TradeUSA Newsletter

The shake-up in the food and beverage industry continues. A recent Hartman Group report, The New Playbook in Packaged Food, examines the top players, analyzes the factors afflicting the underperformers, and seeks answers to the question “what’s the winning brand portfolio strategy for tomorrow?”

The food and beverage industry is under more pressure than ever before to generate organic, volume-based topline growth. Some even say the total market is essentially now a zero-sum game. But this belies the enormous turbulence and reshuffling of market shares below the sector’s surface. It is clear the future of corporate growth is in rebalancing into the medium- and long-term pockets of growth revealed through careful market analytics.

As of the end of 2016, we are seeing a mix of positive and negative signs from our analysis of top players, reflecting the likelihood for continued shake-ups in the industry.

On the upside:

• 60 percent of top 25 firms are growing at or above inflation.
• 80 percent of the top 25 firms have at least positive topline growth.

On the downside:

• The industry topline growth rate has softened 31 basis points compared to 2011-2014.
• Among the top 25 firms, the high performers’ topline growth average has also softened compared to 2011-2014.

Overall, the highly bifurcated nature of these patterns identical to what we saw two years ago. In fact, the biggest “improvement” we can identify here is that the underperformers are underperforming less than they were two years ago.

Cutting costs will surely continue at all of the big firms, yet many will find their financial scalpels approaching the bone in the next two years. Therefore, don’t believe this trajectory is sustainable for probably 25-50 percent of the firms depicted in the report.

When we deconstruct the winners and losers in broad strokes by the master category their core business serves (beverages, snacks, meals), we do find an interesting pattern that all should take note of: the winners are almost all beverage companies, and the losers are mostly companies with core revenue skewing heavily to center-store meal categories. (Of the top 25 firms, only one is a pure play snacks firm, so the positive impact of snacks is buried in this analysis.)

In The New Playbook in Package Food analysis we: a) reiterate some themes discussed in our last industry review regarding the continued need for portfolio rebalancing at the brand level, b) introduce a simple portfolio segmentation tool to track your firm’s topline performance (i.e., the relative urgency of rebalancing) and, finally, c) address a burning issue within the portfolio rebalancing process: the need for big companies to operationalize separate playbooks for legacy brands and for small, emerging premium ones. One key finding: Simply acquiring fast-growing insurgent brands is not enough to guarantee that top companies are maximizing their long-term scale potential.

Source: www.forbes.com

The Specialty Food Association (SFA) will celebrate 65 years at the leading edge of food with LevelUP, a new, immersive experience debuting at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City (June 25-27). LevelUP will showcase global food innovations, premier industry research, and the future of food and commerce.

“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate our 65^th anniversary than to present LevelUP, an interactive journey showcasing the future of food and our industry,” said Phil Kafarakis, SFA president. “We know through our research that SFA members are looking to us for an enhanced show experience – a chance to take it a LevelUP! The LevelUP show concept represents a new way of viewing what’s ahead for specialty food. It’s an innovative and immersive addition to our Fancy Food Show format and one that will inform, entertain, and engage our attendees.”

The LevelUP experience will include:

• Shaping the Future of Food for 65 Years – Follow the history of the specialty food industry and the SFA
• Consumer & Category Forecasts presented by Hartman and Mintel – Learn how specialty foods will fare over the next five years
• The Future Market™ presented by Future Market – Discover factors that will drive food commerce tomorrow and shop the store of the future
• Taste Tomorrow – Sample leading-edge products, from seaweed pastrami to cellular milk
• World Food Trends in partnership with SIAL Paris – Share in global innovations and trends new to the U.S. market
• Product Picks – Preview a curated selection of on-trend products from onsite Fancy Food Show exhibitors
• What’s New, What’s Best: 2017 sofi™ Award Winners – Celebrate this year’s Gold and New Product winners
• Tomorrow’s Products Today: Exhibitor Locator – Create a map to find the hottest products at the show

A full lineup of speakers and programming will also run over the three days of the show. Three “Super Sessions” are planned, to be led by national-level industry thought-leaders. Shorter insight-provoking “Excite” talks will also run throughout the show. The speaker line-up will be announced soon.

