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☆ Ben & Jerry’s says its parent company Unilever silenced it over Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The lawsuit is the latest sign of the long-simmering tensions between Ben & Jerry’s and consumer products maker Unilever. In its new lawsuit, Ben & Jerry’s says that Unilever has breached the terms of the 2022 settlement, which has remained confidential. As part of the agreement, however, Unilever is required to “respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry’s independent board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s social mission,” according to the lawsuit. Ben & Jerry’s has positioned itself as socially conscious since Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded the company in a renovated gas station in 1978. In March, Unilever said it will spin off its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, by the end of 2025 to simplify its holdings.

Persons: Jerry’s, “ Ben, Ben, Peter ter Kulve, Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield, Knorr bouillon Organizations: Reuters, Unilever, Ben, West Bank, “ Unilever, U.S, Jewish, Peace, San, Islamic Locations: Israel, Britain, Gaza, San Francisco Bay

☆ Elon Musk’s empire of misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-15 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —At any Tesla event, you have to go in expecting a good amount of smoke and mirrors. This is the company run by Elon Musk, after all — its self-anointed Technoking who’s made overpromising and underdelivering a theme of his career. ICYMI: The robotaxis, Tesla’s fully driverless vehicles that it hopes to put into service next year, were the main event. But Musk’s reality distortion field is something else entirely — hardly limited to overly optimistic timetables or pie-in-the-sky projections for Tesla’s delivery schedule. In a twist, though, X dropped Unilever from the lawsuit on Friday.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Elon Musk, Technoking who’s, Tesla, ” Gordon Johnson, ” Morgan Stanley, Adam Jonas, they’re, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, ”, Craig Fugate, X Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Elon, Bloomberg, “, Apple, National Guard, FEMA, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, ” Unilever, ”, Unilever Locations: New York, Carolina

☆ Unilever sells its business in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Unilever, owner of brands including Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, said Thursday that it has completed the sale of its Russian business to Arnest Group, a local manufacturer of perfume, cosmetics and household products, for an undisclosed amount. The British consumer goods company said the sale includes all of its business and four factories in Russia as well as its business in Belarus. “Over the past year, we have been carefully preparing the Unilever Russia business for a potential sale. The Kremlin demands a discount of at least 50% on exit deals involving firms from what it calls “unfriendly” countries — those that have imposed sanctions against Russia. The exodus of firms from Russia has cost foreign companies more than $107 billion in writedowns and lost revenues, according to a Reuters analysis in March.

Persons: Hein Schumacher, Unilever’s, ” Schumacher Organizations: Unilever, Arnest Group, “, Unilever Russia, Kremlin, Russia, Arnest, Danone Locations: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, writedowns

☆ Unilever pops 6% on guidance raise, Ben & Jerry's spinoff on track to complete by end of 2025
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in a store freezer in London, UK, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Unilever Plc said it wanted to shed its ice cream division, which generates around 8 billion ($8.5 billion) in annual sales, in a bid to reverse years of lackluster performance. Unilever shares popped 6.8% on Thursday morning, after the consumer goods giant raised its full-year margin guidance and said the spinoff of its ice cream business was on track to complete by the end of 2025. Beauty and well-being expanded 7.1%, while ice cream lagged other segments with just 0.6% of growth. Organic sales growth came in at 3.9% in the second quarter, missing expectations of a 4.2% expansion forecast by a company-compiled consensus.

Persons: Knorr, Domestos, Jerry's, Jefferies Organizations: Unilever Plc, Unilever Locations: London, British

☆ OpenAI adds former NSA chief to its board
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI on Thursday announced its newest board member: Paul M. Nakasone, a retired U.S. Army general and former director of the National Security Agency. Nakasone was the longest-serving leader of the U.S. Cyber Command and chief of the Central Security Service. The company said Sarah Friar, previously CEO of Nextdoor and finance chief at Square, is joining as chief financial officer. OpenAI also hired Kevin Weil, an ex-president at Planet Labs, as its new chief product officer. Weil was previously a senior vice president at Twitter and a vice president at Facebook and Instagram.

Persons: Paul Nakasone, OpenAI, Paul M, Nakasone, OpenAI's, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor, Sam Altman, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, Siri, Sarah Friar, Friar, Kevin Weil, Weil Organizations: National Security Agency, Intelligence, Capitol, U.S . Army, U.S . Cyber Command, Central Security Service, Security, Sony, Monday, Apple, Planet Labs, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Washington, U.S

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever said Tuesday that he's leaving the Microsoft -backed startup. The departure comes months after OpenAI went through a leadership crisis involving co-founder and CEO Sam Altman. In November, OpenAI's board said in a statement that Altman had not been "consistently candid in his communications with the board." OpenAI has announced new board members, including former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. In 2015, Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, another OpenAI co-founder, wanted Sutskever, then a research scientist at Google , to become the budding startup's top scientist, according to the lawsuit Musk filed against OpenAI in March.

