Business briefs

Community Coffee, Keurig announce licensing agreement
BATON ROUGE (AP)— Louisiana-based Community Coffee Co. and Vermont-based Keurig Green Mountain Inc. have a multi-year deal for licensing, manufacturing and distribution.
An announcement Monday on both companies’ websites did not disclose terms of the contract. It describes Community as the nation’s largest family-owned and operated retail coffee brand.
Baton Rouge-based Community has made single-serve cups that can be used in Keurig machines since April 2013.
The companies say licensed single-serve Community Coffee packs will be coming out next spring, with later dates for other Keurig devices. Those include K-Carafes, which brew up to four cups of coffee, and office and restaurant machines.
Keurig is based in Waterbury, Vermont. It says Community joins 60 brands and nearly 400 beverage varieties currently available.

Oyster industry meeting set for Friday in Houma
HOUMA (AP)– An oyster industry update for boat captains and deckhands will be held Friday at the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum.
The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. and will be followed by dockside, hands-on demonstrations and lunch at the Houma Downtown Marina.
Topics include using GPS technology to find oyster leases, trip tickets, weighing and measuring oyster sacks, oyster cooling, best management practices for handling a catch, waste disposal and regulation enforcement, and common infractions.
The event is part of the new Louisiana Fisheries Forward program, which is a partnership of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Sea Grant and the LSU AgCenter.
The museum is located at 7910 W. Park Ave. in Houma.
Participants can register by contacting Julie Falgout at 985-856-2477 or jfalgo@lsu.edu, Alan Matherne at 985-677-0368 or amatherne@lsu.edu, or John Supan 985-264-3239 or jsupan@lsu.edu.

Hershey
exploring removal of corn syrup
NEW YORK (AP)— Hershey is looking at replacing the high-fructose corn syrup in some of its products with sugar.
Will Papa, chief research and development officer at The Hershey Co., told The Associated Press the company uses a mix of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup in its products but that it is “moving more toward sugar.”
“We take into account what consumers want. And consumers are telling us between the two, they prefer sugar,” Papa said.
Moving toward sugar would make Hershey a high-profile example of the move away from high-fructose corn syrup in the food industry. Many people say they avoid it because it has gained a bad reputation for fueling weight gain and diabetes, though health experts says there’s not enough evidence to conclude it’s any worse than regular sugar.
In an emailed statement, Hershey said its work on “exploring” the replacement of high fructose corn syrup “is just under way” and that it did not have a timeframe on when it might be complete.
A representative for Hershey, Jeff Beckman, cited Almond Joy, Fifth Avenue, Take 5 and York as examples of products that use corn syrup. He said classic Hershey bars are made with sugar.
“Our aim is to be transparent with our consumers about the ingredients we use in our products. Once we have more information to share, we will be back in touch,” Hershey said in its statement.
As for health, the American Medical Association has said there’s not enough evidence to specifically restrict the use of the syrup. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates for food safety, has also said that there’s no evidence that the sweetener is any worse nutritionally than sugar.
The Corn Refiners Association, an industry group, has been pushing back at the negative perceptions about high-fructose corn syrup. It has commissioned market-research firms Mintel and Nielsen to study perceptions of sweeteners and shared the results online and with reporters. For instance, the association notes in media materials that “67% of consumers agree that moderation is more important than specific sweetener types.”
John Bode, president of the Corn Refiners Association, said in an interview that the number of companies changing from corn syrup to sugar has slowed. Still, he said consumption of high-fructose corn syrup has declined more than other sugars.
Part of the reason is that people are cutting back on soda, which he said accounts for a majority of the market for high-fructose corn syrup.
In some cases, he noted that companies have switched back from sugar to high-fructose corn syrup after failing to see a notable sales spike. Bode noted Hunt’s ketchup as an example of a product that switched back to corn syrup.
In 2010, the association submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration to have its sweetening agent renamed “corn sugar” on nutrition labels. The request was denied.

Falgout to lead Vermilion economic development
ABBEVILLE — Anne Falgout was recently hired as the executive director of Vermilion Parish Economic Development District.
Falgout is responsible for facilitating business retention in Vermilion Parish and will serve as the primary point of contact for industry interested in relocating to the area. She also serves as an advisor to the business community regarding their growth and development opportunities including access to resources available at the local, state and federal levels.
Falgout is an alumna of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in English. Prior to her hire, Falgout served as the director of market intelligence at the Lafayette Economic Development Authority. During her 13-year tenure at LEDA, Falgout maintained the organization’s quality management system and provided clients with information that empowered them to make sound business decisions.
From staff and Associated Press reports.
Falgout is a native of Abbeville, where she maintained close ties as a third-generation member of the Confrerie d’Abbeville, and is the incoming president of the705 — an Acadiana-wide young professional organization.
“Vermilion Parish is a key player in Acadiana’s economy, full of history and potential. I look forward to being a part of the team that guides our parish into continued success,” Falgout said.

More US CEOs plan to boost hiring in next 6 months
CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief executives at the largest U.S. companies expect sales to keep growing in the next six months and also plan to step up hiring.
The Business Roundtable said Tuesday that 40 percent of its member CEOs plan to hire more workers, up from 34 percent in the third quarter. Nearly three-quarters project their sales will rise, roughly the same as the previous quarter.
The findings suggest that slowing growth overseas hasn’t caused large corporations to pull back on their hiring plans. That bodes well for the government’s report on November job gains, to be released Friday.
Still, the CEOs say they are less likely to invest in new facilities or equipment: 13 percent say they plan to cut such spending, up from just 10 percent in the previous quarter.
Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T Inc. and chairman of the Roundtable, said the survey results reflect an economy that is “expanding, but at a rate well below its potential, especially when you compare it to previous recoveries.”
Stephenson urged Congress to pass legislation this month that would extend a series of tax breaks for businesses, including a provision that lowers taxes for companies that invest in industrial equipment and other big-ticket items.
The Roundtable also plans to urge Congressional leaders in meetings this week to approve legislation that would give President Barack Obama broad authority to negotiate trade agreements with Europe and a group of Asian countries.
The survey was conducted between Oct. 22 and Nov. 12, and is based on 129 responses from the Roundtable’s 200 member CEOs.
Stephenson said that growth has been bolstered this year by the lack of any major budget fights between Congress and the White House. In previous years, budget battles have led to a government shutdown and brinksmanship over the government’s borrowing limit.
Still, the Roundtable forecasts the economy will grow only 2.4 percent in 2015, roughly in line with the modest growth that has occurred since the recession ended in 2009. That’s more pessimistic than many Wall Street and business economists, who are projecting 3 percent growth.
The economy expanded at a 4.6 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter and 3.9 percent in the July-September. That was the healthiest six months of growth since 2003.
But consumer spending rose only slightly in October and business investment in industrial machinery, computers and other equipment declined. The holiday shopping season is also off to a slow start. That’s raised concerns that economic growth could slow in the final three months of this year.
Still, hiring has been healthy this year, giving more Americans paychecks to spend. Employers have added an average of 229,000 jobs a month this year, up from 194,000 in 2013. That has helped lower the unemployment rate to 5.8 percent, a six-year low, down from 7.2 percent 12 months ago.