• Ad Age , Monday, September 22, 2008 11:15 AM

If you're looking to get mentally beat up this morning, turn to just about any Web site, newspaper or magazine for more stories about the financial woes ahead. But Age offers a different perspective -- at least for those of you who have more than a gustatory interest in the boxes, cans and aseptic packaging on the supermarket shelf.

Campbell Soup's sales are up 13% in the most recent quarter, Kellogg's rose 11%; General Mills was up 14%, and Kraft -- which replaced American International Group on the Dow last week -- reported a second-quarter sales jump of 21%.

Consumers are eating at home more but are not showing a renewed interest in cooking, which is why a lot of products seeing the biggest bump are the easiest to prepare: cereal, sandwiches, and ramen, according to Tim Hammonds, president of the Food Marketing Institute president. Kraft Foods' CEO Irene Rosenfeld says sales of its Macaroni & Cheese -- "our icon of value-oriented meal solutions" -- grew 20% in the last quarter.

With the silver lining, there's a cloud, of course: The sales increases can also be credited to package-goods companies hiking prices to offset swinging ingredient costs, which hits profits.

Read the whole story at Ad Age »