March 2019 Volume 20 Issue 2 gff.co.uk
Design of the times Revitalise your operation with our guide to business refurbishment
ALSO INSIDE Get ready for Harrogate with our full show preview
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18
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YOU CAN FIND BLACKSTICKS BLUE IN ASDA, BOOTHS, Co-OP, M&S, MORRISONS, sainsbury’s, Waitrose & INDEPENDENT DELIS or on our online store butlerscheeses.co.uk/shop
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
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CONTENTS 5
BIG PICTURE
7
NEWS
I witnessed the upselling of a £3.50 vegan Scotch egg (it’s filled with jackfruit, in case you were wondering). And how did they do that? By talking.
12 SHOP TALK 15 CHEESEWIRE 21 CHARCUTERIE 22 BUSINESS REFURBISHMENT SPECIAL 29 FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH PREVIEW 45 CATEGORY FOCUS – BAGGED SNACKS 51 SHELF TALK 54 DELI OF THE MONTH 58 GUILD OF FINE FOOD NEWS
By Michael Lane, Editor
It might be me yearning for those green shoots of Spring, but I’ve got a feeling that the demise of straight-up independent retailing is greatly exaggerated. When I was speaking to one shop owner this month, we got onto the topic of selling online. “Why on earth would I do that?”, they responded. “The whole point of this shop is to get the experience of shopping here. If people want to buy the products I sell, they can get most of them online. But they come here to be here, wander round and see what we’ve got.” This is coming from a business boasting impressive year-onyear increases in footfall (20%) and turnover (30%). So it’s not bravado, it’s fact. And the secret to this success is pretty simple. Talking.
The owner talks to the customers, they tell her what they want, she orders it in, the customers visit again to buy what they asked for and then they might be convinced to buy a few things they weren’t expecting. I witnessed the upselling of a £3.50 vegan Scotch egg (it’s filled with jackfruit, in case you were wondering) while I was in this store. And how did they do that? Yes, by talking. More chatter ensues. Those customers – satisfied with their experience of being listened to but also pleasantly surprised by products they tried – tell their friends about the shop and the cycle begins again. The theory works further up the supply chain, too. To my surprise, this retailer told me that she loves to work with wholesalers,
almost as much as buying direct from local suppliers. She gets on so well with one rep on the phone that she regularly ends up spending £100s on top of the minimum order – and she’s happy that she does. It will soon be time for Fine Food Show North in Harrogate (full preview and listings start on page 29), with lots of opportunity for suppliers and retailers to talk. I’ll be there, too, if you want to discuss anything that appears, or doesn’t, on the pages of this magazine. Whatever you do if you come to the show, don’t glance at your phone. Veteran retailer and annual Best Stand judge Tony Howard will catch you and, quite rightly, tell you to use that tongue in your head instead. Am I in danger of invoking an old BT ad campaign right now?
March 2019 Volume 20 Issue 2 gff.co.uk
Chosen by Lauren Phillips, Assistant editor
Design of the times
Sea Chips
Revitalise your operation with our guide to business refurbishment
Salmon skin crisps ALSO INSIDE Get ready for Harrogate with our full show preview
Cover illustration by Mark Windsor
Not all products have to be exceptionally tasty to be special. Take emerging brand Sea Chips. These dehydrated salmon skins that would have
EDITORIAL
ADVERTISING
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
Editor: Michael Lane
Sales director: Sally Coley
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otherwise been thrown away are definitely an acquired taste. Even co-founder Dan Pawson said he’s not looking to appeal to every consumer with his alternative crisps. But it is offering something completely different (that’s not in the supermarkets, either), so well worth a trial listing. Throw in the “high-in-protein” and “waste-reduction” storylines and you’ve got plenty of bait for reeling in your customers. sea-chips.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200
Published by The Guild of Fine Food Ltd gff.co.uk
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Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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Voted Best Biscuit Brand by independent retailers 2016, 2017 & 2018
Every recipe in the Peter’s Yard range is now a Great Taste award-winner
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
THE BIG PICTURE Life is like a box of... Given the news that supermarket serveovers are dying off (well, in Tesco at least!), it’s heartening to see a retailer trying something so old-school it’s now different. FFD doesn’t tend to come across a lot of loose chocolate counters on its travels but Somerset’s Trading Post Farm Shop (our Deli of the Month, see page 54) took a self-described “massive gamble” on one late last year. And, if takings of £1,000 in December are anything to go by, that bravery looks like it’s paying off. Photograph: Michael Lane
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
NEWS
Ambrosi targets growth and more indie customers after Rowcliffe takeover By Lauren Phillips
The UK independent trade will remain a key market for Rowcliffe despite the cheese & fine food distributor’s surprise sale to major Italian cheese producer and exporter Ambrosi last month, says its new owner. Speaking to FFD exclusively, Ambrosi (UK) MD Sergio Raglio said that Rowcliffe would now look to increase the number of farm shops and delis it supplied. Ambrosi does not have plans to grow in UK supermarkets which Raglio sees as a more competitive market than the independent sector. He said: “Everybody is trying to have a piece of the market share [in the multiples] so for us the important market is the independents and foodservice.” The business will continue to trade as normal under the Rowcliffe brand. Tim Rowcliffe will be
supporting as chairman with Raglio in the managing director role. “The plan is to grow 5-10% year-on-year,” said Raglio. “We have a threeyear plan for the complete profitability turnaround of the company and we’re happy that we can pay back the investment in two to three years’ time.” Ambrosi will also place more emphasis on boosting UK sales of its own PDO Italian cheeses – including Grana Padano Riserva and Aged Parmigiano Reggiano DOP – and will support this with POS material available for retailers. Ambrosi’s HQ is in Brescia, Lombardy, in northern Italy but the company also has offices in America and France and was looking to set up a base in the UK. “For us, the UK is the third largest market in Europe for speciality Italian cheese after France and
RESEARCHING JOB CANDIDATES ON SOCIAL MEDIA
LOUISE KNIGHT, MANAGER COURT FARM SHOP, STOKE ORCHARD, CHELTENHAM:
Rowcliffe will not change its business model despite its sale to Ambrosi, a major Italian cheese producer, the new owner says
Germany,” said Raglio. When asked about the timing of the deal, Raglio said he didn’t see the acquisition being hampered by Brexit. “If Brexit does happen it’s better that we have a foot in the market already,” he said. “It will be more difficult for us to get our product into the UK market if we’re not a part of it.” Speaking to FFD when the deal was announced, chairman Tim Rowcliffe said: “It’s not going to change anything. Our supplier base is still the same, our
Keelham’s sibling owners split business as one half plans major expansion Keelham Farm Shop’s Victoria Robertshaw has secured £8.5m for her Keelham expansion plan sibling owners have gone their separate ways and divided the Yorkshire business’s retail operation between them. Victoria Robertshaw has retained Keelham’s name and the branch in Skipton, North Yorkshire. She will now embark on a multi-million pound A spokeswoman for shop expansion plan. the Robertshaws told FFD Meanwhile, her brother that neither sibling retains a James Robertshaw will stake in the other’s business run the original shop in but the companies were Thornton, under the new co-operating. name of Robertshaw’s Farm James goes to weekly Shop. cattle auctions and will Victoria Robertshaw continue to supply animals has secured £8.5m from for Keelham “as this is the investor Growth Partner right supply chain model to support her expansion for the business”, the plans, which could see as spokeswoman said. many as five new branches Victoria Robertshaw of Keelham opening across said: “To have found a the North.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT...
like-minded investment partner for Keelham is really important and that’s exactly what we’ve found in Growth Partner. With their support and backing we have a great opportunity to expand our vision for Keelham Farm Shop as a commercial success with a meaningful purpose.” She said she had lost count of the times that customers had said they wished they had a Keelham near to them. “This investment partnership will help us to take Keelham to hundreds of thousands more people, within and beyond Yorkshire, as well as online where there is really exciting potential for growth.”
customers are still the same and our ethos is still the same.” The partnership could also present opportunities for exporting British speciality cheeses as part of the Italian producer’s plans to grow Rowcliffe, said Raglio. He added that Ambrosi’s marketing department believes there is an opportunity for Rowcliffe to begin exporting cheeses, like Stilton and mature cheddar, to more than 50 countries that the producer is already exporting to.
Defra moots allergen shift Food prepared on the premises in which it is sold might have to display allergen information on pack and possibly full ingredients labelling. Defra secretary Michael Gove proposed the overhaul of allergen labelling laws following the death of teenager Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after a Pret a Manger baguette triggered a fatal allergic reaction in July 2016. The reforms, which are out to consultation, would cover items such as packaged sandwiches or salads made by staff earlier in the day and placed on a shelf for purchase. Such foods are not currently required to carry labels but information on allergens must be given in person by the food business if the consumer asks for it.
I don’t think looking at someone’s social media is an appropriate thing to do. I think people have a tendency to post in haste and without thinking and it’s not necessarily a true reflection of them. By having that oneto-one conversation in a proper interview, and getting them in for a trial day’s work you get more of a true reflection of someone rather than stalking on Facebook. KIM MACLARTY,
HALSEY’S DELI, HITCHEN, HERTS
It’s something I would never think of doing – not because I think there’s anything unethical about it but I do find you can normally get the measure of a person within a couple of days so I don’t have a need to do that. I very quickly assess whether they are suitable for my business or not. MARK WILTSHIRE,
DIRECTOR, DIVERSE FINE FOOD
I don’t think it’s wrong to do it. Personally I would rather take someone at face value from the start of a meeting – how they appear, what their attitude is – rather than having a preconception from something that might not necessarily be fact. People live different lives on social media. I would tend not to look at it first. Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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NEWS
CYBER CRIME
Vegan activists up the ante with Project Calf farm observation plan… By Andrew Don
Dairy farmers and cheesemakers have expressed alarm at a perceived step-change in targeting by vegan activists chiefly a new campaign called Project Calf. The campaign has published the names and addresses of 9,200 dairy farms in England and Wales on its website and is encouraging activists to photograph and video farmers’ treatment of their herds. One award-winning cheesemaker told FFD: “I don’t have a problem with vegans. What I have a problem with is they are trying to destroy the producers and the livelihoods of high welfare, high quality, every-day normal food.” Project Calf said it aims to expose the “atrocities of the dairy industry” in a peaceful manner. Its concerns include the daily slaughter of male calves and unchecked infections in herds.
It advises activists gathering information to study Ordnance Survey maps and make sure they stay on footpaths, rather than stepping onto farm land. “It seems to be a step up from what they have done before – a mild form of terrorism,” said one dairy herd manager on a diversified estate. Matthew Rymer, a Gloucester dairy farmer and
co-founder of the Happerley food traceability scheme, said: “I certainly wouldn’t agree with the approach this section of more militant vegans are taking but it’s indicative of a sizeable and growing problem. “This is a step up from what we’ve seen previously. It’s not helpful and it’s working towards alienating both sides of the food equation.” James Hordern, of law
… as plant-based diet proves a hit with consumers during Veganuary Full-time veganism is remains a niche choice but the environment, health and experimentation did prompt a surge during “Veganuary”, research from the IGD has found. Vanessa Henry, shopper insight manager at the grocery research and training body, said those that took part in Veganuary “doubled the proportion of those who are vegan all the time”. The top reasons given by shoppers for trying veganism were supporting the environment, health reasons and a desire to experiment. However, only “a very small number” planned to continue a vegan lifestyle and with a relatively low proportion of people taking this approach all year round, 8
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
16% of consumers who went the distance in
Veganuary
plan to remain vegan Source: IGD
overall full-time veganism is still relatively niche, said Henry. The IGD’s research found 4% of all shoppers claimed to have taken part in Veganuary this year, compared with 2% of
shoppers who were vegan all the time. A quarter of those who participated kept it up for the whole month and 10% were 18 to 24 year-olds. Among those that kept if up for a couple of weeks or the whole month, 16% said they planned to stay vegan for the whole year. The research found 6% adopted a flexitarian approach in January and 22% of those who did so said they would continue indefinitely. “This suggests plantbased products being launched on the market now won’t just be confined to the small proportion of shoppers who identify more regularly with veganism, they will appeal to a much broader group of shoppers,” said Henry.
firm Mills & Reeve, said there was probably little farmers could do. “Use of a public footpath to take photographs would not give grounds for complaint, unless it could amount to harassment, which would only happen in rare and extreme cases. “While Project Calf does not condone trespass, its initiative may give rise to legitimate fears about activists trespassing on farms in order to justify what they may view as a greater good.” He added that any intimidation of workers or disruption of farming activity could be interpreted as aggravated trespass. Hordern warned against electric or barbed wire, which could be viewed as a public nuisance and subject to regulation. Project Calf, which sourced its farm data from the January 2019 Food Standards Agency Registered Dairy Establishments list, said on its Facebook page that its campaign is “totally compliant with legislation”.
IN BRIEF Dundee deli Gazeley’s, in Broughty Ferry, has closed after six years because of “the current market conditions and increasing statutory costs”. The company’s Castle Street store, in the centre of Dundee, continues to trade.
PepsiCo has completed its acquisition of Pipers Crisps. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave PepsiCo – which also owns Walkers Crisps – the green light to take over Pipers on 30th January. The deal is estimated to be worth in the region of £20m. The Food Standards Agency has launched a consultation on enhanced controls for the production of raw drinking milk direct for human consumption which were first recommended to its board last summer. They include the possibility of further restrictions on sales.
Ocado plays up small producer credentials Ocado has highlighted its support for, and the benefits it offers to, smaller suppliers in its latest annual report and accounts. The online retailer – which saw revenue grow 12.3% in 2018 to £1.6bn but made losses of nearly £45m – said the ability for suppliers to deliver in bulk to its customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) brought a “huge advantage”, especially for small businesses. It said its four CFCs offered more than 74% UK coverage so its model meant it could support smaller suppliers. “We promote this, supporting those quality suppliers who are unable to supply other supermarkets, in our search for the next
new wave of high-quality products,” it said. It also cited the Ocado Primary Network, a team dedicated to assisting small suppliers and Britain’s Next Top Supplier, a competition awarding a small supplier a £20,000 launch package and a six-month listing at ocado.com which is now in its fourth year. Eighty-seven businesses qualified for the competition in 2018 and the winner Sweet Revolution launched on Ocado’s web shop with a range of six products.
Ocado continues to court small producers
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Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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110 GREAT TASTE AWARDS #WINNER
Great repeat trade and good margins, your customers will come back and back for Mr Vikkis ChilliMafia. Unique secret recipes with authentic Indian Techniques, made by an award-winning Chef. Please contact us today for a product list of super tasty Mild to Wild Chilli Chilli condiments, catering sizes Also, if it hasn’t won an award it’s not Mr Vikkis ChilliMafia est 2005
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SNACKING GETS MORE EXCITING By Brindisa Spanish Foods Savoury snacking is changing, with some 40% of consumers saying that interesting and unusual flavours are the most influential factor in their packaged product purchases*. Brindisa have seen this with their Torres crisp range which boasts premium flavours, black truffle, Ibérico ham and smoked paprika, made using authentic flavourings, with sales to delis seeing a 34% increase YOY.
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
Put beside your till, these handy snack formats offer an easy and tempting add-on to customer baskets. FONA International ** Kantar Worldpanel, June 2018
*
With almost 1 in 3 food items chosen for health reasons**, this is a big trend in 2019; Brindisa almonds are an increasingly popular snack choice; rich in essential amino acids, fatty acids and vitamins, they are the ideal choice for a health conscious foodie.The same applies to our range of plump, pitted Gordal olives whose combination of good-for-you benefits and crisp, fresh taste has made them a top seller.
Fine Food Show North 10-11th March Visit Brindisa on Stand E23 and discover our exclusive show offer. 02087721600 | sales@brindisa.com Brindisa.com
NEWS
Independents’ success a factor in Tesco’s major counter cull By Andrew Don
The popularity of independent food retailers played a part in Tesco’s decision to axe a large swathe of fresh counters from its stores, according to several industry commentators. When announcing the removal of serveovers in close to 100 stores, Tesco cited time-poor shoppers as a factor, but Jamie Rayne, MD of consultancy Shoppercentric, said many consumers just preferred what indies offer. “If anything, the increasing confidence in the independent sector may well have nudged Tesco into their decision,” he said. “Shoppers are recognising the benefit of shopping around for their groceries and that independents have a lot to offer in terms of range and staff expertise, which can make a special trip to these stores worthwhile.”
Organic is on the up The Soil Association’s latest Organic Market Report shows independent retail sales of organic were up 6.2% to £381.5m in 2018. Overall, organic food and drink sales grew 5.3% across all channels, making the market now worth £2.33bn – the highest valuation of the sector to date. Compared to independent retailers, supermarket sales of organic saw smaller percentage growth (3.3%), while organic sales in foodservice grew almost 8% to £90.9 million. Home delivery made up 14% of all organic sales through online shopping and veg box schemes. Boasting a 14.2% increase year-on-year, home delivery was the fastest growing route to market for organic food.
Tesco announced in January that it would be removing counters from around 90 stores across the UK
Shoppercentric’s latest Stock Take report states that consumer preference for buying local and British has helped rejuvenate the independent sector. Catherine Shuttleworth, chief executive of retail and shopper marketing agency Savvy, told FFD: “One of the reasons these big in-store offerings from the supermarkets aren’t working is because there’s
been a massive upsurge in local independents and farm shops. “People are looking for local goods and goods that are different when it comes to fresh food, because they’re becoming a lot more choosy.” Although she predicted a “big resurgence” in specialist food stores, Shuttleworth did question whether other supermarkets would follow Tesco’s lead.
