3 minute read
Lupa Foods appoints Julian Key as commercial director.
Strengthening its board ahead of ambitious growth plans, say the company, UK-based Lupa Foods has appointed Julian Key as commercial director, and with over 30 years’ food industry leadership experience, he is well placed to help establish Lupa Foods as a leading UK provider of global food ingredients, feel the firm.
Lupa Foods was formed in 2018 following the merger of two highly regarded businesses: Compleat Food Network and Italian food specialist Donatantonio. Both had generations of knowledge and experience in sourcing and supplying the very best ingredients from around the world. From pasta to pulses, soy sauce to sunflower oil, Lupa Foods’ impeccable product range includes grocery, dairy, meat and fish.
With its goal to be the essential partner to the food industry for quality ingredients, Lupa Foods says that it continually delivers a stream of on-trend ideas for manufacturing, foodservice, wholesale, restaurants and retail - an award-winning and experienced team helping to ensure quality, cutting edge product development.
Previously head of commercial at Oscar Mayer, Julian Key has spent decades developing high performing commercial teams and accelerating customer growth, including all major UK retailers and many high profile business to business organisations.
Julian Key commented: “I’m delighted to join Lupa Foods as commercial director. It’s an exciting time for the business – just years from the merger – and I’m looking forward to building on this milestone for Lupa and our customers. The potential to develop the global food ingredients market is huge. Lupa Foods has a customer-first culture, which fits well with my proven collaborative approach to growing mutually beneficial business relationships.”
Lupa Foods’ chairman Peter Crystal (left) and newly appointed commercial director, Julian Key (right).
Masterclass campaign to promote Italian food
Global dairy producer, Lactalis Professional UK & Ireland has enlisted high-profile Italian chef, Giancarlo Caldesi, to host a series of online masterclasses alongside its development chef, Mark Bradford.
The masterclasses feature the Galbani® Professional cheese portfolio, with recipes and culinary tips delivered as part of the From One Chef To Another campaign activations.
The masterclass campaign, Caldesi Cooks Galbani, is aimed at helping pub and restaurant chefs champion the art of Italian cuisine and inspire them to create crowd-pleasing dishes which add an Italian flair to their menus. It sees the two chefs join forces to present four unique masterclasses, each focusing on a different Galbani Professional product - mozzarella, ricotta, Dolcelatte® or mascarpone, with recipes that showcase the quality and versatility of the ingredients, by demonstrating easyto-create yet profitable menu solutions perfectly suited for pub and restaurant environments.
Caldesi Cooks Galbani will be supported by a social media campaign to inspire chefs to share their own unique take on each dish via Instagram using the Instagram handle #caldesicooksgalbani.
Italian dishes present an opportunity for operators to capitalise on the cuisine’s ongoing popularity among consumers. Italian cuisine took the top spot from a choice of 34 national cuisines in an international YouGov study with an average popularity score of 84% across all the nations surveyed, rising to 91% among British consumers (Smith, M. (2019) Italian Cuisine is World’s Most Popular. YouGov.co.uk.)
Heloise Le Norcy-Trott, group category and marketing director at Lactalis UK & Ireland commented: “Italian cuisine remains a firm favourite with diners. Galbani Professional helps chefs to cater for this demand by using our versatile and high-quality product solutions across their menus. In our series of Italian masterclasses, Caldesi and Bradford inspire chefs to add their own creative touches and demonstrate how easy it is to create profitable dishes that really appeal to customers.”
Chefs will be directed to the Lactalis Professional web site to register and watch each masterclass. They will also have a chance to win one of six places at a professional skills workshop with Giancarlo Caldesi at his central London cookery school, La Cucina Caldesi.
A new pasta range, which was first created for the UK government’s Coronavirus Food Parcel Scheme during the first lockdown in 2020, is now available to stockists.
