Food & Drink News June/July 2015

FRUITAPEEL JUICE LTD - THE JUICE BUSINESS OF CHOICE DIXY CHICKEN HALAL CHICKEN ON A GLOBAL SCALE

NEWS UPDATES GOURMET BURGER KITCHEN SET TO SIZZLE THIS BBQ SEASON IN TESCO WELLPAK LAUNCHES A RANGE OF SNACK-POTS

JUNE/JULY 2015 £4.75

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CONTENTS PAGE 04 NEWS UPDATES 16

04

LOGISTICS, TRANSPORT, REFRIGERATION & WAREHOUSING

20

FRUITAPEEL JUICE LTD

22

AMBIT PROJECTS

24

FRANCO’S ICES

26

HI-LINE CASH & CARRY

28

DIXY CHICKEN

20

26

30 FGS SERVICES (UK) LTD 31

HEAVEN MADE FOODS OF HOLT LTD

32

DINA FOODS

34 FCB COFFEE 36

34

JOHN DWYER BAKERY

36

TO VIEW THE 2015 FEATURES LIST PLEASE VISIT WWW.FOODANDDRINKNEWS.CO.UK OR CONTACT US AT +44(0)1484 321000 TO EMAIL A COPY TO YOU Food & Drink News is published by Planet Media & Design Ltd. Company registered in England & Wales, number 09365661. All material is the copyright of Planet Media & Design Ltd. All rights reserved. Food & Drink News is the property of Planet Media & Design Ltd. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form whole or part without the written permission of a Director of Planet Media & Design Ltd. Liability: while every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers can not be held responsible for the accuracy of information herein, or any consequence arising from it. In the case of company or product reviews or comments, these have been based upon the true and honest opinion of the Editor at the time of going to press.

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EDITOR’S FOREWORD chief editor michelle hodgson deputy editor rachael whiteley art director paul roper senior designer jamie quarmby graphic designer ben wainman advertising production rachael whiteley

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production manager rachael whiteley

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accountant kerry finn

ext 223 MICHELLE HODGSON - CHIEF EDITOR

proofreader becky ashwell

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SUN, SAND – AND THE SAME OLD FOOD What do UK holidaymakers like to eat on a beach break abroad? Pretty much the same as they eat at home, but just more of it, according to a recent survey by online travel agency sunshine.co.uk The 2,187 UK residents who took part in the survey were aged 18 and over and had all been on a beach holiday abroad in the last 12 months.

The first question on their eating habits was: “What was your preferred evening meal choice during your last holiday abroad?” (whether eating out or at their accommodation). Pizza (17%) and pasta (15%) topped the list, followed by steak (13%), fish (11%) and Indian food (7%).

At lunchtime, the most popular choice was McDonald’s (18%), closely followed by a fry up (16%), sandwich (14%), chips (10%) and – again – pizza (8%).

Finally, it was found that 76% agreed that they tended to eat more when away on holiday than at home in the UK, but only 12% tried the local cuisine of the destination they visited during their last holiday.

The results throw up a number of questions, such as: in view of its popularity, did some

people eat pizza for both lunch and evening meal? Why did so many not try the local cuisine – were they more comfortable sticking with what they knew or was it not on offer at their resort? And how high was the average daily intake of calories?

Chris Clarkson, Managing Director of sunshine.co.uk, said: “Usually, the food found in restaurants around beach resorts tends to follow a similar pattern. You can almost always find the food that you would normally eat at home in restaurants overseas, with Italian and Indian restaurants particularly commonplace in beach resorts.”

For me, one of the great pleasures of travelling abroad is trying out local eateries. To be fair, the only time I spent a week at a cheap all-inclusive hotel abroad I was pleasantly surprised by the range, quality and freshness of the food. However, it didn’t stop one British holidaymaker standing in front of the buffet and proclaiming loudly to his wife that there was ‘nothing’ to eat.

Considering holiday companies have received complaints about the beach being too sandy, it seems some holidaymakers will never be satisfied.

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NEWS UPDATES MEATMEN PLAY GOLF FOR A GOOD CAUSE The Euro Meat Golf Trophy is the annual golf event of the European meat sector.

From 12 to 14 July 2015, ‘Land- und Golfclub Gut Kaden’, a country and golf club in Hamburg, will be firmly in the hands of players from the meat industry. For the 12th time now, butchers devoted to golf meet to compete in the different categories.

As always, the highly entertaining golf activities will be for a good cause: participants and sponsors will donate the proceeds to a nursery in Cape Town, South Africa, as well as to ‘Appen plays music’, a fundraising event in the German town of Appen. “We support these projects because they were established to help the little ones in our society. And we would like to contribute,” says Hermann Schalk, organiser of the Euro Meat Golf Trophy and member of the executive committee of ‘Sport für einen guten Zweck’, a charitable association initiating sports events for a good cause.

The participants of the golf tournament are entrepreneurs, executives and decision makers coming from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Besides the sporting competition, networking, sharing experiences and visiting Europe’s top companies are on the agenda.

This year, a visit to NORDfrische Center, part of the EDEKA Handelsgesellschaft Nord mbH, in Valluhn/Mecklenburg-West Pomerania has been scheduled.

FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE AGENDA, PLEASE REFER TO WWW.EUROMEATGOLF.COM

PA SUPPORTS GROWTH AT LAILA’S Laila’s Fine Foods Ltd is a successful family run business, specialising in authentic, ready prepared meals for food service and retail. Laila’s started its sixyear relationship with Packaging Automation Ltd with a small tray sealer but when the business grew and throughputs needed to be increased it purchased SL4 tray sealers from PA’s eclipse range.

The eclipse SL4 has been designed to address the environmental impact of packaging operations by reducing the user’s power consumption by up to 90%. The in-line, fully electric SL4 is a small footprint machine capable of sealing 60 packs per minute.

Featuring PA’s PowerdriveTM technology, the SL4 is a fully electric machine and operates without using any compressed air, therefore offering savings of up to 98% of the running costs of conventional pneumatically operated tray sealers.

Mark Richardson, General Manager at Laila’s, said: “As our business has increased, PA have been

able to support our growth with new machines and unparalleled service levels. We have just taken delivery of two new high-speed sealing machines taking us to five PA lines and a complete PA site. PA is now looking at new processes to help us to progress and keep at the forefront of this competitive arena.”

WWW.PAL.CO.UK

LINPAC RECEIVES TOP MARKS FROM CUSTOMERS Multi-material packaging manufacturer, LINPAC Packaging Limited, continues to act with a high level of professionalism, according to a survey, conducted by the Institute of Customer Service.

The ICS Survey provides a unique picture of the state of customer satisfaction in the UK, by collating than 40,000 survey responses from 9,500 individual customers from across the country. For LINPAC, its customers who responded to the survey ranked the Customer Service Department above the UK average, scoring 83.1% – an increase of almost 3% on the previous year.

UK Commercial Manager at LINPAC, Louise Glover, said, ‘ICS has explained that it’s exemplary to improve in year one and indeed described the results as ‘outstanding’ so we should be extremely pleased”.

As part of the six monthly surveys, which are reported in January and July, customers are asked to rate organisations across

various sectors on each of the customer priorities that UK consumers have identified as most important to them.

Customers praised LINPAC for product quality, efficiency, ease of doing business, helpfulness, friendliness and competence of staff alongside the ease of getting through to speak to a member of staff and billing.

Glover continues, “Overall, we received encouraging results, something the whole Customer Service Department should be proud of, yet we are committed to further improvement in order to gain the prestigious ICS Distinction Award.”

WWW.LINPACPACKAGING.COM

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NEWS UPDATES

GOURMET BURGER KITCHEN SET TO SIZZLE THIS BBQ SEASON IN TESCO Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) has launched a new range of sauces and relishes, stocked at 450 Tesco stores nationwide.

The sauces, created by GBK Head of Food, Tim Molema, are matched to those served with burgers, salads and sides at the restaurant chain and each comes with a recipe card to encourage budding chefs at home.

Tim Molema, Head of Food at Gourmet Burger Kitchen, said: “At Gourmet Burger Kitchen we have always taken pride in making our sauces fresh from scratch every day and wanted to develop a range of sauces that allows people to enjoy the GBK experience in their own home. Now our burger aficionados can experiment at home to create

their own perfect burger, with the same variety of flavours that we use in our kitchens.”

The original range of relishes and sauces retail at £1.99 each: • • • • • •

BBQ Sauce House Relish Habanero Jam Harissa Mayo Smoked Chilli Mayo Blue Cheese Mayo

The launch sees a collaboration between GBK, Tesco and All About Food, who manage the GBK retail products.

Tom Edwards, Buying Manager for Tesco, comments: “These sauces are a strong addition to the category,

providing a wide range of flavours from a recognised and trusted restaurant brand. The packaging is clean, modern and eye-catching and the size and product quality makes it clear that GBK and Tesco are providing value for the shopper.

“In addition, BBQs are becoming more and more about new flavours to impress guests as much as the grill. We believe these new sauces cater to this demand and we expect customers to respond well to the GBK range at Tesco.”

Laura Mallon, Brand Manager at All About Food, adds: “More and more people are looking to experience restaurant quality in the comfort of their own home, and the popularity of Gourmet Burger

Kitchen meant that these new sauces were a natural next step. It’s a high quality, great tasting product and we think it will make an impact, especially during BBQ season.”

Gourmet Burger Kitchen sauces are available now at 450 Tesco stores nationwide, RRP £1.99 each.

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NEWS UPDATES MICROSNAP TOTAL AEROBIC BACTERIA TESTING WINS CERTIFICATION

Hygiena, a global leader in rapid hygiene and food safety testing systems, has been awarded Performance Tested MethodsSM (Certification Number 031501) from the AOAC Research Institute for MicroSnap™ Total. The AOAC validation and certification study included the following raw and readyto-eat products of fresh ground beef, fresh raw chicken, raw cow’s milk, pre-packaged iceberg lettuce leaves and fresh cream cake.

This novel test is the first to detect and enumerate total aerobic bacteria and give results within a working shift. MicroSnapTM Total is a small, simple, low-cost detection system that detects down to 1-10 bacteria in seven hours, while detecting high numbers in as little as 1-2 hours.

MicroSnapTM Total is a versatile test that may be applied to raw materials, finished products (solid and liquid) and environmental samples.

MicroSnapTM Total meets the needs of food processors for a rapid, convenient, and affordable environmental microbiology screening test kit. Compared with traditional plate count methods (giving results in 2-3 days), MicroSnapTM has a large dynamic range, which means that material and labour costs of sample preparation and testing are reduced.

A video demonstration of MicroSnapTM Total can be found at: www.youtube.com/HygienaTV WWW.HYGIENA.NET

QUALITY CONTROL FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCTS The new FoodLab Touch analysers provide fast, simple, reliable analysis of multiple parameters in a variety of food and beverage products. The FoodLab model can perform a range of quality control tests on oils, fats, dairy and other food products. It delivers fast, accurate results for PV, FFA and p-Anisidine value in oils and fats and can test the oxidation state of fats in finished products, providing valuable information about shelf life. Using a simple mechanical extraction system the FoodLab can also analyse oils from nuts without the need for toxic solvents.

