The Bulletin - November/December 2019 Issue

November / December 2019

CSR SPECIAL Health & Safety

BAKERY & CONVENIENCE Feature

HENRY DIMBLEBY Interview

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The Bulletin

Richard Harrow Chief executive

BRITISH FROZEN FOOD FEDERATION Registered office: Warwick House, Unit 7, Long Bennington Business Park, Main Road, Long Bennington, Newark NG23 5JR. A company limited by guarantee.

Registered in England and Wales No: 7687541

WELCOME

01400 283090 www.bfff.co.uk

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Richard Harrow richardharrow@bfff.co.uk 07930 345326 ADVERTISING & MEMBERSHIP Kate Miller katemiller@bfff.co.uk 07793 499871 BULLETIN EXECUTIVE Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary neeshacleary@bfff.co.uk 01400 283090

PUBLISHER Pelican Communications www.pelicancommunications.co.uk EDITOR Suzanna Bain suzanna.bain@pelicomms.co.uk CHIEF WRITER Emma Scott emma.scott@pelicomms.co.uk @BFFF_Tweets BFFF British Frozen Food Federation @Britishfrozenfoodfed

IN THE NEXT ISSUE...

Lead feature: 'fish and seafood' Industry Directory: 'storage' To contribute to this issue or advertise, contact your account manager or email: bulletineditorial@bfff.co.uk

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At the time of writing this introduction, Brexit and the chaos in Parliament dominates the headlines. It is almost impossible to predict the exact outcome, hard Brexit or deal. Even if we do get a deal there is still no clarity on what that would look like. By the time you read this we may have left the EU - who knows?

Against this backdrop all businesses, whether in retail or out-of-home, are facing very difficult trading conditions.

The retail scene is still seeing massive changes in the way consumers shop. The discount channel, Aldi, Lidl and the wider range of variety discounters are taking an ever-increasing value share of the market.

What these value numbers hide is that the volume movement must be even larger. The impact on the big four and the wider retail market is evident in recent trading updates with declining year-on-year sales.

The retail landscape will look very different in 10 years’ time and members that adapt to this change will survive and indeed prosper. This will require not only an understanding of what their retail customer wants, but increasingly ensuring they understand the demands of the end user.

The list is almost becoming endless; health, convenience, food waste, plastic and packaging reduction… the key will be to meet these consumer needs in a profitable way. Thomas Cook is a very good and recent example of failing to understand the end user and their changing habits.

During September I managed to get a few days away and took the opportunity to read Peter Backman’s book ‘Restaurants Also Sell Food’.

A most enjoyable and enlightening read, it clearly explains just how diverse the market for food is outside of the home.

Despite many research companies trying to get a handle on market data, I now understand a little more clearly just how difficult this task is.

Peter makes a point I found both interesting and surprising: the whole market buys less food than Tesco, which is then sold through more than 100 different channels and 236,000 outlets, many of which are independently owned. No wonder accurate market data is so hard to get.

The Bulletin is the exclusive magazine for BFFF members.

Printed six times a year, it has a readership in excess of 3,000 industry leaders, decision makers and buyers.

The Bulletin is available to read online at www.bfff.co.uk/about-bfff/bulletin where you can also read all the latest news from BFFF and its members.

richardharrow@bfff.co.uk Tel: 07930 345326 November / December 2019 | 3

The Bulletin

C O NTEN TS

Bulletin THE

The magazine for the frozen food industry

In the next issue:

Fish & S

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06 MEMBER NEWS Introducing:

S t o a ge D

i re c t

oy

For more information or to request the brief for any of our exciting features, contact Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary Email: bulletineditorial@bfff.co.uk To advertise or discuss a marketing plan, contact Kate Miller Mob: 07793 499871 Email: katemiller@bfff.co.uk

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16

NEW PRODUCTS

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KANTAR FACTS & FIGURES

The Bulletin

CON TENTS

20

CEO UPDATE

22

THE SOCIAL NETWORKER

24

MARKET INSIGHT: CGA

29

THE BAKERY BALANCING ACT

28

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

32

TECHNICAL & LEGISLATIVE

34

HEALTH & SAFETY

25

THE BIG INTERVIEW HENRY DIMBLEBY

36

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

38

INDUSTRY NEWS November / December 2019 | 5

The Bulletin

M EM BER NE W S Updates from BFFF members

Biogas benefits on climate agenda

Bühler wins seventh innovation award

Importance of technology takes centre stage at World Biogas Summit in Birmingham.

Optical sorting technology brings Queen’s Award for Enterprise into focus.

Niclas Svenningsen, UN Climate Change, has highlighted the role biogas can play in addressing climate change in his keynote address at the inaugural World Biogas Summit.

Biogas can help countries meet their Paris Agreement commitments as well as support the UN Sustainable development Goals. This was the message delivered to delegates at the World Biogas Summit in Birmingham.

Four years after countries pledged to limit global temperature rise to 2°C and strive for a safer 1.5°C target, the planet is on a trajectory to 3.6°C warming based on a tally of the 183 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to date from the signatories to the Paris Agreement.

In remarks at the opening of the Summit, Mr Svenningsen, manager of Global Climate Action at UN Climate Change, gave this stark overview of the climate emergency and highlighted the value of biogas technology in the mix.

He said: “There is a tremendous potential for biogas to be a significant building block in the climate and energy plans for the UK, EU and the world. The largest single emission source is by far energy production.

Some 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions are directly caused by energy generation, and most of that is by burning fossil fuel. Wind and solar are among the most rapidly expanding new renewable energy sources but too many countries are still subsidising fossil fuel.”

He added that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been very clear in stating that the Paris Agreement and investments in fossil fuels are incompatible: “Some say it is impossible to stop or even decrease our fossil fuel dependence but business as usual is not an option and we have seen these transformations before. Horses replaced by cars, telefax machines replaced by email… It was possible because the need was there and the technology was there. And this is where we are with biogas technology.”

The World Biogas Summit was organised by the World Biogas Association (WBA) in partnership with the UK Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA).

The event saw the launch of a major WBA report on the Global Potential of Biogas.

David Newman, WBA president, said: “Niclas has summed up in a few sentences what we have been saying for some time, that biogas production is a win-win for the planet, our economy and social development globally. The report we issued shows we are still only scratching the surface of potential; we have developed just 2% of the industry’s long-term potential so far. At full scale we could reduce some 10-12% of global greenhouse gas emissions and we need the policies to enable that now, above all by reducing and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.” www.adbioresources.org

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Bühler has received one of the UK’s most prestigious innovation awards – the Queen’s Award for Enterprise – for its optical sorting technology.

The Queen’s Award is the highest award for British businesses which have excelled in the fields of international trade, sustainable development, or innovation. This is the seventh Queen’s Award Bühler UK has won since 1968.

This year’s win is in recognition of Bühler’s development of a unique camera technology used in sorting machines, capable of recognising the subtlest of colour and shading contrasts in materials and foods, thereby significantly increasing detection rates for foreign materials, potential choke hazards, or contaminated foods.

Johannes Wick, Bühler Group’s CEO for Grains & Food, said: “This breakthrough technology will make the difference for us in the market for years to come. What is now in reach are applications to grade raw materials for composition and to remove invisible contaminations. This will be a major contribution to provide healthy and safe nutrition around the world.”

The technology is currently being used by food producers in Europe and the United States. They report an increase in detection rates of foreign materials by 10%, from 85% to 95%. A single Sortex optical sorter can control up to 150,000 single grains or 15,000 peas per second with a capacity of 12 tons per hour, securing highest food standards.

The Bühler camera technology is also being used to detect lowergrade or discoloured polymers to ensure the highest grade recyclate can be achieved by plastic recyclers. By detecting such high rates of contamination, it is now possible to produce food-grade plastic packaging from 100% recycled material, cutting the need for virgin plastic production and levels of plastic being sent to landfill. ● www.buhlergroup.com

The Bulletin

M EM B ER N EWS

Updates from BFFF members

JB Foods follows its nose by launching scented product guide Scottish wholesaler leads the way with innovative industry first.

The JB Foods directory for 2019/20 was available to see and smell when it arrived with customers complete with a chocolate scented Tunnock’s tea cake front cover.

The scented directory, a first in the foodservice industry, contains more than 300 new lines and was officially launched to JB Foods employees at Edinburgh’s New Town Cookery School with a bake-off style challenge to get everyone involved.

Charlotte Thompson of JB Foods, a member of the Caterforce buying group, said: “The launch of the new directory has been a huge success and we are extremely proud of what the team has created.

We want to be leaders in creativity within the foodservice industry and are using our annual product guide to showcase this.

“We’ve already received some fantastic feedback from our customers and our sales team has had a lot fun encouraging them to

guess what is unique about this year’s product guide. I think it makes our brand really stand out and is a great way to inspire existing and potential customers.”

The wholesaler’s launch day was also inspired by the front cover which, alongside the tea cake, features a Scottish themed cheesecake topped with some of the country’s most famous products by Tunnock’s; Mrs Tilly’s and Paterson Arran.

‘Team JB’ also took part in a bake-off style competition and were challenged to come up with a range of sweet treats using ingredients JB Foods supply to the cookery school.

Lee Brown, managing director JB Foods, whipping up a storm

Charlotte added: “Launching this year’s directory at the cookery school was the perfect way for our team members to get to know the products further. The familiarity and knowledge we can take from these events can then be passed on to our customers and allows us to provide the best possible service.” ● www.jbfoodservice.co.uk

Creed launches new festive range Lawyers for the food sector

Product offering taps into meat-free trend with vegan options.

Wholesale company Creed Foodservice has unveiled its Christmas and New Year 2019 product guide.

Creed Christmas 2019 features a range of new products with an increased focus on vegan and vegetarian eating, as well as grab-and-go options for extending catering throughout the festive season and easy serving suggestions from Creed Foodservice’s executive business development chef, Rob Owen.

According to Kantar one in 12 consumers are now looking to enjoy a meat-free Christmas and this year Creed is offering vegan and vegetarian canapé and buffet products, starters, main course and puddings. New for this year is a gluten-free Squash, Brie, Beetroot and Truffle Oil Infused Tart, Cajun Spice Sweet Potato Roulade and a selection of vegan puddings, including Christmas Pudding Pie. There are also new takes on familiar festive foods, such as a Turkey Butterfly Lobe which

makes large numbers of Christmas lunches easy to carve and serve with minimum wastage. Creed is also offering a range of turkey alternatives from fully cooked belly pork portions to rib of beef.

Festive grab-and-go items mean caterers in all foodservice channels can offer portable dishes and snacks full of the flavours of Christmas, maximising sales uptake of Christmas and New Year fare throughout December.