“Specialty food is now a $127 billion industry. The industry’s unprecedented growth will continue as we remain committed to meeting consumers’ drive for integrating high-quality innovative foods into their daily lives,” said Kafarakis. “The SFA is leveraging our 65 years of experience with an understanding of trends to promote phenomenal member products and growth that extends beyond traditional retail channels. You’ll see that in action at LevelUP. We expect people will leave the Summer Show and LevelUP experience inspired and excited about our dynamic industry – and ready to play their part in the innovations of the future.”

SOURCE:  http://www.specialtyfood.com

Στις 30 Μαΐου 2017 λήγει η προθεσμία για τις Αμερικανικές εταιρίες εισαγωγής τροφίμων και ποτών για να συμμορφωθούν με το U.S. FDA και το νέο κανονισμό FSVP – Foreign Supplier Verification Program.

Ο νέος κανονισμός FSVP κατατάσσεται κάτω από την ευρύτερη κατηγορία του Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Συνεπώς, οι Εισαγωγείς FSVP (FSVP Importers) υποχρεούνται να ακολουθήσουν συγκεκριμένες ενέργειες για να επιβεβαιώσουν την φερεγγυότητα και αξιοπιστία των τροφίμων/ποτών που εισάγουν. Απώτερος στόχος τους είναι η διασφάλιση της εισαγωγής προϊόντων, των οποίων η παραγωγική διαδικασία είναι σύμφωνη με τους Αμερικανικούς κανονισμούς διασφάλισης ποιότητας.

 Αξιολόγηση και Έγκριση προμηθευτών

Ο κανονισμός FSVP του FDA απαιτεί οι – χαρακτηριζόμενοι – FSVP Εισαγωγείς (Importers) να εισάγουν τα προϊόντα τους από εγκεκριμένους διεθνείς προμηθευτές, παρόλο που τους επιτρέπεται – προσωρινά – να εισάγουν και από μη εγκεκριμένους προμηθευτές.

Για να εγκρίνει ένας Εισαγωγέας FSVP τον προμηθευτή του, πρέπει να εξετάσει τη συμμόρφωσή του με τους κανονισμούς ασφάλειας παραγωγής τροφίμων που διέπουν το FDA. Ανάμεσα στα κριτήρια αξιολόγησης συμπεριλαμβάνονται το ενδεχόμενο ο προμηθευτής να έχει λάβει:

• προειδοποιητική επιστολή συμμόρφωσης από το FDA ή/και
• ειδοποίηση σχετικά με την ασφάλεια των τροφίμων κατά την εισαγωγή τους σε Αμερικανικό έδαφος (Import Alert) ή/και
• οποιαδήποτε άλλη ειδοποίηση σχετικά με τη συμμόρφωση της εταιρίας με τους κανονισμούς του FDA

FSVP και Εμπορικό Ρίσκο
Τα πιστοποιητικά FSVP πρέπει να εκδίδονται από «Εγκεκριμένους Συνεργάτες», οι οποίοι χαρακτηρίζονται από την εξειδικευμένη εκπαίδευση, την κατάρτιση ή την απαιτούμενη εμπειρία που θα πρέπει να έχουν για να εκτελέσουν τις δραστηριότητες που τους έχουν ανατεθεί και τη δυνατότητα κατανόησης των αρχείων που πρέπει να ελέγχονται κατά την υποβολή τους. Το πιστοποιητικό FSVP πρέπει να περιλαμβάνει την ανάλυση κινδύνου και τις κατάλληλες δραστηριότητες που θα πρέπει να ακολουθούνται για την διασφάλιση της αξιοπιστίας των προμηθευτών ή έστω την ελαχιστοποίηση του σχετικού κινδύνου. Για παράδειγμα, η διαδικασία ελέγχου της αξιοπιστίας ενός διεθνούς προμηθευτή περιλαμβάνει ελέγχους, αξιολόγηση πιστοποιητικών και σχετικών εγγραφών που συνδέονται με τη διαδικασία παραγωγής, δειγματοληψία και δοκιμές.

