(Kraig Scarbinsky/DigitalVision/Getty Images)

Packaged-food majors see sales spike in pandemic

Big brands may benefit from larger, more secure supply chains

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

Nestle’s logo on a bar of Milky Bar chocolate in Manchester, Britain, April 25, 2017. (Photo: Reuters/Phil Noble)

Nestle to buy Canadian nutrition firm Atrium

London | Reuters — Nestle is buying Canadian vitamin and nutritional supplement maker Atrium Innovations for US$2.3 billion, expanding its presence in consumer healthcare as it seeks to offset weakness in packaged foods. The world’s largest packaged food company said on Tuesday it will buy the maker of vitamins, probiotics and meal replacements from a […] Read more



(Video screengrab from RB.com)

French’s owner kicks off food business sale process

London | Reuters — The sale of Reckitt Benckiser Group’s North American food business, which could fetch more than US$3 billion, has kicked off with information packages going out to industry players, according to sources familiar with the matter. The sale of the food business is aimed at helping the British consumer goods company pay […] Read more


(Weetabix.ca)

Post tucks into British breakfast cereal Weetabix

London/Shanghai/New York | Reuters — Post Holdings is buying leading British breakfast cereal brand Weetabix from China’s Bright Food Group for 1.4 billion pounds (C$2.4 billion), giving the U.S.-focused company a European base on which to build. The combination will help Post’s existing brands, which include Honey Bunches of Oats and Grape-Nuts, to expand overseas, […] Read more






(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Investor group launches campaign to curb antibiotic use in food

Reuters — Fifty-four large investors managing one trillion pounds (C$1.84 trillion) in assets have launched a campaign to curb the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry used by 10 large U.S. and British restaurant groups. McDonalds and JD Wetherspoon were among those to receive a March 15 letter from institutions including Aviva Investors […] Read more