Best Food Companies To Own For 2014

The Consumer Price Index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for June, according to a Labor Department report (link opens a PDF) released today.

After natural gas prices helped push prices up 0.1% in May, analysts had expected a slightly smaller 0.4% gain.

Source: Labor Department�

Like in May, most of this month's gains originated from energy, but this time, gasoline fueled the increase. The gasoline index jumped a seasonally adjusted 6.3% for June, accounting for around two-thirds of the total change in consumer prices.

Overall energy prices pushed up 3.4%, while food made a more modest 0.2% gain. Excluding these two volatile categories, the Consumer Price Index edged up 0.2%, matching analyst expectations.

Over the last year, the Index has edged up 1.8%, driven largely by an 11.7% jump in natural gas prices. Used cars and trucks have fared the worst, with prices down 2.3%.

Hot Long Term Companies To Invest In 2015: Kellogg Co (K)

Kellogg Company (Kellogg), incorporated in 1922, is engaged in the manufacture and marketing of ready-to-eat cereal and convenience foods. Kellogg�� principal products are ready-to-eat cereals and convenience foods, such as cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. As of February 28, 2012, these products were, manufactured by the Company in 17 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries. It also markets cookies, crackers, and other convenience foods, under brands, such as Kellogg��, Keebler, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin and Famous Amos, to supermarkets in the United States. Its cereal products are generally marketed under the Kellogg�� name and are sold principally to the grocery trade through direct sales forces for resale to consumers. Effective June 1, 2012, Procter & Gamble Co announced that it has completed the sale of its Pringles business to Kellogg.

As of February 28, 2012, Kellogg operated manufacturing plants and distribution and warehousing facilities totaling more than 30 million square feet of building area in the United States and other countries. Its manufacturing facilities in the United States include four cereal plants and warehouses located in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee; Omaha, Nebraska and other plants or facilities in San Jose, California; Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, and Rome, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Seelyville, Indiana; Kansas City, Kansas; Florence, Louisville, and Pikeville, Kentucky; Grand Rapids and Wyoming, Michigan; Blue Anchor, New Jersey; Cary and Charlotte, North Carolina; Cincinnati, West Jefferson, and Zanesville, Ohio; Muncy, Pennsylvania; Rossville, Tennessee; Clearfield, Utah; and Allyn, Washington. As of February 28, 2012, outside the United States, the Company had, additional manufacturing locations, some with warehousing facilities, in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, S! outh Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and Venezuela.

The Company�� trademarks include Kellogg�� for cereals, convenience foods and its other products, and the brand names of certain ready-to-eat cereals, including All-Bran, Apple Jacks, Bran Buds, Cinnamon Crunch Crispix, Choco Zucaritas, Cocoa Krispies, Complete, Kellogg�� Corn Flakes, Corn Pops, Cracklin��Oat Bran, Crispix, Cruncheroos, Crunchmania, Crunchy Nut, Eggo, Kellogg�� FiberPlus, Froot Loops, Kellogg�� Frosted Flakes, Kellogg�� Krave, Frosted Krispies, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Fruit Harvest, Just Right, Kellogg�� Low Fat Granola, Mueslix, Pops, Product 19, Kellogg�� Raisin Bran, Raisin Bran Crunch, Rice Krispies, Rice Krispies Treats, Smacks/Honey Smacks, Smart Start, Kellogg�� Smorz, Special K, Special K Red Berries and Zucaritas in the United States and elsewhere; Crusli, Sucrilhos, Vector, Musli, NutriDia, and Choco Krispis for cereals in Latin America. Vive and Vector are brands in Canada; Coco Pops, Chocos, Frosties, Fruit�� Fibre, Kellogg�� Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes, Honey Loops, Kellogg�� Extra, Sustain, Muslix, Country Store, Ricicles, Smacks, Start, Pops, Optima and Tresor for cereals in Europe; and Cerola, Sultana Bran, Chex, Frosties, Goldies, Rice Bubbles, Nutri-Grain, Kellogg�� Iron Man Food, and BeBig for cereals in Asia and Australia. In additional, the Company trademarks are the names of certain combinations of ready-to-eat Kellogg�� cereals, including Fun Pak, Jumbo, and Variety.