DOWN ON THE FARM
The latest from farm shops across the country
This month sees the opening of a new farm shop at Baythorne Hall in Essex. Focussed on being an environmentally conscious business, Ben & Ella’s (above) is stocked with thoughtfully sourced products and unusual gifts,
and also features a British cheese counter. facebook.com/ benandellasfarmshop/ Falconhurst Estate, on the Kent/Sussex/Surrey border, has had a planning application for a farm shop
For example, Morrisons views its Market Street concept as a point of difference and will continue to offer it. Independent retail expert David Gilroy, cofounder and managing director of Store Excel, said it was expensive to have a counter manned for 84 hours a week, but he pointed out Tesco was removing counter services “selectively” from stores where it did not work commercially. “They are not eliminating them across the board,” he said. “The other supermarkets have been doing this quietly but on a case-by-case basis. Tesco is simply doing some long overdue housekeeping.” Jason Tarry, Tesco CEO for the UK and Ireland, said in January that the chain expected to remove serveovers in about 90 stores. A Tesco press statement said: “Not only are customers shopping in different ways, but we know that they have less time available to shop, too – which means they are using our counters less frequently.”
approved. It plans to renovate some derelict Victorian barns into a shop – slated to open later this year. falconhurst.co.uk/ farmshop Yorkshire Dales bespoke catering business Fairhurst’s has taken over the Berry’s farm shop and café at Swinnithwaite Farm, Wensleydale, which has been renamed Fairhursts at Berry’s. The venue is known for its locally sourced products, selling a wide selection of delicatessen items, butchery,
IN BRIEF Hawkshead Relish will represent the North West in the national finals of the Federation of Small Business’s Celebrating Small Business Awards 2019. The final will take place on 23rd May in London. The House of Commons Treasury Committee has launched a new inquiry to scrutinise the effect of government policy on business rates. Nicky Morgan MP, committee chair, said MPs would examine how the current system was working and consider an alternative system. English sparkling wine producer Nyetimber plans to expand into Asia after the West Sussex company enjoyed what it said was a 400% increase in sales due to growing demand in the US and Europe.
cheeses, preserves, ready-made meals and baked goods. Becketts Farm Shop has added a mini golf course to its site, just off the M42 south of Birmingham. That Funky Golf Place has 18 themed, crazy indoor golf holes with a bar. thatfunkygolfplace.co.uk/ The Hollies Farm Shop in Lower Stretton, Cheshire, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year with events and activities throughout 2019. It will use the celebrations to raise money for St Luke’s Cheshire Hospice and Tarporley Memorial Hospital. theholliesfarmshop.co.uk
In association with
Fabulous Farm Shops fabulousfarmshops.co.uk
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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SHOP TALK IF I’D KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW... HUGH FINK, co-founder, Fink, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire In 2013, a shop on the high street, round the corner from our house, went up for sale. I was an account manager with a large engineering firm and my partner Sharon [Longcroft] was running a picture framing business (which she still does). I was frustrated with work, so in November 2013, we took on The Fruit Basket. It was primarily a fruit and veg shop that also stocked bits and pieces for cooking and we continued to run it as such until mid 2016, when we rebranded as Fink. Looking back, it would have been cleaner and cost us less to make the change sooner, but it was my first experience of retail. Because the premises is small there was a limit to how much we could reconfigure the layout. We replaced all of the refrigeration and refitted the shop in such a way that people who knew it before would say: “How on earth did you find so much space?”. We created additional space and a freer flow by replacing off-the-peg units with customised shelving that made use of dead spaces such as alcoves. These changes made an enormous difference to how much time people spend in the shop. When we first took it on, people didn’t browse, they just popped in for a specific ingredient. Now they spend 15-20 minutes looking around. Some changes were forced on us – we had to stop selling olive oil on tap when that was outlawed. Others have been deliberate – introducing local artisan bread, Yorkshire beer and a selection of organic wines. Larder items and fresh produce are our big sellers, with alcohol, fresh fish (delivered daily), chocolate and bakery products all making an increasing contribution to sales. Trendy items often struggle to sell in our shop. Popcorn, individual bags of crisps and artisan marshmallows are all lines we’ve tried and discontinued. They aren’t what customers are looking for from us. They want kitchen ingredients and real food. Our model is 100% retail. The fact we can’t prepare any food on the premises is a limitation and we have thought about squeezing in kitchen facilities but concluded that it would compromise the shop. We’ve made a success of retailing by offering a range with clear provenance and we encourage requests from customers. The supermarkets are reducing their ranges, so being adaptable works in our favour. We’ve grown turnover by 25% since we bought the shop and have taken on three part-time staff to help us. One of our targets for 2019 is to introduce a ‘click & collect’ offer. Interview Lynda Searby Photography Phil Taylor
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
CONFESSIONS OF A DELI OWNER ANONYMOUS TALES FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER A NEW TEAM MEMBER JOINED this week and I have been “inducting” him. Let’s be honest about staff training. Much of it bores the pants off me. Whether it’s the induction or the resulting paperwork, the health & safety briefing about how to use a mop and bucket (yes, we’ve had to do this), or even the online food safety training – it’s soporifically dull. Then there’s teaching staff how to use the EPOS, cut cheese on the wire, or not burn themselves on the coffee machine. This is a more exciting break from the sea of acronyms. Have you really lived until you’ve completed the SFBB pack, so you can apply HACCP and COSHH with a little RIDDOR thrown in? By the time you’ve trudged through all of this, will he even remember your briefing on that customer who always likes their Stilton cut a certain way, the code words for shoplifting (“Bulb has gone in grocery”) or how to explain that the hollandaise has raw egg in it? How many times have you actually completed the whole lot? Or have you skipped over a bit of this and that because they will learn on the job
MODEL RETAILING
When I heard all of this, I thought the insurance company was trying to weasel out of it and they seem clever enough? Even if your employees leave before their probation period ends, all that training is worth it. It’s the key to a good team. It’s not the skills you teach, it’s the culture it builds. Herd immunity. If everyone else knows what to do, one badly recruited, under-enthusiastic, hungover chef can’t do too much damage. Here’s another example of training’s value. A farm shop owner I know had a woman slip on a grape and receive quite a nasty bang on the head
– all caught on CCTV. She sued, the insurance company was called, all par for the course. But then, the insurance company began to push back. They wanted to see the cleaning records. Not only was the owner able to clearly demonstrate exactly when and how often the area was swept, but she could also offer up the person who did it for interview. Plus, there was a signedoff training sheet for that member of staff’s “sweeping and mopping” training session. When I heard all of this I thought the insurance company was trying to weasel out of it. But no, they went back to the injured customer’s lawyers, and said they wouldn’t pay the claim. Because the farm shop had taken every reasonable precaution against such an incident. It was a pure accident and therefore the farm shop was not at fault. And they won the case. Even better – the victim was revealed to have pulled this stunt before and had got money out of Morrisons with the same con! So, God bless training. I am not just caring for my customers, I am covering my business’s arse. Now, where did I put my ‘How to change the chemicals in the dishwasher’ training sheet?’
SOLVING EVERYDAY SHOPKEEPING DILEMMAS. IN MINIATURE. Hopefully he’s got a genie in a lamp, so I can wish my way out of here!
Hello! Welcome to my Aladdin’s Cave. What can I get you?
Where do I start? I can barely see the counter?
FFD says: There’s a fine line between being well-stocked and creating an obstacle course for your customers. Regulars might tolerate it, but newer visitors can be overwhelmed and put off forever. It should be easy for people to move around your store, see what you’re selling and, most importantly, get to the counter. With kind permission of Geobra Brandstätter Stiftung & Co. KG, Germany. PLAYMOBIL is a registered trademark of Geobra Brandstätter Stiftung & Co. KG, for which also the displayed PLAYMOBIL toy figures are protected.
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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CHEESEWIRE
news & views from the cheese counter
Cheesemakers facing labour shortage and cost rises as Brexit approaches By Patrick McGuigan
Artisan cheesemakers are struggling to find staff as the number of EU workers falls due to uncertainty around Brexit. The situation is so serious that companies are being forced to put up wages, invest in machinery and launch major reviews of how they do business to try to overcome the problem. Lynher Dairies in Cornwall has been forced to farm nettles for its Cornish Yarg cheese for the first time this year, after struggling to find enough people to pick them in the wild. The company, which traditionally employs foragers to pick several tonnes
of wild nettles to coat its leafwrapped cheese, has teamed up with Duchy College to grow the plants as part of a Brexit Resilience project. “Our nettle pickers have for some time been mainly Eastern Europeans,” said owner Catherine Mead. “There are some 20,000 in Cornwall who are down here picking fruit, veg and flowers but suffice to say their numbers are dwindling and that is very alarming.” Ten greenhouses are being planted with nettle seeds with Lynher hoping to get 20% of the leaves it needs from the project. According to the Office of National Statistics, the net
Labour shortages have affected the nettle leaf gathering process at Lynher Dairies for its famous Yarg
number of people moving to the UK from the EU countries in the year ending June 2018 was 74,000 - the lowest it has been since 2012. Meanwhile there was the biggest increase in net non-EU immigration in a decade with numbers up 245,000. At Gringa Dairy, which makes Mexican-style cheese in Peckham, owner Kristen Schnepp said recruiting workers had become much harder. “We compete with the hospitality industry in London for staff and there are shortages right across the entire sector, which is definitely due to Brexit,” she said. “Wage costs are going up and skill levels are going down because there is a smaller pool of people to choose from.” Gringa currently employs nine people and has been trying to recruit another member of staff since the start of the new year without success, after a former employee returned to Italy. At the Bath Soft Cheese company, owner Hugh Padfield said that farm labour costs were rising and that more dairy farms could move to robotic milking systems in a bid to keep milk prices down.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Payoyo
This semi-hard goat’s milk cheese comes from the village of Villaluenga del Rosario in the province of Cádiz in Andalucia. It’s made with pasteurised milk from flocks of indigenous Payoya goats and has earthy and aromatic notes, gentle acidity and a moreish sweetness. It won a three-star award at Great Taste 2018.
Pickled garlic Whole cloves of garlic are not always the first cheese accompaniment that springs to mind, but pickled cloves have a bright, fresh crunch that is very different to the raw ingredient. Brindisa’s garlic cloves are pickled in wine vinegar with tarragon and oregano, and have a sweet herbal flavour that matches up with Payoyo’s herbaceous notes and fudgey flavour. Also look out for The Garlic Farm’s Sweet Snacking Cloves, which are marinated in mint, basil and parsley. Seville Orange Marmalade The joys of matching marmalade and goat’s cheese are nothing new, but there’s something particularly pleasing about this meeting of Spanish ingredients. The bittersweet tang and bright orange colour of Seville Orange Marmalade electrify the caramel flavours and earthy finish of the pale cheese. Sussex-based Ouse Valley Food’s marmalade is worth seeking out. It’s one of the best.
Galloway-based The Ethical Dairy won Best Product Award at Scotland’s Speciality Food Show for its semi-soft, blue cheese Bluebell. The cheese is made from milk produced using the pioneering ‘cow with calf’ method, which sees calves kept with their mothers to suckle rather than being separated after birth. Cheddar accounts for around half of the UK’s cheese sales, but it is not keeping up with Continental cheeses, according to an Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board report. Sales volumes of hard and soft Continental cheeses grew by 6% and 6.4%, respectively, in the year to July 2018. Cheddar volumes fell 0.5%. Industry body Dairy UK has criticised Brixtonbased vegan ‘cheesemonger’ La Fauxmagerie for describing its coconut oil and blended cashew products as “cheeses”. Under EU law, the term “cheese” can only be used to refer to products derived from dairy. “It concerns us that consumers are being misled with the use of dairy terms by the plant-based sector,” said Dairy UK, which has written to the retailer.
THREE WAYS WITH...
Cheesemonger Morgan McGlynn, who owns Cheeses of Muswell Hill and is a regular guest on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch show, has authored her first book. Published this month by White Lion, The Modern Cheesemaker includes instructions on how to make 18 cheeses, as well as recipes and guidance on drinks pairings and accompaniments.
Raisins There’s a lovely combination of sweetness and delicate acidity to Payoyo that is easily overwhelmed with sharp and spicy chutneys. Much better is a scattering of raisins, which complement the cheese in a gentle, unobtrusive way. On-the-vine Moscatel Raisins from Malaga (again from Brindisa) are hard to beat thanks to their waxy flesh and a nice crunch from the pips. Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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CHEESEWIRE
news & views from the cheese counter
Tributes paid to “grande dame of British goats’ cheese”
BEHIND THE COUNTER TIPS OF THE TRADE
Mary Holbrook’s contribution to British cheese was celebrated last month in a stream of tributes, following her death at the age of 80. The Somerset goats’ cheese specialist passed away after a short illness, prompting heartfelt messages from chefs, food writers and cheese professionals. “Mary was truly the grande dame of British goats’ cheese,” said Neal’s Yard Dairy buyer Bronwen Percival. “Her vision – not only for her unique cheeses, but also the careful management of her farm to promote soil health and biodiversity – was something she carried out quietly, but the impact of her ideas on the rest of the industry was monumental.” Martin Gott, who made cheese for Holbrook while setting up his own business, also paid tribute. “Working alongside Mary at Sleight Farm was one of the greatest experiences of my life,
CHEESE IN PROFILE with Wigmore What’s the story? This ewes’ milk cheese is named after the cheesemakers themselves, Anne and Andy
Harry Darby for Neal’s Yard Dairy
By Patrick McGuigan
Mary Holbrook made cheese, including Tymsboro and Cardo, for 40 years at her Somerset farm
an experience that changed me and my outlook irrevocably,” he said. “We lived together, worked together, cooked together and drank wine together, we laughed together, we talked, we argued (a fair bit), we disagreed (especially over geotrichum!) and we challenged each other.” Holbrook made cheese for 40 years at her 200-acre farm, including Tymsboro and Cardo, Wigmore of Village Maid Cheese in Berkshire. A microbiologist by trade, Anne Wigmore started making cheese more than 30 years ago in a converted outbuilding in the back garden. Inspired by her travels to Sardinia she used sheep’s milk to create her first cheese Spenwood and subsequently the delicate semi-soft cheese Wigmore. The dairy has grown in
using milk from her 100-strong herd of goats. She previously did a PhD in ancient history and archaeology and worked in museums in Germany and Bath. Holbrook’s husband, John, died around 15 years ago and there is no immediate family. However, the current staff will continue making cheese until a decision is made about the farm.
size and reputation over the years winning multiple awards for all of its cheeses. Milk: Unpasteurised (thermised) sheep’s milk How is it made? Wigmore is made with milk that is thermised, a sanitising process that sees it heated at a lower temperature than pasteurisation requires. It is a washed curd cheese – not to be confused with a washed rind cheese. The curd is washed by removing some of the whey and replacing it with hot water, this helps to retain moisture and gives the cheese a delicate sweet flavour and brie-like texture. It is made with vegetarian rennet. Appearance & texture: At three-weeks-old, the cheese has a bright white rind and is semi-soft,
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Dave Holton, Blackwoods Cheese Co Kent-based Blackwoods is best known for making cheeses, including Graceburn and Edmund Tew, but it also sells cheese at markets and a shop in Borough Market. As a result, co-owner Dave Holton, who also previously worked in maturing at Neal’s Yard, knows more than most about keeping cheeses in prime condition. “You need to pay attention to cheeses, especially when they’re cut,” he says. “Re-wrap them every few days and with larger cheeses leave some of the rind exposed so they can breathe. You need to scrape down the cut-face regularly.” “Glass wrapping”, so the clingfilm is completely smooth, is also vital in terms of display and protection, he adds, as is learning the conditions in a shop. “Don’t put cheeses out where draughts can dry them,” he says. “And find out which parts of the counter are hotter and colder. We fill bottles with glycerine, so we can easily temperature probe them and not the cheese.”
slightly chalky in texture, with a paste that is sweet and lactic in flavour. At sixto-eight weeks, it becomes nuttier in flavour and the paste becomes soft and gooey. Variations: 350g and 750g rounds Cheesemonger tip: Some like it young, some like it ripe! Try to hold various age profiles of this cheese in stock. It is delicious at both ends of
the spectrum but be ready to restrain it when it starts to run. Chef’s recommendation: This is a cheese for the discerning cheese lover and its sweet, subtle flavours are enhanced by simple accompaniments, such as fig crackers and quince jelly.
Whether you have a professional or personal interest in cheese, the Academy of Cheese is a not-for-profit organisation, providing a comprehensive industry recognised certification. Level One courses are available across the UK. Visit academyofcheese.org to start your journey to Master of Cheese.
St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Co Falside Farm Pittenweem KY10 2RT
Tel: 01333 312580 www.standrewscheese.co.uk Email: info@standrewscheese.co.uk
AWARD WINNING CHEESE FROM FIFE’S ONLY ARTISAN CHEESEMAKER
Anster
St Andrews Farmhouse Cheddar
Red Anster
Fife’s only artisan farmhouse cheesemaker celebrates a 10 year anniversary with a clutch of awards, including ‘Best Dairy Product’ at the Scotland Food and Drink awards, ‘Best British Territorial Cheese’ at Melton Mowbray and two silvers at the World Cheese Awards 2018. A ‘must’ for any cheese counter or cheeseboard, and the perfect food service ingredient for the discerning chef.
