Cranberry Stressline Archives

January, 2002

includes

EPA news impacting cranberry growers

 Nestlé USA and Ocean Spray Form Strategic Operations Alliance

How much are food company CEOs paid?

OpEd : Marketing Order 2002, by John Swendrowski

Proposed amendments sought for Cranberry Marketing Order

Nantucket Nectars (still) for sale

Northland sells signature headquarters mansion

and

an exhaustive web search for articles on the cranberry industry

EPA news impacting cranberry growers
by Hal Brown, Editor

1/30/02 The Environment Protection Agency issued a new a New Initiative to Protect and Preserve America’s Waterways on January 25th. In a related article, Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution from Agriculture  (published with a larger version of the sidebar illustration on the left, which you can click to enlarge to its full size) the authors write:

"The most recent National Water Quality Inventory reports that agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is the leading source of water quality impacts to surveyed rivers and lakes, the third largest source of impairments to surveyed estuaries, and also a major contributor to ground water contamination and wetlands degradation."

"Agricultural activities that cause NPS pollution include confined animal facilities, grazing, plowing, pesticide spraying, irrigation, fertilizing, planting, and harvesting. The major agricultural NPS pollutants that result from these activities are sediment, nutrients, pathogens, pesticides, and salts. Agricultural activities also can damage habitat and stream channels. Agricultural impacts on surface water and ground water can be minimized by properly managing activities that can cause NPS pollution." CONTINUED


Coke reports 18% growth in juice and juice drinks

1/29/02 In a press release issued today, CocaCola reported an increase in sales of juices and juice drinks of 18%. They sold nearly a billion cases of Minute Maid, HiC and local brands. Read release


Feature article update

1/27/02 Del Monte, with approximately $1.5 billion in revenues, is ranked 54 in a list of the 100 top food companies compiled by Food Processing, and Ocean Spray is ranked 55. Read excerpts from their Sept. 27, 2001 Proxy Statement related to CEO Richard Wolford's complete compensation package, and about the Board of Directors.

How much are food company CEOs paid?

1/25/02 Here is a list of the 2002 or 2001salaries and bonuses for the CEOs of a variety of food companies from huge corporations to well known, but much smaller, companies. Included for comparative purposes is the annual revenues for each company.

Most compensation figures for corporations in the United States are easy to locate since executive compensation must be reported in detail on the Proxy Statement (form DEF 14), which goes to all shareholders prior to the corporation's annual meeting. These states include stock options and performance incentives, and often explain the criteria for granting the later. Anyone can look them up of the SEC's www.edgar.com web site. CONTINUED

Legal News

DeMarco case reaches next stage

Updated 1/27/02 Ocean Spray filed their brief requesting summary judgment on or about 1/24/02. Now DeMarco's attorneys, Cozen O'Connor, have until the end of February to file their response. Stressline hopes to publish a copy of the Ocean Spray brief early next week.

The brief is expected to lay out the reasons why the DeMarco complaint is without merit. This is typical in such cases. We anticipate that the response to this brief will offer counter-arguments to the points made. With highly skilled attorneys it is rare that such briefs contain any major surprises. But to interested lay people they often provide insight as to the merits of any given case.


 Nestlé USA and Ocean Spray Form Strategic Operations Alliance

1/25/02 Press Release: Glendale, CA - The Nestlé USA - Beverage Division and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., announced today that they have formed a long-term strategic operations alliance that will enable both companies to significantly increase manufacturing and supply chain efficiency, while maintaining high quality products for their respective juice businesses. CONTINUED

Editorial: Nestlé and Ocean Spray alliance good news for growers


From eDiets.com

1/21/02 "Berry, berry quite contrary... where did your color go? The eggheads at Ocean Spray have managed to take the red out of their popular line of cranberry cocktails. So now you have a clear choice of flavorful drinks. Moms, check out this bonus..." It's Clearly A Great New Drink!


Quote without comment:

"Like the Ocean Spray cranberry cooperative, members will decide the product's selling price as a group." Joan Eckes, manager of the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin in 1/16/02 Wausau Daily Hearld

"In its fruit drinks, though second behind Cadbury Schweppes, Pepsi captured nearly five percentage points of market share last year after it started selling Dole juices in hand-size bottles from vending machines and convenience stores." from "A Pepsi Unit Recognizes all is not Cola" in 1/17/02 New York Times


Contribute to a dialogue with John Swendrowski on the Forum about this OpEd, or read selected postings on one page here.

