Any food or bevcos fearing headache of

dealing with different state requirements for GMO labels breathed at least a temporary sigh of relief this week as

Senate Committee on Agriculture voted 14-6 to approve bill to make GMO labeling voluntary, with USDA

setting up standards. Bill now heads to full Senate, where it faces “uphill battle,” noted FoodNavigator USA. If

passed, this bill will preempt any individual state laws such as Vermont’s mandatory labeling law that is set to

take effect Jul 1. “This is really a conversation about a few states dictating to every state the way food moves

from farmers to consumers value chain,” said committee chmn Sen Pat Roberts (R-Kan). Bill “provides an

immediate and comprehensive solution to the state-by- state patchwork of labeling laws. It sets national

uniformity, based on science, for labeling food or seeds that are genetically engineered.” Approach of Sen

Roberts “is realistic, shows leadership and provides good guidance,” while Vt’s new GMO law was “swayed by

scaremongering tactics rather than fact-based arguments,” wrote Bruce Krupke, evp of Northeast Dairy Foods

Assn in NY Times opinion piece on Wed. Vermont’s decision “is unfortunate and jeopardizes the livelihoods of

Vermont’s small businesses, dairy farmers, food manufacturers and retailers,” he argued. “Any regulation should

be set on a national level, not by a patchwork of states,” Bruce insisted.

Taking a leaf from its rival Costco, Sam’s Club is adopting more regional approach to its buying, setting up small

team of buyers in Dallas and eyeing similar teams in up to 5 other markets, Reuters reported. Walmart unit aims

initiative to drive loyalty and attract more affluent customers with upgraded selection of locally sourced and

organic grocery items, much as its faster-growing rival does. Until now, all buyers have been based at co hq in

Bentonville, Ark. By having buyers located closer to particular region’s stores, they can better establish

relationships with up-and- coming suppliers of organic, healthy and premium foods, as well as products catering

to local tastes, including organics, craft beer and specialty items like salsas, chief merchandising officer John

Furner told newswire. The proverbial “people familiar with the matter” told Reuters that Sam's may be aiming to

have regional buyers handle 30% of its food items, but Furner demurred, saying he doesn’t yet have a unit target

and that his first priority is to make Dallas operation successful before setting further plans.

SodaStream Int’l has seemed to be

making steady progress toward reinventing brand in recent 4th qtr earnings call: repositioning its systems from

soda to sparkling water, reclaiming some shelf space relinquished during retrenchment, recruiting Hain exec to

run marketing, getting new plant in Israel up & running (BBI, Feb18). But are there strains among team

orchestrating turnaround? That might be one possible assumption with word in grapevine that recently recruited

SodaStream USA prexy John Sheppard has departed or is about to depart SODA just 5 months into his tenure,

and on heels of several major actions he’s overseen, including recruitment of new team and launch of gas canister

exchange program in partnership with UPS. Tho BBI wasn’t able to get comment from John about reasons

behind move and co hasn’t announced change, memo John sent to his team in recent days alluded to wish to

spend more time with his daughter. Sheppard, of course, is familiar figure to bev watchers after postings at Coke,

Cott and Icelandic Glacial. Is it just a lifestyle move or is there more behind it? More as we hear it.

JAB Closes on Keurig Departure comes just as JAB-led investor group has completed acquisition of Keurig

Green Mountain, whose Keurig Kold challenger to SodaStream has proved a bust so far, providing more time for

SodaStream to get back on track. Completion of deal was announced this morning.

Dealing with logistical issue that’s hindered growth

of SodaStream franchise, marketer of home sparkling water makers has launched Fizz Concierge carbonator

exchange program, home pickup service that’s available in 6 Northeast US locations via partnership with UPS.

Among program’s features, consumers accumulate Frequent Fizzer loyalty points that are redeemable for

carbonation cylinder refills, drink mixes and actual machines. Co anticipates having program nationally available

later this year . . . BeyondBrands, new vehicle for entrepreneur and consultant Eric Schnell which is employing

more payroll-light model than prior undertaking MetaBrand, has brought another ally into orbit: Cascadia

Managing Brands of Ramsey, NJ. BeyondBrands, operating out of Philadelphia-area base, was launched as

“conscious products collective” by Steaz cofounder Schnell and his wife Marci Zaroff, familiar figure in world of

organic fabrics . . . Hard to say whether segment will prove lasting success, but alcoholic sodas continue to

proliferate into ever finer niches. Latest entry, from Wachusett Brewing: hard seltzers under Nauti Seltzer

moniker.