Anster
St Andrews Farmhouse Cheddar
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Walo von Mühlenen LTD, walo@affineurwalo.ch, +41 79 217 54 11 Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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CHEESEWIRE
news and views from the cheese counter
This model shows you can sell really great cheese to the general public in a multiple
Sheridans, founded by brothers Kevin and Seamus, now runs nine concessions within the Dunnes supermarket chain
Counter intuitive You would never see a collaboration like it in the UK, but Irish artisan champion Sheridans has struck up a positive and beneficial relationship with the Dunnes Stores chain Interview by Patrick McGuigan
Tesco may be scrapping fresh food counters across its estate to slash costs, but Ireland’s biggest supermarket is taking a very different approach. Dunnes Stores, which has 114 outlets across the Republic, has embraced counter culture in a big way by partnering with specialist independents. Stroll around its swanky 4,000 sq m Cornelscourt store in Dublin and you find concessions for James Whelan Butchers and the Alternative Bread Company, but Sheridans Cheesemongers is doing the briskest of trades. Customers crowd round a tasting table trying raw milk cheeses, while others browse the packed counters. In the background, a cheesemonger is cracking open a truckle of clothbound cheddar. It’s a remarkable scene compared to the desolate counters in most British supermarkets. What’s even more remarkable is Sheridans has opened nine concessions with Dunnes since 2015 – a huge leap for a company that previously only had four outlets with small, artisan suppliers. “I came from a background where large retail was seen as the enemy,” says Kevin Sheridan, who started the business with his brother Seamus in 1995 on a market stall in Galway. “We are all about independent retail, fighting for raw milk cheeses and the traditions of Irish food. “We were apprehensive about working with Dunnes in the beginning, but it turned out they are really progressive and open-minded. Fundamentally they want to provide their customers with choice.” Sheridans has complete control of product
range on the Cornelscourt counter, which opened in 2016, and employs staff directly; Dunnes simply takes a percentage of each sale. Prices are the same as in Sheridans’ standalone stores and are punchy by supermarket standards – Cashel Blue at €23/kg and Marcel Petite Comte at €38/ kg – but this has not deterred Dunnes’ customers. Like-for-like sales are growing at 10% a year with total turnover across the business up 25% in 2018 to €9.5m, thanks to new openings. “We’ve always been uncomfortable with the idea of a posh shop,” says Sheridan. “Everyone eats, everyone has taste buds. “This model shows you can sell really great cheese to the general public in a multiple. Dunnes is a mainstream supermarket, but we are selling raw milk cheeses from micro-artisan producers.” Staff numbers have swelled to more than 100, with Sheridans’ 18-strong management team keenly focused on training through regular visits to cheesemakers and in-house tastings for new staff. The big rise in the volumes of cheese being sold has also required forward planning with existing suppliers, many of whom the company has worked with since the beginning, as well as new relationships with start-up producers. Sheridan adds: “We’re lucky enough that they often come to us first so we can collaborate with them from the beginning.” There will be even more orders coming their way in the near future as the company hopes to open another four Dunnes counters in the next two years. It’s a long way from when the brothers first started selling cheese “by the seat of their pants” in Galway, but Sheridan is determined to keep that independent spirit alive. “Our heritage is 1980s, not 1880s,” he says. “I like that punk ethos - tear it down and do things differently. Too often people who value positive traditions within food culture ignore the positives within modern culture. It’s about embracing change.” sheridanscheesemongers.com
CROSS
SECTION
15 Fields Cheddar 1
This raw milk cheddar is a collaboration between Sheridans and cheesemaker and dairy farmer Eamonn Lonergan of Knockanore, Co Waterford. Production is limited from May to October when the cows are out at pasture (in one of the farm’s 15 fields) with the 2.5kg and 5kg cheeses delivered to Sheridans when they are just a day or two old.
2 It is gently acidic, with a sweet cashew nut flavour. The washed rind means more moisture is lost during maturation so the final cheese has a compact yet flaky texture and yeasty, spicy notes near the rind.
3 They are matured for 8-14 months at the company’s headquarters in a former railway station in County Meath by affineur Mark Booker. Instead of clothbinding the cheddar, he brine-washes and brushes the exterior (a similar technique is used for Comté or Gruyère) to create a dry, dusty and slightly funky rind.
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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CUT&DRIED
making more of British & Continental charcuterie
I went on a charcuterie course in Italy and came back thinking, ‘Yes, we can definitely do this’
Made from local rare breed pork and beef, Hay Charcuterie’s range is rooted in the landscape
A small country living Rod and Rachael Lewis have built their Hay Charcuterie start-up slowly, through local chefs. Now they’re setting their sights on retail. Interview by Mick Whitworth
Head east out of Hay-on-Wye on the B4348. Follow a lane uphill through rolling Herefordshire farmland, then take a meandering, potholed track for another half mile until – just after the sign for Mouse Castle Cott – it fizzles out completely. If you haven’t lost your nerve and run back to civilisation, you’ve found the home of Hay Charcuterie and owners Rod and Rachael Lewis. With its shepherd’s-hut office, tastefully timber-clad production room and Big Green Egg barbecue (ideal for hot-smoking pastrami), it looks more Country Living than rural food unit. But as Rachael says: “If we’d started out in an industrial unit the overheads would have been massive. It would have been a real struggle.” Besides, says her chef-charcutier husband, this camera-friendly facility gave the couple a safety net. “In the back of my mind, I was thinking: ‘I’ve got a kitchen. If the charcuterie doesn’t take off, I can teach cookery classes, I can do outside catering. There’s always something I can fall back on.’” A year past launch, no such fall-back seems necessary. Rod is processing two pigs a fortnight
– big, slow-grown 150kg rare breeds, mainly Large Blacks and Saddlebacks – into a full complement of Continental-style whole muscles, salamis, rillettes and fresh sausages. “My wholesale business with chefs is already huge, and that’s really what’s seen us through our first year,” says Rod, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London and worked in Asia, Australia and the US before starting a 25-year career as chef, restaurateur and consultant. “It helps that I’ve been head chef at a lot of places round here. Most of them have worked for me at some stage.” “We’ve been really well supported,” confirms Rachael. “People who’ve bought our products love them – and that’s brilliant, because investing everything you’ve got into something is always a leap of faith.” Now, the couple are taking on their first employee, a butcher’s son, to relieve some of the labour involved in reducing pigs to their constituent parts. And with their first retail vac-packs in production, the Lewises are talking tentatively about expansion. “We still haven’t broken through in retail,” says Rachael, “but we deliberately held back because we couldn’t produce enough. We’re building slowly so we don’t trip ourselves up.” The launch of Hay Charcuterie marked a point in Rod Lewis’s career where, he felt, he’d learned as much as he could as a chef.” “I was fascinated at the process of making salami, so I went on a charcuterie course in Italy and came
back thinking, ‘Yes, we could definitely do this’.” Using their own capital plus a business start-up loan, the couple invested £130,000 in this small-batch facility that includes walk-in maturing and chill stores and a twin-chamber Stagionello fermenting unit. The latter enables Rod to produce two sizes of salami from one mix and meet growing retail demand for small, whole £4-£5 salamis a well as slicing sizes. So far, all profits have been reinvested in kit to speed up production and grow the range. A new volumetric filler, for example, not only allows for consistently sized salamis but can fill Hereford pork rillettes – one of the small firm’s newest lines – into portion-controlled kilner jars. Like Ben Dulley at Gloucestershire’s The Salt Pig Curing Co, featured in FFD last year, Rod takes a chef’s approach to spicing. He’s not afraid to mix in Asian, US or eastern Mediterranean flavours reflecting his world travels. “This is the Chinese year of the pig,” he says,” so I’m going to do a ‘firecracker’ salami with star anise, szechuan peppercorn, garlic, chilli and a bit of soy.” Some start out as fresh sausage recipes snapped up by local ex-pat Italians for cooking. “I’ve done a Tuscan style with wintery spices like mace, nutmeg and cinnamon,” says Rod, “but also a Cajun andouille, nice and spicy.” However, along with the coppa, lomo, guanciale, lardo and rillettes now in production, it’s the old favourites that sell best: chorizo, fennel salami and a southern Italian calabrese. Not forgetting the beer sticks. In mild and spicy versions they are named, almost inevitably, Rods and Hot Rods. haycharcuterie.co.uk
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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FOCUS ON
retail refurbishment
INSIDE LUDLOW’S NEW LOGO
Refurbishing a shop can be a mammoth undertaking for any retailer, luckily FFD has put together a comprehensive guide – whether you’re restyling on a budget or looking to improve your store’s layout more significantly. Plus, producers can read some inspiring stories from fellow producers and learn about the latest innovations in food production. Compiled by Lauren Phillips & Michael Lane
London-based design agency Household has a pretty impressive portfolio of clients. Amazon, Argos and Harrods are just some of the names it has worked with. So, Ludlow Food Centre was in safe hands when it underwent a major rebrand to become Ludlow Farm. The agency was hired to help connect the brand’s real food culture with a wider audience. This meant investigating and understanding the ins and outs of the store in Shropshire to help revise its name, identity and tonality. The operation’s original title of ‘Food Centre’ suggested a unit on an urban enterprise park rather than a rural shop. So, a key aim was to come up with a new name and thus Ludlow Farm was chosen as the umbrella for the farm shop, bakery, butchery and kitchen café-restaurant.
Refresh, revamp and restore
The agency also designed a new logo, featuring a stag’s head, that not only reflects the estate’s own herd of deer but also the crest of the owner the Earl of Plymouth’s family. This, the agency said, held connotations of strength, solidarity, honesty and transparency. This new logo is applied to all touchpoints, from packaging, uniforms and wayfinding to the brand’s online presence. “The team at Household developed our ethos into a very visual, impactive concept, that fits perfectly with our core principles,” said managing director Jon Edwards. “The whole experience from start to finish was engaging, positive and thorough, resulting in a brand that we believe reflects who we are as a business extremely well.” household-design.com ludlowfarmshop.co.uk
RESTYLING ON A SHOESTRING The School of Fine Food’s head tutor Jilly Sitch has some tips for those retailers on the tightest of budgets Update your props Let’s be clear. You don’t need an interiors budget of £25k. You can find brilliant things in charity and junk shops – even at the tip! They don’t have to be food-related, it’s more important that a prop offers novelty and personality. Think beyond crates and wicker baskets. My favourite prop is a phrenology head (because it looks so cool) but I always make sure I’ve got enough things so I can rotate and customers don’t get bored.
Let there be light Lighting can be really expensive but you can attack those dark spaces more cleverly. Mirrors can be picked up on any budget. They lift the gloom and lend a sense of space to smaller shopfloors. IKEA sells some very versatile 22
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
clamp lights, which should cover off your spotlight needs. Even strings of lights can boost a dark corner. Splash the colour Wallpaper is pricey (especially that print that looks like bookshelves) but it will have more impact if you just buy enough for one wall anyway – perhaps the one behind your counter – and make a feature out of it. The odd framed photo or print can also improve that unsightly corridor to the loos. If you don’t fancy painting all of the walls, then at least slap a coat or two on the skirting or your café chairs to give the place a little lift. Shift the furniture Before you go nuts and lug your counter to the other end of the shop or fork out on new shelving, stop. You’d be surprised how much difference moving or adding the odd small piece can make. Try moving your drinks fridge into a different spot or placing a square table among the round ones you normally have in the café.
>>
Commercial kitchen supplier Alto-Shaam has launched a new range of Vector MultiCook ovens. Available in ‘H’ and ‘F’ series, the ovens feature the company’s Structured Air Technology for quicker heat-up time. The H-Series is available with two, three or four oven chambers, while the larger F-Series has three and fourchamber ovens and can also cook taller food items such as turkeys and roasts. Cooks can control the temperature, fan speed and time in individual oven chambers allowing them to cook a variety of menu items simultaneously. alto-shaam.com/en
Electronics manufacturer Tek Troniks has launched a new temperature monitoring system to enhance compliance and reduce food spoilage. The D3 monitoring and alarm system can track temperature, humidity and door contact, making it an ideal solution for food retail businesses. Tek Troniks says it is a “no fuss” plug-and-pair system where each wireless sensor records data once every minute and automatically transmits it to its touchscreen base station, which has the capacity to store data for up to 10 years. tek-troniks.com
Following Defra and the FSA’s consultation on amending allergen labelling on food pre-packed for direct sale, Navitas has developed a digital food safety system to tackle potentially unsafe labelling processes for businesses that make fresh food onsite. Fully integrated with a mobile label printer, the system allows retailers to monitor appliance and food temperatures and record them, along with ingredients, allergens present, and the date and time the food was prepared. The details of the staff member who produced are also saved to ensure transparency and accountability. navitas.eu.com
CREATIVE RETAIL SOLUTIONS AT FARNDON FIELDS Improving customer flow and in-store experience on the shop floor was the goal for the owners of Farndon Fields farm shop in Market Harborough when they embarked on a re-fit. Creative Retail Solutions was the company chosen to create a new delicatessen, food-to-go, cheese and butchery areas, as well as
introduce a bespoke fresh fish counter. Farndon Fields coowner Milly Stokes, who drew up her own plans for the installation after visiting other food retail businesses and outlets abroad, was project managing throughout the re-fit, with Creative Retail Solutions working alongside
contractor H.K. Interiors. “As with any large project, it is vital to have a clear plan from the outset to be able to build in the relevant services from the beginning to support the anticipated equipment and retail activity,” said CRS’s business support manager Hanna Thorpe. “Electrics, plumbing and drainage,
refrigeration and lighting are all fundamental in ensuring the creative ideas are actually realistic and achievable.” The plan saw the butchery and delicatessen areas moved to create a new flow around the store and enhance the customer’s journey. A bespoke deli counter with granite top was
installed but there is also a new multi-deck for prepacked deli products. There is also a brand new fresh fish counter and the butchery has been upgraded with a glassfronted fresh meat display chiller behind the counter to add theatre with added storage and ageing benefits. creativeretailsolutions.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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FOCUS ON
SIX STEPS TO BETTER STORE DESIGN Rich Ford, Strategy director, Sherlock Studio Layer up Think about where you are displaying signs – what messages do you want to appear at high level, eye level and shelf level. Think about message hierarchy. How do you vary your messaging between the three? For example, hang seasonal messaging hung from the ceiling (‘Welcome to autumn’), use category signposting at eye level
GREENER THINKING FFD’s resident trendspotter and zerowaste enthusiast, Nick Baines highlights five things for retailers to consider on the difficult path to sustainable enlightenment.
retail refurbishment (‘Canned goods’) and offers or product info (‘2 for £3’ or ‘Sourced from within 15 miles’) at shelf level. Entice shoppers inside Your store entrance speaks volumes about the type of shop you are and it can make or break a customer’s decision to walk inside. Ensure it isn’t too cluttered, that there are clear views through to the shop, and that it’s a welcoming and engaging entrance way. For example, don’t hit customers with a wall of shelving straight away. Less is more Don’t cram products on shelves or have aisles that are too narrow or too tall. Allow your product – and your customers – room to breathe. A comfortable and pleasant store will encourage repeat visitors. A stressful shopping environment will not. Merchandise a meal To capitalise on the trend towards convenience,
assemble all the ingredients – and provide the recipe – for a meal in one display spot in your shop. If you renew this regularly, customers will come to rely on you for meal inspiration and convenience. Take control of the customer journey. Think about the route people take around the store. Is it engaging and are there any additional opportunities to sell to customers as they walk around? Use disruptive messaging like ‘Try organic for just 25p more’, to grab attention and upsell.
Improve your recycling A better understanding of which plastics can be collected kerbside (types 1, 2 & 5) can help identify which ones to avoid. For instance, Tetrapak, which is a mixed material, can only be accepted in 82% of collections. A quick call to your local authority will deliver clear answers.
Become a collection point With Walker’s now recycling any and all crisp packets, being a collection point could give customers another reason to visit your business. Through Terracycle, the operation that facilitates this program, you can become a collection point for other difficult to recycle items such as biscuit packets and baby food pouches.
Reusable incentives We all know Waitrose only gives its free coffee to those with a reusable cup, and the incentive for drinks discounts and loyalty points holds real value. Telling your customers that they can bring a wax wrap or a reusable tub to take home their meat or cheese in can help stimulate sales and prompt the purchase of these items in store. Greener energy Putting your money into a supplier that invests in renewable energy is perhaps the simplest change you can make. Bulb, Tonik and Ecotricity are a few of your options as alternatives to the Big Six.
