News and Trends

Award-winning pastry chef  Dominique Ansel  is set to bring his creative culinary talents to Caesars Palace Las Vegas with the opening of Dominique Ansel Las Vegas, set to open next summer. "I'm thrilled to be heading out West and opening a new shop in  Las Vegas  at Caesars Palace next year. We've known the Caesars team for several years and truly believe that we're aligned in quality and creativity to bring something special to visitors and locals alike," said  Dominique Ansel . "We're quite conservative in where we choose to grow and open our shops, and at the end of the day, it's all about the team you build. There's so much talent in  Las Vegas  and we're excited to be amongst some of the best. As with all our shops, we'll be developing brand new items inspired by our new home and limited-edition exclusives just for  Las Vegas , so expect some delicious surprises." Chef Dominique is responsible for creating some of the most famou...

Source: Délifrance Bakeries could be losing out on sales by not offering a wide enough range of products to meet dietary needs, particularly those relating to allergens, a new report by Délifrance has revealed. Called ‘Prove it: adapting bakery to meet the needs of hypersensitive consumers’, the report highlights how food operators could improve their services to better cater to shoppers with allergies – also known as food hypersensitive (FHS) consumers. Notably, it found that 52% of consumers won’t buy anything or go elsewhere if they can’t find the bakery product they want while just under a third (31%) said they’d buy a bakery item that ‘will do’. The research comes less than two months  after the introduction of Natasha’s Law  which requires a label with the full ingredients list to be placed on all pre-packed for sale food. More than two million people in the UK have a diagnosed food allergy. However, the report notes, many still engage with the bakery category. Seventy-f...

30 November, 2021 | by The Retail Bulletin Pret A Manger is trialling its first loyalty programme as part of the next phase of its omnichannel transformation. Called ‘Pret Perks’, the scheme will be rolled out in stages to loyal Pret customers, with Pret Coffee subscribers getting early access to the programme as part of its beta testing. From 30  November,  Pret Coffee subscription customers will be able to access the programme through their Pret A Manger digital accounts on the company’s app or website by using their existing coffee subscription permanent QR code. Pret Perks users will earn a star every time they shop or use the company’s click & collect service. In addition, Pret Coffee subscribers will earn a star for every month they renew their subscription and any time they purchase a meal or a snack along with one of their five Barista-made drinks a day. Clare Clough, UK managing director of Pret A Manger, said: “At Pret we know that we have loyal custome...

Namnews, 29th November 2021 The Issa brothers are reportedly considering merging newly-acquired Asda with their EG Group forecourt business. The entrepreneurs and private equity partners TDR Capital have recently been reviewing options to break up their 6,000-strong global forecourt empire. However, Bloomberg News reported on Friday that a merger of their two businesses is being discussed to create a combined entity valued at around £26bn, including debt. Other options being considered include offloading hundreds of petrol stations in Australia or listing the EG business. The Issas and TDR Capital acquired Asda through a £6.8bn debt-fuelled deal at the end of 2020.  Last month , it emerged that the supermarket chain would be lumbered with £500m more debt than previously anticipated after a £750m transaction to sell its own petrol stations to the EG Group collapsed. Asda and EG Group have been working together more closely in recent months, unveiling plans to expand foodservice opti...

Namnews, 26th November 2021 The frozen food industry has a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to grow sales and help cut carbon emissions, according to Ian Stone, president and chair of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF). In an address to 700 business leaders at the Federation’s Annual Luncheon in London yesterday, Stone said British consumers had “fallen in love with frozen food” during the pandemic and that this, combined with heightened interest in environmental issues, has created the perfect platform from which frozen can continue to grow. Stone urged his peers to seize the opportunity, saying: “Consumers have discovered what we have always known; frozen foods are easy to store and cook, with little wastage. Quality and taste are fantastic and there is a wide range of menu choices. It means we have seen nearly £1bn added to the value of retail sales above that of 2019. “We need to seize this pivotal moment. In retail, we must continue to innovate with product; deliver healthi...

