Consumers in New Zealand are spending more on healthier and ethical chocolate variants - a move that has aided growth in the burgeoning sector, an analyst says.
As the distraught head of an iconic family-owned brand looked up to reporters, saying he had no idea why Spring Gully had seen a sudden 60% collapse in sales, many other industry bosses must have shared his feelings of incredulousness.
Just as Woolworths announced in Australia this week that its third-quarter revenue had risen 2.5% largely due to increased sales of milk, its arch rival, Coles, revealed it had signed new contracts with two dairy farmer co-operatives.
Health claims in food and beverage products is perhaps the most talked about topic in the entire food production chain outside of GM. In mature markets like the US—and now Australasia—at least there has been frameworks implemented to rationalise the claim-making...
New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries is working with the kiwifruit industry and the supplier of a range of organically-certified citrus-based products following the unexpected discovery of very low residues of a chemical in some organic kiwifruit...
CHOICE Australia has slammed industry on high sodium levels in snacks and breakfast cereal targeting kids and has called for tougher action towards change.
Supermarket service stations are gaining ground on corner shops, and baked staples now losing out to chocolate and confectionery, according to new research from Australia.
Should it be given the go-ahead, a new trial in New South Wales’ Manning Valley will see a supermarket dealing directly with dairy farmers for the first time ever in Australia.
Fonterra has reported an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increase of more than 25% for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2013 – a result it has attributed to sales volume growth from its NZ Milk Products business, Asia, and Latin America.
There is huge potential in sliced bread and rolls in Australia as consumers look for cheap and easy lunch options in the wake of a turbulent economy, an analyst says.
Increasing Fonterra-dominated New Zealand’s access to the US dairy sector through on-going Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade talks would be “damaging” to producers and processors in the country, a coalition of farmer organisations has claimed.
FoodNavigator-Asia reported this week that New Zealand’s Taura Natural Ingredients is getting ready to launch a new range of concentrated fruit pieces for bakery and food service operators in Asia.
Some say it was sneaky, others say it was shrewd, but whatever the motivation, the latest stunt by Coles against its super-rival Woolworths has set the cat among the pigeons in the battle for Australian supermarket supremacy.
New Zealand’s Taura Natural Ingredients plans to launch a new range of concentrated fruit pieces for bakery and foodservice operators in Asia. The products will fit in the premium category and will be specific to the niche.
Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory (WCB) and Kraft Foods Australia have announced the start of a long-term partnership under which Kraft will produce specially formulated cream cheese under WCB's Sungold brand.
Easter, which falls between March 29 and April 1, is traditionally a period of heavy consumption, and business information analysts Ibisworld have lifted the lid on continued strong holiday expectations and changing tastes in F&B and confectionery...
Primary and secondary school students are five times more likely to be high consumers of sugar-sweetened drinks, such as soft drinks, if these drinks are available in their homes, according to a University of Sydney study published in the journal Preventative...
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has indicated it will be focusing on the veracity of label and marketing claims after it instituted court proceedings against a duck meat producer.
Opportunities for Australian beef in the European Union grainfed market are there, but the big challenge lies in lifting the volume of accredited supply.
The race is on for New Zealand to clean up its act if it is to be world’s first 100% organic food producer now that Bhutan has declared its intention to seal the accolade within the decade.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has celebrated last week’s ruling by the Federal Court against the Northern Territory Container Tax—the AFGC’s bête noir—by announcing a A$100m industry-led recycling scheme and releasing data to show that...
In what has been dubbed a “hugely important finding”, Australian researchers have found that medical-grade manuka honey can be used as a new weapon in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria, such as the MRSA superbug.
Australia’s trade department has announced that the country will begin to export lamb to India free of quotas, based on Australia’s compliance with India's food safety requirements.
The transition to a polled cattle herd–or one without horns–could soon be even faster with a new, highly accurate poll gene marker test from Australia that is due to become available this year.
Fonterra will invest more than NZ$100m ($82.4m, €62.8m) in a new ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk and cream processing plant in New Zealand in an attempt to meet growing Asian demand for heat-treated dairy products.
With the film awards season now in full flow, an Australian market research company has identified that cinemagoers are more likely to have a tipple than those who stay in and watch the television.
Accusing Australia’s alcohol industry of being incapable of self-regulation, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on the government to launch an inquiry into alcohol marketing amid what it calls an unprecedented push by the industry to...
New Zealand’s commercial fruit and vegetable growers’ association has branded as ridiculous the latest claims by the Australian vegetable industry group, Ausveg, that Kiwi food manufacturers are bombarding their country with sub-standard frozen vegetables.
Following an ongoing furious stand-off between drinks manufacturers, environmental groups and the local government, the Northern Territory’s opinion-splitting container deposit scheme has now reached the point of litigation.
One of Australia’s leading nutrition bodies has given its resounding approval to the release of the Federal Government’s new Australian Dietary Guidelines, although not all food experts have followed suit with the plaudits.
By Theo Spierings, CEO of Fonterra Co-operative Group
Last week, we published a critique of Fonterra's actions during the DCD furore, which saw lengthy delays between identifying the presence of minute quantities of the chemical in the company's milk. Having requested a right to reply, Fonterra's...
Fonterra Brands Australia is pulling batches of CalciYum yogurt from supermarket shelves across Australia over concerns that the product's “weakened” plastic cap could present a choking hazard.
The story of the death of a New Zealand woman who would drink between six and 10 litres of Coca-Cola a day needs to be treated with caution as it does the rounds of the world’s news media.
Heatwave conditions from early January and below average rainfall across Australia’s major agricultural regions have resulted in a less than favourable summer cropping season, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and...
Resisting the urge to eat for two during pregnancy is vital to limit excess weight gain in both women and their babies, according to recent research in New Zealand.
While New Zealand fights to stem the fallout from the damaging Fonterra DCD crisis, a new report by Rabobank has revealed that the country’s strong trade links to countries with importing markets will be central to the performance of its agricultural...
It’s quite remarkable how Fonterra has evolved to become New Zealand’s biggest company given the way the dairy giant seems to struggle to take on board its errors of the past.
Australian men most at risk of developing type 2 diabetes are being urged to join a new study that aims to help them lose weight and prevent diabetes by giving them more testosterone.
The latest call for advisories on Australian food labels comes from researchers at the University of Adelaide, who say that any health warnings for soft drinks should include the risk of tooth decay. This follows a new study that looks at the consumption...
It is "difficult to say" if New Zealand dairy exports will suffer as a result of the on-going concerns surrounding dicyandiamide (DCD) contamination, Rabobank has claimed.
