March 30 at 5:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Food
By Reuters
Hershey's 5th Avenue candy bars and York Peppermint Patties arranged for a photograph in Reading, Pa. (Bradley C. Bower/Bloomberg News)
Hershey Co. announced a 9.7 percent increase in prices on its chocolates and other candies, paving the way for similar actions from competitors.
The world’s largest chocolate maker is aiming to offset soaring costs for ingredients such as sugar, the price of which has more than doubled in the past year, and cocoa, which jumped earlier this year, but has since retreated somewhat. Get the full story »
March 15 at 12:51 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Government,
International,
M&A,
Packaged foods
By Dow Jones Newswires
Creme Eggs move down the line at the Bournville production plant. (Christopher Furlong/Getty)
Executives from Kraft Foods Inc. appeared at a parliamentary hearing Tuesday over the company’s 11.9 billion-pound acquisition of confectioner Cadbury a year ago, but the absence of Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld drew criticism from lawmakers.
U.K. lawmakers on the Business, Innovation & Skills committee are discussing with Kraft — maker of Oreo cookies, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee — the commitments it made a year ago following the takeover, as well as seeking reassurances on jobs and investment into research.
Last April, lawmakers said in a report that Northfield-based Kraft acted “irresponsibly” and “unwisely” during its acquisition of Cadbury and damaged its reputation in the U.K. Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 5:06 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Recalls
By Associated Press
Nestle USA is recalling some packages of Nestle Raisinets that may contain peanuts, putting those with an allergy at risk if they consume them. Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 12:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Economy,
Retail
Chicago Costume has a wide array of items for Halloween, for which people are expected to spend an average of $73, according to an American Express survey. (Alex Garcia/Tribune)
By Dawn Rhodes | Ankit Patel and Valerie Loborec were scouring the aisles at the cavernous Chicago Costume in Lincoln Park, hoping to find the perfect Halloween costume.
Patel, 26, of Lakeview, didn’t want to spend more than $60 and came away empty-handed.
“I just don’t think it’s worth it,” he said, standing next to a display of accessories for two of the hottest themes: Lady Gaga and Jersey Shore cast members. “It’s just one day and you don’t want to wear the same thing over again.” Get the full story »
Oct. 5, 2010 at 8:20 a.m.
Filed under:
Food
By Associated Press
Kraft Foods Inc. has opened a gum and candy research center in Switzerland, where it will develop products for top brands such as Trident.
The company said Tuesday it has spent more than $14 million on the European Kraft Foods Gum and Candy Research & Development Center in Eysins. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 3:39 p.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International,
M&A,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
Kraft executives laid out a strategy to deliver more growth and higher returns following its Cadbury acquisition, at the company’s annual investor conference in New York Wednesday.
In a presentation some analysts described as short on specifics, chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld and key members of the executive team described a strategy of focusing on so-called “power brands” and regional brands in each area of the world, and a system for sharing best practices throughout the world. Get the full story »
Sep. 13, 2010 at 6:29 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International,
Packaged foods
By Reuters
Oreo products packaged for distribution in China. (Lane Christiansen /Tribune)
Kraft Foods, North America’s largest food company, is looking to double the number of Chinese cities in which it distributes Cadbury products within the next two years, its China head said on Monday.
The number of cities in China in which Cadbury confectionary is sold would rise to about 40 by tapping Kraft’s distribution network, Lorna Davis, president and chairman of Kraft’s China operations told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in China. Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 5:55 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International
By Dow Jones Newswires
Kraft Foods Inc. is seeking to raise the profile of Cadbury products in China as the U.S. food giant ramps up investments in developing markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region, which has become Kraft’s key growth driver following its multi-billion dollar acquisition of the British confectioner earlier this year. Get the full story »
July 29, 2010 at 3:24 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food
By Sandra M. Jones
Tootsie Roll Industries Inc., the Chicago-based candy maker, said its second quarter profit fell 18 percent, reflecting rising costs of distribution and ingredients — in particular, sugar.
The family-run manufacturer of Junior Mints and Dots reported net income of $8.5 million, or 15 cents a share for the three months ended July 3, down from $10.3 billion, or 18 cents a share, a year ago. Get the full story »
July 9, 2010 at 8:14 a.m.
Filed under:
Food
By Reuters
A non-stick chewing gum that can be easily removed from pavements, shoes and clothes has been cleared for sale in the United States, its British maker said on Friday.
Start-up company Revolymer expects the gum, which was pioneered by polymer researchers at the University of Bristol, to be on shop shelves on both sides of the Atlantic in 2011. Get the full story »
July 7, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
M&A
By Dow Jones Newswires
Kraft Foods Inc. reached a deal to sell Cadbury’s Romanian operations to investment fund Oryxa Capital for an undisclosed amount. The deal — involving the Kandia-Excelent chocolate, soft cake and sugar confectionery business — is the last sale required by European regulators as part of Kraft’s $19 billion purchase earlier this year of Cadbury. Get the full story »
July 6, 2010 at 5:51 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs
By Dow Jones Newswires
Kraft Foods Inc. confirmed Monday it has laid off around 120 staff at the global headquarters of the Cadbury business it bought earlier this year for $17.78 billion.
A spokesman for the Chicago-based company said the global headquarters of Cadbury on the outskirts of London has now closed, with the loss of about 120 staff. Only around 50 of Cadbury’s global head office staff had been found new roles within Kraft, he said. Get the full story »
July 1, 2010 at 5:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
M&A
By Reuters
Britain’s Tate & Lyle, which has several facilities in Illinois, is selling its European sugar operations to American Sugar Refining for 211 million pounds, breaking a 150-year link to sugar in favour of low-calorie sweeteners offering faster growth. The privately-owned U.S. group is buying Tate’s sugar and Golden Syrup business with a perpetual licence to use the Tate & Lyle name, while Tate said on Thursday it will focus on its sweeteners such as Splenda and its industrial starches. Get the full story »
June 29, 2010 at 2:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International
By Reuters
Kraft Foods Co. is revising the brands and countries it will focus on in developing markets as a result of its acquisition earlier this year of Cadbury Plc.
Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates, Halls lozenges and Trident gum, three Cadbury brands, make the list of 10 “power” brands getting the bulk of the marketing money in developing markets, said Sanjay Khosla, Kraft’s president, developing markets and global categories. They join Oreo cookies, Milka chocolate, Lacta chocolate, Jacobs coffee, Tang drink mix, Club Social/TUC crackers, Biskuat/Tiger biscuits, Khosla said. Get the full story »
June 28, 2010 at 6:02 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
M&A
By Tribune staff report
Kraft foods has reached a deal to sell its Wedel chocolate and candy business in Poland, which it acquired with its purchase of Cadbury, to South Korea’s Lotte Group for an undisclosed price. The sale is part of Kraft’s agreement with EU regulators to sell off some units as part of its acquisition of Cadbury.
