News and Trends

Source: Délifrance Délifrance has developed a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Called Baking Good Better , the strategy lays out how Délifrance is tackling corporate and social responsibility across its supply chain by addressing areas such as climate change, the need for biodiversity, global food safety, energy transition, and the transformation of agricultural and production models. Délifrance is a subsidiary of French grain cooperative Vivescia, and Baking Good Better is aligned with Vivescia’s sustainable development policy. “As a subsidiary of France’s largest grain cooperative, we’re able to ensure social responsibility is baked into our business and products at every step of the supply chain, from field to fork,” said Niall Cogan, Délifrance general manager UK&I. “CSR is hugely important to us a business, and we’re continuing to work with customers and suppliers in the UK and Ireland to reinforce this commitment.” Baking Good Better is built around three p...

There’s Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and… Rodney. Marks & Spencer has embraced Santa’s furry helpers with a host of reindeer-themed treats as part of its festive range for 2022. There’s also a Christmas-themed Colin the Caterpillar as well as a host of indulgent sweet and savoury options for the run-up to Christmas and the big day itself. Peek at what M&S has in-store here:   Source: M&S Rodney the Reindeer Baked Alaska – £14 Cutting into the silky mallow coating reveals a chocolate sponge with Madagascan vanilla semifreddo and Belgian chocolate sauce. The baked Alaska is ready to be browned at home and includes a red chocolate nose and chocolate antlers to finish the look.   Source: M&S Reindeer-shaped Steamed Buns – £7 No reindeers were harmed in the making of these steamed buns. Described as soft and fluffy, the vegan-friendly bao buns are filled with wok-fried vegetables in a sticky plum and hoisin sauce.   Source: M&S Helter Skelter Cake – £25 M...

Namnews, 18th November 2022 Having recently already lost the fourth spot in the UK’s largest grocery retailer rankings to Aldi, Morrisons could soon be leapfrogged by Lidl. After posting  solid year-end results yesterday  and revealing that cash-strapped shoppers were flocking to its stores, Lidl GB’s Chief Executive stated that the discounter had the “momentum” to overtake the struggling Big Four supermarket. Asked if he expects to surpass Morrisons in the near future, Ryan McDonnell told the Daily Mail: “I think so, yeah.” He added: “We have a very healthy pipeline for our expansion. I am not calculating at what point I am going to overtake, but certainly we have a lot of potential to keep taking market share and enjoy more switching gains.” Updating on its current trading yesterday, Lidl cited industry data from Kantar showing shoppers last month switched £58m of spending from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons to the discounter. This followed Lidl attracting over 770,0...

 Namnews,  21st November 2022 Compass delivered a big rise in profits during the past year as its recovery from the effects of the pandemic surpassed expectations. However, the catering giant is forecasting a 2023 margin below analysts’ estimates as inflation takes its toll. “We can restore the pre-pandemic margin, but the pace of that will really depend on the level of new business wins… and also when we see inflation start to come off a little,” said Chief Executive Dominic Blakemore in an interview with Reuters after the release of annual results. Like many firms, Compass has been grappling with higher costs of food and labour. It has been tackling soaring inflation by changing ingredients, such as switching from sunflower oil to rapeseed oil in the UK and reducing the number of menu options. The economic environment also means more companies are outsourcing their canteen needs, helping Compass gain new business and retain clients at a record rate. Compass, which serves off...

  Namnews,  21st November 2022 Leon, the healthier fast-food chain acquired by the EG Group last year, is to more than double its number of self-serve coffee kiosks in the UK before the end of January next year. The move will see four additional self-serve coffee kiosks arrive on EG forecourt sites ahead of Christmas and over 100 launch in Asda stores early next year. Leon currently has 65 coffee-to-go kiosks on EG’s forecourts and 33 in Asda stores. After the EG Group completed its acquisition of Leon last year, it announced a new investment programme to enable the brand to open more restaurants. Leon’s grocery range also went on sale in Asda and Ocado in October having made its supermarket debut in 2019 in an exclusive partnership with Sainsbury’s. Glenn Edwards, Managing Director of Leon, said: “Today’s announcement marks another milestone in our expansion programme – and shows how Leon’s coffee is fast becoming a favourite with coffee drinkers across the UK. “We continue t...

