Sandwich & Food to Go Magazine - 199 - May/June 2022

Sandwich food to go news

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LETTUCE,

IT’S THE JEWEL IN OUR CROWN

Whether it's Iceberg on a sandwich or on a baguette, we’re always on hand to supply good quality produce, t for a Queen, all year round.

Take a fresh look at your needs and lettuce help you!

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ISSUE 199 MAY/JUNE 2022

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20.12.2021 11:24:42

CONTENTS EDITOR CLARE BENFIELD t: 01291 636336 e: clare@jandmgroup.co.uk

NEWS Page 04. British egg industry crisis as production costs soar.

Page 05. Cost pressures intensify after foodservice price inflation hit double digits in February.

Page 06. Simply Lunch launch new Planet Focused range.

Page 08. Selecta kicks off its Foodies Shop & Go Concept in Belgium.

Page 10. Flexeserve wins Queens Award for Innovation.

THE BRITISH SANDWICH & FOOD TO GO ASSOCIATION Page 20. British Sandwich Week 2022.

Page 22. The Sammies 2022.

ADVERTISING PAUL STEER t: 01291 636342 e: paul@jandmgroup.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS t: 01291 636335 e: kevin@jandmgroup.co.uk

Page 28. Why your membership matters.

Page 52. Food industry specific ordering.

Page 29. Time for a moratorium?

Page 54. Calorie labelling legislation.

Page 51. New members.

Page 56. 85 years of packaging innovation.

FEATURES Page 34. Lighter choices – salads.

Page 38. Delivering the goods – delivery.

Page 46. Breakfast changes – breakfast.

ARTICLES

REGULARS Page 51. New products.

Page 58. Listing index.

In association with The British Sandwich & Food To Go Association.

Page 42. Voluntary EPR for sandwich packaging?

PHONE +44 (0) 1291 636338 FAX +44 (0) 1291 630402 WEB www.sandwich.org.uk EMAIL info@sandwich.org.uk

Page 44. Pesticides: Why, how and what?

Paper used in the production of this publication is sourced from sustainable managed forests.

Page 30. The environmental challenge of packaging.

FMCG FOOD DRINK

FRESH FLAVOURS, HOMEMADE TASTE & AWARD WINNING PRODUCTS We make our handmade products fresh everyday using the finest ingredients from trusted local suppliers

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NEWS

British egg industry crisis as production costs soar British egg farmers are facing unprecedented rises in the cost of producing eggs, leaving many on the brink of bankruptcy with hundreds of farms in real danger of going out of business if returns do not significantly improve, claim the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC).

With British farmers losing money on every egg they produce, which has increased in recent weeks following the invasion of Ukraine, many are choosing to stop producing rather than lose their farms, resulting in falling numbers of hens in the UK, and increasing pressure on supply. The national flock has already declined by around four million in the past year.

Feed increases are at the forefront of the surge in costs, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine which has added 25 to 30p per dozen feed costs on top of never-before-seen cost increases right across the supply chain from pullets to energy, and well-reported labour shortages.

Andrew Joret, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, which represents the industry, said: “The tidal wave of cost increases will see many family farms, some of which have been producing eggs for generations, going under in a matter of days, unless something is done quickly.”

According to the BEIC the increase in uncontrollable input costs required to produce eggs, which is currently up by around 30% on farms, shows no signs of slowing down and the availability of British eggs on supermarket shelves is seriously under threat if these costs are not passed on.

“The situation was unsustainable prior to the terrible war, but feed prices have accelerated dramatically in a way never before seen and 4 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

farmers cannot absorb these costs and carry on with a viable business.

Ten years ago, you might typically have paid £1.35 for six medium eggs, which today often cost less than £1 which is a third of the price of a barista coffee. Eggs are one of the most undervalued natural whole foods; packed with protein, vitamins and minerals. They provide the whole family with nutritious meals at a fraction of the cost of some other proteins,” Andrew Joret continued.

BEIC research shows that consumers want to be able to buy British eggs. However, the current crisis means that they may not be available in the same numbers if the real costs of production are not recognised in the price people pay for their eggs.

Andrew Joret concluded: “It is our top priority to keep up the usual supply of British eggs, the majority of which are produced to the world-leading quality and welfare standards set by the Lion Code, which are enjoyed by so many people around the UK every day.

