If you are a subscriber to Nutrition Business Journal, you can now access all of the 2008 Nutrition Industry Overview online at nutritionbusinessjournal.com. No need to sort through your over flowing mailbox, search your desk and interrogate your co-workers for your copy of NBJ. Just go to nutritionbusinessjournal.com.

To see all the articles, go to the current issue page. Here you will see the entire overview issue laid out in an expanded table of contents view. From here you can link to every article if you are signed in as an NBJ subscriber.

If you do not know your NBJ subscriber username and password, call Rachel Dederich, NBJ’s Subscriber Services Coordinator, at 303.998.9263.

-Patrick

Every once in a while, the goverment surprises you with their tenacity. This is one of those times. CNN Money reports that a three-judge federal appeals court panel overturned a lower court ruling from last year that approved the acquisition of Wild Oats by Whole Foods.

This appeals court 2-1 ruling sends the merger case back to the lower court for another round of consideration.

For more on this developing situation, go to Court reverse Whole Foods ruling on CNNmoney.com.

-Patrick

I would like to introduce you to the new website for Nutrition Business Journal - www.nutritionbusinessjournal.com.

Alot has changed in the world of web design since we first launched NBJ’s website in 1998, so you will notice MANY changes in the look, feel and efficiency of the new nutritionbusinessjournal.com.

NBJ’s mission has always been to deliver strategic business information, analysis and market data to those in or interested in the nutrition industry to fuel better business decisions and promote healthier lifestyles. The new nutritionbusinessjournal.com is our new way of delivering on this mission.

I welcome your feedback and suggestions, via this blog or via my email prea@nutritionbusiness.com

Enjoy!

-Patrick

More bad news for consumers today. The White House predicts food prices remaining high for the next 2-3 years. In addition, Kraft will hike prices to protect margins and profits, according to CEO Irene Rosenfeld.

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) found that consumers are spending less at fast casual restaurants and having more of their meals at home or picking up food in the prepared food aisle of restaurants like Publix and Whole Foods Market. 71% of 2,020 respondents to an FMI survey said they were cooking at home more and eating out less. Food industry analysts expect frozen dinners and other frozen prepared foods to see growth in 2008.

This may also drive consumers to fresh foods - meat, seafood, chicken, pork and fruits and vegetables - as some in the natural products industry are suggesting.

Stay tuned!

-Patrick

The editorial team of Nutrition Business Journal is working around the clock to finish up the October Consumer Research issue of NBJ. While scanning al the consumer study headlines coming out these days, this one caught my attention. Apparently, Wal-Mart is tops with organic consumers.

“Wal-Mart Supercenter is the top grocery store for organics users, according to a recent analysis by Scarborough Research. Twenty-nine percent of organics consumers shopped Wal-Mart Supercenter during the past week. However, organics consumers seem far more passionate about shopping at Whole Foods. The store has the nation’s highest concentration of organics consumers in its aisles. According to the study conducted from August 2006 through March 2007, organics consumers are 272 percent more likely than the average consumer to have shopped Whole Foods during the past week. They are 21 percent less likely than average consumers to have shopped in Wal-Mart Supercenter during this timeframe.”

For more on this consumer study, click here.