- Crain’s Chicago Business reports that sales of Oreos have rebounded now that the low-carb craze has subsided. “Sales of the iconic cream-filled cookie jumped 12.4% to $141.9 million in the first three-and-a-half months of the year, after a flat 2004 and a 5.4% drop in 2003, when the low-carb craze hit and Oreo maker Kraft Foods Inc. was sued for marketing the trans fatty treat to kids,” the paper reported.
Crain’s writes that people are buying more Oreos “because there are more kinds to buy — or at least try — as Kraft rolls out endless variations of flavor and fat content. But it remains to be seen whether this has the makings of a Harvard MBA case study in brand extension, or is an example of the ‘let's throw it against the wall and see if it will stick’ school of marketing.”
- The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that PepsiCo has filed a lawsuit against the Diaz Wholesale & Manufacturing Co. in Atlanta, charging that the company is illegally importing Pepsi from Mexico. Pepsi says that the imported product may be flat because of how it has been transported, plus says that Mexican bottling procedures do not live up to US standards.
- USA Today reports that “fish oil is suddenly hotter than fish in a frying pan,” and that a reflection of this trend is the introduction of Bumble Bee Omega 3&6 Premium Fish Oil Supplements.
Fish oil sales have tripled over the past three years, and now generate $310 in annual sales.
- Unilever Ice Cream has announced what it calls the “next generation of premium light ice cream -- new double churned. This proprietary, innovative new technology delivers all of the creamy taste of regular ice cream with half the fat.”