OpEd : Marketing Order 2002
By John Swendrowski

1/15/02 -- I have spent a great deal of time since the last Marketing Order debate trying to analyze whether the Marketing Order can in fact be utilized in a manner that will raise the grower price to profitable levels at the farm.  CONTINUED


Where are they now?  Ocean Spray's Robert Halpern

Cranberry Marketing Order in Doubt 1/13/01 WI Rapids Daily Tribune

Two years ago today:

Robert Hawthorne tapped to lead nation's #1 juice drinks brand

1/20/02 Two years ago Ocean Spray announced that Robert Hawthorne was the new CEO. Read Press Release and 1/21/00 Stressline profile.


New Products:

1/18/02 Ocean Spray (R) now offers cranberry sauce in a new plastic package. A resealable screw-top improves food safety by eliminating the need for can openers, which according to a Jan. 15, 2002 article in Restaurants and Institutions is the primary source of food contamination. The container is said to be lighter in weight, with an easy-grip design.


Job Opportunity: Resumes due by Feb. 8, 2002 Plymouth County Conservation District seeks two Conservation Farm Planners


Proposed amendments sought for Cranberry Marketing Order

1/15/02 AMS Release: Washington, DC -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is inviting cranberry growers, handlers, and other interested persons to propose amendments to the federal marketing order for cranberries grown in 10 states. CONTINUED


Groups protest Makepeace plans: 1/20/02 Boston Globe and Standard Times

One we missed on the Florida OS lawsuit

Northland Learns from Errors 1/17/02 WI Rapids Daily Trib. and Northland Poised to return to profitability - in the 1/15/02 WI Rapids Daily Trib. | View all NL  SEC Filings

Nantucket Nectars

For Sale

1/10/01 According to an article published yesterday in TheDeal.com, Nantucket Nectars is still up for sale. The sale will not be easy, says author Soma Biswas, who goes on to reveal that initially the sale was limited to only Coca-Cola and Pepsi; but had been opened up, attracted the passing interest of Kraft, and now may be under consideration by Cadbury Schweppes, Nestle and Campbell. The article says that the outcome of the sale, which is being handled by Merrill Lynch, "could provide a clue to the appetites of the big food and beverage companies for niche non-carbonated beverage brands." An unnamed banker commenting on the growing competition in what used to be a small niche, is quoted as saying that  "Nantucket isn't as special and unique as it once was." Read entire article.


Ocean Spray white cranberry juice featured on Today Show segment

1/8/01 The Today Show had a segment about what they billed as the latest food trend: marketing foods in unusual colors. Although not mentioned in their web site article, "Pass the Blue" Ocean Spray's white cranberry juice was discussed by Al Roker and the Today Show's food expert Phil Lampert. You can see an image here. On his own web site, Supermarket Guru, where he gives a Hit, Miss or Who Knows? rating to new products, he writes "cranberry juice isn't cranberry anymore – cranberry color that is!" and goes on to say "Problem is that in order to change consumer perception of cranberries will take a LOT of advertising."    He rates Ocean Spray's white cranberry line "who knows?".


Picture worth 1000 Words Dept:


From this week's Entertainment Weekly magazine
click to enlarge: Entertainment Weekly Shaw Report


January Newspaper and other Media articles

1/31/02 Canada's Leading Brands Enters into Packaging Agreement for Ocean Spray

1/30/02 "Newest Trend Is White Hot: Spills Over Into Grocery Stores As New White Cranberry Juice Drink Flies Off Shelves At Lightning Speed" from Internet Wire Link includes video (click image)

1/28/02 Maine cranberry growers fear crop limits, AP article

1/27/02 As cranberry values decline so does area's ag. base in Standard Times

Ocean Spray and Nestlé: NEW added 1/31/02 Cape Cod Times, plus
AP article
, Boston Globe, Cape Cod Times, and Boston Herald

Aid for Cape Cod growers in 1/26/02 Cape Cod Times

Food industry to serve modest profit portions in 1/23/02 Forbes

OS vs FDA still in the news:
1/9/02 FDA studying how label laws apply to web in The Packer

1/8/02 Latest on Steven Lee and the Pineland's nominations

Ocean Spray in the air and on the road
From 2001 Ozark Balloonfest and an Ocean Spray van

Politics
Alliance of farmers and conservation advocates: Boston Globe 1/7/01

Background
1) Just what did Enron do for OS?
 2) Ocean Spray case study: How do inventory management systems work?

