News and Trends

Namnews, 26th February 2021 A study suggests that almost 70% of adults have adopted new food buying habits during the pandemic with many planning to stick with them in the longer term. The research software consultancy ThoughtWorks found the most common habit formed by consumers is monitoring and reducing the amount of food thrown away. The same proportion also said lockdown had forced them to focus on the essential food items they really needed. This was particularly true among those over 65 (42%), and those who had been made redundant or on furlough (44%). A third (31%) of respondents also said they will look to buy more locally produced food to support the local economy. In addition, just under a quarter of respondents stated that they had become more conscious of the environmental impact of their shopping choices during lockdown. The same proportion vowed to reduce the number of products with a high cost to the environment in their weekly shop. The results also showed that 22% of p...

  bakeryinfo.co.uk Norwich-based Fr å.kost is set to open in in April, becoming the latest bakery to tap into the growing trend for Nordic-inspired fare in the UK. Frå.kost is the creation of Maggie Christensen and her business partner Aaron Pritty. Located at Unit 1 in St Augustine’s Gate, the plant-based bakery is inspired by the Scandinavian slow-living lifestyle. The name, which means ‘lunch’ in Danish, focusses on health and wellbeing. It offers a host of rye breads including Danish sourdough, carrot, and grains & seeds variants. Dark chocolate & marzipan pastry knots, cakes and open sandwiches are also on the menu. Described as an open bakery with an industrial feel, Christensen is keen for customers to see what happens behind the scenes in the production line. Source: Frå.kost Made from a cardamom dough, these dark chocolate pastry knots contain a homemade marzipan filling Bang on trend, Frå.kost is just one of the bakeries taking advantage of growing dema...

  www.foodmanufacture.co.uk In addition, the company's first Kitchen cooking index ​ report, published on 26 February, has revealed that fish and potatoes and vegetarian curries were the fastest growing evening dishes.**** The research confirms theories suggesting that the coronavirus crisis has fuelled a paradigm shift in shopper habits. With many people having rediscovered domestic cookery, 91% of those polled in the YouGov survey said they aimed to cook the same amount or more over the year ahead. The top three reasons for this were cited as cost savings, health benefits and sheer enjoyment. One area that has been hit by the consumer shift has been ready meals, the research suggests. People are also expanding their repertoires: on average, one third of British households have added a new dish to their weekly evening meal routines – the biggest increase in five years (Kantar Usage 36 w/e 29 Nov 2020 vs. 52 w/e 22 Mar 2020). Vegan and vegetarian meals ​ Overall, the tren...

  Namnews, 25th February 2021 Analysts are predicting that the supermarket sector in Spain is heading for a fresh price war, led by Aldi and Lidl. Florencio Garcia from Kantar Spain believes chains will be rolling out further price reductions over the coming weeks and months to meet demand from consumers impacted by the pandemic. Garcia said: “Price cutting between Aldi and Lidl is inevitable but shoppers also want quality, and rivals to chains like Mercadona have learnt lessons from the past where they simply wanted to copy the success of the Spanish supermarket giant.” The country’s top three supermarket chains of Mercadona, Carrefour and DIA all lost market share in 2020, with Lidl leapfrogging DIA in terms of sales. The threat from Aldi and Lidl has seen Carrefour and DIA both enter the price war via special promotions and loyalty cards. Mercadona has held back from joining the battle, although recent reports suggest it has been lowering prices, particularly in the areas of fre...

Namnews, 25th February 2021 Lidl has opened three new supermarkets in Richmond, Putney and Tooting today as part of its £500m expansion programme for London. The new store in Richmond, located on Richmond Road, has a primary school situated above it that was built as part of the development. It will welcome over 230 pupils in April and includes 16 classrooms, outdoor learning space and an on-site, multiuse games area. Elsewhere in London, the new store located on Upper Tooting Road replaces an existing outlet on the same street. Meanwhile, the other store on Putney High Street is one of Lidl’s smallest at 6,000 sq. ft. Lidl GB’s Regional Head of Property, Henry Neel, commented: “It is fantastic that despite the challenging circumstances we have been able to continue our investment in South London and enable even more of the local community access to our high quality and affordable produce.” He added: “These exciting new store openings demonstrate we’re embracing the wide range of locat...

  Namnews,  25th February 2021 Sainsbury’s is retiring its ‘Live Well for Less’ brand motto to reflect its new focus of helping shoppers improve their diets and reduce their impact on the environment. From late Spring, the retailer will roll out its new strapline – ‘Helping Everyone Eat Better’. Sainsbury’s said it will share more about its new focus with staff and customers on what this means for them in the coming months. Whilst quality food at low prices will remain at the heart of its strategy, the retailer stated that the new slogan aims to highlight how “delicious food” can also be healthy, sustainable and affordable. The retailer highlighted steps recently taken steps to make “good, quality food accessible for all”. This includes price matching own brand and branded products to Aldi, focussing on meat, chicken and fresh fruit and vegetables. The supermarket has also recently topped up Healthy Start vouchers by £2, redeemable against fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables...

