This week, Mars waged war on Hershey, alleging its US rival was selling “fake” confectionery under the Malteser brand. Q1 results seasons gathered steam and one of the companies reporting, Unilever, admitted it was considering the future of two units. Elsewhere, in an apparent bid to keep up with the grocery sector price war, The Co-operative Group announced it was plugging GBP100m into price cuts and Hillshire Brands announced the purchase of US waffle-to-cereal maker Van’s Natural Foods.
“Consistent with our commitment to rigorously review our portfolio we are undertaking a strategic review of our North America pasta sauces business and the Slim.Fast brand” – Unilever admits the sale of Slim.Fast after months of speeculation.
“Our base powder will now be sourced from a number of other suppliers in Australia, New Zealand and Europe that have all met Danone Nutricia’s rigorous quality and safety standards” – Danone’s Nutricia indicates a shift in suppliers is causing issues with baby formula supply in Australia and New Zealand.
“The Co-operative Food is changing. We have a clear ambition to be the UK’s best community retailer, delivering deliciously food conveniently, and we understand what we need to do to get there” – Steve Murrells (pictured), CEO of The Co-op’s food retail arm on the UK mutual’s latest move to inject GBP100m into lowering prices of household products.
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“The Hershey Company has owned the Malteser trademark in the United States for more than 15 years. We intend to vigorously defend against this groundless litigation” – Mars has declared war on Hershey, alleging it is selling “fake” confectionery under the Malteser brand.
“Lunchtime is a key opportunity for us, especially as sandwiches remain the number one favourite lunchtime option in the UK” – Tim Dummer, head of customer marketing at Hovis, on the launch of new flavoured bread.
“The yoghurt story in America is just beginning and as the category leader we are creating new ways to enjoy Chobani’s delicious, nutritious, natural products throughout the day” – Peter McGuinness, Chobani’s chief marketing officer, talks new launches for the brand as the yoghurt sector comes under pressure.
“Significantly, younger consumers are almost twice as likely as older consumers to try to increase protein consumption” – Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director at Datamonitor, explains how milk suppliers could boost sales.
“Not only does it expand our presence in the frozen category, it also gives us a proven health and wellness brand with extendability beyond frozen” – Sean Connolly, CEO at US food firm Hillshire Brands, announces the acquisition of breakfast foods firm Van’s Natural Foods.
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