Persons: Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI, he's, Sutskever, OpenAI's, Altman, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Adam D'Angelo, Ilya, Jakub Pachocki, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, WilmerHale, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, Greg, Sam, Greg Brockman, Mira Murati, Murati, Elon Musk, Musk, Dr Organizations: Tel Aviv University, Microsoft, Street, OpenAI's, Sony, Sony Entertainment, Tesla, Google, OpenAI Locations: Tel Aviv, OpenAI

☆ Corporate America Is Going Un-Woke: Reversing DEI, Sustainability Plan
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Plenty of companies are reining in their rhetoric and in some cases action on issues such as sustainability and diversity. Over the past decade, many corporations have at least professed to take a more active role in social issues, under pressure from their customers and, more importantly, employees. After last year's Bud Light debacle, which was a real blow to its business, executives fear they'll be the next target of some anti-woke outcry. For the fourth quarter of 2020, 131 companies mentioned ESG, and 34 mentioned DEI or diversity and inclusion. This may be a great un-wokening, but maybe corporate America was actually never that committed to the idea in the first place.

Persons: Paul Polman, It's, Naomi Wheeless, Eventbrite, Donald Trump, Larry Fink, George Floyd's, ESG, Andrew Jones, there's, Bud Light, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, haven't, Philip Mirvis, Bud, they'll, they'd, Jones, it's, Fink, FactSet, — we're, wasn't, Alison Taylor, University's, we've, Roe, Wade, Taylor, isn't, Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light's, Kenneth Pucker, Emily Stewart Organizations: Unilever, Unilever wasn't, Unilever isn't, Companies, Business, Sporting Goods, Conference Board's ESG, Morningstar, Babson, AIG, Amazon, ExxonMobil, University's Stern School of Business, Anheuser, Busch, Fletcher School, Tufts University Locations: Plenty, America, ESG, New, Charlottesville

☆ The result of OpenAI's probe was released — and it's less than 500 words — offering very little insight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The Open AI probe was launched in December, a few weeks after the board announced Altman's shocking departure and reinstatement. The company formed a special committee that hired WilmerHale to conduct a probe of the events surrounding Altman's sudden firing. AdvertisementDetails of Altman's strained relationship with OpenAI's former board members and employees were known days after the CEO was booted from the company. AdvertisementThe latest Times report from Thursday revealed that Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, was instrumental in Sam Altman's ousting.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, WilmerHale, Altman, ChatGPT, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, Mira Murati, Sam Altman's, Murati, Ilya Organizations: Service, Business, New York Times, Melinda Gates Foundation, Sony, Times, OpenAI

☆ OpenAI announces 'improvements' to its governance structure nearly 5 months after Sam Altman's ouster
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI announced Friday that it was adding three women to its board of directors. CEO Sam Altman is also rejoining the board nearly five months after he was abruptly forced out. The company has pledged to improve its governing structure in the aftermath of the ouster and reinstatement. A Thursday report from The New York Times suggested OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati raised concerns about Altman's leadership with board members prior to his removal. The three women join current OpenAI board members Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, and Bret Taylor, as well as Altman.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, —, Altman, Mira Murati, Murati, James, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidij Simo, Desmond, Seligman, Simo, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor Organizations: Service, The New York Times, OpenAI, University of California, Times, Melinda Gates Foundation, Global, Sony, Pfizer, Advisors, Science, Technology, Paramount Global, Meira, Inc Locations: Los Angeles, President's, Shopify

☆ Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI board of directors as investigation into his ouster comes to a close
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. OpenAI on Friday announced its new board and the wrap-up of an internal investigation by U.S. law firm WilmerHale into the events leading up to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's ouster. Sam Altman will also rejoin OpenAI's board. "We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI," Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAI's board, said in a release. Since then, OpenAI has announced new board members, including former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, WilmerHale, Sam Altman's, OpenAI's, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor, Greg, Sam, Taylor, Altman, Bret, Larry, Mira Murati, Mira, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Ilya Sutskever, Ilya, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, Musk, –, Toner, McCauley, Altman's Organizations: Economic, Friday, Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer, Advisors, Science, Technology, Global, Sony, Sony Entertainment, Paramount Global, Meira, Inc, Shopify, OpenAI, Microsoft, Fortune, Lawyers, CNBC, SpaceX, Nvidia Locations: Davos, Switzerland, President's, OpenAI's San Francisco, U.S, Saudi Aramco