However, without rapid recognition of the seriousness of the situation, a significant number of British farmers won’t survive to continue to ensure that one of the nation’s favourite home-produced foods is readily available on the table.”

The BEIC has written to the CEOs of the major UK retailers to communicate that unless urgent action is taken in the next two weeks, the normal supply of British eggs to meet consumer demand is under severe threat.

In addition to farmers’ feed and pullet costs, the egg industry is also seeing other supply chain costs increase including transport, labour and packaging significantly adding to the cost of production.

The cost of feed for egg laying birds is now £400 per tonne, up around 50% over the past two years, and is expected to rise even further with Russia and Ukraine being major exporters of key raw materials used in the feed. The cost of pullets has risen by 5% over the past month and more than 15% in the past two years.

Fuel costs continue to increase at record levels, impacting the whole supply chain, from delivery of feed stuffs right through to the delivery of a box of eggs ready for sale. There are significant labour shortages in a wide range of industry roles; on farm, in packing stations and egg processing plants. This has led to significant wage inflation, which will also increase with the rise in the National Minimum Wage.

The wholesale cost of gas from suppliers has increased by 250% since the start of 2021 and with Britain generating around a third of its electricity from burning natural gas, electricity costs are also increasing.

Figures from letsrecycle.com show that the cost of recycled paper, which is used for packaging, has increased by 50% in the year to August 2021, while energy costs, a key component of the manufacture of packaging, are also seeing record increases. Prices of egg packs have risen by more than 15% since November 2021.

NEWS

Cost pressures intensify after foodservice price inflation hit double digits in February Year on year inflation in the foodservice sector hit 10.2% in February 2022, the latest edition of the Foodservice Price Index from CGA and Prestige Purchasing has revealed.

The double-digit increase was fuelled by challenges including a surge in demand, the lingering impacts of Covid, additional costs of trade after Brexit and increases in energy and packing prices. Inflation has been further heightened by the comparisons with February 2021, when Britain’s lockdown temporarily eased the pressure on prices.

Inflation in the Foodservice Price Index is now running at exactly twice the level of the comparable Consumer Price Index number. It underlines the structural differences between the retail and foodservice sectors, with security of volumes and tighter ranging, forward contracting and hedging used to protect pricing over a more extended period in the retail sector.

The report from CGA and Prestige also highlights the volatility of pricing, with a wide range of highs and lows across its 10 categories.

For example, the sugar category recorded a drop of 10.9%, while oils & fats was up by 56% year on year. Five of the 10 categories have inflation of more than 20%, with fish, fruit, dairy and soft drinks also affected.

Inflation will become even more acute following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, the report predicts, adding to the stress on energy markets and generating new challenges in key commodities like wheat, oils & fats, fish and fertilisers.

This is likely to drive up prices for months to come, and further increases in inflation are inevitable.

Shaun Allen, Prestige Purchasing CEO, commented: “Inflation now constitutes an existential threat to many businesses in the hospitality sector. The Ukraine war has the potential to drive an extended period of increasing food and drink costs, which if coupled with recent changes to VAT, rising labour costs and potentially falling volumes could well generate conditions worse than during the pandemic.

Best in class procurement skills will be an essential part of the operator toolkit in the years ahead.”

James Ashurst, client director at CGA, said: “Two years of Covid turmoil have weakened many businesses across the foodservice sector, so the huge upward pressure on prices comes at the worst possible time. The surge in energy and commodity costs shows no sign of easing, and with consumers’ disposable incomes heavily impacted as well, there will be pressure on sales as well as margins. The long-term future of the foodservice sector remains good, but there are undoubtedly some turbulent times ahead.”

Like many other suppliers across food to go, disposables manufacturer and supplier, Herald, is preparing its customers for the rising costs, while seeking to reassure by securing its product range and ensuring there are always alternative choices available. With many major cities in China being forced back into some form of lockdown, and the supply chain under threat, there’s a shortage of materials, they report, which is causing a sharp, pre-emptive rise in prices across the market. If you add to this the increasing fuel costs, and a general lack of stability for all businesses, the immediate future

holds quite a bleak outlook, say the company.

