Unilever chief executive officer Paul Polman changed his company's business focus from satisfying shareholders' demand for short-term profits into a strategy that puts emphasis on longer-term results. Polman said he requires marketing agencies to be "performance-driven," basing their fees and earnings on how well Unilever performs overall. Unilever's CEO also said that in marketing, a company needs to determine what the brand stands for and what its message is before looking at which media — TV or digital media — to use. Polman said marketers need to exert more efforts to really know consumers and their real-life situation.

Unilever opened a Customer Insight and Innovation Center in Mumbai, India, to study how consumers shop for fast moving consumer goods. Located at Hindustan Unilever's headquarters, the research center will be used by Unilever companies to have an insight into how consumers shop in neighborhood stores and in modern retail outlets. The research center will use virtual reality to determine which features or parts of a retail store attract consumers' attention.

With snack food sales essentially stagnant in the U.S. for the past two years, manufacturers are marketing their products -- some with slightly different formulas -- overseas. The timing is right, because busy people in developing countries like China and India are acquiring a taste for “on-the-go” American snacks. But there's a slight problem with the strategy: the flavors of snacks like Oreos and Lay’s potato chips have had to be tweaked to suit regional tastes. For example, Kraft fiddled with the Oreo recipe when it learned that the Chinese don't like treats as big or as sweet as Americans do. The result is an Oreo cookie that is a little smaller and a bit less sweet.

Unilever Zimbabwe said it will comply with the country's indigenization and local empowerment law, becoming one of the manufacturers to do so since 2007 when the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was passed by the national legislature. The law requires all foreign-owned companies with business operations in Zimbabwe to divest at least 51 percent of their shares to Zimbabweans. Unilever said its compliance with Zimbabwe's law is part of its global policy of following the policies and regulations of countries where it does business. 

Korean consumers' fast-changing tastes and preferences are causing multinational manufacturers of consumer packaged goods to struggle against local competitors. For example, Nestlé entered South Korea's coffee mix market in the 1980s with its Taster's Choice brand of instant coffee; the Swiss conglomerate held on to the number 2 spot for 30 years, but fell to third place in January 2012. Procter & Gamble, for its part, used to hold 50 percent of the sanitary napkin market in 1995, courtesy of its Whisper brand. It lost the number 1 ranking to local rival Yuhan Kimberly's White brand, and sank further to number 3 in 2010.

Dunkin’ Donuts is pulling out all the stops in its marketing tie-in with the soon-to-be-released film, Men in Black 3 from Sony Pictures. Dubbed “The Galaxy Now Runs on Dunkin’”, the promotional campaign includes new menu items – Black Cocoa Creme Iced Coffee, the Undercover Black Cocoa Donut, and the Chocolate Lunarmax Donut – as well as a new mobile app and a Twitter sweepstakes inspired by the movie. The campaign covers the advertising waterfront: television, radio, online, in-store point of purchase, and digital, mobile and social media.

Unilever chief operating officer Harish Manwani said his company intends to lead in market development, make the most of its capabilities, and speed up its go-to-market time in order to overcome slowdown in some emerging markets. Manwani said Unilever can sustain growth levels it recorded in the first quarter of 2012, because the company has invested in enhancing organizational capabilities and innovations. Also, domestic consumption in emerging markets, which accounted for 56 percent of Unilever's €46.5 billion turnover in the first quarter, is large enough to compensate for slowdown in some of the markets.

Consumer packaged goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble is among the top 5 companies in terms of leadership and innovation, according to the Best Companies for Leadership Study and Top 20 list released by management consulting firm Hay Group. Topped by General Electric, the list recognizes the best companies in creating workplaces and processes that promote innovation, with all of the Top 20 companies indicating that their managers often highlight innovation, while only 49 percent of other companies do. Also, 90 percent of the Top 20 companies said employees with innovative ideas can bypass the chain of command.

Manufacturers of consumer products are reviving and updating their old brands to upgrade them into the 21^st century. Procter & Gamble transformed Pepto-Bismol from a bulky bottled product into the portable Pepto-Bismol To-Go; Oral-B launched the Oral-B Glide 3D White Floss Pick floss sticks with tooth whitening feature; Planters unveiled its Planters NUT-rition Men's Health Recommended Mix mixed nuts snack; and Kraft re-launched the Wheat Thins crackers as salty snacks that come in various flavors.

