News and Trends

  Asda has this month announced plans to open its first two standalone convenience stores before Christmas, under a new 'Asda Express' brand, bringing Asda value and their products to more local communities across the UK. The Asda Express stores will open at Sutton Coldfield on 8th November and Tottenham Hale, London, on 6th December. Asda then plans to launch a further 30 sites next year as part of a 'test & learn' approach to developing its convenience model – part of the chain's strategic vision to become the second largest supermarket in the country. Asda's own research has revealed that sales in convenience stores are forecast to grow by 13% to over £50bn by 2027, providing a significant opportunity to grow c and market share in a sector where it currently has a limited presence. Both Asda Express stores are purpose built and situated in residential areas giving customers the opportunity to shop in convenient neighbourhood locations. Each store will sto...

Brioche specialist St Pierre has been acquired by international bakery giant Grupo Bimbo. St Pierre Groupe, previously known as Carrs Foods, has grown rapidly in the past 10 years supplying a range of products including brioche, morning goods and bread. The business has been bought in its entirety by Mexico-based Grupo Bimbo but will continue to operate independently. St Pierre Groupe, which produces the St Pierre, Baker Street and Paul Hollywood brands, reported £111.5m turnover and £7m operating profit in its accounts for the year ending 31 December 2021. Originally a supplier of own-label baked goods to UK retail, it now has an international footprint that includes the UK, Ireland, the Middle East and the US. The company stated its St Pierre brand is the biggest brioche brand in US and the UK.  “St Pierre Groupe is an entrepreneurial business that has achieved phenomenal success, both at home and internationally, using insight to develop brands and products that carry global app...

Namnews, 26th October 2022 Supplier diversity, wellness and product discovery were all top-of-mind among buyers in the third quarter as retailers seek new ways to entice consumers in the face of inflationary pressures. This is according to research for RangeMe’s  Retail Roundup: Q3 2022 report . It highlights trends among the activity of buyers on the product discovery platform, including keywords and certification searches, collections visited and engagement with products and brands. Finding diverse-owned brands remained a key point of interest among buyers, with certifications such as Certified Ethnic Minority-Owned and Certified Women Business Enterprise among the top searched certifications. Additionally, Certified Organic continues to rank among the top searches among buyers as well, as the USDA currently has organic equivalence with a handful of countries and regions, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the European Union. Visits to RangeMe Collections suggested that buyers ar...

Namnews, 25th October 2022 SPAR UK held its national conference in Gran Canaria earlier this month, with key executives meeting independent retailers and outlining their plans for the business. Speaking at the event, Louise Hoste, SPAR UK’s Managing Director, said: “SPAR is delivering robust growth well ahead of the symbol sector and continues to report year-on-year sales increases. We are outperforming our competitor set in value growth and seeing smaller trips to stores growing by 10%. This footfall growth is a massive opportunity, especially when we capitalise on it with extra items in the basket. “The convenience market is best placed for independent retailers and independent retailers are thriving with SPAR. The opportunity to grow is also supported by customer sentiment for wanting to continue to shop locally, and we want to support this sustained solid performance. That is why we are committing to investing £122m over the next 12 months in stores and supply chain, after spending...

Namnews, 25th October 2022 With the food industry constantly evolving, the future of grocery retail is at the mercy of current global trends such as inflation and labour shortages. This is according to Mikko Kärkkäinen, CEO and co-founder of RELEX Solutions. He said: “The future of the food and grocery sector is uncertain with external forces set to rock the boat. Increased inflation, supply chain issues and labour shortages, to name are few, have shifted the power dynamics across the industry.” RELEX has identified the top trends it believes grocery retailers should be aware of heading into 2023 and possible areas of improvement: 1. Inflation continues to substantially impact consumers’ buying behaviour. Retailers and consumer goods companies can fight inflation and cut costs by taking advantage of supply chain optimisation through automation. Furthermore, retailers are introducing or increasing their own-label offerings to meet the increased demand for less-expensive options. 2. Supp...