• • • • • • • • •

Contracts Debt recovery Product recalls Agents and distributors Employment Intellectual property and branding Transport and logistics Competition Corporate and commercial

Contact Peter Cusick of our food team on: 01775 842500 www.roythornes.co.uk

● www.creedfoodservice.co.uk November / December 2019 | 7

The Bulletin

M EM BER NE W S Updates from BFFF members

University duo get a taste for NPD marketing at Dalziel Market research and quality assurance on the menu for Northumbria University's Lauren and Rachael in year-long placements.

Dalziel Ingredients, a bespoke seasoning blends, cures and functional blends specialist, has strengthened its ties with Northumbria University by recruiting students Lauren Wilson and Rachael Yoong on one-year placements in its expanding NPD team.

Lauren, who is studying marketing management, is Dalziel’s first student placement in a marketing role. She will focus on market research in food trends, such as flavour, cuisine and menu trends, and customer profiling.

Rachael, a food science and nutrition student, joins as a quality assurance technician.

In her new role, Rachael is tasked with testing samples to ensure they meet quality specifications, as well as validating the production lines by swabbing for allergens.

Dalziel has a long association with Northumbria University, having taken on 10 food science and nutrition students on work placement since 2008. Its 15-strong NPD team advises snack food manufacturers across the world on flavour trends, market analysis, factory processes, recipe formulations and product quality enhancements.

Dr Julie Young, programme leader for the BSc food science and nutrition programmes and programme co-ordinator master of public health in nutrition at Northumbria University, said: “We have a great ongoing relationship with Dalziel. Our students have a fantastic opportunity to gain real-world experience as part of their degree programme where they can apply their knowledge in practice and we know they will be exposed to the highest professional standards at Dalziel.”

Dalziel’s NPD director Fran Hutton, added: “The diversity in our skills sets us apart in terms of our experience and industry knowledge. Lauren and Rachael’s roles are key as we seek to develop a global platform for our products.” ● www.dalzielingredients.co.uk

Fish-loving Brits are confused about scampi New research inspires Whitby Seafoods to embark on myth-busting mission to enlighten the nation.

Despite the fact scampi is purchased by 5.8 million households across the UK, Whitby Seafoods has found many people don’t actually know how the much-loved seafood product is manufactured or what it’s made from.

A recent survey of 500 British shoppers, conducted by the Yorkshire firm, reveals 80% of people are in the dark about what scampi is made of, further reinforcing the fact many of us aren’t aware of what is in our seafood products.

Only 18.6% of shoppers know what scampi is made from, while 33.79% think it is made from prawns and 19% don’t have any idea.

Other guesses included pollock and monkfish.

Scampi is in fact breaded langoustine, a small crustacean and member of the lobster family.

Whitby Seafoods has been catching scampi in the waters around the British Isles since 1985 and bringing them back to its site in Whitby.

The firm believes scampi is the forgotten ‘jewel’ of the sea and wants to highlight the importance of knowing where your seafood comes from.

Laura Whittle, sales and marketing director at Whitby Seafoods, commented: “We were genuinely surprised to find out people are enjoying scampi but don’t really know what it is, especially as 8|

it’s such a great British treasure of a dish. We sell more than a million portions of scampi a week and we want everyone who eats it to know it’s made with wild-caught British langoustine.

"We are on a mission to reignite the nation’s love of scampi and let them know just how special it is. Hopefully, knowing this, more people will eat it more often at home and not just save it for a seaside treat.”

Whitby Seafoods has seen a 32% rise in households buying into the brand this year.

It hopes that by dispelling some of the myths surrounding seafood and by making it safe and easy to cook more people will be able to enjoy its products. ● www.whitby-seafoods.com

The Bulletin

M EM B ER N E WS

Updates from BFFF members

Sweet (potato) charity Leading frozen potato product company makes sizeable donation to food redistribution charity City Harvest.

While thousands of Londoners go hungry each day, safe, healthy and usable food is being dumped as waste. City Harvest collects nutritious surplus food from all segments of the food industry and distributes it to 260 organisations that feed the capital's most vulnerable people.

Now Lamb Weston has donated the equivalent of 1,400 portions of frozen sweet potato products to help food the charity in its efforts.

Cases of Lamb Weston’s Sweet Potato CrissCuts were distributed to various regular recipients, including Acton Homeless Concern, which serves 200 covers every lunchtime to anyone who needs a meal.

Ian Breen, director of Acton Homeless Concern, said: “About 20% of our food comes from City Harvest, which is a saving of around £100 per week. With the help of City Harvest we can provide our clients with a much more varied and healthy diet to what they were getting before.”

More of Lamb Weston’s product went to the American Church soup kitchen which provides up to 250 covers a day to homeless people.

Yet more went to Sands End Adventure Playground, in Fulham, which provides after-school care for children. Hot meals can be bought, but not every parent can afford it. City Harvest’s regular trips mean every child gets to eat a hot meal.

"The food from City Harvest enables us to feed all of our children equally, regardless of their family’s income,” added Julie Cavanagh, playground manager at Sands End Adventure Playground. “This means

Five Great Taste stars for JCS Fish

all the children will receive a hot nutritious meal, that some might not get at home. This also means we have free-up money from the food bill to spend on arts and crafts and other activities."

Since City Harvest was set up four years ago, it has ‘rescued’ five million meals. The organisation is keen to take on partners, like Lamb Weston and others, to donate on a one-off or regular basis.

Lamb Weston’s country marketing manager UK & ROI, Andrea Deutschmanek, said: “Lamb Weston is very pleased and proud to support City Harvest. As an inventive company, we’re always striving to be better at what we do but also believe in making this world a better place - and that includes paying attention to sustainability, helping to support the hungry and vulnerable and providing well-being through potato goodness.

"Why shouldn’t people in need have the same high-quality food as those who can afford it? Potatoes are such a great source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre but we are also reducing the salt and fat levels in our products to make them better for everyone.” ● www.lambweston.eu/uk

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Grimsby firm receives multiple coveted accolades from Guild of Fine Foods.

JCS Fish is celebrating strong results for its BigFish range in this year’s Great Taste Awards, particularly for its two BigFish Traditional Smoked products which were each awarded Two Star status.

BigFish Traditional Oak Smoked Salmon and Traditional Oak Smoked Sea Trout by JCS Fish were each awarded two stars, while its BigFish Lemon & Pepper Breaded Salmon Bites received one star.

The Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste awards are an acknowledged benchmark for quality. Feedback from the judges, for the BigFish Lemon & Pepper Bites, included: "The fish is whole and chunky, the lemon crumb seasoning is even, crisp and golden. Very moreish."

Comments for the BigFish Smoked Salmon included: “Wonderful texture, we could eat a lot of this. A skilled hand at work” and for BigFish Smoked Trout: “The smoke aroma is very well balanced, smooth and rounded… sensational.”

Andrew Coulbeck, founder and MD of JCS Fish, said: “This fantastic endorsement is testament to the hard work of our small team plus the benefit of our long family experience and heritage in fish smoking.”

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● www.jcsfish.co.uk November / December 2019 | 9

The Bulletin

M EM BE R N E W S

Updates from BFFF members

NewCold reveals latest innovative solution Fully-automated handling solution virtually eliminates product damage by ensuring temperature integrity.

NewCold, the deep-frozen storage and logistics specialists, has introduced a fully-automated handling solution which it believes sets new standards in maintaining temperature integrity and efficiency in the cold chain.

Designed in close partnership with Gray and Adams and produced at the trailer builder’s Doncaster manufacturing facility, the aptly-named ‘Pod’ draws on the latest automated loading technology and is thought to be a first for the UK.

Farm Frites details sustainability achievements in annual report Potato grower and manufacturer reveals reductions in CO2 emissions, water and energy.

The Farm Frites Sustainability Report is published each year in line with its commitment to reduce its impact on the environment and be an industry trailblazer by 2025.

As well as its focus on three core areas of CO2 emissions, water and energy, Farm Frites has also instigated wider initiatives to encourage biodiversity. The development of a natural sound barrier provides a safe haven for bees, bumblebees and other animals, while alliances with associations such as the Polish Association for Sustainable agriculture are enhancing sustainable agriculture practices from its potato farmers.

Rutger de Kort, global sustainability manager at Farm Frites, said: “Our focus on sustainability is starting to pay off in terms of reductions to our environmental footprints. The next challenge is in ensuring we add value in this way along our complete manufacturing process.

"Launching our partnership with Green Circles has been a great first step in tackling value chain related sustainability issues such as soil health, biodiversity and carbon free logistics. This unique network will enable us to work jointly towards a sustainable potato value chain, from farm to fork.”

Newcold’s logistics advisor, Tom Cassells, sees a key role for the Pod going forward: “Automated handling and loading are bringing a host of benefits to the deep-frozen supply chain and this new advancement represents a big step forward for NewCold and its customers in terms of energy saving, faster turn-round and overall product quality.”

In 2018 the company reported CO2 savings equivalent to 5,786 one-way flights from Amsterdam to Tokyo, water savings equivalent to 691 million cups of tea and energy savings equivalent to 49,000 batteries of a Tesla model S. ● www.farmfrites.com

The Pod’s key function is to bridge the gap between the deep-frozen production or storage environment and NewCold’s auto-loading 44-pallet double-deck trailers – also designed and manufactured

by Gray and Adams.

For example, as soon as the product leaves the production line at -22°C it is automatically loaded through a sliding door at the back of the 60-pallet-capacity Pod, which itself is pre-cooled to the same temperature. From here, following a brief temperature-stabilising period the pallets are automatically transferred into the double-deck trailer, docked to the front of the Pod.

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Initial loading into the Pod is completed in around five minutes, with the whole cycle taking less than 30 minutes. Meanwhile, three Carrier TRS refrigeration systems hold the temperature at a constant -25°C and keep harmful emissions to a minimum.

Effectively, every deep-frozen package or pallet remains at a constant set temperature of -22°C to -25°C and at no time during its journey, from the production line to completed loading in the trailer, is any pallet exposed to the ambient environment or touched by an operative.

This not only ensures absolute temperature integrity but virtually eliminates product damage.

The Pod recently won an Innovation Award for Gray and Adams at the annual TCS&D dinner, which was attended by operators and suppliers to the temperature-controlled storage and distribution industry. ● www.newcold.com 10 |

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The Bulletin

M EM B ER N E WS

Updates from BFFF members

Whitby Seafoods named fastestgrowing coated seafood brand Family-run Yorkshire business celebrates new title while boosting green credentials.

Leading Temperature Data Logger for

Cold Chain Fleets

L-R: Edward Whittle, Daniel Whittle, Laura Whittle and Graham Whittle

Whitby Seafoods has bagged the title of ‘fastest-growing coated seafood brand’. The Yorkshire company saw a whopping 45.3% increase in spending and 41.3% increase in volume within the space of four weeks earlier this year. What’s more, there has also been a 32% rise in households buying into the brand in 2019.

Founded in 1985 by Graham Whittle, the family-run company continues to go from strength to strength and has reported an impressive £60 million turnover.

