October 24, 2011 Edition

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A new company, Rare Tea Republic works to select small lots and procure single estate teas. Rare Tea Republic's tea collection launched with 19 teas from single estates throughout Northern India and the Himalayan Mountain region including: Darjeeling, Kangra, Sikkam, Assam, Bihar and Nepal. Full Story

Food trucks typically earn a profit equivalent to about 40% of sales, reported The Globe and Mail. Social media continues to play a large role in food truck success. For instance, more than 50% of Gorilla Cheese's customers track its location through social media. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The miniature theme in food is spreading to cheeses. The most common small-format cheeses are made with goat's milk; according to a vice president at Murray's Cheese, petite cheeses were traditionally made for home consumption. It is unusual for very small cheeses to be made with cow's milk; Saint Marcellin is an exception. The cheese comes in a small ceramic crock that protects the thin ivory rind on each delicate cheese, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Sara Lee Corp. entered into an agreement to sell a majority of its North American foodservice coffee and tea operations to The J.M. Smucker Company for $350 million. The two companies will also establish a long-term partnership to collaborate on liquid coffee innovation. In addition, Senseo coffee in North America will be discontinued as of Mar. 31, 2012, with the exception of select online channels. The transaction is expected to close near the beginning of calendar year 2012. Full Story

Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. expects to complete its acquisition of Sara Lee Corporation's North American Fresh Bakery business on Nov. 5, having received approval from DOJ. As a condition of approval for the deal, DOJ is requiring Bimbo Bakeries USA to divest the Sara Lee and EarthGrains brands in California and the Holsum & Milano brands in Central Pennsylvania; the EarthGrains & Mrs. Bairds brands in Kansas City; the EarthGrains & Healthy Choice brands in Omaha; and the EarthGrains brand in Oklahoma City. Full Story

Global almond exports in 2011/12 are forecast to continue expanding at the rate of more than 10%, augmented by record production, according to FAS. In contrast, the global growth rate for walnuts is expected to slow due to tight supplies in the U.S. Hazelnut trade is forecast flat as it is historically reliant on the mature European market. Full Report

In order to speed customers through checkouts more efficiently, Whole Foods Market stopped accepting checks at many U.S. stores, reported News & Observer. "It's a noticing of a trend and an opportunity to take advantage of a trend," stated Whole Foods spokeswoman Teresa Jones. Full Story

President Obama signed legislation reauthorizing the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), effective on Nov. 5. The legislation will remain in effect through July 31, 2013, but making the GSP retroactive to Jan 1, 2011. The program provides preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories. Full Story

FDA will announce the availability of a guidance for industry entitled What You Need to Know About Administrative Detention of Foods. This guidance provides information pertaining to FDA's authority to order the administrative detention of food for human or animal consumption under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the FDA Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA). Full Story

Dead River Co. will sell its convenience stores to Circle K and exit the retail industry. The Circle K purchase covers 19 stores. The sale and switchover of the stores is expected to be completed in December, reported The Republic. Full Story

Walmart increased purchases of Halloween merchandise by 20% over last year, according to people familiar with the matter. Part of the effort is White Chocolate Candy Corn M&Ms, a limited-edition Mars product exclusive to Walmart in short supply in many stores, reported Advertising Age. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Kraft Foods is now selling five-stick packs of Trident and Stride gum in the U.S. for 50 cents each while Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. plans to offer smaller and less expensive packs of gum starting next year, according to Wrigley's director of corporate affairs in North America. Kraft expects sales of the smaller sizes to be incremental to its existing gum business and will prominently feature the smaller gum packs in convenience stores in standalone displays, reported MarketWatch. Full Story

Microalgae-derived food ingredients company Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals will open a Phase II manufacturing facility in Lestrem, France. The plant is expected to be operational in early 2012. Full Story

MGP Ingredients, Inc. subsidiary MGPI of Indiana, LLC signed an agreement with Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana, LLC (LDI) to acquire beverage alcohol distillery assets located in Lawrenceburg, IN used in the production of customized and premium grade whiskeys, gins and grain neutral spirits. The LDI assets to be purchased include distillery assets, related bulk barrel storage facilities, blending operations and a tank farm. The company will pay LDI cash equal to the current assets minus current liabilities of the distillery assets, currently estimated at $15 million. Full Story