Demand for converted flexible packaging is projected to increase 3.8% annually to $18.2 billion in 2015. Gains will be similar to the pace of the 2005-2010 period based on the well-established presence of pouches in a number of food and nonfood markets coupled with overall deceleration in raw material price growth. Click here read the [...]

US gov’t expects bigger corn surplus in ‘12; could lower corn prices and slow food inflation The Department of Agriculture estimated Wednesday that farmers have 206 million more bushels of surplus corn on hand at the start of this year’s harvest. That means farmers will have 866 million bushels of corn on hand at the [...]

According to The Wall Street Journal, a hot, dry summer has devastated this year’s peanut crop, sending prices skyrocketing and forcing peanut butter brands into startling price increases. Wholesale prices for J.M. Smucker’s Jif are going up 30% starting in November, while ConAgra Food’s Peter Pan will raise prices as much as 24% in a [...]

Devilish Packaging, Tamed By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD Published: June 1, 2011 The Pyranna, the Jokari Deluxe, the Insta Slit, the ZipIt and the OpenIt apply blades and batteries to what should be a simple task: opening a retail package. But the maddening — and nearly impenetrable — plastic packaging known as clamshells could become a welcome [...]

How green initiatives can bring about more efficient, more profitable companies by Richard Watson Sustainability isn’t easy. It’s tough to implement, and the costs can be even more difficult to quantify, which is why it has taken so long for businesses to embrace the mission. Having developed many a new product over the years, I’ve [...]

By Duane Stanford Long a cause célèbre of the eco crowd, sustainable business practices are yielding big savings at companies like PepsiCo and Wal-Mart. At PepsiCo’s (PEP) Walkers potato chip plant in Leicester, England, steam from the fryers rises through exhaust stacks into the open sky. From his office window, Martyn Seal, the company’s European director of sustainability, [...]

The Wall Street Journal By SCOTT KILMAN And JULIE JARGON The surge in grain prices that has been stoking food inflation for months in much of the world is beginning to seep into U.S. supermarkets and restaurants. U.S. food prices will jump between 3% and 4% this year, the U.S. Agriculture Department forecast Thursday, after rising in [...]

2011 Trends in Packaging by Wendy Hunt Anne Reid In 2011, expect packaging to become more sustainable, incorporate recent technological advances, and feed into consumers’ desire for their purchases to serve a greater purpose. The burning question for 2011 The challenge will be finding ways to do more with less—reducing waste, using fewer natural resources, [...]

Meat Packaging Changes are a Case Study by Pan Demetrakakes Meat and poultry packaging is truly case-sensitive. Changes in technology and, especially, consumer preferences for case-ready meats have had profound effects on packaging trends for meat and poultry. The leading motivator of these changes, as in other packaging shifts, has been Walmart. To find the [...]

Provident Spend Management has entered into an agreement to assist AdvancePierre Foods with sourcing efforts across many of their ingredient categories.  AdvancePierre Foods is the newly formed company that joins three major food processing companies into one entity.  Comprised of Pierre Foods, Advance Food Company and Advance Brands LLC, the new company will be utilizing [...]