News and Trends

Namnews, 18th October 2021 Asda has opened a new version of its On the Move forecourt convenience format which focuses on the supermarket’s premium ranges. The store, which is located on EG Group’s Oxford Road forecourt in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, stocks 2,500 products including a wide selection of Asda’s more deluxe own label products. These include fresh and chilled lines from its ‘Extra Special’ range, as well as ready meals and beers, wines and spirits. The forecourt store site will also stock a selection of dishes from the retailer’s  recently launched  Gino D’Acampo Italian food range. As well as stocking a more premium product range, the store has a different look to a traditional grocery convenience format, taking cues from the retailer’s Extra Special branding – both inside the store and on the forecourt. A second premium On the Move store will launch in Hartlebury before the end of the year, with five further locations set to receive an extended range of Extra ...

Namnews, 13th October 2021 The latest quarterly update to the Lumina Intelligence UK Food To Go Market Report shows 28% of visits made to a foodservice operator in the 12 weeks to 5 September were consumed on the go. This is down from 1 in 3 in the previous 12 weeks, showing that consumers have moved more to on premise drinking and dining as restrictions eased. The places food-to-go is most consumed is sitting down somewhere such as a park (8%), in a car, train, or bus (8%), while walking around (7%), and at work (6%) The research shows that food-to-go consumers are more likely to be ABC1 (64% vs 36%), aged 25-34 (27%), female (55% vs 45%), and live in London (17%) or the South East (12%). ‘Was out and about’ is the leading mission (22%) driving FTG occasions. A treat is the second-largest occasion at 14%, displaying the opportunity for operators to introduce more premium ranges to drive upsell and increase consumer spend. Lumina Intelligence data shows the vast majority (78%) of food ...

Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar are decked out in festive garb as part of M&S’ Christmas range. The retailer has gone big on indulgence for 2021 with over-the-top desserts, pimped up party food and stylised savouries all vying for consumers’ attention. It’s been sure to tap into the most flavours of the season as well with sticky toffee, chocolate and cheese taking centre stage alongside M&S’ signature flavour this year – golden blond chocolate. “Golden blond chocolate is massive for us this Christmas,” said Kathryn Turner, head of product development, confectionery, and gifting. “A recent addition to the chocolate family, it’s made by caramelising white chocolate over several hours.” Take a deep dive into M&S’ festive bakery range below:   Source: M&S Percy Pig Pigloo Percy Pig is eyeing a slice of the festive fun. The celebration cake features a Madeira sponge with Percy Pig-flavour buttercream and jam. The edible smash dome hides a plethora of treats includin...

Employees from JJ Foodservice were left celebrating after being named as the National Wholesaler of the Year at the Grocer Gold Awards. Announced an industry event at the Guildhall in London, JJ triumphed ahead of shortlisted wholesalers Booker, Brakes, Bidfood and Bestway. Judges were asked to decided on their winner by considering innovation, great service and strong results. The award recognises JJ’s performance during the Covid-19 crisis when it posted sales of £225 million for the year to 31 December 2020 – up 1.3% despite the pandemic. It was achieved by pivoting quickly when the first lockdown hit and to find a way to help hospitality customers adapt to the issues they faced. “We are extremely proud of our team who have worked hard throughout the pandemic to provide a first-class service to customers,” said CEO Mustafa Kiamil. “Our success is entirely down to the hard work of our team and the support of our customers and supplier partners who, together, make up the JJ family.”

Wholesaler Parfetts has announced the completion of a major expansion of its Aintree depot. The work developed a dedicated loading area for deliveries, increasing capacity and, said the company, making the depot pleasanter for visitors Parfetts Aintreee has already seen deliveries increase by 40% in the last two years. It now delivers across the North West from North Manchester into the Lake District and down to Stoke-on-Trent and has hired 25 new staff to cope with demand. The investment follows the company’s strategy of maintaining a cash and carry whilst continuing to increase the delivered arm of the business. Anthony Fisher-Hibbs, general manager at Parfetts Aintree, said: “We’ve experienced significant growth through the pandemic as new retailers tried us for the first time and stayed. We aim for turnover to hit £3m a week over the coming months.” The Aintree improvement project also saw a dedicated picking area developed within the depot, which creates more room for customers. P...

More than a third of consumers have or are considering buying food and drink for Christmas already, says a leading analyst. A survey by Lumina Intelligence also found that as well as those already stocking up, more than half of consumers (56%) are worried by the stockpiling and the fears of product shortages. This figure was sub-divided into 30% who said they were “slightly worried”, 16% who said they were “worried” and 10% who were “very worried”. The most relaxed about potential Christmas shortages were the young (18-24) and older (65+), with the middle aged most concerned. Fractionally more than a third (34%) of the survey of 1,001 customers are already doing some Christmas shopping or considering doing so. The products most often being bought early include most products which will keep, including confectionery, crisps and snacks, tinned and packaged products, and alcohol. Frozen food and soft drinks are also on the stockpiling lists. Blonnie Whist, insight director at Lumina, said,...

FOOD & DRINK 5 October, 2021 | by The Retail Bulletin Starbucks has announced that customers can order its food and drink via Deliveroo from today onwards. The delivery partnership between Deliveroo and Starbucks will include 400 stores available live in apps across the UK. This partnership will allow Deliveroo customers to order a variety of sandwiches, wraps, juices, merchandise and other menu options in addition to coffee chain beverages. Carlo Mott, Deliveroo CEO said: “I’m very proud that Starbucks chose to launch at Deliveroo. This exciting partnership means that millions of Deliveroo customers can now deliver Starbucks’ best specialty coffees, beverages and food to the door in less than 30 minutes.” Alex Rainer, General Manager of Starbucks UK, said: “We are always looking for ways to meet the needs of people who can’t come to our store. By partnering with Deliveroo to expand our Starbucks Delivers service, more customers can connect with us in the best possible way. You...