Complex, expensive NY market in recent years has seen proliferation of small operators offering in-store support

services, mainly to Whole Foods, under names like BSJ Merchandising Sales Services, Optimus Merchandising

and City Demos. (We profiled BSJ a coupla years ago – BBI, Feb 5 2014.) Some marketers have asked us

whether any geographically broader offerings exist. Enter Dirty Hands, Conn-based co launched by family of

Rory Ahearn, familiar figure in beer and bevs over the decades. It’s currently supporting sales to Whole Foods

stores in Northeast, from Mid-Atlantic to New England, as well as Northern Calif, with plans to expand into

SoCal shortly and Fla and Pacific NW later in year. Co hopes to establish presence in Whole Foods’ Rocky

Mountain region in 2017. Roster of clients already includes likes of Califia Farms (in 3 regions), Hint (3

regions), KeVita, Blue Bottle Coffee, Q Drinks and Pepsi-owned brands ONE Coconut Water and Izze.

Chameleon Cold-Brewed Coffee came aboard this week. Dirty Hands name, of course, is supposed to signify

that crew gets its hands dirty at store level rather than offering windy theories from consulting office.

Co launched in Northeast, and claims over a dozen brand clients in both Northeast and North Atlantic (New

England) Whole Foods regions. Following model Ahearn learned at Red Bull, it’s using cash flow from one

region to fund entry into next, tho Rory doesn’t disguise financial pressures in early stage. “I’m dealing with the

same pain as the entrepreneurs,” is how he prefers to view it. Now Dirty Hands has got about half dozen client

brands in Mid-Atlantic. Son Will, 26, whom Rory said is driving force behind co, now is running NorCal

operation, with about 10 client brands, and anticipates move into Southern Calif (what Whole Foods calls South

Pacific region) within 30 days. In key market like NY, run by oldest son, Mike, 32, team of 9 visits each of 9

Whole Foods stores 6 days per week. Co asks monthly retainer of $2-5K, depending on brand’s sku lineup and

region’s call frequency. No commission. “Every Monday morning it’s a rock fight. If you don’t show up, you

don’t get the space,” is Ahearn’s rationale for heavy call frequency. “And by showing up on Saturday, it’s like a

dog year – we get bonus points. It reinforces that we’re different” with grateful store mgrs. Daughter Kate and

her husband Mike Tarsi, former pitcher for Twins and Braves, run New England. Rory’s extensive career in bevs

has spanned Coors Distributing of NY and Heineken to Red Bull, Reed’s and ONE Coconut Water.

Ahearn has no illusions that most clients will stick around. He sees Dirty Hands as helping newer brands attain

sales velocity that provides leverage in negotiations with full-service DSD distributors. “We’re built with

planned obsolescence in mind so (clients) can walk into a third-tier distributor not on their hands and knees but

with sales and not just take the crumbs,” he said. In essence, Dirty Hands and local rivals mitigate the greatest

liability of using broadline distrib like UNFI: not being able to defend your space in store. “Once you’ve got the

in-store part, it doesn’t matter how you get to the backdoor,” he said. (Dirty Hands doesn’t yet have direct

relationship with UNFI.) Info at DHstoresupport.com – don’t go to unrelated DirtyHands.com unless you’ve got

penchant for porn.

Whole Foods Pendulum Swing Doesn’t Mean Core Model Is Going Away Why focus only on Whole Foods?

Ahearn believes Whole Foods, with highly decentralized structure, represents most open door for new brands.

“It’s in their DNA,” he said. Indeed, as exec whose entire workweek revolves around chain, Ahearn has close

view on changes there, which have included tighter staffing at store level, move of some decisions above store

level, and stream of departures of key figures like global grocery buyer Dwight Richmond and exec global

grocery coordinator Errol Schweizer. It’s effort to convince skeptical investors that retailer will be viable despite

rush by conventional retailers and mass merchandisers to embrace natural and organic products. For Ahearn’s

part, he doesn’t put much credence in Wall Street perceptions of retail winners and losers in first place. “It’s like

the investment community never shops,” he said. Among national players, “there’s nobody like Whole Foods

and Kroger” in reinventing shopping experience.

That said, Ahearn acknowledges pendulum has swing to tight controls and lower staffing levels that are

unprecedented. That’s actually good for his biz: Whole Foods team leaders are grateful to those, like Dirty

Hands, who ease burden. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that many of Dirty Hands’ street-level employees are ex-Whole

Foods employees with solid ties to stores.) Still, Ahearn expects pendulum eventually to reverse – or at least not

swing further. “I think they know that autonomy at the store level is one of the secrets to making the store local,

and they can’t walk away from that,” he said. “Once they take that away, it’s Stop & Shop.”

Indeed, it’s not clear that model of operators like Dirty Hands would work in many retailers beyond Whole

Foods. Most conventional retailers keep decision-making power out of hands of local team. So Dirty Hands

model “works at Whole Foods and not at Stop & Shop: the guy you help at Stop & Shop has no way to repay you,

because everything comes from on high,” Ahearn said. “So I can’t be of value to the supplier” by winning more

shelf space.

