NEW YORK — Members of the food industry highlighted the silver lining of dark economic clouds here yesterday during a roundtable discussion at the 53rd CIES World Business Summit.

The difficult economy has provided an opportunity for Supervalu to cut some fat from its marketing budgets, said Jeff Noddle, executive chairman of the board at Supervalu.

"We've evaluated all of the promotions and marketing things we do and we've asked ourselves, 'Are they really value-added?'" said Noddle. "So whether the items are branded or private label we've had the opportunity to reevaluate all the dollars invested to see if they're really invested in the right way."

Kraft Foods has also shifted its focus to "what matters," said Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and chief executive officer. That includes collaborating with marketers of private brands. "It gives us the opportunity to say, 'We're focused on retailer brands, how can we work together, how can we help you?'" she said.

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