Masters 2015
TheConsumer
Transaction
News
As in golf, you make
your bet on the first tee.
BizBuzz
News That Makes Teeth Whiter, Clothes Brighter, and Life Just Plain Better
■
Brazilian PE firm 3G is buying Kraft to
merge it with Heinz. The $36 billion deal
creates the #5 food company globally.
■
■
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Smucker is buying Big Heart Pet Brands, the
pet business that was part of Del Monte, in
a $3 billion deal. The sellers are KKR, Vestar
and Centerview.
■
Post Holdings acquired MOM Brands, the
makers of Malt-O-Meal. The price to
combine the #3 and #4 cereal companies
was over $1 billion.
■
Hershey is acquiring Krave, a tiny but fastgrowing jerky maker. The candy company
wants to extend into savory snacking.
The Consumer Biz Buzz
is written and published by
Dave Hardie of
Herbert Mines Associates
Executive Search Consultants
www.herbertmines.com
© 2015 Herbert Mines Associates
■
Mondelez is buying Enjoy Life Foods, a
$40 million maker of allergen-free products.
Most food companies are desperate to play
in faster-growing segments.
■
Hain Celestial paid $58 million for the
other 80% of Empire Kosher Poultry. They
bought part of the company in 2010.
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212 652-0336
dhardie@herbertmines.com
Diamond Foods bought 51% of Yellow
Chips, a maker of vegetable chips in the
Netherlands. Their brand is Go Pure.
SC Johnson bought Czech-based
HomeBrands from Unilever. They sell pest
control, home cleaning and air care brands.
■
Meanwhile, SCJ also bought Deb Group
from Charterhouse Capital Partners, a PE firm.
The UK-based company makes skincare
and hand cleaning products.
■
McCormick is paying $92 million for
Drogheria & Alimentari, an Italian maker
of spice grinders, sauces, and vinegars.
■
A-B InBev is buying Elysian Brewing, their
fourth craft beer investment in five years.
Ironically, one brand uses the tagline:
“Corporate beer still sucks.”
■
Hillerich & Bradsby sold the iconic
Louisville Slugger brand for $70 million
to Wilson Sports, which is owned by Amer.
■
T. Marzetti Company is buying Flatout for
Meanwhile, Hain Celestial also bought
Belvedere International. The $25 million
$92 million. The flatbread company was
owned by North Castle Partners.
Canadian company makes branded and
private label health and beauty products.
■
Bacardi bought Angel’s Share Brands,
making fast-growing Angel’s Envy bourbon
the rum company’s first American whiskey.
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Transaction
News
Continued.
■ Helen of Troy bought Vicks VapoSteam, a
$10 million liquid inhalant, from P&G.
The company already licenses the Vicks
name for humidifiers and other products.
■
■
You may have seen the “For Sale” signs:
beer expands the company’s presence in
the world’s fastest-growing beer market.
■ Mondelez proposed selling Carte Noir
coffee. It may pave the way to merge their
coffee business with DE Master Blenders.
Molson Coors is buying Mount Shivalik
Breweries of India. Adding Thunderbolt
■
A subsidiary of Scotts Miracle-Gro bought
General Hydroponics and Bio-Organic
Solutions, makers of products popular with
indoor marijuana growers. Or so we’re told.
In the world of private equity buyers:
■
Teachers’ Private Capital bought the
stake in Shearer’s Snacks that Wind Point
Partners owned. It was a good outcome
for all involved.
■
Brynwood Partners paid $55 million for
American Beverage, the $125 million maker
of Little Hug fruit drinks. The business will
be combined with Juicy Juice.
■
Goldman Sachs is reportedly working
with Swander Pace Capital to sell Applegate
Farms, a leading organic and all-natural
meat company. Hormel is a rumored suitor.
■
General Mills reportedly wants to sell
their iconic Green Giant frozen and canned
vegetable business.
■
Procter & Gamble reportedly wants to sell
or spin off some beauty brands.
Meanwhile, Wind Point Partners bought
Gehl Foods, a maker of shelf-stable dairy
products for retail and foodservice.
Courtrooms and
Bureaucracy
Golfers gotta golf.
Lawyers gotta law.
