DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsChocolate makers are banking on the traditional resilience of their product to price increases. The data showed Hershey's sales volumes increasingly declined during the period as the company hiked prices. "We are seeing consumers starting to react more than before, I'd be very cautious with price increases," said Dan Sadler, a candy expert at U.S.-based market researcher IRI. Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's biggest chocolate maker supplying most major brands including Nestle (NESN.S), doesn't expect any growth in sales volumes this year. Pennsylvania-based Hershey, is hoping that as it eases off the rate of price hikes, its sales volumes will reverse their current downtrend.

Persons: Nielsen, Dirk Van de, Luca Zaramella, Patrick Folan, Mike Blake, Mondelez, Hershey, Zaramella, Bernstein, I'd, Dan Sadler, Barry Callebaut, Hershey's, Michele Buck, Matt Scuffham, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Nielsen, Hershey, Reuters, Consumers, Cadbury, Barclays, REUTERS, IRI, Nestle, Rabobank, El, Kailyn, Thomson Locations: Europe, United States, North America, Encinitas , California, U.S, Pennsylvania, El Nino, West Africa, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kailyn Rhone, New York

"The increase in sugar and cocoa specifically is material," Mondelez CFO Luca Zaramella said in July. The data showed Hershey's sales volumes increasingly declined during the period as the company hiked prices. Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's biggest chocolate maker supplying most major brands including Nestle (NESN.S), doesn't expect any growth in sales volumes this year. In the U.S., private label sales volumes grew nearly 9% in the year to mid-June despite near double-digit price rises, IRI data shows. Pennsylvania-based Hershey, is hoping that as it eases off the rate of price hikes, its sales volumes will reverse their current downtrend.

Persons: Mike Blake, Dirk Van de, Luca Zaramella, Patrick Folan, Mondelez, Hershey, Zaramella, Bernstein, I'd, Dan Sadler, Barry Callebaut, Hershey's, Michele Buck, Matt Scuffham, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, Hershey, Reuters, Consumers, Nielsen, Cadbury, Barclays, IRI, Nestle, Rabobank, El, Kailyn, Thomson Locations: Encinitas , California, Europe, North America, U.S, Pennsylvania, El Nino, West Africa, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kailyn Rhone, New York

LONDON/NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Chocolate and coffee makers including Italy's Lavazza and Cadbury-maker Mondelez are concerned about the "practicalities" of a new European Union law aimed at stopping deforestation. Several major investors told Reuters last month that concerns about their exposure to the issue could lead them to quit consumer goods makers with "risky" supply chains. Oreo-maker Mondelez told Reuters it is "not clear on how they (EU authorities) will control or implement this" law. "It is entirely possible to trace coffee supply chains, despite their complexity. Italian confectionary group Ferrero wants the EU to provide specific guidance on compliance for each commodity because supply chains vary greatly between them.

Persons: Italy's, Mondelez, Giuseppe Lavazza, Lavazza, Christophe Hansen, Dirk Van de, Solidaridad, Julia Christian, Fern, Van de, Ferrero, Snorre, Matthew Scuffham, Catherine Evans Organizations: Cadbury, European Union, Reuters, European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: EU

The change drew the ire of several P&G investors. Its new forestry policy could put it at odds with a European Union deforestation law coming into effect in about 18 months banning certain goods linked to deforestation and forest degradation. "Our ongoing efforts to keep forests as forests while continuing to serve consumers with superior-performing products, all of those efforts remain unchanged." In its new forestry policy, P&G, which also makes Tide detergent and Dawn dish soap, consolidates existing guidelines for paper packaging and palm oil, used throughout its portfolio of products. The NRDC late last year filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to evaluate if P&G's claims that it prohibits forest degradation were materially misleading investors.

Persons: Leslie Samuelrich, Jack McAneny, McAneny, Elrod, Gaurav Madan, Madan, Shelley Vinyard, Vinyard, Peter van der, Jessica DiNapoli, Aurora Ellis Organizations: YORK, Procter, Gamble, Green, Funds, Reuters, Commodities, United, Food, Agriculture Organization, BNP, Asset Management, Natural Resources Defense, BlackRock, Street, UBS, Legal, General, Natural Resources Defense Council, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: Cincinnati, Latin America, Europe, Canada, U.S, Robeco, New York

Consumer goods makers say the price hikes are necessary, and that they have taken a hit to margins over the past two years. Some companies such as Clorox (CLX.N) have even begun to ease off the hikes to protect sales volumes as input costs fall. "In the U.S. in particular, these pressures are more acute than in Europe," Janus Henderson portfolio manager Luke Newman told Reuters. U.S. consumer strength has begun weakening, "and that's bad news for the consumer companies," Barclays analyst Iain Simpson said. Still, cost inflation has chipped away at margins, which have broadly fallen 2-4 percentage points over the past two years for the consumer goods industry.

