Gary M. Rodkin, the CEO of ConAgra, invited two dozen Wall Street analysts to ConAgra's headquarters in Omaha Monday to show off the first new products of his 20-month tenure. Besides shoveling in a Healthy Choice panini sandwich, Rodkin rolled out Healthy Choice dinners that do not get mushy when microwaved because the sauce is cooked in a separate container, Orville Redenbacher popcorn that is low in sodium but retains a salty taste, and Chef Boyardee microwave-ready macaroni and cheese that does not require the addition of water or cheese powder. All of the products were updated twists …

Takeout lunch or dinner no longer is limited to the neighborhood fast-fooder, the supermarket deli or the prepared-food section of an upscale grocer. In a trend that's reshaping the $537 billion restaurant industry, consumers are demanding takeout from casual and even fine-dining eateries. Twenty-five years ago, far more people ate restaurant food in eateries than took it out. By 2006, the typical American ate 81 meals inside restaurants but ordered 127 to go, reports researcher NPD Group. So, faster than you can say, "To go," the restaurant industry is reinventing itself with double-lane drive-throughs, curbside pickup and takeout-only …

Iceberg remains the nation's most popular lettuce, but consumers, chefs and nutritionists are increasingly favoring salad greens such as romaine, arugula and mache that have benefited from faster shipping, better packing and a growing taste for nutrients. To lure back buyers, Tanimura and Antle--the world's largest lettuce grower--is packaging its iceberg lettuce in baseball-themed wrapping and linking it to Father's Day in advertising. Grocers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Supervalu Inc.'s Albertsons, Shaw's and Jewel will be supplied with signs and banners promoting what the company hopes will become an annual link between iceberg lettuce and Father's Day. …

The Direct Marketing Association has issued a strengthened and clarified set of guidelines relating to the collection and sharing of consumer information. The new guidelines apply to data compilers--defined as "any company that assembles personally identifiable information about consumers (with whom the compiler has no direct relationship) for the purpose of facilitating the renting, selling, or exchanging of information to non-affiliated third-party organizations for marketing purposes." Among other rules, when entering into agreements with third-party organizations for the rental, sale or exchange of consumer information, a data compiler must establish written or electronic agreements that define the rights and …

Trying to capitalize on rising postal rates and an aversion to junk mail, Newport Beach-based PowerDirect delivers colorful and glossy door-hanger ads that often come with coupons for department stores such as Macy's or Old Navy. PowerDirect CEO Bill Borneman tracks his workers with global positioning systems to make sure the door hangers are delivered to the right places and on time, and he uses direct-mail targeting strategies to make sure the ads are reaching people who might respond to them. The Quiznos restaurant chain used PowerDirect when it began offering home delivery last year. Josh Kern, who …

Miller Brewing is launching Miller Chill, a 110-calorie beer flavored with lime and salt, throughout the U.S. this summer after a successful test run in Texas and several other states. Chill is modeled on the michelada--a drink popular at Mexican beach resorts usually consisting of beer, lime juice and ice in a salt-rimmed glass. The brewer hopes Chill--which it calls a premium light lager--will appeal to light-beer drinkers seeking more flavor. It is targeting 21- to 35-year-olds, says Randy Ransom, Miller's CMO. A six-pack, sold in lime-green long-neck bottles, sells for $6.50 to $7, about a dollar more than …

Target Corp. has canceled an email survey that asked whether consumers feared their lovers might leave them and whether, if they disappeared from the face of the earth, anyone would notice. The survey, which hit Target customers' computers on Friday, apparently is aimed at comparing the psyches of its customers to those of Wal-Mart shoppers. Respondents are asked to rate their level of agreement--from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree"--with statements such as: "I can be sarcastic and cutting when I need to be"; "I'm not known for my generosity" and "Poetry has little or no effect on me." …

Apple plans to release a version of its Safari Web browser for Windows, CEO Steve Jobs announced in his keynote speech at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference. Jobs made it clear that despite the company's increasing focus on devices such as the iPod and the upcoming iPhone, it remains committed to competing in the PC market. Safari is the third most popular browser used on the Web, Jobs says, with about 5% market share--even though it is only currently available for Macintosh users. Apple will distribute Safari with the other Windows software the company produces: its iTunes jukebox, which …

Documents that have emerged in a federal civil lawsuit in Boston show that big pharmaceutical companies sometimes calculated to the penny the profits that doctors could make from prescribing their cancer drugs. Sales representatives then shared those profit estimates with doctors and their staffs, the documents show. For example, in 1998, Schering-Plough told its reps that Intron-A--a treatment for bladder cancer--could produce a profit for each patient of "$2,373.84 for our physicians just on the drug alone." Pitching Zoladex, a treatment for prostate cancer, a sales rep for AstraZeneca was more blunt. "DO THE MATH!" he wrote in a …

Ford Motor Co. has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley to arrange the sale of its Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover brands in Europe as the money-losing automaker tries to focus on North America, two people familiar with the strategy say. The plan is known internally as "Project Swift"--a reference to the speed at which Ford wants to make a sale, the sources say. Selling the brands would end a 20-year initiative to expand sales of luxury autos by acquiring European companies. Volvo has been profitable, and Land Rover turned profitable under Ford. Jaguar has had …