“There’s a current air of unease which is spreading its way about all those who stay on top of the world situation. In terms of disposables, we’re seeing a potential 25% increase in the cost of materials and it’s hard not to be concerned when this is paired with transport problems and gas and electricity rising costs,” said Herald’s MD, Yogesh Patel.

“However, the message here is simple – please don’t panic buy.

Panic buying kills the market. It turns a bad situation into a critical problem and forces prices even higher, making many businesses unsustainable and bringing them to their knees.

“For our part, we will continue to be transparent about what we can deliver and any extra costs we have to impose. Good communication is vital in trying times. By continuing to adopt an open and honest approach, we can ride out the situation together. Our position has always been to secure extra product so that the customer gets access to the products they need without too much delay. We have taken these steps in recent months and we have the storage space necessary to hold these products.

“If products do run out, we can advise and steer our customers towards suitable alternatives. And if price rises mean that certain products are not viable in the shortterm, we will make sure that we continue to offer as great a selection as possible so that you can make the best choices. We’re in this together and we’ll do all that we can to keep providing our customers with a service that is second to none and quality products that are affordable.”

www.sandwich.org.uk I 5

NEWS

Burts launches new brand identity and raft of innovation Independent snack maker, Burts, says that it is capitalising on its regional success from the staycation boom with a new brand identity and a raft of new products.

The company is launching refreshed packaging which brings Burts provenance to the fore. The packaging showcases the long-standing relationships with local independent producers such as Quickes Cheese and South Devon Chilli Farm, showing consumers that the chips are made with care in Devon.

Dave McNulty, managing director at Burts Snacks said: “The new brand identity has a slightly nautical feel in keeping with Burts’ South West roots. We are proud to work in close partnership with our growers, our local independent suppliers and our customers. As we expand nationally we know consumers will be attracted by our Devon heritage.”

The premium snacking brand is also launching a new limited-edition Prawn Cocktail flavour, featuring a co-designed pack with charity partner, the Royal

National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The new flavour will be available in both 40g and 150g, featuring a dramatic image of the RNLI’s orange lifeboat at sea. As the brand rolls into its second year of partnership with the lifeboat charity, RNLI, its hero flavours Lightly Sea Salted and Salt & Malt Vinegar will continue to share the charity’s lifesaving “Float to Live” message on the new packaging.

Burts is also launching a range of new Lentil Chips in the ‘better for you’ space in 20g and 85g pack sizes, available in Lightly Sea salted, Sour Cream & Chive and Barbecue flavours.

The new snacks, that are a ‘dippable shape’, are aimed at consumers seeking a healthier alternative without compromising on taste and are a source of fibre and gluten-free. In fact, 62% of adults say they’re trying to eat more healthily, with 50% of consumers claiming to have cut back in the last 12 months.

Alongside these innovations, the new Burts Ridges takes the brand into the fast-growing Ridge Cut segment.

Bringing even bigger and bolder flavours to the category, Burts is launching two new flavours with a premium take on the trend of spicy seasoning and bistro foods - Reaper Chilli and Lime and a Steak Surf & Turf flavour. The packs are available in 50g grab bag and 150g share pack to appeal to both consumers grabbing a tasty snack on the go, and those wanting to share a packet of crisps.

“Our research shows that people who love good food want to try delicious new snacks made by independent companies who really care. It is shown that launching new products such as this is key to keeping consumers engaged with brands. We are just scratching the surface in terms of innovation with the tremendous manufacturing capabilities we have. This is just the start of our innovation journey, we want Burts to be a brand that can grow and grow,” added Dave McNulty.

Simply Lunch launch new Planet Focused range Simply Lunch have announced the launch of their Planet Focused food range which will be released in three phases.

To make the planet the primary focus, the company say that they have scrapped the plastic in the packaging of both the sandwiches and wraps within this new collection.

They have also taken the decision to remove beef from their entire menu (beef equating to 60% of greenhouse gasses within the entire food production industry, they claim).

To mark the launch, there is brand new packaging too with a carbon label on all products featured within 6 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

the range to help give consumers a much stronger understanding of the impact the product and their choice of food has on the environment.

Bold and bright coloured packaging has also been used to provided customers with extra clarity as to which protein type is within their choice of products, say the firm, and there are unique QR codes for each individual item, which once scanned, will take the consumer to a detailed web page for that specific product featuring information about the ingredients and nutrients within that item. In addition, artistic and expressive hand-drawn illustrations

that have a focus on food for the everyday lifestyle have been utilised to give the new packaging a distinctive look.

