Top Food Companies To Invest In 2014

Not every health care investment is a health care investment. How is that possible? Investors can buy shares of a company that benefits from the growth of health care but isn't exclusively in health care itself. 3M (NYSE: MMM  ) is a great example. The Minnesota-based giant has interests in a variety of business sectors, one of which happens to be health care. Could buying 3M stock still be a smart health care investment choice? Let's examine.

Three Ms
While 3M originally stood for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, today those Ms today could just as easily mean "medical products, microbiology, and management systems." Net sales for the company's Health Care business segment in 2012 totaled $5.1 billion. This ranks Health Care as 3M's second-largest unit, trailing only Industrial & Transportation.

3M's medical products include a variety of offerings, from adhesive surgical tapes to stethoscopes. On the microbiology front, the company's product line includes pathogen testing, hygiene monitoring tests, and other solutions that address food safety. 3M Health Care's health information management tools span from diagnosis coding software for hospitals and physician offices to revenue cycle management systems.

Top 5 Oil Companies To Buy For 2015: G Willi-Food International Ltd (WILC)

G. Willi-Food International Ltd., incorporated in January 1994, is engaged, directly and through subsidiaries, in the development, import, export, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of a range of over 600 food products worldwide. The Company purchases food products from over 150 suppliers located in Israel and throughout the world, including from the Far East (China, India, the Philippines and Thailand), Ethiopia, Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia), South America (Ecuador and Costa Rica), the United States, Canada, Western and Central Europe (the Netherlands, Belgium, Monaco, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, and France) and Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Greece). The Company's products are marketed and sold to approximately 1,500 customers in Israel and around the world including to supermarket chains, wholesalers and institutional consumers. The Company markets most of its products under the brand name Willi-Food. On January 1, 2012, the Company completed the sale of its entire 51% ownership interest in Shamir and closed its manufacturing segment.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� customers includes the Israeli supermarket chains in the organized market in Israel, which includes Shufersal Ltd. (including the chains: Shufersal Deal, Shufersal Deal Extra, Shufersal Sheli, Shufersal, Yesh, Shufersal Express and Katif); Mega Retail Ltd. (which also includes Mega, MegaBool, Mega in the City and Zol B'Shefa), and Co-Op Israel (which also includes Co-Op Jerusalem, Mister Zol and Pashut Zol). The Company contracts with the supermarket chains in the organized market through the buyers in the head office of the supermarket chain, and then the Company receives orders from the logistic center or directly from their stores. Merchandise is then delivered directly to each branch or to the supermarket�� chain distribution center. Its secondary major group of customers includes private supermarket chains, mini-markets, wholesalers, food manufac! turers, institutional consumers, such as catering halls, hotels, hospitals and food service companies and food producers, and customers in the Palestinian Authority.

.

The Company�� imports, markets and distributes a range of over 600 food products. These products are sold by the Company and by Gold Frost. The principal products in the import segment product line are Canned Vegetables and Pickles, including including mushrooms (whole and sliced), artichoke (hearts and bottoms), beans, asparagus, capers, corn kernels, baby corn, palm hearts, vine leaves (including vine leaves stuffed with rice), sour pickles, mixed pickled vegetables, pickled peppers, an assortment of black and green olives, garlic, roasted eggplant sun and dried tomatoes. These products are primarily imported from China, Greece, Thailand, Turkey, India, and The Netherlands; canned fish, including tuna (in oil or in water), sardines, anchovies, smoked and pressed cod liver, herring, fish paste and salmon. These products are primarily imported from the Philippines, Thailand, Greece, Germany and Sweden; Canned Fruit, including pineapple (sliced or pieces), peaches, apricot, pears, mangos, cherries, litchis and fruit cocktail. These products are primarily imported from China, the Philippines, Thailand, Greece and Europe.; Edible Oils, including olive oil, regular and enriched sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil and rapeseed oil. These products are primarily imported from Belgium, Argentina, Turkey, Italy, Holland and Spain; dairy and dairy substitute products, including hard and semi-hard cheeses (parmesan, edam, kashkaval, gouda, havarti, cheddar, pecorino, manchego, maasdam, rossiysky, iberico and emmental), molded cheeses (brie, camembert and danablu), feta, Bulgarian cheese, goat cheese, fetina, butter, yogurts, butter spreads, margarine, melted cheese, cheese alternatives, condensed milk, coffee whitener, pizzas, ice cream, whipped cream and others. These products are primarily imported from Greece, France, Latvia, Denma! rk, Bulga! ria, Italy, and The Netherlands.

