Subj: [Organicbeekeepers] HFCS marketing push  
Date: 06/23/2008 9:34:59 PM Mountain Daylight Time 
From: [log in to unmask] 


Below is a story from today's Wall Street Journal on high fructose 
corn syrup (HFCS). 

That the HFCS industry sees the need to do positive PR by advertising 
an industrial feedstock to the public means at least two things. 
First, when positive PR is needed for a relatively unknown industrial 
ingredient (i.e., HFCS) that means the industry has detected serious 
end consumer push back (e.g., grocer store studies show that Moms are 
switching to other sweeteners). Second, such an ad campaign also is 
calculated to soften the impact of impending price surges for end 
products (e.g., create luxury image for HFCS). Last year corn was 
routinely be under $3/bushel and now is over $7/bushel. The 
industries that buy HFCS need end consumer demand to justify the 
continued purchase, or the industries will switch. Positive PR is 
calculated to shore up that end consumer demand prior to the pass 
through of price increases. When the price of one substitute (e.g., 
HFCS) spikes up, market pressures will draw up the price of a 
substitute (e.g., honey) whose cost structure is not affected by the 
same sources of upward price pressure (e.g., CCD versus Iowa 
floods). 

In the 1970s, when HFCS came to market, HFCS both increased total 
demand for sweeteners by well over 50% as well as reduced demand for 
honey in the USA by over 25%: it created new markets and captured 
old markets. In the 1980s when Chinese honey was first allowed to be 
imported into the USA the Chinese honey captured more than 25% of 
reduced domestic demand for honey: imports displaced domestic 
production. Then the mites.

HFCS is a major cost for commercial pollinators, which only will add 
to their cost and revenue woes attributable to CCD. (Pure 
speculation question: could early and constant feeding on HFCS be a 
contributor to CCD in the same fashion that cattle feed "too long" on 
corn spike their need for pharmaceuticals?)

In any event, suppliers of organic honey ought to prepare for greater 
demand for their product as well as less resistance to price 
increases independent of that greater demand.

from the June 23, 2008 Wall Street Journal
Market Place section
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121416915596395063.html

High Fructose Corn Syrup Mixes It Up
Sweetener Advocate, 
Soured by Obesity Links, 
Targets Moms in Ads
By SUZANNE VRANICA
June 23, 2008; Page B7
The high-fructose corn-syrup business is fighting back.
In recent years, there have been a series of research papers and 
studies linking HFCS to the rise in obesity in the U.S. While sugar 
has to some degree also been blamed for America's growing weight 
problems, HFCS, because it is manufactured, has come under greater 
criticism by consumers and some health professionals.
Now a Washington trade group is trying to rehabilitate the reputation 
of the longtime sweetener. Beginning today, the Corn Refiners 
Association is launching a big ad and public-relations campaign to 
convince consumers that HFCS isn't the evil it has been made out to 
be.

The group is running full-page ads in more than a dozen major 
newspapers around the country saying its product is no worse for you 
than sugar. The ad, which features a stalk of corn, carries the 
headline: "And Now a Little Food for Thought." The ad goes on to tell 
readers that lots of foods and beverages are sweetened with "sugars 
made from corn, such as high-fructose corn syrup" and that it has 
the "same natural sweeteners as table sugar and honey."
The campaign, created by the Chicago office of Omnicom Group's DDB, 
includes two other newspaper ads; TV spots that begin in September; 
and online ads. The lion's share of the ads will run on media that 
specifically target moms. The group is planning to spend $20 million 
to $30 million on the 18-month campaign, according to a person 
familiar with the matter.

The use of HFCS began to spread during the 1980s as food 
manufacturers sought a less-expensive alternative to sugar. It is 
used in a long list of products such as soda, salad dressing, ketchup 
and breakfast cereals.

Some medical and health experts now say that HFCS is similar to 
sugar, adding that HFCS isn't metabolized by the body any differently 
than table sugar. Still, most agree that too much of either is not 
healthy. Last week, the American Medical Association, following its 
own investigation, announced that HFCS doesn't appear to contribute 
more to obesity than other caloric sweeteners. Still, the AMA called 
for further independent research to be done on the health effects of 
HFCS and also said that consumers should limit the amount of all 
sweeteners they use.

Its decision comes after some in the medical community called for the 
AMA to recommend that food companies restrict the use of HFCS or 
recommend that food companies label products that contain HFCS with a 
warning.

HFCS "has taken it on the chin in the past few years," says Michael 
F. Jacobson, executive director for the Center for Science in the 
Public Interest. "It's essentially identical to sugar." But Mr. 
Jacobson isn't a fan of either sweetener. "Americans are eating far 
too much of both," he adds.

While the CRA has been trying to counter the bad publicity around 
HFCS since 2004, the group could no longer afford to rely on simple 
grass-roots marketing tactics such as talking with nutritionists and 
doctors. "The sweetener has been getting a bad rap, and a big reason 
is there has been no other information in the marketplace to counter 
the mistruths," says Don Hoffman, an executive vice president at DDB. 
As part of the marketing effort, the trade group will also have its 
PR firm conduct phone and in-person conversations with influential 
mommy bloggers.

Even though some health researchers are now softening their criticism 
of HFCS, the marketing effort still faces enormous hurdles. Changing 
the behavior of legions of moms who are growing increasingly leery 
about processed snacks and ingredients won't be easy, marketing 
experts say.

Moreover, some marketers have already removed high-fructose corn 
syrup from their products in an effort to capitalize on the backlash. 
While small food-and-beverage companies such as Jones Soda were among 
the first to remove corn syrup and replace it with sugar, the 
movement is no longer reserved for only niche brands. For instance, 
food titan Kraft Foods has recently come out with a Bull's-Eye 
Barbecue Sauce that is HFCS-free. The product "appeals to health-
conscious patrons because it contains no high-fructose corn syrup, no 
fat and no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives," Kraft says 
on its Web site.

Kraft products that don't include the sweetener include the Back to 
Nature product line; Nabisco Oreo 100 Calorie Pack Chewy Granola 
Bars; Lunchables Pizza and some Kraft Salad Dressings. "We know some 
consumers are interested in items without high-fructose corn syrup, 
so we have eliminated it in some of our products," says a spokeswoman 
for the food maker. Kraft says it has no plan to eliminate HFCS 
entirely from its product line.

Write to Suzanne Vranica at [log in to unmask] 





      

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