Publicly-listed ATM operator, Customers ATM, today announced a five-year agreement with supermarket chain Coles to provide more than 400 ATMs in Coles Express service stations and convenience stores across Australia. The agreement, which followed a competitive tender process, means Customers ATM will provide ATM hardware and software, ongoing maintenance, cash servicing, branding and 24-hour technical support to Coles Express. Customers ATM Managing Director Tim Wildash said, “Securing this agreement... ...Read more »

Research findings published today by market researcher Newspoll suggest that almost half of Australians are ‘supermarket grazers’, who admit helping themselves to free produce while shopping in supermarkets. In Newspoll’s nationwide online survey of 1,214 adults between the ages of 18 and 64, almost half (46 per cent) of respondents said they taste food in the supermarket without paying for it. Younger Australians appeared to be the main culprits with the research suggesting that 18-34 year... ...Read more »

A market report on Australia’s packaged food sector from market research consultancy Euromonitor predicts that ongoing economic uncertainty and weak consumer confidence could provide Australia’s packaged food retailers with enhanced opportunities to grow retail volume sales. Euromonitor’s ‘Packaged Food in Australia’ market report, released yesterday, says the packaged food industry displayed resilience against lowered consumer confidence following the global financial crisis of 2008 and... ...Read more »

New Danish research published today in the American Journal of Hypertension claims that, contrary to previous findings, reducing the amount of sodium in one’s diet may not have an overall positive impact on heart health. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that the general recommendation of reducing dietary sodium as a preventative heath measure should be re-evaluated. The study titled ‘Effects of Low-Sodium Diet vs. High-Sodium Diet on Blood Pressure’ was undertaken by researchers... ...Read more »

Australia’s only ASX-listed sugar miller, MSF Sugar (formerly Maryborough Sugar Factory Limited), is the latest Australian company to be targeted by a foreign investor, with Thai sugar company Mitr Phol proposing a A$4.45 per share takeover offer. Mitr Phol, which currently owns 22 per cent of shares in MSF Sugar, is one of the largest sugar producers in Asia, with an estimated market share of 19% in Thailand and 9% in China. The takeover agreement is subject to the satisfactory completion of limited... ...Read more »

One of the U.S.’s leading Greek yoghurt brands, Chobani, has launched its flavoured Greek yogurt range in Woolworths’ stores this week throughout New South Wales. In August 2011, Australian Food News reported Greek yogurt sales had increased in the U.S. by a staggering 2500 per cent in the last five years. The Chobani brand gained tremendous market share, growing from just 5 per cent in March 2008 to 48 per cent in March 2011. Chobani’s launch in Australia marks the first international expansion... ...Read more »

The Canadian Government has announced it will reform the way it regulates energy drinks in Canada. Energy drinks are non-alcoholic beverages characterised by the addition of ‘energy enhancing’ ingredients. These may include a number of water-soluble B vitamins, amino acids and other substances, and caffeine. The proposed Canadian legislation includes: A cap on the amount of caffeine that can be included in an energy drink at 180 mg per single serving. In addition to current labels that... ...Read more »

Quick Service Restaurant Holdings Pty Limited (QSRH), which operates the Red Rooster chain of restaurants in Australia, has entered into a two-year agreement to develop healthier food ingredients with Australian biotechnology company Holista. QSRH is one of Australia’s largest fast-food operators with over 600 restaurants in Australia. Under the agreement, Holista will supply its proprietary ingredients exclusively to QSRH for joint research and development with the aim of offering healthier food... ...Read more »

Australian parents’ activist group the Parent’s Jury has slammed two major food companies, Kelloggs and McDonalds, claiming that their marketing campaigns in Australia are misleading. Both companies featured in the Parents’ Jury’s ‘Fame and Shame Awards 2011’. McDonald’s use of Australian cricket hero Shane Warne to endorse its Chicken McBites came under fire for “using sport to promote unhealthy food which influences children”. Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain cereal, which the... ...Read more »

U.S. foodservice research and consulting firm Technomic has published a list of trends it predicts will shape the American restaurant industry in 2012. Based on its own market research, Technomic claimed the following developments will be making news in the U.S. restaurant industry in the coming year: Consumers seek a twist on the familiar: Consumers are in no mood to take risks, but novel flavours still tingle their taste buds, according to Technomic. For example, comfort foods with a twist (gourmet,... ...Read more »