Greencore completes £1.2BN Bakkavor acquisition
The deal makes Greencore the UK market leader across five own-label categories: sandwiches, ready meals, salads, pizzas and desserts.
Chilled & Fresh
Borough Broth brings back chicken phở with revamped recipe
Prompted by customer feedback, the London organic broth manufacturer has relaunched its Organic Chicken Pho Broth with a new recipe.
Gü expands its portfolio by tapping into pistachio’s surging popularity
British dessert brand Gü is expanding its product portfolio with the launch of its new Salted Pistachio Cheesecake.
Gü unveils colourful new packaging as part of global rebrand
British dessert brand Gü has kicked off a top-down global redesign with the launch of a new brand platform.
Richmond launches latest meat-free NPD just in time for Christmas
Richmond Sausages is set to expand its meat-free portfolio with the launch of a new sub-range, ‘Veggie Tasty’.
CMA clears £1.2BN Greencore-Bakkavor deal
Greencore’s acquisition of Bakkavor is set to complete on 16 January 2026 following the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) accepting its move to sell its Bristol soups and sauces plant as a sufficient remedy.
UK reaches agreement over fishing quotas for 2026
The UK has reached agreement with the EU, Norway and other coastal states on catch opportunities for shared stocks for 2026, including agreements for whitefish stocks in the North Sea.
Strategic partnership creates “powerful alliance” for British egg market
The UK Egg Centre has formed a strategic joint venture with The Hardeman Group and Bumble Hole Foods to strengthen the supply chain for the UK egg products sector.
Domino’s CEO steps down by “mutual agreement”
Domino’s is the latest company to reveal its chief executive is stepping down.
Compleat Food Group to acquire Greencore Bristol soup and sauce site
The convenience food manufacturer has reported strong results for the financial year ended 26 September 2025 and reveals plans to sell its Bristol site to Compleat Food Group as a remedy to CMA concerns ahead of its merger with Bakkavor.
NPD: The Groovy Food Company launches first new products in four years
The Groovy Food Company has added three new products to its cooking and baking essentials range - Organic Matcha Agave, Organic Coconut Syrup, and Hot Honey.
Natures Way Foods acquired by Taylor Farms for undisclosed sum
Natures Way Foods, the Chichester-based fresh prepared food manufacturer, has been purchased by Taylor Farms, the North American salad producer.
Borough Broth founder: ‘Never be afraid to ask questions’
This month’s podcast sees Food Manufacture’s editor speaking to the founder and managing director of Borough Broth, Ros Heathcote.
Brakes faces animal welfare protests despite previous cage-free hen pledge
Protesters descended upon Sysco Europe’s London office in Covent Garden earlier this week as campaign group The Humane League demanded clarity from Sysco’s subsidiary, Brakes, over its cage-free hen commitment.
Disney collaborates with food and drink manufacturers for Lilo and Stitch
Disney is collaborating with food and drink manufacturers to launch a range of chilled meals and flavoured drinks for its well-known characters of Lilo and Stitch.
Gousto to target supermarket dinner market
Gousto has unveiled its ambition to challenge supermarkets for the mainstream dinner market, as it revealed sales growth of 11% in the first half of 2025.
Hunter & Gather clean label mayo sees 107% growth
‘Real food’ company Hunter & Gather has nabbed a Waitrose listing for its four ingredient 100% Avocado Oil Mayonnaise.
Lidl makes £30 billion investment in British food and farming
Supermarket chain Lidl GB has announced a £30 billion investment over five years in the British food and farming industry.
Kammoon opens new facility to expand white label and retail business
Lebanese grab-and-go brand Kammoon has announced the opening of a new 3,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Park Royal, West London.
Pistachio Pots: New NPD from The Coconut Collab
The new flavour of ganache has been inspired by two hot UK hits – pistachio and Dubai chocolate.
Chilled, canned RTD soup arrives in UK
This is said to be the UK’s first chilled, ready-to-eat soup available in a 100% recyclable aluminium can.
Samworth Brothers posts operating profit of £44M
Samworth Brothers has reported an operating profit of £44 million for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Jobs guaranteed after takeover of fruit and veg firm by Harlech Foodservice
Harlech Foodservice has announced the takeover of Welsh fruit and vegetables wholesaler Oren Foods.