The BeerLab is specifically designed for monitoring the brewing process and ensuring quality control in breweries. It measures key parameters in water and beer including bitterness, nitrogen and fermentable sugars. Analysers are also available for wine, cider and olive oil.

The FoodLab Touch analysers are easy to use, require minimal sample preparation and do not

need calibration or maintenance. A new intuitive software package operated via the touch screen guides operators through the simple analysis procedure. All tests are correlated with ISO reference methods and have been validated by certified laboratories.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND A FULL LIST OF TESTS PLEASE VISIT WWW.QCLSCIENTIFIC.COM OR CALL 01342 820820.

LOMA’S HOT OFF THE MARK SERVICE IS A WINNER FOR RANNOCH SMOKERY World leader in food industry metal detection, checkweighing and x-ray inspection equipment, Loma Systems has been applauded by longstanding customer, Rannoch Smokery, for high levels of service and support following the installation of two of its high performance IQ3 Metal Detectors. Excellent technical support coupled with dedicated local sales and service engineers has helped ensure maximum uptime and efficiency at the Scottish Highland plant.

Rannoch Smokery produces some of Scotland’s finest gourmet smoked meats and game, supplying independent retailers, supermarkets and hotels with luxury products.

Impressed by Loma’s service and support, and the reliable performance of its existing ‘designed to survive’ IQ3 Metal Detector, Rannoch Smokery specified the same model for a new line dedicated to skin-wrapped packs of sliced meat and game for retail.

Loma’s UL and CUL approved IQ3 and IQ3+ Metal Detectors feature a super hygienic design and offer true variable frequency, operating between 40-900 kHz. The robust units, which are

produced from stainless steel and meet IP69K washdown standards, are capable of automatically selecting correct operating frequency in seconds.

Specially designed to fit seamlessly into the new line, the IQ3 Metal Detector has helped to further improve efficiencies and safeguard quality standards.

TEL: 01252 893300 WWW.LOMA.COM

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NEWS UPDATES

AROUND THE WORLD WITH MIKO’S FREEHAND Miko, one of the world’s oldest coffee roasters has launched Freehand, a new seasonal range of espresso and filter single-estate coffees sourced from three continents and hand roasted at the company’s in-house UK roastery.

From South America, comes a medium-bodied espresso with sweet, fruity acidity and a beautiful honey sweetness. A rich-bodied blend from Rwanda has a bright apple and lemon acidity and sugar cane finish, and a Kenyan coffee offers cherry and blackcurrant flavours with lots of syrupy sweetness. To complete the range, a Guatemalan Freehand blend, available as both espresso and filter coffee, offers soft blueberry and floral notes.

Freehand is supplied in eyecatching monochrome packaging and is one of the first blends to be launched by Miko UK since opening a purpose-built in-house roastery in Cornwall last autumn.

“Having our own roastery gives us complete control of the development cycle,” explains Adrian Stagg, Managing Director Miko UK. “We manage every stage of the production process and key elements such as weight, colour, moisture, leakage, aroma, extraction time and grinding size can be checked meticulously to ensure Freehand coffee maintains a consistent in cup experience for drinkers.”

WWW.FREEHANDCOFFEE.COM

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NEWS UPDATES FAERCH PLAST APPOINTS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR UK BUSINESS Simon Downward brings significant packaging industry, sales and senior management experience to key role.

Faerch Plast – leading European manufacturer of plastic packaging for the food industry – has announced the appointment of Simon Downward as its new Managing Director for the UK, with effect from 1 July 2015.

Simon will be responsible for further increasing focus on the organisational and operational development of the company’s rapidly growing UK business activities.

An MA graduate in Business Management, Simon brings in-depth packaging industry, sales and management experience to this key position having spent 16 years rising through the ranks at Smurfit Kappa.

Prior to joining Faerch Plast, Simon was General Manager at the company’s Westonsuper-mare site. Previous to this, he was Regional Sales Director of Smurfit Kappa South West and part of Smurfit Kappa UK – a division of Smurfit Kappa Group.

During his earlier career, Simon worked for other high profile packaging organisations including LINPAC Devizes and David S Smith.

Lars Gade Hansen, Faerch Plast A/S CEO, comments: “Faerch Plast is already highly successful and well established in the UK. A strong sales team backed by excellent supply chain management and a state-of-the-art plant in the North East means we are now ideally positioned to further expand our ambitions in this key market.”

He continues: “Simon has considerable experience in growing businesses and I am very pleased he has joined our senior management team to lead this key phase of our business development strategy.”

WWW.FAERCHPLAST.COM

WELLPAK LAUNCHES A RANGE OF SNACK-POTS Wellpak, a leading supplier of fresh produce from around the world, has launched a new product line: snack-pots. In a diversification from the traditional fruit punnet, these small pots will begin by containing single servings of blueberries, cherries or cherry tomatoes.

The snack-pots are expected to appeal to consumers who are conscious of the five-a-day mantra, which is one of the most memorable public health campaigns of all time.

“We’re all aware that we should be eating five portions of fruit or vegetables a day but it’s hard to find time to prepare it, or to grab a healthy snack on the move,’ says Wellpak’s Sales Director, Simon Lane. ‘We’re hoping our snack-pots, which each contain one of your five-a-day, will change that.”

The snack-pots will have peel-off lids for easy eating whatever the occasion: breakfast, lunch, in the car, on the train or straight from the fridge,

whenever.

Wellpak is uniquely positioned to deliver the product since its service partner Ackio – a specialist, highly automated fruit packer – has developed and invested in specialised packing technology that, in combination with Wellpak, gives a unique array of services.

Wellpak’s snack-pots are available to retailers now.

WWW.WELLPAK.CO.UK

DRAMATICALLY REDUCE ENERGY COSTS WITH PA’S NEW ECLIPSE 240 PA have extended their eclipse range of tray sealing machinery and launched the eclipse 240, a fully electric high speed linear conveyor platen machine, ideal for sealing sandwich skillets.

Featuring PA’s Powerdrive™ technology, the

eclipse 240 is a fully electric machine and operates without using any compressed air, therefore offering savings of up to 98% of the running costs of conventional pneumatically operated tray sealers. The seal force has been increased by 300% compared to pneumatic systems however PA’s novel technology allows the tool lift mechanism to be deactivated during the seal process therefore significantly reducing the energy usage.

The eclipse 240 is available to buy or rent with free engineering cover for parts and labour on one of PA’s competitive hire deals.

TEL: 01565 755000 WWW.PAL.CO.UK

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NEWS UPDATES

JBT STRENGTHENS UK CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM Global food processing equipment manufacturer, JBT, has expanded its UK customer service division by recruiting five additional engineers at its Broxburn site to support its continually expanding range of freezing and cooking equipment, and increase responsiveness to customer requests.

Gavin O’Malley, Jaspal Rehal, David Johansson, Max Sneddon and Dave Wardle increase the company’s customer service team from eight to 13, and have been carefully selected to ensure JBT is well placed to efficiently address customer requirements across all its product lines.

JBT brands include the worldleading Frigoscandia freezing and chilling systems, the Double D range of high impingement continuous protein ovens and searer/grillmarkers, the Stein range of coating

and frying equipment, Formcook contact and combi cookers, and DSI slicing and portioning systems.

Jaspal Rehal and Gavin O’Malley are both certified Gas Safe Field Service Engineers. Jaspal was previously an engineer and site supervisor for Solar Energy Warehouse and will be based in Birmingham. Gavin was previously a sub-contractor to British Gas and EON and will be based in Leeds.

David Johansson, Max Sneddon and Dave Wardle are Service Coordinators and will be both office and field-based. Max was previously European Technical Sales Manager for Unitherm Food Systems in Oklahoma, and Foodmek in Scotland. Dave Wardle has come from ICM Ltd where he was installing and maintaining Frigoscandia freezers and will be based in Grimsby. David Johansson

joins the UK team from JBT’s European headquarters in Helsingborg, Sweden, where he gained extensive From left to right: Jaspal Rehal, David Wardle, Stewart global Linford, David Johansson, Max Sneddon, Gavin O’Malley experience equipment increase, we need to with the Frigoscandia brand. ensure that our level of technical Stewart Linford, JBT’s West support matches this. The team has Region Customer Service Manager, received intensive technical training said: “At JBT we recognise that and will enable us to significantly providing first-rate customer service increase responsiveness to customer and support is crucial for our repairs and maintenance requests customers’ success. We’ve carefully across all our product lines, selected the new engineers as they anywhere in the UK.” have impressive credentials, complementary skills and relevant experience. As sales of JBT WWW.JBTFOODTECH.COM

R&W SCOTT LAUNCHES TWO NEW FRUITY CHOCOLATE FLAVOUR SPREADS One of Scotland’s leading independent jam producers, R&W Scott, is broadening its product range with the launch of two innovative fruit-based chocolate flavour spreads – Scott’s Strawberry Fruity Chocolate and Scott’s Orange Fruity Chocolate.

Scott’s new fruity chocolate flavour spreads are made with fruit and represent a healthier alternative to the market leader in chocolate spreads with 66% less saturated fat, 35% less calories and no compromise on taste.

A category first for R&W Scott, this versatile new spread offers a healthier topping for porridge, pancakes, toast and cereal, and can be used in home baking.

Scott’s Fruity Chocolate Flavour spreads are available in 225g clear jars with a impactful strawberry- or orange-coloured label to maximise on-shelf presence. The RRP is £1.00 with the products listed in ASDA and Scotmid from June 2015.

John Easton, Managing Director of R&W Scott, said: “Chocolate spread is demonstrating strong growth and Scott’s two new fruity chocolate spreads have been designed to capitalise on that growth.

“R&W Scott is firmly established as one of the leading jam producers with a heritage that dates back to 1880. However, it’s important that we continue to innovate and move forward and we’ve invested in our

factory and equipment in order to expand into a new category. We’re delighted by the taste and mouthfeel of these spreads, which offer a healthier option for those who love chocolate spread but are looking to lower fat in their diets. We will be introducing more flavours soon.”

R&W Scott, a standalone division of Real Good Food, has been making jams and marmalades for over 130 years from its factory in Carluke, Lanarkshire. The company still uses time-honoured cooking methods based on traditional recipes with open copper pans and small batches of hand-stirred ingredients to preserve the products’ homemade appeal.

The fruit for all R&W jams was

historically sourced from local farms and this tradition has continued with the Scottish berry preserves range.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON R&W SCOTT, ITS STOCKISTS AND FULL RANGE OF PRODUCTS, PLEASE CONTACT NICOLA MCFADYEN, PRODUCT MANAGER, R&W SCOTT, ON 01555 777931.

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NEWS UPDATES LINPAC TAKES SINGLE SERVICE TO NEXT LEVEL

European multi-material packaging manufacturer LINPAC is extending one of its product ranges, LINdis® R, increasing both the colour and size range available, just in time for the summer season.

In line with its Fresh Thinking innovation strategy, LINPAC has broadened the appeal of its rPET premium tableware, by producing its luncheon plate, dessert and bowl in a range of new vibrant colours, in addition to the standard black and pearl white.

The fully recyclable tableware products are sturdy and robust and conveniently packed in cartons of 300 for distributors or shrinkwrapped in packs of 25 for the everyday caterer, event and party industries.

