Podcasts

How did Taylors of Harrogate troublehsoot its problem?

Taylors of Harrogate reduces maintenance downtime

By Nicholas Robinson

Taylors of Harrogate has significantly reduced the maintenance downtown on its packaging lines after making minor adjustments to operations at its Harrogate manufacturing facility, the company’s shift manager John Hennighan said.

Customers want to buy Graze products online and in-store, says ceo Anthony Fletcher

Graze ceo: ‘going from clicks to bricks isn’t easy’

By Nicholas Robinson

Graze, the £68M turnover online snack manufacturer, had to make big changes to its manufacturing and operating systems after gaining listings with Sainsbury and Boots, its ceo Anthony Fletcher has said.

Rock bottom prices for bread in supermarket price wars

Bread is ‘price war casualty’ – FoB director

By Nicholas Robinson

Bread is one of the biggest casualties of the supermarket price war, as retailers keep dropping its price to rock bottom levels in a bid to entice shoppers, according to Gordon Polson, Federation of Bakers’ (FoB’s) director.

More convenience products are needed to stem the decline in sales of boxed cereals

Boost convenience products to grow, says cereal boss

By Nicholas Robinson

Changing consumer needs and an increasingly challenging market will continue to push cereal manufacturers to develop convenience products, Bokomo Foods’s ceo John Hiles has said.

Food and drink start-ups need better government backing

ELECTION 2015

What start-ups need from a new UK government

By Nicholas Robinson

More financial support must be given to food and drink start-ups by the next UK government if they are to survive their first year in business, Miso Tasty founder Bonnie Chung has urged.

The cartoner uses energy-efficient servomotors

Anuga FoodTec 2015

Bosch launches speedy carton machine

By Rod Addy

Breakfast cereal manufacturers and frozen pizza suppliers have access to cartoning technology that can slash changeover times and maintain consistently high yields, courtesy of Bosch Packaging Technology.

More consumers are prepared to pay a premium for food and drink, say Delisanté co-founders John Pearson (left) and Charles Coleman (right)

Premium boom is a big opportunity for posh SMEs

By Nicholas Robinson

More high-end food and drink start-ups are taking advantage of a boom in sales of premium products in supermarkets and rising sales in posh retailers such as Waitrose.

Fagg: 'There's going to be a lot more volatility in exchange rates'

Prepare for pre-recession spend – top economist

By Nicholas Robinson

Food manufacturers should prepare for a positive three years ahead, as the changing economy prompts consumers to spend at pre-recession levels, a leading economist has said. 

Sinclair says staff will relocate from other parts of the business

Mondelēz boosts coffee site staff

By Linda Groves

Mondelēz will take on an extra 100 staff at its Banbury, Oxfordshire, coffee facility, following a major investment to boost its production capabilities and a joint venture with Douwe Egberts.

MRLs must be set at appropriate levels, says Goodburn

Time is running out for setting effective MRLs

By Nicholas Robinson

If the food industry does not act on the EU’s potential imposition of Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for disinfectants soon, it will be too late, Chilled Food Association (CFA) director Kaarin Goodburn has warned.

A new fermenter will boost Quorn's mycoprotein production by 60%

Quorn talks of fourth fermenter

By Nicholas Robinson

Consumer demand for Quorn will outstrip the Teesside firm’s supply within a decade, unless it continues to invest to boost capacity.

Consumers shouldn't be mislead by clean label

Health Ingredients Europe

Stop misusing natural, expert urges

By Nicholas Robinson

Manufacturers must avoid misleading consumers into thinking natural products are intrinsically healthier for them, an industry expert has urged.

Consumers' are more open to alternative proteins

Health Ingredients Europe

New proteins are creeping on trend

By Nicholas Robinson

Alternative proteins are a “hot area” of interest and products such as sandwich spreads made with meal worms could be a thing of the future, according to one food trend expert.

Faccenda's Telford plant can currently process and supply 1.2M birds a week to customers

Faccenda ups efficiency with training and robotics

By Rod Addy

Faccenda has invested in robotics and training to increase production efficiency and slash waste at its new Telford factory, according to Catherine Gormley, general manager of the site.

