Proof Is in the Pudding: Foodmakers Cut Offerings

MILWAUKEE — If you want to see how the nation's foodmakers are weathering the recession, the proof is in the pudding.

Kraft Foods Inc., the largest U.S. food maker, will no longer sell Handi-Snacks pudding to retail customers. At the same time, it's pushing new flavors of its more lucrative Jell-O pudding.

Food companies from Sara Lee Food Corp. to H.J. Heinz Co. are trimming their offerings to focus marketing dollars on their higher-margin, best-selling brands and retain consumers, who are trading down in the recession.

Those top brands are more likely to hold their own, and getting rid of lesser-performing brands helps companies showcase top products as retailers cut inventory. Heinz aims to remove two items for each one it introduces. Sara Lee hopes to cut its offerings 8 percent this fiscal year.

Source: The Associated Press