☆ Unilever and Dell have shut down some sustainability marketing initiatives as big corporations embrace 'green hushing'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Late last month, computing giant Dell cut part of its marketing team that focused on sustainability and other ESG-related marketing roles, Business Insider has learned. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. AdvertisementThis is feeding into a growing trend of "green hushing," where companies stop publicizing their sustainability efforts due to concerns around regulatory scrutiny or a consumer backlash, experts say. Other sustainability agencies have been absorbed into wider offerings, R3 EVP of delivery Sarah Tan told Business Insider. Leo Rayman, head of the sustainability consultancy and venture studio Eden Lab, said that the green hushing phenomenon could suggest a sign of maturity in the space.

Persons: we're, Hein Schumacher, hushing, Pimco, , Harriet Kingaby, Sarah Tan, Kingaby, Bud, Bud Light, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Guy Parker, — that'll, Parker, Leo Rayman, Rayman, Townsend Organizations: Dell, Business, Unilever, JPMorgan, State, ACT Climate Labs, Media, Advertising Network, Brands, Green Guides, Standards Authority, ASA, BMW, Shell, Etihad Airways, Competition, Markets Authority, Eden, Sustainability

NEW YORK (AP) — Super Bowl Sunday is here — and, as always, there's a vast roster of advertisers ready to vie for fans' attention during game breaks. Airing a Super Bowl commercial is no easy feat. “This Super Bowl is a blast from the past. She added that “everything old is new again,” with successful Super Bowl ads or messages from the past making more returns this year. Of course, not all advertisers release their ads ahead of the game, so there will be surprises on Sunday.

Persons: ”, Linli Xu, Christopher Walken, Kate McKinnon, There’s, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Uber, Judy ” Judy Sheindlin —, Gina Torres, Rick Hoffman, Sarah Rafferty, Patrick J, Adams, Gabriel Macht, Kimberly Whitler, “, Taylor Swift Organizations: University of Minnesota, Sunday's San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, CBS, Paramount, BMW, University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, Mobile Locations: Sunday's, Labrador

☆ Unilever launches $1.6 billion buyback as CEO demands improvements
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Unilever launched a 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) share buyback on Thursday after volumes increased for the first time in 10 quarters, although its CEO said its performance needs to improve. Unilever's shares rose as much as 4% on Thursday, hitting their highest point since it last reported earnings in October. Unilever said it expects "modest improvement" in underlying operating margin for the full year and underlying sales growth within its multi-year 3% to 5% range. The company reported a roughly 5% rise in fourth-quarter underlying sales, meeting analysts' average forecast, a company-provided consensus showed. Underlying fourth quarter price growth was 2.8% and underlying volumes were up 1.8%, rising for the first time since the second quarter of 2021.

Persons: Hein Schumacher, Charlie Huggins, Huggins Organizations: Unilever, Wealth Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Super Bowl advertisers brace for the Taylor Swift effect
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewSuper Bowl advertisers have decades of datapoints telling them when it’s best to show up during the big game. But the presence of Taylor Swift is adding a strange new dimension to a lot of conventional beliefs about the optimal spot for an ad to appear. AdvertisementLike many other advertisers, Hellmann’s had no idea when they locked in their Super Bowl buys early last year that there’d be a media frenzy around the romance between Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Advertisers are already anticipating that Swift’s presence will drive more engagement for advertisers lucky enough to have booked the right spots, though it’s a bit of a crapshoot as there’s no guarantee when, or even if , Swift will make an appearance. There is also another spike in female viewership that happens during Super Bowl broadcasts.

Persons: —, it’s, Taylor Swift, I’d, ”, Chris Symmes, Kate McKinnon, Hellmann’s, there’d, Travis Kelce, Swift, they're, you’re, Jeff Gagne, “, haven’t, Taylor, Jake Marx Organizations: Service, Havas Media, Business, Unilever North America, Unilever, Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs, AFC, ”, Nielsen, Video Advertising, Super, Stagwell Media

☆ $7 Million for 30 Seconds? It’s Worth It at the Super Bowl.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

They all have one thing in common: Those companies paid seven figures to get their products in front of viewers during this year’s Super Bowl. For the second consecutive year, the average cost of a 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl was $7 million. Even as many businesses are being more disciplined with the money they have for marketing, and with spending on advertising slowing in recent years, the cost of a Super Bowl ad continues to go up. The reason is simple: There is no opportunity guaranteed to reach more people than the Super Bowl, and the slice of every other pie keeps shrinking. “It’s a throwback in terms of reaching everyone all at once,” said Charles Taylor, a professor of marketing at the Villanova School of Business.