■ An appeals court agreed
that POM Wonderful
made some deceptive
ad claims. Apparently
they lack proof the
drink protects
against heart disease,
prostate cancer, and even
erectile dysfunction.
■
A specialty food distributor
settled with Hershey, agreeing
not to import Cadbury chocolate
products made overseas.
■ British lawmakers passed a bill that would
require plain packaging for cigarettes, with
brand names in a standardized font.
■
Sources say the FTC will oppose the
$27 billion acquisition of Lorillard by
Reynolds American … or seek some
divestitures. The Feds have antitrust
concerns.
■
Chinese authorities fined P&G
nearly $1 million after deciding a
Crest ad was deceptive. Digital
effects may have been used to make teeth
look whiter.
■ Meanwhile, P&G agreed to change the
“50% longer lasting” claim on Duracell
packages. Energizer had complained.
(P&G’s legal group was way stricter
back in the day.)
■
Kraft and Mondelez have been accused
of manipulating wheat markets in 2011.
It looked like smart commodity hedging
to us, but we’re just headhunters.
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People News
Time to update your
leaderboard.
CEOs
■ Sean Connolly is joining ConAgra as CEO.
He was at Hillshire Brands and Campbell Soup.
■
Cees ‘t Hart will join Carlsberg as CEO. He
has run a big Dutch dairy company, and he
was at Unilever for 25 years.
■
Santosh Padki joined Bare Snacks as CEO.
His prior roles include Ruiz Foods.
■
Eric Eddings joined Oregon Ice Cream as
CEO. He was at Sahale Snacks, Monterey
Gourmet, Dreyer’s Grand, and Häagen-Dazs.
■
Nick Meriggioli is joining Johnsonville
Sausage as the first non-family CEO.
He ran Oscar Mayer at Kraft.
■
Brian Hansberry joined Nonni’s Foods as
CEO. He was at Wrigley, Heinz, and P&G.
■
Frank Higgins joined Noosa Yoghurt as CEO.
He was at Nestlé for nearly 30 years.
■
Andy Deister joined Robert Rothschild Farm,
a specialty food maker, as CEO. He was at
Evenflo, Abbott Labs, and P&G.
■
David Sugarman joined Manischewitz as
CEO. He was at Allan Candy, Sabra Dipping,
and Billy Bee Honey.
■ Tom Hernquist joined Oberto Sausage as
CEO. He was at Nice-Pak, Hershey, Beam,
Nabisco, and Frito-Lay.
■
Eric Beringause joined Gehl Foods as CEO.
He was at Advanced Refreshment, Sturm Foods,
and Alcoa Products.
■
Mike Osanloo joined P.F. Chang’s as CEO.
He was at Kraft most recently.
■ David Taylor will join Imperial Tobacco as
CEO of their US business. He is currently
the CFO at Lorillard.
A couple of moves failed to utilize a
highly-skilled executive recruiter.
Or our competitors:
■
When Energizer splits into two companies,
David Hatfield will be CEO of Edgewell
(personal care) and Alan Hoskins will be
CEO of Energizer (household products).
They run those business units now.
■
Spectrum Brands named Andreas Rouve as
CEO. He was the COO, and he succeeds
the retiring Dave Lumley.
■
Mattel named Chris Sinclair as CEO. He
has been a board member for 19 years, and
he was at PepsiCo years ago.
■
Colin Watts joined Vitamin Shoppe as
CEO. We care because of his work at
Campbell Soup, J&J, and Nabisco.
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People News
Continued.
Presidents and GMs
■ Roberto Marques joined Mondelez as
president of North America. He was at J&J.
■ Bud Grandsaert is joining SnackHealthy,
a maker of healthy snacks and beverages,
as president. His CPG credentials include
P&G, John Morrell, and Gallo.
■
Brian Wynne joined NBTY as president of
the Americas. He was at Coca-Cola.
■ David Klavsons joined Glanbia Performance
Nutrition as president of North America.
He was at Hess, Kraft, Nabisco, and Frito-Lay.
■
Jay Gould joined Interface, a carpet
company, as COO. He was at American
Standard, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepperidge
Farm, and Coca-Cola.
■ Mark Beaton joined Reed’s, the natural
soda company, as COO. He was most
recently at Dr Pepper Snapple.