Dried Fruit, Nuts and Beans, including figs, apricots, chestnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, pine nuts, cashew nuts, pistachio and peanuts. These products are primarily imported from Greece, Turkey, India, China, Thailand and the United States, and other products, including, among others, instant noodle soup, Manchu, breadstick coffee creamers, lemon juice, halva, Turkish delight, cookies, vinegar, sweet pastry and crackers, sauces, corn flour, rice, rice sticks, pasta, spaghetti and noodles, breakfast cereals, corn flakes, rusks, couscous, rusks, gnocchi, tortilla, dried apples snacks, chocolate bars and chocolate paste, tea, deserts (such as tiramisu and pastries), light and alcoholic beverages (such as ouzo, sangria and mohito) and more. These products are primarily imported from The Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece, Belgium, the United States, Scandinavia, Switzerland, China, Thailand, Turkey, India, and South America.

The Company competes with Shemen, Taaman, Solbar, Fodor (Starkist and Yona), Posidon, Williger, Filtuna, Vita Pri HaGalil, Shastowits, Yachin-Zan laKol, Williger, Alaska, Johnson, Osem, Barila, Tomer, Tnuva, Tara, Strauss, Seyman, Gad Dairy, and Meshek Zuriel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q4 2014 earnings report for Dubai headquartered specialty Basmati rice stock Amira Nature Foods Ltd (NYSE: ANFI), a potential performance peer of other specialty food stocks like The Chefs Warehouse, Inc (NASDAQ: CHEF) and Israel based G Willi-Food International Ltd (NASDAQ: WILC), is due out before the market opens on Tuesday. Aside from the Amira Nature Foods Ltd earnings report, it should be said that The Chefs Warehouse, Inc reported Q1 2014 on May1st (results were negatively impacted by the severe weather that affected many of our core markets) while G Willi-Food International Ltd reported Q1 2014 earnings on May 28th (results were�affected by a decline of consumption by Israeli customers). However, Amira Nature Foods Ltd shares fell as much as 22% after reporting third-quarter earnings back in February plus the stock is the sixth most shorted stock on the NYSE with short interest of 45.30%�according to HighShortInterest.com.

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
  
  1. Avg. High Yield Price
  2. 20-Year DCF Price
  3. Avg. P/E Price
  4. Graham Number
  
  SYY is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 37.5% premium to its calculated fair value of $26.26. SYY did not earn any Stars in this section.
  
  Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
  
  1. Free Cash Flow Payout
  2. Debt To Total Capital
  3. Key Metrics
  4. Dividend Growth Rate
  5. Years of Div. Growth
  6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%
  
  SYY earned two Stars in this section for 2.) and 3.) above. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. SYY earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1970 and has increased its dividend payments for 43 consecutive years.
  
  Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
  
  1. NPV MMA Diff.
  2. Years to > MMA
  
  The NPV MMA Diff. of the $282 is below the $500 target I look for in a stock that has increased dividends as long as SYY has. If SYY grows its dividend at 3.6% per year, it will take 3 years to equal a MMA yielding an estimated 20-year average rate of 3.41%. SYY earned a check for the Key Metric 'Years to >MMA' since its 3 years is le

Top Food Companies To Invest In 2014: Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (SFM)

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (Sprouts), incorporated on January 27, 2011, is a specialty retailer of natural and organic food focusing on health and wellness. The Company offers fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, grocery, meat and seafood, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, body care and natural household items. The Company�� product offerings focus on fresh, natural and organic foods. Natural foods can be defined as foods that are minimally processed and are free of synthetic preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors and other additives, growth hormones, antibiotics, hydrogenated oils, stabilizers and emulsifiers. The Company categorize the over 7,000 range of products, it sells as perishable and non-perishable. Perishable product categories include produce, meat, seafood, deli and bakery. Non-perishable product categories include grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, dairy and dairy alternatives, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.

