US food giant Kraft Foods Group this week announced its chairman would also take on the role of CEO – and he promptly said the company would reassess its business to “stay ahead” of the “rapid change” within the industry. Meanwhile, the CEOs of Thai Union Frozen Products and Wessanen reflected on acquisitions announced by the companies this week. Click on the headlines for more.
“The industry is undergoing a great deal of rapid change, and it is important that we keep pace and indeed stay ahead of these changes as we build a stronger Kraft. While our immediate priority will be to remain focused on delivering results, we will also take a fresh look at the business to prioritise our investments and focus on sustainable profit growth” – Kraft Foods Group chairman – and soon to be CEO – John Cahill indicates the US company will reappraise its business in the coming months.
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By GlobalData“Bumble Bee Seafoods is a leading player in North American shelf-stable seafood; combining the business with Thai Union Group will lower costs, improve efficiency, and create the global leader in the shelf-stable seafood space” – Thai Union Frozen Products president and CEO outlines why the seafood giant has moved to make Bumble Bee the largest acquisition in its history.
“I think we’ve gone a good way to laying the foundations for Doux to stand on its own and compete” – in a two-part interview, Arnaud Marion, the French poultry group’s CEO, tells just-food how he and his team have reshaped a business that fell into administration two years ago.
“Hampton Creek was founded to open our eyes to the problems the world faces. This moment has only validated why” – Josh Tetrick, the founder and CEO of the US firm, reacts to Unilever pulling its lawsuit against the way the company markets its egg-free Just Mayo.
“Unless Pork Farms offers undertakings that resolve these concerns, we think it is necessary to investigate the merger in greater detail to see whether it could harm consumers’ interests” – Andrea Coscelli, executive director for markets and mergers at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, warns the watchdog could launch an investigation into Pork Farms’ acquisition of Kerry Group’s chilled savoury pastry assets.
“We remain confident in the long-term potential for our private brands segment given the important role of these products to consumers and trade customers and our ability to utilise our infrastructure to add value for customers” – ConAgra Foods CEO Gary Rodkin says the US group is standing by its own-label business despite a hefty writedown on the unit.
“We know that our first-half US retail performance was not where it needed to be. It is true that the slowdown in overall US food and beverage industry sales is a challenge, but it is up to us to take actions to improve our own performance” – Jeff Harmening, executive vice president for General Mills US retail business, this week conceded the company needs to step up its game in the country.
“The acquisition of Abafoods is a major step in the execution of our strategy” – Wessanen CEO Christophe Barnouin hails the Dutch group’s purchase of the Italy-based dairy-free drinks firm.
“The independent directors unanimously concluded that as the company strives to improve performance, it would benefit from new leadership and enhanced execution” – Mary Kay Haben, chairman of US sausage maker Bob Evans Farms, explains the reason for the departure – by “mutual agreement” – of CEO Steve Davis.
“It has been a very challenging quarter for the food industry, with reduced volumes and price deflation, and this is reflected in our results” – 2 Sisters Food Group CEO Ranjit Singh says the “tough sales environment” in the UK had affected the company’s first-quarter results, which included lower sales and margins.
