Activist investor Nelson Peltz has turned himself into one of the food sector's most-influential players, affecting how millions of people eat each day. Through his holding company, Triarc Companies, Peltz has long owned Arby's. His Trian Fund Management holds 5.3% of Wendy's International; about 3.5% of Cadbury Schweppes, and 4.3% of Heinz. Sources say the fund has also accumulated roughly 3% of Kraft Foods. A college dropout in the 1960s who got his start loading peaches and strawberries onto trucks for his family's food-distribution company, Peltz exercises his influence boldly, calling executives regularly to seek updates or float ideas. Peltz's …

Kellwood, the $1.96 billion apparel vendor based in St. Louis, sold its Smart Shirts manufacturing division yesterday to Youngor Group and announced that its future would be as a "brand-focused marketing enterprise." At the conclusion of a five-year strategic plan in 2012, Kellwood hopes to be equally balanced between its traditional mainstream brands and better- and above-priced brands, as compared to moderate business making up 70% of sales today. It also expects owned brands to contribute 70% percent of sales, from half today, and private brands dropping to only 10% of business from 28% today. Kellwood expects organic sales growth …

Legoland--the least-visited amusement park in Southern California but the fastest-growing amusement venue in North America--will undergo a $20 million expansion that includes a new 36,000-square-foot aquarium. Legoland also will add a Land of Adventure, to open in March, that will include four attractions: Lost Kingdom Adventure dark ride, Beetle Bounce drop ride, Cargo Ace plane ride and Pharaoh's Revenge foam ball pit. Park owners Merlin Entertainments Group--which in 2005 purchased the four Legoland parks in California, Germany, Denmark and Britain--says it plans to add four or five attractions a year at Legoland California, and ultimately, a themed hotel. A 350-room …

Scientists from Procter & Gamble's beauty division have identified all 4,285 genes of the fungus--Malassezia globosa--that causes dandruff. The research has wide-ranging implications for P&G, whose Head & Shoulders brand is one of the leading dandruff shampoos on the market, with more than $1 billion in annual sales. "We could target our products more carefully against Malassezia," says Dianna Kenneally, principal scientist at P&G Beauty Co. For the past few decades, pyrithione zinc--the active ingredient in Head & Shoulders and other treatments--has been the usual plan of attack. But Thomas Dawson Jr., a scalp and hair follicle expert at P&G, …

Hispanics spend more on gift cards than any other ethnic group, according to a new study from Comdata-Stored Value Solutions. They purchase an average value of $71, while African-Americans spend $60 and Caucasians spend $41. The amount spent by Hispanics soared 87% compared to last year, in part because retailers are doing a strong job marketing to the segment, says Bob Skiba, GM of CSVS. "We have seen retailers going out of their way to market to Hispanics--by understanding their cultural ties to family, by adding Spanish-language cards to their lineup, and by making the cards 'personal' to them," he …

Google yesterday announced the creation of the Open Handset Alliance -- a group of 34 companies that will create a package of free software that includes everything needed to run a cell phone: an open-source operating system, a Web browser, and applications including maps, e- mail, and video-sharing and -viewing tools. The Alliance includes some of the biggest names in tech, including chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm, handset maker Motorola, wireless carriers T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel, and e-commerce provider eBay. The new platform will be known not as Gphone, as had been widely expected, but Android -- as in a …

Highmark, a health insurer based in Pittsburgh, is selling a Visa Gift Card for $25 to $5,000 that can be used only at providers or merchants that the credit card company categorizes as health related -- including physician's offices, pharmacies and health clubs. The card covers such expenses as prescription co-payments, elective surgery and contact lenses. Highmark believes that the card fills a need for many people who want to help others -- from college students to baby boomers -- with various expensive health-related needs, but feel uncomfortable about offering cash. The company is initially marketing the card in …

The White House is expected to propose today a significant expansion of the authority of the federal drug and consumer product safety agencies to inspect and certify imports. Congress is moving quickly to adopt broader legislation that is strongly opposed by manufacturers and the administration. A White House official says a major part of its plan would entail stationing inspectors in foreign countries to examine drugs, food and other potentially dangerous products before they are shipped to American shores. The official says the plan would give the agencies the authority to certify the safety of products and to list …

Julie Roehm, the former Wal-Mart marketing executive, has decided not to refile her headline-grabbing wrongful termination lawsuit against the company. Wal-Mart, in turn, says it will no longer pursue its litigation against her. A Michigan state judge threw out the case in August, saying the proper jurisdiction was Arkansas, headquarters of the Bentonville, -based retailer. In addition to the costs of the suit, Roehm says that her decision reflects the fact that allegations she made against businessman Irwin Jacobs and Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott were untrue. Roehm had alleged that Scott received "preferential prices" from Jacobs, …

The Pittsburgh Steelers ranked first among 122 team brands in an online survey of 12,000 sports fans in 47 markets nationwide. The team's brand has been "clearly defined" and "consistent for decades," while its ownership is widely perceived as genuine, says Len Perna, president and CEO of Turnkey Sports & Entertainment. Fans described the team's brand as "strong," "tough" and "hard-working," he says. Behind the Steelers in the top 10 are the NFL's New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, NHL teams the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings, baseball clubs the Boston Red …