Increasing demand for cross-category continuous replenishment and flexibility and growing calls for sustainability are core challenges that manufacturers must face to add value to the supply chain, according to General Mills.
With the launch of the tendering process for foodservice packaging suppliers, the London 2012 Olympics organisers are providing a welcome boost to 'widely recycled' and industrially compostable materials.
Strike action now seems less likely at Burton’s Foods' Blackpool site, after the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) said it would endorse a new company pay offer.
Genius Foods says it is frustrated by additional charges levied on gluten-free bread that it supplies to the NHS in Wales, although the nation's government insists that talk of £32 loaves is incorrect.
Finsbury Food Group ceo John Duffy says that “relentless commodity price inflation” on basic ingredients such as butter, sugar and flour have eroded the firm’s profit margins.
Princes has confirmed that it has completed the acquisition of Premier Foods' canning operations, but that the Fray Bentos business continuing to operate independently until a buyer is found.
Unite the Union is preparing to ballot members at four British Sugar plants on industrial action over pay, in what could lead to the first strike action at the firm in 30 years.
Zetar says its key focus over the next three years will be to drive sales of premium private label and branded products across both its confectionery and snacks divisions.
The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) has called off scheduled strike action at Burton’s Foods Blackpool site, after the union agreed to further talks with company management.
Ranjit Boparan says that running Northern Foods and 2 Sisters Food Group across five rather than four business divisions this year will give the group a “sharper business focus”.
The “bad news was no worse than expected” said analysts, after Associated British Foods (ABF) posted its third quarter trading update to June 25 2011 this morning.
Premier Foods has pleased the City and commentators with the speedy appointment of Mike Clarke from Kraft Foods as its new ceo, after analysts described a late June trading statement as "shocking".
Increased penetration of own-label products within the UK retail sector will pose new challenges to branded food manufacturers in coming years, according to a recent webcast by Trace One and Planet Retail.
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) says it has called off strike action at Burton’s Foods site in Blackpool following a last-ditch challenge from the company over the validity of the ballot.
Greencore ceo Patrick Coveney has told FoodManufacture.co.uk that he is “highly confident” that his company’s £113M cash offer for Uniq will be successful.
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) has confirmed that strike action at Burton’s Foods Blackpool site is still set to begin tomorrow, after it emerged that union members had rejected an improved pay offer.
The UK food industry has given the European Parliament's (EP's) final agreement on food labelling a mixed reception, with one consultant reckoning label changes cost £7,000 per product.
The md of Intersnack UK says that a consumer “appetite for experimentation” is driving strong growth in a snacks market where the main business challenge is keeping pace with fast-changing consumer and retailer needs.
Staff at Burton’s Foods’ biscuit factory in Blackpool have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action, after rejecting a 1.8% pay rise from the company.
PepsiCo UK admits it has not hit all its self-imposed targets to make products healthier, but says the economy and technical challenges are partly to blame.
Premier Foods needs urgently to find a successor to ceo Robert Schofield, say industry sources, as the firm continues to hunt for an heir amidst rumoured pressure from institutional investors.
Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (LCI) has launched two corn pellets called Dominos and Super Cornitos for snack food manufacturers aiming at natural, clean labels on packs.
Processors are braving the harsh economic climate to undertake big capital investments to increase their capacity, which reflects the results of Food Manufacture's 2011 survey.
European processors can access greener hardstocks, requiring far less heat and generating far less waste water, thanks to developments by Sime Darby Unimills.
Premier Foods has refused to comment on rumours that it is close to selling its own-label chilled foods and cake business RF Brookes and Avana Bakeries to a major industry rival.
Jam producer Wilkin & Sons is trying to establish a new home within its current and only base for over 125 years in Tiptree, Essex, as it bids to employ around 200 more people by 2030.
Border Biscuits is investing a further £2.5 million to increase manufacturing capabilities and plant capacity over the next 18 months as the Scottish biscuit maker targets a 50% turnover increase over the next few years.
Analysts at Shore Capital have described Premier Foods half yearly trading statement released today as “shocking, even by Premier’s standards”, as the company revealed a significant slump in profits for the first half of 2011.
Tough new regulations are needed to tackle the promotion of junk food to children by large food firms, according to the author of a prominent new report on responsible standards for food marketing.
Consumer watchdog Which? has hit out at an Advertising Standards Authority adjudication that rejected 31 complaints about a television advert for Nutella hazlenut spread, calling the authority’s failure to ban it a “huge disappointment”.
Unilever has confirmed that it will not apply for a fortified food registration for its yeast breakfast spread Marmite, but says it would support an application from a local distributor.
Kerry Ingredients is proposing to close its Okehampton site by 2012 with the loss of up to 106 jobs, as it considers switching production to a larger and more modern unit in Tenbury Wells.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published new research showing that most participants with 'life threatening' nut allergies believed that products without allergen advice boxes posed no danger.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is considering undertakings from Princes and Premier Foods to avert monopoly concerns about canned pie supply, which the body said would leave UK consumers with “extremely limited choices”.
Premier Foods says it has not received an approach for its Sharwoods brand, after the owner of Veetee Food Group reportedly said he had secured financial backing to support a potential bid for it.
Marmite, recently withdrawn from the Danish market after it became apparent the fortified, yeast breakfast spread did not possess a fortified food authorisation under the Scandinavian country’s strict laws, could be back on-market in three months, Danish...
From Dairy Crest to the American Muffin Company, we revisit the factory managers and plant directors who keep operations ticking over, all of whom Food Manufacture has visited within the past 12 months.
A scientist who chairs the UK's independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) says the European Commission’s (EC’s) move to ban the import of baby bottles using Bisphenol A (BPA) is not based on scientific evidence, and has rejected calls to ban its use...
Transport giant Eddie Stobart has warned that the supermarket demand for two-for-one offers is placing a strain on logistics firms, and increasing the number of miles the company’s fleet runs empty.
Heavy price promotions within biscuits and ambient cakes are likely to end soon, as rising and energy and commodity prices begin to bite, warns research firm Key Note.
Nutrition is being politicised, with food authorities bowing to pressure from minority interests and lobbyists in areas such as salt reduction at significant risk to consumer health, according to one expert.
Manufacturers of lower-profile food brands could fall victim to the retailer-driven trend towards more own-label products over the next 15 years, according to a new report from financial services provider Rabobank.
