United Natural Foods to sell noncore businesses

Reading this on a mobile device? Try our optimized mobile version here: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/cWmzCcrEfWCaePwGCidalxCicNLKBI

June 13, 2011 News for the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry   Company Watch    Unilever plans China growth Unilever's Asia chief, Harish Manwani, said the company plans to expand its presence in China by four or five times. Unilever now derives 55% of its business from emerging markets, and is looking to drive growth from developing countries. "Asia, emerging Asia, is a very important part of it," Manwani said. Bloomberg (6/13) Dole fights summer's slipping banana consumption Dole is launching a Go Bananas After Dark Tour, which aims to keep banana consumption high in summer by targeting key cities with media efforts that include recipes using grilled or fried bananas. The effort includes partnerships with local chefs known for using bananas, as well as price promotions and cooking demonstrations in stores. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (6/10) United Natural Foods will sell noncore businesses United Natural Foods plans to sell its nonfood and general-merchandise lines, acquired when it purchased Millbrook Distribution Services in 2007, to L&R Distributors. "We came to the conclusion that general-merchandise and nonfood products are not strategic to our business," said CEO and President Steven Spinner. The company will "focus ... on growing and expanding our natural, organic and specialty lines of business," Spinner said. Progressive Grocer (6/10), Supermarket News (6/10) Schick introduces scented razor for men Schick is launching Xtreme3 Refresh, which it says is the first scented razor for men. The scent, embedded in the handle, was developed by a fragrance company and is said to have notes of citrus, rosemary and spearmint, which can be sampled with scratch-and-sniff packaging that is part of the launch. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (6/12) How 2 Global Brands Use Online Video to Drive Retail Sales Learn how to improve customer experience and transform visitors into repeat customers by: • Customizing your video player to match your brand • Making your video shareable with unique URLs • Deploying video without increasing costs • Using web acceleration to improve video performance   Trends    Is it time to fire your worst customers? Do you have customers that seem to be more trouble than they're worth? Rather than letting bad relationships fester, writes Michael Schrage, it's important to take action, either by rehabilitating clients or just dropping them. "Some customers and clients really are too stupid and self-destructive for words. But they shouldn't be allowed to become cesspools of complaints. They should be fired," Schrage writes. Harvard Business Review online/Michael Schrage blog (6/10) Still have employees receiving costly payroll checks? Cut costs by cutting out checks. The Visa Payroll card is the smarter way to pay and be paid. It's the lower-cost alternative to paper. The card also eliminates costly check-cashing fees for your employees, giving them an easier way to manage their money. Visit visa.com/payroll to learn more.   Advertising & Marketing  Kraft takes its Stride in a new direction Kraft has relaunched its Stride gum as Stride 2.0 with new flavors, revamped packaging and a campaign starring athlete Shaun White. The brand, launched five years ago, is aimed at teens and young adults but has been losing ground to competitors. "We constantly need to entertain and even look to ways of reinventing ourselves so we maintain their loyalty and interest level," said an executive with Kraft, which took control of the brand with the acquisition of Cadbury. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (6/10) 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: • Complimentary Airport Club Access • Annual $200 Airline Fee Credit for any airline • Built-in upgrades at FINE HOTELS & RESORTS Business Platinum Card APPLY NOW   Retail Spotlight    Harris Teeter slashes fee for online shopping As a summer promotion, Harris Teeter cut the fee for its online shopping service from $4.95 per trip to $1.95. "We want to make grocery shopping as easy and convenient as possible," the company said of Express Lane, which allows shoppers to buy online and pick up in store. Supermarket News (6/10) 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!   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by GMA SmartBrief readers in the past week. Progressive Grocer names Top Women in Grocery (Progressive Grocer) Sara Lee is in "investment mode" (Chicago Tribune) Nestle Direct Store Delivery division finds a way to save big (Logistics Viewpoints blog) Nestle executive sees "unprecedented" commodity price hikes (The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)) For Kimberly-Clark, marketing success is all in the planning (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Sponsored Content    Why And How Sales Forecasting Is Vital To Management Tim Berry Small Business Exporting For Growth And Survival Jim Blasingame 10 Ways To Be More Likeable Online Guy Kawasaki How To Choose Your New Company's Name Richard Branson 5 Steps To Boosting Your Company IQ Donna Wells (Mindflash) Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Don't Be Sarah Palin: 5 Fatal Media Interview Mistakes Barry Moltz 5 Office Habits To Take Home With You Lynn Truong 3 Legal Landmines You Must Avoid Katie Morell Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Health & Wellness  Nurse study OKs coffee for people with heart disease or stroke Data on 11,697 female nurses with a history of heart disease or stroke show no difference in risk of death between those who consume coffee regularly and those who never drink the beverage. The finding warrants further investigation in other populations, said the lead researcher of the study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Reuters (6/10)   GMA News  Unsaleables 2011 -- Getting from Root Causes to Realistic Solutions The Joint Industry Unsaleables Management Conference is the only place where the really complex CPG unsaleables management issues are addressed. The 2011 program has been built around the theme "Getting From Root Causes to Realistic Solutions" and will focus on not just the cornerstones of model unsaleables practices but on the commitments needed to really take your program to the next level. REGISTER TODAY at www.unsaleablesconference.com. Learn more about GMA -> About GMA  |  Issues and Policy  |  Newsroom  |  Events  |  Research and Tools   Government & Food Safety  Prevalence of pesticide residue puts apples atop "Dirty Dozen" The Environmental Working Group ranked apples No. 1 in its "Dirty Dozen" list, which is set to be released today, after the USDA found pesticide residue in 98% of apple samples. The consumer-advocacy group didn't advise consumers to avoid food on its list because the "health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure," said Sonya Lunder, an analyst for the group. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (6/13) Officials say contaminated sprouts caused deadly E. coli outbreak Officials traced the source of the E. coli outbreak that killed 31 and sickened more than 3,000 people in Europe in recent weeks to a crop of bean sprouts from a single farm in Germany. Sprouts are likely suspects when it comes to contamination, because their growing conditions and the fact that most people eat them raw make them ideal conduits of bacteria. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)/The Associated Press (free registration) (6/10), The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (6/11) Quality Assurance Manager B & G Foods, Inc. Hurlock, MD Brand Manager Inventure Foods Phoenix, AZ   SmartQuote  Submission to what people call their 'lot' is simply ignoble. If your lot makes you cry and be wretched, get rid of it and take another." --Elizabeth von Arnim, New Zealand-born British novelist     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? Grab our News Widget Get this RSS Feed Publish your Press Release Download the SmartBrief Android app       Recent GMA SmartBrief Issues: Friday, June 10, 2011 Thursday, June 09, 2011 Wednesday, June 08, 2011 Tuesday, June 07, 2011 Monday, June 06, 2011     Lead Editor:  Rebecca Pollack Scherr       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information