Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) beat analyst expectations, and mine for that matter, when it released its first-quarter report on Thursday. Wall Street was looking for about 66 cents per share on the bottom line. Heinz delivered 72 per cents share, a figure that represents a 14% growth rate. This was achieved with the help of a 15% rise in top-line sales.

Management mentioned that organic sales were aided pretty evenly by volume growth and pricing strategies. Looks like brand equity wins the day yet again. People are simply willing to pay for their name brands. This isn't to say that generic, private-label items won't always be a concern for companies like Heinz, as well as competitors such as Hershey (NYSE: HSY), Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS). They always will be.

Heinz is proving to be one heck of a defensive business during this tough recession. The only segment where the company is having problems is in its U.S. Foodservice where sales and operating income declined. Not so surprising, I suppose, since some restaurants are having trouble getting patrons through the door. People may be willing to spend for Heinz ketchup in the supermarket, but if they're not willing to go to the local casual-dining hangout, then those places won't be demanding as much Heinz ketchup for their tables.

Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), famous maker of thick-and-rich ketchups and other foodstuffs, is due to report first-quarter results on Thursday. So, what might be in store for the company? Are we looking at a lot of growth for the bottom line?

Well, according to Earnings.com, analysts aren't looking for much growth at all. Last year at this time, Heinz served up 63 cents per share. Wall Street seems to be looking for three measly pennies of growth! Can Heinz beat the 66 cents per share that analysts believe it will report?

Looking at some past price history, I can't say that I'm overly optimistic that Heinz will beat the expectations by too much (if it beats at all, that is). Remember that consumer-products companies are having one heck of a time with inflation. Raising prices is key to survival, but those higher price-tags must be accepted by the consumer base.

Increased marketing spending also is important during times like these since many businesses want to see if they can capture some market share while the competition is hurting.

So investors will want to carefully evaluate the margins and volume of sales when Heinz issues its earnings release. This has been par for the course for businesses such as Hershey (NYSE: HSY), Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), and General Mills (NYSE: GIS).

Say what you want about the tasty warmth of its fresh-from-the-fryers glazed confections, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) hasn't been leading the sweet life of late. Beleaguered and beaten down in the midst of what CNN Money calls a "sputtering turnaround effort," the company remains challenged with an anemic share price, struggling sales, and folding franchise locations.

Today, Chief Executive Daryl Brewster, who took the reins in March 2006, announced plans to retire for personal reasons. Brewster will leave his post at the end of this month. The board quickly named James Morgan, board member since 2000 and chairman of the board since 2005, to take the vacated seat.

In other news, Krispy Kreme has followed the lead of many fast-food concerns to announce that all products sold in the U.S. are now free of trans fats. KKD officials said it has been introducing zero-grams trans fat products across the country during the past several months.

Investors are cheering this combination of news, as the stock has spiked 9.5% in today's trading. Of course, given the stock's current price (around the $3 level), this represents an absolute increase of 27 cents per share.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

A man's gotta eat, but there's no such thing as a free lunch, what's a guy to do? According to a piece in today's Wall Street Journal, food prices have advanced by a sizable margin of late, jumping more than they have in 17 years. And its not just the price of caviar and fine cheeses. Basic staples such as eggs, milk, and bread have surged as fuel costs crimp suppliers and global demand for meat and milk grow.

Here are some specifics:

• The average retail price of a dozen eggs went up 38% to $1.86 in November 2007 from a year earlier.
• The average cost for a gallon of milk rose 30% to $3.90.
• An average head of Iceburg lettuce rose 16.5% to 99 cents a pound .
• The average loaf of whole-wheat bread hit $2.67, up 12% on a year-over-year basis.
• Overall, food prices as indicated by the consumer price index jumped 5.3% on a seasonally adjusted annual basis through November, compared with a 2.4% increase through the entirety of 2006.