Persons: Peyton Manning, Bud, Kris Jenner, ”, Charles Taylor Organizations: Super, Villanova School of Business

NEW YORK (AP) — Budweiser is bringing back some familiar characters this year in its Super Bowl ad. Some advertisers are releasing ads ahead of Super Bowl 58 in the hope of capitalizing on the buzz that builds as the game approaches. Bud Light also angered supporters of transgender rights who felt it abandoned Mulvaney. “The first Super Bowl spots to be released embrace light humor," said Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins. "This isn’t a surprise; safety is key when advertising on the Super Bowl so most advertisers will stay far away from controversial topics.”As always, commercials are stuffed — even overstuffed — with celebrities.

Persons: Bud Light, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, “, ”, Ray Taylor, they’ve, hasn't, Lionel Messi, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Tim Calkins, Vince Vaughan, Tom Brady, Brady miffed, Wayne Gretzky Organizations: Budweiser, Super, advertising's, CBS, Paramount, Nickelodeon, Anheuser, Busch, Villanova School of Business, ” Anheuser, Bud, Kawasaki, Northwestern University Locations: Labrador, America

☆ Branding’s corporate titans face moment of truth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Now for the first time this century, sales volumes at the big consumer goods manufacturers are falling. In the first nine months of the year, Kraft Heinz said the quantity of its sold items declined by nearly 6 percentage points year-on-year. That’s likely to allow Nestlé, Kraft Heinz and Unilever to see flat or modest increases in 2023 sales, LSEG data shows. Earlier this year, outgoing Kraft Heinz Chief Executive Miguel Patricio said the company lost market share to a branded competitor that spent more. Unilever, Nestlé and Kraft Heinz have all pointed to a slowing of price growth in the coming year.

Persons: Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, ’, Xavier Roger, Kraft, what’s, John Furner, Miguel Patricio, Mars, ”, François, EY, George Hay, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Consumer, Kraft, Unilever, Danone, ’, United Nations, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, Target, Reuters Graphics, Obesity, Mondelez, Walmart, “, Thomson Locations: U.S, Europe, Australia, Norway, Chocolat, London

☆ Can We Save the Redwoods by Helping Them Move?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Moises Velasquez-Manoff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Their aggressive approach to conservation featured prominently in numerous scientific articles that followed, discussing the pros and cons of assisted migration. These cases underscore the reality that other plants and animals are already living where you might want to introduce something in order to save it. “I would treat assisted migration as a tool of last resort,” he told me in an email. Many of the animal’s native wetlands were fragmented and shrinking, and conservationists feared that global warming would finish the tortoise off. Similarly, she says, assisted migration is appropriate when contrasted with the other possibility: extinction if no one intervenes.

Persons: martens, Anthony Ricciardi, “, ”, it’s, “ It’s, ” Nicola Mitchell, Jessica Hellmann, you’re Organizations: McGill University, University of Western Australia, U.S . Forest Service, Forest Service, University of Minnesota’s Institute, Environment Locations: Central, South America, Australia, Hawaii, Canada, Newfoundland, Montreal, “, U.S

☆ Nexi shares fail to open on bid report as CVC declines to comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that CVC was in the early stages of considering a possible bid for Nexi, Europe's largest payments company by volume of transactions. Nexi shares have lost 22% this year, adding to a 47% drop in 2022 and stoking speculation about potential takeover interest. By 0730 shares in Nexi were indicated up 16.7% at 6.72 euros a share, not far from a record low of 5.25 euros a share hit earlier this month. The presence of shareholder funds which will eventually need to liquidate their investment and the depressed share price have fuelled persistent speculation about Nexi's future. The government has powers to block any unwanted interest over a company such as Nexi, considered of strategic national interest.

Persons: Alessandro Garofalo, Friedman, Bain, Elisa Anzolin, Giancarlo Navach, Valentina Za, Cristina Carlevaro, Gavin Jones Organizations: REUTERS, CVC Capital Partners, Bloomberg, Nexi, Nets, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, Nexi

☆ Johnson & Johnson is replacing its iconic logo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Johnson & Johnson is replacing its instantly recognizable logo that’s been in use for 135 years. Although it’s a big change, shoppers likely won’t notice it since the cursive logo will still be used on its consumer products, like Band-Aid and Tylenol. Johnson & Johnson recently split into two companies — one focused on medical devices and medications and the other on consumer health products, which operates under a brand called Kenvue. The name Kenvue reflects J&J’s desire for the new consumer company identity to take a backseat to well-known brands. Still, ditching the signature J&J logo marks an end of era since the company once stated that its “one of the longest-used company emblems in the world.” The new logo will roll out over time on J&J’s medical equipment and pharmaceutical products.

