In Brief: Alberto-Culver
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Alberto-Culver: Divestiture of Alberto's institutional food service business "will have an immaterial effect on the company's reported earnings," the firm said Aug. 1. The company is selling its Milani, Smithers, Diafoods and Thick-It institutional food service brands to St. Louis, Mo.-based Grain Processing Corporation subsidiary Precision Foods, Inc. The divested brands had combined annual sales of $15 mil., Alberto said, adding that the sale does not affect the company's retail grocery brands: Mrs. Dash, Molly McButter, SugarTwin and Baker's Joy. The divestiture will allow the company to focus on its "area of expertise: the retail consumer packaged goods market," the firm explained...
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Marketing In Brief
ModiFace launches forecasting tool: Toronto-based virtual makeover firm introduces ShadeCast, a makeup sampling and forecasting tool based on behavioral tracking. ShadeCast is used in conjunction with iPhone application MakeUp, which allows consumers to virtually try on makeup in hundreds of shades from brands including Revlon, Cover Girl, Lancome and Clinique. ShadeCast offers 1,000 cosmetic shades from 40 brands and assigns a ShadeScore "to approximately position the [app's] hottest and most sampled color." ModiFace exec Nikkie Gatto likens the app to radio music playlists, helping consumers "looking to capture the current look, but also provide vital market intelligence to our retail channel partners," she says in Nov. 3 release. "The value of data to demonstrate the aggregate behavior will help the industry predict the latest trends and help cosmetic manufacturers better understand the color and products which most resonate with online and iPhone virtual makeover users," the company says