Breaking News on Food Marketing and Retailing

BSF reports juicy berry sales

British supermarkets are reporting that sales of berries have been strong this year hitting £204m (€304m) despite adverse weather conditions, due to consumer health trends.

Tesco's dreaming of a green Christmas

Leading British food retailer Tesco is expecting it to be a green Christmas, and is preparing itself to meet demands for organic and eco-friendly produce, in line with consumer trends.

Tiny Tangerines tempt festive shoppers

Food retailer Marks and Spencer have released the smallest ever tangerines, just in time to fill Christmas stockings and cash in on the novelty Christmas market.

Christmas Feature

Mince pie madness

It's considered good luck to eat 12 mince pies in 12 different houses over the 12 days of Christmas - a fact which probably won't surprise the UK's largest mince pie producer, Inter Link Foods, which is predicting sales of 140 million mince pies across Britain this festive season.

Bulgarian funding failing domestic organic producers

A new report has found that funding designed to initiate and promote organic certification amongst Bulgarian food processors and producers is failing smaller domestic enterprises in the country.

Waitrose targets ethical consumers

Waitrose has extended its Fairtrade range to include chocolate and coffee, in a bid to catch the ethical consumer.

Nigella whips up a festive frenzy in UK

British supermarkets are claiming that comments made by celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has sent sales of goose fat through the roof.

Christmas consumers go crackers over nuts

Snacking at Christmas time usually conjures up images of luxury chocolates, mince pies and gingerbread but, according to a major UK retailer, this year the festive season will see a surge in nut sales as they become the holiday snack of choice.

Asda hatches plan to save British egg trade

Asda is calling on all food retailers to follow its lead after launching a campaign to back British free range egg producers against foreign competition.

Weekly Comment

Response and Responsibility

Bah, Humbug! It has been that kind of year in general for the food industry, and in particular for some major companies.

Sainsbury's goes bananas for Fairtrade

Sainsbury's announced this week that it will convert banana stocks to 100 per cent Fairtrade, in a move that will have a significant impact on growers and other retailers.

RHM bakery boosted by core brands

Increased investment in core bakery brands appears to have paid off for food group RHM which has reported climbing profits despite poor wheat supplies and high commodity prices denting trading conditions.

FSA lifts the lid on Christmas shopping

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) have offered retailers an insight into shopper habits by conducting a survey of over 2000 British adults into yuletide rituals.

Traditional turkey back on the menu at Asda

Asda is re-introducing a traditional 17th century turkey breed in a bid to reverse increasing consumer trends towards festive alternatives

Tesco eyes up Eastern expansion

Tesco announced today the extension of its partnership with Ting Hsin in China, as part of its strategy to capitalize on emerging markets.

Sainsbury's launches healthy wine

Sainsbury's is cashing in on healthy eating and drinking trends by launching a new wine that is good for your heart.

Cadbury trading on track despite bitter year

Weak performance in the UK combined with financial irregularities in Nigerian operations has added up to an unsettled year for global confectionery giant Cadbury Schweppes, according to a trading update announced today.

Ozone jet washer helps firms clean-up

A new power washer, using ozone mixed with cold water to decontaminate food processing premises, will reduce costs and help the environment, its manufacturer claims.

Weekly Comment

Trans Fats: A Farewell to Harm

There's no way but out for heart-damaging trans fatty acids, and procrastinators in the food industry will achieve nothing by delaying reformulation other than lagging behind in the game as the rest of the world waves goodbye.

Europackaging in the bag for MidOcean

Europackaging today announced it was being bought by MidOcean Partners in a deal intended to extend the company's reach internationally.

Convenient results for Greencore

Greencore's operating profit grew 5.7 per cent to €69m in the financial year 29 September, the company reported this week.

Chilled food sector must tap consumer patterns

The western European market for chilled prepared foods, worth over €14.62bn in 2005, must take into account changing consumer patterns if it is to avoid stagnation.

Sainsbury's gives a boost to food science

Sainsbury's is launching a new scheme for food science graduates in a bid to halt the decline in food science.

Carrefour buy out Ahold Polska

Carrefour announced its acquisition of Ahold Polska yesterday in a deal worth €375m set to increase its share of the Polish food retail market.

Sugar reform fails to sweeten ABF sales

Associated British Foods (ABF) yesterday blamed a drop in operating profits of 21 per cent to £413m (€612.9m) before on higher energy costs and instability arising from EU sugar reforms.

Weekly Comment

Taking the junk out of junk food

The relationship between child and crisp has long been a sacred one but instead of exploiting this dynamic to shovel unhealthy food into young mouths isn't it about time healthier companies exploited it to push junk food without the junk?

Premier Foods set to buy RHM bakery

UK food group Premier Foods is poised to consolidate its leading position in the British snack market with the £1.23bn (€1.8bn) acquisition of bakery company RHM.