Breaking News

Food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies are always making headlines, and this week has been no exception. Here’s a round-up of the news CPG movers and shakers have made in recent days.

PepsiCo Poised for 49% Gain Imitating Kraft Breakup – Will PepsiCo follow in the footsteps of Kraft Foods and split its beverage and snack businesses? Signs may be pointing to yes, as the shares for the world's largest snack-foods maker and second-biggest soda producer fell 9.7 percent – a decline of almost $11 billion in market value – in the past year.

PepsiCo formalizes snack, drink units' combination – On the other hand, rumors of a split could be just that, as PepsiCo announced last week that its top food and beverage executives in the Americas have joined forces to forge better working ties between the snack and beverage businesses. In addition to forming the council, PepsiCo has created a global snacks group to improve its portfolio of snack food brands.

Coca-Cola Cuts Price on 8-Pack of Mini Cans – In other soda news, Coca-Cola lowered the price on its smaller 7.5-ounce cans, making an 8-pack of the drink less than $3. Currently, consumers can find Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Fanta Orange, and Seagram's in the smaller packaging. No more wasting fizzy beverages, and they're cute to boot!

Can Food Industry, Governments Work Together to Fight Obesity? – Government and CPG companies came together this week in New York at a meeting of the International Food and Beverage Alliance. Representatives from Bimbo, Coca-Cola, Ferrero, General Mills, Kellogg's, Kraft, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Unilever united to discuss ways to further improve the nutrition of foods. So far, thousands of products have been reformulated by companies in the alliance, and progress has already been made in cutting trans fats and salt.

Ralcorp rejects ConAgra Foods buyout offer again – It seems as though Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. and ConAgra Foods won't be getting together anytime soon. Ralcorp, which owns Post Cereals, rejected the latest takeover offer from ConAgra Foods – a $5.17 billion proposition. Ralcorp has rejected several bids from ConAgra since March, including turning down a $94-per-share offer last month.

Kellogg Seeks Agency For Big-Budget Brand Assignment – Turning to public relations news, Kellogg Company is seeking agency aid for its broad communications campaigns for its various brands, which includes a variety of cereals, cookies, and crackers. Fees are undisclosed, but sources claim the work is worth as much as $4 million. After two years of difficulty, the nation's largest cereal maker is looking to regain market share from General Mills.

Arch West, retired Frito-Lay marketing man behind Doritos, dies at 97 – In sadder news, Arch Clark West, inventor of Doritos passed away on September 20. Interestingly, his family plans to sprinkle Doritos at his October 1 graveside service in Dallas.

Are you seeing additional headlines pertaining to the food and beverage CPG industry dominating the news? Let me know what you've seen lately.

Front Page News

The consumer packaged goods industry is ever-changing. Lately, a few headlines have caught my eye that accurately summarize the business. Here's just a sampling of the issues impacting the food and beverage CPG trade.

General Mills' Groupon debut sells out within hours - Clipping coupons isn't enough for today's consumer. With online deals from Groupon, LivingSocial, Eversave, and more, shoppers expect online coupon deals and discounts, not only through these services, but also from brand pages on Facebook and instantly via Foursquare check-ins. Last week, General Mills was the first CPG company to offer any kind of deal on Groupon, normally reserved for local restaurant and spa deals. Given the success, though (the offer sold out in a matter of hours), expect to see more promotions from retailers and food and beverage CPG companies in the future.

How Kraft's Lunchables Is Evolving in the Anti-Obesity Era - Obesity (in particular, childhood obesity) will remain a hot topic for the next several years. As food manufacturers look for ways to reduce calories and sodium, remove trans fat, and add more whole grains to foods, their progress in this area will continue to make headlines as tried and true recipes and formulas change to accommodate today's health conscious consumer. This was certainly the case when Kraft announced at the beginning of the month that its Lunchables brand, a staple in lunchrooms across schools throughout America, was getting a makeover, complete with more wholesome choices and nutritious options.

Dean Foods to cut corporate jobs, largely in Dallas - Bad news out of Texas, where Dallas-based Dean Foods announced job cuts at its corporate headquarters two weeks ago. The dairy producer will most likely join a list of other food and beverage CPG manufacturers to adjust its workforce this year, given financial factors including rising food prices, higher fuel costs, and the evolving economy.

Why Most Product Launches Fail - I've written numerous entries on this blog pertaining to new products that manage to overcome the odds of a new product launch and become successful in the marketplace. That's why, when I saw this article in this month's Harvard Business Review, I wanted to share it, given the enormous effort companies must tackle to launch a thriving new product.

What headlines have you seen recently pertaining to the shift in retail and food and beverage CPG industries?

Making Headlines

So much has happened in the past 12 months! Many food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies made headlines in 2010. Let's take a look back at the top CPG stories of the year.

2009 ended with a huge announcement from Pepsi. The soft drink company ditched its Super Bowl advertising and instead spent $20 million this year on the Pepsi Refresh Project, awarding grants to individuals, communities, and organizations to make a difference across the country. To date, more than 61 million votes have been cast, resulting in 351 projects netting $14.6 million from the company.

Throughout the year, many states battled a soda tax, with politicians in cities nationwide boycotting sugary beverages and demanding a fee from consumers who choose to purchase soft drinks, flavored water, and juice containing high levels of sugar. When voters headed to the polls, their voices were heard; the tax was rejected and many organizations have backed away from the initiative for now.

Only a few short months after unveiling its 100% compostable bag, SunChips announced in October that they would silence their efforts after consumers complained about the loud biodegradable packaging. The company has gone back to the drawing board and plans to reveal a new, quieter, environmentally friendly package in the coming year.

In 2010, snack companies united for a common cause. Knowing that eating healthy has become a top priority for consumers, several food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies banded together and vowed to reduce calories, sodium, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, and the like from their products.

Food and beverage CPG companies got creative with their promotions this year. Frito-Lay toured the United States with a Mobile Greenhouse designed to bring a rural farm experience to metropolitan areas like New York City, Boston, and Chicago. The tour allowed visitors the opportunity to interact first-hand with plants, meet a Lay's potato farmer, and enjoy interactive stations. Heinz also hit the road this year with a Road Trip to introduce its new Dip and Squeeze packaging.

Other food topics dominating headlines in 2010 include this summer's recall of more than half a billion eggs after a salmonella outbreak, and the great bacon craze churning out everything from soda to popcorn. In addition, Mountain Dew once again completed a successful Dewmocracy campaign, and brands like Pop-Tarts, Wonka, and Disney bested the economy by opening retail stores in New York's Times Square.

What headlines will you remember from 2010? Tell me about the news stories you recall dominating headlines this past year!