Think more strategically Don’t just settle for what fits best where. For example, if you stock beers, wines and spirits, can you see them (and potential shoplifters) from the till area? Or do you have snacking products closer to the till for time-pressed shoppers? sherlockstudio.co.uk
Food waste With businesses in the food sector wasting around £5.1 billion of food each year, tackling food waste is a serious business. So whether you’re looking to increase yield and improve your bottom line, or want to contribute to food banks and homeless shelters, your responsibility to food waste has never been greater. This piece is the first in a series by Nick Baines that will be exploring a eco-initiatives and environmentally friendly approaches to retail each month online at gff.co.uk/ffd
food production
Small-scale producers looking for a food depositor they can use in their home kitchen should consider the new Beldos mini-fill injecting & filling machine from Depositor Solutions. Available as both electric and semi-pneumatic, these are an off-the-shelf solution for low volume producers but can also handle upscaling to larger industrial test kitchens
Finnish technical research company VTT has invented a cylindrical extruder that it hopes will revolutionise the treatment of recyclable materials, including food waste. The first prototype, which can turn food waste into pellets, has passed initial testing and now VTT is looking for a partner to commercialise the technology. It has a screw diameter of 30cm instead of 3-4 cm typically found on conventional devices. The large diameter combined with a shallow screw channel makes it possible to mix problematic, porous and lightweight materials. vttresearch.com
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or bakeries. The company says the units are simple to set up, clean down, maintain and operate, as well as being multi-functional. They can be used for depositing, injecting, layering or decorating sweet goods such as pastries and donuts but – with up to 50 deposits per minute – can also handle savoury soups, sauces or prepared meals depositorsolutions.com
When Hampshire-based biltong producer Simply African Foods was looking to increase its production and efficiency it sought the help of Intamac Packaging Systems who installed a Vertical Form Fill Seal (VFFS) packing machine. The IPS420E-SS with integrated 10 head multihead is specially designed to pack dried goods for the snacking industry. “We were initially concerned about the outlay on a packaging machine but the Intamac machinery is compact and great value,” said Simple African co-owner Neil Dodson. “We have also been able to increase one of our key contracts from packing 700 packs a week to 9,700 packs.” intamacmachinery.com
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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FOCUS ON
food production
MY BREWING JOURNEY GLEN UPWARD, Owner, Devitera I had been working in IT before I started my own microbrewery. It was only in 2016, when I was made redundant, that I saw a chance to do something different. My interest in beer went no further than my own home brew but, towards the end of 2016 I started to retrain as a brewer. I learnt the basics by watching YouTube videos and reading up on the subject. I also went on a brewery management course and visited established breweries – so I was ready to operate on a commercial scale. I identified premises and equipment and found a qualified brewer but, just as things started to take shape, it all went wrong in 2017. A trademarking issue meant I had to change my brand name (leading me create
I identified premises and equipment but, just as things started to take shape, it all went wrong in 2017.
my own made-up Latin word, Devitera). At the same time, my premises fell through and my business partner got cold feet and walked out. Still, I didn’t give up. I found new premises, bought old dairy equipment for
brewing. You’re either heating or chilling large amounts of liquid at various points so it’s not uncommon to see dairy vats being repurposed. I also sourced discarded wood from my nearest IKEA to use as makeshift worksurfaces for bottling and labelling. Then I had to work out how to upscale production. At a commercial level the rules of brewing are totally different. One of the biggest challenges I had was getting the beer from the fermenter into bottles. I didn’t have a winch or a forklift truck, so I had to use gravity to elevate the beer high enough so it could fall down into the bottling machine. Placing a cask on top of stacked pallets allowed me to pump the beer out of the fermenter into the cask – which has a small amount of sugar to carbonate it– and then flow down into the bottle filler and bottling machine. We run our entire production through this system and our record is 1,500 bottles in a day. Running a microbrewery is much harder than I first thought but I now have a range of beers and plenty of local stockists. Anybody starting up (in food or drink) should visit and talk to any fellow producers that will have you. There will always be highs and lows but you just have to keep learning from them and evolving. You can follow Glen’s brewing journey on his blog at devitera.co.uk
SCALING UP WITH SEA CHIPS
Brewery equipment and winemaking supplier Vigo says it has carried out 32 installations of American Beer Equipment (ABE), including 24 canning lines and eight brewhouses at craft breweries across the UK since 20150. ABE brewhouses are said to be “compact with precision controls and automation to produce consistent results brew after brew”, while the canning lines “produce reliable fill rates, minimal product loss and low oxygen pickup”. “As with all equipment we supply, we ensure that it meets all relevant British and European health & safety directives and standards,” said sales manager Andy Pegman. vigoltd.com
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
I2R Packaging Solutions has unveiled a patentprotected aluminium foil tray for the food packaging industry. The i2r UltraTM is a stronger, robust, lightweight tray and has been designed to reduce its price point and environmental impact. It also includes an Alu recyclable logo and a “rinse & recycle” message. The company is initially launching i2r UltraTM with 8 foil containers as an addition to their existing “smoothwall” range with plans to expand the range longer term. i2rps.com
When former chef Daniel Pawson first began dehydrating waste salmon skins to produce crisps, he was doing it in his own garage. “At that point we weren’t manufacturing them, we were just testing it out and making them for friends and family,” said Pawson. It wasn’t long before Pawson moved to the restaurant he was working at and then to a small production kitchen in Leeds producing just enough to supply a few well-known retailers including Harrods and Whole Foods Market. After a spot on BBC’s Dragon’s Den which saw Pawson reject businessman Touker Suleyman’s offer of £30,000 for a 35% stake in the company, Sea Chips secured the backing of Jonathan Brown –a major player in the US salmon market. Brown is now a
shareholder of Sea Chips and has invested £250,000. His involvement has led to key meetings with buyers in the UK, and allowed Pawson to move production to a “state-of-the-art” 10,000 sq ft factory in Cumbria. The new facility (pictured below) allows the company to replicate its production process on a larger scale to now produce 10,000 packs a day, Pawson tells FFD. A large cooker now dehydrates the salmon skins but, Pawson explains, that as the skins pass through the oven via a
conveyor he can control the air flow at different times. “You can hit it with lots of heat and air. This pushes the oil off and creates a really crisp, dry product,” said Pawson, adding that it creates a whole batch in 20 minutes. A band saw cuts the salmon skin crisps before they are placed into huge tubs, mixed with seasoning and then bagged by hand. “Our next challenge is to move into new prepackaging material which can disintegrate in 180 days on a compost heap.” sea-chips.co.uk
Since 2014 we have been awarded 24 Stars in the Great Taste Awards for our outstanding products
Our Range of unique products Include: Extra Virgin Olive Oil Gluten Free Pasta Traditional Pasta NEW Fresh and Deep Filled Fresh Pasta Antipasti Items Balsamic Vinegar Visit Us at FFSN Charcuterie Confectionery Stand D28 Panettone Limoncello Prosecco Italian Artisan Craft Beer For more Information on our full range; www.tenutamarmorelle.com or call: 01189 29 84 80
“I can’t recommend you highly enough. Smooth transition with a fantastic system and some great laughs for the week. Many thanks from everyone at Mellis” Rory Mellis, I.J. Mellis Cheese, Edinburgh
Get EPoS right first �me Mul� Retail is a simple yet sophis�cated fully integrated EPoS solu�on. With all sales and stock being updated in real �me, you have a handle on what is happening in your business right now, and can use the informa�on to make more informed decisions. Working with us involves pre-sales advice, pre going live onsite training and setup. We are with you onsite the day you go live and a then again a�erwards in post sales support and training. Its not just another job, its a proper supplier to client partnership that is on going as your company grows. With over 40 years combined experience of installing EPoS systems you are in good hands. Contact us today for an obliga�on free consulta�on and quote.
0115 9677439
sales@openretailsolu�ons.co.uk
www.openretailsolu�ons.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
27
LAKELAND LIQUEURS
Gin , Vodka and Rum Liqueurs that
Naturally Delicious!
Our range of Liqueurs are handcrafted by us in Staveley using real fruit to produce fruit syrups which are then blended with London Gin, Triple-Distiled Vodka or Rum.
Our liqueurs are available in
Traditional stone bottles Swing top glass bottles Miniature swing top bottles Christmas Baubles
T. 01539 822326
E. hello@lakelandartisan.co.uk
Unit1-2, Staveley Mill Yard, Staveley, Nr Kendal Cumbria. LA8 9LR
www.lakelandliqueurs.co.uk
We supply our exceptionally high quality ancient grain products for retail sale, wholesale and direct to the bakery and restaurant trade.
Visit us at stand C22 White & Wholegrain Spelt Flour | Pearled Spelt | Flaked Spelt | Kibbled Spelt Rye Flour | Emmer Flour | Einkorn Flour Sustainably farmed
BRC certified products
100% British
High in protein & fibre
Competitive & stable pricing
01740 629 529 | info@craggsandco.co.uk | www.craggsandco.co.uk 28
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019
The North’s biggest annual fine food & drink show will again be focussed on the very best local, regional and speciality products Yorkshire Event Centre Sunday 10th & Monday 11th March
Register now at gff.co.uk/shows/ffsn
Use the postcode HG2 8QZ to find us…
…or take our shuttle bus from Harrogate train station
FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH is back this month, and with more stands and more new brands the 2019 event is bigger and better than ever. Last year we successfully moved the show from its long-established mid-June dates to the early part of the year – a decision that proved popular with visitors and exhibitors alike. So we’ve stuck with an early Spring slot this year, which means visitors can again seek out stock for the full year, from Easter to Christmas, all in one visit. While the Harrogate show attracts visitors from across the UK, it’s aimed especially at food trade buyers across the North, whether they’re from independent stores or cafés, restaurants, hotels or other foodservice and hospitality outlets. We’ve got the usual strong programme of tastings and demos, but after taking soundings with an exit poll of visitors in 2018 we’ve really upped the space devoted to products this year. And with 40% of exhibitors here for the first time, there will be plenty of new lines to refresh your shelves. You’ll find all the attractions – and more than 150 exhibitors – listed in this comprehensive show preview. Look forward to seeing you in Harrogate. Tortie Farrand, Show Director, Guild of Fine Food
Sunday 10am-4pm Monday 10am-4pm
@guildoffinefood #finefoodnorth #ISpyGreatTaste Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019 WHAT’S COOKING IN THE DELI KITCHEN AREA?
Don’t miss out on these sessions at the Jolly Tasty Bar…
Sunday 10th March
Nigel Barden goes rambling
1130-1230
Meet the Great Taste Producer
Learn how to cook up a feast with awardwinning foods from Fine Food Show North. Featuring Nigel Barden and a bevy of Great Taste producers.
Take a tour of FFSN with Nigel Barden and discover the food & drink broadcaster’s personal pick of innovative ingredients and inspirational new brands. Anyone who wants to go on this “foraging” expedition – meeting a host of producers and sampling their wares on the way – should join Nigel at 1245 at the Jolly Tasty Bar area of the show on both days.
1300-1400
Cut & Dried
BBC MasterChef champion and awardwinning charcutier Dhruv Baker (Tempus Foods) dishes up recipes inspired by the best in British and Continental-style cured meats.
Go nuts with Mount Mayon
1430-1530
Feed the Dragon
Watch as four brave exhibitors line up to pitch their products to a Dragons’ Den-style panel of leading food buyers. Presented by Guild of Fine Food MD John Farrand.
Visitors on Sunday 10th March will have an opportunity to sample the Great Taste 2018 Supreme Champion Mount Mayon pili nuts at the Jolly Tasty Bar and hear 17 reasons why you should stock this little volcanic tree nut. Hosted by Taste Distribution’s Alec Paterson, the session will also feature a Q&A with the Mount Mayon team. Be there at 1400!
Monday 11th March 1130-1230
Curds & Coffee
Entire books have been written about cheese and wine matching – but what about cheeses to pair with that after-dinner coffee? Let cheesemonger Andy Swinscoe (The Courtyard Dairy) and coffee guru Damian Blackburn (Dark Woods Coffee) be your guides.
Perfect pairing Join cheese expert and food writer Patrick McGuigan and the School of Fine Food’s Jilly Sitch on Monday 11th March, to discover a host of cheese pairings that you can share with your customers. The matching begins at 1400 at the Jolly Tasty Bar.
MANY THANKS TO ALL OUR SHOW PARTNERS
1300-1400
Champion Plates
Small plates are all the rage. BBC MasterChef 2018 Champion Kenny Tutt will showcase his award-winning chef skills in plates based on deli-counter ingredients. 1430-1530
Feed the Dragon
Gain insights into how big-name retailers approach product selection and pricing as four more exhibitors pitch to a panel of hardnosed buyers. Presented by food & drink broadcaster Nigel Barden. 30
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019
WHAT’S A
ON SHOW FOR
2019
Aagrah Foods C26 Creating authentic and unique cooking sauces inspired by recipes loved by its restaurant diners for over 40 years, Aagrah Foods’ sauces are nut and dairy-free which visitors can sample at the show. aagrahfoods.com Acorn Dairy H26 A family-run farming business producing milk, cream and butter from its own dairy shorthorn herd and delivering direct to stockists across Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland. acorndairy.co.uk Adlington adlingtonltd.com
G29
African Al’s – Handmade African Sauces F5 africa-als.co.uk Amazona Chocolate F27 Made from different origins of Peruvian native cacao, Amazona Chocolate offers a range of premium highpercentage chocolate bars which are also certified organic. amazonachocolate.com Ananda Foods anandafoods.co.uk Armagh Cider armaghcider.com
E6
D14
B BAERO Lighting baero.co.uk Barmies eatbarmies.co.uk
D20
F9
Bessie’s Yorkshire Preserves K8 Based in York, Bessie’s produces homemade artisan chutneys, jams and savoury and fruit vinegars using the traditional open pan method. bessiesyorkshire preserves.com
Bracken Hill Fine Foods E19 Bracken Hill supplies its Yorkshire Preserves to independent retailers across the North, including its gluten-free, vegan and reduced sugar products, available in both Bracken Hill labels and own-label. brackenhillfinefoods.co.uk Brindle Distillery / Cuckoo Gin E4 Brindle Distillery produces its multi-award-winning Cuckoo Gin from fresh spring water on its family farm in Lancashire. brindledistillery.co.uk
Best of Hungary A10 An UK importer of Hungarian fine foods, Best of Hungary works directly with producers to deliver products including black truffle delicacies, oils, raw single flower honeys and renowned Hungarian paprika. bestofhungary.co.uk
Briscoe’s Artisan Jellies G14 Briscoe’s makes handmade apple-based jellies which are gluten-, dairy-, and fat-free. Flavours visitors can discover at the show range from classic mint to more unusual cinnamon. briscoesjellies.co.uk
Black Powder Gin Company C6 Said to be one of the smallest distilleries in the UK, Black Powder Gin produces classic and fruit-based gins and liqueurs including Citrus Japonica, Valencia Orange and London Dry and Navy Strength gins. blackpowdergin.co.uk
British Polo Gin britishpologin.co.uk
Bokkie B12 Bokkie creates South African street food dishes using fresh, local produce from family recipes said to be unique to the UK. bokkie-foods.com
Bumble Wrap bumblewrap.co.uk
F16
Brymor Dairy D25 Brymor produces luxury dairy products including cream, clotted cream and 30 different flavours of ice cream from its herd of pedigree Guernsey cows. brymordairy.co.uk H12
Burren Balsamics K1 Producing whole fruitinfused Balsamic vinegars and white Italian condiments, Burren Balsamics says the
umami flavours make game changing ingredients for a chef’s larder or home cook’s store-cupboard. burrenbalsamics.com
C Cairn O’Mohr Berry Wines G3 Cairn O’Mohr produces its wines using locally cultivated and foraged fruits, leaves and flowers. It will have a variety of regular, limitededition and sparkling wines, along with ciders and sparkling non-alcoholic drinks on display at the show. cairnomohr.com Carron Lodge Cheese J12 carronlodge.com Casa Espresso B1 Bradford’s first speciality coffee roasters, Casa Espresso roasts 100% Arabica coffee, all seasonal and ethically sourced. The company provides espresso machine equipment and full training to its customers. casaespresso.co.uk The Cherry Tree A30 West Country based, The Cherry Tree has been producing premium pickles, chutneys and preserves in 1997. All of its products are hand-cooked in small batches to traditional recipes. cherrytreepreserve.co.uk The Chilli Jam Man H16 thechillijamman.com
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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s 4 e u J1 Se tand ’19 s N o n FFS
Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake Available to Order Now Telephone: 01274 590698 or email: sales@just-desserts.co.uk
Now appointed by Toshiba TEC as an official reseller for their Aplex4 print and apply system Call today for helpful, expert advice on cost effective manual, semi and fully automatic labelling.