H. Smith Food Group plc 24 Easter Industrial Park Ferry Lane South Rainham RM13 9BP

e. enquiries@hsmithplc.com t. +44 (0) 1708 878 888 w. www.hsmithplc.com

NEWS

Selecta kicks off its Foodies Shop & Go concept in Belgium Selecta is launching its next generation of food tech solutions in Europe – a modern, fully automated store concept at Corda Campus in Hasselt, Belgium.

Its brand-new Foodies Shop & Go concept offers fresh food available for purchase in a hassle-free consumer experience with automated payment process. After scanning a credit or debit card or the according app upon entering the Foodies Shop & Go store, consumers are free to pick their favorite food items and just walk out – no time-consuming check-out, no need to wait in line.

Foodies Shop & Go takes Selecta’s current Foodies fresh food solutions one step further, making workplace refreshment corners even more scalable to client needs at all times.

Verena Eberle, global project leader at Selecta, said: “With the innovative Foodies Shop & Go concept, we offer our consumers a completely new experience in addition to our seasonal and local, healthy and delicious products.

Right from the start, our goal was to combine the simplest handling with the greatest possible enjoyment.”

“We are excited with the arrival of the Foodies Shop & Go to our campus,” added general director of Corda Campus, Raf Degens.

“We already offer a lot of extra services on our campus, and we always try to respond to the needs and expectations of our community, in an innovative way. We not only test the technological aspect here, but we also involve our community by questioning them about the range in the store and adjusting where necessary. This innovative project, which we are trying out together with Selecta and our local catering manager, makes working and living 8 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

on campus even more enjoyable.

Moreover, this shop is accessible to everyone, whether you work on our campus, are just visiting or live nearby, everyone is welcome. And that too is completely Corda Campus.”

The system is based on precise tracking sensors, recognising which products are taken, monitoring the consumer movements and using advanced tracing software while fully protecting privacy and data security at the same time. It surveys all product information accurately while the tracking sensor detects all visitors to differentiate and allocate the selected products to the right people. An additional step of human verification may take place in the background if needed, to complement the automatic transaction. This ensures that every consumer is only charged for what he or she takes and allows them to enjoy a fast and convenient shopping experience. An innovative, and attendant-free food market has never been this secure, easy, and tasty.

Foodies Shop & Go is not just another mini shop but a logical step, say Selecta, to bring technology solutions to food distribution. It uses technology to respond to new, changing consumer demands with cashless and 24/7, on-demand availability, integrating latest technology software and custom-built hardware components for unattended stores developed by Swedish company Instant Systems.

“Not only are we constantly searching for short-term solutions for our clients, but we are obsessed with game-changing innovations in all areas. The partnership with Instant Systems allows us to combine our highquality and delicious food selection with the latest technical possibilities available. This is who we are and how we do it,” said Jan Marck Vrijlandt, chief commercial officer at Selecta.

At Corda Campus the concept has been customised with a Foodies hot steam food concept, a bakery unit, and a We proudly serve Starbucks™ coffee corner.

NEWS

Flexeserve wins Queen’s Award for Innovation Flexeserve, has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2022.

Hailed by CEO, Jamie Joyce as “Flexeserve’s greatest achievement to date”, the award will be marked with a reception hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 2022.

Recognising and celebrating business excellence across the UK, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards for UK businesses. They were first awarded in 1966 – the same year Alan Nuttall founded his business – with Her Majesty The Queen personally approving the winners.

The business, then known as ‘Alan Nuttall Ltd – Fresh Food Solutions’, won an award for innovation in 2005, and now the revolutionary Flexeserve Zone has achieved this incredible accolade.

Jamie Joyce added: “Winning this national award, recognised around the world, is overwhelming – it’s a dream come true for the business. This award is won by every single Partner in the Flexeserve team, as well as our wider Partnership and customers. This has been made possible by the belief of all these groups of people in our flagship product, Flexeserve Zone.”

