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It is estimated that private equity has nearly 1 trillion USD in available capital to deploy, that is a great deal of money to put to work. In today s market, the search for Alpha is in strong investor demand, investors are more discerning in whom they allocate dollars. Investors want to be confident that PE s can put all that dry powder to work in high valuation opportunities. To support in PE s ability... Read More

Purchasing plays a critical, sometimes strategic, role in restaurant performance where it often has control over half or more of the restaurant s total costs. Restaurants are pressured to streamline the purchasing processes in an attempt to lower costs and inventory and improve product quality. A GPO is a way of accomplishing this goal. GPO s are primarily focused on buyer-to-buyer collaboration. Broadly, cooperative purchasing relates to a relationship between two or more buyers that... Read More

African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to roil protein markets in Asia, especially China, and other parts of the world. The disease continues to spread and impacts are growing and very dynamic in nature. However, the latest data from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) shows that the pattern of impacts on global protein markets is beginning to be revealed. No doubt numbers will change with more time. The epicenter of ASF is China which, as recently... Read More

The North American Meat Institute has filed a lawsuit in California seeking to halt implementation of Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative passed by voters last November. The Meat Institute says Proposition 12 hurts the nation s food value chain by significantly increasing costs for producers and consumers. “Prop 12 hurts the family on a budget with higher prices for pork, veal and eggs, and unfairly punishes livestock producers outside of California by forcing... Read More

EVANSVILLE, Ind., Oct. 3 (UPI) — Egg prices fell across the United States this year as the national egg supply spiked and demand waned. But what was good news for consumers was detrimental to producers. “The egg price is very low right now,” said Maro Ibarburu, an associate science-business analyst at the Egg Industry Center, which serves the U.S. egg industry from Iowa State University. “It doesn t even cover the cost of production.” The... Read More

The pork industry continues to grapple with the impact of African Swine Fever. From supply to demand, it's an outbreak that could have a lasting effect. “I don t think people really understand the magnitude of the hog supply in China,” said J ayson Lusk, department head and distinguished professor at Purdue University . “The amount of hogs they lost is double the size of the U.S. hog sector, so it s a big deal... Read More

Why the ‘boom in consumer trial of alt-meat shamburgers and chicken? A new market analysis IDs the real reason: It s all about the urge to try something new and different, if not better. Of all the poorly worded attempts to capture the “buzz” associated with the ongoing media salivation over the alt-meat meat category s latest introductions, few surpass this one from the website Takeout.com: “Most coverage of the rollout of meatless fast-food burgers... Read More