www.just-desserts.co.uk
Norpak Ltd, 3 Mitre Court, Cutler Heights Lane, Bradford. W. Yorks., BD4 9JY Tel: 01274 681022. Enquiries to info@norpakltd.com www.norpakltd.com
Most smoked nuts have flavour added Ours are real - real nuts, real smoke, real taste
Visit cheshiresmokehouse.co.uk for more information Exclusively distributed by Hider Foods. tel: 01482 504333 www.hiderfoods.co.uk
Hickory Smoked Almonds and Cashews 32
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
Hickory Smoked Cashews with Black Pepper
Hickory Smoked Almonds
FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019 Cinderhill Farm F6 Cinderhill Farm is a 100% renewable energy farm which produces savoury pastries, rolls, pasties and pies made with rare breed Forest of Dean pork, Black Welsh Mountain sheep, lamb and hogget and Gloucester beef. cinderhillfarm.com Clive’s Wines F3 Clive’s Wines produces British medium, medium sweet and dry fruit wines including damson, gooseberry, cherry, raspberry and tayberry. Sparkling rhubarb wine is its newest product made in the traditional champagne method. cliveswines.co.uk Clotton Hall Dairy H17 Clotton Hall Dairy has been producing Cheshire Clotted Cream from its free-range herd of mixed-breed cows since 2017 and today it is stocked in farm shops throughout Cheshire. clottonhalldairy.co.uk Coffee Care H20 Coffee Care offers a range of award-winning speciality coffees, teas and hot chocolates, along with equipment, barista training, technical support and expert advice. coffeecare.co.uk Cotswold Fayre B25 Fine food wholesaler Cotswold Fayre says it is dedicated to providing retailers with a complete range of top quality ambient and chilled food & drink while increasing efficiency and reducing carbon impact. cotswold-fayre.co.uk Craggs & Co C22 Wheat growers Craggs & Co was awarded three stars for its wholegrain spelt flour and two stars for its white spelt flour in Great Taste. This year, the company is adding Rye, Emmer and Einkorn flour to its range. craggsandco.co.uk The Cress Company E3 Cress Co is a national distributor of ambient and chilled fine food using its own fleet of dual temperature (ambient/ chilled) vehicles to distribute to mainland Scotland and most of England. thecressco.co.uk
Cryer & Stott Cheesemongers A1 A cheesemonger and fine food wholesaler, Cryer & Stott has an exclusive award-winning range of its own cheeses which are all available to taste at Fine Food Show North. cryerandstott.co.uk
D Dalton Moor Farm C23 Dalton Moor Farm produces preserves, fruit juices, apple cider vinegar and its new 2019 DMF cider on its farm based in 24 acres of wild moorland in coastal East Durham. cupoflife.co.uk Dapur Mariae dapurmariae.co.uk
E26
Dark Woods Coffee A20 Coffee roaster Dark Woods Coffee provides speciality coffee, equipment and barista training support. In 2016, it won the Golden Fork for the North of England in Great Taste. darkwoodscoffee.co.uk Deli Blossoms K7 Deli Blossoms specialises in making traditional Greek handmade bites in Thessaoniki, Greece, including Dolmadakia, Cabbage Rolls and its Great Taste one star Zucchini Blossoms with Feta. deliblossoms.gr Dorset Sea Salt Co F10 Dorset Sea Salt Co handharvests its sea salt from the Jurassic Coast’s world famous mineral rich waters with the aim of making cooking a whole lot tastier. dorsetseasalt.co.uk
E Epicure G15 Created in 1891, Epicure sources from some of the best growers in the world and says it is refreshed and ready to meet the demands of tomorrow’s consumer. epicure.co.uk
F The Fine Cheese Co. & Artisan Biscuits D2 An importer, distributor, wholesaler and retailer
of artisan cheese and charcuterie, The Fine Cheese Co also has a range of sweet & savoury crackers, biscuits and cookies under the Artisan Biscuits brand. finecheese.co.uk
Fula Flavour LLP E24 Originally from the Fula Tribe of Guinea in West Africa, Fula Flavour produce family recipe hot chilli sauces made from a combination of herbs, scotch bonnet chillies and spices. fulaflavour.co.uk
G The Garlic Farm E2 Third generations specialists in garlic, this company supplies fresh produce from its own fields and those of partner farms. It also sells a broad range of garlic products: butters, mayos, sauces & dressings, and even garlic beer. thegarlicfarm.co.uk Genovese F12 Established in 1999, Genovese hand-makes its products in small batches, using techniques that allow “the taste of fresh ingredients to develop naturally and unhurried”. genovese.ie Ginger Bakers H13 Ginger Bakers source the best quality ingredients from its local farmers and producers to make its cakes and bakes which are free of additives, preservatives and palm oil. gingerbakers.co.uk Gingerwick / A Little Tin Of C13 The ‘A Little Tin Of’ collection is a range products that showcase the bodily functions of animals such as Bat Poo, Rabbit Poo and Dinosaur Droppings. Each tin contains 100g of confectionery which changes depending on the animal. gingerwick.co.uk
Grants Oak Smoked A29 For almost 40 years, Grants Oak Smoked prides itself on sourcing premium fish from suppliers with the highest environmental standards for its award-winning smoked salmon. grantsoaksmoked.com Guild of Fine Food J13 The Guild – publisher of FFD – was formed in 1995 with a mission to support artisan food & drink producers and the independent delis, farm shops and food halls they supply. It organises Great Taste and the World Cheese Awards and provides retail and business training to fine food stores. gff.co.uk
H Harrogate Tipple C28 The distillers at Harrogate Tipple use the area’s spring water to create its premium gin and rum. Its gin is infused with pink grapefruit and lavender grown in the local Royal Horticultural Society. harrogatetipple.com Hawkhead Whisky Smoked B27 whiskysmoked.com Hawkshead Relish Company D15 Hawkshead Relish Company has a range of over 120 relishes, pickles and preserves made in small batches using traditional open pans and locallysourced ingredients. Over the years they have won more than 60 Great Taste awards. hawksheadrelish.com Hider Food Imports J2 Hider Food Imports are a distributor of nuts, dried fruits, confectionery and speciality fine food products from around the world. hiderfoods.co.uk
Glenarm Organic Beef and Lamb D14 Granite North Spirits B21 Granite North Gin is a smooth London dry gin made in Aberdeen using needles from the Grand Fir tree, bay leaf and citrus. granitenorthgin.com Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019 Hogg Norton F8 Hogg Norton produces fruit liqueurs using fresh fruit, pure organic alcohol, sugar and spices which can served on their own, mixed in cocktails or added to champagne or prosecco. hoggnorton.com Holmes Bakery D14 First established in 1937, Holmes Bakery manufactures a diverse range of bakery products such as biscuits and traybakes to retail outlets across the UK, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and further afield. holmesbakery.com
I I J Mellis Cheesemongers C24 mellischeese.net Inkreadible Labels H29 Printers of bespoke selfadhesive labels for the food & drink industry, with customers worldwide. inkreadible.com
Invest Northern Ireland D14 Invest NI and Food NI will be promoting just some of the food & drink producers from Northern Ireland at the show and visitors can sample some of the award-winning products themselves. investni.com Ion Distillery iondistillery.com
D14
The Irish Black Butter Company B8 Non-dairy, wheat-free, vegana and vegetarian, Irish Black Butter is made with Armagh Bramley Apples, cider, brandy and spices. It’s ideal as an accompaniment or an ingredient. irishblackbutter.com Isaac Poad Brewing H4 Barley merchants since 1863, the knowledge Isaac Poad Brewing gained working with brewers & distillers led the company to start producing its own range of beer and gin. isaacpoad.co.uk
Spicy Tamarind Chutney Green Coconut Sambol
Isigny Sainte-Mére G7 isigny-ste-mere.com/en
J Jeffrey’s Tonic F17 Jeffrey’s Tonic is a range of tonic syrups made from herbs and spices. The range consists of Not So Plain; Original; lime, galangal & orange; and yarrow, rosehip & elderflower. jeffreystonic.com Just Desserts Yorkshire C20 Specialising in desserts and cakes, Just Desserts Yorkshire will be looking to forge additional links with wholesale distributors and will be sampling its new vegan cake range at the show. just-desserts.co.uk Just Crisps / Just Oil J11 Just Crisps is the only 100% British crisps made using homegrown potatoes and cold-pressed rapeseed oil. Its Taste of Game crisps are inspired by the flavours of
game. The company will also be presenting its new roasting oil at the show. justcrisps.co.uk / justoil. co.uk
K Kenya Tea D27 Kenya Tea offers sustainable, premium and socially responsible tea products sourced from high-altitude Kenyan cooperatives and plantations. kenyatea.co.uk Kin Vodka D13 A mix of caramel, vanilla, toffee and vodka, Kin Toffee + Vodka is available in four different sized bottles and can be enjoyed straight in cocktails or as an ingredient in many puddings. kinvodka.co.uk
Ruci
Ceylon Mix
- TasTe of sRi Lanka See us at FFSN’19 stand B7
Secure your place in our SMOKING SCHOOL this Spring!
Call +353 28 36232 www.woodocksmokery.com
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
www.rucifoods.com Email: thana@rucifoods.com Tel: +44 207 018 0420
A range of over 100 award winning handmade preserves
015394 36614 hawksheadrelish.com
Stand D15
A S ELE C T I O N O F S COT LAND ’ S
F I NEST FA R M H O US E & A RT I S A N C H EESES
CALL: 0131 6619955
E-MAIL: enquiries@mellischeese.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
35
01676 532681
01676 532681 Adlington…not just turkey
FOR THE LOVE OF COFFEE
@RountonCoffee
RountonCoffeeRoasters
Foods and Drinks Inspired by Nature FROM BLOSSOM TO BOTTLE HOME GROWN WITH CARE, HAND MADE WITH LOVE
Come and see us on stand G29 to discuss all your cooked poultry and fresh poultry requirements.
a S on t F ee st FSN us an ’ d 19 B1 2
RountonCoffee
Chilli Carrot Sambal
The Perfect “upsell” for any retailer! All the products are Vegan and include a very popular Bee-free Vegan HUNNY made from Rowan
Fat Free. Gluten Free. Dairy Free. Fresh and Zingy with a real kick!
A well balanced award winning salad. Add this to your salads for a bit of spice or you will find it goes well with a cheeseboard, great as a curry accompaniment and beautiful with BBQ meats. Suitable for Vegans, Gluten free, Dairy Free, Fat Free Please call or e-mail Jenny or visit stand C23 at FFSN to find out more: 07887551643 jenny@daltonmoor.farm www.cupoflife.co.uk 36
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
www.bokkie-foods.com Claire Alderton bokkiefoods@gmail.com 07946448253
FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019 Kinoko Kombucha G8 Kinoko Kombucha is a nonalcoholic fermented soft drink. Fizzy, refreshing and noted for its health benefits, it comes in three flavours: Classic, Reef Coconut and Orchard Lime & Mint kinoko-kombucha.com
to the raw milk used. The cheese is still made to a tried and tested recipe in the dairies of western Switzerland. gruyere.com/en/
L
Little Doone Foods F4 Little Doone Foods has a range of dressings all based on the full flavours of its original before blending in pure zests, fresh fruit or chilli but no flavourings. littledoone.co.uk
Lakeland Artisan A26 Lakeland Artisan handmakes all its products in the Lake District including its gin, rum and vodka liqueurs, fruit prosecco syrups, preserves and relishes, low in sugar preserves and traditional drinks. lakelandartisan.co.uk Le Gruyere AOP C29 The “subtle” and “distinguishing taste” of Gruyère AOP is attributed
B16
Liza Bakes lizabakes.co.uk
H9
M The Magnificent Chocolate Company B23 A producer of luxury handmade chocolate, the company will have a range of 30 flavours at the show including a selection of vegan flavours, pre-boxed assortments and gift bags. magnificent chocolate.co.uk
Manchester Smoke House F29 Manchester Smoke House produce the finest oaksmoked Scottish salmon using a Titanic Cure which gives the salmon a delicate flavour. themanchester smokehouse.co.uk Mantle Packaging Machinery D5 mantlepackaging.co.uk Masons Yorkshire Gin E20 Masons Yorkshire Gin was launched by Karl and Cathy Mason who wanted gin with more character that stood out from the crowd. Since their launch in 2013, they’ve won over 50 international awards. masonsyorkshiregin.com
Mediterranean Deli Products B3 meddelifood.co.uk Melefsis Honey D3 A family-run nomadic beekeeping company, Melefsis began in 2013 with a mission to collect premium raw honey with characteristics of each location’s plant life. melefsis.com Méline’s H23 melines.co.uk Michael Lee Fine Cheeses H3 Yorkshire’s largest, leading independent specialist cheese wholesaler stocks over 400 cheeses, deli products and catering foods. finecheesesltd.co.uk Midland Food Group F24 midlandchilled.co.uk
Dark Woods Coffee is a Yorkshire based coffee roaster, providing the very best retail and wholesale coffee to the independent trade, with equipment and hands-on barista training support.
See us on stand A20
Image. Crow Tree
Link Print and Packaging C1 Link Print and Packaging will be exhibiting its labelling systems and packaging ideas, as well as low-cost stand display printer. labelling-solutions.com
Le Bon Vin lebonvin.co.uk
Manchester Gin D21 Manchester Gin offers three gins in its core range: Signature Gin, Raspberry Infused and Wild Spirit – a herbaceous savoury style gin. manchestergin.co.uk
HOLME MILLS . WEST SLAITHWAITE ROAD MARSDEN . WEST YORKSHIRE . UK . HD7 6LS info@darkwoods.co.uk tel . +44 (0)1484 843141
–
DARKWOODSCOFFEE.CO.UK
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019 Military Spirit E28 Inspired by its co-founders’ military service and in support of SSAFA, Military Spirit has launched its inaugural gin – a blend of British botanicals with both historical and current military connotations. militaryspirit.co.uk Miod – Raw Honey Co H1 Miod specialises in single origin raw honey which it will be showcasing at the show. miod.co MmmNandi Homemade Fine Foods F23 MmmNandi is a specialist in traditional Southern African (Zimbabwean) homemade preserves & fine foods extremely hot chilli sauces, biltong, rusks, pickles and marmalades. africanfinefoods.com
Fi n
e
on V Fo sta isit od nd us Sh K1 ow a N t or th
Mother’s Kitchen International A24 Established in 2014, Mother’s Kitchen makes products using recipes hand down from generation
to generation with the aim of redefining traditional authentic flavours but in a contemporary style. motherskitchen.co
Mount Mayon Premium Pili Nuts A6 The first Asian company to win Great Taste Supreme Champion, Mount Mayon grows and harvests pili nuts in the volcanic soil of the Philippine rainforest. Its stand will feature the Ecuadorian Cacao variety that swept Great Taste as well as nuts coated in Himalayan Salt and Kyoto Matcha. mountmayon.com MSD msduk.com
A4
My Olive Branch D9 myolivebranch.co.uk Mytilos A28 Mytilos specialises in live and processed Mediterranean blue crabs. Its pure non-pasteurised blue crab meat and stock is used by restaurants and delis around the globe. mytilos.gr
Nutural World E12 London-based Nutural World is an artisan producer of nut butters and spreads made using traditional stone grinders. All are vegan with no added sugar, salt, oil or artificial flavours. nuturalworld.com
N Nana Lily’s F26 Nana Lily’s four generation Christmas puddings are soaked in Kilbeggan Irish whiskey but lack the “gritty heavy taste of many traditional puddings”. nanalilys.co.uk
O
Natural Umber D14 Natural Umber is a “deliciously different” apple cider vinegar produced in Northern Ireland and won three stars and a Golden Fork at last year’s Great Taste. naturalumber.com Noisy Snacks noisysnacks.com
O’Donnell Moonshine A18 O’Donnell Moonshine has developed four different types of high-quality wheatbased moonshine including High Proof (50% ABV), a triple-distilled clear spirit. Its liqueur range includes Bitter Rose, Tough Nut and Roasted Apple. odonnellmoonshine.co.uk
D14
Norpak J14 Norpak will be demonstrating a small range of labelling and thermal transfer label printing equipment, together with sample labels and printer ribbons, at the show. norpakltd.com
Ollie’s Orchard olliesorchard.co.uk
B20
DRAUGHT
NITRO AND BOTTLE
COLD BREW
COME AND TASTE THE BEST ON STAND B13
COLD BREW COFFEE
DELICIOUS – DECADENT
SMOOTH – ON-TREND
Call or email: 0114 2015815 frazerscoffeeroasters@gmail.com www.frazerscoffeeroasters.co.uk frazerscoffeeroasters 38
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
@FrazersCoffee
Handmade savoury pastries vegan, vegetarian & commited carnivore Freshly baked, ready to bake, and bespoke E WA B L E
e c o fa
100% R EN
Stand F6
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EN
Find us at
ERGY
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Visit our stand F29 @ FFSN’19 Unione Espresso Blend Charlestown Espresso Blend
AT
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T U FO S O O N D S S H TA O ND W B1 N O RT H
Cinderhill Farm, St Briavels, GL15 6QF cinderhillfarm.com
ALL OUR COFFEE IS ETHICALLY SOURCED AND HAND ROASTED IN BRADFORD
Smoked Salmon
as it should be!
Four generations of excellence using the unique Titanic Cure that was invented by our ancestor who survived the Titanic and started our business!
Coffee Equipment / Barista Training
contact@casaespresso.co.uk 01274 595841 Casa_espresso Casaespresso www.casaespresso.co.uk
All wholesale enquiries welcome All wholesale enquiries welcome 07771 786301 | manchestersmokehouse@gmail.com 07771www.themanchestersmokehouse.co.uk 786301 | manchestersmokehouse@gmail.com www.themanchestersmokehouse.co.uk
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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Our gins are hand-made using traditional methods in our beautiful copper still, Ebor. York Gin: award-winning, London Dry made with 9 botanicals in use for 300 years.
York Gin Cocoa: pays homage to the centuries of chocolate making in the city.
York Gin Roman Fruit: infused with fruits from Ancient Rome.
NEW for March 2019 York Gin Outlaw: at 57% pushes the boundaries, as did our city’s villains. Enjoy with care. Bronze - World Gin Awards 2019 Silver - Gin Masters 2018 Gold - People’s Drinks Awards 2018
www.yorkgin.com
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Come and taste our new, amazing sauces at FFSN’19 stand H23
W
e at Meline’s strive to produce the best quality, freshness and flavour possible in our sauces. All our produce is gluten free and vegan made by hand in small artisan batches, using the finest organic ingredients. Chinese sauce: A new recipe developed by chef Thomas Middleton from traditional Chinese cuisine, drawing on his three starred Michelin experience as a chef. Chilli Sauce: Based on an old Sichuan recipe, more of a classical Chinese sauce, with a stronger chilli flavour.
st Se Fo an e u od d A s o Sh 21 n ow at N or th
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HIGH GROWN KENYAN TRULY THE WORLD’S FINEST BLACK TEA
IT PAYS TO BUY GOOD TEA tel: 07378308518
40
email: sauce@melines.co.uk
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
www.melines-sauce.com
info@kenyatea.co.uk
www.kenyatea.co.uk
FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019 Open Retail Solutions C12 Multi Retail is an Epos stock control system that links retailers’ tills and scales together in one solution. Food service is also available with iPad order takers and management information. openretailsolutions.co.uk The Orkney Creamery A21 The Bichan family has been making ice cream from its dairy since 1995 using milk and cream sourced exclusively from Orkney cows within a 20 mile radius. It’s original dairy ice cream won a two star in Great Taste 2018. orkneyicecream.com Orkney Food & Drink A21 orkneyfoodanddrink.com Orkney Gin Company A21 Orkney Gin Company produces three multi awardwinning gins – Johnmas, Mikkelmas and Rhubarb Old Tom – which are distilled
seven times, then crafted through cold compounding. orkneygincompany.co.uk
Orkney Craft Vinegar C9 orkneycraftvinegar.com
P Patchwork Foods J7 Patchwork Foods has been hand-making patés for the past 35 years. Its latest additions are a range of relishes and patés for chefs in the food service industry. patchwork-pate.co.uk Pesvebi / Old Vodka G12 oldvodka.co.uk Pinkster Gin G28 Pinkster Gin is produced with fresh raspberries grown locally to the company’s Cambridge HQ and described as “deliciously dry with a hint of fruit and an exceptionally smooth finish”. pinkstergin.com Popaball K2 Among Popaball’s creations
is a range of innovative Pimp Your Drink products, which will add shimmer and a hit of fruity flavour to any glass of fizz. popaball.co.uk
Q QCR Recycling Equipment G24 QCR supplies recycling and waste-reducing equipment to thousands of UK businesses. From recycling balers and bin presses to glass and can crushers, there is a huge range of money-, spaceand time-saving machinery qcr.co.uk
R Raisthorpe Manor Fine Foods B2 Producers of gins, fruit liqueurs, preserves and chocolates, Raisthorpe Manor will be showcasing a host of its lines – including its stacker bottles and 9ct Shimmering Vodka. raisthorpemanor.com
Redcastle Spirits redcastlegin.co.uk
E14
RH Packaging G21 RH Packaging specialises in fresh food packaging solutions for both producers and retailers. Its wide range includes everything from vac bags, PET salad containers and PP Tamper Evident Tubs, through to laminated wrapping papers, selfsealing bags and readymeal trays. rhpackaging.com Rosebud PreservesC21 Rosebud Preserves is based in three 19th century barns near Masham in North Yorkshire. Since 1989 its has made preserves with an emphasis on careful sourcing, generous quantities, simple recipes, natural sets, unrefined sugar and skilful cooking. rosebudpreserves.co.uk
Mediterranean Deli Pr oducts LAUNCHING TO THE INDEPENDENT RETAIL SECTOR AT THE FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH IN MARCH 2019 “These olives have changed my opinion of olives! I absolutely love them and so do all that try them.”