The seafood specialist is working hard to closely analyse the market and in doing so has recognised its target audience spans wider than once thought. Seafood is now being enjoyed by a range of consumers, including a younger and more affluent demographic – an insight the company plans to use to develop new and exciting products. This work has already begun with the addition of whitebait and three new and exciting fishcake lines to its existing range.

In addition, Whitby Seafoods has also added to its product offering with the launch of its gluten-free range, available in Sainsbury’s and Asda.

Laura Whittle, Whitby Seafoods sales and marketing director, said: “It’s incredible to be crowned the fastest growing seafood brand in both volume and value. To see the number of distribution points nearly double is pretty breathtaking stuff. We’ve also taken on board consumer feedback and adapted our packaging to be more environmentally friendly by removing a large percentage of plastic.”

The brand has continued to strengthen its positioning with a ‘range development programme’ aimed at aligning its current product range with a number of different occasions. This involved reviewing ‘pack formats’ not only to help highlight the different products and occasions to consumers, but from an environmental point of view.

The seafood family has made positive strides in this area by moving some of its products into box cartons - reducing the amount of plastic from each pack by 40%.

Going forward, the company will continue to steer away from plastic trays in its chilled food by switching to card. This will result in an 85% reduction in plastic and the removal of 12 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain each year, with the aim being to go entirely plastic-free by next year.

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● www.whitby-seafoods.com November / December 2019 | 11

The Bulletin

M EM BER N E W S Updates from BFFF members

JCS Fish commits to aquaculture standard

Kristian Moeller, CEO of GLOBALG.A.P, the standard which underpins the GGN certified aquaculture logo, said: “GGN.ORG stands for the idea that joint goals are achieved when all those involved work together. Our principles of dialogue, transparency, reliability, and development have helped us support a modern form of aquaculture that is clearly oriented towards sustainability.”

Family-owned salmon specialist incorporates GGN labelling on BigFish range.

JCS Fish has become the first company in the UK to commit to the GGN aquaculture label for its BigFish range. The first product to carry GGN labelling is a BigFish fresh salmon fillet which will appear in recipe boxes distributed by Mindful Chef.

The GGN label stands for certified and responsible aquaculture and provides guidance to consumers. It indicates production processes comply with the strict requirements of the international GLOBALG.A.P aquaculture standard: food safety, environmental integrity, animal welfare and social responsibility.

In future, BigFish branded Atlantic salmon products will carry a label with a GLOBALG.A.P (GGN) number allowing consumers to verify the certified source of the product online.

Jack Coulbeck, commercial manager at JCS Fish, said: “While consumers are increasingly interested in the provenance of their food, there is much confusion about what constitutes a responsible choice, particularly when it comes to farmed fish. We want to make it simple by ensuring BigFish products have a third-party certification which guarantees they’ve been farmed responsibly. The GGN label is an important tool for us to deliver on this objective for our salmon.”

MICHAEL WARD

Myles Hopper, Mindful Chef co-founder, added: "Sourcing ethically and responsibly is not only incredibly important to us but to our customers as well, which is why we're thrilled to be working with JCS Fish to send out the UK's first GGN labelled products in our healthy recipe boxes. This not only supports our business values, adding further credibility to our service, it also gives customers that extra knowledge on where our ingredients come from.”

GGN labelling will be rolled out on further BigFish brand salmon products during the next 12 months. ● www.jcsfish.co.uk

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The Bulletin

M EM B ER N E WS

Updates from BFFF members

Oakland International and Network Packaging to partner on several projects Oakland International announces partnership with Network Packaging.

enable us to focus on added value activities and increase productivity.”

Multi temperature supply chain, distribution and logistics expert Oakland International, together with Network Packaging, a leading UK packaging and materials distributor, have confirmed they will join forces for several beneficial partner projects.

Network Packaging sales manager, Emma Phimister, commented: "Our businesses share a lot of common values, both being customer centric, seeking to work collaboratively and build partnerships while innovating to add value.

Oakland International senior accounts assistant, Christian Stokes, explained: “We are always keen to review every business project or service we offer with fresh eyes to see how we can add value.

"The opportunity we identified was to keep bulk packaging stocks offsite so we could utilise that production or product storage space more effectively, whilst also improving our stock management.

“By partnering with Network Packaging on a number of projects including packaging design and supply, warehouse consumables and contract packing machinery, we can now utilise our existing space more effectively and

Network Packaging sales manager Emma Phimister and Oakland International senior accounts assistant Christian Stokes.

offer a business model whereby we can store bulk packaging offsite until needed, calling smaller stock quantities back to site as and when we need it.”

Benefits delivered via Oakland’s innovative partnership include economies of scale with product packaging ordered more costeffectively. In time the business will also benefit from centralised ordering.

Christian added: “Working with Network Packaging will mean our stock levels can be delivered just in time with no need to hold large amounts of onsite stock. It should also

"Having such similarities in our mindsets as two businesses is what has ensured our success whilst working together.

“There are many hidden costs associated with packaging, aside from the materials themselves. By spending time onsite to observe the operation and speak to key members of staff we have been able to gain a true understanding of Oakland’s business and in doing so identify key areas in which to make a difference.

“We are proud to be in business with Oakland International and look forward to continuing to build a strong and successful partnership.’’ ● www.oakland-international.com

Mercedes-Benz Atego trucks continue driving satisfaction for Philip Dennis Foodservice High levels of reliability and fuel efficiency encourage Philip Dennis Foodservice to stick with Mercedes-Benz.

North Devon-based Philip Dennis Foodservice has taken delivery of more fridge-bodied Mercedes-Benz Atego rigids.

The latest arrivals from Dealer City West Commercials are four 15-tonne 1524 models and a pair of 13-tonne 1324s. They have ClassicSpace S-cabs and are powered by economical, high-torque 7.7-litre straight-six engines which produce 175 kW (238 hp) and drive through six-speed Mercedes PowerShift automated annual transmissions.

Their purpose-designed insulated bodies, meanwhile, are by Solomon Commercials, of Rossendale, Lancashire, which also fitted their Frigoblock multi-temperature refrigeration units.

A fourth-generation family business which has roots going back more than a century, Philip Dennis Foodservice operates from headquarters in Ilfracombe and depots in Devon, Oxfordshire and the West Midlands.

It supplies customers throughout the South West and Midlands with a comprehensive range of frozen, chilled and ambient foods, while also offering bespoke butchery and fishmongery services.

Transport manager Jason Palmer said: “This company bought its first Mercedes-Benz Atego more than 20 years ago and has sworn by them ever since. Uptime is key to the product’s appeal – in terms of reliability, they’re pretty much bomb-proof.

“We run some of these trucks to the end of their lives, at which point we’ll continue to take spares from them to help keep others on the road.”

Each of Philip Dennis’s new vehicles will make upwards of 30 deliveries per day to pubs, restaurants and other customers, covering approximately 40,000 km per year. Jason Palmer has every confidence they will also prove fuel-efficient and cost-effective to operate.

“We bought our first six Atego with Mercedes PowerShift transmissions last year, all 15-tonners. They’re noticeably more economical – returns are up from the 11 mpg we’re getting from trucks with the previous manual box to between 12.5 and 13 mpg. The majority of drivers also prefer the autos because the system is very smooth and makes life at the wheel so much easier for them.” ● www.philipdennis.co.uk November / December 2019 | 13

The Bulletin

MEM BER N E W S Updates from BFFF members

Oakland staff told to get on their bikes

Happy 10th birthday ADBA!

Family business pushes cycle to work scheme as part of ongoing welfare and green initiatives.

Martin Jane to head up MFS’ tail lift services

Multi-temperature supply chain, logistics and distribution specialist Oakland International is encouraging employees to make use of a cycle to work scheme to get to work.

ADBA is celebrating its 10th birthday this year. In the course of the last decade the sector has grown so significantly it now employs more than 3,500 people and has the capacity to power more than 1.2m homes

By signing up to the Cycle2work scheme Oakland hopes it can encourage more of its team to leave their cars at home.

Oakland International HR director, Cory Winstanley, said: “We have always been committed to supporting employee welfare because we recognise our employees are our most valuable asset.

“Signing up to Cycle2work from Halfords will make it that much easier for all our team members to enjoy and benefit from cycling to work. As we continue to recruit more team members it made sense to introduce the scheme so that all employees could benefit.”

Charlotte Morton, ADBA chief executive, said: "AD has become one of the most innovative and important industries in the UK, demonstrating the critical role it can play in addressing climate change."

Cycle to work schemes were introduced in 1999 by the government as a way of encouraging more commuters to ditch the car in favour of cycling to work. Employees at Oakland’s Corby and Redditch facilities are now able to join the Cycle2work scheme run by Halfords.

Cory added: “Oakland’s ethos has always been to introduce new welfare and green initiatives into our business, systems and processes wherever possible." ● www.oakland-international.com

l

www.adbioresources.org

Grants Oak Smoked Ltd gains international stamp of approval with BAP accreditation Smokehouse first in UK to receive industry watchdog endorsement.

BAP is run by the non-profit Global Aquacuture Alliance. It is recognised in the industry for its tough accreditation process and international reputation.

Owner of Grants Oak Smoked, Jonathan Brown, said: “As the world’s reliance on farmed fish grows, it is vital everyone in the industry ensures we all follow the best possible practices. BAP is striving to ensure this happens.

14 |

As part of its planned sales expansion programme, commercial vehicle company Marshall Fleet Solutions has announced the arrival of industry specialist Martin Jane in the position of national tail lift services manager at the Cambridge based company.

Martin said: “I looked at the MFS plans in relation to the changing pace of the transport industry and they are very impressive indeed, so I am really excited to be part of this expanding process.”

Martin joins the company from manufacturer Seven Telematics.

New head of brewing for Campden BRI Derek Orford has joined Campden BRI as head of brewing services.

Derek has 36 years in the industry, during which he qualified as a master brewer in 1991 while at Whitbread.

He then went to work for Heineken in several international postings before joining Lion in Australia. More recently he has provided consultancy services to craft brewers, including technical leadership for the rapid growth of Toast Ale. At Campden BRI Derek will be the primary contact for large and small brewers.

Grants Oak Smoked Ltd, which sells smoked salmon across the globe, has received BAP accreditation.

The BAP (Best Aquaculture Practice) scheme promotes food safety, environmental sustainability, social accountability and animal welfare across the entire seafood industry.

Its accreditation covers the end-to-end seafood production chain, from hatcheries and feed mills to farms and processing facilities.

FAST NEWS

Oakland International appoints general manager "Getting BAP accreditation is another major confirmation of our family firm’s reputation for quality. It is also pays testament to our operation in Maryport and the great work the 100 plus staff we employ there do on a daily basis.”

To qualify for the accreditation, BAP examined every aspect of the business including the premises, the fish and the environmental, food safety and working procedures followed. ● www.grantsoaksmoked.com

Oakland International has appointed Mark Cartlidge as general manager at Corby. The creation of this new role is due to the businesses expansion following significant investment and extension of Corby’s chilled and freezer locations.