LINdis® R is manufactured using post consumer recycled rPET material, which has been supercleaned to guarantee the material is food safe to EU standards. To further enhance its environmental benefits, the range is fully recyclable alongside standard fizzy drink and mineral water bottles at the end of its service life.

Alan Davey, Director of Innovation, LINPAC, commented: “Our new tableware range provides a great alternative to traditional paper, HIPS and board ranges. With the increasing environmental awareness of events and party caterers, our customers can feel absolutely confident when choosing LINdis® R that they are offering an attractive, high quality solution which offers high standards in terms of both presentation and environmental credentials.”

WWW.LINPACPACKAGING.COM

AWARD WINNING DŽIUGAS FOCUSES ON LACTOSE LEVELS FOR INTERNATIONAL CHEESE SHOW Džiugas cheese is suitable for people with lactose intolerances, offering them a valuable everyday ingredient and additional source of calcium. This is one of the key messages from Džiugas to visitors at the International Cheese Show, highlighting to retailers that lactose-free products are expected to increase 75% between 2012 and 2016 reaching €529m (£379m) by the end of this period.

Because of the way Džiugas cheese is made and the maturities at which it is sold (12, 18, 24, 36 months), it qualifies as a lactose-free product. This is great news for the 12% of the UK population who avoid lactose.

Džiugas provides the perfect opportunity for cheese retailers to tap into the lactose free market with a quality product that does not compromise on taste.

As evidence, Džiugas has just received a three star rating from the Superior Taste Awards – one of the toughest international judging panels, based in Brussels. This is the second year in a row the Lithuanian cheese has achieved this accolade.

Džiugas will be attending the International Cheese Show at Nantwich on 28 July. For invitations please email dziugas@clear-group.co.uk

MPS BRISTOL TAKES A DIGITAL LEAD WITH DOMINO INSTALLATION Multi Packaging Solutions Bristol has installed a Domino N610i seven-colour UV digital inkjet press as part of a major investment programme at the site. This is the first press with this configuration to be installed in the UK. MPS Bristol’s Managing Director, Andy Walter, said: “The Domino is a significant step forward in terms of digital print technology and operational excellence which will significantly enhance our label offer. The quality of print, strength of colour and flexibility will allow customers the benefit of managing their label requirements more effectively. At the same time, customers can maintain their brand. These benefits made the Domino N610i an easy decision.”

The new press is ideal for smaller order quantities and offers shorter lead times. The seven-colour ink system offers a wide colour gamut and the high

opacity white makes it ideal for printing on metallic and clear label materials.

MPS Bristol, a leading supplier of self adhesive to a wide range of markets, has won awards for its labels and innovation. The new press is being supported by a specialist finishing line with the capability to foil block, laminate and die-cut labels following production.

WWW.MULTIPKG.COM

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NEWS UPDATES

AA ROSETTE HAS HELPED PARKWAY HOTEL’S RAVELLO RESTAURANT TO BLOOM

Ravellos Restaurant at the Parkway Hotel in Newport has recently been awarded an AA Rosette for the first time in its history.

The AA four star 70-bedroom Parkway Hotel and Spa has been owned by the acclaimed De Savary

family since 2012, and is located between Newport and Cwmbran, just 20 miles from Cardiff and 30 miles from Bristol.

The hotel has a number of dining options from a coffee shop and bar menu to banqueting and a la carte; located at the heart of the hotel, Ravellos is becoming increasingly popular with both hotel residents and those visiting from near and far to sample the food.

“I was over the moon when I found out we had been awarded the rosette,” says Clive Williams, Head Chef at the Parkway. “Over the last three years we have completely transformed the food offering at the hotel, taking it from ‘pub grub’ to a very high standard that includes really good locally sourced fish dishes such as classically cooked halibut with a beurre blanc.”

Having achieved the hotel’s first AA Rosette, the ambition for Clive

and his team is to consolidate the current standard and then push on to the next level: “I think we are one of the few hotels in the area of our size to have a rosette, so we are really punching above our weight,” he says. “Two dishes on our menu change every three weeks and it is this desire to evolve and improve that will ensure we are pushing on to the second rosette.”

Kerry Jennings, General Manager at the Parkway, says this award reflects the hard work put in by all her team: “Clive is incredibly passionate and has a refreshing outlook on food. He really cares about every minute detail of every dish on each of the menus that reflect the changing

seasons and changes in taste, quality and appearance.

“We have seen a marked increase in the number of people visiting specifically to eat at Ravellos since the award, so we are rightly proud of the achievements of the whole kitchen team and we look forward to working together to create more fantastic menus for everyone to enjoy!”

COOL TGW SOLUTION FOR SPANISH GROCERY RETAILER Automated warehouse solutions provider TGW has implemented a chilled logistics solution for Spanish grocery retailer, Ahorramás.

With a constant requirement for high quality, fresh products across its national network of supermarkets, Ahorramás turned to TGW to fit out its central distribution centre with an extensive automated logistics system for chilled and frozen food.

TGW designed and installed an automated mini-load warehouse and pallet warehouse for frozen goods.

The pallet warehouse is served by

TGW Magnus AS/R machines, which can access pallets stored double deep across three aisles with 4,500 storage positions.

In the six-aisle mini-load warehouse, TGW Mustang AS/R machines with Twister load handling devices that are made especially for direct carton handling serve 41,450 storage positions, with a performance of 1,800 cartons in and 1,300 cartons out per hour.

In the chilled area there are 1,230 SKUs that go through a performance of 103,000 cartons per day with an optional upgrade to

137,000 cartons per day.

At four manual stations 860 cartons per hour are handled. The store classification is done automatically via a 95m long TGW Natrix sorter with 19 exits.

After picking and sortation, roller containers are manually loaded with the fresh and frozen goods ready for transportation to Ahorramás supermarkets across the country.

TEL: 01858 468 855 WWW.TGW-GROUP.COM

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NEWS UPDATES SIMPLY RELIABLE LEVEL MEASUREMENT Endress+Hauser’s low-cost capacitive level switch is ideal for the food & beverage industry thanks to its materials of construction and flush design. The Nivector FTC968 is simple to install and completely maintenance free as it has no moving parts or need for calibration.

The Nivector FTC968 is suitable for all kinds of free-flowing powders and finegrained solids including foodstuffs such as grain, sugar, spices and semolina. One model also comes with Ex approval for use in dustexplosion hazardous areas.

Its compact size means it’s quick and easy to install in vessels (top or side mounted).

As well as its mechanical safety, cost efficiency and long operating life due to no wear and tear, the device also offers reliable operation due to its high immunity to electromagnetic interference and voltage peaks.

Starting at £80, the Nivector FTC968 is competitively priced and is available with multi-buy discounts, free delivery and a 12 month warranty. And, with a typical lead time of two days, you won’t have to wait long for your order.

BUY ONLINE AT WWW.E-DIRECT.ENDRESS.COM/FTC968 OR CALL 0161 286 5050.

CORNELIUS HEALTH & NUTRITION AT THE FOOD SCIENCE NPD SHOWCASE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM

Last week Business Manager, Joy Thomas, attended the NPD Showcase at Food Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus.

Cornelius, in partnership with university students and Midlands-based Pocklington’s Bakery Ltd, submitted an entry for the Kerry Prize for Best Product Development Project. Aiming the product at vegetarians and after looking at several different flours and proteins, the students working on this project developed high protein rolls using

flax flour and pea protein.

High protein is a real trend in health and nutrition, not only for sports conscious, but also for satiety and is really important for seniors too.

The entry won 2nd prize out of the 10 teams that took part so congratulations to everyone involved!

WWW.POCKLINGTONS-BAKERY.CO.UK WWW.CORNELIUS.CO.UK

NEW ORANGERY WILL CHANGE THE FACE OF EVENTS AT CHARINGWORTH MANOR Building work has been completed on the latest addition to Charingworth Manor, a new £0.5m orangery to host events and weddings that will be officially opened at a special lunch event in midJune.

Classic Lodges has continually invested in the hotel with refurbishment of the bedrooms, lounge, and restaurant, and leisure club, which has a large private membership and is also open to non-residents.

The development of The Orangery, which seats up to 140 guests, has been designed to feature one of the most iconic and uninterrupted views of the Cotswolds.

Richard Grime, Managing Director, says he has been amazed by the level of interest and booking of weddings and

private family events since construction started: “Charingworth Manor is one of the jewels in our Classic Lodge portfolio and is without doubt an iconic Cotswold Hotel,” he says. “We now have the ability to combine that 17th century charm with a new, modern facility that will help us to become the premiere event and wedding venue in the area.”

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NEWS UPDATES BUY ONLINE ANYTIME Toyota Material Handling UK has extended its online product range of BT hand pallet trucks and launched a new look website.

The e-commerce site from Toyota, btpallettruck.co.uk, has been redesigned to support a more contemporary look, resulting in a more user-friendly website that’s compatible with both mobiles and tablets. Product choice on the site has

CRACKLINGLY GOOD

been improved to include additional options such as fork sizes and a choice of wheels.

The additional hand trucks that have been added can benefit companies from a range of industries from the BT Silent Lifter for out of hours deliveries, to the BT Lifter galvanised and stainless for use in corrosive environments and applications that demand a high standard of hygiene. Other products include the BT Lifter with weight indicator, the heavy lifter and the BT high lifter hand pallet truck with ergonomic workstation.

Zoe Johnson, Marketing Manager at Toyota Material Handling UK, explains, “We decided to add the additional products as our current online customers have benefited from being able to buy online at any time, so we wanted to make the ecommerce site more accessible to other companies.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BT HAND PALLET TRUCKS FROM TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING UK OR TO ORDER ONLINE VISIT THE WEBSITE AT WWW.BTPALLETTRUCK.CO.UK OR CALL 0370 850 1409.

SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR NUTRITIONAL VALUE INFORMATION Food and drink IT specialist CSBSystem has developed a programme that enables manufacturers to meet EU regulations for food information to consumers, in particular identifying nutritional values for products, which will become mandatory by December 2016.

The CSB-System Nutritional Value Management system is able to calculate, identify and manage all ingredients, nutritional values, allergens and genetically-modified ingredients in the production process.

The programme links product ingredients with the original raw materials supplied. When recipes are created and produced, all the relevant data is then transferred so that the nutritional values,

including any allergen or GMO retail, are automatically calculated and the information transferred to the product label.

The system can be tailored to the requirements of different national and international standards, giving manufacturers full flexibility in the supply of products to different countries.

TEL: +49 2451 625 430 WWW.CSB.COM

Everyone likes to snack from time to time and fans of pork scratchings will love Mr Tubs.

Billed as a new and unique snack that can be enjoyed hot or cold, Mr Tubs is made from crunchy pork shoulder rind, which is double hand cooked for extra flavour – and extra crunch.

The snacks are packaged in a resealable plastic tub, which is a first in the snack market, allowing consumers to dip in whenever they get peckish.

Mr Tubs is available in six different flavours with carefully blended seasoning: Traditional, Smokey BBQ, Spicy Madras, Teasingly Hot Chilli, Thai Sweet Chilli and Zingy Salt & Vinegar.

The brand was launched in July 2014 and is available in cases of 36 at a cost of £19.50 a case, with a recommended retail price of £1.20 - £1.50 a tub. Retailers have the option of ordering a mixed case of six tubs of each of the six flavours to trial with their customers before ordering a single flavour case.