“This is THE BEST Extra Virgin Olive Oil I have ever tried! I should know I’ve been in the trade for years.”
Mrs N. Quirk Pitted Greek Olives with Mediterranean Herbs & Garlic or Medium Spiced Chilli & Garlic
Ayshea Hawthorn Beyond The Kale, Bath PDO Kolymvari, Crete
GOLD LABEL
GREEK EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN
KOLYMVARI CHANION CRETE
COLD EXTRACTION
PRODUCT OF GREECE
500ml
info@meddelifood.co.uk | www.meddelifood.co.uk
B R I T I S H
FRAMBOISE RASPBERRY LIQUEUR
Taste our award-winning range at this year’s
FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH
on stand F1
BRITISH CASSIS BLACKCURRANT LIQUEUR
#DARINGTOBEDIFFERENT 01544 340241 www.whiteherondrinks.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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FINE FOOD SHOW NORTH 2019 Rounton Coffee D16 Established in 2013, Rounton Coffee is a Yorkshire-based roastery supplying coffee, equipment, training and consultancy services across the UK – with a focus on sustainability and responsibility, as well as quality and service. rountoncoffee.co.uk RUCI Foods B7 RUCI Foods aims to make Sri Lankan flavours easily available around the world with a fusion of homegrown spices blended to traditional Sri Lankan recipes. Visitors can sample their range of chutneys, sambols, snacks and spice blends at the show. rucifoods.com
S Sea Chips F13 Sea Chips produce the UK’s first handcrafted salmon skin crisps in three flavours. The often-wasted, nutrientpacked skin renders a snack that is high in protein and Omega 3. sea-chips.co.uk Sell More Charcuterie D24 gff.co.uk Shepherds Purse Cheeses H30 Shepherds Purse makes a range of award-winning artisan cheeses including Yorkshire Blue, Harrogate Blue, Yorkshire Fettle and Bluemin White. An independent family business, it is based on the family farm near Thirsk, North Yorkshire. shepherdspurse.co.uk Shop of the Year gff.co.uk
A16
Side Oven D23 Side Oven offers a range of organic breakfast cereals and soft drinks – all produced on a family farm in East Yorkshire using ingredients sourced and grown on the farm. sideoven.com Silesia Grill Systems A14 Although, small on manpower Silesia Grill Systems is huge on customer service and passion for its high-speed 42
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
contact grills. It will be demonstrating its grills’ ability to cook food to order, reduce wastage and increase your profit margins. contactgrills.co.uk
Slab Bakery F15 Gluten-free puddings without compromise are Slab’s speciality. All of its products contain no refined sugars and there are also gluten-free and wheat-free options in the retail range. slabbakery.com Sorba-Freeze C5 sorbafreeze.com Source Climate Change Coffee E8 Source supplies organic and speciality coffees from around the world, produced by growers committed to reforestation and conservation. It will be launching a range of Organic Compostable & Biodegradable Nespresso Capsules at the show. sourceclimatechange. com Staal Smokehouse F21 Staal Smokehouse is an award-winning, familyrun business dedicated to producing the finest smoked fish and poultry products. It supplies these to the retail, catering and wholesale trade. staalsmokehouse.co.uk Stockans Oatcakes A21 A 4th generation family business famous for baking traditional Orkney oatcakes, Stockans Produces branded triangleshaped and mini round oatcakes, as well as a variety of own label products, including catering packs. stockans.com Sturdy Foods sturdyfoods.co.uk
A31
Sugar Therapy C3 Sugar Therapy manufactures chilled patisserie, traditional fruit cakes, contemporary cakes and handmade chocolates. sugartherapy.co.uk The Scottish Bee Company B22 scottishbeecompany.co.uk The Sweet Potato Spirit Company C2 thesweet potatospiritcompany.com
T Taste Distribution A8 This distributor specialises in supplying products that have won Great Taste awards. tastedistribution.co.uk Taste Italia E5 Taste Italia’s full selection of fine red, white and sparkling Italian wines – produced by the De Palma family vineyard in Campania – will be available to taste on its stand. cantinedepalma.co.uk Taste of Yorkshire J5 As well as its range of cheese nibbles in six flavours, Taste of Yorkshire will be launching three varieties of shortbread nibbles at the show. tasteofyorkshire.uk Teesdale Cheesemakers E16 While it specialises in making award-winning cows’ milk semi-soft cheeses on its family farm, this certified Great Taste Producer also makes a semisoft goats’ cheese and kefir. teesdalecheesemakers. co.uk Tempus Foods F2 Tempus produces 100% British charcuterie in Surrey from British Large Black Pigs. It will be showcasing its range of 10 products, which are already on sale in some of the most prestigious retailers and restaurants across the UK. tempusfoods.com Tenuta Marmorelle D28 Producers of ZERO and OTTIMO Extra Virgin Olive Oil and importers of the finest Italian products from small producers, Tenuta Marmorelle range also includes balsamic vinegar, antipasti, gluten-free pasta, fresh pasta and charcuterie. tenutamarmorelle.com Terra Rossa C15 Winner of a 2018 Great Taste Golden Fork Award (London & the South East) for its Rashi & Dibis spread, Terra Rossa carries a range of delicious Arabian specialities including UKmade sauces and relishes, olive oils, herb mixes, and sweets. terra-rossa.com
The Tea Experience B15 This family-run tea company specialises in quality loose leaf teas and infusions. It is introducing new gift sets and a World of Tea Box in 2019 to complement its extensive range of retail and wholesale teas. teaexperience.co.uk
presses and bottles its award winning rapeseed products on site. wharfevalley.co.uk
Tracklements C8 Voted Best Supplier of Pickles & Chutneys by retailers in the Best Brands Survey for 8 years running, Tracklements has a range of over 60 handmade products – from traditional mustards to its iconic fresh chilli jam. tracklements.co.uk
Yee Kwan Ice Cream D8 Sheffield based Yee Kwan offers a range of East-Asianinspired ice creams and sorbets. New for 2019 are vegan coconut-based ice cream and gluten-free dairy ice cream. yeekwan.com
Tom and Ollie tomandollie.com
D14
Tuckers Ice Cream D1 Tuckers’ homemade ice cream spans a wide range of flavours, that even includes vegan and alcoholic varieties. tuckersicecream.co.uk Two Farmers twofarmers.co.uk
C16
Ty Gwyn Cider tygwyncider.co.uk
B24
W The Walnut Tree G1 This supplier offers a range of dried fruit & nut gifts, together with glace fruits, marzipan, marron glacé and chocolate gift packs. the-walnut-tree.co.uk Warner’s Distillery D6 This distillery’s small-batch gins are crafted with nature: water from its own spring, home-grown botanicals, including fresh honey from its own bees. warneredwards.com The Westray Bakehouse A21 WFM Brown started baking on the island of Westray in the Orkneys in 1892 and his family continue to follow his recipes today. Its range includes water biscuits, beremeal crackers and sweet traditional ginger parkin biscuits. Wharfe Valley Farms D29 The first rapeseed oil producer in Yorkshire, Wharfe Valley grows,
White Lake Cheese E1 whitelake.co.uk
Y
Yellison Goats Cheese F25 yellisons.co.uk York Cocoa House & York Cocoa Works J9 yorkcocoahouse.co.uk York Emporium G11 This York-based coffee roasters & tea specialist sources high quality coffee beans and loose leaf tea from around the world. All orders are freshly roasted and hand-packed at its roaster. yorkemporium.co.uk York Gin J6 The York Gin Company makes award-winning spirits in York, icnluding classic dry York Gin, York Gin Cocoa and York Gin Roman Fruit. It will also be showcasing a new 57% Outlaw Gin, bespoke gift gin packs and merchandise. yorkgin.com Yorkshire Dama Cheese K3 This producer makes Hallum cheese from cows’ milk in four flavours: plain, mint, chilli and smoked. yorkshiredamacheese. co.uk Yorkshire Flapjack J23 Yorkshire Flapjack is a family-run business based in the Yorkshire Dales. Among its award-winning flapjacks is a Stem Ginger variety that won a prestigious three-star in Great Taste 2018. yorkshireflapjack.co.uk All listings correct at time of going to press
ST AN AN D C O D SE ME B8 E U @ SO FF N SN 19
STOCK IRISH BLACK BUTTER THE GREAT NEW TASTE OF IRELAND
Come visit us at stand C3, Sample our innovative and sumptuous patisserie along with our traditional handmade, decadent cakes We have exceptional experience with endless possibilities. Contact us for retail & wholesale enquiries hellocharlotte@sugartherapy.co.uk | 01845 868020
VEGAN ,VEGETARIAN, DAIRY FREE.
t sta aste See nd ou us A2 r b an , F ee d FS rs N on ’1 9
www.sugartherapy.co.uk
For information and recipes, please visit: irishblackbutter.com email: enjoy@irishblackbutter.com Tel: 07732266502
See us on stand B5 FFSN’19
Established in 1988, Select Drams has grown to be a very successful family run wholesale business specialising in miniatures, alcohol gifting, craft gin and malt whisky. We stock a wide variety of whisky, gin, vodka, liqueurs and other spirits – plus a few select beers, tonics and mixers! We have built up an enviable reputation in the UK based on our friendly, efficient service and ever expanding product range. sales@selectdrams.co.uk Bay 1, Hamilton Rd Industrial Estate, Strathaven ML10 6UB.
Our 3 Heritage beers are inspired by Britain’s rich brewing heritage, looking back through recipes from the 19th Century and giving them a lift with some modern British and New World hops. All our Heritage Ales are brewed to be great if drunk today or can be laid down and aged to allow their flavours to evolve. Global Beer Awards Silver 1820 Porter.
01357 520205
glenn@beerblefish.co.uk
www.beerblefish.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
43
st V i s F o an d i t u od C s o Sh 16 n o w at N or th ne Fi
We produce hand-cooked crisps using potatoes that
For a complementary
we grow and cook using renewable energy generated
sample please email your
on our farm in Herefordshire. Our crisps celebrate the
contact name and address to
true flavours of Herefordshire and are packed in 100%
info@twofarmers.co.uk
compostable packaging (totally plastic free).
with the code ‘PLASTICFREE’
twofarmerscrisps
01989 253 133
TwoFarmersCrisps
TwoFarmersHFD www.twofarmers.co.uk
FREE FROM
Ad Artificded MSG, ia & Art l Colours Flavo ificial uring s
44
AW4 200219 BURTS-18-5909 | Vol.20 March 2019AH Issue 2FINE FOOD DIGEST ADVERT 204x141.5mm.indd
1
20/02/2019 14:19
CATEGORY FOCUS
Bags of potential
bagged snacks
>>
Who knew that watermelon seeds contain 37g protein per 100g, making them the highest natural source of vegan protein? They do, according to Mighty Seeds, which has harnessed this plant power with the launch of a roasted watermelon seed snack in three flavours: Himalayan pink salt, caramelised coconut sugar and dark chocolate coated. RRP £0.99 for 25g. mightyseeds.co.uk
Roasted peas with chocolate & salted caramel is not a combination you’d expect, but Brave Foods says it works. The London company’s first sweet roasted pea snack joins existing savoury flavours paprika & chilli, sea salt & vinegar, classic sea salt and sour cream & chive, all made from peas grown in East Anglia and Lincolnshire. RRP £1.19 per 30g pack. bravefoods.co.uk
BEPPS claims to be the UK’s first black eyed pea puff snack. Pitched as a healthier snacking alternative, the puffs are made with peas sourced from farmers in South America and West Africa. Peas are milled before being “popped” to render a puff that is said to be rich in vitamin A, calcium, protein and fibre. RRP £0.99 for 22g; £1.79 for 70g. beppssnacks.com
Having made its name on the pork crackling scene, Berkshire start-up Snaffling Pig is now looking to “dip a trotter” in the nut snacks category. There are two flavours in the new nut line-up: perfectly salted and caramelised honey & chilli (RRP £1.20 for 45g). snafflingpig.co.uk
The brainchild of outdoor adventurer Ian Butt, Nomad is a new hybrid biltong-trail mix that packs a powerful protein punch. The “survival fuel” comes in a dual chamber pouch, with beef biltong in one, and trail mix in the other. The three varieties – goji, coconut & cacao; apple, macadamia & walnut; and 3 berry & pecan – have an RRP of £3.95 for 64g. nomadsnacks.co.uk
Indie Bay has added two new flavours – Smokin’ BBQ and Easy Cheesy – to its Pretzel Bites line-up. Described as being “a bit like pretzels but better”, Pretzel Bites are a “healthier” take on this traditional dough snack, based on spelt and wheat flour and featuring trendy ingredients like sunflower seeds and quinoa. RRP £1-£1.20 for 26g; £2.50-£3 for 160g. indiebaysnacks.com
Although prawnhas cocktail is one Peckish Kitchen rebranded of the UK’s most popular its rhubarb jam to become snack flavours,rhubarb Tyrrell’s claims no Yorkshire & custard jam, other premium crisp brand using local rhubarb grown within offers this variety. Prawn the rhubarb trianglePosh of West Cocktail crisps come in 40g Yorkshire. It is also launching a andRaspberry 150g bags, withgin respective new Collins jam, RRPswith of £0.89 and £2.19. made raspberries steeped in tyrrellscrisps.co.uk Divine Gin. peckishkitchen.co.uk
Building on theitssuccess of of its After reaching first year Original biltong, The Biltong business, Hungry Squirrel Factory hasmaple introduced has added pecan four to its flavours of the dried snack, flavoured nut butters.beef Made with in 40g grab and gomaple bags.syrup The pecans, almonds, sweet chilli,ofperi peri, BBQ and and a hint mixed spices, the sweet all have anof smoothpepper buttersnacks has a trade price RRP ofper £3.49. £3.95 150g jar (RRP £5-6). thebiltongfactory.co.uk feedthesquirrel.co.uk
Showcasing Garden of Womersleythe Foods is now England’s food and heritage selling its fruity jams in a newly is Kent Crisps, with designed gift box. Thea new balance of crisp flavour developed in jams herbs and chilli in the three cooperation Canterbury – raspberry &with chilli, blackcurrant based Pork &and Co and featuring & rosemary, strawberry & Canterbury cathedral on the mint – is said to intensify the pack front. Kent Crisps’ ham & flavour of the fruit. mustard has an RRP of £0.89 womersleyfoods.com for 40g. kentcrisps.com
While snack producers are still finding new ways to season the humble potato or peanut, there are also plenty of alternatives hitting the market. Over the next three pages you’ll discover vacuum-dried mushrooms, upcycled salmon skins and vegan cheese puffs. Compiled by Lynda Searby
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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bagged snacks
>> With kids’ fruit snacks under fire for their high sugar content, Real Handful is bringing some alternatives to the table, in the form of Bundlz yoghurt snacks and Strawberry Stomp and Blackcurrant Blast refined sugar-free trail mixes. Bundlz feature oats, cereals and raisins and are said to contain 40% less sugar than other kids’ yoghurt snacks. RRP £0.60 for 20g. realhandful.com
Herefordshire start-up Two Farmers claims to be first to market with hand-cooked crisps in 100% compostable packaging. The brand, which is the brainchild of potato farmers Mark Green and Sean Mason, is intended to “celebrate local ingredients while causing minimal impact to the environment”. Its lightly salted variety, for example, is seasoned with Droitwich salt, which is harvested by hand from natural springs and
SOP International is relaunching Koh-Kae peanuts, Thailand’s number one nut snack brand, to the UK trade. The brand, which is sold in 44 countries worldwide, was said to be losing shelf space in the UK under another importer. SOP is hoping to drive sales with new packaging and the addition of six new lines to the range this summer. sopinternational.com
crystallised using renewable energy. The packets, made from cellulose and eucalyptus trees from managed plantations, will biodegrade in a homecomposting environment in 26 weeks, says the producer. The founders say they have “high aspirations” for this challenger brand and the speciality crisp market might well be receptive to a newcomer that offers green credentials. twofarmers.co.uk
How we stock it…
Whole Foods Market and Selfridges have snapped up these unusual veggie chips, made by vacuumdrying and low-temperature baking shiitake, oyster and trumpet mushrooms with okra. As well as ticking the vegan, paleo, high fibre and natural boxes, Other Foods’ mushroom chips provide less than 100 calores per serving. RRP £2.49 per 40g bag. otherfoodsuk.com
Sunita Thevathasan has launched Jshara Bites after trying in vain in the UK to find the crunchy, spicy snacks she had enjoyed as a child growing up in Sri Lanka. The vegan, transfat-free, preservative-free, hand-made snacks are cooked in sunflower oil and seasoned with garlic and chilli. They are currently stocked in a handful of London stores. RRP £1.99 for 85g. jshara.com
Boundless has expanded its “activated” nut and seed mix range with the launch of a turmeric & smoked paprika variant. The soaked and baked nut snack joins existing varieties: cayenne & rosemary, tamari & aleppo and orange, ginger & maple. RRP £1.70 for 30g. weareboundless.co.uk