■
Leah Bailey is joining Helen of Troy as
president of personal care. She was at
Paris Presents and Alberto-Culver.
■
Joe Ennen joined Columbus Foods as
president and CEO successor. He was at
Safeway, Frito-Lay, ConAgra, and Kellogg.
■
Issy Perez joined Britvic, the UK-based
beverage company, as president of the
Americas. He was at one of the big search
firms, preceded by Nabisco and Frito-Lay.
■
Todd Harman joined Performance Sports
Group as EVP of Easton baseball and softball.
He was at Cleveland Golf.
Other moves failed to support the vital
headhunter sector of our economy:
■
P&G named David Taylor to run their global
beauty business, in addition to health and
grooming. Some say it puts him in the lead
to succeed A.G. Lafley as CEO.
■ Brown-Forman named Mark McCallum as
president of Jack Daniel’s Brands. He was
running Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific.
He succeeds John Hayes, who becomes the
CMO of everything except Jack Daniel’s.
■ Kraft Foods named George Zoghbi as
COO and Chris Kempczinski as president
of international. Just in time for the merger
with Heinz.
■
Snyder’s-Lance named Peter Michaud as
GM of Clearview Foods, their new
division focused on healthy snacking.
■ TreeHouse Foods named Chris Sliva as
COO. He ran their Bay Valley Foods unit.
■
J.M. Smucker named Mark Smucker as
president of consumer and natural foods.
Steve Oakland will be president of coffee and
foodservice. Barry Dunaway will be president
of international, as well as CAO.
■
Brown-Forman named Campbell Brown as
president of Old Forester. He is the great
great great grandson of B-F’s founder.
■ Altria named Howard Williard as COO,
with William Gifford succeeding him as
CFO. The moves were triggered by
Dave Beran’s retirement after 38 years.
■
Campbell Soup organized around products
rather than geography. Mark Alexander is
president of simple meals and beverages,
Luca Mignini is president of global biscuits
and snacks, and Jeff Dunn is president of
packaged fresh products.
■ Mattel named Richard Dickson as president
and COO. He was the chief brands officer.
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People News
■ Richard Cachion joined Hostess as VP of
sales for grocery. He was at Weetabix,
Richelieu Foods, Post, and Kraft.
Sales and Marketing
■
Continued.
Bill Newlands joined Constellation Brands as
chief growth officer, focused on corporate
strategy and innovation. He was at Beam,
Allied Domecq, and E&J Gallo.
■
Michael Fox joined Columbus Foods as SVP
of marketing and innovation. He was at
Safeway and Frito-Lay.
■
Ryan Wilson is joining Henkel as SVP
of sales. He was at J&J.
■
■
Marc Mathieu is joining Samsung to
run US marketing. He was at Unilever
and Coca-Cola.
Bob Corscadden joined Kellogg as VP
of marketing and innovation for specialty
channels, especially foodservice. He was at
Tyson for two stints.
■
Benjy Karsch joined Revlon as CMO. He
was at Cigna, Las Vegas Sands, McKinsey,
J&J, Kraft, and P&G.
■
Eugenio Perrier joined Sabra Dipping
Company as CMO. He was at Barilla.
Yada yada about promotions from within:
■ Lisa Mann joined Kind, the healthy snacks
company, as EVP of marketing. She was at
Mondelez and Kraft.
■
■
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has been there eight years, with earlier roles
at Red Bull, Pepsi Bottling Group, and P&G.
Mark Baynes joined Keurig Green Mountain
as CMO. He was at Kellogg.
Mondelez named Valerie Oswalt as president
of US sales. She succeeds the retiring Don
Quigley.
■
Bill Simon joined McCormick as VP of
US sales. Most of his career was at Heinz.
Other Functions
■
Jim Scully is joining Avon as CFO. He was
at J. Crew and Saks.
■
Maria Henry is joining Kimberly-Clark as
CFO. Most recently she had a similar role
at Hillshire Brands.
■
■
General Mills named Ann Simonds as CMO.
She succeeds Mark Addicks, who is retiring.
■ Wendy Watkins is joining Hormel as VP
of corporate communications. She was
at Delaware North and Marriott.
