Services

The Queen's Speech provided unanswered questions, EEF said (Flickr/Chatham House)

Queen’s Speech: answers needed to avoid ‘economic chaos’

By Matt Atherton

Manufacturers need urgent answers to key questions raised by the Queen’s Speech, in order to avoid “economic chaos”, says EEF, while the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) highlighted the importance of four key policy decisions.

Scottish food and drink exports increased 11% in the first three months of 2017

Scottish food and drink exports top £1.25bn

By Matt Atherton

Scottish food and drink exports climbed £124M to £1.25bn in the first quarter of 2017, with EU sales accounting for 70% of total exports, prompting the Scottish government to underline the importance of the EU’s 510M consumers.

Three-month average pay settlements in manufacturing rose to 2.3%

Manufacturing pay hits two-and-a-half-year high

By Matt Atherton

Manufacturing pay – including for food sector workers – recorded its highest level in two-and-a-half years, reports a survey by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.

Calls for a soft Brexit have grown since the general election

Soft Brexit calls grow as business confidence falls

By Matt Atherton

Calls for a soft Brexit – maintaining closer ties to the EU’s market of 510M customers – continue to rise after the general election, as the Institute of Directors (IoD) reveals a “dramatic drop” in business confidence since the hung parliament.

Michael Gove was appointed Environment Secretary on June 11 (Flickr/Policy Exchange)

New DEFRA boss Gove is a ‘heavy hitter’: FDF

By Matt Atherton

“Heavy hitter” Michael Gove’s appointment as new environment secretary will be a big boost for the food and drink sector, says the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

600,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in 10 years

Number of manufacturing jobs falls 600k in 10 years

By Matt Atherton

Britain urgently needs a manufacturing strategy from the next government, after more than 600,000 manufacturing jobs – including food and drink manufacturing roles – were lost over the past 10 years, claims the GMB union.

Tesco is 'reviewing' its trial of automated delivery

Robot delivery service being ‘evaluated’ by Tesco

By Matt Atherton

Automated delivery of groceries took a step forward last month, after Tesco revealed it had trialled a robot delivery service, while Amazon devoted an entire site to developing drone technology.

Manufacturers must take advantage of millennial's demand for food-to-go

Food-to-go opportunity after millennial demand

By Matt Atherton

Food manufacturers must innovate to take advantage of the growing multi-million pound demand for food-to-go products from millennials, according to grocery think-tank IGD.

Food and drink exports reached record high levels in the first quarter of 2017

Food and drink exports hit record levels

By Matt Atherton

UK food and drink exports reached record high levels in the first quarter of 2017, driven by overseas sales of whisky, salmon and chocolate, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has revealed.

FMEAs' judges give their hints and tips for winning an award

FMEAs

How to win a food manufacturing Oscar

By Matt Atherton

Food Manufacture Excellence Awards (FMEAs) judges have urged companies entering the awards to include the entire story behind their success in their applications, for the best chance to win a food and drink manufacturing Oscar.

Andy Higginson (L) and Charles Wilson (R) have been appointed GroceryAid president and vice-president respectively

GroceryAid appoints new president

By Gwen Ridler

Morrisons chairman Andy Higginson has been appointed president of charity GroceryAid, effective from July 1.

The Liberal Democrats were right to place the economy at the heart of its manifesto, according to CBI (Flickr/Liberal Democrats)

Election 2017

Manufacturing sector reacts to Lib Dems’ manifesto

By Matt Atherton

The Liberal Democrats were right to place the future of the economy at the forefront of its general election manifesto, but included policies that would discourage investment, according to business leaders.

Average manufacturing pay settlements has risen above 2% for the first time since November 2015

Manufacturing pay rises to 18-month high

By Matt Atherton

Three-month average pay settlements in the manufacturing sector have risen above 2% for the first time since November 2015, according to a survey by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, following a surge in inflation.

The food and drink sector reacts to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's pledges (Flickr/Chatham House)

Election 2017

Food and drink sector reacts to Labour’s manifesto

By Matt Atherton

The Labour Party’s manifesto for June’s general election has been broadly welcomed by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), while other industry responses were more mixed.

Food and drink manufacturers 'should take cyber-crime seriously'

Food and drink ‘must take global cyber attack seriously’

By Matt Atherton

The weekend’s global cyber attack, which struck dozens of National Health Service (NHS) trusts, should act as a wake-up call for food and drink manufacturers to take internet security seriously, warn industry representatives.

Fyffes has been suspended from the Ethical Trading Initiative (Flickr/@nelli.es)

Fyffes suspended from Ethical Trading Initiative

By Matt Atherton

Fyffes has been suspended from the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) with immediate effect, after an investigation into union claims of workers’ rights abuses in its supply chain.

Morrisons reported a 3.4% rise in group like-for-like sales

Morrisons thanks food makers after sales rise

By Matt Atherton

Morrisons reported a 3.4% rise in group like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, in its first-quarter trading update, as chief executive David Potts again thanked the supermarket’s team of food makers and retailers.

Sainsbury's food division remains resilient, said group chief executive Mike Coupe

Sainsbury’s food is ‘resilient’ as profits fall

By Matt Atherton

Sainsbury’s food business remains resilient in a difficult market, the supermarket says, as the group’s full-year profits before tax fell 8.2% to £503M in the 12 months to March 11.

Morrisons is in 'much better shape' than it has been for some time, analysts said

Morrisons is in ‘much better shape’: analyst

By Matt Atherton

Morrisons is “in much better shape” than it was last year, as it further exploits its manufacturing capacity, analysts say, ahead of its first-quarter results, due on May 4.

England’s transport and communications infrastructure needs improving, the CBI says

Transport and communications need shake-up: CBI

By Gwen Ridler

A shake-up of England’s transport and communications infrastructure is needed to give manufacturers access to a wide pool of labour and improved connectivity of supply chains, according to a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) report.

Rutland Partners refuted pension claims

Bernard Matthews seller denies pension claims

By Matt Atherton

The former owner of Bernard Matthews, Rutland Partners, has denied claims made by a select committee, that it was more concerned with “lining its pockets” than safeguarding workers’ rights.

The Unite union called for Weetabix job reassurances

Weetabix jobs reassurance sought by union

By Matt Atherton

The Unite union has called for urgent reassurances over the security of its members’ jobs at Weetabix, after the cereal manufacturer confirmed yesterday (April 18) it would be sold to US consumer giant Post Holdings for £1.4bn.

The value of sterling dipped and recovered within an hour on April 18

Pound recovers after general election news

By Matt Atherton

Sterling bounced back from a temporary dip in value, after Prime Minister Theresa May revealed she plans to hold a snap general election on June 8.

Grace Foods launched a scholarship with Brunel University, London

Caribbean food firm Grace Foods starts scholarship

By Matt Atherton

Caribbean food manufacturer Grace Foods has launched a scholarship programme with Brunel University, London, in a bid to boost the number of male British students with a Caribbean background studying at UK universities.

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