Convenience foods and snacks

Consumer group outs ‘shonky’ Aussie liquid breakfast brands

25-Jun-2013 By RJ Whitehead

An Australian consumer rights watchdog has branded liquid breakfasts’ nutritional claims as “dodgy” and “shonky” following an investigation into 23 brands.

Fiber: The golden ingredient in Japan’s promising cereal sector

11-Jun-2013 By Kacey Culliney

Fiber is a core selling point of breakfast cereal in Japan given the low dietary intake in the country, says a Canadean analyst.

Africa, Asia to lead rise in global sugar demand through 2021, report says

06-Jun-2013 By Hank Schultz

Rising demand in Asia and Africa will drive significant growth in global sugar consumption, according to a new Rabobank report. The report, Global Sugar to 2021, projects global sugar consumption to grow from 166 million tons to 203 million tons in raw...

Market research

China’s grocery market to grow by one-third, India to overtake Japan

04-Jun-2013 By RJ Whitehead

China, the world’s biggest food and grocery market, is now valued at more than US$1tn per year and is forecast to grow by a further one-third by 2016, according to latest figures published by IGD.

Want-Want chairman tops Forbes Taiwan rich list as China business booms

30-May-2013 By Kacey Culliney

The chairman of Taiwanese food and drink major Want-Want has topped the Forbes Taiwan rich list for the second year running on the back of a booming snacks business in China.

Fast food looks to China's hinterland towns for future growth

27-May-2013 By RJ Whitehead

According to a new report by market researcher Mintel, China’s fast food and takeaway market is expected to reach RMB1.8tn (US$294bn) by 2017. The increase, it says, will be largely bolstered by rising economic power in lower-tier cities. 

Ankush at large

India’s food processors simply targeting the wrong kitchens

27-May-2013 By Ankush Chibber

If you have been following all the big research and consulting companies’ reports, you will be well used to hearing the words “purchasing power”, “disposable income” and “larger grocery basket”, mostly in that order.

Ready meals on the rise in time-poor Japan

21-May-2013

With a value growth of 4.3% expected between 2012 and 2017, the prepared meals sector has been showing above-average growth in Japan. 

PepsiCo bites into Southeast Asia with expansion partnership

25-Apr-2013 By Kacey Culliney

PepsiCo will push its snacks brands further into Asia in a new deal with Swiss market expansion specialist DKSH.

CHOICE Australia slams ‘alarmingly’ high salt levels in kids’ snacks and cereal

04-Apr-2013 By Kacey Culliney

CHOICE Australia has slammed industry on high sodium levels in snacks and breakfast cereal targeting kids and has called for tougher action towards change.

Business head

Nestlé expects stratospheric growth from India operation

12-Mar-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Nestlé’s regional head has revealed that he expects India to be one of the company’s top five markets by 2020.

Aussie battlers

Ready-meal shoppers now given help in counting the calories

07-Mar-2013 By RJ Whitehead

A new law has come into force in New South Wales that requires all supermarket ready-to-eat products to display mandatory kilojoule labelling. 

Pringles transforming Kellogg into global snack player, CEO says

22-Feb-2013 By Hank Schultz

The Pringles acquisition is helping Kellogg become a global player in snacks, CEO John Bryant said in presentation at the CAGNY meeting recently.

China’s foodservice packaging market to overtake US

13-Feb-2013 By Rod Addy

China’s foodservice packaging market will become bigger than that of the US by 2020 at current annual growth rates, according to a report just issued by Smithers Pira.

New home in Ho Chi Minh

Dunkin’ to enter Vietnam as part of massive Asia expansion

31-Jan-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Dunkin' Donuts has announced that it has signed a franchise agreement to develop the brand in Vietnam. The move comes only shortly after coffee-and-baked-goods rival Starbucks revealed details of its own move into the South-east Asian country.

BK eyeing India once again

31-Jan-2013

Burger King Holdings is in fresh discussions with Everstone Capital in a bid to revive its India entry plans.

