Content about Food industry

LOS ANGELES Two supermarket chains owned by Kroger announced their fundraising efforts to benefit local food banks.

Ralph's and Food 4 Less said that they are collecting donations to help local food banks and families in need through their checkstand canisters. Each retailer kicked off their respective Bringing Hope to the Table initiatives, which include an annual cause-marketing partnership with Feeding America that generated more than $200,000 for Feeding America-affiliated food banks this year.

NEW YORK Beauty company Revlon announced on Thursday a 2.2% dip in net sales as net income narrowed during the third quarter, but executives remained optimistic as the manufacturer gears up for 2011 with a new global chief marketing officer in place.

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. Mars Chocolate North America is breathing new life into its Dove chocolate brand with new product innovations.

Dove is introducing two new sophisticated and delicious flavor combinations: raspberry and dark chocolate swirl, and white and milk chocolate swirl. Dove's chocolate swirl line will be supported with a new marketing campaign, which includes print and TV advertisements, the company said.

WHITESTONE, N.Y. Coca-Cola has unveiled a new Vitaminwater drink, which is enhanced with vitamin D.

Vitaminwater Stur-D, a blue agave, passion fruit and citrus-flavored blend, is the first enhanced water and juice beverage to include vitamins C and D and calcium, Coca-Cola said.

PLANO, Texas After launching eco-friendly bags for its SunChips brand, Frito-Lay again is looking to revamp the packaging.

According to a report by USA Today, Frito-Lay said it is removing the noisy material found in the compostable bags. While they are environmentally friendly, the bags have received negative customer feedback.

LOS ANGELES Hi-Chew's line of fruit chews now features a grape flavor.

“Our grape flavor has been a popular treat especially among children in Japan,” said Toshiya Yasuda, president of Morinaga America. “We are confident that by bringing our grape flavor to America, we will not only delight our current fans, [but] we [also] will stimulate more curiosity in trying Hi-Chew fruit chews that will gain us an even greater following after sampling one of our fruity, chewy candies.”

NEW YORK Revlon has hired Julia Goldin as SVP and global chief marketing officer, overseeing all marketing activities for its portfolio of brands, including Revlon, Almay Revlon ColorSilk, Revlon beauty tools and Mitchum.

Goldin, who has more than 20 years of experience within the consumer packaged goods industry, most recently served as SVP and deputy chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola Japan, where she oversaw the company's coffee business. Prior to that, she led Coca-Cola's marketing in the United Kingdom and later in northwest Europe.