Nut and snack maker Diamond Foods has increased its outlook for fiscal year 2011 after volumes rose 40 per cent in Q1 following the acquisition of Kettle Foods.
Premier Foods will need to turn things around pretty quickly over the coming months or patience in its chief executive could run out, City analysts and corporate finance sources have warned.
Britain's biggest biscuit producer, United Biscuits, is aiming to drive growth across the biscuit and cake categories in 2011 through reformulation of products for a stronger health positioning as well as updating packaging, amid ongoing divesture...
When PepsiCo put up $5.4bn last week to acquire Wimm-Bill-Dann, it was seduced by the promise of high revenue growth but like any high-yield investment the Russian deal does not come without risks.
Rice bran ingredient and nutraceutical supplier NutraCea has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after just over a year – a move that allowed it to restructure and reduce overheads, the company has said.
Indulgence Patisserie is pumping £0.75m into converting a former metal fabrication facility adjacent to its current site into a second desserts manufacturing facility that will more than double its production capacity.
The owners of Unifine Food & Bake Ingredients are seeking a buyer for the pastry ingredients supplier, with Royal Cosun saying it has retained an investment house to conduct a “comprehensive review of all strategic options.”
Kerry Group has strengthened its presence in Asia-Pacific region after acquiring General Mills’ Australian bakery businesses for a sum believed to be around €20m.
Canadian baked goods and meat producer Maple Leaf Foods, has attributed its 2 per cent rise in adjusted operating earnings in the third quarter of this year to the higher costs of grains and meat proteins.
New research from Euromonitor suggests a moderate but sustained increase in wheat and corn commodity prices from now until 2015 but the analysts predict that manufacturers focusing on premium and private label lines will offset rising input costs.
FMC Biopolymer has said it intends to raise prices of its microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and carrageenan-based products by up to 15 percent due to continued supply/demand imbalance for raw materials.
Potato processor Lamb Weston/Meijer (LWM) said it has completed a deal to buy a controlling stake in Austrian outfit Frisch & Frost (F&F) after being given the go-ahead by Brussels.
A new natural sourdough production unit in Belgium costing €21m will boost volume and help meet the hike in demand from bakers for the bread ingredient, claims Puratos.
A private equity group plans to expand the international reach of French salted snack company Snack International following the acquisition of a majority stake in the firm.
The snack and sweet goods category delivered double digit gains for flavour and fragrance house, Givaudan, which recorded overall sales of CHF 3,283m in the first nine months of 2010.
Warburtons has acknowledged receipt of a letter from Welsh rival Brace’s Bakery expressing an interest in its Newport bakery, but does not appear keen to engage in talks, according to Brace’s.
Lotus Bakeries is boosting capacity and installing new lines in its biscuit and cake facilities in Belgium, a €27m scale up in production that it said is to meet the hike in demand for its caramelized biscuit brand following successful entry into Swedish...
In a move that has caught market analysts by surprise, UK based snack and biscuit maker, United Biscuits, is reportedly close to a deal with leading Chinese food group Bright Food in terms of a buy out.
More than 360 staff out of 500 employed at the Tunnock's caramel wafer and teacake factory in Uddingston, Glasgow, downed tools yesterday and will strike again next Tuesday.
The sale of Newmarket Creameries to Kerry Group moved a step closer on Monday when 82.49 per cent of Newmarket shareholders accepted a take over bid of €421 per share.
Canadian fertilizer maker Agrium Inc has moved closer to securing a $1.07 billion takeover of Australia's AWB Ltd after the Australian wheat exporter formally backed the offer.
Leading Italian pasta maker Barilla is to sell off its German bakery chain Kamps to Equity Capital Management (ECM), a private equity group that invests in small and mid-size business.
Rank Hovis is to increase the price of flour by £89.37 per tonne, effective 6 September, Lawrence Watson, head of sales and marketing, revealed exclusively to our sister publication British Baker earlier this week.
Chairman and CEO of Sara Lee Corp. Brenda Barnes has resigned from the company so she can focus on improving her health after she suffered a stroke in May, the company’s board of directors has said.
Nestle has boosted its clinical nutrition activities, this morning announcing its acquisition of a UK-based manufacturer of tailor-made food products for people with inherited metabolic disorders.
Salty snack makers Snyder’s of Hanover and Lance, Inc. have signed a merger deal that creates the second largest salty snack company in the United States after Frito-Lay.
The snacks and biscuits division of UK manufacturer United Biscuits could be parcelled out to different buyers, according to a research firm's analysis of the market following media reports the company is to be sold by its private equity owners.
National Starch is to be sold to US-based Corn Products International for US$1.3bn, current owner Akzo Nobel has confirmed. The news ends over two years of speculation over the business’ future and propels CPI into the European market.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) intends to grow profits in the year ahead through acquisitions as well as expanding its existing business, the company said in a presentation to investors this week.
British bakery group Greggs posted a small rise in underlying sales and said a focus on the breakfast market has left it well placed for growth this year.
Recent acquisition activity in the bakery ingredients supply industry involving Dutch firm Sonneveld being bought out by Orkla Food Ingredients may signal a flurry of similar takeovers and could mean price benefits for bakers, claims a market analyst.
The bakery and confectionary division of Vivartia, Greece's largest food production company, is being bought by a group led by Saudi Arabia's Olayan in a move that is claimed will reduce the firm’s exposure to risk in a turbulent Greek economic...
Planning permission has been secured for a site modernisation project at privately owned Frank Roberts & Sons’ Rudheath bakery in Northwich, Cheshire in the UK, reports our sister site Food Manufacture.
Finland’s Raisio has announced it has finalised the acquisition of British snack foods manufacturer Glisten PLC, as the Finnish food manufacturer eyes opportunities for growth.
Monsanto reported a decline in profits for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 on Wednesday and warned that it was unlikely that it would meet its longer-term profit forecasts.
Swiss bakery group Aryzta had a decline in revenue of 7.4 per cent, which translated as €800.9m in the first half of 2009, with consumer and customer limited spending power cited as the chief factor for the decrease.
Improved sales and earnings performance within the baking and snacks division of the Campbell Soup for the fiscal year 2010 were due to favourable currency impact and margin growth in both Pepperidge Farm and Arnott’s, said the US company.
Rice bran ingredients supplier NutraCea has agreed to sell its cereal ingredients business and certain related equipment to Kerry Group as part of its restructuring strategy.
Dutch food group CSM has announced the acquisition of US based frozen bakery manufacturer Best Brands for $510m to strength its global position in the bakery supplies market.
Rice bran and baby cereal specialist NutraCea is cutting 17 per cent of its US work force, a move the company claims will save $1m annually in its process of reducing its overheads under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A suspected cartel in the flour industry in the Netherlands is the subject of an investigation by the Dutch competition authority (NMa), with the spotlight being placed on the practice of both domestic and foreign players in the sector.
Over the last two years, Premier Foods has increased Hovis’s market share of the UK bread market by four percentage points up to 26.3 per cent, reports our sister publication Food Manufacture.
Baked good companies should look to discount chains, control distribution, develop a broad product portfolio, manage input costs and tap into newer markets in order to ensure resilience over the next five years, stresses a report on the European bakery...