Persons: Janus Henderson, Luke Newman, Newman, Richard Marwood, Robert Klaber, Parnassus, Iain Simpson, Alvarez, Marsal, David Chavern, Stephanie Niven, Niven, Irene Jensen, Jensen, Thomas Joekel, Richa Naidu, Jessica DiNapoli, Matt Scuffham, Deepa Babington Organizations: U.S, Consumer, Reuters, Royal London Asset Management, Investments, Biden, Barclays, Procter, Gamble, Consumer Brands Association, Sustainable Equity Fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, Unilever, Reckitt, Investment, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, U.S, Europe, San Francisco, United States

Several consumer industry trade bodies - whose members use aspartame - on Thursday rejected the IARC’s assessment. Shoppers can find aspartame in Weight Watchers yoghurts, some Snapple drinks and Conagra’s Mrs. Butterworth’s syrups. “Aspartame has been in use as an intense sweetener for more than 30 years in the UK. In 2014 General Mills (GIS.N) swapped the aspartame in Yoplait Light for the sweetener widely known as Splenda. Sweeteners have varying levels of sweetness and price, and are different chemical compounds, making it difficult to simply swap ingredients.

Persons: Health Organization's, Garrett Nelson, Butterworth’s, ” Nelson, ” Tom Sanders, Mills, Richa Naidu, Savyata Mishra, Jessica DiNapoli, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, International Agency for Research, Cancer, Health, Joint WHO, Food, Agriculture Organization's, CFRA Research, Shoppers, Nutrition, King’s College London, PepsiCo, Thomson

☆ Exclusive: Mondelez 'singled out' in boycott over Russia business, exec says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"If you look in most kitchen cupboards, you will see many products from food and beverage companies that have not exited Russia." Mondelez rivals in chocolate including Nestle (NESN.S) still operate in Russia as do many other consumer products companies. Reuters GraphicsShipments of all Mondelez products to Russia jumped to 45 million kilograms from 28.7 million kilograms in the same time periods, according to the data. Mondelez also said Thursday it was continuing to reduce its activities in Russia and expects further volume and sales declines. Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability at Mondelez investor PensionDanmark, said the Danish pension fund considers the "downscaling of their business in Russia a progression.

Persons: Vinzenz Gruber, Gruber, Mondelez, Mondelez's, Nestle, Nestle didn't, Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, PensionDanmark, Rasmussen, Jessica DiNapoli, Maurice Tamman, Terje Solsvik, Anna Driver Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Mondelez, SAS, Ukraine's National Agency for, Facebook, Russian Embassy, Nestle, confectionary, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: Europe, Russia, Nordics, Sweden, Norway, Nordic, Ukraine, Russian, Washington ,, Danish, New York

[1/3] Packaged food for sale is seen on shelves at a Dollar Tree in Islandia, New York, U.S., May 12, 2023. Razor manufacturer Edgewell Personal Care Co (EPC.N) and Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) have overhauled or built new teams dedicated to working with the biggest U.S. dollar stores like Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR.O) and Dollar General Corp (DG.N) in the last year. Makers of food and household staples are pushing deeper into dollar stores because the low-cost retailers are opening thousands of locations each year. Griffin added that dollar stores are also introducing more "premium" private label brands, like Dollar General's Nature's Menu for pets. Kraft-Heinz also created a new team of five people late last year to identify and develop products for dollar stores, a spokesman said.

Cloetta AB, (CLOEb.ST) a Swedish confectioner which makes Lakerol lozenges that use gum arabic, has "ample" stock of the ingredient, a spokesperson said in an email. Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1 billion, according to estimates cited by Kerry Group. "Both buyers and sellers are clueless on when things will normalise.”Alwaleed Ali, who owns AGP Innovations Co Ltd, a gum arabic exporting business, said his customers are looking for alternative countries to source gum arabic. It accounts for the livelihoods of thousands of people and the more expensive variety can cost about $3,000 a tonne, according to Gum Sudan. There is a poorer quality, cheaper gum from outside of Sudan, but the preferred ingredient is only found in acacia trees in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, Alnoor said.

SummarySummary Companies P&G beats sales estimates for 12th quarterHiked prices in U.S., Europe again in Jan-MarchShares up 2% premarketApril 21 (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co's (PG.N) customers continued to show little resistance to repeated price hikes, helping the Tide detergent maker boost its annual sales forecast and third-quarter margins. But shrinking consumer wallets in the face of high inflation have fanned concerns of how much longer rising prices will be tolerated before triggering a switch to cheaper, private-label brands. The fabric and home-care unit, P&G's biggest segment, saw sales volumes fall 5%, with average price rising to 13%. The company expects fiscal 2023 organic sales growth of about 6%, compared with its previous forecast for a 4% to 5% increase. P&G maintained its annual earnings forecast of flat to a 4% rise.

