Cranberry Quotes

"A white cranberry is like a white tomato," says Stewart Gallagher, a vice president at Ocean Spray , which recently introduced "white" cranberry juice (it's actually clear). "It really takes people by surprise." from an article titled "This Spring White is Everywhere Even Months Before Labor Day" in the Wall Street Journal.

It may seem to be a simple idea, but Coke didn't quite get it until the last year or two, after Daft declared Coke a ''total beverage company.'' Even though the company owned the largest juice maker in the world (Minute Maid), the guys in Atlanta never really cared about the stuff that didn't fizz. But the beverage landscape was changing all around them. They should have seen the first signs in the mid-1980's, when Snapple took America by storm.

Pepsi became a total beverage company long before Coke. People may ''reach for the red more than the blue'' when it comes to cola (as they like to say around Coke's Atlanta offices), but in the domestic noncarb sectors, Pepsi whups Coke. Pepsi-owned Tropicana dominates Minute Maid in the high-margin premium orange juice category, and its bottled water, Aquafina, is ahead of Dasani. When Coke waffled in its bid to buy Gatorade, the No. 1 sports drink in America (with a huge 80 percent share), it was Pepsi that swept in and managed to get the deal done. The Cola War is more heated than ever, except this time: 1) it's being waged over everything but cola, and 2) the analysts figure that Pepsi is already five years ahead.

Gould's job is to catch up. How? Coke will reposition drinks it already owns, buy up successful drinks made by smaller companies and, of course, invent new drinks out of thin air. For instance, in the global market, Coke is repositioning its Powerade -- a sports drink that ranks a distant second to Gatorade -- as a ''healthy hydration for the active lifestyle,'' rather than a straight-up sports drink. It's a subtle difference, but Coke says it will give it an advantage with a worldwide audience that cares less for the ''win at all costs'' image that Gatorade projects. And when Pepsi bought the trendy SoBe line of teas and juices (again a brand that Coke wanted first), Coke responded by snatching up the Mad River company, which makes trendy teas and juices of its own. Finally, to combat Tropicana, Coke had Minute Maid invent the Simply Orange line of premium orange juice. New York Times Sunday Magazine

"Ocean Spray hopes that a resurgence in the market will bring back the brand recognition the company used to enjoy almost effortlessly, and that that success will filter down to the growers. Admittedly, though, a turnaround for the growers will lag behind whatever improvements Ocean Spray enjoys. And many of them won’t be able to wait." From the Point South Magazine article, Drowning in a Sea of Red Ink, republished (here) with permission:

“Delaware law does not require disclosure of inherently unreliable or speculative information which would tend to confuse stockholders or inundate them with an overload of information.” From the newly online Motion to Delay Discovery, filed by Ocean Spray in the DeMarco case.

"Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, added an amendment to authorize funding to create a Cranberry Preserve Program, which would purchase cranberry bogs of growers who are retiring or leaving the industry, and preserve them as open space. Kennedy's staff said that the program had been authorized to spend $10 million, with actual funding to be settled in the appropriations process later this year." From "New England farms may get US aid: Conservation aims included in bill" in the 2/10/02 Boston Globe. Jeff LaFleur is also quoted.

"The prospectus for Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russia's biggest consumer-goods firm, also notes that certain of its shareholders and directors are owners and directors of an automobile and casino concern called Trinity that "has been the subject of speculation in the Russian press, including with respect to possible links with organized crime." The prospectus stresses that no charges have ever been brought against Wimm-Bill-Dann's directors or shareholders."

"The revelations are raising some eyebrows, though most analysts say Wimm-Bill-Dann is a well-run company that has used clever marketing and good quality control to capture a big chunk of Russia's growing market for juice and dairy products. Its disclosures illustrate the rough road many Russian firms have traveled from the chaos of early capitalism to the goal of international respectability." From the 2/6/02 Wall Street Journal, "Russian IPO Discloses Its Shady Ties Ahead of Friday's Listing on NYSE" See Stressline article From Russia with cranberries.

Despite the ominous signs, Jonathan L. Healy, the Massachusetts food and agriculture secretary, said it is too soon to tell how crops will be affected. ''We're not in a full-blown drought, but the shortage could affect some farmers. It could make the fruit buds weaker.'' from "Scant precipitation has N.E. on drought alert" 2/7/02 Boston Globe

"When faced with conduct that threatens the exercise of the shareholder franchise, especially the election of directors, board action or lack thereof that interferes with that exercise will be scrutinized closely and may result in a finding of liability for breach of fiduciary duties, even if the board does not act with the primary purpose of frustrating the shareholder franchise." Kelly C. Ashby, associate at Richards, Layton & Finger (attorney's for Ocean Spray) writing about a Delaware Chancery Court action. Link.

"We're still going to compete (with Nestlé) in the marketplace with them, but this alliance is going to save both companies considerable money," said Chris Phillips, a spokesman with Ocean Spray.

"Not a lot of growers have left the industry yet," said (Jim) Jenkins, a fourth generation cranberry grower from West Barnstable, "but they're right on the cusp. We had about 20 good years. It takes a little while to drain your assets." 1/31/02 Cape Cod Times

Phillips* said the (Nestle) agreement could help increase the prices paid to cranberry growers who have seen those prices plummet in recent years because of an industry-wide glut of cranberries.