News and Trends

A Parmesan & Black Pepper Sourdough Loaf from Bakerman in Darlington has been crowned Britain’s Best Loaf 2022. It fought off stiff competition from loaves across six categories – Gluten Free, Innovation, Plain Sourdough, Sourdough with Other Ingredients, White and Wholegrain – to secure the ultimate accolade. The sourdough, which took the top spot in the Sourdough with Other Ingredients category, was praised by the judges for its bold flavours as well as punchy aroma and the technical expertise it displayed. The Parmesan & Black Pepper Sourdough, Britain’s Best Loaf 2022 ”I had a good feeling when I was making the dough,” said the winning baker, Dan Booth of Bakerman. ”It felt great and came out of the ovens lovely in the morning so I thought I was in with as good a chance as I could give myself, but there are always brilliant bakers here so I’m delighted to have won.” British Baker  editor Amy North congratulated all of the bakers of the competition’s winning and highly c...

Link to video summary: https://www.kantar.com/uki/inspiration/fmcg/2022-WP-UK-shoppers-seek-out-value-as-grocery-inflation-hits-11-year-high Our latest take-home grocery figures show that supermarket sales fell by 5.9% over the 12 weeks to 17 April 2022. For the first time since the pandemic began, sales are also in decline by 0.6% compared with two years ago, as the period now includes the start of the first lockdown when only essential shops were allowed to open. Like for like grocery price inflation is at 5.9% this month, its highest level since December 2011. The average household will now be exposed to a potential extra £271 per year. A lot of this is going on non-discretionary, everyday essentials which will prove difficult to cut back on as budgets are squeezed. We’re seeing a clear flight to value as shoppers watch their pennies. The level of products bought on promotion, currently at 27.3%, has decreased 2.7 percentage points as everyday low-price strategies come to the fo...

Namnews, 25th April 2022 Asda and Morrisons have both today announced cuts to the price of everyday grocery products to help their customers with the rising cost of living. Asda stated that it was investing more than £73m to reduce the prices of over 100 items, including fruit & veg, meat, rice, soft drinks, cheese, yogurts, and frozen products. The cuts on both branded and own-label lines average 12% and will be “locked” until the end of the year. The move comes just weeks after the supermarket  announced plans to launch  a new value range called ‘Just Essentials at Asda’. Covering 300 lines, it will start rolling out next month and replace Asda’s existing Smart Price products. Asda also confirmed today that its 120,000 hourly paid shop floor staff will see their pay increase to £10.10 per hour from July. It comes after Tesco increased its basic pay to £10.10 per hour earlier this month while other supermarket groups have also increased wages amid soaring inflation. And A...

Date : 14 April 2022 The latest release from the British Retail Consortium Retail Sales Monitor show that UK retail sales grew by 3.1% in March. Non-food categories continue to provide the key upsides, but food sales, which were down 6.1%, proved to be a particular drag due to the timing of Easter in 2021, which was compounded by the impact of the ongoing pandemic restrictions in March last year. Three-month food & drink sales down 2.6% For the 13-week period covering January to March, UK food & drink sales fell by 2.6% on a total basis, and 3.1% on a like-for-like basis. Given the tough lockdown-boosted comparatives from last year, when food sales grew 6.6%, this decline in the quarterly performance is unsurprising. Nevertheless, the decrease is the steepest ever recorded in the food category and compares with 0.1% quarterly growth in the three months of December 2021 to February 2022. The timing of Easter this year had a particular impact on March sales, with retailers not ye...

Great coffee, great bread and bountiful displays are among the things patrons can expect when visiting a Two Magpies bakery, according to co-owner Steve Magnall who is hoping to offer the experience to more neighbourhoods in coming years with plans for expansion in full swing. The business, which has seven shops across Norfolk and Suffolk, has recently picked up the keys for a new manufacturing site that has the potential to treble its current capacity. The new site in Walpole, Suffolk, spans 11,000 sq ft – a significant increase on Two Magpies’ current production premises which sees bread and pastry crafted in two 2,000 sq ft sites. It should be fully operational by the end of July this year. Source: Two Magpies Bakery Co-owners Rebecca Bishop and Steve Magnall; “I’d like to see us get up to 20 or 30 sites with a turnover of £20-25m – so trebling where we are now,” explains Magnall, who co-owns the business with Rebecca Bishop having joined in 2018. Since then, its turnover has increa...

The Grocer, By  Maria Goncalves | 11 April 2022 No comments   Save article Source: M&S M&S is lowering prices for everyday essential items such as bread, milk, bananas and spaghetti Marks & Spencer  is lowering  prices  across its Remarksable ranges in a bid to attract shoppers as food costs keep on mounting. The retailer is investing in its value position by slashing prices for everyday staples – such as bread, bananas, milk, spaghetti and beef mince – as it ramps up the competition for other grocers amid hiking food inflation. M&S  COO and Food MD Stuart Machin said: “As we transform M&S Food, we have invested significantly over the last three years in making our ranges even better value, whilst protecting the things our customers love most – our market leading  sourcing  standards and our delicious, innovative products. “We want M&S to be more relevant, more often and that’s why now is the right time to go further, ...