Βεβαίως, τι χαρακτηρίζεται ως “κατάλληλη” διαδικασία ελέγχου για έναν συγκεκριμένο προμηθευτή εξαρτάται από το είδος του τροφίμου που παράγει αλλά και το ιστορικό συμμόρφωσης του προμηθευτή με τους κανονισμούς του U.S. FDA.

Διορθωτικές ενέργειες
Σε περίπτωση που ένας Εισαγωγέας FSVP αντιληφθεί τη μη συμμόρφωση κάποιου από τους διεθνώς εγκεκριμένους προμηθευτές του, ο Αμερικανός Εισαγωγέας πρέπει να διασφαλίσει ότι θα ληφθούν τα απαραίτητα διορθωτικά μέτρα. Για παράδειγμα, κατάλληλο διορθωτικό μέτρο θεωρείται και η διαδικασία άρσης της προειδοποίησης εσφαλμένης εισαγωγής (Import Alert) που έχει εκδοθεί για τον διεθνή προμηθευτή κατά τη διαδικασία εκτελώνισης των προϊόντων του. Επιπλέον, οι εσφαλμένες ετικέτες αποτελούν μία από τις μεγαλύτερες αιτίες προειδοποιητικών επιστολών και κρατήσεων κατά την εισαγωγή των προϊόντων σε Αμερικανικό έδαφος.

Γιάννης Μωύσογλου
Υπεύθυνος Εξαγωγών “TradeUSA”, Ελληνο-Αμερικανικό Εμπορικό Επιμελητήριο

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Do you love Costco, but aren’t totally fond of making grocery runs? Well, we have some great news for you: Soon, you’ll be able to get your groceries delivered from Costco right to your front door.

Costco Home Delivery Service Groceries Shipt Tampa

An alliance of 17 food and beverage trade groups has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to extend the compliance dates for supplier verification under the Preventive Controls for Human Food (PCHF) and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) final rules, and to align the compliance dates of the two rules. The PCHF and FSVP rules were implemented under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

In a February 13 letter to Dr. Stephen Ostroff, Acting FDA Commissioner, the Food & Beverage Issue Alliance explained:
“The PCHF and FSVP regulations are groundbreaking in many respects. These are the first FDA regulations requiring implementation of comprehensive supplier verification programs. PCHF is the first regulation requiring supplier verification for domestically produced foods. FSVP is the first regulation where FDA has required supplier verification of all imported foods. FSVP also is the only FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulation that may require entities that do not manufacture food, such as retailers, to engage in supplier verification.”
The alliance pointed out that the PCHF compliance date, March 17, 2017, is just over one month away for many companies and the compliance date for FSVP, May 30, 2017, is less than four months away. (FDA extended the FSVP compliance for verification activities for food-contact substances to May 28, 2019.) The alliance also explained that many of its members have hundreds or even thousands of suppliers requiring supplier verification and will need more time to modify programs based on guidance from FDA, especially since the agency had not issued draft guidance documents on these rules yet. The group also expressed concern over when the guidance documents will be published given the While House Regulatory Freeze Memo, issued earlier this year.  The alliance requested that the compliance date for both regulations be extended until May 28, 2018.
The alliance includes the Food Marketing Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the American Frozen Food Institute, the International Dairy Foods Association, the United Fresh Produce Association, the Association for Dressings & Sauces, the Juice Products Association, the Vinegar Institute, the National Pasta Association, the North American Millers’ Association, the American Bakers Association, the National Association of Chemical Distributors, the Peanut and Tree Nut Processors Association, SNAC International, the Produce Marketing Association, the National Confectioners Association, and the National Grocers Association.

Source: The National Law Review

 The show, which will be held at Manhattan’s Javits Convention Center on 5-6 March 2018, will be the first time Vinexpo has hosted a drinks trade event in the Americas for more than 15 years: Vinexpo hosted the inaugural Vinexpo Americas in 2002, which saw 600 exhibitors descend on New York in November.

Source: https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com