Persons: New York CNN — Johnson, Johnson, James Wood Johnson, Kenvue Organizations: New, New York CNN, Unilever, Procter, Gamble Locations: New York

[1/2] A sign reading "Low prices for you" is seen on a shopping trolley in a supermarket in Nice, France, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File PhotoLONDON/PARIS, June 23 (Reuters) - Danone (DANO.PA) and Kellogg (K.N) are among 75 consumer goods companies that French authorities have asked to cut prices, according to a list seen by Reuters that sources say the government is using for the initiative. The French government is using the list seen by Reuters, produced by a research group, as a reference for the project, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Some consumer goods makers have said recently that costs are starting to ease, leading lawmakers and regulators to accuse companies of keeping prices high unnecessarily. Investors have in recent months warned that consumer goods companies should start easing price increases as supply chain costs decline, worried that further hikes could hit market share and margin growth.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Bruno Le Maire, Knorr, Avril, Pernod Ricard, Kellogg, Richa Naidu, Matt Scuffham, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Danone, Kellogg, Finance, Reuters, Unilever, Nestle, ABI, Thomson Locations: Nice, France, PARIS, Ukraine

While food inflation has become a concern for European governments from Britain to Italy recently, France has been among the most aggressive in pushing price cuts. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has imposed mandatory price cuts on some basic food items. But food prices still were up 14% last month after a record spike of almost 16% in March. Food prices surged after food companies and big retailers agreed in March to an average 10% increase in prices, responding to a surge in input prices the previous year and wages after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the food industry has seen profits surge, largely making up for sharp falls during the pandemic, Le Maire said.

Persons: Bruno Le Maire, Le Maire, BFM, Viktor Orban, Maire, Knorr, Kraft Heinz, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Leigh Thomas, Richa Naidu, Silvia Aloisi, Hugh Lawson, Mark Potter Organizations: Food, Unilever, Finance, Reuters, Ministry of, Nestle, Danone, Pepsico, Thomson Locations: PARIS, France, Britain, Italy, Hungary, Ukraine

☆ Unilever pivots to African suppliers as forex pressure mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Seun Sanni | Richa Naidu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The war in Ukraine exacerbated supply chain logjams and manufacturing issues that began with the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing foreign exchange costs is largely what is driving a pivot to African suppliers, Unilever said, even though sourcing from the continent can cost more than buying from parts of Asia. “Over 95% of the brands we sell to our (African) consumers are made in African factories,” Reginaldo Ecclissato, Unilever’s chief business operations and supply chain officer, told Reuters. Today more than two-thirds of the ingredients that go into Unilever products sold in African markets come from the continent, the company said. Where is it on the scale of Unilever’s supply chain?” he said.

Persons: Kasali, ” Kasali, “, Knorr, Hellmann’s, Reginaldo, Tedd George, Nestle, ”, Pierre, André, Ecclissato, it’s, bouillon, Iranloye, Busari, Unilever’s Ecclissato Organizations: Reuters, Unilever, REUTERS, ” Unilever, Nestle, Danone, sorbitol Locations: ALAYIDE, Nigeria, Oyo, Africa, Ukraine, Asia, India, China, South Africa, Lagos, Oyo State

"It's principally around the costs of labour, logistics and energy and what our suppliers see in their own production bases," finance chief Graeme Pitkethly said. On Thursday, Unilever said it had raised prices by 10.7% in the first quarter. "People are looking towards the second half of this year for some relief in costs - we'll see if that actually plays out," Richard Saldanha, a fund manager at Unilever and Nestle investor Aviva, said. "Clearly these companies are still displaying a pretty decent ability to push pricing ... Unilever is able to manage what is still a very elevated cost environment." Reporting by Richa Naidu Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nestlé Says Less Than Half of Its Main Portfolio Is Ranked as Healthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Nestlé SA promised it will work to boost the nutritional value of its snacks, drinks and food products, after most of its portfolio was rated as unhealthy. Less than half of Nestlé’s main food-and-drink portfolio is considered healthy, according to the results of an international nutrient profiling system that the Swiss food company published for the first time. Nestlé started using it last year with the aim of boosting transparency about the nutritional value of its products. “Our focus is on improving the nutritional value of our products,” Nestlé said. The rankings from the Access to Nutrition Initiative rate companies on their practices and disclosure, including on ensuring healthy products and influencing consumer choices.

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