Feb. 8 at 1:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food,
Restaurants,
Updated
By Reuters
McDonald’s reported a stronger-than-expected sales rebound in January in Europe, its biggest market for revenue, sending its shares up nearly 3 percent in midday trading.
Sales at restaurants in Europe open at least 13 months jumped 7 percent last month, well above the 3.7 percent analysts had expected.
This was also a significant improvement from December, when sales in Europe fell 0.5 percent, rattling investors who worry that austerity measures will cut into spending in the region. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 10:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food
By Reuters
J.M. Smucker Co., the top U.S. packaged coffeemaker, raised prices for most of its coffee products, including Folgers, in a widely expected move as the cost of beans has soared 85 percent in eight months.
Though this was the third price increase in less than a year by the company known as the trendsetter, many in the industry have wondered how the company managed to wait so long as tight supplies of washed arabica coffee beans have continued to fuel the price rally. Get the full story »
Feb. 7 at 2:06 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
M&A,
Packaged foods
By Dow Jones Newswires
Sara Lee Corp.’s managers passed up three chances to sell itself in the last year, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing people with knowledge of the negotiations. Get the full story »
Feb. 7 at 7:39 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Packaged foods
From World Bakers | A number of food companies have stopped production or closed stores due to the upheavel in Egypt.
Kraft Foods said it was among a number of food companies to have temporarily suspend its operations in Egypt amid political upheaval. Kraft, which has four plants and one business office in Egypt where it makes products including Oreo and Mikado and markets brands like Tuc biscuits in Egypt said its facilities were “secure”. Get the full story>>
By Emily Bryson York
Jack Daly
Jack Daly, chief communications officer for McDonald’s Corp., died Saturday morning after a battle with cancer. He was 62.
“Through the depth of his thinking and strength of his insights, Jack helped guide McDonald’s through some of our greatest successes and most difficult challenges, always with humility, calmness and grace,” McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner said in a statement.
A company veteran with nearly 20 years at the Oak Brook-based fast food giant, Daly oversaw the global public relations function.
Get the full story »
By CNN
It’s that time of year again: Girl Scout cookie season. But some cookie monsters won’t be able to get their favorites. The Dulce De Leche and the Thank U Berry Munch cookies are being pulled from the menu in various cities across the country, according to Michelle Tompkins, spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of the USA. Get the full story »
Feb. 4 at 3:52 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Construction,
Energy,
Food,
Updated
By Reuters
Consumer goods maker Fortune Brands posted a sharply higher quarterly profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations as an improving economy helped spur sales of premium liquor and Titleist golf clubs.
But the conglomerate said sales of its Simonton windows, up at a double-digit rate, were fueled by the expiration of a consumer tax credit for the purchase of energy-efficient home products. As a result, it expects the overall window market to fall at a mid-single-digit rate this year. Get the full story »
From Mashable | After a harried day in the office, meal planning may be the last thing on your mind. It might be evident on your face, though.
That’s the premise behind an interactive technology Kraft and Intel recently introduced called the “Meal Planning Solution.” The kiosk-like display, which is likely to show up in at least one retail location this year, is meant to help weary shoppers find new recipes during last-minute grocery trips. Get the full story>>
By Dow Jones Newswires
Kraft Foods Inc. said an appeals court agreed to hear arguments over whether Starbucks Corp. can proceed with taking over distribution of its bagged coffee as planned on March 1.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday said it would hold an expedited appeal, according to Kraft, which must file its argument by Feb. 9. A final ruling on the appeal could come by the end of the month.
Kraft planned to appeal last Friday’s ruling, where the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a preliminary injunction that would block Starbucks from taking over the distribution from Kraft in just a couple of weeks. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 6:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming,
Food,
International
By Reuters
The U.N.’s food price index hit a record in January and recent catastrophic weather around the globe could put more pressure on the cost of food, an issue that has already helped spark protests across the Middle East.
Up for the seventh month in a row, the closely watched Food and Agriculture Oganisation Food Price Index on Thursday touched its highest since records began in 1990, and topped the peak of 224.1 in June 2008, during the food crisis of 2007/08. Get the full story »
Feb. 2 at 10:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming,
Food,
International
By Reuters
Sugar prices spiked to their highest level in more than 30 years as a massive tropical cyclone slammed into the northeast coast of Australia, the world’s third-biggest exporter of the sweetener. Raw sugar futures jumped 4% to settle at 35.31 cents a pound on Wednesday after trading as high as 36.11 cents. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 11:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International
By Ameet Sachdev
Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food industry consultant, has formed a joint venture with a Brazilian marketing company to advise companies interested in the Latin American market.
The venture with Gouvea de Souza, based in Sao Paulo, also will consult with Latin American food and beverage companies seeking to enter the U.S. market, the two companies said. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 10:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks will offer customers who don’t like Starbucks Via Ready Brew the option of replacing it with a 12-ounce bag of ground coffee.
Via, launched in 2009, was the first major entry into the U.S. instant coffee market in years. Though the coffee packets generated $135 million in sales in their first year, Starbucks is appealing to a wider audience with an offer: Try it. And if you don’t like it, we’ll replace it with regular coffee.
Starbucks announced the promotion Tuesday morning. It will run through August. In order to score free java, customers unhappy with their Via purchase can print out a form online and mail it in with their original receipt and UPC code. Requests must be postmarked by August 31. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 9:50 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Energy,
Food,
Updated
By Reuters
U.S. agricultural processor and ethanol producer Archer Daniels Midland Co reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday as rising grain prices and robust global demand bolstered results, sending its shares up 6.3 percent in premarket trading.
For the fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, net profit was $732 million, or $1.14 per share, compared with $567 million, or 88 cents per share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Jan. 31 at 12:30 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants,
Sports
By Associated Press
Super Bowl Sunday is coming and pie-makers across the country are bracing for a pizza one of the five big pizza days of the year along with Halloween, the day before Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
All of which require some serious flour power. At the Papa John’s chain, officials expect to sell a million pizzas when the Steelers meet the Packers on Feb. 6, making it their biggest day of the year. Get the full story »
