Greggs report a strong rst 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 fi rst half recovery (total sales stood at £546.2m for H1 2021 with underlying pre-tax profi t 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 fi rst 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 fi rst half of 2021. A new Greggs Rewards app had also been launched, off ering 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 fi rst 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 profi t to be slightly ahead of our previous expectation.”

As a supplier of fully cooked and individually quick-frozen poultry products to the food service sector, Meadow Vale Foods’ fi rst 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 landfi ll 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 fi llet, 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 have also created a number of menu idea videos to demonstrate the fl exibility 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 confi dent you’re serving healthier, tastier natural chicken fi llet breast with reduced salt, allergens and no phosphates.”

UK-based food to go businesses, Simply Lunch, has announced the launch of fi ve new Quorn products in an eff ort to meet the ever-growing demand for vegan and vegetarian meals and is their latest initiative to provide delicious, healthy and sustainable food to the UK, say the company.

Available from October 14 , the new products will all be “deliciously meatfree” and “nutritionally balanced”, say the company, to provide the perfect lunch for busy people on the move, and the new line-up features Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich, Vegan Ham Salad Sandwich, Vegan Chicken Club Sandwich, Vegetarian Chicken Caesar Wrap and Vegetarian Chicken Salsa Wrap

Commenting on the Quorn range launch, MD of Simply Lunch, Sam Page, said: “When we set out our mission ‘to create healthy and sustainable food for everyone in the UK’ we wanted to partner with likeminded brands to help us achieve this. In this case, Quorn has proven to be the perfect partner for us. Our purpose is ‘improving peoples’ lives through food’. This is not just about eating healthy foods, it’s about reducing waste, emissions and much more. All these goals have been embedded in the creation of these fi ve products since we started developing them at the beginning of the year.

“To meet the rapidly growing demand for plant-based meals, it was clear that the majority of the products needed to be vegan. The range has three vegan sandwiches and two vegetarian wraps, all set to launch on October 14. Many consumers and businesses are making a conscious decision to remove animal-based products from their diet – we’re here to help make that decision easier for them. The health, climate, and welfare benefi ts of plant-based diets are clear to see, so with our new Quorn range, accompanied by our BETTER by Simply Lunch brand we are making sure those people making the switch to healthy & sustainable eating have plenty of tasty options available.

“This new range has been made accessible to all budgets, all appetites and made suitable to eat on the go, or take home and keep in the fridge to enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Claire Roper, head of marketing & innovation foodservice at Quorn added: “One of our key focuses is to deliver great taste, that’s aff ordable and accessible. Our partnership with Simply Lunch plays a really important role in that and it has been a pleasure to work with a team who share our purpose to create healthy food for people and the planet.

“The new range is made using Quorn’s unique super protein, mycoprotein, that’s good for you and the planet. Quorn’s mycoprotein uses 90% less land and water than animal protein, making it more sustainable for a growing population.

“Interest in vegan and vegetarian diets shows no sign of slowing, it’s a consumer behaviour now rather than a trend. Lack of choice frustrates consumers of plant-based foods when eating Out of Home so it’s important that delicious choices are available. The Quorn Simply Lunch range provides just that – a delicious, healthy and sustainable food to go option.”

Simply Lunch say that detailed product information about the new range will be available on their web site (www.simplylunch.co.uk/quorn), covering ingredients, nutritional breakdown, allergens, sustainability benefi ts (relating to supply chain), CO2 footprint (to be developed), packaging materials used/recyclability and other information about origin, health, how it was developed.

Foodservice wholesaler, Thomas Ridley, has launched a bespoke labelling solution to help customers to comply with Natasha’s Law (from 1 October 2021, all food businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have to provide a full ingredient list and allergen labelling when selling prepackaged for direct sale foods from their premises).

The UK Food Information Amendment 2019, known informally as Natasha’s Law, will apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“Natasha’s Law is a signifi cant change to how operators label their products and we have worked really hard to come up with an easy and bespoke solution for our customers,” said Paul Knight, sales director at Thomas Ridley. “Our easy to use software highlights ingredients and their allergens as well as providing an area to add logos and product descriptions. Following the simple step-by-step process, bespoke labels are created easily and quickly.”

