Manufacturing

Mattel, Inc. and MEGA Brands Inc. announce a definitive agreement for Mattel's acquisition, through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc., of MEGA Brands for US$460 million.

The partnership involves sales and marketing efforts along with in-store support from major retailers.

Retail Solutions Inc. announces its new retail reporting functionality tailored specifically for meeting the needs of the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) market.

The sale includes the brands Bifi, sold in Germany, Benelux, Austria and Switzerland, and Peperami, which retails in the UK and Ireland.

LOreal selects Siemens software to help optimize its packaging development processes, reduce time-to-market, and improve product innovation and quality.

Many brands are utilizing social media as a means to enhance consumer engagement and the overall brand experience, which adds tremendous value in terms of building trusted relationships. However, a new social media application has the potential to be much more powerful: consumer understanding. Julia Chen Davidson, global consumer products lead, IBM Institute for Business Value, explains how CG companies can take hold of this opportunity within their four walls.

Outsourcing is one of the most misunderstood investments that the competitive consumer goods company wrestles with. When it first became popular, it was generally a defensive tactic meant to reduce costs. Today, however, it has morphed into a strategic business driver.

While General Mills is well-known around the world for its familiar products available on grocery store shelves, it's a lesser known fact that one of its key businesses is the Convenience & Foodservice division, which is focusing on bringing innovative new products to key growth channels.