The cornerstones of the Company�� business are fresh, natural and organic products. As of July 19, 2013, the Company opened 87 new stores while rebranding 43 Henry�� and 39 Sunflower stores to the Sprouts banner. The Company�� stores include Produce, Bulk Items, Vitamins and Supplements, Grocery, Meat, Seafood, Deli, Bakery, Dairy and Dairy Alternatives, Frozen Foods, Beer and Wine and Natural Health and Body Care.The Company offer its customers a farmers market open-feel environment consisting of an abundant and affordable offering of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, focused on appearance, flavor and value. The Company�� stores include a crafted selection of more than 450 ranges of scoopable nuts, fruits, trail mixes, grains, beans, cereals, coffee, tea, spices, candy and snacks featured in the center of the store. The Company�� stores feature more than 4,200 vitamins, supplements, natural remedies, functional food, lifestyle support, and herbal supplements. This department includes ! an extensive private label offering.

The Company�� grocery offering focuses on healthy options. The Company carries approximately 4,200 natural and organic products in its grocery aisles, including meal components, natural sodas and other beverages, snacks and bars, baking goods, baby, pet and household items such as detergent and paper towels, and earth-friendly mercantile items. The Company�� Olde Tyme Butcher Shops combine sourcing through its trusted supplier network, product variety and old-fashioned customer service. The Company offers a range of seafood favorites delivered up to six days a week. The Conpany feature a range of fresh deli specialties, including sliced deli meat, salads, dips, entrees, side dishes, fresh made to order sandwiches at value prices and an abundant selection of over 200 varieties of cheeses from around the world.

The Company��bakery offering includes artisan bread alongside a wide assortment of sandwich breads, rolls, tortillas, pitas, muffins, cookies and pies as well as sugar free, gluten free and low carbohydrate products. The Company�� dairy department features a selection of organic, natural and regionally sourced milk, yogurt (including Greek, Australian, organic, and soy-based), butter and eggs, as well as a full selection of vegan and vegetarian alternative dairy products. The Company�� freezer cases feature traditional and ethnic natural and organic entrees and side dishes, along with frozen vegetables, desserts and specialty items, such as gluten-free breads and non-dairy ice creams. The Company offers approximately 2,400 natural, cruelty-free health and beauty products, old-fashioned remedies and modern body care innovations, including facial care products and make up, skin, hair, dental, baby care and grooming products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Rooney]

  Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), which went public last year, has built its brand around health foods that cost less. Even big discount chains like Walmart (WMT, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) have been moving into the market for fresh produce and healthy packaged food.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (NYSE: SFM) and The Fresh Market Inc. (NYSE: TFM) were both started with Buy ratings at Deutsche Bank.

  Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) was started as Buy at Wunderlich Securities.

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  All of this points to a rosy picture for premium grocery chains. Yet the stock performancee paint a very different picture. Compare the performance of publicly traded premium grocers — Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), The Fresh Market (TFM), and Fairway Group Holdings (FWM) — against that of the ultimate common-man�� grocer, Walmart. Since last October, Walmart is the only grocer stock that hasn�� seen substantial declines. What gives? I have one word for you: valuation.

Top Food Companies To Invest In 2014: Kellogg Co (K)

Kellogg Company (Kellogg), incorporated in 1922, is engaged in the manufacture and marketing of ready-to-eat cereal and convenience foods. Kellogg�� principal products are ready-to-eat cereals and convenience foods, such as cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. As of February 28, 2012, these products were, manufactured by the Company in 17 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries. It also markets cookies, crackers, and other convenience foods, under brands, such as Kellogg��, Keebler, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin and Famous Amos, to supermarkets in the United States. Its cereal products are generally marketed under the Kellogg�� name and are sold principally to the grocery trade through direct sales forces for resale to consumers. Effective June 1, 2012, Procter & Gamble Co announced that it has completed the sale of its Pringles business to Kellogg.