Unilever released its first-year progress report regarding its Sustainable Living Plan objectives. The report shows that sustainably sourced agricultural materials increased from 14 percent in 2010 to 24 percent in 2011, with its two major raw materials leading the way — 64 percent of palm oil and 60 percent of paper and board coming from sustainable sources. Also, Unilever's most popular spreads now have less than one-third saturated fat, while renewable energy accounts for 20 percent of the company's total energy consumption. Unilever, however, was less successful with targets that involve consumer behavior change.

Health-conscious consumers have not missed the news that cereal brand Kashi, which is marketed as all-natural and healthy, actually contains genetically modified soy. And some samples tested positive for carcinogenic pesticides. Some natural foods stores have removed Kashi products from their shelves, and Kashi’s Facebook page has been bombarded with criticism and comments from angry and disappointed consumers. Kashi said it is working with the North America’s Non-GMO Project to get more of its products – currently there are seven – certified as non-GMO.

Online grocery retailers, such as Bigbasket.com and Mygrahak.com, are using technology to expand their business and their shares of India's food and grocery market estimated to be $343 billion in value. Online retailers use supply-chain management technology that allows online consumers to purchase items using "multiple channels;" they also use applications that allow them to forecast customer behavior, which lets them maintain low inventory levels and cut operating costs.

Cargill and Horizon Milling will display some healthier food prototypes at a Canadian Bakery Showcase in the first week of May in Toronto. Company representatives will also be on hand to discuss the wheat market and “solutions available to manage commodity driven risk”. Prototype foods on display will include: a lower sodium chocolate cookie made with the SaltWise sodium reduction system, a breakfast cookie made with Iliggo-Fiber inulin fiber, and a shelf stable vanilla cookie made with an omega-3 shortening. Products with cleaner labels will also be featured, including unfrosted layer cakes made with a cake base that used no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

Food writer Joy Manning reports that baking crackers at home is not only easy, it saves money and is a feel-good project that will impress friends. But the article, based on interviews with cookbook author Alana Chernila, also uncovers a deeper trend: making homemade versions of familiar commercial snacks, such as Wheat Thins and Cheez-its. She began baking her snacks as a way to economize, but found her family liked her versions better and they had several advantages: no artificial coloring, preservatives, or high-fructose corn syrup. She also makes yogurt with real fruit and serves it up in reusable glass jars.

The U.K. makers of Weetabix breakfast cereals have learned over the years to adapt their marketing strategies to meet the conditions of individual countries and cultures. In Kenya, for example – where Wheetabix has a lock on 70 percent of the cereals market – the company employs a bicycle riding sales force that delivers small packets of two palm-sized biscuits to little shops in the countryside. In Mexico, shoppers are more likely to buy large boxes containing 48 biscuits. Because many cultures are unfamiliar with cereal-and-milk in a bowl breakfast, the strategy for entering a new market involves consumer education: what the brand stands for and how to consume it.

Baking writer Annie Overboe decided to test whether a fiber-rich whole wheat flour would work well in a baked dessert. Her experiments with King Arthur unbleached white whole wheat flour – milled from white wheat kernels and available to home bakers – proved to be a success. Substituting white whole wheat for half of the all-purpose flour in the recipe, she baked ripe banana cake and shared it with friends. No one detected the  whole wheat flour in the dessert, which was served without frosting, glaze or sugar dusting. Her conclusion? “Whole wheat flour is not just for bread anymore.”

Regional tastes and preferences are a major consideration in fast food marketing, especially when it comes to breakfasts. McDonalds, for example, discovered that New Englanders aren’t as interested in sausage-and-egg sandwiches for breakfast as they are in simple bakery items. According to a Boston region marketing manager, the company’s breakfast menus in New England, which extends westward to Albany, N.Y., uniquely feature five all-natural bakery items. Usually packaged with a choice of specialty coffees, they are blueberry muffins,  banana bread, multigrain berry muffins, cheese croissants, and vanilla scones.

Food industry analysts IGD report that the Chinese grocery sector is now the world leader at $970 billion, pushing the U.S. market ($913.5 billion) into the No. 2 spot for the first time. The grocery spending gap is likely to widen even more by 2015. The growth will occur despite a significant slowdown in China’s economy as the country’s diet moves beyond rice and pork to include dairy products, wheat, grains, and white and red meats. Increased demand for these products in China has led to price hikes around the globe. IGD also expects that Brazil, Russia, India, and China (the BRIC countries) will comprise four of the top five grocery markets in the world by 2015.

PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk's reported a 19-percent rise in sales from Rp 19.69 trillion in 2010 to Rp 23.47 trillion in 2011, and a 25-percent jump in exports from Rp 825.75 billion to Rp 1.04 trillion during the same period. Unilever is forecast to have similar growth rates for next year unless the government increased fuel prices, a market analyst said. The rise boosted net profits by 23 percent. 

Cargill’s Truvia brand has launched a low-calorie stevia/sugar blend for use in baking. According to the company, Truvia Baking Blend bakes and browns like sugar, but has 75 percent fewer calories per serving than sugar. For baking recipes, sugar amounts can be replaced with half as much Truvia. A 1.5 pound, $6.99 bag of Truvia Baking Blend has the equivalent sweetness of three pounds of sugar (about seven cups). Half a cup of Truvia Baking Blend has 190 calories and provides the same sweetness as a cup of sugar with 760 calories.

Murray Lender’s major innovation in bagel baking – slicing, freezing and shipping nationally – was kept a secret for two years in his native New Haven, Conn., Jewish community “until an accidental delivery of frozen bagels exposed them.” Though the jig was up, Lender, who died in March, was onto a good thing: a way to smooth out the peaks and valleys of bagel demand (and supply) while putting his product – albeit a mediocre one – on the shelves of American supermarkets. As food writer Matthew Yglesias notes, it was only a matter of time before new customers discovered the convenience of frozen bagels “and the bagel became a nationally available foodstuff.” Unfortunately, he says, the bagels available so conveniently in supermarkets are “much too big and lacking the textural contrast produced by poaching the dough before baking.”

Bakery and nutraceutical products maker FACT Corporation says its new line of ready-to-eat brownies, cookies and muffins – based on the concept that nutrition leads to wellness – is “well-timed to fit market demand”. Recent product introduction meetings with major retailers “achieved positive results:” feedback led to some minor changes in the positioning, packaging and marketing support of the Nutrition First line of baked goods, expected to hit store shelves this fall. Bakery and snack channels in the U.S. have been growing steadily year over year, the company notes. Sales of packaged breads and sweet baked goods should reach $20.1 billion by 2014.

Kraft Foods is preparing to consolidate its far-flung snack product lines into a single – and separate – unit to be called Mondelez International. Mondelez – pronounced mohn-dah-LEEZ – will gather together products like Oreo cookies, Cadbury chocolate and Trident gum under one roof by the end of 2012. According to Kraft, the name, a neologism derived from Latin and other languages, is supposed to evoke the concept of a “delicious world.” The new unit is expected to have annual sales of $32 billion, 80 percent from beyond N. America.

Unilever launched a Web site designed to solicit and evaluate innovation ideas from interested parties outside the company. A move that follows similar steps by competitors, such as Procter & Gamble Co., the online forum will focus on ideas promoting sustainability and will target participants from universities, engineering and design firms, and environmental protection organizations worldwide.

The French cookie known as the macaron, made from almond powder and egg whites and available in a variety of flavors and colors, is attracting increasing attention in cities around the world, thanks to the enthusiasm of pastry chefs. The macaron was invented in France at the tea house Ladurée 150 years ago. Pastry chef Pierre Hermé declared March 20 Macaron Day seven years ago, and the cookie’s popularity has grown ever since. In fact, “some pundits and foodie gourmands [are] calling the macaron ‘the next cupcake.’”

An oat-based nutritional beverage developed by Finnish émigrés and unveiled a year ago in the U.S. was recognized by the National Restaurant Association for its innovative all-natural  ingredient profile. Simpli OatShake offers “a perfect alternative to soy, rice, and dairy products,” the company says, because it contains no dairy, eggs, wheat, nuts, soy or artificial ingredients, is vegan-certified and free of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). The product -- available in three flavors: coffee, chocolate and tropical fruit – contains no added colors, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup. Simpli is marketing the creamy shakes as nondairy alternatives to sugary drinks, especially for children.

The Ethisphere Institute released the list of business enterprises included in the 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies, which recognizes corporations for going beyond promotion of corporate ethics and helping create future ethical standards by beginning best practices at present. The list comprises 145 companies coming from more than three dozen industries ranging from aerospace to wind energy, with 43 winners based outside the United States.

