FMCG NEWS ON FASTMOVING

Paris/Frankfurt - France’s competition authority slapped fines totalling $484m on Colgate Palmolive, Henkel and Procter & Gamble for fixing prices of washing powder in France from 1997 to 2004.  read more

Massmart has been recognised as one of the best performers in the medium environmental impact category of the JSE’s 2011 Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index, the results of which were announced yesterday (6 December 2011). According to the results, the group's environmental and climate change practices were recognised as constituting best practice. read more

Sydney - Australia on Friday approved brewer SABMiller's AU$9.9bn takeover of Foster's, but with strict conditions that will see key operations remain in the country.  read more

AlpVision has made a big step forward in providing mobility for on the fly “Genuine or Fake” verification of molded parts with an iPhone4 mobile device. The application is suitable for many items, for example for fast-moving consumer goods containers for liquid, powder or tablets, which are present in millions of stores worldwide. Molded parts are heavily used in toys, footwear, home appliances, circuit breakers and many other products in industrial and consumer markets.  read more

The Consumer Protection Act's requirement that information about products and services be presented to consumers in "plain and understandable" language, is challenging lawyers to find a legally acceptable consensus on how such language can be defined and applied in a way that complies with the law.  read more

Branded fast-moving consumer packaged goods company Tiger Brands (TBS) said on Tuesday that it expected headline earnings per share (HEPS) to reflect an increase of between 10% and 15% for the year ended September 2011, from R13.93 previously. read more

UK-based brand and packaging design agency Slice Design has created a new look for Kraft Foods' Cadbury’s range of Christmas confectionery.  read more

The Competition Commission has approved a joint venture agreement between Bunge SA and Senwes Limited and has issued a merger clearance certificate.  read more

Denny Mushrooms, recently sold by AVI as branding mushroom products was no longer viable in the face a wide range of cheaper imported products, will look to grow its business by increasing sales among upper-income black consumers. read more

Local ice-tea brand gets a boost with news that Manchester United manager Sir Alex is taking a 10% stake, InVenFin part of investment giant Remgro is taking 20% read more

PepsiCo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China to promote "sustainable agriculture projects". read more

Report warns new round of food inflation with severe hikes in the price of basic foodstuffs is plunging many of the world’s poorest people into deeper poverty and into situations of severe hunger and malnutrition read more

The Competition Commission has approved a joint-venture agreement between global agribusiness and food company Bunge Europe and South African agribusiness company Senwes to develop grain and oilseed operations in SA.  read more

Russian wheat exporters aim to ramp up sales to nascent markets such as South America due to their cheap price edge, which may also give a boost to freight rates which are struggling with a ship glut. read more

Ububele Holdings on Thursday posted a drop in headline earnings per share from continuing operations to 4.75 cents in the year ended June, from 8.30 cents previously. read more

A consortium consisting of key management members, RMB Ventures and Pan-African Private Equity Fund 1 have concluded a management buyout of Denny Mushrooms.  read more

Innova Market Insights reports that confectionery was the leading food and drinks sector in terms of global launch activity in the first half of 2011. This occurred despite the industry having a rough ride in 2010, as a result of rising prices in the wake of increasing raw material costs, particularly for cocoa and sugar.  read more

South Africa's Standard Bank expects sugar production in Africa to grow, supported by increased demand and firmer prices, its head of investment banking said.  read more

Tiger Brands Ltd. (TBS), South Africa’s largest food company, said it can boost its levels of debt to make acquisitions across the continent as it expands outside its home market.  read more

Clover Industries (CFR) said on Thursday that headline earnings per share for the 2011 financial year were likely to increase to 113.84 cents from 33.07 cents previously. read more

Johannesburg - Branded consumer products group AVI [JSE:AVI] on Monday reported a 31.1% rise in diluted headline earnings per share (Heps) from continuing operations to 239.7 cents for the year ended June 2011, from 182.9c a year ago. Heps from continuing operations was up 31% to 248c.  read more

Johannesburg - The Competition Tribunal has approved the merger between Blue Falcon and Denny Mushrooms.  read more

The GIFSA and Diabetes SA endorsement logos have been officially approved by the Dept of Health, reports Jan Delport of the GI Foundation of South Africa. R146, the new labelling regulations, requires all food endorsement logos to get approval from the DoH. read more

Poultry producer Country Bird Holdings (CBH) on Tuesday posted a 178% rise in diluted headline earnings per share to 64.57 cents for the year ended June, from 23.25 cents in the previous comparable period. read more

Last week Kraft Foods announced its intention to split into a global snacks business with estimated sales of US$32bn and a US grocery business with read more

South Africa’s top olive oils have just been put to the test at the Nederburg Auction Complex in Paarl during the judging of the sixth olive oil competition presented by SA Olive, the voluntary association representing the SA olive industry. Exciting news is that an internationally renowned judge has joined the formidable South African judging panel. In addition, the competition drew 58% more entries than previous years.  read more

SA’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market is set for a shakeup. At the retail level Walmart will see to it. At the product-supply level two new foreign entrants, Iffco Worldwide and Diplomat, aim to do the same, reports The Financial Mail. read more