Naturally, the change in food costs is impacting restaurants as well. Sandy Levine of New York's Carnegie Deli told the Journal that "Between weather conditions, fuel charges, and labor, everything's going up." The venerable deli is subsequently hiking its prices on several menu items this year. Burger King Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BKC) lifted prices by 1% in July; McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) nudged its menu prices by about 3.5% during the past year and will continue to do so in an effort to keep pace with rising dairy and poultry costs.

So what can the average consumer do? Get more creative with ingredients. Learn to love generic and store-brand names instead of their pricier rivals. Don't let things go to waste! Look for farmer's markets that eliminate the middle man (cutting down on shipping expenses). And dine in more than carrying out (home cooking is costing more, but is still cheaper than take out... and often better for you). What tricks for eating well while watching one's budget would you suggest?

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

She's done cookware, linens, a magazine ... time ... but Martha Stewart, domestic goddess, is now foraying into the world of adult beverages. Early next year, wine connoisseurs willing to plop down $15 a pop will be able to ease open a bottle of what's currently being called Martha Stewart Vintage. The vintage, produced and distributed by E&J Gallo Winery, will use grapes grown primarily in Sonoma County, California, and will come in three varietals -- chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. Still on the drawing board is a possible rose version.

In its first year, the Martha Stewart Vintage will be in limited release, with just 15,000 cases being shipped to a small number of cities. Boston, Phoenix, Charlotte, and other cities where Ms. Stewart is especially popular will be among the locations lucky enough to stock the new wine.

While time will tell how successful this new vintage will be, Ms. Stewart is definitely hopping aboard the vino bandwagon at the right time. The availability of low-priced wine such as Charles Shaw (aka "Two Buck Chuck") has cultivated interest in the wine business in general, introducing the practice of wine appreciation to a broader demographic. While the $15 Martha Stewart Vintage doesn't exactly cater to the Two-Buck-Chuck crowd, it may benefit from the expected volume growth rate of 11% over the next 5 years.

But Martha's massive empire overall may not see a noticeable benefit from this new undertaking, no matter how successful. The wine venture is not expected to have a material impact on the fortunes of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's (NYSE: MSO).

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

At Starbucks Gossip bloggers and commentators are talking about Friday's $114 million suit against Starbucks (SBUX) for the coupon debacle, which my colleague Sarah Gilbert reported on right here. A class-action suit was probably inevitable given our litigious age and the company's profile. Starbucks has given the fact that the coupons were alterted and distributed beyond their intended scope, and the reason for cancelling the promotion.

Comments at Starbucks Gossip are running about 2/3rds against the suit (by my very rough estimate) last time I checked. Some posters sound bemused over the whole mess, while others are outraged. P. Scranton said, "No wonder attorneys are held in such low esteem." Some people did write in to express feeling "betrayed" by Starbucks -- angry that a large company should get away with pulling back this freebie without some sort of penalty. Starbucks (some consumers seem to feel, anyway) picked up the ball and went home after too many people decided to play. JavaGrrl, who identifies herself as a longtime employee, says that the company was "embarrassed" (all caps) by the entire episode. For me, that embarrassment is punishment enough. I don't want to see a suit go forward, the stock fall, and the costs passed on to the consumer.

The comment that had the funniest, and to me, the most sensible take on the entire matter was this from DeusX: "I think I will be suing my ex-gf of ten years ago, I have a 'good for one free backrub' coupon signed by her with no expiration date."

Starbucks (SBUX) has begun a series of podcasts dedicated to the exploration and appreciation of coffee. I've just listened to the first one so that you don't have to! Using podcasts (and blogging) as tools to educate your consumer base is nothing new, and Starbucks actually does very little of it. This series is tied in with the company's 35th anniversary, and will run weekly this month. Yep -- that "fad" company from Seattle is, in a couple incarnations anyway, thirty-five years old.

They've run a short "promocast" of this series, that Frank Barnako of MarketWatch listened to and described as "lukewarm." So I ignored that and dove right into the full-length premiere today. Well, full-length turns out to be only twelve minutes long, so I don't know how much time I'll be saving you here. Say, nine minutes, if you read fairly fast, but every little bit helps ...