With 17 years logistics experience Mark will take responsibility for all aspects of Corby’s health and safety, training, legal compliance and the negotiation of new business contracts.

Mark said: “My immediate push is to improve communication throughout Corby and ensure this filters through to our customers and partners by being proactive and delivering information and data so everyone can do their job.”

IN D U STRY N EWS

Updates from the food industry

Awards Now Launched!

If you have an exciting, new or innovative product, don’t miss out.

The BFFF Frozen Food Awards provides members with an opportunity to showcase product excellence on the biggest stage in the industry.

RETAIL

Best New Christmas / Special Occasion / Party Product

Best New Side of Plate / Ingredient Product

Best New Centre Plate / Main Course - Meat

Best New Centre Plate / Main Course - Fish & Seafood

Best New Pizza / Savoury Bread Product

Best New Vegetarian / Vegan / Meat Free Product

Best New Dessert / Ice Cream / Confectionery Product

FOODSERVICE

Best New Christmas / Seasonal Product

Best New Starter / Appetiser / Buffet Product

Best New Side of Plate / Ingredient Product

Best New Centre Plate / Main Course - Meat

Best New Centre Plate / Main Course - Fish & Seafood

Best New Bakery Product

Best New Vegetarian / Vegan / Meat Free Product

Best New Dessert / Ice Cream / Confectionery Product

Key Dates Entries Open

Entries Close

Awards Evening

30th Sept 2019

13th Dec 2019

11th June 2020

Enter Now

www.frozenfoodawards.co.uk For more information please contact Alex Gipps on Tel: 01400 283090 or Email alexgipps@bfff.co.uk

The Bulletin

NEW

Country Range reveals pre-portioned Christmas 2019 dessert selection Country Range has enhanced its colourful Christmas catalogue with the launch of a five-strong range of desserts, which includes glutenfree and vegan options to help operators meet demand from customers for free-from options, and a convenient aerosol cream.

The luxury dessert range features a Gluten Free Chocolate Orange Mousse Stack, a Gluten Free Vegan Billionaire Bar, a Gluten Free Raspberry Gin Cheesecake, a Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Cake and a Baked Belgian Chocolate Espresso Tart.

The new Christmas products come frozen and are available exclusively through the 13 wholesalers that make up the Country Range Group.

The desserts are perfect for caterers under time and waste constraints as they come pre-portioned for ease of use. The aerosol cream features no artificial sweeteners or preservatives and is ideal for topping fruits, dessert and hot drinks.

Country Range’s Gluten Free Chocolate Orange Mousse Stack is a rich chocolate mousse rippled with orange sauce on a chocolate chip cookie base, finished with a chocolate mirror glaze, white chocolate lashings and gold crunch sprinkles.

The decadent Gluten Free Vegan Billionaire Bar features multiple layers of sticky toffee, chocolate ganache and a fudgy chocolate chip cookie base finished with gold dusted chocolate chips.

The Gluten Free Raspberry Gin Cheesecake is a baked vanilla cheesecake on a crisp biscuit base, topped with raspberries and a grown-up gin-infused raspberry jelly.

The Luxury Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Cake features a triple layer chocolate sponge cake filled with chocolate fudge and caramel, finished with chocolate fudge icing and chocolate sponge cubes.

Finally, the Baked Belgian Chocolate Espresso Tart is intensely flavoured with Belgian chocolate and espresso coffee on all butter pastry.

Vasita Jantabutara, Country Range Group’s brand manager, said: “Christmas is a time of indulgence and extravagance so it’s important caterers can offer something extra special for their customers and that’s exactly what these products are. Not only do the desserts look sensational and taste out of this world but they also help operators cater for everyone, with gluten free and vegan options available.” ● www.countryrange.co.uk

16 |

The Bulletin NEW PRODUCTS

Caterforce full of beans with new coffee brand, Roast 440

Farm Frites launches Finest Super Fine Fries at just 5mm thick

Responding to the rapid growth in the UK coffee shop market, leading buying group Caterforce has launched a new coffee brand.

Roast 440 has been designed with independent coffee shops, cafés, pubs, restaurants and hotels in mind and is available exclusively through Caterforce members.

The new range includes five varieties of coffee beans and three varieties of filter coffee, including single origin and Rainforest Alliance options. Roast 440 is the Group’s third own brand label. www.caterforce.co.uk

Farm Frites has launched its thinnest fries yet. At only 5mm thick, the Finest Super Fine Fries are made from high-quality potatoes and have a crispy texture.

Nic Townsend, trade marketer Farm Frites UK & Ireland, said: "These thinly cut fries provide more plate coverage per serving, resulting in more portions per bag and a greater use of profit and resource.”

The product is pre-cooked in 100% sunflower oil and joins the Finest range which already includes 7mm, 10mm and Steakhouse. www.farmfrites.com

BigFish's new ‘Signature’ product range is totally smokin'

Northgate Foods develops new crispy duck Indian dish

New to JCS Fish’s BigFish range are three ‘Signature’ smoked fish products.

BigFish Signature is a premium range comprising Oak Smoked Salmon, Oak Smoked Organic Salmon, and Oak Smoked Sea Trout, prepared using whole sides of fish which are cured by hand with natural salt.

The range uses superior fish, including certified organic salmon and a standard salmon with designated origin (PGI) status from Scotland that is certified to the GLOBALG.A.P. (GGN) aquaculture standard. www.jcsfish.co.uk

Kristian Wade, development chef at Northgate Foods, has created a new Southern Asia-inspired Indian Aromatic Duck Cha-pancake (Chapati-Pancake).

The slow-cooked crispy duck meat is coated in a blend of delicate Indian spices and served with red onion, chopped herbs, a chapati style pancake and mild-tamarind sauce with zesty lime juice.

Now rolling out to Indian restaurants throughout the UK, the global partnership behind the idea includes Northgate Foods, The BR Group, East End Foods and Ming Foods. www.northgatefoods.co.uk

November / December 2019 | 17

The Bulletin

FACTS & F IG U RES

Sales of frozen treats on ice after unpredictable summer Frozen pizzas have enjoyed a surge in sales, but the erratic summer weather seems to have taken its toll on the ice-cream category, judging by the latest Kantar figures (52 weeks to 8th September 2019).

The latest Kantar statistics show mixed fortunes across all frozen categories, but the sector as a whole has experienced total growth of 0.5%. This could largely be attributed to the impressive performance of the pizza category, which is up 7% in value and 9% in volume.

Interestingly, this mirrors the success of the snacking category, which has experienced double-digit growth (up 11.7% YOY, Nielsen, March 2019).

The fact this market has moved away from single packets of crisps to favour sharing bags, may be an indication that consumers enjoying a night in are opting for easily-sharable meals like pizzas.

Conversely, frozen confectionery saw sales fall by 5.2% and volume drop by 2.8% - perhaps a reflection of an increasingly health-conscious consumer. Ice-cream also failed to repeat the success reported in the last edition of The Bulletin.

The previous rise of 8.8% in value has now taken a hit, with sales down 0.2%.

But as the meat-free market continues to grow, it is the frozen meat and poultry category which saw the biggest decline, experiencing a 9.3% drop in value and

18 |

12% decline in volume. Meanwhile, and following a glowing public endorsement of frozen from Jamie Oliver on his ‘Meat Free Meals’ programme, frozen vegetables are up in volume by 1.4%.

Richard Harrow, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation, said: “It’s great to see celebrity chefs speaking out in favour of frozen. Jamie Oliver has echoed our message that frozen is nature’s pause button, offering high-quality food at great value.

“Despite disappointing results in some categories, the frozen sector as a whole continues to demonstrate growth, up half a percentage point in sales.

“Convenience and value will always be important factors in shopper decision-making, but in the future they will be increasingly concerned with making healthy and environmentally-conscious choices.

“The ongoing development of meat-free frozen options is a great example of how our sector can capitalise on future trends to ensure continued growth. Ours has always been an industry at the cutting edge of NPD and new technologies, and I have every confidence we can meet the challenges ahead.”

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The Bulletin

CEO update

All the latest news and views from Richard Harrow Sugar

Public Health England (PHE) published its update in September on progress on the sugar reduction programme across 10 food categories. While there were some notable successes with yogurts, breakfast cereals and sweet spreads and sauces - all showing decreasing sugar content - overall on a sales weighted average across 10 categories there was only a reduction of 2.9% against a first-year target of 5% and a longer-term target of a 20% reduction.

I was involved in some of the early work on sugar with PHE and it was clear one of the issues was a lack of understanding about what drove the 20% reduction target. It did not appear to be based upon scientific data or engagement with retailers or manufacturers.

In the same report, PHE highlighted soft drinks have seen a reduction in sugar of nearly 29% between 2015 and 2018.

There must now be concern politicians will see the only way to drive industry is through taxation. This ignores the fact that even before the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) was discussed the market for soft drinks was already seeing a significant move by consumers into lower sugar drinks.

Road map

WRAP and IGD have issued a progress update on their road map to help manufacturers reduce wastage. With a target to reduce food waste by half from 2018 to 2030, the focus has been to encourage companies to ‘Target, Measure, Act’.

Some 156 companies have signed up to the plan, with 121 companies already having shared data with WRAP and IGD. Food wastage and how companies deal with it is becoming an increasingly important topic, so while we currently have 25 members involved in this initiative, I would encourage all members to consider following suit.

On a recent store visit to Aldi, a senior member of staff was challenged by a customer about what they are doing on food waste. The customer said topics like this were driving his store choice. As with consumer waste I firmly believe the frozen industry has a strong message on this topic, so it is important we communicate this clearly to consumers, government and NGOs.

Aldi

Federation member Aldi was in the news in September.

Giles Hurley, the CEO of Aldi UK, was widely reported in the press discussing plans to open more stores, announcing intentions to increase the number of stores in London.

With 45 stores currently in London, Aldi have plans to open 250 stores, with up to 50 being the new Aldi Local format.

Their current market share in London is reported as 3.4% vs 8.1% nationally. Nationally they will open 100 stores in the next two years and will invest £1bn in new stores and distribution centres.

Market data

The retail market remains very competitive and growth in any form, be it value or volume, is hard to achieve.

Kantar data reveals the total market has achieved value and volume growth. Frozen is behind the total market growth over a 52-week period but has performed better than the chilled convenience sector. There’s more insight on the latest Kantar figures elsewhere in this edition of your Bulletin.

20 |

Value

Volume

Total grocery

+1.6%

+1.2%

Frozen

+0.5%

+0.3%

Chilled convenience

-0.2%

+0.1%

The Bulletin

CEO U PDAT E All the latest from Richard Harrow

Food waste

The Food Conversation week, which was due to run in the first week in November, has now been moved to mid-January.

