Hannaford Bros. is reportedly preparing to spin off a wholly owned subsidiary in the next few weeks to grow the burgeoning business of its nutritional rating system, "Guiding Stars."

The new company, which has no name as yet, will license the system and related promotional material to other supermarket operators, foodservice companies, manufacturers, and perhaps even government agencies, Hannaford officials told the Press Herald of Portland, Maine.

Hannaford officials were unavailable for further comment yesterday.

Since its rollout in September 2006, the system has proved popular among Hannaford customers, according to a study the Scarborough, Maine-based grocer performed a year later. Guiding Stars has since been adopted by Delhaize sister banners Sweetbay Supermarket and Food Lion.

In late 2007, Hannaford said it would eventually license the system to make it available for use by other companies.

Meanwhile, buying coop Topco also plans to market its own food nutrition rating system, known as ONQI, the Overall Nutritional Quality Index, via a fully owned subsidiary.