Namnews, 25th February 2021 Just days after being acquired by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, Asda has announced a programme of changes and workforce restructuring designed to align its business to the latest shopping trends. The UK’s third-largest supermarket chain said the shake-up was driven by the dramatic shift in demand towards online grocery services during the pandemic. Asda highlighted that its delivery volumes have doubled in recent months to reach levels that it expected to take nine years to achieve. Having already increased its online capacity by 90% since last March last year, Asda now plans to expand its ‘in-store pick’ model further by creating 4,500 new roles in its online operations. However, Asda has also opened a consultation on proposals to overhaul operations in three different parts of its business that could affect up to 5,000 jobs. The group stated that the proposals were aimed at creating “simpler, more efficient ways of working for colleagues and a better ...

  Date : 03 February 2021 Rhian Tomas, head of insight - Shoppervista & FTG 1. Rising confidence with vaccine rollout Our Shopper Confidence Index, while still relatively low, increased slightly to -5 in January, the highest level since February’20. Highest ever recorded levels of trust in the industry are helping to maintain the overall index despite shopper concerns about their financial futures. As the economic impacts of the pandemic become clearer expect shoppers to adapt their behaviours. 2. Return to less shopping around Shoppers are once again visiting fewer stores and using different channels; the average number of stores visited has dropped from 12.1 in December 2020 to 11.1 in January. These changes are not consistent across all channels. Staying close to these shifting dynamics will be important when developing channels plans. 3. Lockdown shopping habits re-emerge Bigger baskets are becoming more common once again as shoppers seek to make the most of every trip...

42% of UK consumers are planning on spending significantly more on F&B as soon as they are able to, and 12% have already booked a holiday abroad this year, despite uncertainty around quarantine restrictions.  The hospitality & leisure sector is certainly looking towards a brighter year compared to the last. On Tuesday Downing Street are announcing our ‘roadmap out of lockdown’, after 3 long months of staying at home. What are everyone’s thoughts on how socialising will change and evolve as restrictions lift in 2021?

  retailanalysis.igd.com From our global view of grocery retail we can clearly see the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the development of food-to-go in small stores. Once a hero category, reduced mobility and stay at home guidance have had a dramatic impact on category sales. In the UK we estimate this loss to be worth c£0.8bn in 2020 vs 2019 (–29%) . However, after an uncertain few months in Q2 2020 when format and range development slowed, we started to see renewed interest in food-to-go innovation demonstrating retailers’ belief that the category will return to growth. Here are our top five stores from around the world that are leading the way in food-to-go execution, providing inspirations for retailers, food-to-go operators and suppliers. 1. Best for serving home-based office workers 7-Eleven, Copenhagen, Denmark Images: 7-Eleven, Takeout.dk For Copenhagen office workers working from home and missing their usual lunch, 7-Eleven has launched delivery direct t...

  bakeryinfo.co.uk The UK’s biggest retailers are mixing up their hot cross bun ranges for Easter 2021 with new products inspired by chocolate, coffee and pizza. Asda, M&S, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s are among those to unveil NPD with sweet and savoury options hitting shelves. Here’s our pick of the latest hot cross buns on the scene: M&S M&S is going for indulgence and inclusion with its two new hot cross buns. The Extremely Chocolatey Hot Cross Buns (£1.65/pack of four) have a rich dark chocolate flavour and are packed with milk and white chocolate chunks. Meanwhile, it’s rolling out a vegan option in the form of Plant Kitchen Luxury Hot Cross Buns (£1.75/pack of four). They’re filled with raisins and currants blended with avocados and coconut oil and flavoured with lemon zest and spices. For Marmite lovers, consumers can try new Marmite & Cheese Hot Cross Buns. Made with mature cheddar, Red Leicester cheese and Marmite, these buns are 100% vegitarian and fru...

  www.barry-callebaut.com | Did you know that the number of products launched with caramel flavor in EMEA doubled in the last 5 years? 1 1. Brings indulgence Caramel is all about indulgence and it satisfies everybody's sweet tooth. It can also help to add multi-sensoriality as consumers are looking for an intense sensorial delight. From soft to gooey and crunchy textures, different shades of golden and characteristic tastes, caramel has a lot to offer. 71% of Western Europe consumers want to try new and exciting Chocolate Confectionery or Chocolate Candy experiences 2 46% of Western Europe Millennials consumers agree that Chocolate Confectionery or Chocolate Candy products that have multiple colors and are visually interesting are more premium 2 2. Gives a premium feeling Caramel gives every creation a premium appeal thanks to an upgraded taste profile, unique instagrammable golden color and multiple ingredient combinations possible. Consumers are ready to pay more for a caramel ch...