11 Sep September NewsWrap

  We hunt down the latest food-drinks news and  
  trends so you don’t have to! 

September’s cherry-picking trawl through the global food-drinks worlds…

South African food briefs

Retailers strive to adapt as customers struggle

As predicted, consumer spending is in the doldrums this year. The performance of SA’s grocers is proof of consumers’ struggle to make ends meet as living costs increase, wage growth and job creation stalls, and debt continues to mount. Read more

Banting: meet the man behind the diet

Low-carbohydrate diets are the rage in South Africa and elsewhere, greatly abetted here by The Real Meal Revolution, the best-selling diet and cookbook written by Professor Tim Noakes and his (often forgotten) co-authors, nutritionist Sally-Ann Creed, chef Jonno Proudfoot and restaurateur David Grier. It draws its inspiration from an older source: a pamphlet written 151 years ago in Victorian London by undertaker William Banting, who described how to conquer the “lamentable disease” of corpulence. Read more

 International food briefs

FRANCE: Faber to take over as Danone CEO
Effective October 1, Franck Riboud will assume the role of chairman at dairy producer Danone, while his deputy Emmanuel Faber will take over as CEO. Riboud said he wants to focus on the future of the $45-bn company. This is the first time in the company’s history that the roles of CEO and chairman have been split. Read more

US: Why Kraft won’t give up on the centre of the store
Despite many food companies’ movements to grocery stores’ perimeters in response to declining centre-store sales, the centre of the store is still “tremendously important” to grocery retail, Kraft Foods Group CMO Deanie Elsner said. “Centre of the store represents about 75% of total grocery sales, and about 75% of total profit. The perimeter would have to grow by more than 2.5 times to be the size and the scope of what centre of the store is today for the retailer” she said. Read more

Producer countries boost consumption of Fairtrade goods
Fairtrade-certified products are growing in such markets as South Africa, Kenya and India, as consumers there support the domestic production of a range of items, specifically sugar, bananas and coffee, according to an annual report by Fairtrade International. Read more

Cargill’s ADM merger creates chocolate “duopoly”
Cargill’s acquisition of ADM’s six chocolate facilities and three brands has placed the company alongside Barry Callebaut in an industrial chocolate “duopoly,” which is risky in the unpredictable cocoa market, says Mintel Director of Insight Marcia Mogelonsky. Read more

25 women innovators in the food and beverage industry
Milk Bar owner Christina Tosi, Whole Foods Market’s Margaret Whittenberg and Lena Kwak, president of gluten-free flour brand Cup4Cup, are among the women that Fortune and Food & Wine named to their list of the top 25 most innovative women in food and drink. Read more

Food packaging & labelling

How nutrition labels screw the consumer

There are simple ways to inform consumers about the healthfulness of foods, but the industry tends to resist these, even though research has shown them to be effective and preferred by the consumers themselves. Yet another study recently showed that a simplified, color-coded food label indicating the healthfulness of a product would benefit consumers. Read more:

Curb your enthusiasm for packaging evolution and revolution

It’s hard to think of a food or drink brand that has kept more or less the same packaging since the turn of the century. Most have suffered from continual tinkering, and many have been transformed beyond all recognition. Read more

Tetra Pak: Five global emerging packaging trends

Tetra Pak analysts look at five global emerging trends – and what this means for food packaging. Read more

Food science, technology & ingredients

Chia + garbanzo beans = neat egg

Pennsylvania-based Neat Foods has unveiled its latest innovation: ‘neat egg’, a combination of ground chia seeds and garbanzo beans shoppers can mix with water and use to replace egg in everything from cookies to pancakes. Read more

The secret life of salt (and other ingredients)

These photographs of microscopic food particles were all taken by Nestlé scientists. They reveal hidden worlds in everyday products. Take a look…

Perdue Farms eliminates antibiotic use in chicken hatcheries

Perdue Foods, the nation’s third-largest poultry producer, said it has removed all antibiotics from its chicken hatcheries to address growing concerns about bacterial resistance to the widely used drugs.  Read more

Wine waste could add antioxidants, fibre to baked goods
A new study shows that the skins and seeds left over from the wine-making process, called wine grape pomace, can be used in baked goods to increase their fiber and antioxidant content. Taste, colour, and texture could be affected by using the wine pomace, however the study was successful with the use of pinot noir pomace as a replacement for wheat flour in levels as high as 15%. Read more

Patent watch: PepsiCo explores how to make juice as nutritious as whole fruit

PepsiCo is seeking to patent a method of adding fiber- and polyphenol-rich co-products from fruit and veg juice extraction back to juices and other beverages in a bid to improve their sensory and nutritional profile, and minimize waste from the juice extraction process. Read more

Why do mushrooms turn brown?

Aresearch team from the Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, University of Vienna has explored the mechanisms behind the “browning reaction” during the spoilage of mushrooms. The researchers were able to demonstrate that the enzyme responsible is already formed prior to fungal spoiling. The detailed study is published online in the journals, Phytochemistry and Acta Crystallographica. Read more

Infographic: The truth behind the intense taste of coriander/cilantro

Some people love it, some people hate it. Either way, this infographic shows the truth behind why Cilantro gets such enthusiastic reactions from both sides. Read more

Nestle scientists brew tea in chocolate teapot
Scientists at Nestle’s Product Technology Center successfully brewed a cup of tea in a teapot made entirely of chocolate, without melting it. The chocolate teapot featured several layers of molded chocolate, carefully designed to withstand the boiling water. Nestle made the teapot in response to a challenge from BBC’s “The One Show” to trial the saying “there’s nothing more useless than a chocolate teapot.” Read more

Food-bev innovation, NPD and trends

FMCG marketers wade warily into e-commerce [but] the potential is huge
“Finally, after decade of transformational impact on other sectors of the economy, the new frontier of e-commerce has come to food. Ready or not, our industry must do a much better job of leveraging this channel.” This candid quote acknowledging the untapped potential for food and beverage marketers in the online space was delivered by Campbell Soup Co,.. CEO Denise Morrison ….. Why have big brands been so slow to implement e-commerce strategies? There are major questions about marketers’ ability — and will — to overcome the executional challenges of online grocery selling, which requires vastly different marketing strategies than operating in physical stores. Read more.