  Source: TrendHunter

  Source: TrendHunter

 Namnews,  23rd November 2022 The frozen food industry is “perfectly placed” to help consumers and foodservice operators offset some of the effects of the cost of living crisis, according to Ian Stone, President and Chairman of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF). Speaking at the Federation’s Annual Luncheon in London yesterday, Stone highlighted that prolonged shelf-life, reduced wastage and competitive pricing mean frozen food can help families and foodservice operators cope with the pressures of double-digit food inflation. “I believe that we, the frozen food industry, are perfectly placed to be part of the solution, not the problem. But only if we act as one and be stronger together,” said Stone. “Surely, we can garner the newfound enthusiasm for frozen food gained during the pandemic. An enthusiasm that saw retail sales increasing by £1bn and sales of freezers rise by nearly 50%.” He added: “For the consumer, we must constantly strive to offer the highest quality, b...

  A turbulent two years due to the pandemic proved to be the ultimate test of resilience and business continuity for hotels in Ireland. This year, however, has produced a strong recovery despite a difficult start and ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainty. Hotels in Ireland have been successful in navigating the choppy waters as evidenced by the performance recorded thus far in 2022.  Dublin The capital has posted strong levels of recovery with  performance exceeding 2019 levels in recent months. Many events in the early part of the year were rescheduled from the previous two years. Furthermore, a strong events calendar for which the city is known once again featured big name concerts from Guns N' Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Liam Gallagher through the summer, while Garth Brooks was one of the city’s most anticipated events in September. Hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR), the standard metric for measuring top-line performance, reached €190.39  in S...

  Namnews, 24th November 2022 Leading brioche brand St Pierre has secured additional shelf space with Morrisons in time for the festive season. The grocery retailer is rolling out St Pierre’s Brioche Bagels, Brioche Baguettes and Sliced Brioche Loaf to its stores nationwide. The brand stated that it is ideally placed to drive festive sales as shoppers look for ways to upgrade their at-home menus this Christmas. Jen Danby, marketing director at St Pierre Groupe, commented: “Morrisons has been really supportive of the St Pierre brand, understanding the points of difference that our products bring to the fixture. Whilst the launch of these three new products is timed perfectly for Christmas sales, all three will join our other branded items on shelf as a permanent, year-round listing, demonstrating the versatility of St Pierre across all meal occasions at any time of the year. “Consumers are routinely trading up on staples now – especially in bakery where 24% of the value in rolls is ...

Namnews, 24th November 2022 Ocado has today expanded its rapid grocery delivery service Zoom outside of London, despite signs that the channel is experiencing weaker demand. The online grocer’s fourth Zoom site is based in Hunslet, Leeds. The purpose-built, automated warehouse contains 70 robots that pick and pack the products, while humans assemble the final orders ahead of delivery by electric vehicles, including e-trikes and e-mopeds. Ocado is predicting up to 10,000 orders per week from Leeds residents. “Ocado is famed for its world-leading technology, and we’re delighted to be bringing our rapid grocery app to the city of Leeds as our service expands outside of London,” said Zoom by Ocado Director, George Dean. The move comes amid reports that other rapid delivery firms are shedding riders and closing warehouses across the UK as the bubble bursts for ultra-quick grocery drop-off services. Some of the biggest names in the on-demand grocery sector, which persuaded investors during t...

Source: Pret A Manger Pret A Manger has extended its Pret-at-home frozen range with almond croissants and smoothies. Rolling out to Tesco stores nationwide, the croissants, Sweet Greens smoothie and Berries & Cherries smoothie will join the croissants, granolas and coffee already sold at retail. Pret made its  grocery retail debut  in March 2021 with packs of frozen croissants as part of a transformation plan designed to widen the reach of the brand. The company said customers had since been demanding an at-home almond croissant. Sold in a four pack, they can be baked from frozen in 16 minutes and will be available in 350 Tesco stores. Berries & Cherries and Sweet Greens smoothies, which are rolling out to more than 600 Tesco shops, are sold in packs containing five portions of pre frozen fruit. Consumers need to blend the fruit portion with apple juice to produce the smoothie. “Last year we launched our first ever frozen croissants range, with customers calling them ‘...

