June 16, 2004

New president for Southern Belle .... Velvet Ice Cream promotion .... More Chinese children ill from milk powder .... YoCream and Wimm-Bill-Dann financials .... Meijer chain expands Chicago presence .... Rainbow Foods leader resigns .... New stores for SuperValu unit .... FMD Manual available ....Odds-and-Ends .... Stock Market Ticker.... More news at www.idfa.org.

DAIRY BUSINESS BRIEFS

Mike Chandler is the new president of Southern Belle Dairy, Somerset, Ky. The 25-year dairy industry veteran started his career as a milk truck route driver. He joined Southern Belle in 1990 as a zone sales manager, and most recently managed both sales and operations at the company. He succeeds the retiring Martin P. Shearer (son of Ralph Shearer, who founded the operation in 1951), who will continue his career as a consultant. The dairy company processes and markets dairy products under the Southern Belle and Cumberland brands in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia. (Company report)

The second Velvet Ice Cream Co. Famous Ohio Inns Sweepstakes officially kicked off last week; entries will be accepted through Labor Day, Sept. 6. Nine randomly drawn entrants will be treated to a night's stay at one of nine Ohio inns as part of the "Nine for the 90th" promotion, which celebrates the Utica, Ohio-based company's anniversary this year. In addition to a chance to win the grand prize, entrants will receive a Velvet Ice Cream recipe booklet that was created by the chefs from the nine inns. (Company report)

A third kindergarten class in China was made ill last week by milk powder from the Guiyang City Shanhua Milk Industry Co., for a total of 150 children sickened this month by the product. Testing found that the milk powder contained staphylococcus bacteria. The tainted milk powder was made in March, but packaging carried April 1 and 2 production dates. Production has been suspended, and the company's license was revoked; a fine of $24,000 was also imposed on the company. The factory's director has been fired and the company's chairman of the board suspended. (South China Morning Post, Associated Press)

DAIRY FINANCIALS

Sales for frozen treat processor YoCream International Inc., Portland, Ore., dipped slightly in its second quarter (ending April 30) to $4.86 million, compared to nearly $5.0 million in the same quarter last year. The sales drop is attributed to discontinuation of a low-margin coffee latte pre-mixed smoothie product and the loss of a gourmet soft-serve retail account. Net income increased 21.2% to $168,200 thanks to improved gross profit margins and reduced administrative expenses. Looking ahead, the company plans to build on the recent introduction of Dannon® YoCream® Low-Carb Premium Soft Serve Frozen Yogurt with a fourth-quarter introduction of low-carb, single-serve novelty cups. In addition, YoCream is rolling out a reduced-fat ice cream via a major Midwest chain account. (Company report)

Sales for Russia's Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC jumped 24.3% to US$278.3 million for its first quarter (ending March 31), compared to sales of US$223.9 million in the first quarter of 2003. The company's gross margin fell to 26% in the first quarter from 29.3% during the same period last year. Sales increases are attributed to the company's regional expansion strategy, while margins dropped due to introductory prices for its new premium yogurt and dairy dessert lines and as a result of equipment additions and upgrades. (Company report)

CUSTOMER CLIPS

The Meijer chain expanded its presence in the Chicago metro market by adding its ninth store there in late May. In conjunction with Hormel, the Michigan-based retailer donated 300 hams to local food pantries and charities as part of the grand opening. The company now operates 159 stores, carrying a full line of grocery selections as well as general merchandise. (Chicago Daily Herald)

Rainbow Foods leader Dale Riley has resigned after one year on the job. The Minnesota-based retailer is a division of Pewaukee, Wis.-based Roundy's. Since Roundy's $121.5 million purchase of Rainbow from Fleming Cos. last June, analysts report that the company's grocery share in the Twin Cities has dropped to 14% from 16.4%. However, the company refutes the figures and states that it is satisfied with ongoing results. Riley, who served as vice president and general manager, reported that he left the company for personal reasons. (Associated Press; Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

The Save-A-Lot supermarket chain, a division of SuperValu Inc., has acquired 17 YesLess! units from California-based Grocery Outlet Inc. Located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and surrounding markets, the stores will be revamped into the Save-A-Lot format and are expected to reopen in late summer. Save-A-Lot currently operates 30 licensed locations in Texas; the limited assortment chain includes 1,225 company operated and franchise stores in 37 states. (Company report, Dallas Morning News)

IDFA NEWS

Get Prepared: Order IDFA's FMD Response Manual Today
An outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in U.S. cattle could wreak havoc on the milk supply and create distribution and public relations headaches for dairy companies within just a few days. To help companies plan ahead, IDFA has prepared a new publication to serve as an off-the-shelf crisis manual, with specific instructions on how dairy corporate headquarters, plant operations and milk haulers will be forced by state and federal government regulations to respond if FMD hits. The manual also provides guidance on what dairy companies should be doing today to soften the blow of an outbreak and includes a crisis communications section, which may be helpful in any type of plant emergency. Each manual is just $95 for members, $145 for nonmembers; volume discounts are available! To order or for more information, click here.
http://store.idfa.org/

ODDS-AND-ENDS

A new dairy processing venture has been launched at a Husdon, Iowa, family's dairy farm. Hansens Farm Fresh Dairy produces and sells gallon jugs of whole and skim milk in a creamery that the family built over a two-year period with input from state inspectors. The first gallon of pasteurized, non-homogenized milk rolled off the line on Feb. 6; the facility has a capacity of 1,400 gallons per day. A gallon sells for $3 in the on-farm store, and milk is also marketed in 13 stores, via home delivery and to various foodservice accounts. About 10% of the milk from the farm is processed on-site, with the remainder sold to Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) In addition, the business sells AMPI cheese on-farm and through its delivery business. (Associated Press) .... Philadelphia police are searching for a burglar who entered a local Dairy Queen store early Monday morning. Authorities are working from a photo of the young woman, since she was filmed by the store video camera when she paused to scoop out a helping of ice cream before leaving the premise. She also reportedly stole cash and a stereo. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

STOCK MARKET TICKER

As of 6/15/04, market close.

Company/Symbol		Last Trade		Change over Previous Close		Change over Last Week's D-brief
ConAgra Foods/CAG Dean Foods/DF Dreyer's/DRYR General Mills/GIS Groupe Danone/DA Hershey Foods/HSY Ingles Markets/IMKTA Kraft Foods/KFT Kroger/KR Ruddick Corp./RDK Safeway/SWY Saputo/SAP.TO SuperValu/SVU Unilever PLC/UL Weis Markets/WMK Wimm Bill Dann/WBD Winn-Dixie/WIN		27.49 35.55 79.00 46.30 34.83 92.03 11.08 30.74 17.23 21.08 24.00 31.60 31.95 38.67 34.15 15.26 06.41		-0.11 +0.27 +0.02 -0.53 +0.55 +0.28 -0.10 +0.02 +0.23 +0.69 +0.40 -0.20 +0.64 +0.45 +0.92 -0.15 +0.11		-0.62 -0.49 -0.11 -1.00 -0.68 -0.19 -0.01 +0.18 +0.16 -0.14 +0.98 -0.80 -0.14 -0.08 -0.12 -0.59 +0.27
Source: Yahoo! Finance

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