Co-op’s revolutionary scheme to use robots to make home deliveries in Northampton has been expanded to make it available to 150,000 residents in the town. The scheme relies on the boxes-on-wheels robots made by Starship Technologies. Online orders are put together in-store and the robots, which can cross roads and avoid obstacles using sophisticated sensors, deliver up to three miles away. The service was first launched a year ago and now an additional 31,000 households have been added to the network, which includes six Co-op stores in several areas of Northampton. Customers schedule their delivery for a particular address and watch in real-time via an interactive map as the robot makes its journey to them. Once the robot arrives, they receive an alert, and can meet and unlock it through the app. Chris Conway, Co-op’s head of e-commerce, said: “Co-op is committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services. “Our members and our customers lead bu...

Namnews, 25th November 2021 Shoppers in the UK are forecast to spend £34.4bn at food and non-food discounters in 2022 – an annual increase of 6.6% – as the sector returns to growth, benefiting from continued economic uncertainty. According to Mintel, total discounter sales in 2021 are expected to drop to £32.3bn for 2021, following a bumper 2020 when sales increased by 9.2% to hit £32.7bn. Led by Aldi and Lidl, sales of food discounters alone are forecast to rise by 6.1% in 2022 to reach £22.5bn. Overall, the food and non-food discount sector accounted for around 9.5% of all retail sales in the UK in 2020, although this is estimated to have dropped slightly to 9.1% in 2021. Mintel’s research confirms that the pandemic has promoted even savvier shopping habits among Britain’s more affluent consumers, with 34% of higher-earning shoppers (household income of £50,000 and over) visiting discounters more since before the start of the Covid-19 outbreak. Almost seven in ten (67%) of these ‘bet...

Namnews, 3rd November 2021 Nearly one-fifth (16%) of consumers now list the environment as their main motivator for healthy and sustainable eating – a significant increase from 2020 – while more than three-quarters (77%) have increased, or are thinking about increasing, their fruit and vegetable intake. This is according to the latest results from the  Appetite for Change  research series from IGD. The data shows that UK consumers are increasingly looking to adopt more healthy and sustainable diets, with 58% open to changing their eating habits (up from 57% in 2020). The research also found there has been a rise in people eating meat only twice a week or less, 39% compared to 34% in 2020, showing that consumers are becoming more aware of the sustainable issues surrounding food production and diets. The IGD research suggested that there continues to be a major opportunity for the food and consumer goods industry to act now, to help consumers turn the new lifestyle habits develo...

Namnews, 17th November 2021 A.F. Blakemore’s group sales for the year ending on 24 April 2021 fell by 5% to £1.0bn after its foodservice and wholesale customers across the travel, tourism, leisure and educational sectors were heavily disrupted by the pandemic. However, pre-tax profits remained in line with the previous year at £6.1m due to cost controls and stable margin performance. Chairman Peter Blakemore stressed that the company had made good progress during the period amid the “unprecedented challenges” caused by the Covid‑19 crisis. “As a result of great customer service and an investment in pricing, we enjoyed good sales across our community-based SPAR convenience stores, with consumers shopping more locally, and whilst less frequently, with a higher basket spend,” he said. “Our teams worked hard to maintain robust service levels both in-store and across our distribution network throughout the financial year.” A.F. Blakemore has continued its investment programme over the last ...

Namnews, 23rd November 2021 Industry watchers have warned that the price of bread and other bakery products could increase by at least 20% in the coming weeks after wheat prices hit a nine-year high. The price of bread wheat has risen by 26.7% in the past year due to increased demand and a spike in costs. Alice Jones, an analyst with agricultural body AHDB, said: “Global wheat prices keep climbing each week on the back of supply concerns, and UK prices are following global trends. As long as global prices keep rising there is scope for domestic prices to keep rising.” While some of the higher costs may be absorbed by manufacturers and retailers, experts say higher price tags are now likely. “Energy pricing is also on the rise, while HGV driver shortages and recruitment are resulting in increased wage rates,” said Gordon Polson, CEO of Britain’s Federation of Bakers. Allied Bakeries, which owns Kingsmill, said the industry was “exposed to inflationary pressure in relation to the cost of...

Namnews, 23rd November 2021 A survey suggests that UK retailers need more time and clarity to prepare for the new government regulations that will limit the placement and promotion of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products next year. Carried out by AI nutrition technology company Spoon Guru, the survey shows that a quarter of respondents working in the top 11 supermarkets feel that they are uninformed about what the HFSS legislation will entail, which could lead to monetary penalties. The findings reveal that two thirds (61%) of respondents think the current delay to enforcing the new rules should be further increased by seven months or more. The rules on product placing and multibuys of HFSS food are now due to come into force in October 2022 after the original deadline of April was extended during the summer following pressure from retailers and manufacturers. The government has yet to announce more detail on which products will be classed as HFSS foods. Supermarkets will have to a...