Costa Coffee newest Drive-Thru store has just opened at the Peel Centre in Washington, Sunderland, marking the 300th Drive-Thru for the business in Great Britain. 11 years after opening its first Drive-Thru in Nottingham Castle Marina, the occasion showcases Costa Coffee’s ambitious expansion strategy across a range of formats, including on high streets, in retail parks, in travel locations, and over 12,000 Costa Express self-serve machines. Costa Coffee and its franchise partners are on course to  open 100 stores this year, including 60 new Drive-Thrus , as the company continues to  invest in a growing on-the-go coffee market . It also  aims  to be operating  over 500 Drive-Thrus by 2025  in a move that will expand its reach around the country and create around 15 new jobs at each store. This year alone, the UK-wide investment amounts to over £20 million in the Drive-Thru format.    With 1,000 Costa Express machines also being installed in 2022, ...

Tesco is rewinding the clock back to the days of traditional bakeries by removing plastic from a number of its most popular items and selling loose loaves of bread.     The moves will result in the annual removal of 33 million pieces of plastic from loaves of bread and doughnuts, and reduce the plastic used to pack breakfast pastries by more than 120 tonnes each year.    Nearly 25 of the supermarket’s in-store bakery bread lines are now being sold loose, although customers can request a paper bag should they want one.  Doughnuts will now be sold in a fully recyclable paper bag with a glassine window. And in a move that significantly reduces the amount of plastic being used, croissants and pain au chocolat will switch from plastic trays to a traditional recyclable paper bag with a small plastic window. Both the pastries and doughnuts will be hand-packed in store into bags that are structurally sturdy with a flat base, to ensure they still get ...

    According to the Lumina Intelligence UK Restaurant Market Report 2022 , the total restaurant market is forecast to recover to 94.1% of its 2019 market value in 2022, behind total market recovery. The internal challenges facing the market, such as food inflation or the staffing crisis, have coincided with an increase in value consciousness from consumers amid all time low consumer confidence. Many have traded out of the restaurant market to competitors in fast food and retail.   The branded restaurant segment is expected to grow by +2.3% in 2022F, to a total of 4,067 outlets. The UK restaurant market is forecast to see ...

rpbi-openings.co.uk,  21 November 2022 St James Quarter, the 1.7 million sq ft retail-led lifestyle district in Edinburgh, will host EL&N’s debut café in Scotland where it will be taking 1,500 sq ft space in St James Square.  EL&N offers an all day dining-inspired menu, known for its signature drinks such as the Spanish Latte and the Ombre Passionfruit Cooler mocktail. Set in a unique interior of pink floral décor, the Edinburgh café will feature a patisserie display, and a private party room. Founded by Alexandra Miller in 2017, EL&N has expanded its locations across both Europe and the Middle East, where it has most recently opened in Milan and Dubai. St James Quarter’s latest announcement follows on from a flurry of F&B signings including itsu, The Botanist and The Real Greek. Ed Corrigan at St James Quarter, commented: “The signing of EL&N represents yet another first for Scotland at demonstrating the continued appeal of St James Quarter to a diverse ra...

rpbi-openings.co.uk, 18 November 2022 London’s hotel average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) came in higher than the pre-pandemic comparable, according to preliminary October 2022 data from STR. . Occupancy: 83.8% . ADR: £199.95 . RevPAR: £167.60 The market’s occupancy and RevPAR levels came in higher than the month prior, but occupancy remained 4.0% below the 2019 comparable. When looking at daily data, the market continued to show high occupancy levels on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, pointing to business demand, with the highest daily occupancy for the month (93.0%) recorded on Wednesday, 12 October. 

 rpbi-openings.co.uk,  18 November 2022 The expansion of the Ruby Group, under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Struck, is progressing with the opening of the new Ruby Hotel in Edinburgh expected in 2025. Located directly on the famous shopping street of Princes Street, opposite Princess Street Gardens Park, the new hotel comprises around 300 rooms across seven floors.  The hotel features a rooftop terrace with panoramic views of both the World Heritage Edinburgh Castle and Edinburgh Old Town. Public areas include a 24/7 bar which, like the rooms themselves, follows Ruby's Lean Luxury philosophy. The new Ruby Hotel will be a conversion with partial new construction of three connected buildings. With its extensive in-house expertise of conversions of existing buildings, and the resulting space efficiency, Ruby was able to convince Hunter REIM, Scotland's leading independent real estate investment management company based in Edinburgh, to be its partner. ...