This week, members of The Consumer Goods Forum committed to halving food waste by 2025. Elsewhere, Ferrero made a bid to acquire UK confectioner Thorntons. Nestle appointed a new CFO to replace Wan Ling Martello and First Milk chairman, Sir Jim Paice, resigned. Here is the week in quotes.
"It is a tragedy that up to two billion tonnes of food produced around the world is lost or wasted never making it onto a plate. At a time of growing food insecurity and climate change, we can’t afford to let this continue" – Unilever CEO Paul Polman comments after The Consumer Goods Forum announces its members have committed to halving food waste by 2025.
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"While the turnaround actions that have been taken over the last two months have improved our trading position, we also have to factor in the impact of lower commodity prices. I know this is further disappointing news, which I regret" – First Milk chairman, Sir Jim Paice, has announced his resignation as the company confirms it is cutting milk prices.
"This recent food scare with powdered milk has opened fresh wounds and caused further lasting damage to the reputation of the food industry in China. Transparency is now important for every retailer or supplier: for brand protection, consumer confidence and ensuring food safety" – Shaun Bossoms, EVP of supply chain specialist Trace One, on the latest powdered milk scare in China which has led authorities to recall goat infant formula.
"We've continued to listen to consumers who want to see more recognisable and familiar ingredients on the labels and challenged ourselves to remove barriers that prevent adults and children from enjoying our cereals" – Jim Murphy, president of General Mils cereal division, on the company's commitment to pull artificial colours and flavours from its remaining cereal lines in the US.
"This transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses, but more importantly it unites two companies that share the same passion for growing brands, and a proud heritage, drive and culture built upon their family foundations" – Ferrero CEO, Giovanni Ferrero, on the acquisition of Thorntons as Ferrero looks to expand its presence in the UK.
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By GlobalData"If McCormick is permitted to blatantly violate the slack fill regulations which are designed to protect the consumer and keep the competitive marketplace fair, what's next?…selling an 8 ounce container with 1 ounce in it and then telling the consumers they should read the labels more carefully?" – Watkins' CEO Mark Jacobs comments after Watkins Inc files a lawsuit against McCormick & Co. alleging it underfills tins of its ground black pepper in a "misleading" way.
"His extensive insight, knowledge and experience in different geographies and industries, in particular in food, nutrition and pharma, will allow him to quickly contribute to driving the performance of the Nestlé group as the recognised leader in nutrition, health and wellness" – Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke comments on the appointment of Francois-Xavier Roger to the position of CFO.
"Performance has been weak for the segment, stemming from execution issues, the difficulty of managing branded and private label under the same roof and industry headwinds, including emerging challenger brands in many categories… Given that private brands has been a massive under-performer, investors likely expect a plan for the segment. In fact, many investors could be disappointed if the business is not sold" – Alexia Howard, analyst at Sanford Bernstein says ConAgra's first priority following the Jana investment should be to sell its own-label division.
"The world is getting older but wants to be younger, look younger, feel younger and live younger – and is increasingly focused on prevention, rather than treatment and eating better, not all the time but at least some of the time" – John Coyle, a partner at private equity firm Permira, says the firm's interest in health-focused assets "started about three years ago". Permira recently acquired Medora Snacks and Ideal Snacks Holding.
"Change requires vision and a plan, not just improvement in current practices. This is where a jurisdiction lens approach comes in, looking for opportunities to create value at scale, and at the same time to address difficult issues as well as reduce audit burden through whole sector assurance mechanisms" – Bonsucro CEO, Simon Usher, says really taking sustainable sourcing of sugar to scale will involve going beyond certification and sees jurisdictional approaches as critical in this context.