The upmarket crispy pork snack has proved popular in the local area of Stoke-on-Trent and South Cheshire and Mr Tubs is now looking for distributors across the UK.

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NEWS UPDATES

RIGGS AUTOPACK LTD MANUFACTURERS OF FOOD DEPOSITORS & FILLING MACHINES Riggs Autopack Ltd is a British manufacturer of high quality volumetric depositors and filling machines, transfer pumps and bespoke conveyor filling lines, supplied primarily to the food production industry.

The company’s origin dates back to the early 1930’s. They are a Rolls Royce plc approved supplier, member of the PPMA, and an ISO 9001:2008 registered firm with BestCERT quality ‘Gold’ customer satisfaction accreditation.

Riggs Autopack has now become one of the UK’s leading manufacturers in its field. They design and build their filling machinery in-house at their 50,000 sq ft factory in Nelson, Lancashire, and supply to a varied range of UK

food producers.

Clients typically range from startup companies and cottage industries, through to production sites within multi-national groups such as Bakkavor, Greencore, Samworth Brothers and Kerry, and also international factories via their team of overseas sales agents.

During the last five years, due to Riggs Autopack’s structured sales, marketing and production plan, coupled with its talented staff and strict customer service approach, they have experienced substantial growth year on year in terms of new machine sales and hire. They have also received a number of coveted awards including “Manufacturer of the Year 2014” at the Pendle Business Awards.

As part of the company’s future growth strategy, they continue to invest in manufacturing and key personnel.

During 2014, they have recruited a number of additional personnel within production; these include a Works Manager, two CNC operatives, and a shop floor apprentice. As part of their 2015/16 business strategy, they have recently re-branded by introducing a new company logo and corporate brochures.

If you’re a small, medium or large scale food manufacturer seeking a high quality system to accurately fill jars, bottles, pots, tubs, ready meal

trays, foils, cake tins, buckets, jerry cans, pouches or bags, then they could have the solution.

TEL: 01282 440040 EMAIL: INFO@RIGGSAUTOPACK.CO.UK WWW.RIGGSAUTOPACK.CO.UK TWITTER: @RIGGSAUTOPACK

SCHOOLS AND CLINICS FOR FARMING COMMUNITIES IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE A first of its kind public-private partnership between the Conseil du Café-Cacao, Cargill and CARE has enabled 14 cocoa farmer cooperatives to build 11 new schools and three new health centres in Côte d’Ivoire. The new facilities will provide over 1,650 children with access to education and healthcare for 25,000 people across the local communities.

Bringing together investment from farmer cooperatives and the private/public partners, the US $1.9m programme has enabled 14 cooperatives to make their own decisions about investments in facilities that can benefit their communities. Using the premium payments for certified cocoa paid to

cooperatives under the Cargill Cocoa Promise, each cooperative also has benefited from additional funding from the Conseil du CaféCacao and Cargill, as well as the expertise of CARE to build the new schools and health centres.

“The investment in new schools and clinics clearly demonstrates the critical role farmer cooperatives play in improving the education and living standards in their communities,” said Lionel Soulard, Managing Director West Africa, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate. “By bringing together the resources and expertise of public-private partners it is empowering farmer cooperatives and supporting a sustainable future for cocoa growing

communities.”

The first schools and health centre were officially inaugurated on 11 June at a ceremony in Manzannouan, in the east of Côte d’Ivoire.

“Through this partnership we are supporting our farmers and enabling them to be part of the solution to improve their wellbeing. Farmers are now able to have a direct influence on the livelihood of their own communities”, said Massandjé Touré Litsé, Managing Director of Conseil du Café Cacao.

Each brick constructed school includes three classrooms, one house for the school director, three houses for school teachers, a canteen, latrines and access to water. The

dispensary clinic projects include the clinic, equipment and a house for the doctor. The construction of all the schools and healthcare centers is complete; the schools will begin teaching their first students in October and the clinics will all soon be offering healthcare in their local communities.

WWW.CARGILLCOCOACHOCOLATE. COM WWW.CARE.ORG

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NEWS UPDATES

ALLEN CODING LAUNCHES NEW FRESH-LOOK WEBSITE Designed using the latest technology making it fully compatible with today’s browers, tablets and mobile devices, Allen Coding - leading global specialist in high performance marking and coding systems for the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, DIY and chemical industries – is delighted to announce the launch of its new fresh-look website at www.allencoding.com Available in both German and English, the new website, which is more customer and application focused than its predecessor, includes extensive product information on Allen Coding’s full range of thermal transfer, inkjet, hot foil and laser marking and coding equipment.

Created with the user experience firmly in mind, the website has been designed using the latest technology making it fully compatible with today’s browsers, tablets and mobile devices.

Werner Schicks, Marketing Manager at Allen Coding, says: “We are pleased to have revised and updated our website to reflect the ongoing dynamic changes across our business. Customers can now benefit from richer online content that is easier to navigate and share with others. Visitors can stay informed on the latest news from the company and the inclusion of more sector specific case studies will ensure customers always find the right product for their application.”

Allen Coding is part of the ITW Marking & Coding Division, which

also comprises Diagraph, Foxjet, Norwood and Trident.

EAST END FOODS ANNOUNCES CHEEKY NEW LAUNCH AS THIRST FOR AUTHENTIC PRODUCTS GROWS In the last 20 years, several Indian brands have made inroads into the British market, so much so that industry analysts say that “beers from the Indian subcontinent are now firm favourites with British drinkers”.

East End Foods plc, one of the UK’s leading importers of ethnic food, announced this week that it plans to diversify into the alcoholic beverage sector with the launch of ‘Himalayan Monkey’ a new Indian beer brand for the UK market. The new brand goes on sale in July and has been developed in line with two key consumer trends.

East End’s Commercial Director, Paul Deep, explained: “Firstly, we saw a gap in the market for an authentic Indian beer that is priced

and positioned to appeal to a younger, more street-wise lover of ‘All things hot and spicy’ – a movement that continues to grow and reflects a clear preference for spicier foods amongst younger, more adventurous consumers. We think that the branding and label design, developed by Leeds-based agency Brand Britain, will really capture the imagination of this market.”

Himalayan Monkey has been formulated to be robust enough to work perfectly alongside the spices used in Indian dishes, without overpowering their delicate flavours.

It’s also authentically brewed and bottled in India which should make it a popular choice with the growing number of drinkers who have a thirst for ‘craft offerings’ from

manufacturers who are producing on a smaller scale and to ensure quality and a closer connection to the authenticity of their brands.

“With Himalayan Monkey there’s a real emphasis on the care with which it’s been prepared and the authenticity of ingredients we’ve used,” commented Paul, he added: “We think this will be appreciated by an increasing number of consumers as the trend to move away from mass production across the FMCG market continues to pick up pace in the UK”.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING ‘HIMALAYAN MONKEY’ PLEASE CONTACT THE BRAND BRITAIN PRESS RELATIONS DEPARTMENT ON 0113 285 4595

P16 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

LOGISTICS, TRANSPORT, REFRIGERATION & WAREHOUSING

THE SUPPLY CHAIN GANG ERP, E-TAILING AND EFFICIENT LARGE-SCALE MANAGED TRANSPORT SERVICES ARE ALL CHANGING THE FACE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN – AND BUSINESSES OF ALL SIZES CAN BENEFIT

Managing logistics efficiently and effectively can make all the difference between sink or swim in the food and drink sector. The digital age has allowed access to immediate real-time information and any forward-thinking company needs to be looking at ways of integrating technology into its business activities.

“We’re seeing more and more food organisations opting for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to provide them with realtime insight into every stage of the

supply chain, from the field, to production, distribution, marketing and point of sale,” says Robert Frost, CEO of LINKFRESH Software Ltd (www.linkfresh.com/en).

“One of the many areas in an organisation where an ERP solution can deliver substantial business benefits is logistics. A single, focused, centralised ERP solution will provide a coherent record of the origins, movement, usage and destination of all produce throughout the entire supply chain, along with a record of

transportation and sanitary conditions.”

The benefits of being able to track stock more closely are clear, and efficiencies can also be found in other uses of ERP products.

“ERP software can optimise the use of available cargo space by automating load planning and ensuring that transportation conditions meet the required specifications,” he continues. “This means delivery routes can be planned for speed and efficiency; guaranteeing that trailers do not run

empty, reducing waste from spoilage, lessening environmental impact and boosting sustainability. Food organisations using ERP software can manage logistics tasks such as pallet building, distribution packaging or transport requests.”

Ultimately, it’s about moving business forward by giving companies options that will help them stand out from their competitors, Robert Frost concludes. “Real-time insight from ERP systems will give food businesses a strong competitive edge and help them boost the efficiency of their logistics operations.”

While new technology can offer solutions that improve the supply chain, it can also throw up new challenges. A recent White Paper from the UK’s largest manufacturer and a market leader for the supply of steel storage products, Link 51 (report downloadable from www.link51.com), has warned grocery suppliers that slow adopters are likely to get left behind.

The report, Taming the E-tail Tiger: Keeping Ahead of the Online Retail Revolution, is a “wake-up call for the whole supply chain”, according to John Halliday, Managing Director of Link 51.

“This seismic change in how the grocery sector does business is unrelenting and requires a thorough understanding of the levers that are driving change and a constant need to be innovative to meet customers’ requirements. Yesterday’s solutions are just that, often consigned to redundant ways of doing things.

Nowadays solutions are required to be scalable and flexible to meet the ever-changing needs of the logistics and distribution supply chain from entry point to end user.”

JUNE/JULY 2015 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS P17

LOGISTICS, TRANSPORT, REFRIGERATION & WAREHOUSING Increased public demand for online grocery shopping has brought specific challenges for storage and distribution, especially when it comes to chilled products.

And, like Robert Frost, John Halliday points to our increasing reliance on mobile devices, requiring the adoption of greater innovation and new online strategies.

As the world becomes smaller, there are opportunities for better communication and closer partnerships between shippers and cargo owners, many of which gathered for a traditional face-toface meet up at Multimodal (www.multimodal.org.uk) at the NEC this April. The UK and Ireland’s premier freight transport, logistics and supply chain management exhibition allows those in the sector to network with other cargo owners and to compare suppliers, routes and transportation options.

One of the companies exhibiting this year, managed transport specialist Jigsaw (www.jigsawtransport.com), has developed an innovative approach to optimising the transport component of logistics and distribution operations.

Going against the traditional approach of the transport sector, Jigsaw partnered with regional hauliers to create a national managed transport service. The model is scalable as well as flexible, allowing companies of all sizes to participate. The result: a simpler, cheaper way of moving food and drink products that also offers sustainability and environmental benefits through optimum use of resources and infrastructure.

Moving forward, one of the major concerns of retail industry supply chain managers is how to increase availability of goods without increasing stockholding, according to a report commissioned by international supply chain solutions provider RELEX Solutions (downloadable at www.relexsolutions.com).

The UK retail industry’s first annual supply chain research study: The State of the Retail Supply Chain 2015 (conducted by Martec International), also showed challenges in forecasting, for example planning demand for new products and special promotions. At the same time it was found that many of the retailers still relied on basic manual processes for activities such as forecasting and stock monitoring.