Flexeserve Zone is capable of hot-holding food to go products with different temperature requirements at the same time. The patented unit creates a consistent

air temperature throughout each shelf, which can be individually controlled. This unlocks new opportunities for major operators to expand product ranges, achieve unrivalled hold times and reduce food waste, whilst maintaining excellent food quality – for the best possible customer experience. The unit can be found in a range of foodservice operators – large and small, in the UK and globally - including Pret A Manger, Greggs, M&S, Sainsburys, Circle K and Amazon Go.

Flexeserve sweeps the board at GBCC Awards In a rare double win at the prestigious annual Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) Awards, Flexeserve’s team say that they were delighted to win both awards entered.

The hot-holding company won Excellence in International Business and Excellence in Sales & Marketing at the GBCC Awards 2022, presented by the GBCC on Friday, 4 March 2022 at the ICC, Birmingham.

Jamie Joyce, CEO of Flexeserve, said: “It was an incredible night for the business. We were blown away to receive this recognition from the Chambers in two fields.

We were up against stiff competition in both categories, and these awards underline the level of our team’s success.

“Even with the challenges of the last couple of years, we have secured and fulfilled pivotal, large-scale rollouts.

We’ve led customers through the pandemic, helping them achieve their goals for high quality hot food, increased sales and reduced waste, and everyone has risen to the occasion.”

Flexeserve is developing a taste for being an 10 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

award-winning business, having also won the award for Excellence in Manufacturing at the LeicestershireLive Business Awards 2020/21 in September last year.

For the Excellence in International Business Award, Flexeserve detailed its expansion into the U.S., and the ways in which it has overcome the challenges of the pandemic (Flexeserve has experienced exponential growth in its international sales, with much of that increase taking place in North America). With the Sales & Marketing Award, the theme of overcoming challenges was key once again, with Flexeserve creating and broadcasting Flexebition – its own livestreamed digital exhibition, in the absence of in-person events.

Display

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Meet the game changers.

Our heated displays and all-encompassing service, Flexeserve Solution, deliver true hot-holding that advances how you serve hot food. Together, let’s change the game.

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NEWS Billychip launches local partnership with Greggs BillyChip®, a social enterprise scheme supporting rough sleepers, has been running a local partnership with Greggs - seven Greggs outlets across Bristol city centre selling the BillyChip on a trial basis over eight weeks to help support local rough sleepers and homeless people.

The BillyChip platform allows people to purchase a token from Greggs Bristol outlets which can then be given to rough sleepers and homeless people as an alternative to cash. They can then redeem the BillyChip for food and drink at nearly 40 outlets across the city. The BillyChip scheme is a simple concept, offering a bridge between those wanting to give and those needing a little kindness and compassion.

Jon Hope, co-founder at BillyChip said: “It’s wonderful to be working with Greggs to support our local homeless population with the BillyChip. By removing cash from the equation, BillyChip overcomes stigmas associated with giving to those on the streets and also adds an element of choice, enabling those receiving a Chip to decide what drink or food item to buy.

“Like everyone else in the community, rough sleepers have dietary requirements too and so choice is hugely valuable. Greggs is such a well-recognised brand, and we’re hoping that this trial provides scope to roll out the BillyChip into other Greggs shops across the UK.” Greggs already runs a number of initiatives and schemes aimed at supporting diversity and inclusivity, recognising issues including homelessness.

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Pret a Manger joins Podback scheme for recycling at-home coffee pods Pret A Manger has become the first UK food to go retailer to become a member of the Podback recycling scheme, helping customers to recycle their aluminum Pret at-home coffee pods.

Pret’s 100% organic and Arabica coffee made famous in its shops was launched as an at-home coffee retail range in May 2020. First available in two ground coffee options and one whole bean blend, Pret expanded this range in July 2021 by introducing two aluminum coffee pod blends, Espresso and Classic, which are compatible with Nespresso® coffee machines (Pret at-home coffee pods are available for purchase from Pret shops, Ocado, Sainsburys, Tesco and Amazon).

The coffee pods use dark roasted beans to create an indulgent espressobased coffee and are the same blends loved by customers in Pret shops across the UK. These are now fully recyclable through the Podback programme.

Podback, created by Nestlé and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK (JDE UK), claims to be the UK’s first nationwide, not for profit service providing customers with several easy ways to recycle their coffee pods, whether they are aluminum or plastic. Through Podback, used aluminium pods are turned into ingots and used in the manufacture of new products - such as beverage cans - while the used coffee grounds go through anaerobic digestion to produce a combination of biogas and soil improver.