Ape Snacks has created a cheese-flavoured puffed snack that caters for those seeking healthier, dairy-free alternatives. Vegan cheese puffs initially launched in 25g impulse bags (RRP £0.79) and last month became available in 80g sharing bags (RRP £1.59). apesnacks.com
Fish skin is usually discarded as offcuts
Two entrepreneurs – Dan Pawson and Dom Smith – are tackling the issue of seafood waste with a crisp product made from salmon skin that would usually be discarded. Crisps made from nutrient-packed fish skin are a popular snack in Asia and now they are available in the UK under the Sea Chips brand, in lightly salted, lime & chilli and salt & vinegar flavours. RRP £1.50-1.70 for 20g. sea-chips.co.uk
LOUISE KNIGHT manager Court Farm Shop Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Balancing big, ubiquitous brands with unusual, lesser-known products is the key to a successful savoury snacks range at this multi award-winning farm shop. “I always make sure we have a core big name brand – at present Pipers Crisps – but it is also good to have a couple of smaller brands,” says shop manager Louise Knight. “We’ve just started stocking Slabs, which are going down well with the lunchtime deli trade, and 46
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during game season, Taste of Game crisps have been popular.” Eat Real’s hummus crisps are another more “maverick” snack that performs well for Court Farm Shop, not least because they tick the vegan, gluten-free and reduced fat boxes. As a rule, though, Knight says these kinds of “healthy” or “better for you” snacks don’t necessarily appeal to its customer base. courtfarmshop.co.uk
Taste of Yorkshire has treated its four-strong nibbles range to new livery that it will show off at Fine Food Show North this month in Harrogate. Founder Keith Pollitt says the new “modern look” promotes the product’s Yorkshire roots. RRP £3 for 170g. tasteofyorkshire.uk
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A CHEESE BISCUIT THAT IS DELICIOUS WITH OR WITHOUT THE CHEESE! Stock BEPPS! The delicious range of Black Eyed Pea Puff Snacks BEPPS are a nutritionally rich and low calorie range of plant based snacks. That are Vegan Friendly, Gluten Free & Dairy Free. www.beppssnacks.com / hello@beppssnacks.com
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bagged snacks
Good for people, producers and the planet
Odd-shaped and surplus fruit and veg are already being put to use by pickle and chutney producers, and now newcomer Spare is applying this philsophy to snacks. Its air-dried fruit and vegetable crisps, which include cinnamon apple, apple cider vinegar beetroot and ginger pear crisps, are made from 100% “wonky” produce, making them “good for people, producers and the planet”. RRP £1.101.50 for 22g. sparefruit.com
Peckish Kitchen hasthe rebranded This month sees launch of its rhubarb jam to become a new coconut chip range from Yorkshire rhubarb & custard jam, Windmill Organics. Marketed using localthe rhubarb grown within under Bonsan brand, the theorganic, rhubarbvegan trianglesnacks of West come in Yorkshire. It is alsospicy launching a four flavours: turmeric, newsimply Raspberry Collins gin jam, sweet, chocolate and made withcaramel. raspberries in salted RRPsteeped £1.69 for Divine 40g.Gin. peckishkitchen.co.uk windmillorganics.com
Eat Real has taken veggie chips outside the root veg comfort zone and raided the allotment in developing its two latest introductions. Veggie Bites are a mix of purple potato, broccoli, pumpkin, carrots, tomatoes and green beans, and Snap Pea Crunch contains roasted garden snap peas. Both have an RRP of £2.29 for 60g. eatreal.co.uk
New York Delhi, the London company behind “posh peanut brand” ViPnuts, has released a range of 27g shot packs under a new label – Barista Bites. Aimed at cafés and coffee shops as well as retail stockists, the line-up includes dark chocolate Americano coffee beans, hot toffee ViPnuts and cocoa caramel ViPnuts. RRP £0.99. newyorkdelhi.com
Corners is a new brand of popped snacks with an 11-strong range divided into Pop Corn Crisps (popcorn in a crisp format), Pop Protein Crisps (containing a minimum of 25g protein per 100g) and Veggie Crisps (made from either peas, corn & black bean or peas, beets & chickpeas). RRP £1.80-2.00 for 85g. gftretail.com
January saw the arrival of a new challenger in the kids’ snacking space. Mavericks has picked up listings but is also hoping to succeed with a direct to consumer model via door-to-door deliveries. Poppin’ Corn (baked popping corn snacks), Breadkicks (bitesized breadsticks) and Lil’ Brix (fruit puree cubes) are among its “junk free” options. mavericksnacks.com
The Worcestershire-based Toasted Seed Company is looking to build wholesale and retail representation for its snacking seeds. Based on pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds, the range is free from added oil, sugar, colours and preservatives and will shortly switch to biodegradable packaging. Pumpkin Crunch is the newest member of the family, with an RRP of £2 for a 75g pot. thetoastedseedcompany. co.uk
Organic chickpea puff brand HIPPEAS has released a new vegan Take it Cheesy flavour that it describes as “righteously cheesy puffs just without the cheese”. HIPPEAS claims to be the fastest growing free from snack in the UK, listed with Amazon, Planet Organic, Waitrose, and Whole Foods Market. RRP £0.99 for 22g; £1.99 for 78g. hippeas.com
Nudie Snacks, best known for its coconut chips, has conceived a range of roasted pulses that tap into the current protein, vegan and clean label trends. There are four varieties, packed in 30g shot packs: sour cream & chive broad beans, sea salt & black pepper lentils, chilli & lime chickpeas and BBQ split peas. RRP £0.99. nudiesnacks.co.uk
Sun Valley Nuts has partnered with hot pepper sauce brand Tabasco to launch a new spicy BBQ peanuts & corn mix. Sun Valley has also enlisted the help of the UK’s first female beer sommelier, Annabel Smith, alias BeerBelle, to create beer pairing notes for the new flavour. sun-valley.co.uk
Afterpigs reaching its first year No were harmed in theof business,ofHungry Squirrel making Fairfields Farm’s new has added maplehand-cooked pecan to its bacon & tomato flavoured butters. Madefirst with crisps. Thenut farm producer’s pecans, almonds, maple syrup vegan-friendly meat flavour, the and a hint crisps haveofanmixed RRP ofspices, £0.80the for smooth butter has a trade price of 40g. £3.95 per 150g jar (RRP £5-6). fairfieldsfarmcrisps.co.u feedthesquirrel.co.uk
Womersley Foods has is now Brown Bag Crisps selling its its fruity jams flavour in a newly launched seventh designed box.salt The– balance of – rosemarygift & sea and herbs and chilli in the three jams introduced a recycling –scheme raspberry chilli,crisp blackcurrant for & empty bags. & rosemary,can andeither strawberry Consumers send & mint – is said intensify the packaging to atofreepost flavour addressoforthe takefruit. it to a Terracycle womersleyfoods.com recycling point. brownbagcrisps.co.uk
Burts Chips is launching another flavour in its series of partnerships with iconic drinks brands. Jim Beam original BBQ crisps are said to marry the flavours of Kentucky straight bourbon and sweet, smoky BBQ. RRP £0.79-0.99 for 40g, £1.791.99 for 120g. burtschips.com
Last year, potato crisps stalwart Pipers Crisps finally bowed to demand for better for you snacks, launching a trio of pea snacks. Available in matar paneer, salsa verde and English mint flavours, the range is currently listed in Benugo and Lincolnshire Co-op. piperscrisps.com
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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We have the UK’s largest selection of small-batch vinegars, made with love and care by some of the best European artisans + speciality oils, hand-harvested salts, rare spices, wild peppers & other exciting pantry items including 22 new Great Taste 2018 winners! For more information on our 3-star, 2-star and 1-star Great Taste 2018 award-winners & trade prices, contact us on 07854892065 or sales@vinegarshed.com www.vinegarshed.com
SHELF TALK
Manfood revamps labelling for consistency across entire range By Lauren Phillips
Manfood has refreshed its branding across its range of chutneys, pickles and preserves in a bid to provide retailers with a fresher, more cohesive appearance. The entire Manfood range – which includes bread & butter pickles, smoked tomato sauce and chip shop curry sauce – has been revamped to include brighter colours and a cleaner look for stronger shelf appeal. “Manfood has been going for six years now and the range has grown organically,” founder Andre Dang told FFD. “We started with the original look. Then, as we developed more collections over time the designs changed. By the time we came to our full complete range it had a disjointed look.” Andre added that the lettering is now clearer on the new labelling after he received feedback from retailers saying the original branding was difficult to read. The labels have also been given added texture to suggest premium, luxury quality. Following the rebrand, some flavours have been swapped out to create a tighter range, said Dang, a former buyer for Harrods and Selfridges. Manfood’s cocktail jams and beer jellies have been removed, but a pear, ginger & fig
chutney and a new range of vegan preserves have been added. “Because we’re so small it’s a challenge to have everything in stock all the time. This way we’re removing our weakest sellers.” Influenced by the developing market for “dirty vegan” products, the four-strong range consists of egg-free mayonnaise, a burger sauce, fake bacon jam and a buffalo sauce. The range comes in smaller 165g and 190g jars from the 300g jars for its other products, with a trade price of £2.80 and RRP of £3.95. As well as focusing on Manfood, Dang has also been developing a new brand aimed solely at the multiples called Janda (named after its two founders’ Jon and Andre). The new brand will offer a range of sweet and savoury jarred products. “We have a loyal following and reputation with Manfood,” said Andre. “Unfortunately, jarred products are quite a crowded sector. So, apart from export, we need listings in supermarkets to achieve the sufficient volumes to grow our business. “I’ve taken the decision to develop Janda as a separate brand so that we can hopefully offer products to two very different customer bases, without one cannibalising the other.” welovemanfood.com
Pie brand’s patty snacks aimed at on-the-go market By Lauren Phillips Bristol-based pie specialist and restaurant chain Pieminister is venturing into the snack market with a new range of grab-n-go patties available for wholesale to independent retailers. The “pocket-sized” pastry is pitched at pie-lovers looking to grab a snack on the go and available in four different fillings wrapped in a saffron-spiced pastry: two vegan and two meatbased fillings. The patty range comprises of Chana Rama, a vegan dhal made with chickpeas, spinach & potato; Holy Chipotle, vegan black bean & chipotle; Jerk Chook, jerk chicken & beans; and Smokin’ BBQ pulled pork. Each 60g patty is available in a plastic-free, recyclable
Displays that pay PEP-UP YOUR SHELVES WITH THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD’S RESIDENT MERCHANDISING QUEEN JILLY SITCH Every shopkeeper has slightly different staples. For some it’s milk and bread, for others it’s harissa paste and hummus. Regardless, these items are what customers buy most regularly. If they are coming in for these things anyway, then make them work harder to find them. Stick that ever-popular ginger beer in the fridge at the back of the shop, right next to all the kombucha you’ve just bought in. Tuck that olive oil into the unit right next to the counter, and a customer might notice your fresh pasta or the truffled pecorino you over-ordered. The art of retail is selling people things they didn’t know they wanted, so force even your most diehard regulars to explore the shop. You won’t be able to do that if a customer can grab everything they need from just inside the front door. Customers will probably moan a little bit if you move some of their favourite things, but just remind them that if you don’t evenly space the staples, everything will come apart at the seams.
WHAT’S NEW Fentimans has added an apple and blackberry flavour to its soft drink range. The new flavour which is inspired by classic British fruits, will launch into its signature 275ml bottle (RRP £1.25) and the 750ml sharing format (RRP £2.90). It will also be supported with an outdoor, digital marketing and experiential campaign. fentimans.com
retail pack of two with an RRP of £2.50, or to order wholesale in multiples of 14. The range is delivered chilled with minimum shelf life of eight days and can be frozen, to defrost and heat on demand. “No longer will consumers need to suffer greasy, soggy
pastry, unrecognisable bland fillings and excessive amounts of plastic packaging, all in the name of ‘convenience’,” said co-founder and MD Tristan Hogg, adding that consumers who already enjoy Pieminister’s pies can enjoy a “smaller, lighter pie alternative”.
pieminister.co.uk
Coffee Care has recently launched a decaffeinated coffee in 227g retail packs as both ground (generally for filter or cafetiere) or whole beans. The Brazil Cerrado SWD offers a decaffeinated coffee which has a sweet chestnut aroma and hints of fig and praline on the palate. coffeecare.co.uk Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
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SHELF TALK Chilli farm brings the heat in new tomato ketchup range By Lauren Phillips
has a catering version of its smoky chipotle ketchup packaged in a pourable container (£12.40, 2.5 litres).
South Devon Chilli Farm is aiming to give fans a signature chilli twist to the classic condiment with the creation of three new chilli tomato ketchups. The three flavours – Cool Jalapeno, Smoky Chipotle and Hot Habanero – have a trade price of £2.28 per 280g glass bottle and an RRP of £3.50. They are also said to contain 186g of tomatoes per 100g for a “full tomato flavour” blended with chilli. Trade director Kaz Lobendhan said the range was developed to provide a ketchup range for all types of chilli lovers. The jalapeno ketchup is mild enough for consumers who want a small amount of heat, while the smoky chipotle ketchup offers a rich depth of flavour with an “exciting kick”. The habanero variety is the hottest of the three but is balanced with a “subtle fruity quality”. The producer, based in Kingsbridge, also
southdevonchillifarm.co.uk
NICK BAINES KEEPS YOU UP-TO-DATE WITH THE NEWEST DISHES, FLAVOURS AND INNOVATIONS IN FOOD & DRINK
Kathrin Werner
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Tracklements has added a Special Edition Chilli & Chorizo Jam to its catalogue. It is made by slow cooking pan-fried chorizo sourced from The Bath Pig with jalapeno chillies, red peppers, onions, garlic and cider vinegar. Recommended on crackers with Manchego cheese or added to pasta sauces. RRP £3.30, 100g. tracklements.co.uk Meridian Sea’s range of organic fresh salted seaweeds is now available in new 120g retail tubs. The Bord Bord produced selection comes in six varieties all in colourful and eye-catching tubs with labelling which includes suggestions for use. RRP £3 per tub offering a 30-40% mark-up. meridian-sea.com
WHAT’S TRENDING
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1 Burmese Food The cuisine from Myanmar has been touted as one of the hottest to watch in 2019. Lahpet, which started life on a stall at Maltby St Market, has now graduated to two brick and mortar premises in the Capital where you can find national dishes like mohinga; a fish chowder with lemongrass and rice noodles, and the pickled tea leaf salad known as Lahphet thonk. In Manchester, Nila’s Burmese Café serves Shan ‘tofu’ Gyaw – a handmade tofu made with chickpea flour – as well as a roast chicken marinated in fish sauce. 2 Bourbon barrel aged wine When California’s Fetzer vineyards first made a bourbon-barrel-aged Zinfandel in 2014, it sold just 5,000 cases. However, last year sales grew to 120,000 cases, with export sales now reaching UK shores. Mondavi, a powerhouse in the winemaking world has also got in on the action releasing a bourbon-barrelaged Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Meanwhile, independent wineries like Stave & Steel have created their whole offering around the process. Drinkers should not expect a distinct whisky-like flavour, but will likely find more pronounced maple, vanilla and caramel notes. 3 Good fats: The key to keto The ketogenic, or diet has10:37 its roots in treating childhood 1 ‘keto’ 16/08/2016 epilepsy and improving brain function, but the high fat diet has many ‘wellness’ enthusiasts hot under the collar. The diet’s popularity has the potential to be a key driver of high quality fats like coconut and avocado oil, as well as another keto favourite: grass-fed ghee. While it offers more versatility in cooking compared to regular butter, ghee also has a significantly lower lactose content, making it a good option for health-conscious shoppers.