“The latest generation of supply chain technology, which combines the benefits of in-memory computing with the flexibility of the Software-asa-Service model, provides retailers with very fast access to highly granular data, and enables them to get not only a good picture of past sales but also a remarkably good prediction of future sales, availability and likely wastage,” says Mikko Kärkkäinen, Group CEO of RELEX Solutions. “In doing so, they can increase availability, reduce inventory, and cut spoilage whilst improving customer experience – and achieve this

quickly and cost effectively.”

He continues: “Whilst there is a growing recognition amongst retailers that technology and automation can address some of these issues, the research clearly highlights that for most, current processes and technology are not supporting supply chain efficiencies

optimally.”

The message is clear and in keeping with that of other companies working to modernise the supply chain in the food and drink industry – for business success, standing still is simply not an option.

P18 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

LOGISTICS, TRANSPORT, REFRIGERATION & WAREHOUSING

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CHILL CHAIN TO MAXIMISE EFFICIENCY Maintaining the chill chain is one of the most important aspects of food and drink production.

Temperature control in manufacturing, storage, handling, distribution and retail display must be compliant with good manufacturing practices (GMP) and HACCP principles for frozen, chilled or fresh products and is the key to keeping products safe for consumption.

Modern refrigeration equipment for static and transport chilling is now highly efficient, incorporating digital technology and highperformance compressors to maintain constant temperatures across manufacturing, delivery and retail environments.

UK-based Hubbard Products is one of the main innovators in

refrigeration for commercial use, and its range covers all aspects, from chilling and blast freezing, through transport units to retail and glass door cabinet refrigeration for the food and drink sector. Hubbard is the supplier of choice for a large number of UK and Irish manufacturers, retailers and symbol groups.

The company has just completed the specification and supply of a large-scale industrial seafood processing solution for KJ Refrigeration of Barnstaple where freezing and storing stock is an essential requirement. The installation at Coombe Fisheries, one of the southwest’s largest fish processing and exporting businesses has doubled its capacity for processing, packing, freezing and

storing, which currently exports approximately 75% of its production throughout Western Europe.

At the other end of the spectrum, a new Waitrose.com home delivery vehicle has been designed from the ground up to be more efficient, easier to operate and more sustainable by using Hubbard Products twin evaporator 390AELT-12-1 system for the frozen and chilled compartments.

Designed to provide optimum performance, the Hubbard 390AELT ultra lightweight units maintain -21°C frozen and +2°C chilled complete with single-phase standby. The vehicles are packed with features that ensure they are easier for delivery drivers to operate,

allowing deliveries to be more efficient with shorter door opening times and greater fuel capabilities.

Boasting a well-proven track record in reliable, cost-effective and sustainable refrigeration, Hubbard was the first Carbon Trust ETL qualifying manufacturer of cellar cooling equipment in 2005 and most recently have been accredited Triple ‘E’ approval for Irish businesses.

HUBBARD CAN BE CONTACTED ON 01473 890522 OR BY VISITING HUBBARD.CO.UK

FASTER AND SAFER LOGISTICS WITH DYNAMIC MAST CONTROL Leading global industrial truck manufacturer, Linde Material Handling, presents a new intelligent operator-assist system for reach trucks. This unique system is available for the existing reach truck series Linde R14 – R20.

The market trend for higher storage racks in warehouses and distribution centres is continuing apace, meaning there’s an increasing demand for reach trucks with lift heights of over eight metres. Higher lift heights place more demands on the skill of the operator and, with the mast fully raised, the dynamic mast oscillations during reach movements and forward deflection are more pronounced.

When placing pallet loads onto a rack, the operator must wait until the dynamic mast oscillations have

ceased, because even with small oscillations it is difficult to position the load accurately into the rack location. Another challenge with higher lift heights is static mast deflection. The bigger the deflection, the more likely it is that the pallet load will be placed too deeply into the rack and in the worst-case scenario, the load could damage the rack or displace the load stored behind. This makes it more difficult for the operator to retrieve goods efficiently.

The Linde DMC system automatically compensates and minimises mast oscillations and mast deflection through precise and seamless counter-movements of the reach carriage – it does this rapidly with minimum use of battery energy. This means that the operator

of a Linde reach truck fitted with DMC does not suffer the waiting times associated with mast oscillations and deflections and can therefore store pallet loads faster, accurately and more safely.

The new sensor-controlled ‘Electric Reach and Dynamic Mast Control’ (DMC) operator-assist system for reach trucks provides highly effective support for the operator, providing a stress-free, and highly efficient working environment. Key to the system is a very precise electric linear actuator system in the reach truck’s motor compartment.

This Linde innovation will provide a powerful and valuable new tool for customers to meet the daily challenges of delivering highly efficient and cost-effective logistics,

safely, and on time every time.

LINDE MATERIAL HANDLING GMBH CARL-VON-LINDE PLATZ 63743 ASCHAFFENBURG WWW.LINDE-MH.COM

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LOGISTICS, TRANSPORT, REFRIGERATION & WAREHOUSING

PARTNER LOGISTICS KEEPS ITS COOL

With supply chains becoming increasingly complex, it’s more important than ever to ensure that food products are kept at the correct temperature at every stage.

Integrated logistics provider, Partner Logistics, which specialises in the provision of highlyautomated frozen food warehouses in the UK and mainland Europe, has taken a rigorous approach to monitoring temperature in its facilities in order to maintain the highest food safety standards.

Richard Bufton, UK Health, Safety, Security, Environmental and Quality (HSSEQ) Officer at Partner Logistics, explains: “Partner Logistics

operates some of the most technologically advanced cold stores in the UK and Europe and, from the moment frozen food products arrive at our warehouses to the moment they leave, they are kept within an atmospherically controlled environment with temperature and oxygen reduction controls in place.”

Before frozen food products even arrive at the warehouse, Partner Logistics liaises with hauliers to ensure that temperature data during transportation is made available to check that product quality has been maintained. This information is then made available to its customers through a dedicated online portal.

Richard continues: “Unlike many other traditional cold stores that use ambient loading bays, the loading bays at the Partner Logistics warehouses are set between -20°C and -23°C. Therefore, when pallets are waiting to be transferred to the warehouse, the quality of the product isn’t compromised. In fact, frozen food products could be safely stored in our loading bays for up to six hours.”

Within the warehouses, a rigorous set of systems and procedures are in place to ensure that core warehouse temperatures are kept within strict tolerances at all times, typically operating between -24°C and

-26°C. This is monitored closely, particularly in the summer months, when the compressors must work harder to battle the external temperature.

On a day-to-day basis SMS alerts are used so that if there are any anomalies or unexpected fluctuations in temperature, engineers and managers receive an automatic text notification enabling them to act immediately. Partner Logistics also make use of an online portal to monitor temperature data in real-time, as well as provide historical reports for audit purposes.

WWW.PARTNERLOGISTICS.EU

P20 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

FRUITAPEEL JUICE LTD

THE JUICE BUSINESS OF CHOICE A ONE-STOP JUICING AND BLENDING COMPANY OFFERING FRESH, PASTEURISED AND HPP PROCESSING, FRUITAPEEL JUICE CHAMPIONS INNOVATION AND PROVIDES A FLEXIBLE APPROACH

A premium citrus juice extracting and contract packing company, Fruitapeel Juice also manufactures smoothies and fresh vegetable blends, packing a wide range of products into formats from PET bottles and cartons to bulk and B2B options.

Fresh fruit is purchased from around the world and shipped to its site in Llantrisant, where it is cold extracted and packed within two hours. Instead of using heat treatment to extend product life, Fruitapeel Juice offers an innovative non-thermal HPP process.

Founded in 2006 in Lancashire, the company began by producing fruit and confectionery sauces. “As a senior director in Daniels Chilled Foods, I witnessed an opportunity in

the marketplace,” says Managing Director, Terry Haigh. “The business became very successful on the back of product innovation, quality and service. When the largest freshly squeezed juice business in the UK, Serious Foods, closed down in 2009, with the loss of 500 jobs, I decided to reopen the facilities.”

Based in Llantrisant, Wales, the plant now produces carton juices,

freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. In April 2015, the north and south aspects of the company were separated and a new board was

formed to focus on the continued growth of the juice business.

Fruitapeel Juice Ltd now operates out of three sites totalling 110,000 sq ft, currently employs around 55 people increasing to 80 by the end of the year, and has a combined turnover of £10m (year end 2014); however, having invested heavily in capacity over the past six years, Fruitapeel Juice now has the manufacturing capabilities to achieve a turnover of £60m+.

“The motivation is now to become a leading player in the industry, built on innovation, quality and service,” says Terry Haigh.

In the past two years Fruitapeel Juice has invested £2.4m in the only aseptic gable top cartoning plant in the UK, helping to drive volume through unique technology that extends product life.

In April, the company invested a further £2.3m in a Hiperbaric HPP 420 (the second largest machine of this type in the world).

This non-thermal process plant

JUNE/JULY 2015 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS P21

FRUITAPEEL JUICE LTD utilises pressure only to eradicate bacteria usually found in juice and other products such as fresh vegetable blends, coconut water, and smoothies. This unique technology helps the juice keep its flavour and allows the retention of Vitamin C to almost 86%, compared with a previous best of 40% through conventional pasteurisation.

In addition, shelf life can be extended way past conventional fresh life by up to four times, which allows products to be brought to market that have been historically impossible without the use of heat treatment.

The result is a reduction in operating costs of two thirds, with associated environmental benefits.

“Currently the only way to find such a solution is to go outside the UK, adding significant cost and increasing carbon footprint,” says Terry Haigh.

With a customer base in retail, foodservice, wholesale and B2B

across the UK, the company has seen business build steadily over the years. Bucking the trend of a lack of investment and innovation in the wider industry, Fruitapeel Juice has implemented a carefully thoughtout strategy for long-term success.

As for the future, the aim is to be ‘the juice business of choice’; driving growth, maximising capacity and making the most of the company’s assets, which include a dedicated and highly knowledgeable workforce. With innovation, service and product quality at the forefront of its offer, Fruitapeel Juice certainly looks like continuing as a leading player in the juice market.

As Managing Director, Terry Haigh, said “We are about to embark on a new chapter of the business with new technologies and innovation that will allow us to lead the field in development and processing of juice and smoothies.

Welsh government support has been essential in the growth of Fruitapeel

Juice Ltd at Llantrisant over the last few years and enabled us to increase our workforce and we look forward to continuing the great relationship we have with them and further growing our business by taking it to the forefront of juice and smoothie making in the UK.”

FRUITAPEEL JUICE LTD, UNIT 8 LLANTRISANT BUSINESS PARK, LLANTRISANT CF72 8LF TEL: 01443 230350 WWW.FRUITAPEEL.CO.UK

P22 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

AMBIT PROJECTS

TAILOR-MADE SOLUTIONS FOR FOOD PROCESSING

BY WORKING CLOSELY WITH ITS CUSTOMERS, AMBIT PROJECTS IS ABLE TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY BESPOKE SOLUTIONS FOR FOOD PRODUCTION THAT ALSO DRIVE EFFICIENCIES As any company involved with food processing will know, one size doesn’t always fit all when it comes to production lines.

Drawing on many years’ experience in the industry, Ambit Projects designs systems that help to increase capacity, reduce bottlenecks, improve performance and enhance quality. It also manufactures and installs food processing equipment under the banner of Ambit Engineering.

