Last week saw the latest in our series of just-food interviews, with Greencore CEO Patrick Coveney talking horsemeat, the ups and downs of M&A attempts and expansion in the US. The last five days also saw Burton’s Biscuit Co. sold and more underwhelming results in the US with Campbell Soup Co.’s profit warning.
“The underlying consumer trends are still very supportive of a ready meal proposition, and the sense would be that consumers have moved on from being concerned about the specifics of contamination like horsemeat and are more looking for just great products, but we’ll have to see” – Patrick Coveney, CEO of ready-meal supplier Greencore, is optimistic UK consumers will turn back to the products as concerns after the horsemeat contamination scandal this year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“A bride standing on the altar with no-one to get married to” – how Coveney saw Greencore after 2 Sisters Food Group beat the company to the acquisition of Northern Foods in 2011.
(Click here to read the full interview with Greencore CEO, the latest in our just-food interviews, which in 2013 have featured the CEOs of companies including Nestle, Unilever and Orkla).
“There are… many strategic acquisitions to consider in [international] territories that can enhance these ambitious growth plans” – Jo Taylor, the head of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s London office, has already outlined the fund plan’s to grow new asset Burton’s Biscuit Co. through M&A.
“I’m disappointed in Campbell’s first-quarter performance” – Denise Morrison, Campbell Soup Co.’s president and CEO, reflects on a quarter that led to the US food group cutting its forecast for annual profits.
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