SABMiller has made a new offer to acquire the Australian brewer after the original offer was rejected read more

Bright Food Group Co., China’s second-largest food company, agreed to buy a majority stake in Australia’s Manassen Foods.  read more

Nestle SA’s biggest acquisition in China is giving traders a chance to reap a 23 percent profit without the risk of losing any money on the deal.  read more

South Africans should brace themselves as commodity and food prices are expected to be a lot higher next year, driven mainly by unreliable weather, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy says.  read more

Tata Coffee Ltd, Asia’s largest publicly traded grower of the bean, plans to spend more than five billion rupees ($110 million) to acquire an instant coffee maker in Europe in a bid to boost profit margins.  read more

Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N: Quote) CEO Irene Rosenfeld ended her victorious five-month battle for British chocolatier Cadbury last year saying she wanted a good night's sleep. read more

Augmented reality (or "AR," is it?) is the next "it" when it comes to marketing. Big time players like BMW, Ben & Jerry's Ray-Ban, and eBay -- and even those without a "B" in their name, such as Audi -- are jumping on the augmented reality bandwagon.  read more

Adcock Ingram has been given unconditional approval by the Competition Commission to acquire Johannesburg-based supplements business NutriLida Healthcare. The acquisition, which comes into effect on 1 August 2011, will further strengthen Adcock Ingram’s position as the leader in the vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) market, while increasing its market share in the broader fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market.  read more

Johannesburg - South Africa is not benefiting from "global value chains", but Walmart's acquisition of Massmart Holdings offers some hope, Professor Stephen Gelb of the University of Johannesburg said on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - Lonrho's seafood division Oceanfresh is to supply hake fillets to Walmart stores in the US from October, it said on Monday. read more

When you want to hear the truth, get it straight from your target market’s mouth! That’s the premise of Kellogg’s All-Bran’s new television campaign, featuring real brand advocates. read more

Johannesburg - Government is not seeking to overturn competition regulators' approval of Walmart buying control of local retailer Massmart Holdings, but wants tougher conditions for the deal, the Business Day newspaper reported on Monday. read more

Retail group Massmart Holdings said on Monday it is expecting headline earnings per share of between 397c and 442.4c for the 52 weeks to June 26 2011. read more

Cape Town - The government is not considering a veto of the Walmart-Massmart merger, but believes public interest concerns make a review essential, economic development director-general Richard Levin told MPs on Thursday. read more

IN A move that will set alarm bells ringing in the minds of potential investors, the government is seeking to overturn the Competition Tribunal’s decision to allow Walmart’s takeover of Massmart . read more

ILLOVO Sugar, Africa’s largest producer, is growing its biofuels and power generation capacity as it expands production outside SA. read more

Caturra Coffee Company allies with Natureflex™ films to offer 100% compostable packaging to FMCG and the Horeca Industry read more

In line with the revised parliamentary portfolio committee hearing rules announced by the Chairperson of the portfolio committee at the start of proceedings yesterday, Massmart CEO Grant Pattison’s submission before parliament today dealt primarily with the competition approval process, while highlighting some of the merger benefits.  read more

Cape Town - Walmart's South African operations plan to purchase R60bn worth of food locally and employ 15 000 people over the next five years, Massmart CEO Grant Pattison said on Wednesday.  read more

Johannesburg - Retailer Woolworths Holdings has reported group sales increased 9.4% for the year ended June 26 2011, with sales in comparable stores up 6.3%. read more

In line with Massmart and Walmart’s commitment to develop local suppliers, Massmart announced the appointment of Mncane Mthunzi, current CEO of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), as Supplier Development Executive.  read more

LOCAL competition attorneys plan to use next week’s parliamentary hearing into Walmart’s takeover of Massmart as an opportunity to warn against meddling with the country’s antitrust legal framework. read more

Johannesburg - Food group AVI will sell 100% of the issued share capital of and AVI's shareholder claims against Denny Mushrooms to Blue Falcon 134 Trading. read more

South African discount chain store Massmart , majority controlled by US giant retailer Wal-Mart , is looking to take over fruit and vegetable supplier The Fruitspot, a spokesman said on Tuesday. read more

Singapore - Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, is paying a hefty $1.7bn for a 60% stake in confectioner Hsu Fu Chi International to move deeper into fast-growing markets in China.  read more

Johannesburg - Retailer Massmart Holdings said on Thursday that for the 52 weeks to 27 June 2011, total sales increased to R53bn - growth of 11.7% over the prior period - and comparable store sales grew 5.2%. read more

8 July 2011 - Nyon, Switzerland: UNI Global Union said today that the announcement from South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay that it plans to cut about 3137 jobs from its workforce is a clear sign of the “Walmart effect” it believes the world’s biggest retailer will have on South Africa as it prepares to enter the country.  read more

Johannesburg - After a stellar run in the months leading up to US retailer Walmart’s R16.5bn bid for Massmart, South African retailers are now seen offering little value to investors.  read more