As of February 28, 2012, Kellogg operated manufacturing plants and distribution and warehousing facilities totaling more than 30 million square feet of building area in the United States and other countries. Its manufacturing facilities in the United States include four cereal plants and warehouses located in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee; Omaha, Nebraska and other plants or facilities in San Jose, California; Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, and Rome, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Seelyville, Indiana; Kansas City, Kansas; Florence, Louisville, and Pikeville, Kentucky; Grand Rapids and Wyoming, Michigan; Blue Anchor, New Jersey; Cary and Charlotte, North Carolina; Cincinnati, West Jefferson, and Zanesville, Ohio; Muncy, Pennsylvania; Rossville, Tennessee; Clearfield, Utah; and Allyn, Washington. As of February 28, 2012, outside the United States, the Company had, additional manufacturing locations, some with warehousing facilities, in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, S! outh Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and Venezuela.

The Company�� trademarks include Kellogg�� for cereals, convenience foods and its other products, and the brand names of certain ready-to-eat cereals, including All-Bran, Apple Jacks, Bran Buds, Cinnamon Crunch Crispix, Choco Zucaritas, Cocoa Krispies, Complete, Kellogg�� Corn Flakes, Corn Pops, Cracklin��Oat Bran, Crispix, Cruncheroos, Crunchmania, Crunchy Nut, Eggo, Kellogg�� FiberPlus, Froot Loops, Kellogg�� Frosted Flakes, Kellogg�� Krave, Frosted Krispies, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Fruit Harvest, Just Right, Kellogg�� Low Fat Granola, Mueslix, Pops, Product 19, Kellogg�� Raisin Bran, Raisin Bran Crunch, Rice Krispies, Rice Krispies Treats, Smacks/Honey Smacks, Smart Start, Kellogg�� Smorz, Special K, Special K Red Berries and Zucaritas in the United States and elsewhere; Crusli, Sucrilhos, Vector, Musli, NutriDia, and Choco Krispis for cereals in Latin America. Vive and Vector are brands in Canada; Coco Pops, Chocos, Frosties, Fruit�� Fibre, Kellogg�� Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes, Honey Loops, Kellogg�� Extra, Sustain, Muslix, Country Store, Ricicles, Smacks, Start, Pops, Optima and Tresor for cereals in Europe; and Cerola, Sultana Bran, Chex, Frosties, Goldies, Rice Bubbles, Nutri-Grain, Kellogg�� Iron Man Food, and BeBig for cereals in Asia and Australia. In additional, the Company trademarks are the names of certain combinations of ready-to-eat Kellogg�� cereals, including Fun Pak, Jumbo, and Variety.

Other Company brand names include Kellogg�� Corn Flake Crumbs; All-Bran, Choco Krispis, Froot Loops, Special K, NutriDia, Kuadri-Krispis, Zucaritas and Crusli for cereal bars, Komplete for biscuits; and Kaos for snacks in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America; Pop-Tarts and Pop-Tarts Ice Cream Shoppe for toaster pastries; Pop-Tarts Mini Crisps for crackers; Eggo, Eggo FiberPlus and Nutri-Grain for frozen waffles and pancakes; Rice Krispies Treats for baked snacks and convenience foods; Special K! and Spec! ial K2O for flavored protein water mixes and protein shakes, and Nutri-Grain cereal bars, Nutri-Grain yogurt bars, for convenience foods in the United States and elsewhere. Brands like K-Time, Rice Bubbles, Day Dawn, Be Natural, Sunibrite and LCMs for convenience foods in Asia and Australia; Nutri-Grain Squares, Nutri-Grain Elevenses, and Rice Krispies Squares for convenience foods in Europe; Kashi and GoLean for certain cereals, nutrition bars, and mixes; TLC for granola and cereal bars, crackers and cookies; Special K and Vector for meal replacement products; Bear Naked for granola cereal, bars and trail mix and Morningstar Farms, Loma Linda, Natural Touch, Gardenburger and Worthington for certain meat and egg alternatives. It also markets convenience foods under trademarks and trade names, which include Keebler, Austin, Keebler Baker�� Treasures, Cheez-It, Chips Deluxe, Club, E. L. Fudge, Famous Amos, Fudge Shoppe, Kellogg�� FiberPlus, Gripz, Jack��, Jackson��, Krispy, Mother��, Murray, Murray Sugar Free, Ready Crust, Right Bites, Sandies, Special K, Soft Batch, Stretch Island, Sunshine, Toasteds, Town House, Vienna Creams, Vienna Fingers, Wheatables and Zesta.

