LOS ANGELES, March 21 (Reuters) – New products aimed at
expanding Starbucks Corp’s reach into the home, the
grocery aisle and new drink categories were expected to take
center stage at the world’s biggest coffee chain’s annual
shareholder meeting in Seattle on Wednesday.

Starbucks returned to profit growth in 2010 after a two-year
restructuring that involved slashing costs and closing nearly
1,000 cafes around the world.

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES, March 19(Reuters) – Starbucks Corp
opened the first store in its new Evolution Fresh juice bar
chain on Monday, its biggest move outside coffee aimed at
boosting the company’s position in the $50 billion health food
sector.

The juice bar business is, however, fragmented and intensely
competitive and some analysts say the Evolution Fresh shops
could have lower margins than Starbucks’ coffee shops.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Starbucks Corp will open the first store in its new Evolution Fresh juice bar chain on Monday, its biggest move outside coffee and one it hopes will boost the company’s position in the $50 billion health food sector.

The juice bar business is, however, fragmented and intensely competitive and some analysts say the Evolution Fresh shops could have lower margins than Starbucks’ coffee shops.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Cleaning your plate may not help feed starving children today, but the time-worn advice of mothers everywhere may help reduce food waste from the farm to the fork, help the environment and make it easier to feed the world’s growing population.

Hard data is still being collected, but experts at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago this week said an estimated 30 percent to 50 percent of the food produced in the world goes uneaten.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – David Kirchhoff, chief executive officer of Weight Watchers International Inc, shed 35 pounds (15.9 kg) with his company’s program and sees a growth opportunity in helping more men shrink their waistlines.

“Dealing with weight was not a thing a lot of guys thought about, frankly, until fairly recently,” Kirchhoff said at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago on Monday.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it will launch its own single-cup coffee and espresso drink machine later this year, putting it in direct competition with partner Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc (GMCR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), seller of the popular Keurig home brewers.

Shares of Green Mountain plunged as much as 24 percent in after-hours trade, but regained some ground after Starbucks said on a conference call that it would continue to supply Green Mountain with Starbucks-branded single-serve coffee pods called K-cups.

By Lisa Baertlein

(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Thursday reported global February sales that missed Wall Street’s target as analysts underestimated what effect Europe’s harsh winter and economic upheaval would have on sales.

The company also warned that economic uncertainty could have an impact on profit growth, sending its shares down more than 3 percent.

March 8 (Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp reported
global February sales at established restaurants that missed
Wall Street’s target, primarily on European weakness, and warned
that economic uncertainty could hamper profit growth.

Shares in McDonald’s, one of the top-performing restaurant
chains, fell 3.5 percent in premarket trading.

March 8 (Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp reported a
smaller-than-expected rise in February sales at established
restaurants across the globe, weighed down by weakness in Europe
as well as Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and Africa and its
shares fell more than 2 percent.

The world’s biggest hamburger chain said on Thursday that
sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 7.5 percent
globally.

March 8 (Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp
restaurants in the United States will be tweaking and expanding
their promoted value-priced items later this month as many
diners remain strapped for cash and the world’s biggest
hamburger chain works to increase its lead over rivals.

McDonald’s will change national advertising for its Dollar
Menu, removing small drinks and small french fries and replacing
those items with fresh baked cookies and ice cream cones, Neil
Golden, chief marketing officer for McDonald’s USA, told Reuters
in an interview.