Rick Hindley, executive director of Podback, said: “Pret is the first food to go retailer to join Podback as a member.

Expanding the scheme to include more brands has been one of our priorities since launching last year, so we’re thrilled to have Pret on board. We welcome other retailers and brands to join to make it the scheme even more inclusive for consumers.”

Guy Meakin, UK managing director of Pret A Manger added: “We’re always looking for new ways to reduce our

impact on the environment, whether through introducing coffee cup recycling stations in-shop or our 50p reusable cup discount. Now that our coffee is increasingly enjoyed in homes around the country, we wanted to find a solution that would help our customers recycle their Pret coffee pods easily. We’re excited to join the Podback scheme to make this possible.”

Following the new partnership with Podback, customers can recycle Pret at-home coffee pods via Collect+ delivered by Yodel (customers can take their Podback recycling bags, filled with used coffee pods, to their nearest drop off point. There are thousands of drop-off points in local stores across the UK. Initially, Pret customers can order recycling bags alongside their regular pod order via Ocado. Pret will make recycling bags available in its UK shops later this year).

Kerbside collection is another option with residents of Cheltenham Borough Council, South Derbyshire District Council, Chichester District Council, Oxford City Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Exeter City Council and London Borough of Waltham Forest able to have their used pods collected alongside other household waste and recycling – with the service expanding to new areas this year (customers can check whether their area is eligible, how each council will run the collection service, and order recycling bags via podback.org).

SALES freshfoodtogo@proampac.com

HOTLINE +44 (0) 20 8069 0700

RAPUK.COM

PROAMPAC.COM

NEWS

UK’s biggest vegan event to return to Olympia London VegfestUK - Britain’s longest-running indoor vegan event - will return to Olympia London, expanding to its biggest and most recognisable space, the Olympia Grand.

“Currently we are receiving lots of enquiries from exhibitors. Not only has there been a lull in events, ensuring a hunger and appetite to return amongst exhibitors generally – but we’ve also witnessed a phenomenal increase in plant-based options in the last few years and high numbers of new vegan businesses eager to exhibit, many for the first time at a major venue like Olympia London. But equally high for many on the agenda is sustainability,” said the VegFestUK organisers in a statement.

The event promises to be a smorgasbord of vegan food and beverages, vegan fashion and beauty

VegfestUK will take place on 12 and 13 November 2022 at Olympia London.

and vegan options to businesses and individuals pursuing a sustainable lifestyle. The show will also be a welcome boost to hundreds of vegan independent businesses exhibiting and looking forward to returning to the live events environment to help boost sales, marketing, engagement and branding to an everincreasing audience of both plant-based aficionados and hardcore vegans alike.

New report calls for urgent reassessment of UK packaging strategy IGD has published a new report to help the food and consumer goods industry drive progress towards the shared ambition of halving the environmental impact of the UK packaging system by 2030.

The new report – Halving the environmental impact of the UK packaging system: How industry and key stakeholders can work together to drive positive change – focuses on the big challenges facing the industry and highlights opportunities to reduce impact and deliver cost savings.

To achieve the 2030 ambition, ‘business as usual’ will not be enough, they claim - there will need to be a 20% reduction in the amount of packaging on the market. The report identifies three key levers to change: remove packaging; increase recycled content; and decarbonise existing supply chains. The ambition will

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require a shift in focus from plastics to all packaging materials.

Susan Barratt, CEO at IGD, said: “Creating sustainable packaging systems is a critical issue. Last year, we brought together stakeholders to form a working group to create our shared industry ambition. Recent events have thrown the context of this work sharply into focus, with unprecedented challenges around commodity inflation and supply affecting businesses and consumers alike. This has led to a significant reappraisal of packaging strategy and sourcing decisions.

“Our challenge is to find solutions to future packaging systems that can help consumers do their bit for the planet and also keep their costs down.

For businesses, the opportunity is to provide them with a framework for investment that minimises costs and

enables growth.

“Our stakeholders have been invaluable in challenging our industry to work together as one voice. It will now take industry leaders, technical and commercial teams to refocus their plans to ensure that collectively, we can meet this ambition.”