The Company�� trademarks also include logos and depictions of certain animated characters in conjunction with its products, including Snap!Crackle!Pop! for Cocoa Krispies and Rice Krispies cereals and Rice Krispies Treats convenience foods; Tony the Tiger for Kellogg�� Frosted Flakes, Zucaritas, Sucrilhos and Frosties cereals and convenience foods, and Ernie Keebler for cookies, convenience foods and other products. It also includes the Hollow Tree logo for certain convenience foods; Toucan Sam for Froot Loops cereal; Dig ��m for Smacks/Honey Smacks cereal; Sunny for Kellogg�� Raisin Bran and Raisin Bran Crunch cereals, Coco the Monkey for Coco Pops cereal; Cornelius for Kellogg�� Corn Flakes; Melvin the Elephant for certain cereal and convenience foods, and Chocos the Bear, Sammy the Seal (aka Smaxey the Seal! ) for cer! tain cereal products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Pratik Thacker]

  The food industry is going through an innovative phase where new and healthy products are taking the place of older ones. This is especially true for affluent consumers who have been shifting to healthier breakfast options such as smoothies and Greek yogurt. This change in preference has affected cereal retailers such as General Mills (NYSE: GIS  ) and Kellogg (NYSE: K  ) .

• [By Rich Duprey]

  It's an industrywide cost that can account for large portions of net sales, and it continues to consume a large portion of sales. For example,�trade promotions by�Kellogg� (NYSE: K  ) �represented 40% of the company's net sales in 2012. General Mills (NYSE: GIS  ) doesn't break out the expense, but when it acquired Yoplait last year, it admitted it would be increasing its marketing on top of an already elevated promotional budget due to greater trade spending.

Top Food Companies To Invest In 2014: 1-800 FLOWERS.COM Inc.(FLWS)

1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. together with its subsidiaries, operates as a florist and gift retailer in the United States. The company offers a range of products, including fresh-cut flowers, floral arrangements and plants, gifts, popcorn, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates, candy, and wine through its telephonic and online sales channels, company-owned and operated retail floral stores, and franchised stores. It provides gourmet gifts, such as popcorn and specialty treats through thepopcornfactory.com; cookies and baked gifts through cheryls.com; chocolates and confections through fanniemay.com and harrylondon.com; gift baskets and towers through 1800baskets.com; Celebrations brand party ideas and planning tips through celebrations.com; and customizable invitations, announcements, and greeting cards through finestationery.com. As of July 3, 2011, the company operated 2 floral retail stores, 1 fulfillment center, and approximately 100 franchised stores located within the United States. It has strategic online relationships with Facebook, Google, AOL, Yahoo!, and Microsoft. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Carle Place, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on 1-800-Flowers.com (Nasdaq: FLWS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top Food Companies To Invest In 2014: B&G Foods Inc (BGS)

B&G Foods, Inc. (B&G Foods), incorporated on November 25, 1996, manufactures, sells and distributes a range of branded shelf-stable food and household products across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The Company complements its branded product retail sales with institutional and food service sales and limited private labels sales. On October 31, 2012,the Company acquired New York Style, Devonsheer, JJ Flats and Old London brands from Chipita America, Inc. The Company's Ortega brand and its products span the shelf-stable Mexican food segment including taco shells, tortillas, seasonings, dinner kits, taco sauces, peppers, refried beans, salsas and related food products. The Company new product offerings include Ortega whole grain corn taco shells and Ortega reduced sodium taco seasoning. Its Maple Grove Farms of Vermont brand is apure maple syrup sold in the United States. Other products under the Maple Grove Farms of Vermont label include a line of gourmet salad dressings, sugar free syrups, marinades, fruit syrups, confections, pancake mixes and organic products. The Cream of Wheat brand is a brand of hot cereals sold in the United States. Cream of Wheat is available in Original 10-minute, 21/2 minute and one-minute versions, and also in instant packets of Original and other flavors. The Company also offers Cream of Rice, a rice-based hot cereal. In July 2013, B&G Foods Inc announced that it has completed the acquisition of Robert's American Gourmet Food, LLC dba Pirate Brands from VMG Partners. In October 2013, B&G Foods Inc acquired Rickland Orchards LLC.

