News and Trends

Source: Baker & Baker Negative perceptions around the taste of vegan bakery items are holding the market back, according to new research from Baker & Baker. The manufacturer revealed the findings in a report called  Bakery Bites  which explores the vegan sweet bakery category and consumer attitudes to it. Conducted by FMCG Gurus in partnership with Baker & Baker, the research questioned 1,000 UK consumers on their consumption of animal-based products. It revealed that 34% say they follow a diet around the avoidance or moderation of animal-based products – up from 28% two years earlier. However, it also uncovered the top three barriers to the purchase of vegan sweet treats. When questioned why they would be less likely to purchase a sweet bakery item with a vegan claim, consumers placed taste as the main reason with 45% of the vote. This was followed by lack of understanding around vegan, named by 29% of respondents, and price, named by 27%. Baker & Baker acknow...

 Namnews,  29th September 2022 Morrisons has reported a halving of third-quarter profits as it lost sales to the discounters and faced “unprecedented inflationary pressures” in its food manufacturing operations. The retailer, which was recently overtaken by Aldi as the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket chain by market share, saw its EBITDA fall from £356m to £177m over the 13-week period to 31 July. Morrisons noted that “as a foodmaker, we feel the effects of inflation earlier than other retailers”. The group produces around half of its fresh food in-house, a much higher figure than other supermarkets. Morrisons also stressed that some of the decline was due to “temporary and transitional factors” such as alterations to the group’s loyalty scheme. A change in its financial year-end from January to October following its takeover by CD&R last year also meant that profitable income from supplier advertising and promotions now falls in the fourth quarter, not the third. Excludin...

Christmas puddings are maturing, mince pies are flying off shelves, and the nation’s supermarkets and bakers have started to unwrap the treats on offer this year. From new twists on wellingtons to boozy bakes, savoury takes on sweet items and fancy flavours, there are several themes dominating the market. Here, we explore the trends adding some flair to festive fare in 2022:   Source: Asda Asda’s Tomahawk Steak Wellington Put some welly into it Beef wellington often makes an appearance in Christmas ranges but this year the pastry-clad centrepiece has been reinvented. Asda, for example, is offering a showstopping version in the form of a Tomahawk Wellington, complete with the bone. Developed by master butchers, the steak has been French trimmed and matured for 21 days and comes with a beef stock gel, mushroom duxelles and Madeira wine, and an on-trend three cheese and truffle melt. Aldi, meanwhile, has replaced the titular meat with venison which brings a ‘robust and gamey’ flavour ...

 Namnews,  28th September 2022 Aldi has revealed that it will open a new eco concept store tomorrow which has been designed to significantly reduce carbon consumption and plastic usage. The store in Leamington Spa uses sustainable building materials and design changes that are expected to reduce life-cycle carbon emissions by up to two-thirds. Numerous initiatives are also being trialled to help make it easier for shoppers to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic. Aldi will use the store to test which elements work best, with potential rollout to its other stores across the country. The new store includes a ‘hard to recycle’ unit – located at the store entrance to allow customers to recycle items which are not collected by local authorities. Aldi claims it will be the first retailer in the UK to trial a recycling point for coffee pods and medicine packets, whilst also accepting batteries, soft plastics and cosmetic packaging. A nuts and coffee refill fixture will allow shoppers to...

 Namnews,  28th September 2022 With input costs mounting, food inflation hit another high this month, with few signs that pressures on manufacturers and retailers are easing. Overall shop price inflation accelerated to 5.7% in September, up from 5.1% in August, in another record since the British Retail Consortium-NielsenIQ Index began in 2005. Food price inflation rose from 9.3% to 10.6%, driven by the war in Ukraine, which is continuing to push up the price of animal feed, fertiliser and vegetable oil. The BRC noted that products such as margarine were most affected, although the heatwave over the summer did help push down prices for some fruits, such as strawberries, blueberries and tomatoes. Fresh food inflation rose from 10.5% in August to 12.1% this month, while ambient inflation increased from 7.8% to 8.6%. The figures were the highest on record for fresh and the fastest rate of increase recorded for ambient. Meanwhile, non-food inflation rose from 2.9% last month to 3....