Halving the environmental impact of the UK packaging system is a free report for industry and is the next phase of IGD’s sustainable packaging work, following the launch of How to help consumers adopt reusable packaging last year, which highlighted consumer tools for adopting refill and on-the-go packaging solutions.

To join the industry to drive progress towards the 2030 ambition to halve the environmental impact of the UK packaging system, and partner with IGD on projects to test solutions, email sustainability@igd.com.

Kraft Soup Containers The ideal partner for the perfect sandwich Herald’s double wall, kraft and white containers, with lids, provide an instant win for those offering soups to accompany a luxury sandwich selection.

Available in an assortment of sizes, the quality containers can accommodate a multitude of uses, from soups and noodles to salads and desserts, providing an all around, best packaging choice.

See how Herald’s packaging can complement any gourmet produce.

0208 507 7900 sales@heraldplastic.com www.heraldplastic.com HE

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NEWS New bakery packaging concept reduces CO2 emissions by a third Viipurilainen Kotileipomo is a nearly 100-year-old company that produces pastries and artisan breads from local ingredients using traditional methods, and when the bakery was looking for a new solution for its cake packaging, its key criteria were to reduce the environmental footprint of the packaging, and to make assembly quick and easy.

Viipurilainen Kotileipomo and Metsä Board’s packaging design team based at Metsä Board’s Excellence Centre jointly developed a resource-efficient and 100% recyclable bakery packaging.

The new eye-catching packaging reduces material requirements by 25%, and carbon dioxide emissions by 34% compared to the previous packaging,

claim the two companies. At the same time, the bakery was able to reduce its use of plastic by moving away from a PE-coated board. In addition to the environmental benefits, the design of the new bakery box makes it quicker and easier to assemble.

“Packaging sustainability is important to us and our customers, and it’s great to be able to spread the word about reducing plastic and promoting recycling. The whole product development process was carried out in a structured way at the Excellence Centre and the new stylish packaging was quickly brought to market,” said Teppo Ylä-Hemmilä, bread artist and innovation director, Viipurilainen Kotileipomo.

“The new concept is an excellent example of innovative solutions made possible by joint brainstorming. In designing the packaging, we used a virtual model at our Excellence Centre to quickly and accurately visualise the material, structure and its sustainability,” says Ilkka Harju, packaging services director, EMEA and APAC, Metsä Board.

The bakery packaging is made of lightweight MetsäBoard Prime FBB EB, a dispersion coated barrier board, which can be recycled using paper or paperboard collection waste streams.

The MetsäBoard Prime FBB EB board is thick and resistant to grease, which is key for food that naturally have a high fat content such as pastries and cakes.

Colpac reinforces sustainable commitment with creation of an ESG manager role Colpac has appointed Talia Goldman (pictured) to their newly created role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) manager.

The development comes as the importance of ESG is rightfully recognised as central to any leading organisation’s strategy and operations, feel Colpac, a UK based SME, designing and manufacturing food packaging from renewable resources, who have a history of embedding sustainability into its products and have worked to have a positive impact on the industry, community, and the environment.

The appointment of Talia Goldman will focus all areas of the business on continuing to strengthen Colpac’s ESG activities, whilst building a stronger voice for the company to help shape legislation and other initiatives to develop food packaging for the future, say the firm.

Talia Goldman brings a wealth of experience across sustainability, 16 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

communication, and environmental policy to the position, having previously supported Colpac as sustainability lead while studying for an MSc in Environment, Politics and Society from UCL, and now returning to Colpac as ESG manager, having spent the last year on secondment to the Cabinet Office as a policy advisor on the UK’s COP26 Nature Campaign.

“Nature, deforestation, and sustainable resource use was front and centre at COP26,” said Talia Goldman. “It was a defining moment where people realised the vital role that materials and resources play in addressing climate change, and that businesses are often a step ahead of the government in making considerable changes as we move towards a net zero and nature positive future.”

This commitment is reflected within their own business, say Colpac, who point out that while sustainable resource use has long been at their heart - through eco-design principles, waste reduction, and using recyclable and compostable materials from sustainable sources such as FSC® and PEFC™ - they have also invested in

nature locally and in cutting its carbon footprint. One of Talia Goldman’s first objectives is to scale up the company’s decarbonisation plans and continue to drive forward due diligence in the company’s multiple supply chains, in a bid to provide customers with complete traceability.

