This month I spent a week in West London before returning to the Far East. It was a mixture of work, pleasure and early morning work-outs by the Thames (much recommended!) I walked as much as possible but when using public transport rode the bus more than the tube. The view is better, the buses […]
Middle Eastern hummus grows in popularity; big food giants eye payday! Read More »
A new CEO started work at Danone this week. Antoine de Saint-Affrique was previously at Barry Callebaut, a specialist (and hugely successful) chocolatier and before that Unilever. Danone’s share price has not shown any positive momentum this year and the previous CEO was forced out in March. There were multiple reports of a boardroom power
Although the Nikkei has danced to new highs recently (+30% at time of writing), not everyone has been doing so well. That’s especially the case for food & beverage stocks. Yakult and Morinaga’s share price has not grown whilst Ezaki Glico, Nissin Foods and Calbee are down (-7%, -8% & -14% respectively). Alcohol giants Asahi
Ajinomoto stock soars far above rivals. But is it due to MSG or the lesser known ABF? Read More »
Nobell foods make a strong claim on their website: “Animals are an inefficient and unsustainable technology for making dairy and feeding people.” Founded by an engineer, Nobell’s founder goes on explaining, “you need about 3kg of food and up to 4,500 litres of water to make 4 litres of milk.” Nobell’s sales pitch, at least
Is cheese the latest category to be disrupted by start-ups? Read More »
In the West Governments have gone to war against sugar due to concerns about obesity and related life style diseases like diabetes. In the UK, according to the food standards agency, ‘the amount of sugar in food’ is currently the number one consumer concern, ahead of food waste, animal welfare and surprisingly (for me) the
Are sugar concerns the real reason Pepsico strips Tropicana and Naked? Read More »
M&S food division is one of the brighter stars in the company’s portfolio; its legacy fashion businesses a victim of ageing demographics, a surge in on-line and the Covid pandemic which has seen shoppers shift away from the high street in droves. At one time, M&S food were in the high street stores only, but
Is M&S food at the cutting edge of UK gourmet fare? Read More »
Malaysia’s palm oil industry is on a roll. It’s the country’s third biggest export worth $9.8b in 2020, up 18% year on year. Significantly ‘processed’ palm oil, which is more valuable than ‘crude’ accounts for over 70% of exports. India is Malaysia’s largest export market, followed by China. Palm oil is widely used in the
Malaysian palm oil exports soar; still early days for biotech alternatives Read More »
Brand awareness for Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca, Moderna and BioNTech has reached astronomical levels. Thanks to the crisis, we have all become arm-chair vaccine experts. Contrary to perceptions, vaccines are less than 5% of the world-wide pharma industry. Pre-Covid, the most widespread vaccines were for tuberculosis, whooping cough and polio. Manufacturing vaccines is complicated and can take
Jabs, Jobs and Tax; the prickly fight for vaccine exports Read More »
