Kraft executive takes Mac & Cheese to grown-ups

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October 28, 2011 News for the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry   Company Watch    Kraft gets in the Halloween spirit Kraft Foods is selling Halloween-themed products including Oreo cookies with orange filling and a mold to make a "brain" out of Jell-O. KraftRecipes.com has more than 100 Halloween recipes, and Kraft's Facebook page includes a Halloween scavenger hunt. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (10/27)      Great Plains bottler joins Coca-Cola The Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Co., with territories in Arkansas and Oklahoma, has been purchased by the Coca-Cola Co. for about $360 million. The deal, expected to close by year's end, is part of a broader effort by Coca-Cola to acquire its bottling operations. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (10/27)      Get to know the company ranked #1 Retailer Agency by Promo magazine. Integrated Marketing focuses on what our clients care about most: influencing buyer behavior and driving sales. After all, the point is purchase. We offer a number of services, including shopper marketing, experiential marketing and much more. Visit us at inmarketingservices.com.   Trends  GMA report looks at industry's jobs contribution A study commissioned by GMA and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers finds food, beverage and consumer products companies directly employ 1.7 million Americans. According to the study, each job in the food and beverage industry supports five jobs in other parts of the economy, such as agriculture, transportation and finance. Progressive Grocer (10/27)      Companies pressured by floods, droughts Companies including food makers Kraft, Sara Lee and Nestle are facing higher commodity costs because of droughts and floods, and experts say the problem will get worse as water consumption grows twice as quickly as population. A MillerCoors official said the brewer is spending "considerable funds" on water conservation efforts such as a water reclaim system. Environmental Leader (10/27)      Coalition takes stand against genetically modified corn A coalition of food safety groups, environmental organizations and health advocates says it has more than 264,000 signatures from consumers saying they won't buy genetically modified sweet corn from Monsanto. The group is asking retailers and food makers to refuse the corn. Reuters (10/27)      Earn 2X rewards points on advertising costs with The New Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. Designed to earn Membership Rewards® points faster: • 3X points on airfare • 2X points on advertising, gas, shipping • 1X points on everything else • For a limited time, 50K bonus points when you spend $10K your first 5 months LEARN MORE AND APPLY   Advertising & Marketing    Kraft executive takes Mac & Cheese to grown-ups Chris Kempczinski, senior vice president of marketing at Kraft, said a campaign pitching Macaroni & Cheese to adults made sense because "if we pigeonholed Kraft Macaroni & Cheese as just kids' food, we'd be missing out on a much bigger growth opportunity." Though it might seem risky to take a favorite in a new direction, the campaign appears to be working, with Kraft meal sales up 15%. Adweek (10/27)      Other News Research: 23% of video ad spending is from CPG companies MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (10/27)      White Paper: The Cloud Drives Huge Time to Market Cost Savings The results are in—IDC interviewed 10 companies that developed custom apps on Force.com and ran them for at least 1 year. See how Force.com helped them achieve an average 3-month payback and 721% ROI. Download now.   Retail Spotlight    Winn-Dixie aims for fun and safe Halloween with deals and events Winn-Dixie Stores plans to offer pumpkin-decorating workshops, fresh-baked cookies to children in costumes and Halloween items including a lighted trick-or-treat bucket shaped as a jack-o'-lantern. The retailer will also offer bundled deals for tailgating, including $2.58 off fried chicken, Sabra Hummus and Stacy's Pita Chips. Progressive Grocer (10/27)      Gain the Power to Grow your Business—learn how to: • Choose appropriate suppliers and prospects • Gain better insight into your portfolio • Manage risk while optimizing business with profitable customers Receive 30-day free trial access to our essential business credit management tools and our Business Benchmark Report for insight on the health of US businesses.   Sponsored Content    Small Business Snapshot: Big Firms Swallowing Small Biz For Gov. Money Katie Morell How Path Intelligence Uses Geolocation To Track Customer Behavior James O'Brien What You Can Learn From Borders' Bankruptcy Mike Periu Boo! How To Conquer 4 Common Business Fears RIEVA LESONSKY The Power of Acceptance Matthew E. May   Health & Wellness    Maryland students and teachers take soda-free pledge Maryland's Howard County challenged 100 fourth- and fifth-graders and their teachers to pledge not to drink soda for one month. County health officials hope a soda-free month helps children lose their craving for sugar-sweetened beverages, and they asked students to spread the idea to friends and family. The Sun (Baltimore) (10/26)      ERP solutions are, by nature, large and complex. How do you select the solution best-suited to your firm? In this guide, Focus Experts share their top 6 best practices for selecting ERP software. Learn more by downloading this free white paper now!   GMA News  Will regulations change the way saturated fat and trans fat are declared? Daily Values, nutrient declarations, nutrition-related claims – these are just a few aspects of nutrition labeling that are subject to change under a new FDA rule expected in late 2011. To prepare food companies for these sweeping changes, GMA will host the Get Smart: What's Coming in Nutrition Labeling Reform webinar on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. During the webinar, GMA experts will cover how mandatory nutrition labeling in the U.S. has changed over the last 20 years, the specific reform options currently under consideration by the FDA and the projected timeline and general process for the proposed rule. Less than one week left to register, don't delay!      Learn more about GMA -> About GMA  |  Issues and Policy  |  Newsroom  |  Events  |  Research and Tools Position Title Company Name Location Category Analyst Johnsonville Sausage Sheboygan Falls, WI Regulatory Coordinator Baldwin Richardson Food Co. Macedon, NY Human Resources Generalist Grocery Manufacturers Association Washington, DC Click here to view more job listings.   SmartQuote  A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road." --Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman and lecturer          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:  Jackie Basso (202) 407-7871   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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