Premier Inn owner Whitbread has reported a pre-tax profit of £307.4m on revenues of £1.35b for the first half of its financial year, compared to a loss of £19.3m for the same period the previous year. The group said that a declining independent sector meant was increasing its growth potential in the UK and Ireland, and so it was boosting its long-term target from 110,000 to 125,000 rooms, with plans "on course" to add 1,500-2,000 rooms in the UK this financial year. Total UK accommodation sales were 101% ahead of last year's first half and 35% ahead of the group's 2020 financial year first half. Food and beverage sales were 95% ahead of the same period last year but 5% behind pre-pandemic levels, and Whitbread said the UK value pub restaurant sector remained "challenging". The group said its initiatives to return sales to pre-pandemic levels were "unlikely" to be achieved this year. The business also said the combination of additional inflation in ...

Namnews, 24th October 2022 IRI’s latest  ‘FMCG Demand Signals’ report  confirms that there have been significant changes in consumer shopping behaviour to cope with the cost of living crisis. Unpacking the impact of the pandemic and surging inflation on over 230 FMCG categories across the US and several of the largest markets in Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Spain, UK and Netherlands) and Asia Pacific, the report highlights that deteriorating disposable income is plaguing middle- and low-income consumers across the developed world. Growth in FMCG category sales has softened to 1.5% in 2022, adding €9bn in value sales vs. year ago – down from 3% in the previous year. The latest figures covering the year-to-date show a 2.6% rise, largely driven by inflationary price increases rather than growing demand. IRI noted that the contribution in growth from pent-up demand as Covid restrictions eased, resurgent mobility from consumers returning to the office and taking holidays, has fa...

Namnews, 24th October 2022 Marks & Spencer is looking at how it can “turbocharge” its Ocado food delivery operation as part of efforts to challenge its larger rivals in the grocery market. A report by the Financial Mail On Sunday said the retailer’s Chief Executive Stuart Machin is embarking on a wide-ranging review to improve the service and make the business more efficient. The overhaul is said to be part of a wider strategy to increase M&S’s share of food spending in the UK in stores and online by more than 25%. Hannah Gibson, the new CEO of the Ocado Retail joint venture is already leading the review just a month after her arrival. The newspaper report stated that she is drawing up plans to put more M&S ranges on the Ocado website to compete with the likes of Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. At present, 75% of the M&S food range is available from Ocado. The company is said to want to increase that closer to 100% in the coming months. Management is understood to be particul...

PAUL Bakery is launching its first UK franchise, handing over the reins of their Oxford store. Father and son hospitality duo Graham and Matthew Allan are set to become PAUL’s first franchisees in this new step for the brand.  PAUL UK sees its growth outside London being driven by number of capable and driven franchise partners and with a strong track record and franchise development in 50 countries around the world, developing a franchise network in the UK is a logical step in driving growth.  Graham and Matthew are taking on the business in Oxford and using this as a platform to further develop their business and the PAUL brand in the region. The past 18 months has seen franchising become a key focus for PAUL and Graham and Matthew are the first of what PAUL UK expect will be a growing number of franchise partners joining the brand in the UK in the coming years.  “At PAUL our mission is clear - to serve our customers the very best quality, freshly baked food. We are loo...

Caffè Nero has announced strong trading for the first four months of its financial year (June 2022-September 2022), including strong like for like sales growth, taking sales to 107% of pre-pandemic levels. During the same period, Caffè Nero opened 14 new stores at a group level across its various different territories. Four of those new stores have opened in the UK, including a flagship store in Stansted Airport. Located in the International Departure Lounge at Stansted, the Stansted store had the highest level of sales in its first week of any Caffè Nero store in history. The Group is forecasting it will open a further 18 new stores during Quarter 2, with seven of those opening in the U.K. The Nero Group also began a major refurbishment programme which saw an initial 200 stores upgraded across the group over the past 6 months, 140 of which were in the UK, with a further 60 stores scheduled for refurbishment during the next three months. In the UK, Caffè Nero continued to grow transact...