Namnews, 11th April 2022 Pret A Manger has confirmed its plans to enter Ireland with the opening of up to 20 shops within the next decade. The outlets in the Republic and Northern Ireland will be rolled out by the Carebrook Partnership under a franchise arrangement. The first shop is set to open on Dawson Street in Dublin this summer. “Setting up shop in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland has been our plan for a long time, and we’re thrilled that we’re finally able to make it happen,” said Pano Christou, Chief Executive Officer at Pret A Manger. “There has long been demand from our neighbours on the island of Ireland to bring Pret’s freshly prepared food and organic coffee, and now with the backing of Carebrook Partnership Ltd we’re able to do so. We look forward to making this partnership a success.” Carebrook Partnership already runs many of Pret’s stores in London. It is majority-owned by food sector veteran, Gerard Loughran, who grew up in Nenagh, Co Tipperary. Ray McNama...

Namnews, 11th April 2022 Tesco will reveal its annual results on Wednesday with the City keen to hear how the UK’s largest grocery retailer is tackling soaring costs and whether it has any further plans to support shoppers during the cost-of-living crisis. Last year, the supermarket’s operating profits fell by a fifth to £1.7bn after it paid back business rates relief given during the height of the pandemic. Analysts expect this number to soar after Tesco said in January that its retail profits would be at the top end of a £2.5bn to £2.6bn range. Tesco has been gaining market share from rivals such as Morrisons and Asda in recent months as it uses its huge buying power to keep prices down and offer attractive deals through its Clubcard scheme. However, with inflation accelerating and the cost of living crisis worsening, Tesco could face pressure to reduce prices further if cash-strapped consumers continue to turn to discounters to save money. Earlier this year, the group’s Chief Execut...

rpbi-news. co.uk, 08 April 2022 Brick Lane Bagel Co has confirmed that work has begun on its brand new Essex store, its seventh in the county and 11th overall. The brand has confirmed that the Harlow store at the Harvey Centre is 'next on their agenda' as work begins to open the store. So far, there are already stores across Epping, Loughton, Chelmsford, Hockley, Ongar and Theydon Bois - which was one of the first towns to welcome the bagel company in 2018. Inspired by the bakers along Brick Lane, the owner's aim is to bring the beloved London tradition to local communities, including across Essex. Confirming on its social media page, the new store in Harlow is set to open soon. Back in September last year, the company confirmed that a number of new stores were set to open across the county. One of them was the Harvey Centre in Harlow, while another was a store in Lakeside. The company confirmed last Wednesday (March 30), that they had the keys to the store in the Harvey Ce...

rpbi-news.co.uk, 08 April 2022 Ole & Steen’s latest new opening will be in More London, SE1. The new bakery, with seating for around 60 people inside and out, will open its doors on Easter Saturday (April 14th) and will welcome customers five days a week from 6.30am until 7pm and from 8am to 7pm on weekends. As usual, the More London bakery will have fresh Danish bread including three different types of Rye loaf; two different kinds of Sourdough; and delicious Skagen and Ølander loaves which are baked fresh every morning. In addition there are delicious lunches, warming drinks and, of course, sweet treats including Chocolate Swirls, four different types of muffin, and the Cinnamon Social Slice.

rpbi-news.co.uk, 08 April 2022 Today trade association UKinbound, which represents over 300 UK tourism businesses that service international tourists visiting the UK (inbound tourism), has released new figures for 2022, showing the industry is beginning to recover. In a March survey of its members, undertaken by Qa Research, over one in three (39%) of respondents stated that international bookings and visitors for April/May/June 2022 were expected to be the same or higher than pre-pandemic, however the majority (61%) are expecting international bookings/visitors to be down, by an average of 47%. Inbound tourism businesses revenue predictions for this period were similar, with almost half (45%) expecting them to be the same or higher than pre-pandemic, and 55% expecting them to be lower by an average of 49%. The US market is recovering the strongest, with one in three businesses seeing growth in this market. Parallels also emerged when businesses were asked to consider international boo...

rpbi-news. co.uk, 08 April 2022 Sykes Holiday Cottages, an independent holiday cottage rental agency, is acquiring a controlling stake in Forest Holidays, the UK’s leading owner and operator of environmentally sensitive cabins, in order to accelerate its ambition to become a leading UK-focused holiday group with a diverse range of unique rental accommodation. Sykes shares Forest Holidays’ approach to sustainable tourism which strives to have a positive impact on the planet and local communities whilst providing memorable shared experiences for its customers. The combined business will be united by a common purpose to bring further benefits to nature, people and local communities. Forest Holidays is the owner and operator of environmentally sensitive cabins set across Britain’s forests. Since the mid-1970s, the company has sensitively created cabins under the guiding principles of sustainable woodland use and the preservation of the countryside and biodiversity. To date, Forest Holidays...