Hindustan Unilever reduced its manufacturing-related carbon emissions in India by installing biomass boilers at several factories in the country. The company installed its first biomass boilers in 2008 when it redesigned the oil-fired boilers at its Chiplun and Puducherry factories, and in 2011 it put in place high-tech biomass boilers, which use coffee waste and factory wastes as fuel, at the Goa, Mysore, and Nashik factories.

A baker in California claims that his Chocolate Chip Nookie cookie contains an ingredient that increases sexual “vitality” in men and women. The “active” ingredient is a root called maca, which is considered Peru’s all-natural Viagra because it boosts strength, energy, stamina, libido, and sexual function. The innovative functional cookie was recently exhibited at the Natural Products Expo West, along with baker Akiva Resnikoff’s brain-boosting and hangover relief cookies.

Noting the importance of a healthy breakfast – cereal and milk, for example – Kellogg recently partnered with the Action for Healthy Kids, as well as Hilton, Marriott and Sysco, to provide a million breakfasts to needy kids across the U.S. during the 2012-2013 school year. The program includes a grassroots social media marketing effort to enlist the support of Americans. People are encouraged to “Share Your Breakfast” by posting a description of their breakfast on Kellogg’s Facebook or Twitter pages. People who bought a LivingSocial Family Deal during National Breakfast Week received a free breakfast on Kellogg, which also donated a free breakfast to a needy child. Some Kellogg products also featured $5-off-breakfast coupons.

Nestlé announced it has replaced all artificial ingredients in its U.K. confectionery line with natural ingredients, including carrot, hibiscus, radish and lemon. The company is the first in the U.K. to accomplish this, noting that the move represents a “significant milestone” and a “responsible approach” to serving consumers. Nestlé said the changes were made in response to consumer demand in the U.K., where three-fourths of  confectionery buyers reportedly shop for products that contain no artificial additives.

General Mills is beefing up its investment in the natural and organic foods segment with the acquisition of tortilla and kettle chips maker Food Should Taste Good. The company cites market stats showing that the natural and organic salty snacks market has seen double-digit sales growth in the past two years, outpacing growth in the general salty snacks market. The company’s natural and organic products unit, Small Planet Foods, which sells, snacks, fruit bars and pasta sauce, experienced a 17 percent increase in sales in the quarter ending last November. Six-year-old Food Should Taste Good will become part of that unit.

Unilever widened the reach of its Vivemejor Web site and magazine for Latino consumers by adding presence on social media sites Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to boost the level of engagement. Created in 2007 as part of Unilever's efforts to reach out and connect with the Hispanic community, Vivemejor's expanded online presence seeks to promote "online conversation" with Latina consumers, create "exclusive content," and share information online and offline.

Consumer watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest is threatening to sue multi-level marketer Amway unless it stops making allegedly “unsubstantiated nutrition and health” claims on its Nutrilite Twist Tube liquid dietary supplements. According to CSPI, Amway’s “fruits & vegetables 2GO Twist Tubes” illegally claim to provide two servings of vegetables. And its Nutrilite Immunity Twist Tubes illegally claim to be an “immune system booster” that “will protect your cells.” CSPI says it will sue Amway – which is “sending a horrible health message to American consumers” – unless it stops advertising the health and nutrition claims.

Unilever Zimbabwe launched a marketing campaign aimed at small retail stores as the company seeks to increase the number of stores it supplies from the current 1,200 to 2,400 by the end of 2012. Unilever is recovering from the adverse impact of hyperinflation, as the company and other global manufacturers continue to focus on Africa and other emerging markets to grow their business and revenue.

Tesco and Unilever recently announced initiatives seeking to protect rainforests and reinforce sustainability of supply chains worldwide. Tesco partnered with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to raise more than £1 million for rainforest protection projects, while Unilever pledge to source 100 percent of cocoa for its Magnum ice cream brand from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms by 2015.

Fast-moving consumer goods companies Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble are downsizing their traditional marketing costs and workforce and are expanding their online marketing efforts. Successes with social media marketing, such as P&G's Facebook campaign that helped increase sales by 9 percent for its Secret deodorant brand, encourage marketers to adopt digital marketing.

Unilever vice president for sustainability Karen Hamilton said her company is putting a lot of emphasis on sustainability as it seeks to double its 2009 €39.8 billion revenue to €80 billion.  In addition to using sustainable ingredients Unilever is seeing new product opportunities, such as its Pureit in-home water purifier and hygiene education programs for consumers in developing countries, both of which target the growing ranks of middle-class consumers worldwide.