Accor has launched Emblems Collection, its new brand for boutique hotels and luxury resorts, with plans to grow the brand to 60 properties by 2030 with London a target city. The first Emblems Collection hotel will be the 64-suite Guiyang Art Centre hotel, Emblems Collection (pictured) in China's Guizhou province, slated to open in December 2022. "Emblems Collection adds a fresh and exciting new dimension to Accor's luxury offerings. A key focus of our growth and development strategy is to add aggressively across our strongest lines and leading business accelerators, which includes luxury as well as collection brands, while ensuring all 40-plus brands in our global network continue to grow, evolve and flourish," said Sébastien Bazin, chairman and chief executive of Accor. "The hotels we will feature in Emblems Collection are those sought out by travellers who appreciate high-end, boutique-style experiences, as well as by hoteliers who cherish the independent brand...

Compass Group has reported revenue of £17.9b over the last year, 10.2% down on 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic, however it had returned to 88% of pre-Covid revenue by the fourth quarter. In its financial results for the year ended 30 September 2021, the group said it was "extremely encouraged" by the recovery of its sports and leisure business, with growing crowds spending significantly more per person at their events than they did pre-pandemic. While the group made progress recovering revenue in the second half of the year, driven by strong net new business with record new business wins of £2.1b, including around half from first-time outsourcing and client retention of 95.4%, the pandemic continued to affect performance. Sectors including healthcare, senior living, defence, offshore and remote performed well above pre-pandemic revenues, and education and sports and leisure recovered strongly in the fourth quarter. However, business and industry revenues remained subdu...

The Grocer, By  Steve Farrell | 17 November 2021 Save article Source: Asda Roles are based at Asda House in Leeds Asda  has created hundreds of new roles in a transformation project to separate its IT systems from former owner  Walmart ’s. The programme – dubbed Future – will see Asda move all its IT processes off Walmart’s platforms onto its own newly created ones, following the sale of the supermarket to TDR Capital and EG owners Mohsin and Zuber Issa earlier this year. An Asda spokesman said the scale of the supermarket’s operations made it a major project requiring a high number of professional IT recruits. He said a sizeable number had already been recruited but roles would continue to be created throughout the lifespan of the project. The roles include cloud architects and engineers, data scientists, solution architects and business change managers, among others. A current ad for an applications solutions architect says: “Future is the name for the programme that wi...

 The Grocer,  By  Maria Goncalves | 18 November 2021 Save article Source: M&S The two companies are partnering for the ‘Costa Coffee Now Serving M&S Food’ experience M&S  Food is partnering with Costa Coffee to sell its food in the  high street  coffee chain’s franchise stores from next year. The deal will see more than 30 M&S food products, from hot meal boxes to children’s food and its classic sandwiches, become available in more than 2,500 Costa Coffee stores across the UK . “M&S Food is famous for great quality food on the go at fantastic value,” said M&S COO Stuart Machin. “This collaboration gives many more customers the opportunity to enjoy our wide range of delicious sandwiches, salads and snacks in over 2,500 locations across the UK.” He added that the partnership supported M&S Food’s larger strategy of making the brand “more relevant, more often for families” – helping to expand the retailer’s food range reach to furthe...

Namnews, 15th November 2021 Latest figures from Kantar show grocery sales in Ireland fell by 4.8% year-on-year over the 12 weeks to 31 October as more normal trading conditions returned to the market. However, growth is still strong compared with pre-pandemic levels and sales were up 8.9% versus the equivalent period in 2019. Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar, commented: “October brought the full easing of Covid-19 restrictions as well as a well-timed bank holiday weekend and shoppers have been making the most of newfound freedoms. Dining out is firmly back on the table, bringing a welcome boost to the hospitality sector as friends and families returned to bars and restaurants. With fewer meals eaten around the kitchen table, we’ve seen supermarket sales drop by 8.4% in the latest four weeks. Irish shoppers spent €86.1m less on groceries this month compared with the equivalent period last year when the nation was in lockdown.” The ongoing growth of online grocery, which accelerated ...