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is going ahead with its R16-billion acquisition of Massmart’s operations in South Africa, over the next five years. “Its entry poses major challenges for new and existing retailers locally, but it also presents opportunities for growth in terms of new technologies, improving supply chain efficiencies, global outsourcing and lower food and consumer goods prices,” says John Thomson, Managing Director of Exhibition Management Services, organisers of the Southern African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX). read more

Massmart, which has just merged with US retail giant Walmart, is slowly gearing up to enter the burgeoning market of online retailing. read more

Walmart’s entry into South Africa is set to have a profound and far-reaching impact on Africa’s retail supply chain. What are some of the ‘must do’s’ that every retailer will have to action to survive? How can smaller retailers meet the challenge? What will be the benefits and disadvantages of Walmart’s presence in the South African market? How will that impact local retailers?  read more

Johannesburg - The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) will launch a dairy processing plant with an initial investment of R50m in September, it said on Wednesday.  read more

Johannesburg - Trade union federation Cosatu said on Thursday it is determined to see labour brokers banned, and said organised labour is facing two new threats in the form of Walmart and the youth wage subsidy.  read more

Johannesburg - Walmart's acquisition of a majority stake in Massmart Holdings raised no competition concerns, but did raise some public interest issues, the Competition Tribunal said on Wednesday. read more

Tighter margins and the constant need to reduce costs is placing enormous pressure on FMCG companies, who not only now compete in an environment of intense global competition, but who also need to shift fresh goods across an increasingly complex and often disjointed global supply chain. read more

Johannesburg - The South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) has filed an appeal against the already-approved takeover of local retailer Massmart Holdings by US retail giant Walmart. read more

Green Cell Technologies' enhanced extraction process has transformed the fruit juice manufacturing industry.  read more

A top lawyer has expressed concern that the UK's pending Bribery Act could lead to difficulties for food manufacturers exporting or producing abroad, especially to ‘high risk’ countries. read more

Early start to the principle of “saving people money so they can live better”, a goal to create 15,000 new jobs and an additional R60 billion in food and FMCG procurement. read more

Johannesburg - Consumer group AVI expects consolidated headline earnings per share for the year to June to increase by between 23% and 33%, compared with the previous year.  read more

MARK Lamberti, chairman of Massmart, Grant Pattison, the CEO, and Guy Hayward, the CFO, cashed in shares worth R249-m as Walmart consummated its offer for 51% of the shares of Massmart. read more

Last week we had the opportunity to sit down with Dale Good, CEO of GLS Supply Chain Equipment, and talk about the current state of distribution and logistics in South Africa. He gave us exclusive insights into the industry and offered his advice on how SA can optimise its operations and in doing so catch up with its foreign counterparts.  read more

Wage negotiations in the chemical, wood and paper sectors have deadlocked, the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Worker' Union (Ceppwawu) said on Tuesday. read more

SHARP-eyed shoppers may have noticed some unfamiliar brands, or different variants of well-known brands, on the shelves in Shoprite/Checkers stores lately. read more

Retail sales rose sharply in April, with annual growth jumping to 9.8 percent from 5.3 percent in March and far surpassing a consensus forecast of a 5.1 percent rise. read more

The latest footfall data from Synovate Retail Performance post further disappointing news for retailers. The UK Retail Traffic Index (RTI), the national indicator of non-grocery store footfall, shows that shopper numbers fell by 4.0% in May against the same month of 2010. Against April, there was a 3.4% decline. read more

Shares of South Africa's Woolworths drop 2.6 percent as the retailer enters a closed period in which it will repurchase ordinary shares worth up to 500 million rand ($73.48 million). read more

Johannesburg - The $1 trillion agreement to create a free trade bloc of African countries, signed by African leaders over the weekend, would serve as a considerable boost to the Brics accord, said Miller Matola, CEO of the International Marketing Council, on Monday. read more

Wal-Mart has been given the go-ahead by a Namibian court to implement its $2.4 billion takeover of South African retailer Massmart pending an appeal to have conditions attached to the deal, a newspaper said on Friday. read more

Research commissioned by the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute, the global organisation for marketing in retail shows that not more than 50% of marketing budgets are allocated to below-the- line advertising when this is in fact where purchasing decisions are made. read more

In the most closely contested race since the inaugural event in 2002, Spier edged ahead of Thelema Mountain Vineyards to take the Fairbairn Capital Trophy for the Top Producer at the 2011 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show. read more

Cape Town - Walmart was apparently not surprised to find, in its research on South Africa, that most South Africans did not know the company at all. read more

Cipla Agrimed, an animal health company, won a tender last month to supply all the nine provinces with several animal health products. Jerome Smith, the chief executive of holding firm Cipla Medpro, said yesterday. read more

About 6000 Food and Allied Workers' Union members in the pelagic fishing sector will embark on a legal strike at various plants on the West Coast, in Gansbaai and Hout Bay, on Friday at noon, the union said. read more

Pyrotec has announced the third round of finalists for the 2011 Pyro Inspiration Awards, which aims to award innovative and exceptional on-pack devices. read more

Rogers, Arkansas - As Walmart expands its international business, the company wants to bring ideas from Massmart Holdings [JSE:MSM] to other markets, company executives said on Thursday. read more