[1/2] Tide laundry detergent is shown on display in Compton, California, U.S., January 10, 2017. Fabric and family care, which includes the paper products, are among the company's biggest businesses. P&G's margins, a key sign of profitability investors closely watch, could take a hit if the company continues with heavier discounts. “Tide is who we would benchmark, and we’re seeing more discounts with them, and the category at large among bigger players.”Whritenour added that discounts are now deeper and more competitive. Market research firm Circana is forecasting discounts will continue to grow this year across household products as consumers face a darkening economic situation.

The Ukraine war made energy and other commodities even more expensive than they were during the pandemic, prompting a global cost-of-living crisis. What has that done to their market share as competitors may be pricing lower and gaining share?" Tineke Frikkee, a fund manager at Unilever and Reckitt investor Waverton Asset Management, said. "Price rises should gradually decelerate as input costs do the same," Frikkee said, adding that companies should instead be investing in product innovation. "It will be a delicate balance, with consumer disposable income stretched in many key markets for these firms," Jack Martin, a fund manager at Unilever investor Oberon Investments, said.

☆ Analysis: Twitter's advertising business seen facing slow recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Musk, who also runs electric carmaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), earlier this week told the BBC that most of Twitter's advertisers are returning to the platform and the business was "roughly breaking even." Research firm Insider Intelligence this week slashed its forecast for Twitter's global ad revenue this year by 37% to $2.98 billion. That would represent a 28% decline from Twitter's 2022 ad revenue of $4.14 billion. 33 among Twitter's top advertisers before Musk's acquisition, according to Sensor Tower. Twitter's ad business is "eroding" and its subscription product Twitter Blue is seeing only moderate success, Similarweb said in a blog post.

NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - The number of corporate employees McDonald's Corp(MCD.N) plans to lay off this week will tally in the "hundreds," a source familiar with the burger chain's thinking said on Monday, as the company moves forward with a previously announced restructuring. McDonald's will have more employees going into new roles this week or receiving promotions then being laid off, the source added. The chain known for its Golden Arches has more than 150,000 employees globally, with about 70% based outside of the United States, including in company-owned restaurants. The layoffs do not include the more than 2 million worker in franchised McDonald's restaurants around the world. As part of updating its strategy, McDonald's also plans to build new restaurants.

☆ Kraft Heinz agrees to sell Russian baby food business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, March 31 (Reuters) - Kraft Heinz (KHC.O) has agreed to sell its baby food business in Russia to local drinks and snacks maker Chernogolovka, the U.S. food giant said on Friday, as domestic firms continue to capitalise on the departure of Western brands. According to Chernogolovka, the deal will include two factories and the "Umnitsa" and "Sami s usami" brands. "We anticipate closing the deal in the second half of 2023 (Q3) and will continue working with Chernogolovka post-completion, to ensure a smooth integration," a Kraft Heinz spokesperson told Reuters. Neither Kraft Heinz nor Chernogolovka disclosed the price or mentioned any buyback clause. Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday, citing sources, that Kraft Heinz estimates the deal's value at between 2.5 and 3 billion roubles ($32.4 to $38.9 million) but the government is yet to approve the valuation.

[1/2] Bottles of Campa Cola and Coca Cola are displayed at a Reliance Smart supermarket in Mumbai, India March 20, 2023. Other well known tycoons have tried to go toe-to-toe with the drinks giants, and failed, most notably Richard Branson with his Virgin Cola. The smallest bottles of Campa Cola and Coke both cost 10 rupees, while Pepsi starts from 12 rupees. Reliance did not respond to a request for comment, while Pepsi said it doesn't comment on competition as a policy. Another city store employee said 30 Campa bottles were being sold for every 100 of Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania, March 23 (Reuters) - Hershey Co (HSY.N) is looking to reduce "trace" amounts of lead and cadmium in its chocolate, chief financial officer Steve Voskiul told Reuters on Wednesday, after Consumer Reports found that some dark chocolate bars had potentially harmful levels of the heavy metals. Consumer Reports found that Hershey's Lily's extremely dark chocolate 85% cocoa bar was high in lead and cadmium. Its Hershey's Special Dark mildly sweet chocolate and Lily's extra dark chocolate 70% were also high in lead according to the report. Voskuil said the manufacturing and cleaning process for cocoa beans removes the "vast majority" of lead and cadmium. Hershey is "evaluating" if it can remove more of the metals through additional cleaning of cocoa beans or alternate sourcing, he said.