Kill Cliff has wrapped up search for new ceo with recruitment of longtime food exec Joe Driscoll,

following run as svp marketing at Angie’s Boomchickapop popcorn brand, which was sold to TPG Capital in

2014. Move, reportedly instituted at behest of core investor Sherbrooke Partners, was intended to lend greater

cohesion to retail expansion and has included recruitment of flock of seasoned bev sales/distribution execs to

orchestrate DSD-based rollout to retail (BBI, Jan 29). “Joe is exactly what we need at Kill Cliff,” said founder

and former Navy SEAL Todd Ehrlich, who was involved in search for a replacement. Driscoll spent dozen years

at General Mills, involved in brands like Wheaties, Lucky Charms and Pillsbury and in acquisition of natural food

play Immaculate Baking in 2012 . . . Changing of guard continues at Starbucks, where former coo Troy Alstead

elected not to return after year-long sabbatical concluded. Move disclosed in regulatory filing follows departure a

few weeks earlier of Jeff Hansberry, who was co-running Evolution Fresh juice biz with founder Jimmy

Rosenberg.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is expected to propose a 3-

cent-per- ounce tax on sugared bevs when he presents his budget to city council today, reported Wall Street

Journal. He hopes “to raise $400 million from the special tax over the next 5 years,” noted WSJ, with most of

funds earmarked for pre-K programs. A penny-per- oz effort by former Mayor Michael Nutter failed to gain

traction in 2011. Recall that just-elected Mayor Kenney named Thomas Farley to run Philadelphia Health Dept.

Farley held same title in NYC when Michael Bloomberg was doing battle with soft drink industry over portion

size limits that were eventually tossed in court.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett

defended his biz partners at 3G Capital (Brazilian private equity firm with key stakes in Anheuser-Busch InBev,

Kraft-Heinz, etc) in his annual letter to shareholders and during CNBC interview this week.  “I believe in

efficiency” and 3G “looks for companies where there is a lot to be done to make them more efficient,” said

Buffett. When 3G lays off workers it’s because “it has to be done” and eventually leads to a “more efficient

economy,” he added.  In widely anticipated letter to shareholders, Buffett “spent about 10% of his roughly

18,000-word letter to “launch a vigorous defense” of 3G Capital, noted Reuters. “Jorge Paulo and his associates

could not be better partners,” he wrote. While he and 3G “follow different paths” on how to run a biz, 3G has

been “extraordinarily successful” and hinted more ventures between them are possible, per Reuters. On CNBC,

Buffett shot down prospect of 3G making eventual move for Coke, saying, “I don’t think so,” when asked about

yet another megadeal.  “Coca-Cola is not for sale,” he said, adding that, “we own 9%,” so Berkshire would have

some say in that possibility too.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett

defended his biz partners at 3G Capital (Brazilian private equity firm with key stakes in Anheuser-Busch InBev,

Kraft-Heinz, etc) in his annual letter to shareholders and during CNBC interview this week.  “I believe in

efficiency” and 3G “looks for companies where there is a lot to be done to make them more efficient,” said

Buffett. When 3G lays off workers it’s because “it has to be done” and eventually leads to a “more efficient

economy,” he added.  In widely anticipated letter to shareholders, Buffett “spent about 10% of his roughly

18,000-word letter to “launch a vigorous defense” of 3G Capital, noted Reuters. “Jorge Paulo and his associates

could not be better partners,” he wrote. While he and 3G “follow different paths” on how to run a biz, 3G has

been “extraordinarily successful” and hinted more ventures between them are possible, per Reuters. On CNBC,

Buffett shot down prospect of 3G making eventual move for Coke, saying, “I don’t think so,” when asked about

yet another megadeal.  “Coca-Cola is not for sale,” he said, adding that, “we own 9%,” so Berkshire would have

some say in that possibility too.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett

defended his biz partners at 3G Capital (Brazilian private equity firm with key stakes in Anheuser-Busch InBev,

Kraft-Heinz, etc) in his annual letter to shareholders and during CNBC interview this week.  “I believe in

efficiency” and 3G “looks for companies where there is a lot to be done to make them more efficient,” said

Buffett. When 3G lays off workers it’s because “it has to be done” and eventually leads to a “more efficient

economy,” he added.  In widely anticipated letter to shareholders, Buffett “spent about 10% of his roughly

18,000-word letter to “launch a vigorous defense” of 3G Capital, noted Reuters. “Jorge Paulo and his associates

could not be better partners,” he wrote. While he and 3G “follow different paths” on how to run a biz, 3G has

been “extraordinarily successful” and hinted more ventures between them are possible, per Reuters. On CNBC,

Buffett shot down prospect of 3G making eventual move for Coke, saying, “I don’t think so,” when asked about

yet another megadeal.  “Coca-Cola is not for sale,” he said, adding that, “we own 9%,” so Berkshire would have

some say in that possibility too.