Messaging to consumers will highlight the environmental damage caused by wasting food. With 70% of food waste occurring in the home it is important consumers change habits to address the fact we throw away so much food. However, it is a real concern that there seems little focus on the role frozen food can play in helping consumers. Instead, there seems to be lots of guidance about freezing chilled and fresh food. The federation will push WRAP, Defra and Ben Elliot to make more of an effort to highlight the role frozen can play in tackling this issue. I would also ask members who have contact with these bodies make the same case.

Retail

The first week in October brought some significant news around the retail market. First, we heard Dave Lewis will leave Tesco.

I have met him a couple of times and was always impressed by his open and straightforward manner. He managed to make some significant changes in Tesco, not least in the better treatment of suppliers. The announcement of his departure was made alongside two other pieces of news I found very interesting. One, that Tesco have now added Best Food Logistics to Booker, a significant move that re-enforces its commitment to the wholesale and OOH markets. The second news story was the launch of 25 automated fulfilment centres in large stores with spare space to order pick for online.

This is an interesting move given a recent report, by consultancy Kurt Salmon, estimates the major grocers lose £5 to £7 on every online order.

Another major story was that John Lewis and Waitrose will become one operation, with Waitrose only recently having undergone a major restructure around its buying operation.

The UK retail market is changing, both in non-food and food.

As consumers seek value and convenience, even the upmarket John Lewis group is not immune to these forces.

BBC Radio Nottingham I was delighted to appear once again on the Carson Wishart Drive programme on BBC Radio Nottingham on 14th October, when the focus was once again on Brexit. It’s important to seize these opportunities to not only talk about how our members view current political situations, but to highlight that, should fresh vegetables become unavailable for any reason, a plentiful supply can always be found in the frozen aisle.

London Gateway

In September I attended a meeting of the Global Cold Chain Alliance, in London. I gave a brief presentation on the federation and the UK market for frozen food. I then had the great privilege of joining the group on a visit to the London Gateway; a stateof-the-art container terminal in the Thames Estuary currently handing 1.4m containers per year, with a capacity of 4m.

The site is ideally placed to supply products to London and the South East, reducing costs and road miles. With large areas of underutilised land around the site I could envisage it becoming a major centre for distribution given its proximity to such a large part of the UK population.

Using automation in many parts of the process, the movement of multiple containers was very impressive to watch. However, it was dispiriting to hear many of the containers going back out of the UK are empty, something we must surely address for the future prosperity of the country.

Asda

Asda, another BFFF member, announced in the first week of October the launch of a new standalone Warehouse Club model, based on the Sam’s Club concept from the USA. With 599 locations it will compete with Costco in the USA. The first location in the UK is Patchway in Bristol and it will differ from Costco in the UK in that membership is free. The traditional channels are blurring in every part of the supply chain with retailers moving into cash and carry, wholesale and OOH, restaurants (through branded offerings in supermarkets) and the ever-increasing convenience of consumers ordering meals from Uber Eats or Deliveroo.

November / December 2019 | 21

The Bulletin

l a i c o s e h T networker With the Annual Luncheon nearly upon us and the People Award nominations flooding in BFFF events manager Charley Price gives us a glimpse into her hectic schedule.

finishing mercial team as we put the It’s a busy time in the com tak ich es place ing Annual Luncheon wh touches to our forthcom London. th at the Hilton Park Lane, on Tuesday 26 November

800 members to welcoming more than We are looking forward be done job nt and the last few s to and their guests to the eve as well as re chu bro cards and seating include printing the place g with the etin me and m, photographer briefing the production tea in place. are day the ure all details for team at the Hilton to ens

oss London y 27th, we’ll be hopping acr The next day, Wednesda lace Road offices on Buckingham Pa to the American Express st-attend is free event really is a mu for our Industry Forum. Th rking hard nt the last six months wo for members. We have spe James Spicer up of speakers including to secure a fantastic line tail Mind. , GSCOP expert from Re of Kantar and Ged Futter planning going on behind the scenes There’s also a lot of work ner, Din s ard rence and People Aw our 2020 Business Confe ord esf th Ch the ursday 5 March at which will take place on Th shire.

Grange Hotel, Warwick of speakers together the programme It’s no mean feat putting ping some spent a lot of time develo for the conference. We’ve d and earching everything we nee really excellent ideas, res l lineup, fina the ing firm rs before con talking to potential speake ut! with and very excited abo which we are really happy more detail for mas we will confirm lots Between now and Christ ns, artwork pla ors, menus, production the event including exhibit

the on f ie e Br n c h c t i o n Lu odu pr am te

22 |

more entertainment plus much for printed materials and hly oot sm s run and es together to ensure everything com on the day. ce, for the Business Conferen You can book your tickets s.co.uk ket ftic both now by visiting bff People Awards Dinner or our it to see the programme vis For more information and website www.bfff.co.uk. zen Food also open now for our Fro Don’t forget entries are your entry mit sub s: make sure you Awards and People Award o.uk or s.c ood enf th 19. Visit www.froz before 13 December 20 enter. bfffpeopleawards.co.uk to

one not to ty to award excellence is We believe the opportuni schemes to be running both award be missed and are delighted tions in! delay getting your nomina again this year - so don't eral s we have spoken with sev During the last few month dback fee e abl alu s and gathered inv members about our award . ded nee ere improvements wh which has helped us make our d ate cussion we have upd After much debate and dis Frozen Food Awards and the h award categories in bot to ning for entries. Be sure People Awards before ope check them out today!

overseeing olved collating entries and There is a lot of work inv but both will begin in the new year, the judging process, which oss the and celebrate success acr awards see us recognise events se the ting put e lov we really frozen food industry and son. together for that very rea

Pe o p l e Aw a r d s t e : closing da 13th Dec

es m a ll J r at a C ice ch Sp n t a r s p e e Ka o u t ab

PEOPLE AWARDS Entries are now open!

Now in its third year, the People Awards are all about celebrating the unsung heroes of frozen, the brilliant and hard-working staff who make this essential part of the food industry the dynamic and innovative sector it is.

It is completely free of charge for all members and associate members of the BFFF to enter. So what do you have to lose!

Key dates for your diary: Entries Live

30th September 2019

Entries Close

13th December 2019

Shortlist Announced

20th January 2020

Awards ceremony at BFFF Annual Business Conference Dinner

5th March 2020

Categories: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Rising Star Supply Chain/Logistics Team of the Year Business Transformation of the Year Unsung Hero Product Developer of the Year Marketing Campaign of the Year Sustainability Champion Commercial Team of the Year Technical Champion / Team Health and Safetly Champion / Team Lifetime Achievement Award

Enter now! http://www.bfffpeopleawards.co.uk

Market insight: CGA

Taking a holistic view of the current out of home eating and drinking out market in Great Britain, one would be forgiven for suggesting that it is not as healthy as it once was. Indeed, CGA research with business leaders highlights that, as of August 2019, just 30% cited themselves as optimistic about the prospects of the market over the upcoming 12 months.

on-the-go brands like Itsu, Leon and Pret a Manger. What’s more, consumers are willing to pay a premium for healthy options. Across all food-to-go brands, the average spend is £5.38, but it is much higher at healthier brands like Itsu (£7.55) and Leon (£6.58). This healthy cohort has a higher average monthly spend on eating out as well, at £104 compared to the £92 average; proof this is a potentially lucrative market.

With high profile closures and CVAs, led by the likes of Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italian, the casual dining sector in particular has taken the brunt of pessimism.

However, with this opportunity comes higher demands. There has been a significant increase in moderation and abstinence of both meat and dairy products, along with a shift towards more ethical lifestyles which are increasingly becoming as important as the core needs of convenience and location.

However, there remain bright spots in the industry and, even within the casual dining market, there are shoots of growth visible across high streets and city centres up and down the country. In fact, the like for like growth of managed restaurant chains, according to CGA’s Coffer Peach Business Tracker, stands at a healthy 1.9% - higher than the equivalent for pubs at 1.9%.

Along with increasing demands, opportunity also brings competition and the food-to-go market has seen no shortage of innovation and disruption in the past 12 months, exemplified by the new pizza by the slice concept ZA, from Pizza Express. If one of the most wellestablished operators in the out-of-home market is moving into a new space, there is evidently opportunity!

One such bright spot has undoubtedly been the explosion in the 'food-to-go' trend. Led by the need for convenience in increasingly hectic schedules, over half (59%) of all visits to the eating out market are to quick service restaurants, bakeries or coffee shops. It is little wonder that food-to-go has received so much attention and business leaders do not anticipate this slowing. Nearly half (45%) cited food-to-go as a growth area in 2019.

Sitting alongside food-to-go and presenting similar opportunities for suppliers, the surge in coffee shops has been hard to miss in the past decade as consumer tastes for high quality coffee increase. Indeed, 32.7 million of us have visited a coffee brand in the past six months and what is interesting is that it is clearly not just about coffee. In fact the importance of quality of drinks as a driver to coffee shops for consumers has decreased by 8% in the past three years, while the choice of food available has increased by 5%. In a convenience-driven market, speed of service and trust are now equally as important as drinks quality at coffee shops, highlighting the importance of an offer that resonates with consumers and is convenient across both food and drink.

Charlie Mitchell, CGA

For consumers, convenience (51%) and location (52%) remain key drivers of visits and for those outlets that tailor their service and product offerings around these pillars, there are significant rewards.

A customer driven by convenience is more likely to return than average, with outlets within the food-to-go market counting on more than one in five visitors (21%) visiting at least weekly, compared to 16% at the average outlet.

But the availability of healthy options is increasingly significant in decision-making, too, especially among visitors to London-based

Charlie Mitchell Senior consumer research manager, CGA An expert in consumer behaviour and trends in the out of home market, Charlie works within the growing consumer research division within CGA to develop narratives from all data sources available to provide one clear picture on relevant market topics.

24 |

It is evident that both the food-to-go and coffee markets offer opportunities, especially for the likes of baked goods, but this comes at a price. Consumers demand convenience yet health, well-being and ethical considerations are increasingly part of the decision process.

However, an offer that marries these elements will tap into the undoubted opening that exists.

CGA is the data and research consultancy of choice for the out-of-home food and drinks market, specialising in market measurement, consumer research and location planning.

CGA triangulates supply, demand and consumer data to give clients the expert insight needed to get them where they want to be, faster.

The Bulletin INTERVIEW

The Big Interview:

Henry Dimbleby Life in a professional kitchen set Henry Dimbleby on a path to politics. Emma Scott meets the dedicated foodie poised to take on the system.

According to E. M. Forster ‘one person with passion is better than forty people merely interested’. If this is true, the new National Food Strategy is off to a very promising start, because at its helm is culinary crusader Henry Dimbleby.

I’ll confess to feeling slightly daunted at the prospect of interviewing this high-profile figurehead.

After all, he was part of the team which created a restaurant chain with a turnover of more than £65.2m, co-authored the School Food Plan and has been tasked by the government to head up its new National Food Strategy.

