U.S. food groups eye emerging markets

The world's largest soup maker, Campbell Soup Co., is focused on China and Russia; processed meat group Hormel Foods Corp is looking to China, and Sara Lee Corp is eyeing Russia, Brazil and Asian markets to boost overall growth.

Campbell, which still has three-quarters of its sales in its home
U.S. market, is investing $50 million a year in the world's two
biggest soup markets — Russia and China — and hopes to turn that
investment into a profit within five years. The New Jersey-based soup
maker is focused on market needs, with the Chinese looking for
healthy soups and Russians desiring soup that is filling, Conant told
the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago this week.

Meanwhile, Hormel is focused on China where it has operated for 11
years. Its two plants in Beijing and Shanghai produce premium canned
meat products. The group, which makes Spam processed meat and Dinty
Moore stew, has less than 5 percent of its sales outside its domestic
U.S. market, and hopes that a push in China will drive international
profit.

Food and consumer goods group Sara Lee highlighted its push into
emerging markets, which is largely driven by its Senseo coffee and
also its household and personal care goods division which makes
insecticides for use in the home. Key markets for the group's coffee
are Brazil and Russia and for its insecticides Russia and also its
Asian markets such as India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.