■
Bo Manly retired as chief synergy officer at
Smithfield Foods. (We usually don’t mention
retirements, but we love his name.)
Enough with the internal moves!
Patricia Little joined Hershey as CFO.
She was at Kelly Services and Ford.
■
■ Thomas Crimmins is joining B&G Foods as
CFO. He was at defense contractor DRS
Technologies, preceded by PwC.
■
■ Marc Kesselman joined Dean Foods as
general counsel. He was at PepsiCo.
■
Bacardi named Dmitry Ivanov as CMO. He
Nneka Rimmer joined McCormick as SVP
of corporate strategy and development.
She was at BCG.
Tyson named Mary Oleksiuk as chief HR
officer. She was at Hillshire Brands, the
company they acquired.
Newell Rubbermaid named John Stipancich
as CFO. He has been at the company for
a decade.
■ Mondelez named Rob Hargrove as EVP of
research, development, and quality. He
succeeds the retiring Jean Spence.
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People News
Other Functions
■ James Kehoe is rejoining Kraft Foods as
CFO. Before being CFO of Gildan
Activewear, he was at Kraft (and its
predecessor companies) for 25 years.
continued
■ Coca-Cola named Ed Hays as chief technical
and innovation officer. He has been at the
company since 1985.
Continued.
■
■
Ron Lewis is rejoining Coca-Cola Enterprises
as SVP of supply chain. Most recently he
was at Coca-Cola.
Campbell Soup named Ed Carolan as SVP of
integrated global services. He was president
of US retail.
■
Board of Directors
Elane Stock joined the Yum! Brands board.
She is the group president of international
at Kimberly-Clark.
■ Bill Johnson joined PepsiCo’s board. The
move appeases activist investor Nelson Peltz,
but Johnson has good CPG bona fides as
the former CEO of Heinz.
■ Dave West will join J.M. Smucker’s board.
As mentioned earlier, they are acquiring his
company, Big Heart Pet Brands.
■
Meanwhile, Richard Fisher also joined
PepsiCo’s board. He was president of the
■
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Frank Blake joined P&G’s board. He was
the CEO of Home Depot.
■
In yet another addition, Bob Pohlad joined
PepsiCo’s board. He is now an investor, but
he ran what was then the #2 Pepsi bottler.
■
■ Franck Moison is joining the Hanesbrands
board. He is the COO of emerging markets
at Colgate-Palmolive.
■
■
Michael Sherman joined Mead Johnson’s
board. He is the COO and CFO of
Endocyte, a biopharmaceutical company.
Joseph Steinberg is joining the Spectrum
Brands board. He is chairman of Harbinger
Group, the PE firm that owns 58% of
Spectrum’s stock.
Bob Gamgort joined the board of Wayfair,
an e-tailer of home furnishings and décor.
He is the CEO of Pinnacle Foods.
■ J.P. Bilbrey is joining Colgate-Palmolive’s
board. He is the CEO of Hershey.
■
■
Antonio Carrillo joined Dr Pepper Snapple’s
board. He is the CEO of a chemical
company based in Mexico.
Craig Steeneck joined Freshpet’s board.
He is the CFO of Pinnacle Foods.
■ John Bryant joined the Macy’s board.
He is the CEO of Kellogg.
Obituaries
■ Melvin Gordon died at 95, having been the
CEO of Tootsie Roll for over 50 years. His
wife, Ellen Gordon, will run the company.
■ Michele Ferrero died at 89. He invented
Nutella in 1964, becoming a billionaire and
the richest man in Italy.
■
Lowell Paxon died at 79. He started what
is now HSN, a $2 billion shopping channel
for a variety of products.
■ Ike Heller died at 88. He founded Remco,
one of the biggest toy companies in the
1960s. The company name emphasized
remote control toys like the Whirlybird
helicopter.
■
Don Keough died at 88. He was an icon at
Coca-Cola, serving as the #2 executive until
■ Rudy Perez died at 89. He was
the Leo Burnett copywriter who
created the Pillsbury Doughboy
character 50 years ago.
he retired in 1993 … and remaining a
board member until 2014.
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People News
Obituaries
■
Continued.
Marketing &
Strategy
Masters broadcasts have only
four minutes of commercials
each hour. That’s cool.
continued
Gary Dahl died at 78. He
invented the Pet Rock, a craze
in the 1970s. We love that
they were shipped in
boxes with air holes.
