News and Trends

Bestway’s swoop on Sainsbury’s has fuelled speculation of a reverse takeover – a further sign of the sector’s growing influence on grocery Until the pandemic struck, the wholesale sector was still feeling the fallout of the last great deal in 2018 when its biggest fish –  Booker  – was netted by  Tesco , the UK’s biggest retailer. Back then there was regular speculation that Tesco’s rival supermarkets would look to do similar deals by snapping up leading  wholesalers  or buying groups. Had anyone suggested that a big wholesaler could instigate a play for a big supermarket, the idea would have been dismissed out of hand. Not any more.  Bestway , now the UK’s third-biggest wholesaler, fuelled exactly that kind of speculation last month by acquiring a 4.4% stake in Sainsbury’s for around £270m. While industry experts believe a takeover is an unlikely prospect, the very fact that it is on manoeuvres shows something is afoot. Because while Bestway has yet to ful...

Namnews, 6th March 2023 Starbucks has revealed that it plans to open 100 new stores in the UK over the next year as part of a Europe-wide investment programme. The US coffee chain, which currently has 1,066 sites in the country, also said it was aiming to complete a refurbishment of its store estate over the next three years as part of the £30m investment. Starbucks revealed the investment programme while reporting that its sales had recovered to pre-pandemic levels during its financial year to 22 October 2022. The company said total revenues were up 37% year-on-year to £449.3m, although operating profits slipped by almost a third to £12.6m due to higher staff pay and other inflationary pressures. Duncan Moir, president of Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said: “Innovation remains key to Starbucks ability to meet our customers’ changing needs and we’re investing in our digital channels and developing new store formats such as digitally-forward smaller stores and Drive T...

 Namnews,  7th March 2023 New data released by NIQ (previously known as NielsenIQ) shows Total Till grocery sales climbed 11.1% in the four weeks ending 25 February, up from 7.6% recorded in January as a result of accelerating food inflation (+14.5% in February). The sales growth came despite a lack of availability in some fresh produce categories, which impacted sales in the last two weeks of the period. However, total value sales in the fresh produce category grew only 1.1%, with a unit decline of 5.4%. The data confirms that supermarkets struggled to meet demand for certain products, such as tomatoes, where unit sales declined by 17.6%, and peppers (-16.8%). However, value sales for products that were available such as lettuce (+13.7%) and cucumber (+31.8%) increased despite limited availability. Volumes at the grocery multiples fell by 4.1% in the four-week period, indicating that although inflation is still rising, shoppers’ varying coping strategies and the additional ow...

 Namnews,  8th March 2023 Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have highlighted that the change in shoppers’ essential spending habits continues to force traditional supermarkets, such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, to stay price competitive and defend market share against Aldi and Lidl. They expect volumes to remain subdued through 2023 while pricing becomes the only sales-growth lever. Charles Allen, Retail Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, commented: “UK consumers continue to change their essential spending habits as they are forced to pay more to take home fewer items. Pricing has become the main food-retail growth lever, driving the 8.3% sales increase in February. “Volume could remain subdued, evidenced by the 16th consecutive month of sales growth, trailing the record-high food inflation of 14.5%, according to the BRC Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index. Shoppers are lured by availability amid shortages and cheap assortments, which is triggering price reductions linked to loy...

Namnews, 13th March 2023 Asda customers are so concerned about the environment that they actually see it as a bigger issue than their own health. This is according to data from Asda’s Pulse of the Nation survey that was released during Food Waste Action Week last week. It found that two-thirds of the supermarket’s customers (64%) are worried about the environment, with just 49% concerned about their own health. And shoppers realise they have a role to play with 88% of those asked saying that reducing their food waste is important to them. Data from climate change NGO WRAP shows that over 70% of food waste occurs in the home, costing the average family around £700 a year. With consumers looking to save money during the cost of living, Asda has produced a dedicated page on its website with hints and tips on how to prevent food waste, including a number of recipes using leftovers. The supermarket is helping customers in other ways to combat food waste. It recently removed ‘Best Before’ da...

  Namnews,  16th March 2023 The Co-op will roll out its autonomous delivery robots to Great Manchester this week, marking their presence in another British city. The six-wheeled self-driving bots from Starship Technologies will begin making grocery deliveries to residents across Sale from two Co-op stores in Washway Road and Coppice Avenue. Five years after the robots made their first UK delivery in Milton Keynes, the on-demand delivery service now covers hundreds of thousands of households in Northampton, Bedford, Cambridge and Leeds. Chris Conway, eCommerce Director at Co-op, said: “We are committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services, and delighted to be able to roll-out autonomous robots to provide additional online flexibility and choice in Greater Manchester.” Andrew Curtis, UK Operations Manager at Starship Technologies, added: “The robots provide ease and convenience for people, while also making a positive contribution ...

 Namnews,  17th March 2023 Whilst Waitrose supermarkets suffer as shoppers shift some of their spending to cheaper rivals, the retailer has outlined its ambitions to continue growing its operations in the convenience channel. Alongside  disappointing year-end results , Waitrose revealed it was expanding its presence with third parties. It currently supplies 32 Dobbies Food Halls and expects to roll out to 50 branches by this May. The retailer also began supplying 13 convenience stores in Scotland and Jersey during the last 12 months and opened 11 new Waitrose shops at Shell forecourts – taking the total to 80 – with plans for more this financial year. And the group is looking to expand its network of Little Waitrose stores to capitalise on more people shopping locally. Meanwhile, its grocery on-demand partnership with Deliveroo has been expanded to 222 stores, with orders up 33% year-on-year. Waitrose Executive Director James Bailey said: “It’s our belief we are underexpo...

German scientists have confirmed a low-insulin-releasing bread has significant impact on weight loss, while a Spanish FoodTech startup has launched the first range of postbiotic bread on the UK market. Pic: GettyImages/stacey-newman Bread is an essential staple around the globe, even in regions where there is ample rice and other grains to lean towards. Stats show that every country in the world consumes bread. but in various degrees: In the US, the average person eats around 43kg annually, jumping to 57kg/year in France, 62kg in Belgium and a whopping 104kg in Turkey, the world’s biggest consumers of bread. Bread comprised of refined/white wheat flour or milled whole grains, while providing carbs, protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and various other bioactive substances, has high insulin and glycaemic indices, increasing the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Happily though, the once-sullied product is receiving the vindication it deserves. The forward-think...

  Shoppers adjusting to rising grocery inflation UK Grocery price inflation has hit a record high of 17.1% which is having a significant effect on the way Brits shop.  Kantar₁ report that UK households face an additional £811 on their annual shopping bills if they don’t make changes to their shopping behaviour, which has prompted some major shifts in the market. Many consumers are making the switch to Own Label to save money – sales of Own Label are +13.2% in February compared to Branded growth of +4.2%.  Many are switching stores to the Discounters – Aldi and Lidl are once again the fastest growing retailers with +26.7% and 25.4% respectively.  More concerning is that many are simply buying less – grocery volumes are in decline as shoppers seek to offset rising costs. Challenges for the UK Bread sector Inevitably the UK Bread market faces significant challenges in the face of these inflationary pressures. Whilst Mintel₂ report that bread buying is almost universal i...