Premier Foods subsidiary RF Brookes has lost a major contract to supply Marks & Spencer (M&S) with private label pies, FoodManufacture.co.uk has learnt.
The Real Good Food Company (RGFC) reported at its AGM today that, having tackled the volatile sugar supply situation, new branded launches and a revamped bakery business mean it is on track to exceed market forecasts in 2011.
Northern Foods/2 Sisters Food Group began meeting suppliers yesterday, with the professed aim of shedding around half ‘‘over time’’ in a bid to boost supply chain efficiency and increase turnover to £3bn by 2015.
Despite his firm's successful push to boost foodservice sales over the past year, Lees Foods ceo Clive Miquel believes the retail sector is where the “real growth lies” , as the company looks to extend its brands into complementary product areas.
Wirral Borough Council says it ''left no stone unturned'' in trying to persuade Burton’s Foods not to close its Moreton biscuit factory, and even offered the company a £450,000 grant as a sweetener.
Local MP Angela Eagle has slammed Burton's Foods as "disloyal" after it announced today that it was going ahead with closing its biscuit factory in Moreton.
Northern Foods is proposing to close it Leeds office and move the majority of staff to its ‘shared service centre’ in Wakefield, FoodManufacture.co.uk has learnt, as owner Ranjit Boparan starts restructuring his new acquisition.
Low-calorie snack producer Crips says it is on course to achieve a £10m turnover within three years, and hopes to gain more national listings with UK supermarkets, having just gained its first with Morrisons.
Nestlé has revealed to FoodManufacture.co.uk that it is planning a significant extension to its confectionery and biscuit product technology centre (PTC) in York.
Premier Foods is hosting an investor day today (Friday) with the aim of convincing sceptical analysts and investors that its business strategy is sound.
Mark Fairweather, chief executive of Allied Bakeries, has called on retailers to accept inevitable bread price rises due to rising input costs, and specifically pressure arising from global speculation on wheat.
Uniq ceo Geoff Eaton says retailers cannot continue to demand bespoke desserts for rock-bottom prices, following his firm’s recent review of this arm of its business.
Greencore has refused to comment on rumours that it has appointed bankers to explore a possible £100m takeover of chilled food group Uniq, while Brookes/Avana may also be on the firm's radar after Premier Foods said it is willing to consider offers...
Makers of pies and pastries have slammed the media for unfairly demonising their products as 'unhealthy', and have vowed to launch a counter-offensive in a bid to transform public perception.
Analysts have questioned chief executive Robert Schofield’s continued presence at Premier Foods, as the company reported a 3.1% decline in first quarter sales today.
British Bakels is targeting substantial growth as it invests more than £1.5M at its site in Bicester, Oxfordshire, and introduces its biggest launch in decades on to the market.
The administrator of Woodhead Bakery has confirmed that it is in “detailed discussions” with a number of potential buyers for the firm, which counts Morrisons as a customer.
Amazon.co.uk’s grocery launch last July ruffled feathers amongst some suppliers, who complained at the time about low volume sales, the fulfillment model, consumer confusion and limited marketing. So what’s the consensus nine months on?
A supply chain expert says he fears that poor attendance by UK food producers at a major Paris trade show for own-label foods shows that firms are sitting back and letting European suppliers grow their market share.
Kellogg's UK md Greg Paterson has stepped down, with the food manufacturer appointing a temporary successor until it finds a suitable long-term replacement.
Burton’s Foods bosses have promised to give “detailed consideration” to Unite plans aimed at preventing the closure of their Moreton site, after the union presented an “alternative, costed plan” for sustaining production to them last Friday.
Safety expert Arco is now extending into safety management services with the acquisition of ARC Associates UK – one of the UK’s most experienced safety, health and environmental consultancy and training organisations.
January marked the end of the two-year transition period for flavouring regulation EC 1334/2008, which means firms are expected to have completed any changes necessary to comply with the new law.
Solbar plans to launch naturally fortified soy powders this summer, made using soy protein isolates combined with other ingredients for inclusion in meat analogue products.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) expects its suppliers to meet the high corporate social responsibility standards it is setting for itself as it continues on its journey to become a more sustainable business, according to its Plan A director, Richard Gillies.
Mexican is becoming a favourite ethnic cuisine in the UK, according to Sweden-based manufacturing group, Santa Maria, which is gearing up to cash in on the trend.
Managers at Northumbrian Fine Foods have bought the company off private equity owners and plan to invest in the business in a bid to push turnover above £12m in 2011.
McGhee’s Bakery Group put its Fords Bakery business into liquidation on 20 March, following continued trading losses, less than a year after it bought the business from administrator KPMG.
Real Good Food Company (RGFC) chairman Pieter Totté said he hoped the “difficult years” for sugar were over after the firm saw a slight increase in 2010 pre-tax profits, but warned that it would look abroad for stocks after sharp UK price rises.
Union leaders have expressed concerns about Ranjit Boparan’s intentions after he completes his £342m takeover of Northern Foods and begins to identify cost savings that could mean office closures or job losses.
The bread and bakery industry is facing costs that are “spiralling out of control”, despite the fact that the UK is effectively self-sufficient in wheat, according to a new report.
Finsbury Food Group chief executive John Duffy says that a turnaround in the firm’s cake division has led to growth in the first half year, as it bids to recoup losses from the egg dioxin scare that struck it in January.
Two food firms that closed in early March have been bought out of administration, with new owner Abbeydale Foods re-employing around 80 former staff in a bid to restart production as quickly as possible.
Ranjit Boparan is one step closer to taking over Northern Foods after announcing yesterday that he now controls over 70% of the convenience food group’s shares, although one analyst said the industrial logic of a tie-up with Greencore would have been...
Greggs has confirmed its new bakery in Balliol Park in Newcastle will open in the second half of 2011, where it forms part of a £60m capital expenditure plan this year.
The recent European Commission (EC) ruling that Cornish pasties must be produced in Cornwall is an insult to quality pasties, according to some artisan companies.
New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL) says UK food firms now recognise that tropical oils are the only viable alternative to less healthy fats, as it announces plans to build a new £9m processing plant dedicated to bakery and foodservice products.