The three key areas where Ambit Projects can offer benefits are handling, preparation and processing. Handling covers the movement of product within a plant; preparation includes washing and cleaning, trimming and destoning, and any other preparation needed before food goes for further processing or packing; and processing ranges from cooking, blanching and conditioning to the cooling and chilling of food.

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AMBIT PROJECTS

Established in 1990, Ambit Projects is underpinned by the broad experience of its three cofounders: Paul Oakley, Chris Ely and Derek Cope. A former plant engineer, Derek has since retired, but Paul and Chris’s background in the design, manufacture and installation of food processing systems has proved a key element of the company’s success.

Importantly, equipment is tailored to each individual customer’s requirements, whether they are looking for conveyors, pumping systems, storage, mixing systems or a combination of several food processing and preparation solutions.

Project engineers and designers are also on hand, using the latest technology to assist with design and layout.

“Quite often we engineer and design systems,” explains Paul Oakley. “If a customer is replacing equipment or putting in a new line, or wants to overcome certain issues in a line, we will come up with proposals and designs that will overcome the issues. Much as I would like to sell much more

standard equipment, it doesn’t suit everyone. So our approach is to look at the individual requirements of a customer and find solutions that work. For example, if they haven’t got the space for the length of a standard line, then you need to engineer it to be a bit wider, so the line can be shorter.”

While the company is involved in designing process systems for a broad range of products, the team carries out a lot of work with breakfast cereal and produce preparation lines, where products such as leafy salad are washed, prepped and packed – and in the case of produce like celery, cut using water jets.

“We’ve been working hard on increasing efficiency for all these lines,” says Paul Oakley. “Many of them are labour intensive, so a lot of recent work has been to reduce the amount of labour in the line through new technology. Some clients are looking at saving energy, some at saving water – there are issues around high filtration of water so that they can re-use it within the plant as opposed to letting it go

down the drain. Ultimately, it’s about efficiencies.”

Since trading started 25 years ago, the company has outgrown its premises several times. In 1997, the decision was taken to build its own premises in King’s Lynn for Ambit Projects, along with a purpose-built factory to house the Ambit Engineering division, created to give more control over the manufacturing process. Today the two companies employ 18 staff and have turnover of around £2.5m.

The company’s customer base is across the UK and beyond, and includes multi-nationals such as Nestlé for breakfast cereal and major vegetable growers G’s, who are well established as suppliers to all the major retailers in the UK and also have plants abroad.

Like many other companies in this field, Ambit Projects was adversely affected by the economic downturn. “We suffered badly in 2009 – there were large orders being cancelled or put back and the uncertainty led to a lack of capital investment,” says Paul Oakley. “One classic example: I was speaking to a customer in the morning and he said, ‘I’ll send you that order this afternoon, but I’ve just been called into an emergency meeting’. He didn’t call me back and when I phoned a day or two later he explained that the meeting he was called into was to tell staff that all capital spending had been stopped.”

However, the company has come

out fighting and is now reaping the rewards.

“We had a good start to last year but at one point a lot of orders were delayed, whether there was uncertainty around the Scottish referendum we’re not quite sure.

Then orders landed in the early part of the year so at this moment in time we are very very busy getting all the orders out on time.”

As for future plans, the company is looking closely at how the services it provides can be packaged in order to look for representation abroad. A website redesign is also on the cards, not only to make it more up to date but also to ensure it is fully optimised for web searches and fit for purpose for the export market. There is also a YouTube company channel, where potential customers can view the food processing equipment in action.

With investment in new technology, experienced staff and an approach that puts the needs of the customer first, Ambit Projects will no doubt continue to see the orders rolling in.

AMBIT PROJECTS LIMITED 7-9 ST ANDREWS ROAD, HARDWICK INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, KING’S LYNN, NORFOLK PE30 4BF TEL: 01553 692977 FAX: 01553 660940 EMAIL: ENQUIRIES@AMBITPROJECTS.CO.UK WWW.AMBITPROJECTS.CO.UK

P24 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS FRANCO’S ICES JUNE/JULY 2015

JUNE/JULY 2015 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS P25

FRANCO’S ICES

GOING FOR COLD WHETHER PROVIDING REFRESHMENT FOR BRITISH TROOPS OR PRODUCING OLYMPIC LOLLIES, FRANCO’S ICES COMBINES THE VALUES OF A FAMILY-RUN CONCERN WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF A MAJOR MANUFACTURER If you were in London during the 2012 Olympics, you may well have enjoyed one of a million free strawberry splits, created by Franco’s Ices for Virgin Rail/Stagecoach and handed out at Tube and train stations.

As one of the country’s leading ice lolly and ice cream manufacturers, Franco’s Ices has also been called on to produce branded product for companies like Gap and Ford amongst many others, and its ice lollies have even found their way to British troops stationed abroad.

Large-scale production of this kind wouldn’t have been possible for the family-run business had the company not made the wise decision to invest heavily in its infrastructure and capacity.

Established in 1964 by Domenico Tanzarella and his brother, Franco’s Ices began as a small family concern, enjoying success during the ice cream boom of the mid-1970s to early 1980s, when ice cream vans were ubiquitous. With the rise of the supermarkets and the introduction of inline machinery, many small producers fell by the wayside, unable to manufacture product in the quantities required.

Unlike many of their competitors, the Tanzarella family had the foresight to think big. In the mid-1990s, the company moved to its current premises: a purpose-built factory that could handle large-scale manufacturing, on an industrial estate in Kempston, Bedfordshire.

Now 74, Domenico remains passionate about the business he founded and still plays an active role, alongside a new generation of family members. These include his

sons – Pasquale heads up sales, Nick is Production Manager and Francesco is Operations Manager – and daughter, Pauline D’Errico, who looks after the accounts. Meanwhile Domenico’s grandson, Nico, joined the business last year.

“Having a purpose-built production facility had a massive effect on our growth,” says Pasquale Tanzarella. “By moving premises and purchasing larger machinery, we were able to produce more affordable products. Since we moved here, many smaller family-run companies have closed or been bought out, and there are more going every year.”

Over the past five years, the factory has seen two major extensions and further investment in new machinery, doubling the capacity in ice lollies to 40 million a year (based on a single shift) and increasing turnover by 12-15% a year to £4m. Staffing levels have risen to almost 30.

Supplying retail, convenience, food service, ice cream vans, restaurants, hospitals and educational facilities, the company has products going out through most major frozen food distributors in the UK. Traditional ice lolly flavours such as orange, cola, lemonade and cherry brandy, remain firm favourites – over five million of the best-selling Mr Bubble are made each year – alongside milk lollies, ice cream cornet flavours and ice cream cups.

New machinery – and the expertise of Technical Manager, Justyna Misir, who was recruited seven years ago – have allowed the company to develop exciting new products, with caramel centres and other inclusions.

Two new fruit flavour ice lollies, Swap Ice and Whammy, were launched earlier this year and further new products are currently in development, including a new range of artisan ice creams. Franco’s also gets regular approaches from companies wanting to offer healthier options, such as 100% fruit juice lollies or coconut water lollies or ice cream.

“I think this is where the ice cream market is moving to: people are more health conscious and want alternative choices,” says Justyna Misir.

The company has also revamped a lot of its brands and packaging, and continues to market its products through distributors’ brochures and at exhibitions. The self-confessed ‘ice lolly kings of the UK’ are also looking to expand their export activities, with multi-lingual packaging allowing easy export to countries such as France, Greece, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.

By going out of its way to accommodate its customers’ needs, Franco’s Ices has also seen an

increase in demand for private label products. Currently the company is manufacturing a wide range of innovative products for a number of different customers. Meanwhile, customer appreciation remains key, especially from certain quarters.

“We sometimes get letters from soldiers serving abroad,” says Pasquale Tanzarella. “One said: ‘It was so hot and the sand was getting in my mouth then we were given an ice lolly with your packaging and it made my day.’ It’s nice to know our products are enjoyed that far afield.”

Combining a commitment to quality with the ability to think big, the company’s products will no doubt continue to be enjoyed by customers at home and abroad.

FRANCO’S ICES NO. 2 ADAMS CLOSE, WOBURN ROAD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, KEMPSTON, BEDFORDSHIRE MK42 7JE TEL: 01234 854160 FAX: 01234 856604 WWW.FRANCOS-ICES.CO.UK

P26 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

HI-LINE CASH & CARRY

TAKING ON THE COMPETITION A WHOLESALE CASH AND CARRY SPECIALISING IN THE DRINKS MARKET, HI-LINE IS EXPANDING ITS ACTIVITIES WHILE AT THE SAME TIME LOOKING FOR NEW WAYS OF WINNING CUSTOMER LOYALTY

In the competitive market of wholesale cash and carry, it takes a strong business head to achieve success. Luckily for Hi-Line, it has a seasoned entrepreneur in the driving seat, in the shape of Managing Director, Sharmmila Jeganmogan.

Before taking over Hi-Line, the

businesswoman had a history of rescuing failing retail businesses by buying them, turning them around and selling them on, once the sales had gone up. Originally from Sri Lanka, she moved to the UK in 1999 and later settled in Norfolk, but once her children started school,

she was looking for a new challenge.

In 2009, she heard through a friend that a London businessman was looking to sell his cash and carry as a going concern. Originally established in 2003, Hi-Line at the time was a single independent outlet based in a small warehouse in

Deptford, south-east London, with a turnover of around £5-£6m.

Sharmmila bought the business and built it up over a couple of years before setting up a second branch as head office in Croydon, Surrey in early 2011. Investing in this 11,000 sq ft depot allowed HiLine to expand its operation significantly, in a location that is convenient for both south London customers and those across the south east of England. Around the same time, the business joined Landmark Wholesale, one of the UK’s largest wholesale groups, which is able to pass on cost savings through harnessing the combined purchasing power of its members, as well as offering special promotions and own brand ranges.

As specialists in the supply of alcoholic drinks, Hi-Line offers a wide range of wine, beer, cider and spirits, sourcing products directly from UK suppliers. In addition the wholesale cash and carry offers a range of soft drinks, and customers can also purchase cigarettes, tobacco and confectionery, along with ‘impulse’ groceries like coffee, tea, sugar, bread and milk.

The core customers of the business are caterers, off licences, other independent retail outlets and forecourt operators. Its geographical spread is across the UK, with customers up in Aberdeen and down on the south coast serviced by its delivery operation, which includes a pallet delivery service.

It’s a competitive market and Sharmmila Jeganmogan is well aware that customers have a tendency to shop around for the best price rather than remaining loyal to one particular cash and carry.

“In this business customers look

JUNE/JULY 2015 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS P27

at price,” she says. “If someone else can sell the same thing four or five pounds cheaper than us, then customers are going to go to them, even if it turns out that the company only advertises that price but doesn’t have the stock.”

This became a key issue when Hi-Line faced a price war with a competitor new to the area. “I lost a lot of clients in Catford and Lewisham in 2014 as another company opened a branch and started a price war,” says Sharmmila Jeganmogan.

However, the business has worked hard to turn things around and turnover was up from £11m the previous year to £14m in February 2015.

