palm beach County.
There currently are specialty Winn-Dixie stores open in Miami and Coral Springs.
According to the piece, "The store features a Wi-Fi café, complimentary coffee and a full-service pharmacy. They have a selection of organic fruits and vegetables, specialty products such as gluten-free and kosher items, and a selection of custom-prepared, chef-inspired meals. Grab-and-go customers can hit the salad bar and besides salad, choose items such as chicken cordon bleu, turkey meatloaf, grilled vegetables and carving stations offering slow-roasted prime rib, bourbon glazed salmon and oven-roasted pork loin."
• The Sacramento Bee reports that Campbell Soup Co. "announced the closing of its south Sacramento plant, where the company has made canned soup for more than 60 years.
The plant will be phased out, with final shutdown coming next July. It will eliminate 700 full-time jobs, a devastating development in one of the region's most hardscrabble neighborhoods."
The decision was made because of the continuing decline in canned soup sales.
"Kraft’s North American grocery business, which today will list on the New York Stock Exchange as an independent company, is starting life with a handicap: years of underinvestment in new products and marketing.
"The original Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), founded in 1909, is becoming two companies -- an international snacks business called Mondelez International Inc. and Kraft Foods Group, the North American grocery enterprise. While the snacks business has grown almost 30 percent a year since 2009, its spun-off sibling is saddled with a portfolio of aging brands in need of freshening as it confronts potent rivals and rising commodity costs. To goose growth, Kraft Foods will spend more on marketing and research and has unleashed edgy new TV commercials that are already generating buzz on Youthful."
• Reuters reports that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has expanded a warning "about beef possibly tainted with E. coli," releasing a list of "dozens of products made from beef voluntarily recalled by XL Foods, whose plant in Brooks, Alberta, was temporarily shut by the agency after contaminated beef products sickened several people.
"The list ranges from ground beef to roasts and steaks, and includes products from retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Costco Wholesale Corp, and smaller chains."
• Local press reports say that Wegmans wants to build a 12, 300-square-foot cheese aging facility in Chili, New York, next to its headquarters. The company, in a filing, says that it will be “used by the Company to ripen soft-ripened and washed-rind cheeses, like brie and other specialty cheeses, in a process called 'affinage'."
• In Florida, the Sun-Sentinel reports that Winn-Dixie is opening one of its specialty supermarkets, in Lake Worth - the first of the format that the company has opened in Palm beach County.
There currently are specialty Winn-Dixie stores open in Miami and Coral Springs.
According to the piece, "The store features a Wi-Fi café, complimentary coffee and a full-service pharmacy. They have a selection of organic fruits and vegetables, specialty products such as gluten-free and kosher items, and a selection of custom-prepared, chef-inspired meals. Grab-and-go customers can hit the salad bar and besides salad, choose items such as chicken cordon bleu, turkey meatloaf, grilled vegetables and carving stations offering slow-roasted prime rib, bourbon glazed salmon and oven-roasted pork loin."
• The Sacramento Bee reports that Campbell Soup Co. "announced the closing of its south Sacramento plant, where the company has made canned soup for more than 60 years.
The plant will be phased out, with final shutdown coming next July. It will eliminate 700 full-time jobs, a devastating development in one of the region's most hardscrabble neighborhoods."
The decision was made because of the continuing decline in canned soup sales.
- KC's View:
