SHELF TALK

Wine brand Green Roots looks to o er sustainability in small packages

By Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Green Roots is hoping that the familiarity of its initial range of wines will help consumers embrace its canned format – and achieve its goal of making the supply chain more sustainable.

The Planet Mark certi ed range recently launched by wine importer Las Bodegas features white, red and rosé options (all in 250ml cans with an RRP of £3.45), made from a blend of Spanish Syrah and Garnacha grapes for the red, another Spanish blend for the white and a French Syrah and Cinsault for the rosé.

Operations manager Alastair Coulthurst told FFD that Greens Roots had chosen these tried-and-tested wines from established Las Bodegas suppliers because many consumers were not used to wine in cans.

“We wanted to make sure that it’s a wine style that they’re familiar with, that is commercial in the UK, and importantly that is priced right,” he said, adding that the brand is already looking at expanding the range with organic wines and an Argentinian Malbec.

Available from wholesaler Diverse Fine Food, Green Roots is seeking more independent stockists, especially farm shops and delis, as it wants to work with suppliers that appreciate the quality of the product in the can.

“As a business, a lot of what we’ve done has been about taking control back,” Coulthurst said. “This process enables us to retain almost total control of our production, of our brand and of our labelling. If we were to let this brand go into a supermarket, we could lose control very quickly. That’s not something we need to do.”

“We would like to work with customers who share our passion and drive for sustainability.” While the cans themselves are recyclable, the format also o ers a model for reducing the carbon footprint of wine and tackles wastage of the product itself by o ering a smaller quantity. “There’s a very clear connection between sustainability and recyclability, although they’re not the same thing, so consumer perception is obviously vital,” said Coulthurst.

All of Green Roots’ wine is transported in exi-tanks and packaged in the UK, which Coulthurst said tackles the o en-ignored environmental concern of shipping emissions.

Throughout its ranges, Las Bodegas, which has been nominated in two Global Good Awards categories this year, seeks out responsible packaging, including 100% biodegradable labels made from sugarcane, 65%-recycled lightweight glass bottles, and 20 litre KeyKegs – as well as the fully recyclable, 100%-recycled cans used in the new launch.

WHAT’S NEW

Japanese fine food purveyor Clearspring has released a range of single ingredient organic tahinis. The white and whole sesame varieties come in 280g jars for £3.99 RRP, while the rarer black sesame weighs 170g with an RRP of £3.29. All are available via major health food wholesalers.

clearspring.co.uk

Pickled pepper company JS is now selling its ‘Lily Peppers’ in 800g tins in addition to the 280g retail jar and the 2700g ‘loose serve’ tins. All are available as mild & sweet and hot & spicy. RRP for the retail jar is £3.75 / £4.00.

jslily.com

Created as an alternative to processed protein products, ROAM has extended its range of grass-fed beef products with two sweet and savoury wholefood snacking bars, which in addition to beef and whey protein contain smoked paprika, cranberry & almond in one bar, chicory root, apricots and hazelnuts in the other. RRP £14.76 per six bars.

roamfood.com

Paley Photography

Hackney Gelato is expanding its range with new trade products – a 4.5L and 100ml Cappuccino Gelato, a 4.5L Passionfruit Sorbetto (trade only, £80) 460ml tubs of Chocolate & Brownie Gelato (RRP £5.50) and 100ml tubs of Sicilian Lemon Sorbetto. (RRP £3) The Cappuccino, Chocolate & Brownie and Sicilian Lemon are all new recipes. The company’s founders, Sam Newman and Enrico Pavoncelli, met when working as chefs at Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli and created their gelato for restaurants before expanding to the retail sector. hackneygelato.com

Counter points Olives

Food writer and former deli owner Glynn Christian offers up some category-specific conversation starters to sharpen your sales technique.

• Olives are green, violet, natural black and processed black.

• Black olives are naturally purple or brownish, not black.

• Some olive trees provide both green and black varieties.

• Green olives are usually put into a soda (lye) solution, reducing bitterness, softening and lightly cooking and then put into brine for lactic acid fermentation.

• Once cured, olives are stored in brine, vinegar or, rarely, oil. • Oil curing puts ripe olives into salt to dry and concentrate, and then into oil to hydrate again.

• It is more important to keep olives out of light rather than refrigerated.

• Ripe olives may be sterilized before putting into brine and fermented by yeast action.

• Brine levels should always cover olives.

• Sliced lemon prevents mould growing on brine.

• Draining, rinsing and coating in oil is the best way to extend life.