KFC in crisis

Litigators licking their lips over Yum! class action

30-Jan-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Lawyers in the United States are queuing up to bring on board investors in KFC’s parent, Yum! Brands, for a class action lawsuit. The move follows nearly two months of questions concerning meat standards at the fast food chain’s Chinese operation.

Fast-food sports advertising having sizeable effect on kids

22-Jan-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Children watching sports may be soaking up blanket fast-food advertising campaigns more than expected, according to a fresh study by the University of Western Australia.

Industry should stand poised for breakfast cereal boom in India: Analyst

18-Jan-2013 By Kacey Culliney

Manufacturers should stand poised to cash in on India’s burgeoning packaged breakfast cereal market, an analyst says.

‘Wave of stagnation’ continues to challenge Australian snacks market: Report

17-Jan-2013

Australian snack makers face continued stagnation and economic pressures and must innovate further in niche healthy sectors to ride the current wave of challenges, a report says.

McCain increases India investment as it struggles to meet demand

17-Jan-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Faced with rapid growth which it is struggling to meet, McCain Foods’ Indian subsidiary has announced plans to invest a further US$69m to introduce a third manufacturing line at its potato processing plant in Mehsana.

Manjushree Technopack sets out growth plans

11-Jan-2013 By Rod Addy

Packaging firm Manjushree Technopack aims to double sales by 2015, driven by the growth of the middle class in India, and is poised to start construction on a fourth factory.

McDonald’s draws mirth with Macca’s moniker

08-Jan-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Much to the hilarity of international observers, McDonald’s Australian operation has chosen to rename a number of its outlets as a tribute to the country as Australia Day approaches.

Hope for Rosella but industry in trouble

06-Dec-2012 By RJ Whitehead

Despite positive news that the ailing company behind Rosella is likely to continue trading while a buyer is sought, Australia’s leading food production lobby has issued a stark warning that more support is needed from the government in the face of cheap...

French Senate rejects palm oil tax

16-Nov-2012 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

The French Senate rejected its so-called ‘Nutella tax’ on Thursday, which aimed to quadruple the tax on palm oil, a key ingredient in the hazelnut-chocolate spread.

Kellogg-Wilmar JV will dive into immediate snacks opportunity

13-Nov-2012 By Kacey Culliney

Kellogg and Wilmar’s 50:50 joint venture will dive into immediate opportunities in China’s developed snack market; using Pringles as its springboard, a Kellogg executive has said.

Report outlines success of grocery through self-regulation

05-Nov-2012 By RJ Whitehead

Food and beverage companies have made significant changes in the way to they market their products to children as a result of industry-wide self-regulatory initiatives, according to new research from Australia.

Yinlu Foods ready for $1/2bn expansion

18-Oct-2012

Chinese foodmaker Yinlu Foods Group has announced plans to spend almost half a billion dollars in the construction of two new factories. The investment will serve to increase capacity by two-thirds.

Quaker thrives in China with traditional medicine cereal fortification

16-Oct-2012 By Kacey Culliney

PepsiCo’s investment to localize its Quaker brand in China with traditional herbal medicine fortification and texture adaptations has enabled it to thrive, an analyst says.

India ready to send huge quantities of non-GMO emulsifiers to Europe

12-Oct-2012 By RJ Whitehead

Adani Wilmar, one of the largest soy producers in South Asia, has gained non-GMO soya lecithin certification, which it will use to provide the European food industry with 30 tonnes of the emulsifier per day.

Morinaga’s Japanese Pringles take-over must push US flavours

12-Oct-2012 By Kacey Culliney

Japanese food major Morinaga who secured the sales rights for Pringles in Japan should tap into the imports trend and push original US flavours on the market, not Japanese imitations, an industry source says.

CHOICE Australia says kids’ cereals are nutritionally disappointing

09-Oct-2012 By Kacey Culliney

The nutritional value of breakfast cereals marketed to children in Australia is disappointing, with high sugar and salt content and low fiber levels, the country’s consumer watchdog CHOICE says.