■ Nestlé will remove artificial colors and
flavors from their US chocolate products
this year. Butterfinger and Crunch are
key brands.
■ A-B InBev is launching Bud Light Mixx Tail
in three malt-based flavors. It’s an attempt
to cash in on the popularity of cocktails.
■
Coca-Cola added three more to their list of
brands with $1 billion in annual retail sales.
Gold Peak tea, Fuze tea, and I Lohas water
bring the company’s total list to 20 brands.
■
Stan Freberg died at 88. He was among
the first to bring humor to commercials,
earning 21 Clios along the way. A classic ad
said Chun King Chow Mein was “preferred
by nine out of 10 doctors.” The camera
then panned across the doctors … nine
Asian and one Caucasian.
■
As a category, spirits grew 4% in 2014.
Whiskey and bourbon led the way.
■
Diageo will be the first to put nutritional
labels on spirits. Spoiler alert: they are not
very nutritional.
■
Kraft is no longer partnering with the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Putting the group’s “Kids Eat Right” logo
on Kraft Singles drew a lot of criticism.
■ If you’re keeping track, soda sales declined
1% in 2014 for the 10th straight losing year.
Free Thoughts
Basically, nothing very funny
has happened so far this year.
Pepsi overtook Diet Coke as the #2 brand,
with Coke staying as the clear #1.
■
■
■
NAFE, the National Association for
Female Executives, named the top companies for executive women. CPG honorees,
in alphabetical order: Avon, Colgate, Diageo,
General Mills, J&J, Kellogg, Kraft, L’Oreal, and
P&G.
■ Ethisphere Institute named the world’s
most ethical companies. Alphabetically, you
can trust CPG companies such as Colgate,
Hasbro, Henkel, Hershey, Kao, Kellogg, L’Oreal,
Mattel and Pepsico.
■ Fortune named the world’s most admired
companies. In order, the CPG honorees are
Coca-Cola, J&J, P&G, Nestlé, Unilever, and
PepsiCo.
■
We were reminded recently that a hyphen
makes a world of difference. For instance,
would you rather resign or re-sign?
Amway passed Avon as the #1 direct sales
company globally. Mary Kay is #1 in the US.
Energizer named the $2.6 billion personal
care company to be spun off this year. It
will be called Edgewell Personal Care,
featuring brands such as Schick, Edge,
Stayfree, and Banana Boat. The remaining
$1.8 billion business (Energizer, Eveready,
etc.) will keep the Energizer Holdings name.
■
AB InBev reports that 30 million people have
IDs checked each day to confirm they are of
legal drinking age. We are all for that, but
it gets a little tedious when you’re clearly 57
and at the grocery checkout.
■
We are glad our searches aren’t like the
ones for football or basketball coaches. Can
you imagine if every candidate’s name was
reported in the media?
■
April 7 was National Beer Day. We hope
you observed with the proper reverence.
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Quarterly
Earnings
Generally the strong dollar hurt,
and growth forecasts
are cautious.
Company
Altria
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Avon
B&G Foods
Big Heart Pet Brands
Boston Beer
Boulder Brands
Brown-Forman
Campbell Soup
Church & Dwight
Clorox
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola Enterprises
Colgate-Palmolive
ConAgra
Dean Foods
Diamond Foods
Dr Pepper Snapple
Energizer
Flowers Foods
Freshpet
General Mills
Hain Celestial
Hasbro
Hershey
Hormel
Jakks Pacific
Kellogg
Keurig Green Mountain
Kimberly-Clark
Kraft
Lorillard
Mattel
McCormick
Mead Johnson
MillerCoors
Molson Coors
Mondelez
Monster Beverage
Nestlé (12 mos.)
