Reuters — General Mills on Monday said it saw record demand for its pantry staples, becoming the latest packaged food maker to see business spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, as homebound shoppers stocked up on comfort foods during lockdowns. The company joins Nomad Foods, Premier Foods, Nestle, Mondelez and other processed food makers, which have […] Read more

Packaged-food majors see sales spike in pandemic
Big brands may benefit from larger, more secure supply chains

U.S. CFTC says Kraft, Mondelez to pay $16M in wheat price manipulation case
Reuters — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Thursday Kraft Heinz and Mondelez International will have to pay US$16 million in penalty regarding a wheat manipulation case that dates back to 2015. Kraft Heinz, which was Kraft Foods until 2015, and snack food firm Mondelez bought $90 million of December 2011 wheat […] Read more

Ontario backs Mondelez’s Toronto bakery expansion
One of the world’s biggest snack food companies is up for an eight-figure investment from the Ontario government to boost production at its Toronto plant. The province on Monday announced the Mondelez Canada bakery in East York will get up to $22.6 million from the Jobs and Prosperity Fund, by way of that program’s Food […] Read more

Moving freight to get more expensive for food companies
Reuters — U.S. food companies called out rising freight costs as a reason for lower profit margins in the holiday quarter, with more pain seen in 2018 as a dearth of drivers and higher diesel prices make it even more expensive to transport products to stores. Hershey, Mondelez International, J.M. Smucker and Campbell Soup said […] Read more

Snack maker Mondelez plans for cage-free eggs by 2020
Reuters — Mondelez International, the maker of Cadbury chocolates and Oreo cookies, said it would stop using eggs laid by caged hens for its products sold in Canada and the U.S. by 2020. Formed in 2012 by Kraft Foods’ spinoff of its grocery business, including the Christie and Nabisco cookie and cracker lines, Mondelez joins […] Read more

Ardent to buy major Ontario soft wheat mill
The owner of Canada’s Robin Hood flour mills is poised to buy the biggest soft wheat milling operation in the country. Ardent Mills, the joint North American flour venture of agrifood giants Cargill, CHS Inc. and ConAgra, announced Thursday it will buy the former Kraft Milling operation in Mississauga, Ont. from Mondelez Canada for an […] Read more

Nestle says taking action to keep top slot in food industry
London | Reuters — Nestle told shareholders Thursday it is taking steps to maintain its position at the head of the global food industry, where consolidation will create two big new rivals. Nestle chairman Peter Brabeck-Lemathe told the company’s annual shareholder meeting the creation of Kraft Heinz Co. and Jacobs Douwe Egberts, as well as […] Read more

U.S. CFTC sues Kraft, Mondelez over alleged wheat price manipulation
Reuters — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday charged Kraft Foods Group and Mondelez International with manipulation of prices of wheat used in products such as Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies. The regulator alleged that Kraft and Mondelez bought $90 million of wheat futures, or a six-month supply, but never intended to take […] Read more