Milling & Baking News - April 7, 2009 - 9

Business

Sara Lee considering sale of International
Household and Body Care business
Continued from Page 1

products sold under the brand names
Ambi Pur, Kiwi, Pyrel, Vapona, Biotex and Neutral. Its body care line includes products for bath and shower,
deodorants, baby care, men's toiletries
and oral care sold under the brand
names Sanex, Duschdas, Radox, Zwitsal, Brylcreem, Prodent and Zendium.
"Our household and body care
business has very strong brands, great
distribution and a talented leadership
team," said Brenda C. Barnes, chairman and chief executive officer of Sara
Lee. "In keeping with our commitment to value creation, we will carefully evaluate all opportunities and do
what is in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders."
For longer than 10 years, Sara Lee has
demonstrated a willingness to shed large
parts of its business in an effort to focus

its business and bolster profitability.
Disposals included its Douwe Egberts
Van Nelle tobacco business in 1998 and
a series of businesses
in 2000 - PYA/
Monarch,
Champion Europe, Coach,
the
International
Fabrics division of
Courtaulds and its
international bakery
businesses in France,
India, China and
the U.K.
After announcing
a major restructuring in 2005, Sara Lee
in 2006 sold its European meats and European branded
apparel businesses. That same year, it
spun off to shareholders the Branded
Apparel, Americas/Asia, business,

Campbell debuts web site soliciting
innovation ideas
CAMDEN, N.J. - The Campbell Soup
Co. has launched "Campbell's Ideas
for Innovation," a new web site that
encourages scientists, entrepreneurs
and inventors to submit their ideas for
new products, packaging innovation, product
line extensions, environmental sustainability, business processes
and marketing. The
site may be accessed at
www.campbellideas.com.
Campbell also said it
is interested in new technologies related to sodium reduction, vegetable
nutrition and healthier fats
and oils.
"Campbell has had a solid track
record for innovation in the categories in which we compete: soup
and simple meals, baked snacks

and healthy beverages," said Carl
Johnson, chief strategy officer. "We
are committed to improving our innovation results, and a key element
in this improvement requires us to
be open to ideas from
both inside and outside the company. The
Ideas for Innovation
web site is one of the
ways we are accessing
innovation from outside sources."
The web site is designed to provide an effective way for Campbell to review and evaluate unsolicited ideas by
offering people who do not
work for the company an easy way
to submit ideas. Once submitted,
Campbell said the ideas will be evaluated by a team assembled for this

Kashi launches Island Vanilla cereal
LA JOLLA, CALIF. - Kashi Co.
has expanded its Organic Promise
woven biscuit cereals line with the
launch of Island Vanilla, a wheat cereal that features real vanilla.
The cereal, which is sweetened
using evaporated cane juice crystals
that are infused with organic vanilla
extract, contains 48 grams of whole
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

grains per serving, 6 grams of fiber
and is 95% organic and U.S. Department of Agriculture Organic-certified Organic by Quality Assurance
International.
In addition to Island Vanilla, the
Organic Promise line includes Autumn Wheat and Cinnamon Harvest. MBN

into a separate, publicly-traded company called Hanesbrands Inc. With
those transactions, which generated
$3.7 billion in proceeds, Sara Lee
said it had become "tightly focused
on its core businesses - food, beverage and household
and body care."
While Sara Lee
has made numerous
acquisitions
over this period,
including the 2001
acquisition of The
Earthgrains
Co.,
the business is
markedly smaller
than in the mid1990s.
The company's
annual sales in fiscal 1997 totaled $19.7 billion. Sales
in fiscal 2008 were $13.2 billion, just
under $11 billion excluding the body
care and household business. MBN
purpose. Ideas will be reviewed and
evaluated by someone with direct
knowledge of the relevant business
or function and who will determine
whether there is an interest in pursuing the idea.
Several companies are opening up
their doors to new ideas from the
public. Minneapolis-based General
Mills, Inc. has experienced positive
response to its Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN) launched in
2007, a similar program to Campbell's venture. As part of the program, General Mills has developed
joint ventures, engaged in technology and equity licensing, sourced
finished products, and worked to
solve technical problems with experts applying concepts to further
accelerate the company's own internal innovation efforts. Several successful new products have come out
of the program, including Progresso
Light, Fiber One Chewy Bars and
Yoplait Go-Gurt Fizzix. MBN

Correction
The time of the King Milling Co.
mill tour held in conjunction with
the International Association of
Operative Millers annual conference and exposition was incorrect
in the March 24 issue of Milling &
Baking News. The tour is scheduled
for Friday, May 1, from 8:30 a.m. to
11 a.m. MBN

Milling & Baking News

April 7, 2009 / 9

http://www.campbellideas.com http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - April 7, 2009

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