Food
It will not be easy for food retailers to beat the record figures they recorded in the corona year 2020, but in any case, the pandemic has amplified some trends that will determine the food sector this year and in the years to come. An analysis.
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For the third year in a row, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé have been declared the largest plastic polluters in the world by the Break Free From Plastic movement.
Nestlé is investing almost three billion euros in the fight against global warming. The Swiss food giant focuses on regenerative agriculture and renewable energy to be completely carbon-neutral by 2050.
Nestlé takes a majority stake in Mindful Chef, a British supplier of healthy meal boxes and frozen meals. Waitrose also had an appetite for the meal supplier.
Nestlé may be winning the corona crisis. The FMCG manufacturer is raising its expectations for 2020, after reporting comparable growth of 4.9% in the past quarter.
Coffee and tea giant JDE Peet's (Douwe Egberts) wants to significantly increase the production of aluminium coffee capsules in the coming months. Partly as a result of the corona crisis, demand for such capsules is rising sharply. Competitor Nestlé (Nespresso) also announced a production increase earlier.
European Parliament is voting this week on a possible ban on terms such as 'veggie burger' and 'vegan sausages'. According to the meat industry, such terms only confuse consumers.
With the opening of a new research centre, Nestlé reinforces its ambitions to innovate even faster with sustainable dairy products and plant-based alternatives.
Now that Nestlé can no longer call its "just like real" plant-based burger Incredible, the name changes to "Sensational". The burger comes with an improved recipe.
British consumers can get their fix of Nestlé snacks, candy and coffee delivered to their doorstep, thanks to a new collaboration with Deliveroo.
A Dutch court has banned Nestlé from using the name 'Incredible Burger' for its plant-based products, as it is deemed too similar to American 'Impossible Foods'. The Swiss food giant has said it will comply with the verdict for the time being, but it will also launch an appeal.
Major retailers and FMCG giants, like Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, Danone and Nestlé, have joined forces to demand Nutri-Score is made obligatory in Europe. The simple five-level code is thought to help the fight against obesity.
The confinement due to the coronavirus in many countries led to first quarter growth for Nestlé, but Chinese sales fell and recent divestments by the food giant also had a negative impact.
Swiss food group Nestlé saw its turnover go up in 2019, with pet foot brand Purina as strongest link in the chain. Bottled water, however, is a completely different story.
Coffee brand Douwe Egberts is no longer available in many Colruyt and OKay branches, as price negotiations between the two parties continue to drag on. In order to be able to live up to its lowest price guarantee, the retailer from Halle is trying to gain maximum benefit.
General
What will 2020 bring for the retail sector? Growing tensions between retailers and their suppliers, fears EuroCommerce director-general Christian Verschueren. He hopes that the new European Commission will put a strong stop to increasing protectionism.
