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Greggs report a strong first half recovery In its interim results for the 26 weeks ended July 2021, published in early August, the UK food on the go retailer, Greggs, with more than 2100 retail outlets throughout the country, reported a strong first half recovery (total sales stood at £546.2m for H1 2021 with underlying pre-tax profit of £55.5m over that period, compared to £300.6m and a loss of £64.5m, respectively, for H1 2020). 48 new shops opened in the first half, with 11 closures, meaning a total of 2,115 shops as at 3 July 2021. The company say that they anticipate circa 100 net new shop openings in 2021, and expect to create 500 new retail roles in second half. New channels have included a delivery service now being available from 837 shops, with delivery sales representing 8.5% of company-managed shop sales in the first half of 2021. A new Greggs Rewards app had also been launched, offering customer rewards across the full range of purchases Their new product development continues to drive menu development, they added in their statement, including an expanded range of vegan-friendly products and options for
other diets and dayparts. There had also been investment in supply chain with new automated frozen distribution facility commencing operation. Greggs Pledge commitments had also been well received by colleagues, customers and investors, they stated. “Greggs once again showed its resilience in a challenging first half, emerging from the lockdown months in a strong position and rebuilding sales as social restrictions were progressively relaxed,” said chief executive, Roger Whiteside OBE. “We continue to make good progress with our strategic priorities, growing the shop estate and investing in our digital capabilities to compete in all channels and dayparts of our market. “Whilst there continue to be general uncertainties in the market, given our recent performance we now expect full year profit to be slightly ahead of our previous expectation.”
Goodness Me! brand announces most sustainable range yet As a supplier of fully cooked and individually quick-frozen poultry products to the food service sector, Meadow Vale Foods’ first branded food service product range launched over 25 years ago - Goodness Me! - quickly became popular and central to the hospitality sector, from the school canteen to your favourite restaurant. Throughout the years, it has remained largely unchanged, until now, with Meadow Vale Foods announcing that it is delighted to unveil new developments to the Goodness Me! brand, which it describes as its most sustainable range yet due to the fact that it uses only responsibly sourced palm oil, has reduced salt and allergens and no phosphates, as well as fully recyclable packaging. Nigel O’Donnell, managing director of Meadow Vale Foods explained: “I’m thrilled to share the developments we’ve made to the Goodness Me! brand. The brief was clear - continue to deliver on our core values of serving healthier,
tastier chicken, that have made us so successful, whilst bringing it in line with our goal to reduce our impact on the environment. “The new look Goodness Me! packaging is now fully recyclable, eliminating at least nine tonnes of plastic going to landfill every year. In terms of the product, we only use responsibly sourced palm oil (RSPO), allergens have been reduced, salt content meets FSA guidelines and the meat content has been increased. “All of this has been achieved whilst continuing to deliver great tasting, healthier chicken, using only natural chicken breast fillet, which of course, is fully cooked and individually quick frozen to help reduce waste and eliminate the risk of handling raw poultry, even more important in today’s environment. “With the change to recyclable packaging, we have also taken the opportunity to upgrade the pack design and introduce all new on trend imagery for greater stand out in the freezer. We
8 September 2021 www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk
have also created a number of menu idea videos to demonstrate the flexibility of the range and provide inspiration.” Chris Moyes, development chef at Meadow Vale added: “Each product has so much versatility. From sandwiches to salads, wraps to burgers and great tasting curries, the products can be oven baked, added straight to your dish or thaw and served. As a chef in a busy kitchen, you can be confident you’re serving healthier, tastier natural chicken fillet breast with reduced salt, allergens and no phosphates.”