The new online service is available to all account customers for an initial free three-month trial, say the company. Simple to use, customers just select the ingredients they use in a particular recipe and the system generates a label that includes all ingredients, whilst highlighting the allergens in bold capitals. With space to add a logo, a description of the product and a use by date, these labels can then be printed and adhered to the fi nished product. The system also saves all recipes within the customers menu and can be reprinted easily, ensuring up to date audited ingredient data each time they are required.

A brand new automated cold store has been built by food and drink construction expert, Clegg Food Projects, for Greggs.

Located between two existing manufacturing units at Greggs’ Balliol Business Park in Newcastle Upon Tyne, the new automated high bay frozen cold store is 32m high and will be used for the bulk storage of frozen products ready for distribution to Greggs stores across the UK, supporting the fi rm’s growth plans.

Clegg Food Projects was appointed as the principal contactor for project, marking the twentieth large scale CAPEX scheme completed for Greggs, with a cumulative value of almost £100 million.

John Moxon, business development director at Clegg Food Projects, said: “We have a great relationship with Greggs and really enjoy working with the team, so we’re delighted to have delivered another successful project.

“Following coordination meetings with the Greggs team and their specialist mechanical systems suppliers and logistics consultants, works started on site in October 2019. The construction sequence was continually updated and modifi ed as details were confi rmed, with extensive groundworks and piling installations carried out to cope with the high structure as well as the volume and weight of the products being stored in the building.

“Access routes alongside installation and commissioning plans were also jointly agreed and equipment was installed during the main construction works to meet the overall project timescales and ensure the project ran smoothly.”

The new cold store is a fully ‘lights out process’ facility and will free up space on site as well as enabling effi cient and faster delivery of fi nished goods to be baked in store. The facility also includes six new loading docks, nine levels of automation, and reduced oxygen fi re suppression.

Senior project manager at Greggs, Peter Boughton, said: “We are very pleased with the cold store as it enables us to free up space in the existing facility and improve the distribution effi ciency to our stores. Designed with sustainability in mind, this project highlights our commitment to Net Zero Greggs with carbon effi ciency considered at every stage of the construction process.

“A fi rst for Greggs, the automated warehouse demonstrates our commitment to innovation and investment in our sites and the business. The Clegg team brings a wealth of knowledge as well as an understanding of our business and our priorities when it comes to the delivery of projects.”

Clegg Food Projects is a national designer and constructor of food manufacturing and distribution facilities with more than 40 years’ experience in the sector. Part of Clegg Group, the fi rm has worked for a number of household brands, both in the UK and abroad, across a wide range of sectors including bakery, beverages, dairy, fresh and frozen produce and many more.

TMI Foods – a Dawn Farms company and leading UK supplier of fully cooked crispy and back bacon – has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Besmoke.

The new Puresmoke™ technology promises to deliver authentic and clean wood smoke flavours and will be uniquely built into the curing/cooking process at TMI Foods’ state of the art facility in Northampton, say the company. As the largest and most versatile cooked bacon provider based in the UK, TMI says that it stays very close to changing consumer trends and uses insight and culinary science to provide the finest quality of truly differentiated fully-cooked bacon and the ever popular Pigs In Blankets.

Conor Cahill, head of science & innovation at Dawn Farm Foods, commented: “We’re delighted to team up with Besmoke and be the first to offer a natural, clean smoking option, built into our curing and smoking process to deliver a safe and sustainable smoked bacon product to our customers. Natural, cleaner food smoking is very much on trend in the UK, with discerning consumers appreciating the variety of deep, rich flavours that can be achieved via the art of wood smoking for cooking.”

With a mutual obsession with culinary science, the partnership between TMI Foods and Besmoke makes for the perfect marriage, feel the two firms.

Huw Griffiths, founder of Besmoke, added: “We’re proud to be collaborating with Dawn Farms and TMI Foods to provide the industry with the purist and cleanest smoked protein solutions. It was clear when we first spoke to one another that our businesses have a shared ambition to deliver a clean smoke solution for everyone. Using our patented technology, we’re able to infuse the product like no one else in the world, giving TMI Foods a market-leading advantage to build various smoke & bacon flavours out in a richer and more rounded fashion.”

Huw Griffiths’ journey in flavour science began in 2004 when he first started smoking garlic in an old tin ballot box, experimenting endlessly with the process to achieve the perfect result. His high-quality smoked garlic took off at delis and food markets around the country, and when he added smoked salt and smoked pepper to the range, Besmoke was born.