Speciality Breads are now offering their frozen dough range to independent bakers designed to help indie businesses cope during busy times. The range includes frozen doughs, pre-proved ciabatta doughs and a spiced bun sweet bake dough. Brioche, white, multigrain and brown frozen doughs are also available. RRP £2.99, 470g. specialitybreads.co.uk
Pink grapefruit Old Tom gin is the new launch from Dunnet Bay Distillers, inspired by its citrus-based Artists’ Edition. Made by vapour infusing pink grapefruit peel in a basket with Rock Rose’s traditional botanicals, it is lightly sweetened with muscovado sugar to produce a sweet and fresh citrus-flavoured gin. RRP £34, 700ml. dunnetbaydistillers. co.uk
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DELI OF THE MONTH Although it began life as an outlet for its founders’ organic produce, Somerset’s Trading Post Farm Shop has grown into a specialist food store that covers all the bases. Now under the stewardship of former shop manager Kate Forbes, it is reaping the rewards of some bold retailing decisions. Interview by Michael Lane
A shop for all reasons IT’S NOT UNCOMMON to spot a motivational slogan pinned up in a shop’s back office but the one that hovers over Kate Forbes’s computer screen really caught my eye. Not just because the phrase ‘Get s**t done’ is particularly punchy but also because the owner of Trading Post Farm Shop seems to have followed this advice to the letter. Since she and husband Andy took over the store – a former filling station just off the A303 in South Somerset – in November 2017, Forbes has set about the place with gusto. By investing in a number of alterations and clever additions to the shopfloor – including a loose chocolate counter and a waste-reducing refill room – she has increased turnover by an impressive 30% according the most recent yearon-year figures. No wonder Trading Post is a finalist in the Guild of Fine Food’s 2019 Shop of
VITAL STATISTICS
Location: Trading Post Farm Shop, Lopenhead, Somerset TA13 5JH Turnover: £606,000 (Feb 18 - Feb 19) Total annual footfall: 43,800 customers Average daily sales: £1,674 Average basket spend: £13.83 Staff: 7 (part-time) 54
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the Year competition. “Interestingly the average basket spend has not gone up since we took over,” Forbes tells FFD, analysing the shop’s financial performance. “Footfall of customers, that’s what gone up – which is a brilliant place to be. Because a lot of people spending the same amount of money is better than a few people spending more.” It doesn’t diminish her achievements but Forbes already had a solid base to build from. She had worked in the shop for the best part of a decade before buying the goodwill, stock, fixtures and fittings from previous owners Sue Hasell and Steve Friend. They set up the business 20 years ago – as an organic farm with the shop as an outlet for its produce. That supply relationship continues today and they retain the site, renting it to Forbes. There is also an extra footfall magnet in the form of The Railway Carriage Café next door
that shares a back door with the shop but, again, is a separate business. Having been manager for the last couple of years and constantly pondering what she would do if the shop was hers, Forbes still saw plenty of scope to boost customer numbers and takings. And the new owner really hit the ground running. “We closed for a day, changed the entire shop around and then reopened the next day. People came in and they thought we’d extended because there was so much more space.” Forbes estimates that there are some 5,000 different lines across the shop’s two main rooms – plus a couple of adjoining nooks and crannies – but it truthfully doesn’t feel crammed. This is made more remarkable when you consider that there is no stockroom. Any extras are stored under tables but the majority is ordered on a just-in-time basis, both from wholesalers like
MUST-STOCKS Beenleigh Blue Vintage Cornish Gouda Driftwood (White Lake Cheese) Smoked Somerset Brie Grubworkz pork belly ready-meal Liberty Love Coffee Teoni’s stem ginger cookies Newton House Gin Conker Cold Brew Bower Bakery sourdough Baboo passionfruit sorbet Hembridge Organics real ale chutney Brian Wogan Sumatra coffee Wriggle Valley Beer Hotch Potch gluten-free chorizo & tomato Scotch eggs
Cotswold Fayre, Holleys and Diverse and direct from over 80 local suppliers. Although she admits that the wealth of brands and categories can seem like “organised chaos”, Forbes is adamant that the approach puts customers at ease with browsing. “You go to some farm shops and it’s all very same-y because they’ve branded everything. “No one wants to walk into a wall of the same label. You actually end up not looking at anything.” Encompassing gluten-free biscuits, the latest British gins and spirits (which I’m told are Andy’s department), vegan Scotch eggs, high quality balsamic, and even cannabis-derived CBD oil, the broad range reflects Trading Post’s ethos of “being everything to everybody”, and makes the shop hard to pigeonhole. But the sourcing philosophy is relatively simple. “It’s local, it’s organic, it’s fresh – we get the fresh pick from the field every morning – or it’s delicious. Those are my four things.” Those may be the criteria but Forbes also seems to have a knack for sussing out what her varied customer base wants. Some of her more major changes are cases in point. Although installing a proper cheese counter
was one of her long-held dreams for the shop, it was accelerated by the proposed closure of a nearby deli. Trading Post introduced a tight range of West Country cheeses in May – including Westcombe and Montgomery cheddars, Cornish Yarg and a variety of ewes’ and goats’ milk creations from White Lake – and this line-up has served the shop well thus far. Cornish Gouda works as an alternative to Parmesan, while the West’s strong blue contingent (Bath, Beenleigh, Dorset Blue Vinney) covers off the Stilton conundrum. That said, Forbes has permitted the introduction of a monthly “guest cheese”. Given the disappointing performance of loose olives behind the glass (Forbes wants to move them to a self-service station elsewhere), there are going to be more counter inches available soon for a more permanent range of cheese from further afield. That is, if the other new counter speciality doesn’t take them first. “It was a massive gamble,” says Forbes of the loose chocolate selection that was introduced at CONTINUED ON PAGE 57
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The Guild of Fine Food’s training arm, the School of Fine Food, sees over 1,000 delegates a year learn everything from the basics of cheese and deli products to the detail of running an independent retail business. BUSINESS Our Retail Ready two-day training programme is designed to equip managers or owners of prospective, new or developing delis & farm shops with the business essentials of fine food & drink retailing CHEESE RETAIL Our one-day course is designed to help independent retailers capitalise on customer interaction, ensure they have the correct range and guarantees that you and your team talk intelligently about cheese to your customers ACADEMY OF CHEESE The Guild is a founding patron and training provider of the Academy. It’s trusted and structured learning provides an academic pathway for anyone in the business, and equally cheese-loving consumers. It does for cheese what the Wine & Spirits Education Trust does for wine
PROGRAMME 2019 ACADEMY LEVEL 1: £195 inc VAT New for 2019. We will be running this course as a 3-part evening course at 18.30-21.00 on these consecutive Tuesdays: 11, 18, 25 June 6 April (London) 20 June (London) 18 September (London) 8 November (London) RETAIL CHEESE:
MEMBERS £100 plus VAT NON-MEMBERS £195 plus VAT
13 March 28 May 29 May
(Harrogate) (Birmingham) (Gillingham, Dorset)
30 May
(Gillingham, Dorset) 12 June (London) 23 July (London) 10 September (London) 17 September (London) 8 October (London) 29 October (London) 12 November (London) DELI COURSE: MEMBERS £100 plus VAT NON-MEMBERS £195 plus VAT 11 June (London) 28 October (London) RETAIL READY: Contact Jilly Sitch for further info 24-25 September (London)
For more details of all School of Fine Food programmes, courses, fees and dates, visit gff.co.uk/training or contact jilly.sitch@gff.co.uk, +44 (0)1747 825200
gff.co.uk/training | academyofcheese.org
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the beginning of December. “But it’s just taken off. The fact that we did it just before Christmas helps but then people got to know it.” It costs £3.99 for 100g of chocolates, and there are also gifting options, with boxes and ribbons at the ready, to boost margins. Stocked with both Belgian and English varieties from House of Sarunds and supplemented with local raw chocolate, this section delivered £1,000 of revenue in its first month. Sales are likely to keep up this momentum with the addition of a fillyour-own Easter egg concept. Moving from the traditional to the on-trend, Trading Post opened a refill room in November. Customers can fill their own containers with a host of organic dry goods supplied by Essential Trading – including grains, nuts, dried fruit and herbs – from the 150-odd silos. Repurposing the room and moving the office to a brightly painted shed out the front cost in the region of £10,000, but the new feature is already drawing new customers in and generating repeat purchases. It has also simplified stock control. “I had all the dry goods in pre-packs and they were a nightmare,” says Forbes. “They all looked the same. They would slip and slide all over the place. They’d get mixed up. With this you just pour them in and you’re away” Not only does it tick the important environmentally conscious box and generate excitement (“It’s a grown-up pick’n’mix”), but the system makes sound retailing sense. Forbes cites a recent example of a customer who came in to buy ingredients for making a nut roast on Sunday. “If he had bought three bags of the nuts he was looking for – Brazils, cashews and hazelnuts
– it would have been £17 at least. He bought just what he needed and it cost him about £6.50. But he’ll come back and do that again.” Being able to buy smaller amounts also encourages customers to try new things, like dried mulberrys which are going well currently. “It’s interesting how people go in there to buy one thing and come out with six bags of stuff.” Although the loose lines have been successful, Forbes isn’t planning on trying refills in other categories. Besides, there are too many trendfuelled customer requests to keep up with. Kombucha and cider-vinegar drinks are currently in demand, and therefore in the chiller, but kefir has also been on a bit of a rollercoaster and recently saw a resurgence thanks to a mention on The Archers. However tastes shifts, Forbes is able to keep up because she is always ordering things regularly and in small quantities. And she can drop things quite quickly without wastage. At other times, her hand is forced. She has finally decided to switch from Tyrrells to Corkers crisps (much to the dismay of one customer who buys the former brand for her cat) in light of yet another corporate buyout and she has also been wrestling with how much Pukka tea she should stock, now it is a Unilever brand. As always, the big kicker is the supermarkets. When one supplier told her they were being courted by the multiples, she had this response: “I said ‘If you end up in Asda I will stop stocking you. That’s not what your product is, it’s premium’ . “‘If you start selling to Waitrose, I’ll be very sad but I will accept that. It’s a quality thing.” Despite offering a full shop (even cleaning
products) and some older customers taking her up on that to the tune of £80, the shop’s average basket is £13.82 and Forbes doesn’t see it as competing with convenience stores or supermarkets. Many customers begin their patronage after wandering in, post-meal, from the café. They spend a small amount after a leisurely browse. Sometimes they are retirees, other times they are parents in their 30s and 40s. “People use us as a treat but then they start buying more and more things. They might’ve popped in first time because people have told them we have a bottle of gin they like. “All of a sudden, they’re a regular customer that’s coming here on their way home from work every day and grabbing something for dinner. That’s how it builds up.” She may dislike the term, but Forbes admits that she runs a “destination shop” and pretty soon customers are only going to have more reasons to visit. By the time FFD goes to press, Trading Post will have its very own milk dispenser. “Can’t do raw, our EHO doesn’t like it. But it will be whole, organic, local milk.” And Kate and Andy are also trying to work out where they can install a polytunnel to act as a more secure retail area for the array of plants sold from the front of the shop. But the most pressing thing is going to be how to cope with next Christmas, even if it’s a temporary expansion. “We are fully stocked and it’s February. You walk around and wouldn’t know where to put extra stuff. If we’re this busy now…” A nice problem to have. tradingpostfarmshop.co.uk
You go to some farm shops and it’s all very same-y because they’ve branded everything. You actually end up not looking at anything.
Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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GUILD TALK The Guild of Fine Food represents fine food shops and specialist suppliers. Want to join them?
View from HQ
Some folk defended Tesco for giving more choice to more shoppers. Others decried the lack of advice and help from staff on these ‘deli’ counters
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ETA IL
Want to be a Shop of the Year winner? Feedback from our expert judges reveals those retail details where crucial points are won and lost.
WORK THAT WINDOLENE If eyes are the windows of the soul, windows are the... er... windows of your shop. Release your inner George Formby and get that glass gleaming, inside and out. It’s a cheap, easy to way to create a better first impression.
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
Guild of Fine Food Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200 Fax: +44 (0) 1747 824065 info@gff.co.uk gff.co.uk
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March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
OPEN DOOR POLICY Display opening times clearly on doors and online, and make sure they are reliable. If someone drives 15 miles to find you’ve closed early, they won't do it again.
Pongmoji | Dreamstime.com
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’S I N T H
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By John Farrand managing director
THIS MONTH’S BANTER: Why romance is best found in a queue outside a cheese shop. Does food tastes better when you know a bit more about it? And will the demise of the supermarket deli counter (well, at least in Tesco –see page 11) mean more opportunities for indies? There was a genuinely stimulating piece by Tony Naylor in the Guardian this month: “Why I won't miss Tesco’s fake ‘posh’ deli, fish and meat counters”.
The online comments (Google them - worth a read) were perhaps even more stimulating. Some folk defended Tesco for giving choice to more shoppers. Others decried the lack of advice or help from staff on these ‘deli’ counters. There was a reasonable point made that supermarket delis allow better portion control by shoppers, reducing food waste and possibly cutting packaging too. But others struggled with the whole assumption that ‘posh’ equates to ‘quality’. To the more-travelled Guardian readers, our UK multiples were just plain rubbish compared with Continental supermarkets, which seem to combine service and knowledge with a decent selection. Tony Naylor’s article ended up highlighting a whole list of reasons to shop in our sort of stores: not ‘posh’, but ‘quality’. Quality shops like Cheeses of Muswell Hill, where owner Morgan McGlynn has been an early adopter of the Guild’s new Fine Food Podcast. Hop onto your fave podcast
BE NEIGHBOURLY Advertise local groups and events alongside your own to help create a sense of community, but make sure signage and leaflets are clean, tidy and up to date.
WHO’S WHO AT GUILD HQ Managing director: John Farrand Marketing director: Tortie Farrand Sales director: Sally Coley Sales manager: Ruth Debnam
Sales executive: Becky Haskett Operations manager: Karen Price Operations assistants: Claire Powell, Emily Harris, Janet Baxter, Ellie Jones
www.gff.co.uk app and hit it up (did that sound young enough?). Sam Wilkin produces these 20 minute-or-so gems with our blessing, and the edition featuring Morgan is full of delicious lines. It cheered me up on a snowy February walk with the dog – my chosen podcast time. After Morgan extols the virtues of terroir – knowing where a cheese is from, who made it and the fact that there’s ‘love, sweat and tears in it’ – Sam responds: “A piece of cheese just tastes different after you know about all that: the food’s richer somehow.” Life is richer too. Cheeses of Muswell Hill has celebrated its first marriage, between a couple who met in the two-hour queue one Christmas– a love fuelled by mulled wine and fromage freebies. And those two threads say it all. We all know most supermarket counter staff don’t know what on earth terroir is, and as far as I know Tesco doesn’t have its own dating agency. Maybe it should – might be more up it’s street.
GIVE ’EM A GRIN Acknowledge customers with a friendly 'hello' as soon as they arrive. In visits by Insight6 mystery shoppers, some waited more than five minutes for as much as a smile. Stores like Delifonseca – pictured here, and voted best deli in Shop of the Year 2018 – show how it should be done.
• Compiled from feedback by retail experts and Insight6 mystery shoppers on visits to shortlisted stores in the Guild of Fine Food’s Shop of the Year competition. Visit gff.co.uk/soty for details.
Training & events manager: Jilly Sitch Events manager: Stephanie Rogers Events assistant: Sophie Brentnall Circulation manager: Nick Crosley
Financial controller: Stephen Guppy Accounts manager: Denise Ballance Accounts assistant: Julie Coates Chairman: Bob Farrand Director: Linda Farrand
news from the guild of fine food
The word on
Westminster By Edward Woodall ACS THE GOVERMENT are not only short on time before the Article 50 deadline, they also need to think about the looming date of their Spring Statement on March 13th. This is the time when the Chancellor gets to update us on the latest economic forecasts and communicate Government priorities. One of Philip Hammond’s first acts as Chancellor was to downgrade the Spring Statement from a full “fiscal event” to an update. But it still attracts significant public attention and it has never been more important for this Government to demonstrate their credibility beyond (or instead of!) Brexit. There are many ways the Spring
The deli doctor Paul Thomas Technical and regulatory advice from the Guild’s deli helpline Q: Can a pasteurised cheese and an unpasteurised cheese be kept in the same counter next to each other if they are cling-film wrapped separately? A: This issue has been covered in previous Deli Doctor articles but there have been a number of queries
Statement might end up being a challenge for the Chancellor. Firstly, the Brexit negotiation could derail the statement, requiring an upgrade to a full-blown Budget, giving the Chancellor the opportunity to allocate more spending to no-deal planning – not ideal. Secondly, the economic forecast could indicate a slowdown in growth and revenue, unpicking many of the popular measures and the narrative from his Autumn Budget that went down so well – remember “the era of austerity finally coming to an end”? The Government will want to
The economic forecast could indicate a slowdown, unpicking the narrative from the Autumn Budget – remember ‘the era of austerity finally coming to an end’?
ensure the Statement is a marker for having a credible domestic agenda. In 2018, the Chancellor announced a flurry of consultations on the future of cash, tax in the digital age, and tackling singleuse plastics. So what will we see about it from Guild retailers recently after the issue was raised during inspections by an EHO. Pasteurised cheese and those made from raw (or unpasteurised) milk are both ‘ready to eat’ foods which means that they are intended to be consumed without further treatment, such as cooking. Raw milk cheeses are not raw in the sense that they must be cooked before eating, so they must conform the same hygiene standards as pasteurised cheeses with regard to microorganisms or toxins which pose a food safety risk. Furthermore, it”s a basic requirement of EU food hygiene law that food should not be placed on the market if it is unsafe, so the likelihood of this being a significant hazard is relatively low. The Specialist Cheesemakers Association has issued assured guidance on this matter, and the Guild of Fine Food is currently preparing similar guidance. There is no increased risk posed by the proximity of raw and pasteurised cheeses on the
this time? We are expecting a consultation very soon on the future remit for setting wages rates, which is key to determining employment costs in food businesses. Beyond that, it’s hard to predict what he can offer the business community. I suspect many key decisions will be deferred until the planned Spending Review later in 2019 where departmental budgets will be set and priorities reviewed We will be calling on the Chancellor to pause and consider the collective impact of new policies currently in the pipeline. There are consultations in play on the introduction of a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles, packaging taxes, restrictions on promotions and the location of products in stores, changes to food allergen labelling, and many more. Let’s understand the impact and relevance of these policies on food businesses before we go further. Governments don’t always have to pull the regulatory policy lever to be relevant – let’s hope the Chancellor sees that too. Let us know what you want from the Spring Statement.
Edward Woodall is head of policy & public affairs at small shops group ACS
edward.woodall@acs.org.uk
counter and it may be misleading the consumer to suggest that pasteurised cheeses are inherently safer. Listeria monocytogenes is able to grow in some cheese types,
such as mould ripened soft cheese, regardless of the heat treatment of the milk. It may be necessary to use separate cutting equipment where there is a risk of cross contamination from allergenic ingredients but this is not an issue which is not related to microbiological safety. Dairy and food safety specialist Paul Thomas runs the Guild’s e-helpline for retailers with technical or regulatory queries. It can be accessed through the Guild Members’ Hub at gff.co.uk
Italians to boost buyer presence at World Cheese host event By Mick Whitworth THE GLOBAL PROFILE of this year’s World Cheese Awards is set for a further boost after the organisers of its 2019 host – the Forme cheese festival in Bergamo, northern Italy – added a new business-focused trade fair to their established consumer event. B2Cheese takes place at the Fiera di Bergamo exhibition centre on 18th and 19th October, where this year’s World Cheese Awards judging will be held on the 19th. Both will sit alongside the fourth Forme consumer cheese festival, which runs from 19th-21st October.
Forme centres on a “market fair” at the Fiera di Bergamo but includes cheese events at the city’s imposing Palazzo della Ragione, which will also be showcasing all 31 past WCA winners. Hundreds of international cheese experts will descend on Bergamo to judge at the World Cheese Awards b ut B2Cheese will provide a further draw for global cheese buyers, with a trade show, conference sessions and networking events. The B2Cheese exhibition area will showcase the entire Italian dairy sector, and particularly cheeses from Bergamo. The province boasts nine DOP cheeses – the highest concentration of protected cheeses in Europe. Now in its fourth year, Forme was established to “enhance the perceived value of Italian cheese”, boost sales, increase consumer knowledge of cheese and promote sustainable production. The organisers approached the Guild about co-locating with the World Cheese Awards after similar tie-ups in San Sebastian, Spain, in 2016 and Bergen, Norway, in 2018. progettoforme.eu b2cheese.it Vol.20 Issue 2 | March 2019
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Born in Switzerland in 1115.
A Family Recipe for 900 Years
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Switzerland. Naturally. 50
March 2019 | Vol.20 Issue 2
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Publication: Fine Food Digest
11/21/18 10:57 AM
Title: Fondue
Position: ****RHP****
Bleed Size: 236 x 321mm