This week food firms continued to release financial results amid the increasingly uncertain economic environment, including UK retailer Sainsbury’s and rival Morrisons. The European Commission formally approved stevia sweeteners for use within the European Union for the first time. Meanwhile, looking to expand, PepsiCo acquired Brazilian biscuit manufacturer Mabel after reports circled last week.
“They trade down and up at the same time. Customers are preserving the special things in their life but saving money where they can” – Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King said consumers are seeking bargain-priced goods as well as premium goods.
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“Earlier today, Cargill, the maker of Truvia sweetener and an official petitioner for the use of stevia in Europe, was notified by the European Commission of its formal approval of steviol glycosides in Europe as of 11 November 2011″ – Cargill first reported on EU clearance for stevia late yesterday (10 November) with approval to be publicly announced on Monday.
“If there’s a tendency, it would be to acquire and invest more down the chain, closer to the end-retailer and consumer-versus industrial products” – SunOpta COO Tony Tavares discussed the company’s ambitions with just-food at the international trade show Anuga in Germany.
“Overall, there is clear evidence that our offering resonates with consumers, but we remain cautious on the overall economic environment and expect it to remain competitive” – Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips spoke of the opportunities presented by economic uncertainty, yet remains wary of the future.
“We expect the global macroeconomic and financial environment to remain rather fragile and volatile. We assume the chocolate confectionery and gourmet markets will grow further next year, but at a lower rate of 1% to 2%” – CEO Juergen Steinemann expects the economic environment to be fragile but remains confident about growth next year.
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By GlobalData“This should be favourable in that it should stabilise our trading relationship. It should reduce the amount of disputes. In recent years there have been a lot of bans” – Spokesperson Amanda Cheesley said the accession should impede Russia from imposing swift health-based bans on EU food exports.
“Despite a good GDP, the Australian consumer is saving a lot more and has started trading down, encouraged by retailers. We have seen a significant shift from branded products into own-label” – ABF chief executive George Weston recognised that it has been a difficult trading year and consumers are opting to buy own-label products.
“If we can maintain market share we are doing very well” – Marks and Spencer’s chief executive Marc Bolland highlights how the retailer’s supermarket competitors have been recording 6-8% space growth annually.
“It’s about people thinking they’re buying local produce, supporting local farmers. When we look at sustainable food, we’ve got a much bigger piece to look at across the entire life cycle of those products” – Bob Gordon, head of environment at the British Retail Consortium suggests in many instances local sourcing is a community issue.
“We work closely with the local authorities and we are in close contact with our around 1,000 employees who are directly impacted by the floods” – A spokesperson for Nestle said workers at the two factories in Thailand where production has stopped, are safe.
