Mars Reportedly Near Deal to Acquire Wrigley

Mars, the makers of M&M’s, was near a deal last night to acquire the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, the chewing gum concern, for more than $22 billion, people involved in the talks said. The transaction would create a confectionery behemoth and could pressure rivals into a cascade of other mergers.

New York Times

Gourmet Groceries — for More!

No food, it seems, is safe these days from being repackaged in a shiny platinum case as an upscale product--there's even a $40 bottle of water designed by a Hollywood producer and sold in a frosted-glass container affixed with Swarovski crystals. I don't know if economists use bottled water as a measure of financial well-being, but there must be a growing split between the rich and the poor. Because even as some people worry about being able to put any kind of food on the table, the sales of specialty foods are up 17% over the past two years (compared with 4% for overall food sales).

Time Magazine

Deal could be Wonder for Sara Lee

Since Ms. Barnes said last month she is ready to do deals, industry analysts have zeroed in on potential targets: Oscar Mayer meats, Folgers coffee and Interstate's bread and snack-cake brands. Interstate, which is trying to reorganize in Bankruptcy Court, appears the most plausible near-term option because of its availability and strategic fit with Sara Lee. The company is seeking a buyer for all or parts of its business.

Chicago Business

chip detox

The reality of the snack food business is taste is always king, Matta says. People also want to enjoy snack foods because they’re a break from their daily routine, he adds. “The nirvana consumers seek is they want to eat their cake and have it, too,” he says. “They want to have healthier snacks and do the right things for their diet. At the same time, they don’t want to give up taste.”

brandchannel.com

Kraft, Sara Lee face rising beef and pork prices

"Kraft and Sara Lee are in trouble because, at the end of the day, they are going to have to pay more for meat," says Ann Gilpin, a Morningstar Inc. analyst in Chicago who follows meat processors. "The ability to pass on the higher cost is limited in a very competitive industry, as consumers are increasingly sensitive to the price of food."

Chicago Business

Meals on Wheels

Asia has always had great street food, and you can get perfect crepes in Paris and amazing tacos in Mexico City. Now American food snobs are separating themselves from regular snobs by lining up outside food trucks. And they're willing to wait longer--and pay more--than at local fast-food restaurants.

Time Magazine

The story of the Oreo is the story of how junk food became a centerpiece of the American diet, worked its way deep into the national psyche and continues to defy efforts to reform what we eat.

A Tribune special report in three parts:

Part 1: Craving the cookie
Part 2: Selling the cookie
Part 3: For every fad, another cookie

Starbucks' Sweet Surprise

Starbucks chocolate will be available in grocery stores, mass retailers, drugstores, and club stores, at price points starting at $2.99. (The chocolates will not be making a debut in Starbucks stores themselves at this time.) They're made by Artisan Confections Co., which is a Hershey unit that also makes Joseph Schmidt, Scharffen Berger, and Dagoba organic chocolates.

Motley Fool

General Mills Sees Wealth via Health

The new incentives, as well as prodding by Ms. Crockett, have shown results. In addition to the use of whole grains in the Big G cereal division, including its kids' brands, a host of other brands have gone through makeovers. Progresso low-sodium soups now carry the word "healthy" on the label, in compliance with the FDA definition of "healthy"; new Green Giant vegetable combos carry weight-management, immunity and eye-health claims; the successful Fiber1 cereal brand has been extended to categories such as muffins and yogurt.

Wall Street Journal

Kraft, Sara Lee say turnaround efforts are succeeding

Meanwhile, Irene Rosenfeld, head of Kraft Foods, said that one year after she unveiled a three-year turnaround plan, the company has delivered on its pledge to boost sales by introducing more innovative products and by spending more on marketing.

Chicago Tribune

Beverage Bigs Battle Bottle Backlash

Faced with evaporating sales growth for bottled water and increased concerns about their products' impact on the environment, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are fighting back with charitable ties and A-list celebrity endorsements.

BrandWeek

Kraft sees pricing power after fixing brands

Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld said on Tuesday the company should be able to counter all of its rising costs this year with price increases, something it could not do a year ago as it was working to fix brands and improve its new product pipeline.

