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Editor’s Stuff: A big dairy shake-up!
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Dairy is back in headlines this week, following last newsletter’s announcement of the 2014 Dairy Champions.
The big news this week – and a big dairy shake-up – is Clover’s announcement that it has bought DairyBelle’s yoghurt and UHT milk businesses, including manufacturing, marketing and distribution, for R125-million and R30-million respectively.
As Clover gains traction on its ambitions of re-entering the yoghurt market by the first quarter of 2015, following the termination of its partnership with Danone, one analyst – Anthony Clark, of Vunani Securities – had this to say:
“The deal makes perfect sense. Clover wanted to enter the yoghurt arena. They could have started from grassroots but this takes time and management wants a 20% market share within five years. This way, for R120-million Clover gets instant capacity, shelf space, plant and machinery and it gets to take out a weaker competitor in market place.”
 Highlights from SAAFoST’s FST Magazine (SA Food Science & Technology), May issue! • Rooibos: a complementary approach to fighting chronic disease • Chocolate trending • Easy steps to less salt • The market sweetens up See more on the website here.
Great food industry jobs on offer! FOODStuff SA is a hub for
food-bev industry recruitment! Click here
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| Local News and Developments |
One of South Africa’s favourite ice cream brands – Unilever’s Ola Magnum – has been moved beyond its iconic on-the-stick ice cream with the launch of Magnum Pints. The new product format in 450ml tubs comes in four new flavours to deliver an indulgent at-home experience.
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Meat product labels: The law is an ass
SA’S new meat-labelling regulations, which came into effect two weeks ago, appear to have created more uncertainty in the industry, leaving suppliers and retailers open to possible charges of non-compliance.
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More beverage tax ‘to fight alcohol abuse’ A major review of the taxation of alcoholic beverages being undertaken by the Treasury as a contribution to the government’s fight against alcohol abuse is likely to result in higher taxes and prices. The industry won’t be happy, believing it is already overtaxed.
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ILSI SA (International Life Sciences Institute) is holding a two-day workshop on Food Safety Risk Assessment, with great talks and case studies on a wide array of food safety-related matters delivered by international and national food safety experts – never before seen in SA!
Dates: 17 and 18 June 2014
Venue: Balalaika Hotel, Sandton
Cost: R2850
Click here to register and for more information … |
Win a bottle of new Amarula Gold! Amarula, a local premium brand that’s now a global sensation, celebrates its 25th birthday this year. Fitting for this milestone, Distell has launched Amarula Gold, a super-smooth, sophisticated premium spirit with a bold new taste. You can WIN a bottle of AMARULA GOLD in our give-away!
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In case you missed it SA’s 2014 dairy champs!
The 2014 DuPont Qualité Awards and SA Dairy Championships saw 68 producers entered a whopping 821 products in many categories. Product of the Year went to…
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International Developments
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A new giant in the coffee industry will be created after Douwe Egberts maker, DE Master Blenders, has merged with Mondelez’s coffee business. To be called Jacobs Douwe Egberts, will have $7bn of revenues, making it a strong challenger to industry leader Nestle.
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Cartels and organised crime target food in hunt for riches
From adulterated olive oil to counterfeit vodka, the trade in fake food is booming – and for mafia gangs it’s less risky than drugs. Olive oil is the product most at risk of food fraud, and the rewards for adulteration of it are substantial. |
Starbucks gets fizzy
Starbucks, eager to make money well beyond the realm of coffee, is officially entering the soda wars. This northern hemisphere summer, the coffee shop’s baristas will offer a handcrafted carbonated beverage dubbed “Fizzio” in 3 000 US stores, as well as in Singapore, South Korea and several cities in China, CEO Howard Schultz has said. |
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Mars, in a partnership, is building a 200MW wind farm near Lamesa, Texas, that will generate 100 percent of the electricity needs of all of Mars’ US operations. Mars claims it’s the biggest long-term commitment to renewable energy use of any food manufacturing business in the US.
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It is a high quality white fish with a mild flavour, it grows three times faster than salmon, it can be farmed consistently all year round – and not many have ever heard of it.
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ICYMI: Top ten wealthiest in food and drink 2014
Forbes’ list of the top 500 billionaires on the planet reveals that food and drink businesses are responsible for the fortunes of a number of the world’s richest. Here are the top 10 wealthiest people in world food and drink manufacturing.
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| Trends, Marketing and NPD |
‘Coffee flour’: The java you can eat
The world is in love with coffee. People love coffee so much many of them are willing to throw down five dollars on a cup at Starbucks. Unfortunately, the universal coffee addiction comes with some environmental costs from unavoidable waste. But, a new product, coffee flour, is looking to change that in the most revolutionary of ways.
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UK: Robinsons unveils pocket-sized Squash’d
UK squash brand, Robinsons from Britvic Soft Drinks, aims to transform the squash category with the launch of a new pocket-sized innovation, Robinsons Squash’d, a super concentrate which is added to water, ideal for the pocket or handbag to enhance healthy hydration and on-the-go consumption occasions. |
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Gravity-defying £5m ad campaign for new Squash’d launch Robinsons has teamed up with Framestore, the Oscar-winning visual effects team behind the movie, Gravity, to create a £5m advertising campaign for its new product, Squash’d, testing it out in zero gravity, as part of its “anywhere, everywhere” positioning.
