Single-cup coffee machines driving market these days

Have we forgotten how to make real coffee!!

 If you got one of those single-cup coffee machines for Christmas this year, you are right in style.

Between K-Cups and bean prices, retail coffee sales jumped 17 percent, to $7 billion in 2011, according to Packaged Facts, a market research firm.

There are four reasons why we are paying higher prices for coffee these days: rising prices for “green” (raw) coffee beans that have been passed along the entire distribution chain; the "premiumization" of coffee; the nation's still-growing thirst for specialty coffee beverages; and the phenomenal growth of single-serve coffee packet formats.

There was a bit of good news for consumers, even though we didn’t realize it. The Food Institute “estimates that wholesale coffee prices rose 18 percent for the first nine months of 2011, while retail prices only increased 13.5 percent because retailers did not pass along all of these higher costs to consumers,” according to Packaged Facts.

High voltage “regular” coffee makes up nearly 60 percent of the market. The single-cup style of coffee, which was hardly a blip on the market five years ago, now makes up 7.5 percent of retail coffee sales.

“Single-serve portion packs typically cost 65 cents to a dollar, making them considerably more expensive than brewing the same brand of coffee from loose grounds, but still less than buying a comparable beverage in a coffeehouse,” the research company said.

A September survey by Packaged Facts found 21 percent of households that make coffee – other than instant – at home own an electric single-cup coffeemaker (such as pods, K-Cups, or T-Discs), and 18 percent use it regularly.

This single-serve market in the U.S. is dominated by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters with its Keurig K-Cup brewing system. But others have taken note. Last year Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks launched single-cup coffee formats.

Lupin Flour Boost Nutritional Value of Muffins

A substantial improvement in nutritional value of muffins can be achieved by replacing wheat flour with lupin flour up to 30% level without any significant loss in physical measurements, textural quality and sensory values, according to a new study published in the journal Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods.

Researchers at Curtin University of Technology investigated methods to improve the nutritional value of muffins by incorporating protein- and dietary fiber-rich lupin flour. Muffins were prepared by replacing wheat flour with lupin flour at 10% to 50% levels. Sensory evaluation revealed an improvement in color with up to 30% lupin flour substitution with no significant change in taste, flavor, texture and overall acceptability. Storage period caused substantial changes in the texture of muffins. With moisture content remained unchanged, there was an increase in hardness and a decrease in springiness of all samples including the control.

A previous study published in International Journal of Obesity also found individuals who consume lupin-enriched foods may significantly reduce their risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Starbucks to Raise Prices. WHY!!

Starbucks Corp. is raising brewed-coffee prices in some regions to offset its higher costs.

The Seattle chain said Tuesday it is raising prices an average of about 1% in the Northeast and Sunbelt regions, including such cities as Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas and Albuquerque, N.M.

Starbucks didn't give details on all the areas where prices will increase but said most southern states are included. Prices won't rise in California and Florida.

Starbucks has raised prices in its cafes annually since the recession began, though the company said its increases have been "far less" than those of its rivals.

Starbucks will face higher commodity costs than some of its competitors in the coming months. The chain made contracts to buy coffee for the fiscal year that began in October because prices were rising and Starbucks wanted to eliminate the volatility of buying on the spot market. But the market for coffee soon fell, and Starbucks was stuck paying more than it would have otherwise.

Over the past couple of years, Starbucks has topped the industry in sales and been able to manage commodity inflation, "not with pricing, but with a more efficient cost structure and strong traffic growth," Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead said in November when the company reported earnings.

Because the chain's high-end consumer base is less sensitive to prices than that of some rivals, Starbucks has said it didn't think increases would affect customer purchases, even in a struggling economy. Some chains, especially fast-food restaurants that focus on low prices, risk losing customers when prices rise.

Starbucks shares rose 43% last year. The stock fell 73 cents, or 1.6%, to $45.29 in 4 p.m. composite trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The latest change, which was reported earlier by Reuters news service, raises the cost of a "tall," or 12-ounce, coffee in some New York City stores by 10 cents to $1.85. Not all sizes will see price increases.

Starbucks isn't raising prices for packaged coffee sold at its cafes or at grocery stores. That's where Starbucks faces the greater pressure on profit margins, largely because coffee represents a bigger portion of the cost of its packaged goods than of brewed coffee.

"Our retail stores have more levers in the rest of the [profit-and-loss statement] to pull to help overcome that coffee cost," Mr. Alstead said in November. "It's a very healthy margin business, even with coffee costs where they are."

Starbucks last year raised prices of packaged coffee 17% at its cafes and 12% at grocery stores.

New China Food Scandal Involves Milk, Cooking Oil

Why do we keep using China food products when it is not controlled and  is a disaster in the waiting! We buy these products from China, is it worth it???

Another food safety scandal has rocked China this week after high doses of a carcinogenic mildew were found in dairy products from the popular Mengniu Dairy Group. An initial investigation revealed the contamination was caused by mildewed feed given to cows in the dairy's plant in southwest Sichuan province, reported the state-run Xinhua news agency.

On Dec. 24 the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) discovered high levels of aflatoxin in milk products from a Mengniu factory in Sichuan Province. The toxin also was found in milk from a smaller company—the Changfu Dairy Industry Group—in Fujian Province. Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that commonly grows on crops such as grains and peanuts. High levels of the toxin may lead to cancer in some animals.

According to a company statement, the relevant batch of products had not been released to the market at the time of the inspection, and the company immediately sealed and destroyed all such products without delay. None of such contaminated products were released to the market. At present, all products on shelf in the markets within and outside the PRC, including the Hong Kong market, have passed the relevant standards. The company said it will reinforce its quality control procedures by closely monitoring products quality over each production process from raw milk collection to final products delivery to ensure product quality and food safety.

The dairy incident caused a ripple effect as Chinese authorities issued a recall of cooking oil products made by three companies in Guangdong province—Fusheng Oil, Manyi Peanut Oil, Mabao Oil—that contain excessive levels of aflatoxin.

In November, China penalized 113 people, including 17 government employees, over a March 2011 chemical-tainted pork scandal that once again brought to light the country’s struggle with food safety issues. The scandal came just a few years after the 2008 melamine scandal that sickened thousands, killed at least six children and nearly destroyed China’s dairy industry.

STOP BUYING CHINA PRODUCTS