 Namnews,  27th September 2022 Kantar has published its  Who Cares, Who Does  report for 2022, which looks at the connection between consumer sustainability attitudes and their real shopping behaviour. The study, which surveyed almost 100,000 shoppers in 24 countries, finds that, for the first time in the report’s four-year history, the number of ‘Eco Actives’ shoppers has declined. Eco-actives, those most engaged in sustainability issues, dropped by 4% in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020 – while ‘Eco Dismissers’ rose by 7% to 44% of the global population. The Eco-actives decline is widespread, with the largest drops seen in Spain (-8%), Portugal (-5%), Ireland (-5%) and India (-5%). More positively, France, the US, and Colombia experienced flat or growing Eco Active groups. Despite the overall fall, the report notes that Eco Actives shopping power is still worth $376bn to the FMCG market. The segment is forecast to grow to $763bn by 2027 in a pessimistic scenario or t...

 Namnews,  27th September 2022 After the release of Aldi UK’s 2021  financial results yesterday , the discounter’s Chief Executive admitted it was struggling to hit its ambitious store opening targets. Aldi, which currently operates 970 stores in the UK, aims to have 1,200 outlets by 2025. It had hoped to reach 1,000 sites by the end of this year, but with only 16 more openings planned for 2022, it will fall short of this landmark. Speaking to trade magazine The Grocer, Giles Hurley, Chief Executive for Aldi UK and Ireland, blamed the lack of suitable sites and supply chain disruption in the construction industry. He said: “There are of course lots of things beyond our control when it comes to the store opening programme. Clearly there’s planning, which I have to say has been more challenging than ever during the course of the last two to three years, which I guess is perhaps to be expected because of all the pandemic-related challenges. “There is of course a little bit a...

Namnews, 27th September 2022 Nisa has kicked off its annual trade show today by announcing a multi-million-pound investment in the Co-op own brand range. The £5m investment will include over 1,000 price reductions that will be live to Nisa retailers from next week with the top 100 most frequently purchased products all set to fall in price. Co-op Fairtrade bananas, free-range eggs, ice cubes, carrots, bacon and pasta twists are included in the list. Nisa’s newly appointed Managing Director, Peter Batt, commented: “Co-op own brand is absolutely key to our offer for independent retailers, more so than ever before as shoppers struggle with the increasing cost of living. “This investment in the price of more than 1,000 Co-op own label products will support our retailers, ensuring they stay competitive, helping them to drive sales and margin during ever challenging times.” Alongside the price investment, Nisa is introducing a core essentials range. Unveiled at the Nisa Expo, the 330 Co-op o...

  Supermarket chain Sainsbury's is opening a pop-up store to resemble an 'inspirational freezer' showcasing innovative ways to reduce food waste through freezing - Sainsfreeze. The new walk-in freezer concept store will show customers how to freeze unexpected foods, saving surplus food going to waste and helping people save money. The pop-up store opens in London's Boxpark Shoreditch this week, from 27-28th September. Looking like a regular Sainsbury's from the outside, the interior will greet customers with frozen groceries that would usually be bought fresh - shelves of fruit and veg, dairy, meat, fish and baked goods. What's more, all this will be being given away for free. Foods normally found on each aisle will be frozen in innovative ways to help save space and keep food for longer, thus reducing food waste. From mixing wilting herbs with oil or water and freezing into ice cube trays – perfect for throwing straight into soups and stews - to portioning minc...

 Namnews,  23rd September 2022 The ‘indulgent’ food segment, which includes chocolate and confectionery categories as well as savoury snacks and ice cream, is at ‘high risk’ from inflationary pressure. Analytics company GlobalData forecasts that the segment is only expected to rise by 2.2% in volume CAGR between 2021 and 2024. Chocolate and confectionery will be one of the categories that will be hit the hardest, with volumes set to decrease from a 2016-2019 CAGR of 2.1% to a 2021-2024 CAGR of 1.5%. Ice cream is set to see a double-digit increase in value over 2021-2024 but only a 2.2% rise in volume in the same period. Jenny Questier, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “As these products are often positioned as treats and rewards and not staple parts of weekly meals, they are more likely to be compromised in consumers’ shopping baskets as household budgets continue to get tighter and consumers consider their health priorities.” GlobalData forecasts that all categories i...