One of the key ways that the business encourages loyalty is through customer service. Hi-Line has a multi-lingual staff of 35, speaking languages such as Tamil, Hindi and Gujarati as well as English, which helps with accuracy when placing orders. “For some shopkeepers there can be a language barrier and they find it easier to speak in their own language,” Sharmmila says.

The business also runs a retail club called the Hi-Line Express, which it is hoped will continue to

grow as new customers come on board. Those who join can take advantage of regular offers and are given priority treatment on the monthly sales offers.

A new company loyalty scheme is also being launched later this year, with points added to the customer’s card each time a purchase is made.

Once they have built up a certain number of points they can claim rewards.

A new website is currently under construction and the company is also looking to open a third site by early 2016, this time somewhere around the south coast of England.

“If you know what you’re doing, the UK is a good place to do business, even though the red tape can be frustrating at times,” says Sharmmila Jeganmogan.

“It’s a long term plan to open more branches; in five years’ time I would like to have five branches and, as far as turnover, I would definitely want to see around £30£40m. The future is definitely looking positive.”

HI-LINE CASH & CARRY UNIT 2, 40 PURLEY WAY, CROYDON CR0 3JP TEL: 0208 664 3050 EMAIL: INFO@HILINEWINES.COM

P28 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

DIXY CHICKEN

HALAL CHICKEN ON A GLOBAL SCALE ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CHICKEN RESTAURANT CHAINS IN EUROPE, WITH MORE THAN 100 STORES IN THE UK ALONE, DIXY CHICKEN HAS BEEN BRINGING HALAL CHICKEN TO THE FAST FOOD MARKET FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS

Consistency of quality and taste are at the forefront of the global franchise. This is clearly reflected in its mission statement: ‘To invest in people, technology and ethical business practices in order to ensure accelerated and organic growth with unparalleled commitment to quality, efficiency, customer service and the community.’

While halal meat is now commonplace on supermarket shelves, Dixy Chicken was instrumental in introducing the concept to the fast food sector in the UK, offering good quality meals at affordable prices.

The fresh halal chicken is prepared using a unique blend of spices and available fried or grilled.

Burgers, tortilla wraps, pizza, side dishes, desserts and a range of drinks are also on the menu. As more and

more people are looking for healthier eating options on today’s fast food menus, Dixy Chicken has also introduced a wide range of salads.

Not only does the company source from reputable suppliers, but it monitors its franchisees to ensure that they purchase from Dixy specified suppliers and runs an ongoing programme of quality monitoring to ensure adherence to the strict quality standards that it sets. Recipes are created and tested by expert chefs based at the company’s head office in Bolton.

Established in 1986, the company was founded by two experienced businessmen who had the foresight to see a gap in the market for a chicken brand to suit the increasingly diverse population of the UK. The chain saw immediate

success and soon grew into an established operation.

In early 2008, the business was sold to Church’s Chicken, a major US chicken brand that trades as Texas Chicken outside North America. Originally, the plan was to rebrand the outlets under the Texas Chicken name, but later that same year the present owner, Shakeel Arshad, took over and decided to keep the established name and grow it as a worldwide brand. Bringing his own business acumen and global vision to the company, Mr Arshad recognised the importance of working closely and continually with the franchised outlets, encouraging them to strive for product quality and commercial success.

The company has seen its sales grow and its outlets thrive despite

the global economic downturn of recent times and today operates well over 100 stores in the UK alone and many more worldwide, including in India, Brunei, Syria, Pakistan, Norway, New Zealand, Afghanistan and the UAE. Entrepreneurs looking to set up their own franchise in the UK or elsewhere in the world are given all the support they need to build a successful business and earn optimum return on their investment, whether they decide to run just one branch or build a number of successful outlets.

The Dixy Chicken franchisee has the opportunity to grow their business with assistance and encouragement every step of the way. The extensive support provided

by Dixy’s head office team includes training, advice and strategic plans,

JUNE/JULY 2015 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS P29

all of which help new and existing franchisees with the smooth running of their business.

Once the franchisee has established their interest in the brand and has the required finance in place, the first step is to set up their outlet. The company offers help with sourcing the equipment, refurbishing the franchise interior, maintaining the brand identity and supporting the launch of the outlet and the initial marketing activities.

Following the launch, the franchisee will receive regular contact with an experienced field manager from the Dixy Chicken head office. This facilitator will help supervise the staff, who will also benefit from training in food hygiene and customer relations at a dedicated centre set up at head office.

Technical support is also offered to ensure that the preparation of the food meets the required standards and quality control is monitored through a ‘mystery shopper’ style test, where a third party employed by head office will pose as a customer and report back on their experience.

Moving forward, the company has a clear strategy to expand the business, operating a dedicated international business team that constantly tracks and studies potential markets in the UK and abroad. This allows Dixy Chicken to establish the best sites for franchises and also to study the demands and requirements of each local market, so that menus and marketing strategies can be customised in accordance with the preferences of the local population.

Ultimately, the aim is to continue to build the brand and increase its global presence – and based on its achievements over the past almost 30 years, Dixy Chicken is well placed to achieve this growth and success.

UNIT 3B, SPRINGFIELD COURT, SUMMERFIELD ROAD, BOLTON BL3 2NT TEL: 01204 370553 WWW.DIXYCHICKEN.COM

P30 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

FGS SERVICES (UK) LTD

MUCH MORE THAN IT SPECIALISTS FROM IT SOLUTIONS AND TELECOMS TO INSTALLATIONS AND OFFICE FURNITURE, FGS SERVICES (UK) LTD OFFERS A FULL TURNKEY SERVICE TO CLIENTS IN THE FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR

Whether upgrading current premises or setting up a new production site, companies can benefit from a broad spectrum of

services provided

by FGS Services.

These range from bespoke machinery guarding, food grade compressed air installations, electrical installations and quality control software to telecoms, IT systems and even office furniture.

“Our reason for doing this is simple,” explains founder Fred Smith. “Companies would call us

and order their PCs – we would turn up and find there was no power or no desks yet. So we decided that the best way forward was to provide all of these essential services ourselves and project manage all the works. This has led to larger projects over time.”

The backbone of FGS Services’ food industry offer is the Weight Manager QA software, which delivers the quality attainment levels needed to secure contracts with end users. Able to fully integrate with Syspro, it comprises a prompt and validation system, an audit trail and a sophisticated stock and fulfilment service.

Another key product is the Weight Manager Material Control: a formulation control system designed to guide operators as they dispense materials using electronic scales.

Then there’s Weight Manager Sampling, where results are written to a central database and ODBC data sources provide the interface to the client’s ERP database.

All software is bespoke rather than expecting the client to conform to an off-the-shelf product.

Founded in 2000, FGS Services (UK) Ltd began by supplying servers and computers to food manufacturers and packaging companies across Yorkshire. Bespoke software was introduced to integrate with clients’ existing machinery and interface with their supermarket customers through technologies such as EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), with telecoms introduced in 2005.

Based in Bradford

with a software development team in Swindon, FGS today is a full service company not only working with the food sector, but also in health care, legal, logistics and general offices.

New business comes largely from word of mouth – the company’s motto is ‘Listening, understanding and showing the best (business) solution’ – and it’s reaping rewards, with 66% growth in the first quarter of the year, compared with 2014.

“Being agile is the key to our success,” says Fred Smith. “We’re not your typical IT specialists. We’ve got the experience. We’ve got the knowledge. We’ve got the trained staff with excellent customer care.

But we don’t assume that we know what you need. To provide the best technology solution for you, we need to listen and understand your business challenges.”

With the right skills, investment and support already in place, 2015 is definitely FGS Services’ year for growth.

FGS SERVICES (UK) LTD SUITE 1, MORLEY CARR HOUSE, MORLEY CARR ROAD, LOW MOOR BD12 0RA TEL: 01274 973600 EMAIL: FREDSMITH@FGSSERVICES.CO.UK WWW.FGSSERVICES.CO.UK

JUNE/JULY 2015 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS P31

HEAVEN MADE FOODS OF HOLT LTD

THE SWEET TASTE OF SUCCESS BUILDING ON ITS WELL-EARNED REPUTATION FOR INNOVATION AND QUALITY, CHILLED DESSERT MANUFACTURER HEAVEN MADE FOODS OF HOLT LTD IS ENJOYING PHENOMENAL GROWTH

Specialising in chilled jellies and summer puddings, the company supplies customers from small independents to major multiples, working closely with them to develop products that will appeal to consumers.

Award-winners for product innovation, Heaven Made Foods excels in marrying impressive visuals with workable shelf life without the use of artificial additives and preservatives. Ingredients are clean deck and a watchful eye is kept on nutritionals.

Recent new products include Peppa Pig and Thomas Tank character jellies, now in four main retailers and £500,000 has been invested in a new versatile production line and chiller tunnel to produce in greater volumes. “We did not want to merely brand-slap, but to create a really high quality mould and jelly at a very affordable price

point,” explains Oliver Elmer, Managing Director since 2012.

“Sales have been enormous and are continuing to climb.”

Meanwhile, its new vegetarian jellies were launched into a major retailer in May and are far outselling the gelatine jellies they replaced on shelf. “So many vegetarian jellies that are currently available are let down by their flavours and setting characteristics. Our goal was to create a fantastic vegetarian jelly that would be loved by all of the traditionalists as well – a modern take on a very traditional dessert.”

Established as Prospero around 1987, the business began by making summer puddings in a garden shed for farmers’ markets before interest from a high quality retailer led to a move to Holt in Norfolk. In 2006 Prospero became Heaven Made Foods of Holt Ltd and it was acquired by the current owners in 2008.

With a strong team of around 22 staff working from a 12,000 sq ft factory with capacity to treble output, the business has seen chilled sales climb exponentially: from around £1.1m in 2012 to £2m in 2014 – and on track for £2.5-£3m this year.

Where possible, ingredients, packaging, raw materials and machinery are sourced in the UK. Keeping to its principles of handmade authentic food, the company develops all product in-house. “If we develop a product, it has to be the very best in the market or we do not launch,” says Oliver Elmer. “A lot of what we manufacture is still handmade, giving us the ability to design and produce desserts that just

cannot be done on a high-volume line.”

With increasing sales and numerous projects in the pipeline, the business is now looking to broaden its customer base.

“Five years ago we set a target to be the best jelly and summer pudding producers in the UK and I believe we have achieved that,” says Oliver Elmer.

“The most important things are to be driven, keep your efficiencies tight, look after your customers and your

staff, know your products inside out and form a good relationship with your suppliers. Get those right and I believe that any company can be turned around.”

Manufacturers of high quality chilled desserts.

Specialising in Jellies and Summer Puddings.

Vegetarian and non-vegetarian options available.

BRC Grade A High Care Manufacturing Facility.

Supplying to Multiples, Food Service and Wholesalers.

Units 1-3 Heath Drive, Hempstead Road, Holt, Norfolk NR25 6ER Tel 01263 711222 Fax 01263 712814 Email enquiries@heavenmadefoods.co.uk www.heavenmadefoods.co.uk

P32 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

DINA FOODS

SPECIALITY BAKERS THAT PLAN AHEAD OFFERING ARTISANAL BAKED GOODS IN THE AUTHENTIC MEDITERRANEAN TRADITION, DINA FOODS EXCELS IN CREATING INNOVATIVE, MARKET-LEADING PRODUCTS FOR ITS CUSTOMERS large scale.