But professional success aside, it quickly becomes clear this is a man with an infectious passion not only for food but the entire food system.

By the end of our conversation I am both inspired by his enthusiasm and suddenly rather hungry.

It’s this quality, combined with an impressive CV, that makes Henry Dimbleby uniquely qualified for his latest role.

One in eight people in this country make their living from the food system and for 25 years Henry has been one of them. He started his career as a commis chef with Michelin-starred Bruno Loubet but soon found he was too messy for a professional kitchen.

His unlikely next move was to The Daily Telegraph as a gossip columnist and from there he side-stepped to a management consultancy firm where he met John Vincent, his Leon co-founder.

Henry says: “The purpose of Leon was to help people eat food that was delicious, that they enjoyed and that made them feel good. But through the process of starting the business and developing an understanding of the supply chain I became more interested in some of the broader issues around sustainability.”

This soon led to the creation of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, a not-for-profit designed to help foodservice businesses work towards sustainability, November / December 2019 | 25

as well as help customers make more sustainable choices.

When his work and ethos came to the attention of government, Henry and his business partner John were approached to think about how to improve food in schools.

The result was the School Food Plan.

"There are many different things that are going to be part of the solution and frozen is definitely one of them."

Published by the Department for Education, in 2013, the School Food Plan sets out actions to transform what children eat in schools and positively impact how they learn about food.

Subsequently, Henry set up the charity Chefs in Schools, which re-trains commercial chefs to work full-time in school kitchens.

It’s fair to say Henry’s professional life revolves almost entirely around the subject he talks so knowledgeably about. His passion for food is undeniable.

This enthusiasm is now being channelled into a task that has the potential to shape what and how we eat for generations to come: heading up an independent review to help the government create its first National Food Strategy in 75 years.

Heralded as a way to ensure our food system delivers safe, healthy and affordable food – while being robust, resilient, sustainable and a thriving contributor to our urban and rural economies – the sheer ambition and scale of the strategy means Henry’s certainly got his work cut out.

Did he know what he was taking on when Defra’s Secretary of State gave him the job back in June? How does he feel now the reality’s becoming apparent? Is he still relishing the chance to get his teeth sunk in?

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“It’s an unbelievably daunting challenge because it addresses one of the biggest issues facing western civilisation. But the exciting thing is there’s an understanding these are really important issues and the creation of this programme is an opportunity to try to help this country tackle them," he says.

But the country hasn’t had a National Food Strategy since WWII, so is it an indication we’re once again at crisis point?

butter mountains and wine lakes, so we kind of gave up trying at that point. We ceased to invest in research and innovation. We thought we had solved the food problem.”

However, far from solving ‘the food problem’ we’ve inadvertently ended up with a new set of challenges: “It’s now become clear that while the free market has created an unbelievable range and abundance of food at prices that would be unimaginable to previous generations, it’s causing some real problems, not only with our health but the environment as well.

In Winston Churchill’s memoir, 'The Second World War, Volume 2', the former prime minister admitted: ‘The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril.’

“It also raises questions about whether we can think about food security in the same way we have in the past. And that’s why we now need to deal with food right the way across government by thinking about education, business, trade, health, farming and the environment all at the same time.”

This was because food supplies from the rest of the world were essential to the war effort, so one of Germany’s key strategies was to use submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain into submission.

Henry hopes this holistic approach can improve the system so it can continue to deliver the amount of healthy and affordable food the population needs, while eliminating the negative impacts.

The fact is, we’re facing huge challenges in terms of health, environment and sustainability but they’re a far cry from the scarce food supplies and utter devastation of infrastructure that led to rationing.

The new National Food Strategy was launched in August 2019 with a call for evidence from anyone with a good idea: producers, processors, retailers, consumers, academics, policy specialists, inventors, farm labourers, factory workers, health care practitioners, charity workers or even just interested citizens.

All of us were urged to suggest how our food system might be able to work better by detailing our own experiences, recommendations and vision both as business professionals and members of the public.

"We wanted to hear about what people think are the things we can learn from elsewhere, to help us all change the food system in this country."

Henry explains: “Coming out of the war we were terrified of running out of food, so through the 50s, 60s and 70s that was the focus of our national food policy: could we feed ourselves from our own resources? Did we have food security?

“Then in the 80s, because of those policies and the policies across the European Union, we found we had too much food. We had

The Bulletin INTERVIEW

Hundreds of responses were submitted and now it’s Henry’s job to collate the myriad ideas and produce an independent review that will go on to inform the government.

“The problems have been diagnosed to death,” he reasons. “We know what the problems are so what we need to do now is understand what’s actually working and that might be small things from your home, it might be things from the business you’re in, it might be in your community, it might be things you’ve seen abroad.

“We wanted to hear about what people think are the things we can learn from elsewhere, to help us all change the food system in this country.”

At the time of writing it was still unclear if, when or how the UK would leave the EU.

objectives including the safe, healthy and affordable provision of food to all, not to mention tackling food waste.

This pertinent fact is not lost on Henry: “There are many different things that are going to be part of the solution and frozen is definitely one of them. It is a very effective way of storing nutrients and serving vegetables, which we need to increase in our diet, to a large number of people.

“This idea that somehow everyone’s going to be just eating food that comes from a local plot and animals they’ve raised themselves?

That’s not going to happen. That’s part of it, but frozen food will also continue to be a big part of it.”

"I think innovation, research and data are the most important levers we can pull."

To say there has been political uncertainty would be something of an understatement but Henry has some words of reassurance: "Nothing is certain in politics but what I do know is this is something that’s being taken seriously. We have support from Labour, from the Lib Dems, from the Tories. It’s something that’s important to society, so I can’t see any future government shutting down all the good that’s going on.”

“So I’m ploughing on with the work and assuming that when the cloud we’re currently under lifts, there will be a need to take a really positive step forward to try to help our food system.”

While the impact of Brexit is likely to play a part in Henry’s review (“trade policy and how we think about our trading links is very much part of the brief”), the new food strategy will cover everything from waste management to food provisions in hospitals.

Henry says: “The scope is intentionally ambitious and broad because the understanding is that this is a system that you need to deal with in a holistic way.

“That said, it’s not my intention to replace or repeat the initiatives that are already working well. For example, Ben Elliot is doing great work on food waste but there might be other areas where I think nothing is being done, so that will be a judgement call as we go through the process.”

With such broad horizons to contend with, to what extent is frozen on the radar?

After all, the industry’s ideally placed to help the strategy achieve several of its key

Despite his belief in the sector and being a fan of frozen himself (“I use a lot of frozen veg, especially spinach - I often add a few handfuls to my dahl”), Henry definitely seems to understand the barriers faced by the industry: “I think there’s a stigma about frozen food which is unfair, because I think some things that are frozen, fish for example, can actually be much higher quality than chilled or ambient products.”

In order to better navigate the role frozen can play in the future of the food industry, Henry plans to visit frozen food manufacturers during the review process - an approach BFFF's Richard Harrow has been pioneering with his ‘member listening’ initiative since he came on board as CEO earlier this year.

The next step for the National Food Strategy is to publish analysis of the current food system before looking at what needs to be done to transform what we have today into something better for the future.

We should all have a clear view of Henry’s recommended direction by the summer of 2020 when his review is published. The government has committed to responding with a white paper six months after that.

In the meantime, his predictions for the future of our food system are positive: “I hope in the years to come the average supermarket basket will contain more vegetables, more wholegrains, more good fats.

“I think innovation, research and data are the most important levers we can pull.

I was talking to someone at the University of Nottingham who thinks vegetables will begin to be grown for nutrient density and it will be easy to test such aspects, so people will be able to farm for that,” he continues.

“Those kinds of innovations really excite me – the idea that, without adding a cost, we can really transform what the consumer is eating.”

Quickfire questions

Favourite food to cook: Fish Guilty frozen food pleasure: Hot Mars Bar sauce on ice-cream Career highlight: School Food Plan

Career goal: Delivering a strategy that really does bring about positive changes in the food system Dream dinner party guest: Eartha Kitt

November / December 2019 | 27

Membership update Kate Miller, BFFF membership account manager, on the exciting recent and upcoming developments at head office.

As the BFFF team are busy preparing the last elements for the Annual Luncheon on 26th November we continue to be amazed by the support we see from the BFFF membership. More than 800 delegates in one room makes this event our biggest networking opportunity and we look forward to seeing you there.

During the last few months here at BFFF headquarters, we have been helping Richard Harrow, our new CEO, settle in and learn the ropes most importantly how we all take our coffee! Richard and I have been ‘on the road’ visiting members as much as we can to get your thoughts and find out how we can support you even further in the next 12 months.

If we haven’t visited you yet please do get in touch and we can arrange for a catch-up. Alternatively if your diary is just too busy, we are happy to schedule a call or drop us a line via email to let us know your thoughts: katemiller@bfff.co.uk You will have noticed recently that we have been in touch to gather details ready to print our all-new member handbook which will let the industry know who you are and what you do. Please do remember if you have a change of personnel to let us know so we can make sure all the right people within your organisation are getting the correct information - we can add as many or as few contacts as you wish.

If you haven’t entered already, a reminder that the people awards and Frozen Food Awards are still open for entries, deadline 13th December.

We are offering you the chance to recognise your key personnel and the products that help make your company thrive; both great opportunities to reward and recognise.

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Don’t forget the Business Conference is 5th March and next year it will be held at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Warwick. As you know, this is the only opportunity for you to showcase your products to retail and foodservice delegates at a BFFF event. We will again be having a ‘street style’ lunch option and if you would like to be part of that please do let me know.

The event itself will be tackling issues such as AI, block chain, the economy and much more with key industry figures presenting to you and offering their insights. You can book your tickets online to attend and there is a maximum capacity, so get in quick.

It’s been a busy 2019 with lots of changes here at BFFF and some exciting plans being made for 2020. If you would like to discuss any aspects of membership, promotional opportunities at events, advertising, or book an appointment, please get in touch anytime and I will be happy to help.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you and yours a fabulous festive season. Merry Christmas!

Kate's contact details Tel: 01400 664320 Mob: 07793 499871 Email: katemiller@bfff.co.uk

Th As consumer trends steer towards healthier options - as well as greater convenience and a focus on ethical choices - how can the bakery sector use frozen to meet these expectations without compromising on product appeal? Emma Scott looks at the evidence.

Think bakery and what springs to mind?

Freshly-baked bread, tempting cakes, pies, puddings, pastries.

A picture of indulgence, but perhaps not the go-to section for an increasingly health-conscious consumer, which presents a problem to those in the business of baking.

Information, data and measurement firm Nielsen found this year that 39% of shoppers are actively seeking snacks with less sugar and veganism shows no signs of slowing down, with 16% of all product launches now carrying a vegan label (Mintel, 2019). Meanwhile Public Health England 2020 sugar targets are looming.

