The latest restaurant was opened in Dongguan in Guangdong province, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said in an e- mailed statement. The 2009 plan will create 10,000 restaurant jobs and 1,200 manager positions, it said.

McDonald’s joins other foreign consumer companies such as Pepsico Inc., Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in focusing on emerging markets such as China, which saw retail sales rise 22 percent in October, close to the fastest pace in nine years.

“In difficult times, consumers still want to go out to eat but might go to cheaper places, such as McDonald’s,” Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, said over the phone from Shanghai.

“McDonald’s have the right price points and they have good quality control,” he said, adding he doesn’t see a marked slowdown in consumer spending in China even though economic growth weakened to 9 percent in the third quarter, the slowest pace in five years.

The new 500ml offering builds on the success of Ribena Strawberry 288ml, which is the 2nd best selling flavour in the Ribena range. Consumers already love the taste of Ribena Strawberry and the 500ml format is set to attract new drinkers and trade up existing consumers to grow category value.

Consumers will be keen to buy a new product from the Ribena range, a brand they know and love, so retailers should stock up now to maximise their profits. Rich in Vitamin C, Ribena Strawberry contains no artificial colours or sweeteners and no added preservatives.

Linda Goggin, Ribena Senior Brand Manager said; “Ribena Strawberry 500ml is set to generate interest and excitement in the category and further drive sales of Ribena Strawberry, which is already the No1 selling Strawberry Juice Drink at £4m. “Ribena Strawberry 500ml offers consumers a delicious and refreshing drink.

Retailers should stock up on Ribena Strawberry 500ml to ensure they have the right range in their chiller to satisfy consumer demand. ” Ribena Strawberry 500ml bottles are made from 100% recycled PET and are available from 8th December 2008.

Nissin Foods Holdings Co., known for its flagship Cup Noodle products, said it planned to buy around a one-third stake in Russia’s LLC Mareven Food Central, which controls 41 percent of Russia’s instant noodle market.

As a first step, the Japanese instant noodle giant will invest 9.3 billion yen in January to buy a 14.99 percent stake in Angleside Ltd., the parent company of Russia’s biggest instant noodle maker, Nissin said in a statement.

Nissin will then raise its stake to 33.5 percent by September 2010 with its total investment estimated at 26.8 billion yen (296 million dollars), it said.

With the capital tie-up, Nissin plans to fully launch its business in Russia while providing Mareven its technology for developing and producing instant noodles, it said.

“We are also considering marketing our own brands in Russia in the future through the tie-up,” a company spokesman said.

Russians buy two billion packets of instant noodles a year, making it the world’s ninth-largest consumer, according to Nissin. Mareven forecasts a net profit this year of 2.1 billion yen on sales of 31 billion yen.

Nissin, based in the western city of Osaka, created instant ramen noodles shortly after World War II, targeting busy people on the go as Japan built itself up from ruins into the world’s second largest economy.

Nissin and its rivals have since become a multi-billion-dollar global industry.

But Japanese food companies have increasingly branched out overseas, anticipating a slump in demand at home as the population ages.

Many restaurant and retail chains struggled in 2008, closing stores amidst the global economic downturn.

On Monday, McDonald’s confirmed earlier press reports that it will spend about $1.1 billion — more than half its total global investment funding in 2009 — to revamp scores of existing restaurants in Europe and open 240 new ones there. That effort will not only focus on relatively new markets in Eastern Europe like Russia and Poland, but also sink roots deeper in West European nations like Italy, Spain and France — generating about 12,000 badly needed new jobs in the process.

As part of that expansion plan, McDonald’s says it will add about 400 new McCafés to the 800 outlets it already operates in Europe. Viewed from any angle, this kind of spending indicates that Ronald McDonald is feeling bullish about his future in Europe — the dismal global economic slowdown be damned.

The company performed well in 2008, seeing its share price go up by 7 percent. It was one of few companies which belong to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to go up, the FT says. The increase has come mostly due to its low cost menus.

Analysts forecast McDonalds’ will report on Monday that profit rose 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to FT

McDonald’s announced Thursday that residents of China, the world’s most populous nation, would now be able to feast on four new combo McDonald’s meals — the other two feature a chicken filet sandwich and a pork burger — for 16.50 yuan, or $2.41, a cut of up to one-third from the former price.

The promotion, McDonald’s said, is “in line with the government’s direction to stimulate domestic demand” and “help build a stronger economy.” As the economy slows, “we can do our part by helping stimulate domestic demand in the restaurant sector,” said Jeff Schwartz, chief executive of McDonald’s China.

McDonald’s is not the only food retailer to have lowered prices in China Others, like KFC, also have started promotions as consumers in China begin to fret about slowing growth and rising unemployment. But the price reduction by one of the world’s best-known companies highlights how the downturn that began in the United States has changed shopping and selling patterns as far away as China.

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The Seattle company plans to unveil Via instant coffee on Tuesday and to make it available next month.

Starbucks says the new drink item was 20 years in development and replicates the taste of Starbucks coffee. A trio of single-serve Via packets will sell for $2.95 and 12 packets will be priced at $9.95.

The move pits the company, which already sells its coffee beans in grocery stores and in its own shops, against giant food sellers with established instant coffee brands. They include Nescafe maker Nestle and Sanka seller Kraft Foods Inc.

Instant coffee, which Starbucks says has a $17 billion global market, was more popular decades ago in the United States and remains a staple in parts of Europe and Asia.

In the latest quarter, the United States contributed $2 billion of the company’s $2.6 billion in total revenue.

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McDonald’s India is a 50:50 joint venture between McDonald’s and Hardcastle Restaurants for west and south India. For east and north India, the food retailer has a tie up with Vikram Bakshi’s Cannaught Plaza Restaurants. McDonald’s refrained from hiking prices despite rising pressure on input costs last year. “Currently, we do not see any reason for raising prices of our food items as the commodity prices, especially edible oil prices, have eased and our back-end supply-chain is strong enough,” Mr Jatia added. The largest fast-food retail network will invest around Rs 120 crore, excluding real estate, for its expansion. The food retailer offers services to 180 million customers every year from its 155 outlets and expects to manage the customer growth rate of 30-40% on y-o-y basis. Further, it has tied up with BPCL and HPCL to open restaurants at their upcoming motels on express highways.

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The company currently operates 28 outlets including 17 in Delhi and NCR, one each in Lucknow, Agra, Meerut and Ahmedabad. Further, the company, involved in manufacturing and marketing of Bikano range of sweets, snacks, sherbets and papad under the brand Bikano Packaged Sweets & Namkeens, plans to set up a factory in Hyderabad, informed Gupta.

Furthermore the company, which operates its outlets through company-owned and franchisee outlets, is also planning to open more outlets abroad. “We currently have two outlets in Dubai, one each in Aukland, New Zealand, and Kathmandu, Nepal. Very shortly, we will be launching our outlet in Sharjah. We are also planning to foray in Australia,” shared Gupta.

About the criteria to choose the franchisee, Gupta added, “Our managing director SS Agrawal is very particular about the branding of the company. Besides looking at the potential of space a franchisee has, with its ability to make money, the company always believes in profitable sustenance of each outlet.” The average retail space of Bikanervala outlets is estimated at 15,000-20,000 square feet, informed Gupta.

Commenting on the ongoing financial slowdown and its impact on food industry, Gupta concluded, “As of now, we have not felt the pinch of any slowdown on this industry. We follow the model of targeting every segment of the society which has indeed helped us to retain the sales figure.”

Source: By Shailesh Shah, Indiaretailing.com