Food Babe’s ingredient attacks draw ‘quackmail’ backlash

Food Babe belongs to an emerging tribe of Web activists who use attention-grabbing – some say outlandish – methods to pressure companies to change their ways. While it’s legitimate to ask whether campaigns joined with the click of a mouse have staying power and depth, activist bloggers have put a spotlight on controversial issues of the day. In some cases, they’ve forced companies to respond. Read more

UK: Tesco rolls out pink-fleshed Surprize apple

Tesco is trialling a new apple variety that has yellow and orange skin and pink flesh. it is described as a “real head-turner” by Tesco fruit product developer, Ciara Grace. Read more

The new fermented food culture

There’s a renaissance happening across the vast category of fermented foods with consumers wanting more specialty, craft, or artisan products, including yogurt, beer, cheese, kimchi, and more, which aligns with other market trends that include greater interest in a variety of natural, minimally processed, and healthy products with clean labels. Read more [Limited period of open viewership]

Food makers focus on kid-friendly snack options
The rise in snacking among children mirrors the trend in adults, and parents are seeking more nutritious options. Food companies including Bolthouse Farms, Stonyfield Farms and Chobani are turning out new products aimed at pleasing kids’ palates and meeting their nutritional needs. Read more

Japan gets black Burger King burger, complete with black cheese
Japanese consumers just got the ultimate oddity – an all-black burger from Burger King. It even includes black cheese! The Kuro Peal burger and Kuro Diamond burger will feature black buns, black cheese, a black sauce and black pepper-filled patties. Unfortunately, they couldn’t figure out how to turn tomatoes and lettuce black. Kuro is the word for “black” in Japanese. Read more

Canadean predicts US fizzy water sales will soar at expense of CSDs

Canadean predicts that US carbonated water sales will grow 12% in 2014 as health-conscious consumers embrace the category’s health halo in preference to carbonated soft drinks. Read more

General Mills, Grupo Bimbo named among “most innovative” by Forbes
Forbes’ annual list of the top 100 “most innovative” companies includes cereal giant General Mills and Mexican bread producer Grupo Bimbo. Grupo Bimbo has introduced sandwich thins, bite-sized cake indulgences and limited-edition variations of its bagels and English muffins to the market, while General Mills was recognised for its gluten-free and added-protein products. Read more

UK: Gourmet baked beans: a ‘gastronomisation’ too far?

You can get posh versions of everything from scotch eggs to marshmallow – and now you can buy a fancy version of the Heinz classic at Fortnum & Mason, for almost a fiver. Does gourmet always taste better? Read more

Poutine: the posh chips and gravy taking over the world

The thick pile of chips, gravy and cheese curd from Canada is proving a big hit in London as the perfect hangover cure – so is it time to bid farewell to the doner kebab? There’s no denying it: when seen for the first time, poutine looks like a culinary catastrophe. But at least this Canadian concoction has the decency to acknowledge that in its name, which translates, according to one etymological theory at least, as “hot mess”. Read more

A new beverage that turns to ice after you open it

There is cold, and there is ice cold. Asahi Mitsuya Freezing Cider Soft Drink goes a step beyond “ice cold”, as this super cooled liquid drink actually turns to an icy slush after the top cap is opened, for a new and novel taste sensation. New in Japan, this product is a Datamonitor Consumer Product Launch Analytics “Innovation of the week”. Read more

Why the US military loves Monster Energy
The US military has a love affair with caffeinated drinks, and in particular, Monster Energy, which is the top-selling cold beverage brand at its own stores. They sold 3.3 million Monster drinks in the past year, outpacing Mountain Dew, the second best-selling drink, by a half-million units, according to this report. Why? In a profession that will often require alertness amid long stretches without sleep, energy drink consumption becomes routine, particularly for overseas deployment. Soldiers also like Monter’s value proposition. Read more

Health and Nutrition

Ditching the ‘diet’: Americans want to shed pounds, but they’re tiring of traditional weight loss regimes

While 28% (66 million) of American adults are trying to lose weight, and a further 14% (32 million) are trying to maintain their weight, they are losing interest in strict diet plans, calorie-counting and ‘diet’ foods, says a new report from Packaged Facts. Read more

The surprising reason we may be thinking about obesity all wrong
There’s no shortage of explanations for the obesity crisis: It’s to do with fast food, sedentary lifestyles, food “deserts,” not exercising enough, and a host of other reasons, from poverty to the suburban environments that discourage walking. Roland Sturm, an economist at the Rand Corporation, thinks they’re all wrong. Read more

Drink soda? Take 12,000 steps

People who consume the sweetener fructose — which is most people nowadays — risk developing a variety of health problems. But the risk drops substantially if those people get up and move around, even if they don’t formally exercise, two new studies found. Read more

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