The shape of Kit Kat’s four-finger bar is poised to lose its European Union-wide protected trademark status, reports The Guardian. The decision by the advocate general, whose advice is not binding but is generally followed, means the KitKat shape will now be open to imitation by competitors, the newspaper says.

Activist fund Jana Partners has revealed it has taken a 9.1% stake in US Birds Eye brand owner Pinnacle Foods in after-hours trading, reports the Financial Times (£). It paid $599.5m for 10.8m shares. It said it wanted to talk to management about “value creation measures”, including a possible sale.

Warren Buffet steps down from Kraft Heinz’s board on Monday after five years, reports the Financial Times (£). The newspaper says in an analysis that his departure leaves his Berkshire Hathaway investment company, which has a 27% holding in the food group, with an uncertain future. The report says the 87-year-old’s exit comes at a pivotal time for Kraft Heinz which has had “a miserable year” since its failed $143bn (£102bn) bid for Unilever. Investors are beginning to question the Midas touch of 3G Capital, Kraft Heinz’s other major shareholder.

Philip Morris International has warned alternative tobacco devices might take more time for consumers to embrace, reports the Financial Times (£). The Marlbro cigarettes owner is having a hard time persuading smokers to give up the habit in favour of “reduced-risk products”, which Lex, in the Financial Times (£), says has taken the tobacco giant by surprise.

Philip Morris disclosed in its quarterly results yesterday that it was having difficulty with getting the “more conservative adult smoker” to switch. Lex highlights that over-50s in Japan, specifically – which has become a key battleground between major tobacco companies using technology to develop alternatives – are “still setting fire to cancer-causing sticks like there is no tomorrow”.

Shares in the company fell as much as 16.3% to $84.86 and were headed for the worst single-day performance since 2008 the Financial Times (£) says in another article. British Amercian Tobacco’s shares were also “left wheezing,” says The Times (£), down more than 5% to 209.5p, closely followed by Imperial, down 2.8% at £23.55.

Young’s Seafood could fetch up to £300m following the decision by private equity owners Lion Capital, Bain Capital and HPS Investment Partners to put it up for sale. Stamford Partners is handling the sale process. Mitsubishi Corporate is rumoured to be hatching a bid The Daily Telegraph.

Crest toothpaste owner Procter & Gamble announced core earnings up 2% to $1 a share, compared to Wall Street expectations for 98 cents, reports the Financial Times (£). Net sales climbed 4% to $16.3bn, just above expectations for $16.23bn.

Unilever has promised to give shareholders £5bn in the face of a backlash over its plans to pull its headquarters out of the UK in favour of the Netherlands. It said it was confident of rallying investors behind the plans to move its headquarters The Daily Telegraph.

Analysts said the buyback would act as a “sweetener” as it tries to convince investors of the advantages of its decision to make Rotterdam its base, says The Daily Mail. Unilever boss Paul Polman just cannot win, even if his shareholders can, says Lombard in the Financial Times (£). Investors are berating the Dutchman, even as their shares rise in value, it says.

Analysts at Jefferies said they expected “chronically weak pricing … to play to the market’s fears of weak pricing power, fuelled by channel shift, in the facing of rising commodities” The Times (£) . UBS analysts said they expected investors to welcome Unilever’s volume growth and the buyback announcement. But the notable deceleration in pricing left “little room for upside to consensus earnings before interest and tax margin forecast in 2018”.

The “Beast from the East” hit retail sales in March which fell 1.2% in February, the Office for National Statistics reported The Daily Telegraph. The Guardian quips it’s “snow joke”. It says food stores and non-food stores both posted declines of 0.6% last month. Supermarket sales fell while specialist food stores posted strong growth because they were easier to access in the snow.

The fight against misleading labels is on following the Real Bread Campaign’s success in calling Pret a Manger out at the Advertising Standards Authority over natural sandwich ingredients claims, says The Guardian.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has hinted that an interest rate rise next month is not a foregone conclusion, report The Times (£) and The Independent.

Costa Coffee’s competitors have failed to match decisive action taken by the Whitbread-owned chain which has pledged to recycle as many disposable cups as it produces by 2020 The Independent.

A survey by the Living Wage Foundation says many of the poorest parents are skipping meals because of lack of money BBC.

Topics