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A specialist in "breakout" candidates, Leo Fasciocco sees upside potential in Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS), a maker of sodas, juices and teas.

In his Ticker Tape Digest, the technical advisor says, "The company is showing tremendous profit growth. And at current prices, he says, the shares are attractive for value and growth investors.

The company, he notes, has expanded its drink line to include a wide variety of energy drinks, such as the popular Monster brand. Its other products are fruit juice, smoothies, lemonade, iced tea, and spring water -- most of which are sold under the Hansen's brand name.

He points out that the company is also branching out with soy drinks and juices aimed at toddlers.

Technically, he explains, the stock's daily chart of HANS shows a breakout; its momentum indicator is very bullish and getting stronger. The analys adds, "The accumulation - distribution line is making new peaks. That shows the price advance is being supported by good buying."

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and watch out for more Battle of the Brands posts.

There exists, somewhere between the fearsome mass-ness of the mainstream grocery store and the high-pitched good works of the coop, farmer's market, or CSA, a world in which low prices are valued slightly higher than locality of the source but, more than anything, the products must be good. Fair-trade, organic, without trans-fatty acids, with fewer artificial colorings or preservatives or Disney characters than all the other products.

It's the world of the natural foods market. A world dominated by two very dissimilar and yet, from a target market perspective, nearly identical competitors: Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Trader Joe's, a unit of German private company Aldi Group.

Walking into a store -- or simply gazing at one from across the street -- you have a very different picture. On one corner, in the midst of a posh shopping area or trendy boutique-spattered neighborhood, Whole Foods, with its glistening crates of fresh produce, honeydew melons, purple potatoes, and blood oranges piled high in an abundance of exoticism. The doors open smoothly, the merchandise is displayed beautifully, and a high-ceilinged eating area is often overflowing with customers enjoying their deli purchases. Customers enter slowly, looking around as if discovering a stunning architectural landmark for the first time.

I've been in love with natural foods grocers since I was a little girl, when Fred Meyer opened a little mini-store dedicated to raw peanut butter, tofu, wheat germ and a dozen different kinds of bulk grains. The store had candy bars made out of honey and I loved it. Since then, my understanding for and appreciation of the natural grocer has grown up with the industry; from the cute little small-town co-op where I shopped in college, to the Fresh Fields (acquired, and already assimilated by, Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFMI)) I fell in love with in Philadelphia during business school, to the discovery of the Portland, Oregon New Seasons chain when I moved "back home" in 2001. I noshed at every quick-service franchise that jumped on the healthy foods wagon, from spirulina-spiked smoothies to bagels loaded with sprouts and hummus.

Natural and organic grocers always seemed like the nice (if a bit militant) guys, interested in supporting the local farmer, providing non-toxic food and diapers for our babies, striving to make sure our bodies were healthy and our baths were perfumed with chamomile and lavendar. And then 2005 happened.

Suddenly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (NYSE:WMT) was in the organic grocery game. Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) started its own line of "O" organic foods. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) created a line of herbal-infused babycare products and Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) launched organic Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes. Big business had figured it out and suddenly it wasn't smelling much like chamomile and patchouli. No. It smelled more like war.

With the news yesterday that Whole Foods was set to acquire Wild Oats Markets (NYSE:OATS), the war seems ever more bitter.

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFMI) announced on Wednesday February 21, 2007, that it intends to purchase rival organic and natural food supermarket Wild Oats -- based in Boulder, Colorado. The entire transcript of the announcement is available at the company's website (www.wholefoodsmarket.com).

Agreed, the natural and organic foods market is growing as more and more people become concerned about the harmful chemicals and lack of inspection mechanisms in our food chain. Also agreed, that Whole Foods is currently enjoying an increase in both sales and revenue. According to information released by the company as part of its 1Q 2007 earnings report, sales increased 12% to $1.9 billion. Whole Foods currently has 174 stores, the vast majority in the U.S. Average weekly store sales were up 6% to $620,000. Average number of weekly transactions increased 5% to 3.2 million. The average ticket size was up 2% to $34.43. For a full rundown on the facts and figures see the 1Q 2007 press release.

Given all the good financial news plus Whole Foods' intention to purchase Wild Oats for $565 million, investors pushed the stock up on Thursday February 22, 2007, 13.2%. Shares closed up $6.04 at $51.74. Enjoy that brief ride. S&P put Whole Foods on credit watch and may adjust the company's BBB-debt rating even lower to below investment quality unless Whole Foods can finance the purchase of Wild Oats without taking on $106 million in additional debt.

Maybe the first indication should have been when Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFMI) declined to carry Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)'s fresh meats products: the King of Processed Foods might have an image problem when it started taking preservatives out of its foods.

Spam® is such an icon of preserved food that it has its entire own sub-culture, with everything from spamku to Spam cookbooks. Google's Gmail serves up Spam recipes instead of ads when you click on the spam (email) folder. Hormel's blue collar customer base adores Spam and the company's other ingredient-packed products, from chili to "deli" luncheon meats. But in fact, "shelf stable" meats have declined from nearly 20% of the company's sales in 2003 to 16.3% in the year ending October 30, 2005. Now making up the majority, 54%, of the company's sales are perishable meats -- although these include everything from the higher-quality, less-processed varieties the company wishes to become known for to the old standbys, from Hormel pepperoni to Little Sizzlers sausages to Jennie-O hot dogs.

A story in the Wall Street Journal [subscription required] this morning highlights Hormel's desires to become a healthier company, which have included innovations in preservation (High Pressure Pastuerization, develped by Washington's Avure Technologies, Inc.) and a raft of new product introductions like the Natural Choice deli meats -- the ones Whole Foods wouldn't stock. The question: if Whole Foods won't take the company seriously as a provider of natural meats, will anyone else? And will the company's loyal customers stand for it?