Other Company brand names include Kellogg�� Corn Flake Crumbs; All-Bran, Choco Krispis, Froot Loops, Special K, NutriDia, Kuadri-Krispis, Zucaritas and Crusli for cereal bars, Komplete for biscuits; and Kaos for snacks in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America; Pop-Tarts and Pop-Tarts Ice Cream Shoppe for toaster pastries; Pop-Tarts Mini Crisps for crackers; Eggo, Eggo FiberPlus and Nutri-Grain for frozen waffles and pancakes; Rice Krispies Treats for baked snacks and convenience foods; Special K! and Spec! ial K2O for flavored protein water mixes and protein shakes, and Nutri-Grain cereal bars, Nutri-Grain yogurt bars, for convenience foods in the United States and elsewhere. Brands like K-Time, Rice Bubbles, Day Dawn, Be Natural, Sunibrite and LCMs for convenience foods in Asia and Australia; Nutri-Grain Squares, Nutri-Grain Elevenses, and Rice Krispies Squares for convenience foods in Europe; Kashi and GoLean for certain cereals, nutrition bars, and mixes; TLC for granola and cereal bars, crackers and cookies; Special K and Vector for meal replacement products; Bear Naked for granola cereal, bars and trail mix and Morningstar Farms, Loma Linda, Natural Touch, Gardenburger and Worthington for certain meat and egg alternatives. It also markets convenience foods under trademarks and trade names, which include Keebler, Austin, Keebler Baker�� Treasures, Cheez-It, Chips Deluxe, Club, E. L. Fudge, Famous Amos, Fudge Shoppe, Kellogg�� FiberPlus, Gripz, Jack��, Jackson��, Krispy, Mother��, Murray, Murray Sugar Free, Ready Crust, Right Bites, Sandies, Special K, Soft Batch, Stretch Island, Sunshine, Toasteds, Town House, Vienna Creams, Vienna Fingers, Wheatables and Zesta.

The Company�� trademarks also include logos and depictions of certain animated characters in conjunction with its products, including Snap!Crackle!Pop! for Cocoa Krispies and Rice Krispies cereals and Rice Krispies Treats convenience foods; Tony the Tiger for Kellogg�� Frosted Flakes, Zucaritas, Sucrilhos and Frosties cereals and convenience foods, and Ernie Keebler for cookies, convenience foods and other products. It also includes the Hollow Tree logo for certain convenience foods; Toucan Sam for Froot Loops cereal; Dig ��m for Smacks/Honey Smacks cereal; Sunny for Kellogg�� Raisin Bran and Raisin Bran Crunch cereals, Coco the Monkey for Coco Pops cereal; Cornelius for Kellogg�� Corn Flakes; Melvin the Elephant for certain cereal and convenience foods, and Chocos the Bear, Sammy the Seal (aka Smaxey the Seal! ) for cer! tain cereal products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  One of the biggest challenges for Mondelez has been uncooperative foreign currencies, which, when translated back into dollars, actually reduces how much Mondelez is bringing in. Based on Mondelez's second-quarter results, the company delivered an adjusted EPS of $0.71; however, it also faced a negative-$0.05 headwind related solely to currency translation. Mondelez isn't alone, either. Kellogg (NYSE: K  ) , the cereal and snack maker, stuck by its full-year EPS guidance when it released its second-quarter results, but it also upped its estimate for negative foreign currency translation impact by $0.07 to $0.09 for the year.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Hewing strictly to the dictates of the five-second rule for food companies, Kellogg (NYSE: K  ) dropped an executive officer Monday, and before he had time to be considered "dirty," Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN  ) picked him up.

Best Food Companies To Own For 2014: Freshpet Inc (FRPT)

Freshpet Inc is a company which provides fresh food for pets, such as dogs and cats. The Company provides meats- based recipes, such as chicken, beef, lamb and salmon; fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, peas and leafy green vegetables, and high-fiber grains, such as brown rice, oats and barley.

Freshpet produces its food products in Pennsylvania, United State. The Company provides food packed with vitamins, proteins and amino acids.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  Based in Ladson, S.C., Force Protection Inc. (Nasdaq: FRPT) met the Defense Department's need with two series of armored vehicles, the Buffalo and Cougar, which were designed to detect IEDs and landmines and serve as personal transports.

Best Food Companies To Own For 2014: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc (KKD)

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (Krispy Kreme), December 02, 1999, is a retailer and wholesaler of doughnuts complementary beverages and treats and packaged sweets. The Company�� principal business is owning and franchising Krispy Kreme stores, at which a variety of doughnuts, including the Company�� Original Glazed doughnut, are sold and distributed together with complementary products, and where a broad array of coffees and other beverages are offered. As of February 3, 2013, there were 239 Krispy Kreme stores operated domestically in 38 states and in the District of Columbia, and there were 509 shops in 21 other countries around the world. Of the 748 total stores, 295 were factory stores and 453 were satellites. The Company operates in four segments: Company Stores, domestic franchise stores, international franchise stores, and the KK Supply Chain.

