Networking advice from the CEO of Campbell Soup

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April 25, 2011 News for the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry   Company Watch    General Mills is happy with Groupon results General Mills is considering more collective-buy deals after last week's success with a Groupon offer of $40 in coupons, samples and shipping for $20. The deal, available in San Francisco and the area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., sold out by midmorning. Supermarket News (4/22) Networking advice from the CEO of Campbell Soup Douglas Conant, CEO at Campbell Soup, writes that staying focused on a core group in your field of interest is key to building your network. Use those in your network as a source of advice instead of asking for a job, and ask them for more sources to contact to enlarge your network. Follow up immediately with thank-you notes, and stay in touch with your network even after you find a new job. Harvard Business Review online/The Conversation blog (4/21) Fans want giant Creme Egg, but Cadbury won't crack David McGuire has been campaigning for thee years for Cadbury to make a large version of its Creme Egg, and has created a Facebook group with 25,000 members vowing to buy such an egg if it came on the market. He's not giving up, even after receiving an e-mail from the company saying: "Manufacturing a 'large' Creme Egg would be very difficult and the retail selling price would probably make it impossible to market successfully." The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (4/23) Solar panels supply energy to Altoids plant Wrigley installed a 50.4-kilowatt-hour solar array on a plant that makes Altoids mints in Chattanooga, Tenn. The array supplies 3% of the facility's energy, covers about one-seventh of its roof and has room to expand as the company works toward a "zero carbon footprint," a project manager said. Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tenn.) (4/23) Discover what risks could be lurking in your vacant commercial property with Zurich's guide 'Empty building, full of risk: Protecting your vacant commercial properties'. Click here for your FREE download!   Trends  Marketers seek influence before consumers enter the store As more shoppers conduct online research before heading to the store, marketers are shifting their efforts from in-store marketing to online and social media efforts. "You need to accommodate the way shoppers behave now," said Dina Howell, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi X, which launched a Pepsi and Frito-Lay campaign with e-mailed coupons for Walgreens. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (4/25) Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN® • Receive up to $200 airline fee credit to the airline of your choice • International Airport Club Access, Premium car rentals, and special upgrades at fine hotels and resorts worldwide • Premium coverage from theft, loss, and damage when you use your Card • No Pre-set Spending limit Apply Now.   Advertising & Marketing    Lilly Pulitzer, Kraft join forces again for cause-marketing effort Barnum's Animals Crackers has renewed its social media-driven, cause-marketing partnership with upscale clothing brand Lilly Pulitzer. The Kraft Foods unit is providing 1.5 million boxes decorated in a colorful Pulitzer print to the company's 90 franchised and corporate outlets and department store boutiques, and making a donation to the Urban Arts Partnership as part of Pulitzer's "Lilly Loves the Arts" banner. The campaign is promoted on Facebook and Twitter by both brands. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (4/21) 10 Must-Read Articles from HBR If you read nothing else, read these 10 articles from Harvard Business Review's most influential authors. Order this insightful collection in convenient electronic download.   Retail Spotlight  Wal-Mart gives grocery delivery a try in California Wal-Mart Stores is testing grocery delivery in California, with the fee for Walmart To Go starting at $5. Customers can check online by ZIP code whether they are eligible for the service and what items are available for delivery. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (4/25)   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by GMA SmartBrief readers in the past week. ConAgra frozen-food brands to be acquired by J&J Snack Foods (BusinessWeek.com) General Mills is first CPG company to offer deal on Groupon (The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)) Kraft's Lunchables gets healthier (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)) Dean Foods announces job cuts in Dallas (The Dallas Morning News (free content)) Former PepsiCo executive joins Kellogg as global supply chain leader (Drug Store News) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Sponsored Content    5 Webinar Tools For Marketing Your Expertise TJ McCue 11 Startup Lessons From A Successful Female CEO Shira Levine The Biggest Myth About Innovation Braden Kelley Building A Green Business One Step At A Time Darren Dahl Putting A Value On Conferences Thursday Bram Most Popular Headlines from Last Week 8 Ways Your Sleep Habits Could Be Holding You Back Mike Michalowicz How Losing Personal Attachments Can Help You Realize Ambition STEPHEN SHAPIRO 5 Ways To Find Your Hidden Talents Mike Michalowicz Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Science & Technology  USDA project to allow firms to conduct biotech crop assessments The Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has launched a pilot program that allows companies to conduct environmental evaluation of their own biotech crops or assign USDA-accredited parties to perform such assessments. APHIS hopes the two-year project will lessen the time and costs of conducting such assessments and "test new approaches to developing environmental analyses and documents." Critics say the potential for conflicts of interest are too great for the process to be fair and objective. FoodSafetyNews.com (4/25)   Health & Wellness  Pistachios aid in weight loss, a study finds Data on obese and overweight people found that those who replaced a snack with pistachios had a higher success rate of reaching a weight-loss goal compared with those who ate pretzels during a 12-week study. The research, presented at the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, D.C., showed that only a small amount of fat in pistachios was absorbed by the body and that their calorie content was lower than expected. However, researchers said portion control is still important in managing weight loss. International Business Times (4/23)   GMA News  Raising the bar for food safety: Industry meets the challenge at the GMA Science Forum On May 18, industry will meet at the GMA Science Forum to discuss the leading industry practices and cutting edge science that can help shape the interpretation and implementation of the new food safety legislation. Don't miss your opportunity to be a part of the discussion, register today. If you haven't looked at the 2011 program yet, check out the dozens of concurrent sessions being offered on hot topics impacting public health, product safety and the industry at large. REGISTER TODAY at www.gmascienceforum.com Learn more about GMA -> Home  |  Join GMA  |  Public Policy  |  Industry Affairs  |  Publications  |  Events   Government & Food Safety  Food safety exemptions will vary for small businesses Although many rules in the Food Safety Modernization Act do not apply to small food makers and farmers, it will be up to the FDA to determine which businesses must comply. Farms that are considered food processors won't be exempt, and all farms will be subject to rules on produce production. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (4/22) Manager Procurement - Frozen Vegetables & Mushrooms Campbell Soup Company US - NJ - Camden Manager Sales ConAgra Foods Naperville, IL Manager National Accounts ConAgra Foods Pleasanton, CA Director Quality ConAgra Foods Omaha, NE   SmartQuote  People who cannot recognize a palpable absurdity are very much in the way of civilization." --Agnes Repplier, American essayist     This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers@gmail.com   Subscriber Tools       Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Advertise Associate Publisher, Food Service:  Chris Warne (212) 450-7970 Download Media Kit Job Board:  Celia Rothschild (202) 470-1159   Read more at SmartBrief.com A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including: Industry Home Readers' Choice Search Archive Who's Hiring? 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