News on Chips and Snacks from Northern America

February 04, 2010

Lance, Diamond Foods reported to bid for Kettle Foods

Bloomberg/Businessweek reports that Lance Inc. and Diamond Foods Inc. are among the bidders for premium potato-chip maker Kettle Foods, referring to people familiar with the matter.PepsiCo Inc. is also bidding, said the people, who asked not to be name...

February 03, 2010

SunChips 100% Compostable Chip Bag in March on Canadian store shelves

Today the SunChips(R) brand, Frito Lay Canada's (a division of PepsiCo) popular line of multigrain snacks, is introducing the world's first 100% compostable chip bag. This green innovation, a first-of-its kind initiative, will change the way Canadians ...

January 28, 2010

P&G snack food sales volumes decreased

We reviewed todays financial release of Procter and Gamble for the October - December quarter for what details on the development of the sales of their savoury snacks (Pringles). Although somewhat hampered by the fact that P&G mostly lumps its savo...

January 27, 2010

Orville Redenbacher expands new Flavour Shakers popcorn line in Canada

Canadians' top snacking preference is foods that are crispy and crunchy (68%), followed closely by snacks that come in a variety of flavours (66%) and that are hot and fresh (57%), according to a recent poll by Angus Reid Strategies commissioned on beh...

January 12, 2010

The Inventure Group announces partnership with Bruce Foods, new products

Leading snack food manufacturer, The Inventure Group(R) (Nasdaq: SNAK), expands its portfolio of licensed brands today by announcing a partnership with Bruce Foods to add its signature Original Louisiana Hot Sauce(R) to a new line of Hot Fries snacks u...

January 11, 2010

Ecolab introduces Exelerate ZTF, a new cleaning Solution for Food Processing Plants using Zero Trans Fat Oils

Ecolab Inc. today announced it has developed Exelerate(R) ZTF, a breakthrough cleaning program to help food manufacturers address the growing problem with cleaning zero trans fat food oil residue from processing equipment and environmental surfaces. Th...

January 11, 2010

Responses to NYC led National Salt Reduction Initiative

Today the NYC Health Department announced the details of its National Salt Reduction Initiative. The program will ask food producers to voluntarily cut their sodium output 20 to 25 percent by 2014. Some big-name companies have signed on (PepsiCo plans ...

January 10, 2010

Kettle Brand® Baked Potato Chips invites 'real resolutions'

Kettle Foods, maker of Kettle Brand® Baked Potato Chips, is kicking off the New Year by inviting fans to share their “Real Resolutions” for healthy eating and living. Kettle Brand® Baked Potato Chips, the only baked chip made from whole slices of re...

January 08, 2010

Three potato projects receive grants in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle announced that 11 agriculture innovators will share $225,500 in grants for projects that would strengthen, build or restore sectors of the Wisconsin agricultural industry.

January 06, 2010

Wal-mart cambia su sistema de compras para bajar costos

Wal-mart está lanzando una campaña este año para recortar miles de millones de dólares de costos de su cadena de abastecimiento combinando las compras de sus tiendas a través de las fronteras nacionales. Será una nueva etapa en la globalización de su n...

January 06, 2010

Kettle Brand potato chips launches new flavor: fully loaded baked potato

Inspired by fans’ love for the classic baked potato bar, Kettle Foods Chief Flavor Architect Carolyn Richards is piling on the flavor with the newest Kettle Brand® Potato Chip: Fully Loaded Baked Potato.Hitting store shelves in January for football par...

January 06, 2010

CEO Interview With ConAgra's Gary Rodkin

It’s virtually impossible to get through a grocery store without buying one of Conagra Foods brands. Hebrew National hot dogs, Healthy Choice frozen foods, Orville Redenbacher popcorn—ConAgra makes those and about 1,500 other products found at the supe...

January 06, 2010

Popcorn: Diacetyl substitutes might be harmful for workers as well

Two years ago, Orville Redenbacher soared from the graveyard and announced in weeks of TV ads that his popcorn was now free of diacetyl. That's the chemical in artificial butter flavoring that has been blamed for sickening hundreds of workers, killing ...

January 05, 2010

Potato growers converge in Orlando for second Potato Expo

Higher attendance marks the second year of Potato Expo in Orlando.In initial estimates, more than 1,100 potato industry people are converging in Florida for Potato Expo 2010, higher than the 900 that participated in last year’s event, said Hollee Alex...

January 05, 2010

Covered Bridge Potato chip company continues to gain market share

A year ago, Ryan Albright and his two business partners were hauling their product in the back of a Toyota Corolla, making deliveries in communities along the St. John River Valley. Today, one year after launching the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Compan...

January 04, 2010

Walmart to cut supply chain costs by buying directly from suppliers

The Financial Times reports Walmart plans to cut billions of dollars of supply chain costs by combining its store purchasing across borders and to move towards more global sourcing.The effort forms part of plans by the world's largest retailer to incre...

January 01, 2010

David Singer puts bite back in Lance

When David Singer took over at Lance Inc. in 2005, he found a sprawling manufacturing operation so decentralized that plants didn’t even buy cardboard boxes together. The information systems were in shambles, and a company that delivered snacks to tho...

December 21, 2009

Health Canada plan would put asparaginase in french fries, potato chips to fight acrylamide

Health Canada is proposing an unorthodox way of combatting acrylamide, a food ingredient suspected in some cancers: It wants to let manufacturers put small amounts of asparaginase - also used as a cancer-fighting drug - into potato chips and similar fo...