The Mrs. Dash brand of salt-free seasonings is available in more than a dozen blends. The Polaner brand consists of a range of fruit-based spreads as well as jarred wet spices such as chopped garlic and oregano. Polaner All Fruit is a national brand of fruit-juice sweetened fruit spread. The spreads are available in more than a dozen flavors. Polaner Sugar Free preserves are the brand of sugar free preserves nationally. The L! as Palmas brand primarily includes authentic Mexican enchilada sauce, chili sauce and various pepper products. The Bloch & Guggenheimer (B&G) brand and its pickle, pepper and relish products consists of shelf-stable pickles, peppers, relishes, olives and other related specialty items. The B&M brand is the original brand of brick-oven baked beans and remains authentic baked beans. The B&M line includes a range of baked beans and brown bread. The Underwood brand's (Underwood Devil) logo is used for a prepackaged food product in the United States. Underwood meat spreads, include deviled ham, white-meat chicken, roast beef and liverwurst.The New York Style brand includes Original Bagel Crisps, Mini Bagel Crisps, Pita Chips and Panetini Italian Toast.

The Ac'cent brand is a all-natural flavor enhancer for meat preparation and is generally used on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables. The Company offers a line of pasta sauces, seasonings, cooking stocks, mustards, salsas, pepper sauces, dip mixes and cooking sprays under the Emeril's brand name. The Old London brand offers a variety of flavors available in melba toasts, melba rounds and other snacks. Old London also markets specialty snacks under the Devonsheer and JJ Flats names. The Trappey's brand include peppers and hot sauces, including Trappey's Red Devil. The Don Pepino and Sclafani brands primarily include pizza and spaghetti sauces, whole and crushed tomatoes and tomato puree. The Grandma's brand of molasses include molasses sold in the United States. Grandma's molasses products are offered in two styles: Grandma's Original Molasses and Grandma's Robust Molasses. The Joan of Arc brand, which originated in 1895, includes a full range of canned beans including kidney, chili and other varieties.

The Regina brand includes vinegars and cooking wines. Regina products are commonly used in the preparation of salad dressings as well as in a variety of recipe applications, including sauces, marinades and soups. The Static Guard brand i! nclude th! e anti-static spray category. The Sugar Twin brand is a calorie free sugar substitute. The Baker's Joy brand include no-stick baking spray with flour. The Wright's brand is an all-natural seasoning that reproduces the flavor and aroma of pit smoking in meats, chicken and fish. Wright's is offered in three flavors: Hickory, Mesquite and Applewood. The Brer Rabbit brand offers mild and full-flavored molasses as well as blackstrap molasses. Mild molasses is designed for table use and full-flavored molasses is typically used in baking, barbeque sauces and as a breakfast syrup. The Sa-son brand is a flavor enhancer used primarily for Puerto Rican and Hispanic food preparation. The product is generally used on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables. The brand's flavor enhancer is offered in four flavors: Original, Coriander and Achiote, Garlic and Onion, and Tomato. The Company also offers reduced sodium versions of Sa-son. The Vermont Maid brand include maple-flavored syrup under the brand name. Vermont Maid syrup is available in regular, sugar-free and sugar-free butter varieties. The Molly McButter brand include the butter sprinkles category. Molly McButter is an all natural sprinkle, available in butter and cheese flavors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Parsippany, N.J.-based B&G Foods (NYSE: BGS  ) is taking control of Robert's American Gourmet Food, LLC -- the company that does business as "Pirate Brands" and whose signature product is probably the Pirate Booty corn puffs snack.