  Namnews, 23rd September 2022 Costco’s fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street expectations, helped by strong demand for its fresh food and fuel offerings despite rising inflation in the various countries in which it operates its warehouse outlets. The retailer’s net sales (excl. membership fees) rose 15.2% to $70.76bn over the 16 weeks ended 28 August after benefitting from strong spending by its more affluent consumers that pay to be members. Excluding the impacts from changes in petrol prices and foreign exchange, comparable sales in its 578 outlets in the US rose 9.6%. The 107 stores in Canada saw a 13.7% rise, whilst its 153 overseas warehouses (including 29 in the UK) saw sales increase by 11.3%. Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman said that in the current environment, consumers are looking to save money – including the better-off ones, which Costco caters to. “That bodes well, since they sell a lot of food and consumables, and they help people save money,” he sai...

rpbi-news.co.uk, 22 September 2022 Hostmore plc, the hospitality business with brands including 'Fridays', '63rd+1st' and 'Fridays and Go', has announced its interim results for the 26 weeks ended 3 July 2022. Strong improvement in revenues (+147% over HY21 which was significantly impacted by the pandemic), with both volume and customer spend per head increasing. Increase in Group Adjusted EBITDA (+143% over HY21) due to improved revenues, cost mitigation activities and landlord concessions. Cash generation enabled Adjusted free cash flow of £10.1m, before the settlement of £6.8m of accrued listing costs. Undrawn banking facilities of £27.5m presently available under the RCF which will support the business during a time of uncertain consumer demand and inflated utility pricing. The impact of unhedged current utilities prices expected to have an impact on FY23 EBITDA (pre- IFRS). <b>Good organic growth; focus on improving the customer and staff proposition...

 rpbi-news.co.uk,  20 September 2022 The team behind The Harper in Langham, near Holt in North Norfolk, have completed the purchase of Langham Hall and its adjoining stable block for an undisclosed sum. The purchase will see the luxury boutique hotel double in size. Renovation works have already begun, with the expanded site set to include additional accommodation and extend the existing spa and gym facilities. An extension of The Harper’s spa will be in Langham Hall’s former stable block. Located directly behind The Harper hotel, Langham Hall is a Grade-II listed 8,000 square feet property with eight bedrooms. It was most recently the home of Tony Burlingham, a Norfolk hotelier who also used the site as an apartment block for his MJB Hotels chain. Sam Cutmore-Scott, Owner and Managing Director of The Harper, commented: “This is a hugely exciting project for us as a team. We are looking forward to incorporating the new spaces and facilities into what we do at The Harper, build...

 Namnews,  26th September 2022 Days after being displaced as the UK’s fourth-biggest supermarket chain, Morrisons has announced that it is investing over £100m in price cuts across 150 of its most purchased products. The lower prices and multi-save offers will cover nearly 6% of Morrisons total volume sales, with a claimed average saving of 14%. Items covered include bread, baked beans, cereal and a variety of fruit and vegetables, as well as some of Morrisons’ entry-level products within its Savers and Wonky ranges. The supermarket – which was  recently overtaken by Aldi  in market share terms – stated that it had made use of its own manufacturing sites to introduce the price cuts and help cash-stapped customers. Morrisons Chief Executive David Potts said: “The cost-of-living crisis continues to place an enormous financial burden on our customers and we want to play our part in helping them when it comes to the cost of grocery shopping. “These price cuts are on the ...

 Namnews,  26th September 2022 Aldi saw its profits slump significantly last year due to rising costs and investment in pricing. However, the discounter stated today that it was willing to sacrifice margin to maintain its focus on “providing the lowest grocery prices in the UK” amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis. Over the year to 31 December 2021, Aldi’s operations in the UK and Ireland saw pre-tax profits fall 86.5% to £35.7m on sales up 0.9% to £13.65bn. Aldi blamed the fall in profits on Covid-related costs, increasing staff pay and investment in prices. Meanwhile, the small increase in sales came after the chain missed out on the online grocery boom during the pandemic. “Preserving our price discount and rewarding our people will always be more important to us than short-term profit,” said Giles Hurley, Chief Executive Officer for Aldi UK and Ireland. “Being privately owned means we can keep our promises even when times are tough.” The company noted that it had attra...

The rise of sourdough has been one of most significant bakery trends of recent years. What’s more, with an increasing number of consumers purchasing the bread and a long line of manufacturers large and small looking to capitalise on the ever-growing demand, the sourdough phenomenon shows no sign of abating. Surveys conducted in April and August 2022 by the Craft Bakers Association (CBA), for example, show upward movement in the category over a short space of time. In April, 57% of CBA members sold up to three sourdough products. However, the most recent study showed that the figure had increased to 64%, with a further 10% planning to introduce sourdough products this year. Source: Brook Food Aidan Monks of Kendal-based craft baker Lovingly Artisan provides his expert touch to some sourdough loaves So, what’s behind this rising supply and demand? According to Karen Dear, director of operations at the CBA, taste is a big factor. “A large driver of sourdough popularity is the importance o...