Reuters

A Spoonful of Immunity?

FIRST there was vegetarianism, which begot veganism, macrobiotic adherents, raw foodists and something known simply as “the cleanse.” Now make way for immunity-enhancement, via your chopped salad and salmon tartar.

NY Times

Conflict on the Menu

In the filing, Dr. Allison argues that the new rules could backfire — whether by adding to the forbidden-fruit allure of high-calorie foods or by sending patrons away hungry enough that they will later gorge themselves even more.

“What harms (if any) might result” from the new rules? Dr. Allison wrote in the court filing. “That is difficult to predict.”

NY Times

A Food Fight Over Calorie Counts

"A battle is brewing over control of one of the hottest pieces of real estate in the restaurant business: the menu. On one side are public health officials, desperate to combat an epidemic of obesity. They want chain restaurants to display the number of calories their offerings contain next to each item. On the other side is the restaurant industry, which contends that displaying the numbers could confuse consumers."

Business Week

Dark May Be King, but Milk Chocolate Makes a Move

"The Dining section recently tasted more than 30 milk chocolates, and found a surprising range of flavors, undertones, aromas and colors, from butterscotch to near-black. Some pleased no one with their combinations of bitter and milky flavors. But at their best, dark milk chocolates have a combination of silky texture and coffee-caramel creaminess, with a slight bitterness that pulls them back from the edge of too-sweet."

NY Times

The Yankee Chipper

Finding inspiration in American-made artisanal chips, Chase hopped a plane to Boston to see how Cape Cod hand-stirred kettle chips were made. Munching his way through the U.S., he went to Pennsylvania's Amish country, where "there are just loads of little chips makers." After benchmarking the best, Chase returned to Tyrrells Court and began cooking. The first batches of Tyrrells Potato Chips reached stores in the summer of 2002, with four flavors: chili, cider vinegar, cheese and black pepper. Within eight months, Chase was turning over $2 million worth of business. Within three years, Tyrrells was boasting sales of $10 million a year.

Time Magazine

Wasabi to the People: Big Chains Evolve or Die

"Get it wrong, though, and customers disappear, along with revenues. As a result, chains and large food manufacturers dance a sometimes awkward tango with novelty. Flavors that would evoke yawns in acclaimed restaurants in Chicago or Los Angeles must be approached with caution by chains. While a chef in Manhattan might discover a new ingredient in the morning and have it on the menu by dinnertime, a corporate executive faced with the same ingredient will react with a lengthy regime of recipe development and test-marketing."

NY Times

Flipping for Burgers

"Father's Office is now one of the most crowded restaurants in L.A., with people willing to stand in order to eat Yoon's $12 burger, which comes with caramelized onions, Gruyère, Maytag blue cheese, bacon compote and arugula--whether you like it that way or not. He's able to make the food he wants, without compromise (he doesn't serve ketchup), because of the gourmetization of America. Even burger munchers now care about the pedigree of their food."

Time Magazine

Outsourcing Home Cooking

"The idea for applying Henry Ford assembly-line techniques to home cooking began in 1995, when Dream Dinners co-founder Stephanie Allen's catering business in Snohomish, Wash., became so busy, she didn't have time to cook for her own family. So she and a friend started getting together one Saturday a month to prepare a bunch of meals, shoving them in the freezer and later heating them up one night at a time. "

Time Magazine

McCormick Forecasts Top 10 Flavor Pairings for 2008

"As the largest spice company in the world, McCormick keeps a finger on the pulse of flavor through an extensive network of researchers, trend experts, chefs, food technologists and sensory analysts. Together with leading restaurant chefs, cookbook authors and TV food personalities, they have identified the top tastes shaping how Americans will eat in the coming year. "

foodreference.com

Fresh, super and organic top trends for 2008

The top 10 trends to watch for next year include fresh and organic, superfruits, bold flavors, and probiotics beyond yogurts, according to Datamonitor's Productscan database.

foodnavigator-usa.com