WHAT’S NEW

Borna Foods is releasing 40g impulse Trail Mix packs. Borna Blue (blueberries, cashews, banana & coconut) and Borna Red (cherries, almonds, raisins & single origin Tanzanian chocolate) both have an RRP of £1.95.

bornafoods.com

The Welsh Saucery has released its products to independent retailers in Wales. Three sauce ranges will feature alongside three spice rubs: Sleeping Dragon, Indian-style Kebab and Garam Masala. RRP £3.95£4.95, trade price £2.45-£3.30.

thewelshsaucery. co.uk

Shwen Shwen is introducing a range of juices. Mango Lemonade, Ginger Beer, Hibiscus & Strawberry Juice, Ginger & Hibiscus Juice, Lavender & Coconut Water and Sweet & Sour Tamarind Juice all come in 250ml bottles shwenshwen.

com

Mymagic ingredient

Fruits of the Forage Sloe Seville Marmalade

DANIEL WILLIAMS

Project Manager, Godfrey C. Williams & Sons

We always keep a healthy store of Fruits of the Forage’s Sloe Seville Marmalade to sell to customers (and for me to eat myself).

They’re probably very easy to look up: they won a Great Taste 3-stars for this product in 2017.

Fruits of the Forage is a local company to us in Cheshire – Macclesfield, to be precise. As their name suggests, they use foraged ingredients and ones that would otherwise go to waste, so it’s got a good story behind it.

The Sloe Seville Marmalade is so versatile, either on its own or as an ingredient.

At Christmas, we put it through the middle of a roasted ham and have it on the counter. It works very well.

Even though it’s a marmalade, the fruitiness offsets savoury notes. That means it pairs incredibly well with cheese, so we can upsell it from the deli counter.

At Christmas, we put it through the middle of a roasted ham and have it on the counter as. It works very well.

Kandy Kitchen Creations doubles down on gluten-free

By Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Rochdale-based ‘Super Simple’ stacked food products purveyor Kandy Kitchen Creations is broadening its range of gluten-free products.

The company’s white chocolate and cranberry cookies, chocolate brownies, chocolate orange brownies, apjacks and chocolate chip cookies are now gluten-free, with more recipe changes to follow for existing products as well as new additions to the ranges.

Almost half of the company’s ready meals –stews, risottos, soups and puddings, all at an RRP of £5.49 - are gluten-free and vegan.

These include the Chicken & Leek Risotto; Chicken & Mushroom Risotto; Italian Pine Nut Risotto; Tomato & Red Pepper Risotto; Paella; Coconut Curried Lentil Soup; Minestrone Soup; Moroccan Tagine Soup; Quinoa, Tomato & Red Pepper Soup And The Spicy Mulligatawny Soup.

Named a er owners Karen and Andy Turner, who came up with the idea for the stacked ready meal bags while on a trip to Canada in 2017, the company has, on average, doubled its output every year since it launched.

A er winning the Rochdale Business Awards’ New Business of the Year, the couple recently put their pitch of ‘Super Simple’ products to the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, where they were told that their ‘food tubes’ were “exceptional,” “a cracking idea” and a “great innovative concept,” receiving a joint o er of £50,000 from TV investment moguls Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden and Touker Suleyman for a 33.33% share of their business. A urry of interest ensued – the couple made and delivered 18,000 in the three months that followed - prompting the decision to move production to a larger unit in view of ramping up output and increasing sales to more farm shops, gi shops, garden centres and butchers – with an eye on supermarkets within the next few years.

kandykitchencreations.co.uk Speciality producer Matthews Cotswolds Flour has added three stoneground wholegrain ancient grain flours to its range, all available in 1.5kg bags. The Einkorn berry (RRP £3.90), known as “the mother of all wheat,” is suitable for all recipes calling for wholegrain flour, while the easily digestible Emmer (RRP £4.90) imparts a nutty, slightly sweet flavour ideal for mixing through pasta or bread recipes. The Khorasan variety (RRP £3.90), which dates back to the ancient Egyptians, is coarse and absorbent, making it a good addition to sourdoughs, flatbreads, wholegrain pasta, brownies and biscuits. cotswoldflour.com

MEET THE PRODUCER

Caroline Barton’s master’s degree in ceramics & glass served her well to lecture in 3D Design at the University for Creative Arts, but it was her passion for food and healthy eating that led her to create nut milk brand nooj.

What were you doing before you launched your brand?

I lectured in 3D Design, then started a family. I was looking for creative business ideas to start myself, and that’s when I came up with nooj.

Why did you decide to launch nooj?

I used to make my own nut milk as I didn’t want to pay for the amount of water in current offerings. I deliberately added less and less water as we (a family of 4) had a tiny fridge and it was easier to store as a more ‘concentrated’ product and then add water to it before use. It seemed such an obvious and versatile idea that I assumed there was something similar on the market already. When I discovered there wasn’t, I decided to get behind the concept and set about developing the product in order to bring it to market.

What differentiates your product from the many dairy alternatives already out there?

