NEWS WATCH: NATURALS DOMINATE PRIVATE-LABEL SHOW...MARS NAME IS BACK...SOBEYS INTRODUCES HEALTHFUL LINE

NATURALS DOMINATE PRIVATE-LABEL SHOW

tute was pleased with its private-label showcase at its recent annual food show here, and will consider repeating it in the future, said Brian Tully, FMI's senior vice president of conventions. Natural and organic products dominated the offerings in the showcase, with such items as dried fruits, tea, salty snacks, salad dressings, sauces, salsa and cookies. Chicken of the Sea International even presented an all-natural tuna marketed under the Genova brand. FMI organized the showcase in cooperation with Daymon Worldwide in Stamford, Conn., a private-label sales and marketing firm.

MARS NAME IS BACK

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. - Five years after changing its name to Masterfoods USA in order to consolidate its businesses, the snacks, food and pet food maker is going back to the more familiar Mars name, according to reports. The name change comes as the company, whose brands include M&M's, Uncle Ben's and Pedigree, decentralizes its U.S. divisions.

SOBEYS INTRODUCES HEALTHFUL LINE

STELLARTON, Nova Scotia - Canadian retailer and distributor Sobeys has introduced a new line of healthful foods under its one-year-old private-label brand, Compliments. Products in the line extension, called Compliments balance-Tquilibre, bear the Health Check symbol, which signifies that they meet specific nutritional criteria set by Canada, according to the company. The products fall within Sobeys' main Compliments tier, which includes products of national-brand quality but priced at least 20% lower.