Breakfast cereal in China: Snap, crackle… and flop

04-Oct-2012 By Kacey Culliney

Western breakfast brands don’t often work in China. They need manipulating to appeal to very different tastes, packaging and format preferences and, of course, another language.

Del Monte readying to create new snack-food segment in India

03-Oct-2012 By RJ Whitehead

American snack food giant Del Monte has revealed that it has plans for an imminent entry into the Indian snack-food market with a range of fruit-based packaged snacks.

Aussies work extra week as a result of missing lunch

02-Oct-2012 By RJ Whitehead

More than half of Australians are too busy to take lunch every day of the week, and those who do find the time often steer away from healthy choices, according to new research.

KFC to ramp up growth in China

28-Sep-2012

KFC has revealed plans to accelerate its expansion across China’s smaller cities, and has pledged to open over 500 new restaurants per year over the coming years—a 20% increase over the current rate.

Nuts sold in Australia safe from Salmonella and E.Coli

26-Sep-2012 By Ankush Chibber

A survey authored in Australia has found that while the Salmonella and E.Coli contamination of nut products there is not common, an outbreak is a likely outcome if it were to occur.

Latin America and Asia to dominate global bakery

04-Sep-2012 By Kacey Culliney

As bakery growth flattens in Western economies, Latin America and Asia Pacific are two emerging markets that are set to dominate global bakery growth, an analyst suggests.

Indian schools to ban junk food in 2013

30-Aug-2012 By Ankush Chibber

Junk food will be banned from sale in and around Indian schools after India’s food agency indicated it would follow guidance from a local court to restrict their availability.

Chinese giant Wahaha ‘leads pack’ after KP Snacks

22-Aug-2012 By John Wood

A Chinese food giant has emerged as the leading contender to buy United Biscuit’s (UB’s) KP Snacks business, according to the state-owned China Daily newspaper.

US food exports jump 27% in the Philippines

22-Aug-2012 By Ankush Chibber

The Philippines has emerged as a top destination for US food and beverage manufacturers, says the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

China’s breakfast table: A local affair

16-Aug-2012 By Ankush Chibber & Kacey Culliney

Manufacturers targeting China’s breakfast market need to realize it is a local taste affair if they are to capture consumers, according to Mintel.

Indonesia eyes salt, sugar and fat limits

16-Aug-2012 By Ankush Chibber

The Indonesian government is looking at forcing manufacturers to label salt, glucose and fat in ready-to-serve foods.

Auckland plans fat attack

13-Aug-2012 By Ankush Chibber

New Zealand's biggest city - Auckland - is toying with the idea of dropping junk food advertising from public property – a move that could set a dangerous national precedent for food manufacturers.

Nestlé first half results: Pros and cons

09-Aug-2012 By Rod Addy

Europe and North America were the worst performing regions for Nestlé according to its first half (H1) results, while Asia, Oceania, Africa and emerging markets delivered double digit growth.

Radioactive Japanese oatmeal discovered in Hong Kong

02-Aug-2012 By Mark Astley

An oatmeal product, manufactured in and imported from Japan, has been found to contain low levels of radioactivity by food safety authorities in Hong Kong.

Branding heaven: The sociable, young Indonesian minimarket

31-Jul-2012 By Kacey Culliney

Snacks and soft drinks brand owners looking to build traction in Indonesia should target local convenience stores amid a soaring trend for young, wealthy consumers to socialise in this retail space, Euromonitor says.

Chinese challenges: Sparking growth in a slowing FMCG sector

26-Jul-2012 By Kacey Culliney

Manufacturers must refocus efforts on Tier III and IV cities in China and delve into e-commerce to re-ignite consumer spending in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) sector amid a slow, according to analysts.

Study highlights Australian junk food nutrition labelling confusion

23-Jul-2012 By Ankush Chibber

Marketing non-core foods to children via product packaging in supermarkets should be of immediate concern to policy makers in Australia, a new study has concluded.

Filipino food: Captivating a tasty global market?

23-Jul-2012 By Kacey Culliney

The unique flavours of Filipino foods should captivate the global market and underpin a surge in exports, according to the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).