It’s a flexible product that can be used widely in the kitchen to replicate and stand in for a lot of other products, as well as the basis for a milk. Reducing water weight in products to lower their carbon footprint is of growing importance to people, though something that was further down my list of attributes when I first started out.

Getting production off the ground was difficult, and if the product is popular, we’ll be looking at how to scale up. It has also been a struggle to find a UK manufacturer as we use an allergen, combined with water – which is an added microbial hazard - and a specific set of kit. As it’s a unique product, it was hard to find a supplier to tick all those boxes who was also prepared to take on the risk.

What’s the best thing about running a small company?

It’s a very creative process and not dissimilar to using materials in a creative sense, in that you ask yourself, ‘how can this It seemed such an material with all its constraints become obvious and versatile this thing that I envisage?’ That’s idea that I assumed very satisfying. I get there was something to work with other creative people too similar on the market and their input is very rewarding. already. And the worst? The unknown. Despite your vision and passion it’s still a gamble but it’s better to try.

What’s next for nooj?

I’ll be looking at wider distribution and the development of new lines.

What’s been the biggest business lesson you’ve learned? Was it hard getting the company and production off the ground?

Where shall I start! I think my biggest challenge so far has been dealing with manufacturers. I am still learning how to strike a balance between selling them the opportunity, realising when they aren’t as committed as they maintain, and understanding their constant awareness of risk versus reward.

WHAT’S NEW

Tapping in to the market for ketogenic, paleo and vegan products, House

of Macadamias

has brought three flavours of its South African nuts to the UK market. The Onion, Lightly Salted and Chocolate-Dipped editions (40g) are free of added sugar, palm oil and synthetic additives. RRP £3 (£3.16 for chocolatedipped varieties).

houseofmacadamias.co.uk

Sustainable coffee roastery Hundred House Coffee is raising funds for its nonprofit Art + Industry Programme to support independent artists with an experimental series of ‘Freak and Unique’ coffees. The range includes flavour combinations such as Tangy Watermelon with Orange Blossom, Cinnamon with Spiced Rum and Strawberry Bootlace. RRP £17.50, 150g.

hundredhousecoffee.com

Purveyor of hot sauces made for pizza Firelli is introducing Extra Hot and Truffle versions of its all-natural condiment, tweaking the original recipe of Calabrian chillies, roasted original recipe of Calabrian chillies, roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar, Italian sea salt and porcini mushrooms to include cayenne pepper in the former, and a hint of black truffle in the latter. The sauces are distributed by Petty Wood and with a RRP of £3.95 and £5.99 respectively.

firelli.com

East-London oat drink brand Minor Figures is making its way into the chilled section with the release of two Everyday Oat M*lks. The new plantbased drink, available as a standard or ‘light’ version, is said to offer a thicker mouthfeel than its long-life equivalent. It remains free of GMOs and added sugar, and it is fortified with calcium, iodine, & vitamins B2, B12, and D. The milks are already available in Waitrose and Holland and Barrett, with the brand looking to expand its reach into coffee shops and independent retail. RRP £1.99, 1 litre cartons.

minorfigures.com

from the home of real vanilla... ...to real vanilla in your home

Dear Customer, Support the Vanilla farmers and fill your home with the warmth of the tropics with the world’s favourite ingredient whose compounds naturally calm and uplift you. Gather with your family and friends this Christmas, offer them the taste and smell of REAL Vanilla for an experience that will dominate the memory. With Vanilla hugs from LittlePod.

PREMIUM ENGLISH FRUIT WINE EXPERTLY PRODUCE OF ENGLAND

H ANDCRAFTE D

www.cliveswines.co.uk

Natural, Hearty, As seen on Dragons’ Den, 20th January 2022 - Series 19 Ep3 Tasty Family Meals

Soups, Stews and Risottos:

• Can add meat and veg if required. • Herbs, spices and stock all included, just add water. • Four portions per packet. • Gluten Free and Vegan options available. • Some can be made in a slow cooker as well as on the hob.

Puddings:

• Simple, easy to follow instructions • Just need eggs and margarine, a cooker or fridge.

Ideal for: Camping, self-catering welcome baskets, hampers and gifts etc. Deli, Farm Shop, Garden Centre and Food Hall shelves.

Kandykitchencreations@gmail.com | 07814 824180 www.kandykitchencreations.co.uk www.kandykitchencreations.co.uk

www.littlepod.co.uk @little_pod

YOU’VE GOT TO STUFF-A-STOCKING OR TWO!

Moons Green Beer Sticks are a delicously chewable, long thin saucission available in eight delicious varieties and are a great addition to your Christmas hampers, corporate gi lists or deli and farm shop stock. Sma minimum orders and quick delivery standard.