☆ Potential TikTok ban sends advertisers scrambling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In recent discussions with ad buyers, TikTok representatives have stuck to the company's current talking points. TikTok employees have played up ongoing plans to separate the user data of Americans and store it in the country. In a section of the email titled "Can the Chinese government request TikTok U.S. user data?" Even with talk of a ban, most advertisers have not changed their spending plans on TikTok, media buyers said, because discussions of a ban have lingered since 2020 without any result. "A ban isn't a ban until it's a ban," he said.

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania, March 22 (Reuters) - Hershey Co (HSY.N) is looking to reduce "trace" amounts of lead and cadmium in its chocolate, chief financial officer Steve Voskiul told Reuters on Wednesday, after Consumer Reports found that some dark chocolate bars had potentially harmful levels of the heavy metals. Consumer Reports, a nonprofit consumer group, tested chocolate bars including those made by Hershey late last year and found that some of them contained possibly harmful levels of lead, cadmium or both for people who eat more than one ounce per day. Consumer Reports found that Hershey's Lily's extremely dark chocolate 85% cocoa bar was high in lead and cadmium. Its Hershey's Special Dark mildly sweet chocolate and Lily's extra dark chocolate 70% were also high in lead according to the report. Voskuil said the manufacturing and cleaning process for cocoa beans removes the "vast majority" of lead and cadmium.

[1/2] Customers shop at a mall ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, in Beijing, China January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File PhotoLONDON/MILAN/FRANKFURT/NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - The world's top consumer and luxury goods companies have seen sales of everything from cosmetics to condoms grow in China since Beijing ended strict COVID-19 curbs, another sign that the world's No. Tourism from China was helping sales in neighbouring Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Japan, he added. Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Nurofen tablets, cold remedy Lemsip and Durex, saw a pick-up in China after a decline in volumes because of lockdowns. U.S. retailer Walmart Inc (WMT.N), which operates nearly 400 retail and wholesale stores in China, reported strong traffic in its stores since reopening.

[1/3] Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. Nestle said cutting products saved 1 billion Swiss francs last year ($1.06 billion), while Unilever said the practice saved $2 billion. Food makers tend to cull products without much fanfare. At the consumer products conference they highlighted new offerings, many of them increasingly popular handheld foods that people can eat while scrolling on phones. "You'd be shocked by the loyalty and personal connections people have to food products," he said.

[1/3] Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. Eliminating less popular products is part of a "decomplexity program" underway at Kraft Heinz, its executives said at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference this week. Nestle said cutting products saved 1 billion Swiss francs last year ($1.06 billion), while Unilever said the practice saved $2 billion. At the consumer products conference they highlighted new offerings, many of them increasingly popular handheld foods that people can eat while scrolling on phones. "You'd be shocked by the loyalty and personal connections people have to food products," he said.

☆ Analysis: To raise prices or not? Consumer goods makers weigh bets on buyer strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But, there are small signs the pressure is easing, with U.S. consumer prices a month earlier declining for the first time in two-and-a-half years, due in part to gas prices. Price hikes - or halts - are set to take center stage at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York annual conference on Feb. 20 in Boca Raton, Florida. DIFFERENT PREDICTIONSAfter more than a year of consistent price hikes, some consumer goods makers such as Kraft Mac & Cheese manufacturer Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) are pressing pause as they weigh consumer demand for their items. Frozen pizza prices have risen about 14% in the last year, according to IRI data. "Retailers cannot truly push back on prices … if the company has an important brand," Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said.

"Because the consumer is now under more pressure, and Walmart is under pressure, that sets up a dynamic where there's probably not a lot of pricing going forward." The clout Walmart holds over suppliers also means that Walmart would likely get the lowest percentage of any price hikes manufacturers implement, according to investors who track the company. In 2018, Walmart pulled Campbell Soup Co's (CPB.N) products during the key winter season over a dispute over prices and shelf space promotion. At the time, Tesco labeled Heinz's price hikes as "unjustifiable." After raising prices four times in 2022, he said, Clorox doesn't "have any additional plans" to hike prices this year.

☆ Cheers! Spirits like gin, vodka, overtake beer's U.S. market share
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Spirits like whiskey, cognac and tequila, a celebrity favorite, have surpassed beer's U.S. market share for the first time due to price hikes and high-end cocktail trends, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. U.S. sales for spirits totaled $37.58 billion last year, while beers like Anheuser-Busch inbev SA's (ABI.BR) Bud Lite tallied $37.46 billion, according to data compiled by the Distilled Spirits Council. Spirits' market share was 42.1%, while beer's was 41.9%, according to the data. Tequila and ready-to-drink canned cocktails including Constellation Brands Inc's (STZ.N) Fresca vodka spritz were among the fastest-growing types of spirits, the Distilled Spirits Council said. "The 'premiumization' trend, where people look at distilled spirits as an affordable luxury, is affirmed by these numbers," said Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council.

Search resuls for: "Jessica Dinapoli"

25 mentions found