Category: WORLD NEWS

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Starbucks raises full year guidance following impressive Q3 performance

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USA –  Starbucks, the world’s largest coffeehouse chain, is now expecting fiscal earnings per share to be in a range of US$2.97 to US$3.02, up from a previous guidance of US$2.65 to US$2.75 per share following an impressive third quarter.  According to a statement from Starbucks, net income in the third quarter ended June 27 was US$1.15 billion up from a net loss of US$678.4 million recorded in the same period a year ago.   Quarterly revenues grew 78% to US$7.5 billion driven by a 73% increase in comparable-store sales, primarily from lapping the impact of…

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Nestlé raises full year guidance following strongest first half growth in a decade

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SWITZERLAND – World’s largest food manufacturing company Nestlé is upbeat about the remainder of the year following an impressive run in the first half of 2021.  In the recently released financial results, Nestlé reported an organic growth of 8.1% – the company’s highest in over a decade – as consumers doubled down on new buying habits acquired during the pandemic.  According to a statement from Nestle, the company’s growth was supported by continued momentum in retail sales, a return to growth in out-of-home channels, increased pricing, and market share gains.  Total reported sales increased by 1.5% to CHF 41.8 billion (US$46 billion)…

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Utz Brands makes 3 executive appointments to oversee growth ambitions post public listing

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USA – Utz Brands, one of the largest snack food manufacturers in the United States, is bulking its executive ranks as it embarks on an ambitious expansion drive post public listing.   The company recently announced a series of appointments to its C-suite, including the appointment of a COO, a new position at the company, a CFO, and a chief people officer.   Cary Devore, who has been Utz’s CFO since 2019, has been promoted to the newly created role of COO, with his former position being filled by Ajay Kataria who is currently the executive vice president…

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Mondelēz, ADM post double digit profit growth in Q2 as markets recover from pandemic

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US – American multinational confectionery and snack food company Mondelēz International and its commodity trading counterpart ADM have reported double-digit growth in their quarter 2 (Q2) profits, as businesses starts to recover from pandemic effects.   In its recently released financial results, Mondelēz International reported a 12.4% increase in Q2 net revenue mainly driven by recovering sales in emerging markets.  The owner of Oreo and Cadbury chocolate recorded revenues of US$6.64 billion in the quarter, which it says was driven by organic net revenue growth of 6.2%, a favourable currency, and incremental sales from the company’s acquisitions of Hu, Grenade, and Gourmet Food.  Net revenues…

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Coca-Cola, FrieslandCampina introduce new solutions to cut their packaging carbon footprint

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EUROPE – European bottler of carbonated soft drinks Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) and Dutch multinational dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina have introduced new solutions aimed at cutting down their respective packaging carbon footprints.   CCEP is trialing a new drink dispensing technology in Spain that allows consumers in out-of-home venues such as restaurants, cafes, offices, and stadiums that offer Coca-Cola brands to serve themselves and refill drinks directly from the tap.  “The self-pour, self-pay technology offers consumers a convenient packaging-free delivery method for their drinks, while also cutting down queues, reducing the need for unnecessary contact, and freeing up serving staff…

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Starbucks extends RTD coffee partnership with Nestlé to expand global reach of its brand

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ASIA/LATIN AMERICA – Starbucks is eyeing a bigger share of the global RTD coffee market and has entered a partnership with Nestlé to bring ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee beverages to select markets across Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Latin America as from 2022 through a variety of channels, including online platforms.  The deal will initially focus on its most popular products such as Starbucks Frappuccino and Starbucks Doubleshot but will be expanded to include more products as the two companies have agreed to continue developing new and innovative products under the licencing agreement.  As the world’s largest food company, Nestlé has…

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Ebro Foods to offload French dry pasta business in US$648m deal with CVC Capital Partners

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FRANCE – Spanish pasta maker Ebro Foods is selling its Panzani dry pasta, couscous, sauces, and semolina business in France to CVC Capital Partners VIII as part of efforts to refocus its resources and energies to its fresh pasta and convenience businesses.   Ebro Foods has been offloading businesses not aligned with its focus on premium fresh pasta offerings with divestitures in Canada and the United States being some of the latest by the company.  In December 2020, Ebro’s Riviana Foods subsidiary sold its US branded pasta portfolio including San Giorgio and Creamette to TreeHouse Foods; while the company recently finalised its divestment of the Ronzoni…

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Ben & Jerry’s Israel boycott row intensifies as Ecuadorian supermarket chain pulls ice creams from shelves

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ECUADOR – Ben & Jerry’s Israel boycott row is getting thicker by the day, threatening the existence of the brand in countries with strong ties with Israel.   In Ecuador for instance, El Rosado Group, which owns one of the largest supermarket chains in the country with more than 180 stores, has taken the decision to withdraw from all its businesses all ice cream manufactured by Unilever.  According to the company, the decision was prompted by Ben & Jerry’s statement that said the company believes it is inconsistent with its values “for Ben…

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2 Sisters Food Group invests US$10.36m into upgrading facilities at UK poultry factory

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UK – 2 Sisters Food Group, one of the largest privately-owned food manufacturing companies in the UK, is investing £7.5m (US$10.36m) into modernizing facilities at its UK poultry processing factory.  The site, based on Sandycroft Industrial Estate in Wales, processes one million birds a week and is a major supplier to the UK’s largest supermarkets, as well as providing wholesale products to KFC.  According to Food Manufacturer, the investment has enabled the installation of new technology including automated packing lines, new packaging machines, and x-ray bone detection machinery for fillet production.  The investment which has also seen upgrading of cutting…

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Plant-based company NotCo raises US$235 million to bolster expansion into new categories

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CHILE — Latin America’s fastest-growing food company NotCo has raised US$235 million to bolster its expansion into new categories in North America.  The funds were raised in a Series D funding round led by Tiger Global and participated in by DFJ Growth Fund, ZOMA Lab, athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer, and musician Questlove.  According to a report by FoodBev, the Plant-based food technology company has raised more than US$350 million to date with the recent funding round taking NotCo’s valuation to US$1.5 billion.  Launched five years ago, NotCo uses a proprietary artificial intelligence platform to create new…

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