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Replies to post #4922 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence
05/07/12 10:39 AM
For the first time last year, revenue from [PEP’s] international snacks division surpassed revenue in North America. To achieve that, PepsiCo has had to adjust its recipes.
In 2005, PepsiCo's food division began a quest to make its Lay's potato chips more appealing to local tastes in Russia. It wasn't easy. Russians still like packaged versions of a Soviet-era snack — stale bread slathered in oil and baked to a crisp.
"Potato chips were not big in the Communist time, so it's something we're gradually building," [LOL] says Marc Schroeder, who heads PepsiCo's food division in Russia.
To get a better sense of what Russians like, employees traveled around the country to visit people in their homes and talk about what they eat day-to-day. That was a big task. Russia has nine time zones and spans 7,000 miles, with eating habits that vary by region... In the eastern part of the country, PepsiCo found that fish is a big part of the diet. So it introduced "Crab" chips in 2006. It's now the third most popular flavor in the country.
A "Red Caviar" flavor does best in Moscow, where caviar is particularly popular. "Pickled Cucumber," which piggybacks off of a traditional appetizer throughout Russia, was introduced last year and is already the fourth most popular flavor. Other favorites include onion, bacon and "sour cream and herbs," which is a bit sweeter than the American version.
The chip translations are paying off; sales of Lay's have more than doubled in the past five years. As for the classic Lay's — an American favorite — Russians still aren't biting. "They find it a very boring flavor," Schroeder said.
05/07/12 12:44 PM
The outlet, located in New Delhi, is one of a planned 80-100 stores of a franchise agreement signed between Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. and New Delhi-based Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. last year. It will be the company's second store in the capital after it opened a smaller store in another part of the city recently. Tuesday marks the official launch of Dunkin' Donuts in India.
05/23/12 11:47 AM
General Mills Inc. is cutting 850 jobs as part of a restructuring plan… The job cuts amount to about 2.4% of General Mills' global workforce of 35,000. Administrative and support positions will be most affected…
General Mills—maker of brands like Cheerios cereal, Yoplait yogurt and Betty Crocker baking products—and other food makers are struggling to find growth in a packaged food industry where consumers are visiting supermarkets less and buying fewer products when they do. The challenges are particularly acute in the center-store supermarket aisles, where several companies, including General Mills, ConAgra Foods Inc. and Campbell Soup Co. find it harder to sell more products, partly as consumers balk at higher prices.
05/24/12 12:07 PM
Shareholders of Kraft Foods on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved Mondelez International as the name of the $35 billion snack foods company that will be created when the company finally splits sometime later this year.
Coined by two of Kraft’s employees, the name is meant to evoke the global ambitions of the new snack business, which will take on the titan Frito-Lay [i.e. PEP], and pique the palate as well with its nod to the words for “world” and “delicious” in a variety of romance languages [LOL].
Kraft announced plans in August to split itself into two companies. One will be a North American grocery business made up of brands like Velveeta, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Oscar Mayer that earn a lot of cash and profit despite low growth. The other [Mondelez] will be the bigger, sexier snack foods company with more than 80 percent of its business in fast-growing markets abroad.
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