Baked goods free from sugar, gluten and dairy are still far from the norm but the sector is embracing innovative new product development to respond to this growing market.

Emily Sudell, We Love Cake brand manager for Bells of Lazonby, says: “Brands are not only seeing this growth in demand as an opportunity to innovate and build new products, but rather an essential if they wish to maintain the status and popularity of their current lines within the market.”

This is why the company took the decision to reformulate the sugar content of its We Love Cake range to future-proof it for the 2020 sugar targets. Launched in spring 2019, the company has since seen growth of 28% YOY due to the recipe reformulation.

Emily adds: “This demonstrates the increasing awareness wholesalers have in offering free-from and reduced sugar products to their customers and together with the strength of sales uplift proves

ng act

e

a b

a b l a y n r e ci k

customer demand for these types of products is really pulling through.”

That said, it’s vital for the sector to avoid losing sight of its own unique and unequivocal appeal – indulgence and flavour.

When Jennifer LaPaugh - senior director, regional and artisanal channel marketing at Dawn Foods - spoke at the International Baking Industry Exposition in Las Vegas this year, she outlined several key emerging consumer trends.

While one of these does reflect the demand for healthier baked goods, which she calls ‘enlightened eating’, at the opposite end of the spectrum is ‘blissful indulgence’, which describes how people are looking for “opportunities to disconnect and reduce stress and anxiety through personalised, highly indulgent sweet goods or desserts that provide a momentary escape from reality”.

Quite the experience.

This trend, she argues, is being fuelled by an uncertain political climate that’s affecting consumers directly.

So the idea of baked goods being a treat is still important but in a sector in which gluten, dairy and eggs have traditionally been the main components of recipes, maintaining the feel-good factor requires some creative thinking.

So what flavour trends can the bakery and convenience sectors capitalise on to keep customers coming back?

Emily Sudell suggests bakery hybrids will continue to crop up, with many taking influence from across the pond: “Merging mainstream flavours and national favourites is a great way to offer something different that will still deliver on sales. We Love Cake has done a mash of a brownie and cookie as its showstopper NPD piece this year.

The ‘Brookie’ has a soft-baked chocolate chip cookie base and is topped with a marbled blend of moist chocolate brownie and cookie.”

November / December 2019 | 29

Kate Sykes, marketing manager of Lantmännen Unibake UK, agrees that taking inspiration from across the globe is key to creating exciting new offerings.

It seems clear the bakery sector must perform a tricky balancing act; creating healthy yet decadent products that offer maximum indulgence with minimum guilt.

She said: “There’s an insatiable appetite for world flavours and this year we’ve seen the growing popularity of Scandinavian Soft Doughs and the huge success of the Portuguese Custard Tart – sales have increased a staggering 458% since 2016. Middle-Eastern tastes are also proving popular, straddling both savoury and sweet bakery.”

The We Love Cake team think they’ve cracked it with their festive offering for 2019.

"The bakery sector must perform a tricky balancing act; creating healthy yet decadent products that offer maximum indulgence with minimum guilt."

However, she warns against replacing tried and tested favourites with more exotic options: “There is plenty of scope for expansion in both sweet and savoury bakery but core ranges remain fundamental to sales success. In the same way most retailers wouldn’t consider leaving a number one brand like Coca-Cola out of their drinks range, retailers should ensure they stock the UK’s best sellers in both Danish and French pastry.”

She explains the top three selling Danish Pastry SKUs deliver 62% of total category value sales. The Schulstad Bakery Solutions Maple Pecan Plait, Cinnamon Swirl and Vanilla Creme Crown are the topsellers in the Danish pastry range and must-stock French pastries include the All Butter Croissant, Pain au Chocolat and Pain aux Raisins.

30 |

Included in the range is a gluten, wheat and milk free Vegan Mince Pie, as well as a Chocolate and Orange Tart. Emily Sudell says both have freefrom credentials without compromising on taste.

In fact, a national garden centre chain has taken the decision to serve these two products as their luxury offering on the menu for all customers to enjoy, because the flavour is superior to that of their conventional gluten-containing offering, she reveals.

So with some creative thinking and the expertise of a creative NPD chef who doesn’t shy away from innovation, it is possible to create healthier versions of the nation’s favourite baked goods. But there is another box to tick on the list of consumer demands: ethical purchasing.

According to the Ethical Consumer Markets report 2018, young people in particular are turning to more sustainable options. Indeed, almost half (49%) of under-24s were found to have avoided a product or service due to its negative environmental impact.

Naturally, figures like this are leading brands to take a fresh look at their packaging materials but the bakery sector can score an easy environmental win by supplying frozen products.

Emily Sudell observes caterers across the food service sector are waking up to the strength of frozen in reducing wastage from a bottom-line point of view as well as a food sustainability standpoint.

“As caterers are being put under the spotlight, in terms of reporting their food wastage more transparently, there’s pressure for them to find products that deliver on flavour but not at the expense of short shelf-life products,” she explains.

Minimised wastage is just one of the benefits frozen can offer the bakery sector. Baked goods can be batch produced, hand finished and given that home-baked feel then supplied to caterers in a frozen format. Once defrosted or oven-baked the consumer can still enjoy the fresh-baked taste and aroma that will, ultimately, keep them coming back for more.

Brands across the sector are rising to the challenge of meeting consumer demand for healthier, free-from and vegan products without compromising on flavour or negatively impacting the environment. Those who embrace frozen will find it easier to meet this increasingly strict consumer criteria.

“Frozen enables caterers to defrost bakery products based on footfall and throughput, significantly reducing throw-away.”

“Frozen offers a great solution whereby caterers can defrost bakery products based on their footfall and anticipated throughput for the day, meaning their close-of-play throw away is significantly minimised,” she adds.

Freezing baked products provides the flexibility to be innovative with new flavours without being constrained by limited shelf life. It’s also known to minimise food waste. But most importantly, freezing enables manufacturers to preserve baked goods at peak quality, so no matter what re-formulation the recipe undergoes consumers can still enjoy the ‘fresh’ baked taste they love.

November / December 2019 | 31

The Bulletin

T EC H NICA L & L E G I S L AT I V E

From head of technical, Denise Rion

update

This article has kindly been provided by our colleagues at FareShare, the UK’s largest redistribution charity.

If you want to find out more about how you can play your part in the fight against hunger and food waste, including the FareShare Surplus with Purpose Fund, then read on…

Could your frozen surplus food be a lifeline for charities?

Globally, one third of the food we produce is wasted. When you consider the resources involved in growing, preparing and transporting food, that figure is even more shocking.

But, with a growing ‘zero waste’ movement, and increasing pressure from consumers, food businesses are pledging to take action to tackle the issue – redistributing their edible surplus to frontline charities where it can do the most good.

FareShare is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, taking in-date surplus from growers, packers, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and the hospitality sector and redistributing it through a network of 11,000 frontline organisations, such as homeless hostels, school breakfast clubs, food banks and hospices.

Jo Dyson, head of food at FareShare, says: “In five years the amount of food we’ve delivered to charities has tripled, which indicates that tackling food waste in the most socially responsible way has become an increasing priority for businesses.”

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But there’s still a lot of work to be done. Jo explains: “WRAP estimates that, within the food industry, there’s 220,000 tonnes of edible surplus, 100,000 tonnes of which is easily accessible. Right now we’re only accessing 8% of the UK’s available surplus, so there’s a lot more we can do.”

FareShare works with more than 500 companies across the supply chain – from farmers to hauliers, hospitality chains to supermarkets, and big brands to small independent producers.

“Surplus might be inevitable, but food waste doesn’t have to be,” says Jo. "We have 22 regional centres across the UK, 15 of which have walk-in freezers – which puts us at an advantage because we can very quickly and safely transport large volumes of surplus food into our network.

“Frozen food in particular is highly valued by our member charities.

It enables them to provide the people and families they support with a wider range of nutritious food and helps the charities reduce waste within their own operations, as it means they are able to cook only what they need.

“In just one year we’ve increased the amount of frozen food we’ve been able to get to good causes by nearly 60%. We’ve also been given funding which has enabled us to supply charities with additional freezers, which means charities can take even more of the frozen surplus food we have.”

with Purpose Fund. This fund offsets any additional costs – for example labour costs, additional processing costs or the expense of packaging, storage and transport.

Andy Stephens, head of sustainable food, COOK, said: “Working with FareShare has helped COOK take a significant step forward on our journey to reducing food waste. Having such a good partner to help with the redistribution of food that would otherwise have been wasted has helped us in our work to proactively reduce waste in our cooking process and also provided a solution when reacting to unexpected challenges. All this whilst supporting great charities and organisations who use food to care for and connect with their communities.”

“As well as helping businesses to make progress towards achieving their commitments under the WRAP/IGD Food Waste Reduction Roadmap to Target – Measure – Act to reduce your food waste, redistributing food to charities is a great way to engage customers and boost staff morale,” says Jo Dyson. “When you do the right thing, word gets out, and in this case it benefits everyone.”

So what are the benefits for businesses?

It often costs businesses more to redistribute their edible surplus to frontline charities than it does to send it to anaerobic digestion, animal feed or landfill. However, this year, DEFRA announced a new fund to help overcome barriers to getting food currently going to waste onto people’s plates. As a recipient of the grant funding, FareShare is now able to help businesses unlock more surplus food through its Surplus

£50,000 funding available through the FareShare Surplus with Purpose Fund The FareShare Surplus with Purpose Fund* will offset the costs of diverting surplus food to charities and is open to companies seeking to unlock new or hard to reach surplus food, as well as those that haven’t previously worked with FareShare.

Your business could be eligible for up to £50,000** worth of funding (greater sums can be negotiated where appropriate for high volumes of surplus food).

* Defra has provided a grant of £1.9 million towards this fund as part of its £15 million scheme launched in January by environment secretary Michael Gove. This will help redistribution organisations across England overcome barriers to getting food currently going to waste onto people’s plates ** Any financial contribution made by FareShare towards the cost of surplus food redistribution is subject to negotiation and final agreement of the value in writing between FareShare and the recipient.

November / December 2019 | 33

The Bulletin

HEALTH + SAFETY

update

From head of health & safety, Simon Brentnall

Benefits of corporate social responsibility explained at specialist BFFF workshop BFFF members also discussed aspects of their own CSR programmes such as fighting modern slavery, packaging reduction initiatives and cross-community skills development.

Barry Collins, managing director of Collins McHugh, said: “CSR still remains one of the most underutilised business tools for reducing a company’s costs. A good CSR programme allows a business to build partnerships with customers and suppliers, engage employees and responsibly manage environmental and social impacts.”

The business benefits of adopting a comprehensive approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) were highlighted at a recent training workshop.

“Cost reductions through effective carbon management or increased tender success, because of a better understanding of the concept of sustainable growth and development, are not just reflections of the responsible nature of your company; they are powerful commercial tools. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Well managed corporate social responsibility can bring improved performance across the whole of an organisation.”