Company Stores

Its Company Stores segment consists of the operating activities of its Company-owned stores. These stores sell doughnuts and complementary products through the on-premises and wholesale channels. Many of the doughnut varieties the Company offers in its doughnut shops also are distributed, through off-premises sales channels. In addition, it offers a number of products through off-premises channels, including honeybuns, fruit pies, mini-crullers, cupcakes and various chocolate enrobed products, generally packaged as individually wrapped snacks or packaged in snack bags. Krispy Kreme has a beverage program, which includes drip coffees, both coffee-based and noncoffee-based frozen drinks, juices, sodas, milks, water and packaged and fountain beverages. In addition, the Company also develops beverages such as espresso, cappuccino and hot chocolate.

Domestic Franchise

The Domestic Franchise segment consists of the Company�� domestic store franchise operations. This segment derives revenue principally from initial development and franchise fees related to new stores and from royalties on sa! les by franchise stores. As of February 3, 2013, there were 142 domestic franchise stores in 29 states, consisting of 99 factory and 43 satellite stores.

International Franchise

The International Franchise segment consists of the Company�� international store franchise operations. International franchise stores sell doughnuts and complementary products almost exclusively through the on-premises sales channel using shop formats similar to those used in the United States, and also using a kiosk format. A portion of sales by the franchisees in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia are made to wholesale customers. As of February 3, 2013, there were 509 international franchise shops in 21 countries, consisting of 120 factory stores and 389 satellite shops.

KK Supply Chain Business Segment

The Company operates an integrated supply chain. The KK Supply Chain segment buys and processes ingredients it uses to produce doughnut mixes and manufactures doughnut-making equipment that all factory stores are required to purchase. The Company manufactures doughnut mixes at its facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In addition to traditional doughnut mixes and mixes made from mix concentrate, the Company produces or manages the production of doughnut premix, which is used to produce doughnut mixes in certain international locations. The KK Supply Chain segment also purchases and sells supplies, including icings and fillings, other food ingredients, juices, signage, display cases, uniforms and other items to both Company and franchisee-owned stores.

The Company competes with Dolly Madison, Entenmann��, Hostess, Little Debbie, and Sara Lee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gregory Wallace]

  Set an out of office message: How long is a coffee break, anyway? Krispy Kreme (KKD) wants you to tell others that you're temporarily away from your email because you're sipping its free coffee.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Wednesday

  Earnings Expected: Express, Inc (NYSE: EXPR), Vail Resorts, Inc (NYSE: MTN), Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) Economic Releases Expected: �British trade balance, eurozone industrial production, Indian industrial production, Reserve Bank of New Zealand interest rate decision, Australian unemployment rate

  Thursday

• [By Michael Vodicka]

  After a highly publicized IPO in April 2000 during the aftermath of the tech bubble, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) proceeded to surge, climbing from $10 to an all-time high of $49 in the next three years. That fueled massive buzz that the company was well on its way to becoming the next Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) or Dunkin' Brands (Nasdaq: DNKN).

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD  ) posted blowout quarterly results last week, fueled by an 11.4% spike in same-store sales. This is no fluke. The doughnut maker has come through with 18 quarters of positive comps.�

Best Food Companies To Own For 2014: Prestige Brand Holdings Inc.(PBH)

Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in marketing, selling, and distributing over-the-counter healthcare and household cleaning products primarily in North America. The company?s Over-The-Counter Healthcare segment offers a portfolio of OTC products under nine core OTC brands, including Chloraseptic sore throat remedies, Clear Eyes eye drops, Compound W wart removers, Dramamine motion sickness products, Efferdent and Effergrip denture products, Little Remedies pediatric healthcare products, Luden's cough drops, PediaCare pediatric healthcare products, and The Doctor?s brand of oral care products. This segment also provides other significant brands that include Dermoplast first-aid products, Murine eye and ear care products, NasalCrom allergy relief product, New-Skin liquid bandage, and Wartner wart removers. Its Household Cleaning segment markets household cleaning products, such as abrasive and non-abrasive tub and tile cleaner, scrubb ing pads and sponges, dilutables, anti-bacterial hard surface spray for counter tops, and glass cleaners under the Comet, Chore Boy, and Spic and Span brands. Prestige Brands Holdings distributes its products through various retail channels, including drug, food, dollar, and club stores, as well as supermarkets and mass merchandisers. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Irvington, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Prestige Brands (NYSE: PBH  ) , a marketer of over-the-counter health care and household cleaning products, jumped as much as 14% after it announced the acquisition of Australia's Care Pharmaceuticals.