Output has increased by more than 60%, says Swancote director David Farley

Greenvale’s Swancote ups output by 60%

By Nicholas Robinson

A £2M investment is set to boost Greenvale’s Swancote potato processing site’s output further, following an increase by more than 60% in the past five years.

Cooper is Freedom Food's new ceo

Freedom Food will boost its foodservice presence

By Nicholas Robinson

Freedom Food will tap into the foodservice sector for business in the next 12 months to increase funds and to boost its overall consumer presence, the organisation’s new ceo has said.

The discounters are less likely to break the code, says Tacon

PPMA 2014

Discounters less likely to breach the Groceries Code

By Nicholas Robinson

Discount retailers, such as Aldi and Lidl, are less likely to breach the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) than the big four, the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon has claimed.

More than 200 staff members ensure product safety

Low food risk from Cook’s high-labour model

By Nicholas Robinson

Handmade ready meal firm Cook claims more human hands in the manufacturing process does not increase the risk to food hygiene standards or decrease overall operational efficiency.

30% of adolescents' calories come from soft drinks

SACN REPORT

Drinks manufacturers must reduce sugars: PHE

By Rod Addy

Drinks manufacturers must work to reduce the amount of sugars in their products to lower the nation’s calorie intake, according to Dr Alison Tedstone, Public Health England’s (PHE) chief nutritionist.

Theres more room for innovation in hard cheese, says Adams Foods's marketing director

Adams Foods responds to customer demand for innovation

By Nicholas Robinson

Adams Foods has pumped £3M into a new customer innovation centre in response to customer demand for innovation in hard cheese, the company’s marketing director Alastair Jackson has said.

Paramount 21 makes a range of seafood products mainly for foodservice customers

Paramount 21 invests to expand production

By Rod Addy

Seafood processor Paramount 21 has invested in a 464.5m2 warehouse adjacent to its Newton Abbot production site in Devon to release production space as it steps up its new product development.

Bingham and Jones urge supermarkets to be creative with ready meals (Photo©Sacha Ferrier)

Own-label ready meals lack innovation, Bingham and Jones

By Nicholas Robinson

Retailers need to be bolder with their own-label ready meals and stop relying on the basics, such as spaghetti Bolognese and lasagne, former food industry rivals Jonny Bingham and David Jones have said.

Jeff Hilton of Brandhive

Vitafoods Europe 2014

UK lacks US’s functional food panache

By Nicholas Robinson

Manufacturers in the US are better at responding to functional food demands than those in the UK, an expert specialising in the sector has claimed.

Food manufacturers had a good recession, especially when compared to the construction industry, Roberts claimed

Recession was a good one for food industry

By Laurence Gibbons

Food and drink manufacturers had a good recession, despite the economy not recovering from it yet, according to leading economist Sion Roberts.

UK manufacturers are working hard to source sustainable palm oil, according to a CSR boss

Progress on sustainable palm oil unfairly criticised

By Nicholas Robinson

UK food manufacturers are still being unfairly criticised for using palm oil, despite the work they have done to source it sustainably, according to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) director of a global food oil business.

A supermarket price war, which could follow Morrisons' recent price pledge, could damage supermarkets more than their suppliers, said Black

Supermarkets were ‘totally and utterly’ complacent

By Michael Stones

Britain’s big four supermarkets have been “totally and utterly complacent”, in failing to keep pace with key developments in retailing and are now paying the price, warns a leading City analyst.

Paterson: 'delighted' to see Mondelēz 'bringing in lots of bright young local people'

Overseas and national food firms invest in UK jobs

By Rod Addy

UK-based food and drink firms are investing in jobs as much as internationally-owned outfits, according to Owen Paterson, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) secretary of state.

The British Frozen Food Federation conference took place in Warwickshire on February 20.

Frozen food must innovate to flourish

By Nicholas Robinson

British frozen food manufacturers must reveal the benefits of frozen food to the consumer to revitalise the sector and increase confidence.

Featured Jobs

View more

Follow us

Webinars