Newell Rubbermaid
PepsiCo
Phillip Morris
Pilgrim’s Pride
Pinnacle Foods
Post Holdings
Prestige Brands
Procter & Gamble
Revlon
Reynolds American
Scotts Miracle-Gro
Smucker
Snyder’s-Lance
Spectrum Brands
TreeHouse Foods
Tyson
WhiteWave
Earnings
Sales
Doubled
Flat
$331M los s
- 39%
- 4%
+ 6%
- 63%
+ 5%
- 36%
+ 16%
+ 9%
- 55%
- 17%
+ 11%
$954M loss
$5M prof
$11M prof
- 4%
- 3%
- 27%
$16M loss
- 16%
+ 26%
+ 31%
+ 19%
+ 12%
$3M prof
$293M loss
- 3%
$83M loss
$400M loss
+ 16%
- 59%
- 15%
+ 4%
- 10%
- 31%
- 72%
+ 65%
+ 45%
- 56%
- 25%
- 19%
+ 17%
- 35%
$102M loss
+++
- 31%
$3M profit
- 49%
$106M loss
- 3%
+ 14%
- 8%
+ 49%
+ 14%
+ 67%
+ 5%
+ 3%
- 12%
+ 13%
+ 3%
+ 6%
+ 2%
+ 1%
- 2%
+ 5%
+ 3%
- 2%
- 5%
- 3%
- 2%
+ 4%
+ 4%
+ 3%
- 7%
+ 4%
+ 38%
- 1%
+ 30%
+ 1%
+ 3%
+ 7%
+ 84%
Flat
Flat
- 1%
+ 2%
+ 1%
- 6%
+ 2%
+ 3%
- 5%
- 5%
- 7%
+ 12%
- 1%
+ 44%
- 1%
- 8%
+ 3%
- 1%
+++
+ 36%
- 4%
+ 2%
+ 5%
+ 14%
- 2%
+ 15%
- 3%
+ 37%
+ 15%
+ 34%
Comments/Explanation
Helped by higher pricing and lower interest costs.
US finally grew, but 60% of Budwiser is now overseas.
Below expectations, and projections aren’t bright.
They missed estimates, partly due to product recalls.
New items helped. They are now part of Smucker.
Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, and Angry Orchard grew.
Profit was down less dramatically without one-timers.
Hurt by exchange rates, but US growth is accelerating.
They announced a big restructuring.
Helped by new products, but profit below expectations.
Helped by volume growth and pricing; hurt by currency.
Hurt by currency and Venezuela; North America grew.
Hurt by currency, but above expectations.
Pricing and emerging markets offset currency impact.
They took a $1.3B writedown in private label business.
Below expectations. Hurt by high prices for raw milk.
Improved US sales offset UK weakness and strong dollar.
They did better than the bigger soda companies.
Hurt by restructuring costs and currency impact.
Helped by an extra week; hurt by one-timers.
They broke even without one-time charges.
US sales grew (+1%) after dropping five quarters.
Strong growth in US and UK, but cautious about the future.
A strong quarter as boys’ toys offset exchange rates.
They missed expectations and lowered forecast.
Forecast raised due to meat prices, turkey demand.
Above expectations for both revenue and profit.
Loss was caused by one-time charges.
New brewers did not sell well over the holidays.
They took a big charge for Venezuelan business.
Profit hurt by a $1.4B charge for retirement benefits.
Higher pricing offset lower cigarette volume.
Another weak quarter, prompting the CEO’s exit.
Hurt by one-time charges and strong dollar.
Sales were up much more on a constant dollar basis.
Miller Lite finally grew, but Coors Light didn’t.
Hurt by strong dollar and higher tax rates.
Apples-to-apples profit exceeded expectations.
Higher sales and lower expenses are generally good.
Helped by one-timer, but slowest growth since 2009.
Helped by investing in core businesses; hurt by one-timers.
Above estimates. Apples-to-apples earnings about flat.
Hurt by currency and declining cigarette volume.
They cut costs amid growing demand for chicken.
Earnings rose 14% on an apples-to-apples basis.
Lots of acquisitions boosted sales but hurt profit.
Without one-timers, profit grew 63%.
Currency hurt, as two-thirds of sales are international.
Helped by 2013 acquisition, but hurt by exchange rates.
Profit grew 13% without one-timers, thanks to pricing.
They always lose money in the winter.
Demand for coffee brands dropped after price increase.
A solid quarter where they gained market share.
Hurt by one-time costs and currency exchange rates.
Growth was mostly driven by acquisition.
A solid quarter where they gained market share.
Results helped by buying Earthbound and So Delicious.
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