from the editor
click of a button," said James Leeson, director of grocery at
Amazon.co.uk. "With unlimited virtual shelf space, customers can choose from a wide variety of products, all of which benefit from free delivery. We will work tirelessly to increase the selection of grocery items available to be delivered directly to customers’ doors." The online grocery market
is predicted to double over the next four years. Retail specialist IGD says the market will grow from £3.7bn to £7.2bn in 2014.
Restaurants to celebrate National Nut Day
MELANIE LEECH FDF
DIRECTOR GENERAL
Restaurants and cafés all over the UK are going nuts for National Nut Day by placing at least one ‘nutty’ dish on their menu on October 22 2010. Fairtrade nut company Liberation Foods, which is organising the first National Nut Day in the UK, is working with the support of the Sustainable Restaurant Association to ensure as many establishments as possible take part. Kate Gaskell, MD of Liberation says: “Some people are unsure about the many ways they can use nuts in their cooking and we hope they will be inspired by seeing how restaurants do this. We also have recipes from leading chefs and food writers and have top tips to get people started.Allegra McEvedy, chef, food writer, co- founder of the Leon chain of restaurants and co-presenter of BBC 2's Economy Gastronomy has provided her top tip for National Nut Day: “Nuts are full of good oils that over time go off, so storing nuts in the fridge extends the shelf life by months and months. The same goes for nut oils," she explains.
Sharp Interpack’s apprenticeship scheme packs a punch
the last year the core team has increased Drinkaware’s media coverage by 480% with media hits from March 2009 to March 2010 in excess of 1,600. Charity Times Award winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 1st September 2010 at the Hilton Park Lane, London. The Third Sector Excellence Awards will be held at the Lancaster London Hotel on Thursday 23rd September.
As the government pledges 50,000 new apprenticeship places, and figures reveal that one in six graduates regret accumulating student debts, a Yate-based packaging firm's established apprenticeship scheme is already benefiting local youngsters. Sharp Interpack started the scheme after identifying a shortage of good, young trainee engineers available to them and it has also created welcome employment and training opportunities for students in the area. Sharp Interpack’s current crop of engineering apprentices, all from the City of Bristol College includes 19 year-old Emma Carter. Emma is one of only three girls on the 60-strong student course. Emma, who is studying for an HNC in electronics, became the company’s first engineering apprentice three years ago. She is currently working on a key cost- cutting exercise for the engineers. She says, “I’ve enjoyed my time as an apprentice; I feel I’ve excelled at working as part of a team and I would like to stay at Sharp Interpack as an engineer once I’ve qualified”. For more information visit
www.sharpinterpack.com.
Earlier this year the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) was delighted to report that for the fifth consecutive year, UK food and drink exports had shown positive growth. Working in the incredibly challenging economic climate of the last 18 months or so, this was a genuine ‘good news’ story and a fantastic demonstration of the significant contribution our industry makes to the wider UK economy. Non-alcoholic drinks were the best performing sector, growing 20.6% to £318.6m, driven by strong sales in EU markets such as Ireland, France, Spain and Germany. Fish and seafood was up by 15% to £1160.4m, including a 42.3% rise in exports of fresh salmon, and other added value product areas in strong growth included breakfast cereals (up 17.2%), sauces and condiments (up 9.2%) and sugar confectionery (up 10.9%). When we contacted food producers across the UK to get a better understanding of their export activity, one thing became apparent – UK producers are smart operators. They have recognised the potential of export markets and are incredibly energetic in identifying and driving opportunities to succeed. We contacted over 20 producers, from global giants such as United Biscuits to smaller companies such as Anglesey Sea Salt, and all of them had a fascinating story to tell about how they have sought out new markets and either created new products for them, or developed those markets’ awareness and taste for traditional British favourites. For example, Anglesey Sea Salt sell their artisan product to US chocolate-maker Frans Chocolates, who use it to make President Obama’s favourite salted caramels. Dart Valley Foods have created a market for traditional English tea-time fare such as lemon curd in Asia, Geeta’s Foods have capitalised on the German and Swiss taste for Indian chutneys and tea maker Typhoo who has tapped into the expatriate market in countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It’s no secret that the UK food industry operates in a highly competitive environment. But what these companies and our exports report show is that despite the challenges posed by the recession both in the UK and abroad, there is (if you’ll forgive the pun) a real appetite for UK food abroad. Be it our record development of new ‘healthier-for-you’ options that are low in saturated fat, salt and sugar, or our rich cultural heritage of diverse ethnic foods, we are world leaders when it comes to innovation and building strong and trusted brands with an international presence. This strong performance is testimony to the persistence and entrepreneurial spirit of British manufacturers.
FMCG News 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36