March 10 at 10:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food
By Emily Bryson York
Starbucks Coffee Co., the Seattle-based coffee giant, has entered into an agreement with Waterbury, Vt.-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for the manufacture, distribution and sale of Starbucks and Tazo tea-branded K-Cups. Green Mountain holds patents on K-Cups, used to make drinks on the Keurig, and owns the single-serve machines.
Starbucks and Tazo K-Cups will be available in grocery and club stores, Starbucks cafes and department stores. Starbucks will also begin selling the Keurig brewers in store. Get the full story »
March 9 at 12:47 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Wailin Wong
GrubHub, a Chicago-based startup that connects people with nearby food delivery options, said Wednesday that it has raised $20 million in its fourth round of funding.
GrubHub, launched in 2006 as the brainchild of local software engineers Matt Maloney and Mike Evans, raised $11 million in November from Menlo Park, Calif.-based Benchmark Capital. Maloney told the Tribune he wasn’t looking for more funding after that round, but “the calls came pouring in from top-tier venture firms all across the country” that were interested in the company. Get the full story »
Crain’s Chicago Business | Milwaukee-based supermarket chain Roundy’s has signed deals to bring three of its upscale Mariano’s stores to Chicago. They will be in the West Loop, Uptown and Palatine. The Palatine outlet is scheduled to open next year.
March 8 at 4:16 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Politics
By Alejandra Cancino
A bill that would allow people to sell home-baked goods at farmers markets is slowly making its way through the state Senate.
Senate Bill 137 would make it legal for people to sell their home-baked “non-potentially hazardous food,” such as bread and cookies, at farmers markets and community events. Get the full story »
March 8 at 3:41 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Packaged foods
By Reuters
US health regulators issued a warning letter to Morton Grove-based health food products manufacturer Lifeway Foods, saying certain products of the company were wrongly marketed as drugs on its website. Get the full story »
March 8 at 7:36 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Reuters
McDonald’s Corp said global sales at established restaurants in February rose 3.9 percent, as strong sales in Europe helped offset a U.S. market that was hit by high unemployment and rising gasoline prices.
February sales at restaurants open at least 13 months were up 2.7 percent in the United States, helped by strong demand for its McCafe beverages, the fast-food hamburger chain said. Get the full story »
March 7 at 3:04 p.m.
Filed under:
Food
From MediaBistro | Food giant Nestle USA has handed marketing duties for its Tombstone frozen pizza to DraftFCB Chicago. In a statement, Nestle director of marketing Todd Macsuga said DraftFCB “demonstrated an ability to uncover and activate meaningful product, shopper, and consumer insights, and ultimately deliver a powerful creative expression.”
March 7 at 11:39 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Franchises,
Restaurants
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Workers at a Subway in Rosemont, Ill., April 8, 2010. (Lane Christiansen/Chicago Tribune)
It’s official: the Subway sandwich chain has surpassed Oak Brook-based McDonald’s Corp. as the world’s largest restaurant chain, in terms of units.
At the end of last year, Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide, according to a Subway spokesman, compared to McDonald’s 32,737. The burger giant disclosed its year-end store count in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last month. Get the full story »
March 7 at 9:26 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
Investigations
By Reuters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. for possible corruption at an Indian facility of its Cadbury unit, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Kraft, the marker of Maxwell House coffee, Oscar Meyer lunch meats and Velveeta cheese, received a subpoena from the SEC on February 1, the filing said. Get the full story »
March 3 at 6:31 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International
By Reuters
The FAO index of global food prices climbed to a fresh record high in February, above 2008 peaks when high food prices sparked riots in several countries, U.N Food and Agriculture Organisation data showed on Thursday.
The index, which measures monthly price changes for a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 236 points in February, the record in real and nominal terms, up 2.2 percent from January’s record and rising for the eighth month in a row. Get the full story »
March 2 at 8:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
Restaurants
By Reuters
McDonald’s Corp. plans to boost investment into expansion of its Russian business this year to increase its foothold in the growing fast food restaurant market amid still sluggish competition. Get the full story »
March 2 at 6:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Food,
Restaurants
Ronald McDonald waves to the crowd during the 2010 St. Patrick's Day Parade on Columbus Drive. (William DeShazer/Tribune)
From Bloomberg News | As McDonald’s Corp. morphs into a more upscale chain, there’s one person you won’t see munching salads, sipping a cappuccino and surfing the Web: Ronald McDonald, age 48.
While Ronald still plays an ambassador role, he isn’t tied to the menu, says spokeswoman Danya Proud. Even as mascots like Burger King’s King shill on TV and the Web, Ronald has ceded the limelight to budding singers and dancers who sell mochas and frappes — not Happy Meals. | Get the full story>>
March 1 at 2:10 p.m.
Filed under:
Airports,
Food,
Restaurants
From USA Today | Tortas Frontera, a Rick Bayless restaurant that specializes in Mexican griddle sandwiches, scores among the Top 10 airport restaurants in a Frommer’s Travel Guides survey commissioned by USA Today.
“We’ve picked places that serve food you’d eat even if you weren’t trapped,” says Jason Clampet, senior online editor for Frommers.com.
March 1 at 1:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
Crain’s Chicago Business | Epic Burger, the organic hamburger chain that opened its first location in 2008, is adding a third — at 550 W. Adams St. — this summer. It will join restaurants in the South Loop and Lincoln Park.
March 1 at 12:43 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
M&A
By Reuters
Coca-Cola Co. said Tuesday that it acquired the remaining stake in Honest Tea for an undisclosed sum, giving the world’s largest soft drinks maker a stronger position in bottled tea.
Coke said Seth Goldman, Honest Tea’s founder and chief executive, will continue to run the business as an independent unit within Coca-Cola, whose tea portfolio has lagged those of rivals such as PepsiCo Inc., whose teas include Lipton and Tazo, and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., which makes Snapple. Get the full story »
