Milling & Baking News - September 15, 2015 - 1

THE NEWS WEEKLY OF GRAIN-BASED FOODS
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

bakingbusiness.com / foodbusinessnews.net

WASHINGTON

Bread
Product
Perspective

Bakers seek more than
bottom-line strength

A
Regulating demand is
no easy task
Story on Page 34

LATE NEWS

Bimbo adopting
palm oil policy
HORSHAM, PA. - Grupo Bimbo
S.A.B. de C.V. has introduced a new
policy designed to build a fully traceable and responsibly sourced palm
oil supply, the company said Sept. 10.
Policy requirements include no deforestation, no development of peatland
(regardless of depth), no exploitation
of indigenous people, workers and
local communities, and traceability.
Suppliers that do not meet the standards could face loss of contracts
with Grupo Bimbo. Suppliers will be
required to achieve traceability to the
mill and to the plantation level. The
policy covers palm oil, palm kernel
oil and any palm oil derivatives used
Continued on Page 8

fter several years of industry
wide upheaval, signs of vitality
have been emerging from the nation's largest bread companies. Financial results released during 2015 so
far have indicated profitability
rebounding nicely.
For example, operating income of the U.S. and Canada
business of Grupo Bimbo S.A.B.
de C.V. in its most recent quarter, climbed 47% from the same
period in 2014. Year-to-date operating income was up a heftier
65%. Net income of Flowers
Foods, Inc. in its most recent
quarter was a record $51.8 million, up 23%, and six-month net
income was up 10%.
While top executives at both companies were cheered by the strong
bottom-line results, baking industry

executives have been rattled by continued overall weakness at the top line.
Even as profitability has improved, sales
volume of baked foods, including
bread, has been flat to weak.
Sales of fresh bread in the
52 weeks ended Aug. 9 totaled
$8,871,372,800, an impressive figure but down 0.6% from the year
before, according to data from
I.R.I. Infoscan Reviews. The
data cover sales from supermarkets, drug stores, mass market
retailers, military commissaries and certain club and dollar
stores. Bread unit volume was
3,823,356,160, down 1%.
The weakness in the bread
market was not evenly spread
across the industry. Particular pressure
was evident at B.B.U., which is broken
Continued on Page 27

Grain and Milling Management

Ardent Mills coming into its own

ays after Ardent Mills L.L.C. first
began operating in June 2014,
the company's top executives
expressed a commitment to "bringing
a new approach" to the flour milling industry.
While creating a new and distinctive
business has been a priority from the

outset, Dan Dye, chief executive officer,
recently said the words have deeper
meaning at Ardent Mills now with more
than a year's experience under management's belt.
"The first few days, it's easy to say
that," he said. "Now, a year later, we're
much further into it. We see things much
more clearly. We're still on a journey, but
we've come a long way."
In a recent interview with Milling &
Baking News, Mr. Dye and Bill Stoufer,
chief operating officer, offered their
thoughts on Ardent Mills' first year of
business and the company's and milling industry's future. The interview was
Continued on Page 36

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Milling & Baking News - September 15, 2015

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