Where are they now?
Ocean Spray's Kevin Murphy

Legal
OS FL case accuser's attorney is "somebody's fool."

Controversy
OS Board member Lee in the news

Advertising

Kids: It's okay to lie for juice
and imprison your brother

1/10/02 Minute Maid, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, is airing a new commercial on network television which features its Orange-Cranberry juice blend. The comedic ad depicts a boy pretending to be his twin brother, who he has locked in his bedroom with a chair under the doorknob, in an attempt to con his mother into giving him a second glass of juice.


"If you stew apples like cranberries, they taste more like prunes than rhubarb does."
 Groucho Marx

1/8/01 If you search through enough web pages, in this case 5,000 sites that came up using search terms related to the cranberry industry, it's amazing what you'll find. Below is the result of two days of reviewing these sites for information that may be of interest to Stressline readers. Most of the links are from 2001. Some we missed when the information would have been more relevant, but they still make interesting reading. The quote from Groucho was the headline of a four page article about cranberries. It was number 4,996 on the last search page we decided to look at.

We actually missed an article from September's Toogood Report entitled "The Great White Hope" that not only agreed with our editorial stance on white cranberries; but had far harsher words for the Ocean Spray product than we did. We also didn't find the actual warning letter sent to Robert Hawthorne from the FDA on the label issue at the time it was in the news.

It would be interesting to read the papers that Brown University students wrote for this class assignment analyzing the decision on selling Nantucket Nectars when the company was still independent. Here's a description of how Ocean Spray's European packages were designed.

Who is Canada's Cranberry King? Read this article on Atoka's Marc Bieler.

How much are your old cranberry labels worth? Check this web site.

Ocean Spray is a major focus of the article "The Benefits of a Multicultural Perspective When Marketing Products to Both European And American Consumers" on the Product Development and Management web site.

Here's an illustrated tour of the Ocean Spray Bordentown plant. And demonstrating the unusual things one can find on the web, the Ocean Sprays headquarters' security is described in a profile on the web site of the company that makes their high tech guard data reporter.

We thought we knew about all of the trademarked "Cran" hypens; but were surprise to come across Cran-Max™ and a modified image of the Ocean Spray logo on Vitamer.com

Ocean Spray earned the top rating in the canned and bottled juices/drink category from both management and distributor sales representatives surveyed by ID Magazine in October. See the article.

A good essay on cranberries on the Pinelands web site - check on page's listed in the right column too.  Not only did Ontario's Johnston's Cranberries put an informative and attractive web site online, but they managed to lock up the prime Canadian domain name www.cranberry.ca .

Read lyrics of Music video Ocean Spray

1/7/01 Ocean Spray tech. news is on the Microsoft web site and OS is featured on a British cooking web site.

Ocean Spray by Manic St. Preachers - "There's some who think that the Manics' knees have gone and that they will soon be hitting the canvas for the last time. That may be true. But 'Ocean Spray''s brilliantly distilled feelings of helplessness, desperation and loss are a timely reminder of just what can be accomplished within the confines of a swinging indie pop single, as well as adding a poignancy and melancholia to the imbibing of cranberry juice that the manufacturers of Ocean Spray never foresaw." Review Ed. note: The song was written after the singer's mother was dying in the hospital and frequently asked for Ocean Spray cranberry juice.

Here's an online article we missed on white cranberries with some interesting quotes from Steve Lee and Cindy Traccini and another one we missed about  the FDA regulating web sites called You can't say cranberries are good for that.

Northland sells signature headquarters mansion

1/4/02 Northland Cranberries Inc. has sold its unique headquarters. The Mead Witter Foundation, formerly the Consolidated Papers Foundation, are the new owners. Northland will move in the spring to new offices in an existing building in the West Side Industrial Park in Wisconsin Rapids.

December, 2001

Articles in Globe and Ledger about Edaville derailment; Editorial - No more ocean spray for Cranberry World - Is it a sweetheart deal with Doug Beaton?  Northland Cranberries, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2001 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Financial Results.  Ocean Spray Cranberry World to leave Plymouth;Q and A: "Curious OS grower" questions John Swendrowski;  Ocean Spray's Jim Nolan Honored includes picture of Tom Bullock; Strong sales for white juice; Northland signing new growers; Editorial on change in white cranberry label: The White Cranberry Label Fable; Summary of CMC Cranberry Retrospective: Cranberry utilization up, production and ending inventory down; Story of Cape Verdean cranberry workers is feature article in Sunday Standard Times "Living"