PepsiCo sows new interest in Quaker Oats

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May 31, 2011 News for the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry   Company Watch    Sara Lee links up with Aidells Sausage The Aidells Sausage Co. has been acquired by Sara Lee for $87 million. Sara Lee said purchasing the San Francisco-based premium sausage brand will strengthen its meat business in North America and give it a stronger presence in the premium meats category. Forbes/The Associated Press (5/27) Beer brands stay patriotic despite foreign owners Budweiser and Miller still market themselves as all-American beer even though they are owned by foreign companies. There was some backlash when InBev acquired Anheuser-Busch and South African Brewers acquired Molson Coors, but Budweiser promotions include limited-edition cans with American flag styling, and Miller High Life is continuing a program that donates 10 cents to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America with the return of specially marked bottle caps. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (5/30) PepsiCo sows new interest in Quaker Oats Ten years after PepsiCo purchased The Quaker Oats Co., one analyst described it as an "orphan division" and an ad executive said the company has not invested in the brand. PepsiCo, meanwhile, described Quaker as an important part of its strategy to push nutrition, and has made personnel changes and is planning a fall campaign highlighting the importance of breakfast. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (5/30) Despite growth, profits are flat for India's Britannia Britannia Industries, founded in India in 1892, is growing beyond biscuits to offer products across the entire food chain. Sales have nearly doubled over the past five years, but profits have remained flat, largely because inflation has pushed up commodity prices and reduced operating margins from 10% to 5%. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (5/27)   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  Higher wheat prices have bakers tightening their belts Bakers such as Joel Karinen of Luna Bakery in Colorado are paying nearly 40% more for flour, as weather conditions cut output. Karinen raised prices about 10% and put off hiring an employee and buying an oven. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (5/31) The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN Spending power for your business. Premium benefits for you. Access a portfolio of 30+ premium benefits, including: • Membership Rewards® points that pay for flights, hotels, and more • 24/7, 1-on-1 Concierge for help with your life and your Business • Complimentary Airport Club Access Business Platinum Card APPLY NOW   Corporate Social Responsibility    Mars Bars get Rainforest certification in Australia Mars Bars in Australia will carry the Rainforest Alliance logo, indicating they are produced with cocoa from farms certified by the Alliance. "The Rainforest Alliance Certified seal on Mars Bars demonstrates Mars Chocolate Australia's commitment to sourcing sustainably produced cocoa, supporting cocoa farming communities in West Africa and globally," said Michael Ryan, general manager of Mars Chocolate Australia. International Business Times (5/30)   How CFOs and VPs of Sales Can Improve Forecast Accuracy & Increase Revenues Are your current systems for forecasting sales and revenue as accurate as you would like? Do you currently use a structured, collaborative, and fact-based forecasting process? To learn more about how you can dramatically extend your forecasting & reporting capacities with an easy to use solution, click here to learn more.   Advertising & Marketing    In-store marketing could take a hit from NFL lockout In-store marketing events are set a year or more in advance, meaning companies including Mars, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble will be on the hook to display products even if the NFL season is cut short by lockouts. "You still can swap in other things with some of the items and promotions," said a P&G official, who noted marketers now have to do "double planning." Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (5/30) Ball Park and Oscar Mayer push all-natural hot dogs Hot dog brands Ball Park and Oscar Mayer are both launching campaigns focusing on products made with natural ingredients, and Sara Lee is seeking a new agency for its Ball Park brand. Sara Lee recently introduced Ball Park Deli Style Beef Franks free of artificial colors, flavors, by-products or MSG; Kraft is promoting its Oscar Mayer Selects without artificial preservatives. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (5/30) Xerox® ColorQube® solid ink printers, starting at $699. With 90% less waste and speeds up to 40 ppm, ColorQube® is your perfect solution for affordable color printing. Plus, save up to $300 with a trade-in rebate. Enter to win an Apple® iPad™.   Retail Spotlight  Kroger expands fuel-discount program Kroger is more than tripling the number of stores offering a fuel discount of as much as $1 a gallon for consumers who use loyalty cards, to about 75% of its 1,031 gas stations. In most markets, the cap was 10 cents a gallon, and the higher reward was available at about 20% of locations. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (5/27)   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by GMA SmartBrief readers in the past week. Nestle keeps eye on health science, buys Prometheus Laboratories (Bloomberg) Snack aisle gets popping (The Providence Journal (R.I.)) Kraft's Kool-Aid marketing targets Hispanics (The New York Times (tiered subscription model)) Grocery and restaurant chains pass along higher food costs (Bloomberg) Mitchum campaign sniffs out armpit affection (The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Sponsored Content    Dos And Don'ts When Making Your Venture Capital Pitch Annie Mueller 6 Cloud Tools For Small Business Heather Allard Forget Harvard: Here's The Entrepreneur Test For The Rest Of Us Barry Moltz The 1 Thing You Must Consider To Make Your Website Perform Better Mike Michalowicz How To Keep An Angry Customer Steve Strauss Most Popular Headlines from Last Week 6 Work-Life Balance Blunders To Avoid Julie Rains 12 Unexpected Places To Host Great Client Meetings Mike Michalowicz The Importance Of Character Bruna Martinuzzi Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Health & Wellness  Study ties MSG consumption to added weight A study of more than 10,000 Chinese adults found that those who had the highest consumption of foods rich in monosodium glutamate had an almost 30% increased risk of becoming overweight compared with those who had the lowest intake of MSG-rich foods. Researchers reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that those who ate more MSG had higher production of leptin, which plays a role in appetite and metabolism regulation. Reuters (5/27) Cocoa is linked to cholesterol-level improvement Research indicates that daily consumption of cocoa powder and skim milk might reduce LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and boost HDL, or "good" cholesterol. In a study of 42 volunteers with a mean age of 70, those who consumed cocoa powder in addition to milk saw a 5% increase in HDL and a 14% decrease in LDL. NutraIngredients (5/31)     GMA News  GMA allergen webinar deadline is today -- register now! GMA is offering a special series in 2011 of online training webinars aimed at preparing food processors for implementation of the recently enacted Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). On June 2, GMA experts will offer the third installment of this FSMA training -- "Allergens: Successful Factory Management Strategies." Learn more about GMA -> About GMA  |  Issues and Policy  |  Newsroom  |  Events  |  Research and Tools   Government & Food Safety  USDA to reveal updated Food Pyramid, new icon The latest version of the Food Pyramid, to be launched Thursday, will include a new icon designed to help people embrace healthy eating and nutrition, federal officials say. U.S. government agencies will promote the updated pyramid, which will go beyond telling people what food groups are needed and will offer practical ways they can incorporate the recommendations into their daily lives, says Robert Post of the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Medscape (free registration)/WedMD (5/26) Copackers Manager Dole Food Company, Inc. Westlake Village, CA Promotional Products Sales Manager Kencraft Candy Alpine, UT Manager/Sr. Manager, Field Finance Heinz Pittsburgh, PA Manager, Health & Nutrition Policy Grocery Manufacturers Association Washington, DC Product Manager Inventure Foods Phoenix, AZ Market Research Manager Barilla America Bannockburn, IL Sr. Nutrition Marketing Business Partner Kellogg Company Battle Creek, MI   SmartQuote  If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started." --Marcus Garvey, Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur and orator     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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