Potato News from Asia

December 07, 2007

P&G says Pringles not made with banned additive

Pringles potato chips are not made with an additive banned in China, Procter &Gamble Co, which markets the potato chips, said on Friday. China state media had reported on Friday that a batch of chips had been blocked from import. The batch of bar...

December 06, 2007

Patent row over Pogo brand name

Turner International India has dragged potato wafer-maker Gee Pee Foods to court for using its Pogo channel name to brand its wafers, thereby scripting yet another patent skirmish. The Kolkata-based food company has been manufacturing Pogo chips sinc...

December 05, 2007

Check out the Potato Industry in India

Last week I received more information on one of the two (!) large potato conferences next year in India, so I decided this was a good time to pay attention to the fast changes in the Indian Potato Processing industry.

December 05, 2007

Pringles taken of the shelf in Hong Kong potassium bromate cancer scare

Packets of the popular snack Pringles were Wednesday removed from Hong Kong supermarkets after tests in mainland China found them to contain a cancer-causing chemical. Barbecue-flavoured packets of the potato crisps were taken off sale in Wellcome, one...

December 04, 2007

Turkey’s 102nd McDonald's opens

Fast food giant chain McDonald's has opened its 102nd restaurant in Turkey in the Anatolian city of Eski?ehir. The restaurant opened last week in the Espark Shopping Center. McDonald's Turkey General Manager Sadi Fansa said at the opening ceremony that...

December 04, 2007

Frito-Lay goes Indian to up its market share

Multinational snack maker FritoLay has Indianised its potato chips brand Lay’s in the wake of competition by new entrants like ITC’s Bingo. As part of its rebranding exercise, FritoLay has introduced Lay’s Chaat street, India’s Mint Mischief and Wafer...

December 03, 2007

New Chinese potato center to help global research in agriculture

China will soon set up a potato research center for the Asia-Pacific region.The move shows the world's biggest producer and consumer of the tuber is committed to spending more on global agricultural research.The new center will be part of Peru-based In...

December 01, 2007

McDonald's Japan Says Outdated Salads Sold at Four Restaurants

McDonald's Holdings Co. Japan Ltd., a unit of the world's biggest restaurant operator, said four franchise restaurants sold outdated salads and used expired ingredients, in a filing yesterday to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The disclosures by McDonald's...

December 01, 2007

McDonald's reconoce que podria haber vendido productos caducados

La cadena de restaurantes McDonald's ha reconocido que podría haber vendido ensaladas y otros alimentos caducados en cuatro de sus locales de Tokio. Según la empresa, algunos empleados habrían cambiado las etiquetas de algunas ensaladas que aún no vend...

November 27, 2007

ITC Aiming for Top Spot in India

Indian giant ITC has announced that it aims to treble the turnover of its packaged food operations and to become the overall leader of the Indian packaged food sector by 2011.The cigarette giant’s food units are growing at a rate of 68.17% annually.Exa...

November 25, 2007

Sell potatoes now, Tamil Nadu potato growers told

Potato growers are advised to sell their potato immediately because there will be a decline in the price in the coming months, according to the Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Price is comparativ...

November 24, 2007

McDonald's takes slow-growth path to expansion in China

For years, McDonald's Corp. executives have boasted of endless opportunities in China, one of the largest untapped regions for the world's biggest burger chain. Yet the Golden Arches' brain trust isn't lovin' it enough to ramp up expansion in one of ...

November 23, 2007

Burger King, Wendy's in talks with DLF for joint venture

Both Burger King and Wendy’s have held talks with DLF, a leading real estate developer to discuss an entry into the Indian market. Sources say that the ball is now in DLF’s court for zeroing in on a partner. The exact partnership model that is being ex...

November 22, 2007

Interview with Manu Anand, managing director of Frito-Lay India

FritoLay India has become the largest player in the branded salty snack market in the country and has been one of the fastest-growing FMCG companies in India for a number of years. Fritolay India managing director Manu Anand discusses the future plans ...

November 16, 2007

The Indian Snack segment is getting bigger

Packaged snacks are getting a lot of attention from big, branded players. So Frito-Lay, with its Lays, Cheetos, Kurkure, Lehar, Uncle Chipps and Quaker Oats snack brands is seeing some pretty concentrated competition from ITC’s Bingo! with its 16 flav...

November 14, 2007

Calbee secures potato supply for snacks through partnership with R.D. Offutt

Calbee Foods Co. has partnered with R.D. Offutt Co., the largest potato grower in the U.S., to establish a large and stable supply of potatoes for its snack foods, especially for its strategic new product Jagabee, The Nikkei reported in its Wednesday m...

November 12, 2007

Dairy company GCMMF enters Indian snack market with Munch Time

Taking a cue from the success of ITC's Bingo, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), universally known for its dairy products brand Amul, has decided to enter the branded snacks market with Munch Time, a salty snack much like Frito Lay’...

November 11, 2007

Efficiency of McDonald's India is an inspiration.

In India, McDonalds reveals unique local flavours — both on its very resistable menu and otherwise. Much to the surprise of ultranationalists and leftists who thought the American food giant would be routed, it has stuck around, growing and expanding ...