Top Food Companies To Invest In 2014: SAP AG(SAP)

SAP AG provides business software primarily in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific Japan region. The company?s products includes SAP Business Suite software, which supports large organizations in their core business operations, such as supplier relationship, production, warehouse management, sales, administration, and customer relationship; SAP Business All-in-One, a business management software that assists midsize companies in managing various business functions, including financials, human resources, procurement, inventory, manufacturing, logistics, product development, sales, and marketing; SAP Business One, a business management application for small businesses; and SAP Business ByDesign, an on-demand solution for integrated business management applications. Its products also comprises SAP BusinessObjects Edge business intelligence and enterprise performance management solutions; Xcelsius, a data visualization software; Crystal Reports, which helps users design interactive reports; Sybase IQ, an optimized analytics server designed to deliver results for business intelligence, analytics, data warehousing, and reporting solutions; SAP solutions for sustainability; and SAP NetWeaver technology platform, which integrates information and business processes across various technologies and organizational structures. In addition, the company offers industry and solution-focused, business transformation, information technology transformation, custom development, and support services; and program, project management, quality assurance, and education and certification services. It sells its products through its subsidiaries and resellers. SAP AG has a strategic relationship with Cap Gemini S.A. to develop and deploy enterprise mobility solutions. The company was formerly known as SAP Aktiengesellschaft Systeme, Anwendungen, Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung. SAP AG was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Walldorf , Germany.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By SEENSCO]

  Anticipated synergies from the Sun acquisition have not yet taken hold as intensified competition from HP, International Business Machines (IBM), Intel (INTC) and SAP (SAP) have put downward pressure on sales. It is also unclear what traction has been built selling the highly anticipated Sun Exadata platform. This is a bundled software/hardware product that facilitates online data transaction processing for consumers in a comparatively fast and cheap way. While initial sales spurred hopes of a new growth driver in hardware, how these sales have contributed to new earnings is not particularly clear.

• [By mitu77]

  SAP (SAP), is an established name globally, and a leader in the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software solution provider, with Oracle (ORCL) the closest competitor. With a paradigm shift from in-house implementation to cloud, SAP also joined the race by providing ERP solution in a cloud environment. The strategic move of the company to focus on cloud was illustrated with SAP HANA, which is now gaining momentum and increasing its global footprints. SAP HANA has been a channel for the company to boost its top line. The company also provides various turnkey software solutions pertaining to other growth market like data mining and data warehousing.

• [By Reuters]

  Joe Raedle/Getty Images TORONTO -- BlackBerry Ltd. will pay its new interim CEO a base salary of $1 million, a bonus of up to twice that amount as well as stock awards potentially worth some $85 million, in the hopes of turning around Canada's most prominent technology company. John Chen, the second consecutive chief executive officer at BlackBerry (BBRY) to receive a bumper package, will have to help the embattled smartphone maker regain its footing and win back market share ceded to the likes of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and a range of devices that run on Google's (GOOG) Android operating system. Chen was credited with turning around Sybase in the late 1990s. Sybase, an enterprise software company, was eventually acquired by SAP (SAP) in 2010. Chen's share awards only begin to vest after he completes three years with BlackBerry, and the majority of the options will vest only after he completes his fifth year, according to a regulatory filing late Thursday. Should Chen be fired without cause, he will be paid up to $6 million, according to the filing. Chen's appointment came after BlackBerry stunned many Monday when it abandoned plans to sell itself and instead opted to raise funds via a $1 billion notes offering led by Fairfax Holdings, its largest shareholder. Fairfax, led by investment guru Prem Watsa, had said it was investing $250 million in the offering. In its filing Thursday, BlackBerry said Canso Investment Counsel is investing $300 million in the offering, while Mackenzie Financial, Markel, Qatar Holding, and Brookfield Asset Management are buying the remainder. As part of the financing deal, BlackBerry has agreed to pay a fee to the investors if it does reach an alternate deal that results in the sale of the company, either before, or within 30 days of the close of this deal. Depending on the circumstances, the fee could range between $135 million and $250 million. The investors have also pledged to a standstill agreement, for a period of on

• [By prabhat71]

  Enterprise application software service supplier SAP (SAP) is making solid moves in the cloud. The organization turned in an outstanding performance in the first quarter, conveying solid development in cloud and cloud-related products. Furthermore, SAP is progressing admirably in the customer relationship administration space, giving intense rivalry to Oracle (ORCL) and Salesforce.com (CRM).