Organised by the BFFF health and safety team, the one-day event took place in Stratford-Upon-Avon at the head office in NFU Mutual and was attended by a cross-section of BFFF members.

The course was run by Collins McHugh, a specialist CSR consultancy with more than 15 years’ experience in the field.

Businesses adopting the principles of CSR work to balance the needs of the environment and communities in which they operate while maintaining commercial success.

“CSR is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for any company wanting to maintain and exceed customer requirements, attract the best people, or simply meet environmental and social impact legislation. Excellence in CSR is also increasingly providing a competitive edge when it comes to winning work,” said Simon Brentnall, BFFF head of health & safety.

He added: “We wanted to give members a real understanding of the principles of CSR, as well as practical insights into how they can take the first steps to develop a CSR programme, or make further improvements to existing CSR efforts.”

The workshop provided a full explanation of CSR principles, examples of good and less impressive approaches to CSR and looked at how to link CSR to core business activities.

Other presentations included: what to measure and how to measure it, how to engage people across a business in a CSR programme and best practice in reporting on CSR performance. Ruth Poulten CSR Expert at NFU Mutual also presented on modern slavery this being the second largest form of organised crime.

34 |

ate social "Well managed corpor improved responsibility can bring e whole of performance across th an organisation.” g director Barry Collins, managin . gh Hu of Collins Mc

The Bulletin HEALTH & SAFETY

Work is creating mental health issues for two in five employees Two in five (39%) UK workers experienced symptoms of poor mental health related to work in the last year, according to a report released

by Business in the Community (BITC), in partnership with Mercer Marsh Benefits and BITC’s Wellbeing Leadership Team. The report also claims most employers do not acknowledge or deal with the adverse impact work has on employees’ health.

According to the authors of the report, of the 39% of employees surveyed who have experienced poor mental health due to work, a third (33%) said this was caused by negative work relationships.

One in four (24%) of those with work-related health problems explicitly cited bullying and harassment from their manager as a major cause. The report is based on YouGov survey data from more than 4,000 employees.

Mental and physical health needs to be considered equally important by employers. The report sets out key recommendations to show businesses how to create positive, inclusive workplace cultures that help rather than harm the mental health of the people who work for them.

Other report findings: l There is a significant disconnect between company board members’ perceptions of how health is treated within their companies and what the rest of the organisation thinks. More than half (51%) of those at CEO or board level believed their organisation effectively supports its staff, compared with 38% of those without line management responsibilities. l

l

There are barriers to managers providing effective support, with more than six in 10 (62%) managers saying they have had to put the interest of their organisation above staff wellbeing.

Only 7% of all employees have received training to recognise workplace stress factors.

l

l

l

One in three (33%) with mental health problems said they felt ignored.

Around one in 10 (9%) were subject to disciplinary action, demotion or dismissal following the disclosure of mental health issues.

One in 10 workers resigned as a result, a figure which has plateaued since 2017.

Based on the report findings, Business in the Community has made three calls to action for businesses to help achieve better health for the UK workforce: 1) Create good work that enhances mental health. Good work is created by elements including security, fair pay and professional development.

2) Acknowledge and support employees experiencing poor mental health, whatever the cause.

3) Publicly report your wellbeing performance.

Simon Brentnall said: “The scope of workplace health and safety will be expanded in the future to include psychological health with a new standard in development. ISO 45003, Occupational health and safety management – Psychological health and safety in the workplace – Guidance, is expected to be published in 2021.”

BFFF secures assured RIDDOR guidance BFFF health and safety specialists have secured Primary Authority Assured guidance to clarify which injuries need to be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013.

Simon Brentnall, BFFF head of health and safety, said: “Consultations with BFFF members and the organisations that enforce RIDDOR revealed confusion about what type of injuries should be reported. So we set about writing detailed guidance supported with a structured reporting process.”

The guidance uses a decision tree methodology to establish if an accident needs to be reported. It has now received Primary Authority Assurance, meaning members who follow the advice can be confident they are adhering to the requirements of the legislation and are following a consistent process across all their sites.

Provisional RIDDOR figures for 2018/19 released by the Health and Safety Executive revealed that during this period 147 workers were killed, (up slightly from the previous year), and 92 members of the public were killed due to work-related activities. The sector with the most worker fatalities was again agricultural, forestry and fishing followed by the construction industry.

Falls from height was found to be the leading cause of these fatalities, followed by people being struck by a moving vehicle.

In line with these statistics, BFFF is still promoting its ‘preventing falls on mobile refrigeration vehicles’ guidance and is planning a standalone health and safety seminar in 2020 on workplace transport and road risk.

November / December 2019 | 35

DATES

The Bulletin

f o r y our

D IARY 2019

26th November

2020

Annual Luncheon London Hilton on Park Lane www.bfff.co.uk

3rd-5th March

HRC Show ExCeL London www.hrc.co.uk

14th May

Top networking event for retail and foodservice

The UK's largest foodservices and hospitality event

Technical Seminar British Motor Museum Gaydon, Warwick

27th November

5 March

Industry Forum American Express Offices Buckingham Palace Road, London www.bfff.co.uk

Focus on retail

13th December Last Day to Enter!

People Awards Frozen Food Awards

th

BFFF Annual Business Conference & People Awards Chesford Grange Hotel Kenilworth, Warwick CV8 2LD www.bfff.co.uk

Find out about the future of frozen foods

Health & Safety Seminar British Motor Museum Gaydon, Warwick

Keep up to date with the latest news www.bfff.co.uk

26th-27th May

PLMA show Amsterdam www.plmainternational.com

International Trade Show

11th June 30th March- 1st April Food & Drink Expo NEC Birmingham

Five UK shows under one roof

21 -23 April st

rd

Seafood Expo Global Brussels Expo, Belgium www.seafoodexpo.com/global

BFFF Industry Forum Venue TBC www.bfff.co.uk

Focus on foodservice

11th June

BFFF Gala Dinner Dance & Annual Product Awards London Hilton on Park Lane www.bfff.co.uk

The definitive awards for the frozen food industry

You can now book tickets for all our events online!

Or contact Jilly direct: 01400 283090 Email: jillywallis@bfff.co.uk

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18th-22nd October Paris Nord Villepinte, Paris www.sialparis.com

The world's largest food innovation exhibition

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PRIMARY AUTHORITY

WORKING WITH YOU TO WIPE OUT FOOD WASTE

CALL: 0845 697 0412

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ENERGY, BROKERAGE & CONSULTANCY

MAJOR INCIDENT GROUP EMAIL: deniserion@bfff.co.uk

HR SUPPORT & TAX ADVICE

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For more information of any of these benefits, visit our website: http://bfff.co.uk/members/member-benefits

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The Bulletin

INDUST RY N E W S

Hot off the press

Transformation Chef swaps chilled for frozen to tap into growing market Start-up’s decision driven by increasingly positive views of frozen food and consumer demand for environmentally friendly packaging.

Restaurant quality ready-meal producer The Transformation Chef is responding to consumer demand for eco-friendly convenience food by scrapping its chilled format in favour of frozen.

The move comes amid growing public awareness about the difficulty many local authorities face with recycling provision, as well as increasing consumer appetite for meal options that help tackle food waste.

It’s also enabling the business to harness the power of changing attitudes towards frozen food, which it says are becoming increasingly positive and therefore driving category growth.

All Transformation Chef ready meals are now to be packaged in entirely recyclable materials including the tray, the plastic film, the cardboard sleeve and the delivery boxes.

Founding partner Chris Connor says the new frozen format brings customers greater flexibility because it alleviates the pressure of food waste brought about by the short shelf-life of chilled: “Customers can store our product for longer without having to worry about use-by dates while also feeling comfortable about the eco benefits of the new packaging.

“The Transformation Chef is challenging negative perceptions about frozen ready meals by creating healthy, tasty, restaurant-quality food."

The business currently sells direct to consumer via its website, as well as other D2C channels such as gyms and offices. It intends to launch a white label arm in 2020, targeted specifically at high-end outlets such as farm shops and other artisan retailers. ● www.thetransformationchef.co.uk

with

In my view Emma Scott

As the scale and problem of food waste come into focus, communications consultant Emma Scott highlights the need to embrace new technologies.

Being a mum, the issue of food waste is never far from my mind. Whether it’s encouraging my daughter to finish everything on her plate or boxing up leftovers for lunch in the office, I wage daily war on the food waste bin, determined to keep its contents to a minimum.

I was delighted therefore to find an ally in the form of a new food app at my daughter’s school. According to WRAP, an estimated 80,382 tonnes of food waste is produced by schools in England per school year.

Of this waste, 63,099 tonnes is avoidable.

Traditionally it’s been impossible to predict when children will be absent or indeed whether they’ll turn their noses up at what’s

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on offer, so some waste has been inevitable.

But the new app-based ordering system introduced this term is mitigating these problems.

Through the app, parents and children can view menu options and order in advance.

Payment is also made via the app and information on ingredients, recipes and allergens is available.

twitter comments A roundup of the love being shown to frozen in the Twitterverse.

Jack Monroe @BootstrapCook Not sure why people are being idiots about pre prepped veg again but I'm a full time cook and food writer and I use chopped frozen veg because my hands don't work all the time. I'm not embarrassed about it, but y'all should be ashamed of your attitudes.

Also anything that makes eating veg easier for people should be lauded, surely, rather than derided. (I haven’t slept for 38 hours, I'm cranky as hell and frozen sliced onions are the hill I will die on).

Canberra Tragic @EmonEconomist And if it's picked and prepped and frozen while it's in season, you can get maximum nutrition and variety year-round, too! I don't know what I'd do wihtout my freezer full of bags of frozen mixed veg. They're truly a lifesaver for spoonies like me.

Jules They are a godsend. I'm a single working mum of 4 so rely on some frozen veg to cook healthily and get through the week. Also the snobs should get real the frozen and tinned stuff is often uk produce - fresh out of season is imported!!!

Because parents have the option to cancel their order if their child is off sick, the kitchen has exactly the right number of meals each day. Additionally, children are choosing meals based on something other than appearance. Both these factors are key to eliminating food waste in schools.

Flynn, C.J @eightsixonesix I'm autistic. Motor skills aren't my strong suit. Things like frozen veg, pre-chopped veg and grated cheese are very useful. Takes the stress out of preparing certain foods.

Although some parents and pupils are still getting to grips with this brave new world of 21st century school dinners, I see the app as a great example of how new technologies can be effectively used in the fight against food waste.

Del @tired1967 More vitamins & minerals in frozen veg, it's frozen at source rather than sitting around in warehouses before it reaches the shops.

Emma is a journalist and communications consultant specialising in the food supply chain at Pelican Communications

Ann Coates @setoacnna I love chopped frozen veg, avoids waste and no prep.

● www.pelicancommunications.co.uk

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