Rub a dub dub three veg in a tub

04-Oct-2010 - A Lancashire businesswoman has been working with a nutritionist from Manchester Metropolitan University to create recipes for a new range of vegetable meals.

News in brief

Tesco to trial premium Jamaican ready meals as interest grows in Caribbean cuisine

20-Sep-2010 - Willesden-based Jamaican pattie manufacturer Port Royal has developed a new range of premium chilled ready meals targeting shoppers looking for more authentic Caribbean cuisine.

Feature

The Big Interview: Fiona Phillips, Dairy Crest

06-Sep-2010 - Dairy Crest’s new product development boss for foods talks to Rod Addy

Beanz keepz 
in the fridge

06-Sep-2010 - Heinz appears eager to play down expectations, but the arrival of the Heinz Beans kilo-containing plastics Fridge Pack has fuelled speculation around metal’s future share of the ambient foods category – and around possible imitations. 


News in brief

Ethnic Cuisine auction date set for October 6

02-Sep-2010 - The contents of the defunct Ethnic Cuisine ready meals plant in Swansea will be sold off at auction on October 6.

Lactofree sales up 37% as Arla posts profit surge

01-Sep-2010 - Arla's lactose-free brand Lactofree is generating value growth of 37% year-on-year, bosses have revealed as the dairy giant unveiled a sharp rise in interim profits.

Kerry Group outperforms category in chilled ready meals

31-Aug-2010 - Kerry Group has posted solid growth in UK sales of chilled own-label ready meals and ready-to-cook products in the first half, “outperforming category growth rates”.

M&S hits back as CASH blasts salt levels in its salads

26-Aug-2010 - Surveys that compare salt levels in products of different weights targeted at different eating occasions and then single out individual firms for criticism are unfair and unhelpful, Marks & Spencer has argued.

Poundland: We're cheap to serve and we pay on time

25-Aug-2010 - More than 90% of Poundland’s food and drink products are now bought directly from manufacturers rather than third parties, its boss has revealed.

Chilled ready meals sales up 8.4% year-on-year

16-Aug-2010 - Sales of chilled ready meals surged 8.4% in the year to July 11, while volumes shot up 14.4% over the same period, according to new data from Kantar Worldpanel.

Kerry Group buys Springthyme Oils for undisclosed sum

13-Aug-2010 - Kerry Group has acquired Lancashire-based infused oils maker Springthyme Oils, FoodManufacture.co.uk has learned.

Buoyant summer at Greencore, but growth slows in US

12-Aug-2010 - Greencore has notched up a “very positive” set of summer trading figures, posting a 7% increase in sales to €281.2m in its convenience foods division in the four months to July 23, driven by strong growth in food-to-go and prepared meals.

Ethnic Cuisine shuts up shop as Northern Foods shrinks

11-Aug-2010 - Swansea-based ready meals manufacturer Ethnic Cuisine has finally closed for business less than three years after parent company Northern Foods acquired it.

Dual ovenable board trays set to grab share of ready meals market

03-Aug-2010 - Dual ovenable board trays look set to grab a share of the ready meals and other prepared foods markets, as performance improves and environmental and cost pressures mount.

News in brief

BOC: Carbon dioxide will remain niche refrigerant in food production

03-Aug-2010 - Carbon dioxide will remain a niche refrigerant in food production in the short to medium term, although it is gaining ground in the food retail sector, according to experts at BOC Group.

Uniq: Brands will drive footfall at M&S, but not in the desserts fixture

23-Jul-2010 - Marks & Spencer's decision to introduce branded products into its stores is good news for its own-label suppliers, according to the firm making more than half of its sandwiches and most of its desserts.

Uniq "still viable" despite £436m pension deficit

22-Jul-2010 - Uniq is still a viable business despite the £400m+ hole in its pension fund, and it is “still plausible” that a solution will be found to enable it to trade its way out of trouble, analysts have claimed.

News in brief

Regulator won't give Uniq clearance for pension framework

19-Jul-2010 - The pensions regulator has refused to clear Uniq's proposed plan to pay off its £400m+ pension scheme deficit.

News in brief

Greencore to sell Dutch convenience foods arm

15-Jul-2010 - Greencore has announced plans to sell its Dutch convenience foods business Greencore Continental in a bid to reduce net debt and focus on its core UK and US operations.

GMB to launch strike ballot at Bakkavör Pizza, Harrow

14-Jul-2010 - Industrial action at Bakkavör’s pizza plant in Harrow moved one step closer today as staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of rejecting the firm's latest pay offer and pledged to conduct a strike ballot.

Northern Foods Q1 figures "worryingly poor"

13-Jul-2010 - First quarter sales figures at Northern Foods were "surprisingly, indeed worryingly, poor", according to City analysts.

Bakkavör faces strike threat as pay talks falter

01-Jul-2010 - Chilled food giant Bakkavör has become the latest food manufacturer to become embroiled in a pay dispute that threatens to spill over into industrial action.

Danone: We axed Shape satiety yogurt because of the taste

01-Jul-2010 - Danone finally ditched its Shape Feel Fuller for Longer yogurt because it could not get the taste right, but insists it still believes there is a market for products promoting satiety.

Hain Celestial: Churchill production will move to Luton

30-Jun-2010 - Hain Celestial will switch production from recently-acquired food-to-go firm Churchill Food Products from Nottingham to its larger facility in Luton, but insisted that staff would be “actively encouraged” to move to Luton “if they are able to do so”.