Marks & Spencer Food unveils first ever summer dessert sandwich
The limited-edition Red Diamond Strawberry & Creme Sandwich, is made with a British Red Diamond Strawberries.
Al fresco dining and healthy eating boost supermarket sales
Total till sales growth increased at UK supermarkets.
More than 50,000 consumers back egg petition
The petition is urging supermarkets to stop using imported eggs in British-made foods.
Sainsbury’s raises meal deal price
Sainsbury’s has raised the price of its standard meal deal to £3.95.
Co-op expands product offer to mark British tomato season
Co-op has launched three new SKUs to coincide with British tomato season.
Tesco launches watermelon pizza kit
Targeted at three-to-nine-year-olds, the new Tesco meal kit aims to get kids eating more fruit.
Greencore and Bakkavor agree terms of £1.2bn merger
The terms of Greencore’s acquisition of Bakkavor have been finalised with the deal set to create a convenience food business with a combined revenue of close to £4 billion.
The brand challenging own-label dips...and succeeding
Holy Moly has taken a brave dip into a private-label-dominated aisle, with its range of branded guacamole, cheesy dips and smashed avocado pots seeing impressive growth.
Bakkavor extends Greencore ‘put up or shut up’ deadline for second time
The deadline for a final acquisition agreement between food manufacturers Bakkavor and Greencore has been extended for a second time.
The Cultured Collective brings in new chairperson to help fuel growth
The fermented food brand has appointed former New England Seafood managing director as its chair and non-executive director.
Gosh! targets on-the-go market with new launch
Gosh! has expanded into the on-the-go market with the launch of its new Mexican and Italian inspired Veg Bites snack packs.
Around Noon opens new Slough factory
Food-to-go manufacturer Around Noon has opened the doors to a new manufacturing facility in Slough, creating 200 jobs and increasing manufacturing capacity by £50 million.
Planet Farms announces single largest investment in UK vertical farming
Agritech firm Planet Farms is to invest more than £25 million into a new UK-based vertical farm, in what it described as the biggest single investment into the vertical farming industry.
Bakkavor sells China business for £50m
Bakkavor has entered into a binding agreement to sell its China operations to Chinese firm Lihe Xing (Qingdao) Food Technology Co.
Carr’s completes sale of engineering division
Carr’s has completed the sale of its engineering division to Cadre Holdings in a deal worth £75m.
Samworth Brothers partners with YO! on ready meal range
Samworth Brothers has partnered with restaurant chain YO! on the launch of a new Asian ready meal range.
Planty hires former Allplants development chefs
Plant-based ready meals manufacturer Planty has expanded its development team with the appointment of two former Allplants professionals.
PepsiCo bolsters FareShare partnership with £210k grant
PepsiCo has expanded its partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare with a £210,000 grant to support employability and help tackle food waste.
British tech firm completes shipment to ‘world’s first’ GigaFarm to Dubai
British vertical farming technology manufacturer Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has sent its first major consignment of specialist parts to the UAE for the ‘world’s first’ GigaFarm at Dubai Food Tech Valley.
Bakkavor extends Greencore ‘put up or shut up’ deadline
The deadline by which a final acquisition agreement between Bakkavor and Greencore must be reached has been extended.
How suppliers can capitalise on the growing demand for pre-prepared food
Huw Birrell – the co-founder of global order management platform Fresho – explores the growing trend of pre-prepared vegetables used by the foodservice industry and how manufacturers can capitalise on it.
Gen Z comes out in support for gene edited food
Gen Z is leading the charge in support of gene edited food, with 80% of the demographic in favour of the technology.
Greencore-Bakkavor deal ‘significant shift’ in convenience foods landscape
How will Greencore’s prospective £1.2 billion acquisition of Bakkavor impact the wider food manufacturing sector in the UK? And could it face regulatory pushback?
Greencore upgrades profit guidance amid Bakkavor acquisition bids
Greencore has upgraded its operating profit guidance for the year ending 26 September 2025.
FuelHub appoints new head of growth
Premium meal prep delivery service FuelHub has appointed Steve King as its new head of growth.
Ice cream maker fined after failing to control pests
The director of an ice cream maker in Wirral has been ordered to pay nearly £100k after pleading guilty to food safety offences across two separate businesses.
Macphie appoints new CEO
Macphie has appointed Ed Widdowson as its new chief executive, marking the fourth generation of family leadership for the Aberdeenshire-based manufacturer.