“It’s extremely hard to produce baklawa on a large scale, but we are brilliant at it,” says Vincent Decamps.

“All of our machinery has been made to our particular specs in house. It’s a difficult product to work with; the key line is the filo pastry, which is hard to master. Most small companies buy in filo, we provide it for outside companies.”

As well as exporting baklawa to 18 countries across mainland Europe and beyond, the company is looking to tap into the huge potential market in the US. CUSTOMER BASE

Specialising in premium flatbread, savoury and confectionery products, the company has seen many of its products achieve success after being launched on a small scale.

FROM FLATBREAD TO WRAP

Recent developments include further developing the concept of adapting flatbread into wraps.

“Take the example of naan bread: it’s not usually a carrier or wrap, but we say why not?” says Sales Director, Vincent Decamps.

“European manufacturers usually see flatbread as a replacement for the fork – tear and share eating – and most NPD divisions within the industry are not experts in bakery products, so when they do research they are limited. With any flatbread, the first priority of our company is

to adapt the product or the range as a wrap. It’s about thinking outside the box.”

THE PANINETTE

This passion for innovation led Dina Foods to invent a brand new type of bread – the paninette. The low-salt flatbread made with French flour and endorsed by Michelin-star chef Patrick Asfaux was launched successfully in 2013 and is now proving a hit in retail and food service.

“We would like to reinvent the flatbread industry,” explains Vincent Decamps. “The flatbread dominating the market is a wrap filled with E numbers. It’s a carrier for ingredients, what we call ‘bread without a soul’. The paninette has flexibility, rollability, flavour and

aroma. It’s a unique product.

“We are the only manufacturers of this product through all the key distributors in the UK and through Europe, including Coup de Pates, which is part of the Aryzta Group, the biggest bakery distributor in the world. They own many bakeries and they use people like us to supply specialist products. They even own flatbread companies but still come to us for expertise and product development, because our strength is focusing on creating one product for them with UPS .”

BAKLAWA ON A BIG SCALE

In confectionery, Dina Foods is seeing significant growth in baklawa sales since it invested in specialist machinery to produce the traditional sweet layered pastry on a

With the ability to adapt products to suit different markets, Dina Foods has built up a broad customer base ranging from the food service industry and wholesalers to major multiples – including Tesco Finest, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose on the food to go category – and sandwich chains such as Starbuck and Greggs. It also provides in-flight products for Qatar Airways.

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More recently, the company has developed its relationship with the upmarket retail and restaurant chain Benugo. “Any brief relating to flatbread, we are now the first port of call, whereas before we were competing with two or three other suppliers.”

Additionally and still ‘secretly’, it is working to create new recipes for the most recognised healthy additional value brand, including a soft pitta that opens for filling, with the aim of increasing sales by 3040% year on year. Meanwhile, during the Taste of London food festival in Regent’s Park in June, five of the top chefs used the Paninette range supplied by Dina Foods.

ORIGINS

Founded in 1993, Dina Foods is a privately owned family-run firm, the brainchild of three brothers, champions of traditional authentic Mediterranean food. Based in north London, the company employs around 150 staff and manufactures its products at three sites in Park Royal, ideally located for access to the motorways (M1, M4 and M25) and Heathrow Airport.

margins have increased and the company’s turnover is expected to be £2m up on last year, at £10m, with the ain of reaching a £20m turnover in the bakery department within five years.

“We excel at NPD but you have to be tough as only one in around 10 concepts will go through,” says Vincent Decamps. “You have to wait for the jackpot and enjoy it when it happens – that makes up for all the losses. But it’s exciting – we’re talking to one Top Brand Food To Go customer whose target is very simple: he’s thinking about what the market will be like in three years.

These are the sort of people we like to work with: we don’t like to work with the past, we like to work with the future.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Having created a niche for itself over the past four or five years, Dina Foods is now looking to consolidate its activities while continuing to grow. By producing specialist rather than commodity products, profit

DINA FOODS 24 GORST ROAD, PARK ROYAL, LONDON NW10 6LE TEL: 0208 6215511 WWW.DINAFOODS.COM

P34 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

FCB COFFEE

THE COFFEE CONNOISSEURS RUN BY SELF-CONFESSED COFFEE GEEKS, FCB COFFEE IS BRINGING HIGH QUALITY, SMALL-BATCH ROASTS TO A WIDER AUDIENCE THROUGH TRAVEL HUBS AND EXHIBITIONS “We want to bring in the new third-wave of coffee,” explains Managing Director, Barny Clevely.

“The sort you find down a back alley, where a geeky bloke takes a long time to serve something really interesting and terrific from somewhere like Guatemala or Rwanda in small volumes. We want to take it to an increasingly larger market and remove the clubby exclusion.”

This is achieved by sourcing coffee from multiple small-batch specialist roasters and taking it into high footfall commercial

environments: railway hubs and exhibition halls. These include FCB’s first site: a kiosk opened in 2003 on Guildford station; two sites on Brighton station, including the flagship sit-in cafe; sites in Woking, Hayward’s Heath and Tonbridge; and last year’s newest and extremely successful site in Denmark Hill, south-east London.

In exhibitions there are permanent sites at the Birmingham NEC and London Olympia, and regular pop-up cafes at trade and public exhibitions – from fashion shows and BBC Good Food to

public catering at tennis championships.

The shift from the coffee chain approach of buying in bulk to sourcing small quantities of singleestate coffee from multiple artisanal roasters began two years ago.

Trading on quality rather than price, FCB is currently working with six roasters: three for house and guest roasts and the other three for small quantities of particularly specialist coffee.

“We change the guest roast every week and publish all of the notes on the coffee online,” explains Barny Clevely. “Coffee geeks like us will come in and try a new guest roast each week. I firmly believe that if you spend £2.20 on a flat white and it’s not particularly good and you don’t finish it, to spend £2.50 on a truly memorable flat white that brings you back the next day – 30p is neither here nor there.”

Serving premium coffee may increase costs, but volume and profit has also risen, with turnover

standing at around £5.5m and figures climbing monthly. At present the company has 34 employees and around 80 part-time employees working flexible hours, but recruiting staff has also become easier. “We get a bunch of likeminded people who want to be in an environment serving really great product. They go to workshops, visit the roasters and go on training courses. You’ve got to have great people, who are involved and enthused.”

Having reaped the rewards of investing money, time and passion into the business, FCB plans steady growth and further sit-in sites.

“The most important thing is inclusion: working closely with our roasters, operating a lead barista programme and communicating knowledge and passion to our customers. Right now it’s really exciting, we’ve got lots going on and we’re doing great business.”

EMAIL: BARNY@FCBCOFFEE.COM

P36 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS JUNE/JULY 2015

JOHN DWYER BAKERY

THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD IN 1990, JOHN AND JACKIE DWYER PURCHASED A STRUGGLING RETAIL BAKERY – TODAY JOHN DWYER BAKERY IS A SUCCESSFUL WHOLESALE BUSINESS WITH CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE MIDLANDS “When we purchased the bakery, it was a failing business,” John Dwyer explains. “It had a retail shop, but after about two weeks we realised we were losing money.

Within a couple of years, we’d picked up more wholesale business and we realised that this was the best way to survive and thrive.”

Hard work and sheer determination kept the bakery running in the early days; John even slept under the ovens to ensure customer orders were met. The closure of the retail shop proved the right decision as the company has

expanded four times over its lifetime in order to increase its production capacity. In April 2009, the business made its most significant move – into a new purpose-built unit on Rugby’s Valley Drive, from where it continues to trade today, delivering to a range of private companies and public sector organisations across the region.

“The business has grown because of the quality of products and because we’re consistent and good with customer service,” says John Dwyer. “We’ve also expanded our work with the Co-op in the past

JUNE/JULY 2015 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS P37

JOHN DWYER BAKERY couple of years.

The company has embraced modern marketing, with a well-used Facebook page and is currently updating its website and looking at making it mobile and tablet friendly.

THE LATEST NEW MACHINERY

Around £2.5m has been invested in the facility and equipment over the past eight years to ensure quality remains high while production values are met.

A key investment four years ago was in a new bread slicer, sourced from Dutch company Jongerius (International) Ltd. Harnessing stateof-the-art technology, the slicer has electronic moving blades, switching between different thicknesses at the touch of a button.

“People want a craft loaf baked locally but they also want it sliced to the quality that the big boys can do,” John Dwyer explains. “We were one of the first bakeries in the UK to purchase this technology and we’ve had other well-known bakeries coming in to see how it’s done.”

A new £85,000 oven has increased capacity and £200,000 has been invested in a state-of-the-art bread plant. “It was the last piece of kit that was second-hand so we thought we’d upgrade it. It’s made the business more efficient and the work less labour intensive.”

The plant has also taken delivery of a new mixer with removable bowls and a bowl-lifting machine; these have increased capacity and efficiency while removing the need for staff to lift heavy bowls of dough by hand.

Working closely with trusted suppliers such as Jongerius (International) Ltd and family-run business Scobie McIntosh has helped the company to invest in the right machinery at the right time.

“The service and the quality we receive from both companies is exceptional and we’ve come to rely on Sales Director Duncan Macfarlane at Scobie McIntosh and Richard Clarke at Jongerius over the years,” says John Dwyer. “Both of

the companies have been very helpful in the development of our company.

“What has taken us forward is investment. A lot of other bakeries are still running with second-hand equipment that has been repaired dozens of times rather than investing in new machinery.”

Efficiency and hygienic production standards are also key, to ensure that everything produced in the factory meets the John Dwyer standards of quality, consistency and freshness.

DAILY DELIVERIES

Having started with just one delivery van, the company now runs a liveried fleet of nine vans, servicing customers up to around 50 miles away. Orders placed by 2pm can be delivered the following day and special orders can be delivered further afield.

A WIDE CUSTOMER BASE

The bakery’s wholesale clients

range from schools and colleges, to contract caterers, commercial venues and independent shops and cafes.

In the past two years, the company has increased its supply to Co-op stores; it also delivers to several regional Spar, Costcutter and Londis retail outlets.

FRESH EVERY DAY

All products are sold under the company’s own label and made fresh daily by a team of bakers with many years of experience.

The product range comprises everyday bread, plus focaccia, ciabatta and rye bread; morning goods; pastries; and an extensive range of cakes, including tray bakes.

The bakery also offers the bulk supply of bread rolls and other products to catering companies.

“We know what we’re good at and that’s making traditional products; we don’t try to be clever,” says John Dwyer. “If somebody asks us for a particular product, we can make it, but we try to stick to what

a traditional craft baker would make: fresh crusty bread, quality soft rolls and a range of confectionery. The key is finding out what the customer wants and making them happy by giving it to them.”

HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

With around 30 members of staff supporting John and Jackie Dwyer, the company is expecting turnover to be up £150,000 this year.

“When we bought the business it was turning over around £27,000 a year and now it’s close to £2m. It’s a phenomenal growth and we have a very good business, which we’re proud of.”

JOHN DWYER BAKERY LTD 10-11 PROSPECT PARK, VALLEY DRIVE, RUGBY, WARWICKSHIRE CV21 1TF TEL: 01788 536331 EMAIL: INFO@JOHNDWYERBAKERY.CO.UK WWW.JOHNDWYER.CO.UK

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