  Andre Blais, founder of Bodean, is currently crowdfunding to launch Gerry’s Hot Subs, named in honour of his father. Serving hot submarine sandwiches using high quality ingredients, menu items include philly cheese steak; house smoked pastrami, herr reuben pastrami; philly von queso; Texas BBQ brisket; and the fish-a-dub – cod fish goujons in panko and parmesan crumbs topped with tartare coleslaw. Following a successful six-month trial at Battersea’s Foodstar ghost kitchen where it sold approximately seven thousand subs including salads and sides, Blais is seeking £280,000 on funding suite Seedrs to open the first venue. The business has so far raised £190,000. The plan for the first venue will be in a high-footfall location in Soho, London (according to facebook), with multiple sites to open in the forthcoming years.

Independent coffee house Damascena has officially opened its latest venue at a prominent commercial development in Birmingham. Damascena's fifth venue, a coffee house, delicatessen and bakery, takes up more than 3,000 sq ft of space on the ground floor of SevenCapital's Lyndon House. Lyndon House will also form Damascena's new headquarters. Anas Zein Al-Abdeen, managing director of Damascena, said: "The Edgbaston venue is a bold move in the current climate but one that we are very excited about, particularly given its prime location within popular Lyndon House in Edgbaston village. "We're honoured to be bringing our unique menu and distinct vibe to another part of our beloved city, creating new jobs in the process." Simon Dicken, senior director at SevenCapital, added: "The building offers an exciting opportunity for the brand to tap into additional markets within the city centre and will provide a new dynamic to Edgbaston's growing café culture....

  Northumberland-based hospitality group The Doxford Group has announced it will be opening a new hotel, bar and restaurant on the grounds of Charlton Hall Estate in Alnwick. Taking its name from the Latin translation of the word time, The Tempus will be in keeping with its sister venue, Charlton Hall which takes inspiration from the well-known tale, Alice in Wonderland. Set to open early 2023, The Tempus will comprise of 15 guest bedrooms including one Boutique Suite and two Junior Suites on the second floor, with views of the private 150-acre country estate as well as King, Superior King and Family rooms.   With interiors inspired by the Alice in Wonderland adage of being ‘entirely bonkers’, the  team at Jeffreys Interiors will bring The Doxford Group’s vision for The Tempus to life.  Sitting proudly on top of the hotel’s middle roof peak will be an iconic clocktower complete with bespoke weathervane in the form of The Doxford Group and Charlton Hall...

A hotel group has secured eight-figure refinancing to help fuel its ongoing growth. Sandman Hotel Group as made a series of recent acquisitions to add to its core sites in Newcastle, Gatwick and Aberdeen, with further growth planned. To help it achieve the next phase of growth, Sandman Hotel Group – a family-owned business hailing from Canada – has secured a new funding facility from HSBC. The Group is one of the largest privately owned hotel chains in North America – with more than 50 sites in Canada alone. The United Kingdom and Ireland business – which has recently added to its portfolio Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links in Ireland, as well as a newly acquired site in Sheffield – opened its first UK site in 2011 in Newcastle, having redeveloped part of the city’s iconic Scottish & Newcastle Brewery site into the Sandman Signature Newcastle Hotel. It has since made significant investment into Gatwick and Aberdeen, and is now looking at the next phase...

The Hoxton is set to expand its global community, with seven hotels lined up to open in some of Europe’s key cities by early 2024. The Hoxton will open its fourth London hotel in Shepherd’s Bush this December, followed by a huge 18 months with openings in Brussels, Amsterdam (second hotel), Berlin, Edinburgh, Vienna and Dublin. The Hoxton’s upcoming expansion reflects the strong bounceback it has seen since the challenges of the pandemic, with many of its operating properties hitting pre-pandemic levels and making record-breaking restaurant revenue, which is hugely positive when the travel industry faced slow recovery. Whilst the brand has faced challenges with recruitment as many others in the hospitality space have done, it has explored alternative routes for sourcing talent, and is proud to have partnered with Saira Hospitality for its upcoming Shepherd’s Bush opening, a brilliant non-profit initiative that sources and trains undiscovered talent from disadvantaged backgrounds throug...

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 ...