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‘Bubbleberries’ go on sale in UK
‘Bubbleberries’, which look like a small strawberry but have a flavour which is supposedly reminiscient of bubble gum, are being sold in Waitrose stores from this month. |
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World’s first zero-carb and gluten-free bread mix
The Smart Baking Company, a Florida health food manufacturer, is ready to shake up the gluten-free and low-carb bread industry with never-seen-before products … its new mix allows consumers to have a fresh loaf on the table within 60 minutes. Its packaging also becomes a baking pan. |
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Fly larvae pâté ‘tastes like chicken’ Harvard entrepreneurs are producing “cricket chips”— chips made from crickets. Their idea is to make insects a more palatable dish for westerners. The trend is also finding expression in Iceland where designer, Bjarmar Aðalsteinsson, is working on an even stranger food source: fly larvae, to produce the likes of pâtés and desserts.
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A new independent academic review out of the US concludes that consumers have spent hundreds of billion dollars purchasing premium-priced organic food products based on false or misleading perceptions about comparative product food safety, nutrition and health attributes.
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| See all 2014 trends reports here! |
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| Food Science, Technology and Ingredients |
Top ten myths in food manufacturing: the first five Wayne Morley, head of Food Innovation at Leatherhead Food Research in the UK, draws upon his experience of working with large brands and in factories, and takes a look at manufacturing, specifically exploring the common misapprehensions that surround it; the misconceptions and misunderstandings that can result in wasted time and effort in bringing new products to market.
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US: Coca-Cola drops Powerade ingredient linked to flame retardants
Coca-Cola says it will no longer use a controversial stabilising ingredient, brominated vegetable oil (BVO), in its Powerade sports drink. |
Cornell University Study: People think food tastes better if it costs more
Diners’ perception of how their meal tastes may be skewed by how much it costs, according to a new study at Cornell University. |
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A journalist and a scientist break ground in the GMO debate Why is it that GMOs, more than any other food issue, have inspired so much angst? “There’s something about genes that just terrifies people, when, in fact, this method is just as safe as the plant breeding we’ve been doing for ten thousand years,” says Pamela Ronald, a prominent plant geneticist and a professor at UC-Davis, who recently took up the debate with arch-foodie, Michael Pollan. It was a polite, concessionary interchange…
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Introducing Scio – a spectrometer in your pocket
“Imagine if there was a way to know which watermelon is sweeter, when that avocado is going to ripen, how many calories, carbs or proteins are in a shake, how your plants are doing,” says the pitch of this start-up that believes it has nailed the feat in just three years, shrinking down the size and price tag of a lab spectrometer using low cost optics technology and advanced signal processing algorithms.
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| Health and Nutrition |
What was hot at Vitafoods Europe 2014?
This week, the nutraceutical industry gathered for Vitafoods Europe. Key trends on display included sports nutrition and eye health, with significant launches coming from the likes of Diana Naturals, Lallemand and DSM.
Pic: DSM launched elaVida, a superior polyphenol preparation made from olive fruits using a proprietary solvent-free process, and available in both a liquid and a powder form. |
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Soylent is the drink that claims to contain all the nutrients the body needs. Invented by Rob Rhinehart, a 25-year-old American entrepreneur who has been living off his chalky “food substitute” invention for almost a year now, it was initially seen as laughable eccentricity, but that’s all changing….
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Think of it as health food for the harried
Ambronite, a start-up out of Finland, has begun to market a powdered mix that provides consumers with all of the vitamins and nutrients they would get if they had time to whip up a vegetarian entree. Mix a package of Ambronite with a pint of liquid or some fruit, drink it down and you’re done. No major clean up or cooking time required. |
Why we got fatter during the fat-free food boom
If you want to trace Americans’ fear of fat, the place to start is the US Senate, during the steamy days of July 1976. |
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| Weird, Whacky and Wonderful Stuff |
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There’s bad breath and then there’s garlic breath. There are many anecdotal remedies, but now science has come up with some more definitive answers.
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Food bites…2014: They said it this week!
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Natural isn’t always best … “MOSTLY I think there’s just an emotional attachment to culture and tradition. People have this belief that just because something is natural it’s good. The natural state of man is ignorant, and starving, and cold. We have technology that makes our lives better. It doesn’t make sense that you would keep technology out of this very important part of life …
“I mean, honestly, nutritionally speaking, canned vegetables are better than fresh ones because fresh ones are decaying. They’re out in the air being oxidised. Bacteria are feasting on them. But if you can them, you seal them at the peak of freshness and the nutrients stay intact. So, it seems kind of backwards I think, actually, to go for fresh?”
Rob Rhinehart, inventor of Soylent food replacement, read more
The war on meat is part of the war on humans
“I DON’T mind if people decide to go vegan or vegetarian. That’s a personal decision demonstrating our exceptionalism as human beings. What other species would forego natural and nutritious food to make a moral point? But the idea that most of us will give up meat to ‘save the planet’ is, well, hogwash.
“Yet the ‘what if’ articles keep coming. The latest is from Slate, byline BV Anderson, who asks: “What if Everyone in the World Became a Vegetarian?” ….. The world is almost saved! At least Anderson notes that doing away with food animals would ruin economies: ‘The production and sale of animal products account for 1.3 billion people’s jobs, and 987 million of those people are poor. If demand for meat were to disappear overnight, those people’s livelihoods would disappear…’
” … Actually, Anderson’s article doesn’t even begin to assess the economic obliteration that doing away with meat animals would cause. Indeed, she fails to address how thoroughly animal products grease the wheels – literally – of society.”
Wesley J Smith, Discovery Institute, read more
Diets are ridiculous…
“THEY make you hungry, they make you obsessed with food and if the Institute of Medicine’s stats are anything to go by, they don’t make you thinner anyway, at least not for anything longer than a few weeks, making the whole thing so depressing I want to bang my head against a brick wall. Which, given our insatiable hunger for new diet regimes, will probably be plastered with posters advertising the latest weight-loss plan.
Caroline Corcoran, Independent columnist, writing on ‘International No Diet Day’, May 7.
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