As the quality of the products came to the attention of more and more major brands, Besmoke grew from artisanal creator to large-scale supplier of smoked ingredients to the food industry, but always with the same attention to detail and craftsmanship.

Recognising the need to revolutionise the smoke industry, to bring it in line with modern consumer demands and EU legislation, in partnership with University of Reading Flavour Centre and professor Dave Baines, Bespoke developed PureSmoke™ - a filtration technology capable of removing up to 95% of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from smoke.

Under its own Pure Culinary Science™ innovation programme, Dawn Farms is also hinting at more to come from this – including the possibility of other collaborations – to bring a range of new fully cooked protein innovations to market to meet changing customer and consumer expectations.

Popcorn Kitchen’s new decadent chapter which began earlier this year with the arrival of four indulgent new offerings - Raspberry White Choc, Choc Mint, Lemon Drizzle & Choc Orange – has now taken a ‘savoury twist’ with the arrival of a quintessentially English Cheddar popcorn made with an 30% Cheddar cheese.

“It was imperative that Popcorn Kitchen’s ongoing pledge to pure, unadulterated popcorn happiness had to encompass our island’s finest foodie traditions, and nothing in truth shouts ‘irrefutably British’ more than a top-notch Cheddar!” said sales director, Louise Webb.

“As a savoury snack loving nation, cheese-themed nibbles have been a cornerstone for British snacking afficionados, albeit on many occasions the actual presence of real cheese (let alone a prime Cheddar) has been a recurring dilemma.”

Campden BRI says that it is leading the way in introducing a revolutionary tool, known as Bowtie, to help the food and drink industry manage risk.

The tool allows risks to be visualised and communicated in a simple diagram that resembles a bow tie, and it currently helps hundreds of businesses from the largest industries but has yet to be adopted by most food business operators (FBOs). This is despite the great potential to improve their current risk management systems which could boost food safety culture (by highlighting why barriers are in place) and aid allergen management (by identifying new barriers), say Campden BRI.

Andrew Collins, food safety management systems lead at Campden BRI who demonstrates Bowtie to FBOs, explained: “The current focus on allergen management and food safety culture has put great emphasis on communicating risks. Having begun to introduce Bowtie to the food and drink industry, we’ve found it’s perfect at improving risk communication by allowing FBOs to visualise and easily adapt their processes instead of relying on potentially unclear and less dynamic charts and tables.

“Put simply, food businesses can use Bowtie to improve their current food safety system by proactively identifying risks and easily adapting their system to incidences and occurrences. Since identifying this tool in other industries that manage risk, we’re keen to help the food sector understand and use this method to help them do the same.”

Coupled with Campden BRI’s expertise in food safety management, Bowtie can be used by food businesses to enhance their HACCP plans by providing an extra level of robustness. The tool makes it easier for FBOs to identify factors that could compromise barriers, helping them put in place additional barriers to prevent a hazard, such as allergens, from occurring and escalating. As a simple visual tool, FBOs can also ensure their plans are clear and easily understood by staff at all levels.

Andrew Collins continued: “The level of detail in the Bowtie can be filtered to ensure the right information is communicated to the intended user. It can be presented at a business level which may be generic or at an operational level that contains more detail. For example, senior managers can see their food safety management system without all the detail an auditor or the technical manager would need. More importantly, factory operators can easily see the whole process so they understand not just what they need to do but why they need to do it.”

Campden BRI says that it has found that this visual adaptability not only avoids confusion and helps improve safety culture, but also allows FBOs to identify more barriers by illustrating where they could lose control of a hazard. Bowties created for each stage of the supply chain can link up to provide FBOs a timeline perspective from farm to fork, allowing them to track hazards for traceability and identify appropriate barriers.

Along with the publication of Codex’s first-ever code of practice on food allergen management, the recent 2020 revision to the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene encouraged FBOs to build a positive safety culture and consider food safety management as a whole. In practice, however, changing and sustaining a strong culture can be a challenge.

Bertrand Emond, professional development and culture excellence lead at Campden BRI, added: “A strong and positive culture is about ensuring all employees do what they should when they should, and this can’t be achieved without good communication. By making this communication visual, Bowtie helps staff understand the hazards and risks in their business and appreciate the impact of their actions on the consumer, company and themselves.”