“ESG is integral to Colpac,” added Andrew Grimbaldeston, Colpac’s commercial director.

“Each of the elements are central to our values. This vision is shared throughout the company as we seek to develop food packaging for the future. Now, we are witnessing a change in emphasis across the entire industry which reflects the reality that best practice goes beyond the typically narrow definitions of sustainability. Our ESG role will develop and drive our agenda forwards to meet those challenges with innovation and creativity.

“Talia’s knowledge, experience, and passion for nature are a great asset, and we are delighted that she will now spearhead our initiatives and steer us into the future within this new role.”

LET’S GET FRESH!

With Counterline your sandwiches are as fresh as the moment they are made.

Because a great sandwich is more than what’s in it, it’s what it’s stored in.

#getfreshwithcounterline www.counterline.co.uk

SAN H WE DW EK 22 IC BR

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MA nd-2 Y 2 8 th 02 2

The 28th annual British Sandwich Week takes place between 22 and 28 May 2022, giving operators the chance to promote this great British staple.

FIGHTBACK The last two years has been a difficult trading period for nearly all businesses, let alone those in the hospitality, catering or food to go sector.

The pandemic wiped out two-thirds of the £8 billion UK sandwich market overnight, so coming out of it is proving just as challenging with staffing and supply chain shortages, costs soaring and a new hybrid world which has left city offices only half functioning. Yet, despite all this, the latest data suggests that the resilient sandwich sector is fighting back strongly with around 38% volume regrowth recorded over the last 12 months and a return close to 2019 levels anticipated by researchers towards the end of this year.

And to help buffer any more negative sector news,

returning for another year to help drive nationwide footfall, is British Sandwich Week. The 28th annual British Sandwich Week takes place between 22 and 28 May 2022 – and the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association behind the specialist week is wanting all those in the out of home market to get involved.

The Association represents those businesses where sandwiches form a core part of the food to go offer. Sandwiches are a British staple to be enjoyed at any time of the day, and as we can see in the latest statistics, it’s very clear that as a nation we still love our sandwiches.

Nationally, the sandwich is still the go-to lunch option for many Brits – with 72% of spending at lunchtime going on sandwiches.

20 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

Last year’s successful week saw household brands such as Marmite, McCoy’s, Hellmann’s, Subway, Boots, Roberts Bakery and hundreds more get involved in all activity butty-like for the week with national and regional media covering lots of creative stunts, stories and features giving a good old boost to the sandwich trade, and this year is set to be no less of a sandwich focused fanfare.

CELEBRATE Jim Winship, director of the British Sandwich & Food To Go Association behind British Sandwich Week says: “As the UK starts to find its feet again after a troublesome time it’s no surprise the love for everything sandwich is reigning supreme.

“British Sandwich Week celebrates the sandwich in all its glory as well as the contribution that the sandwich industry makes to the economy. This year, it has the even greater aim of supporting the industry as it comes back after two years of lockdowns and closures.

Sandwiches are a British staple to be enjoyed at any time of the day, and as we can see in these latest statistics, it’s very clear that as a nation we still love our sandwiches.

“It’s the perfect time to be exploring the wider range of options that the professional sandwich industry has to offer. We really hope that all sandwich shops, bars, supermarkets, cafes, and retailers across the breadth of the country will have their fridges stacked high with freshly made sandwiches for the up-and-coming British Sandwich Week.”

British consumers manage to munch their way through over 11.5 billion sandwiches each year. If you laid each one end to end, they would go around the world about 44 times. More than half of these were made and eaten in the home.

Well over 3.6billion sandwiches are purchased from retail or catering outlets each year and we paid over £8billion for them – that’s as much as 475,765 brand new Vauxhall Corsas (the average price of a sandwich is conservatively estimated at £2.20).

What is a sandwich?

The British Sandwich & Food to Go Association defines a sandwich as ‘any form of bread with a filling, generally assembled cold to include traditional wedge

BSA the press office will reach out to its national or regional media contacts to help you publicise them.

• Perhaps you’re launching a new product especially for British Sandwich Week, again we would love to hear all about it and push out the news to the UK’s media.

sandwiches, as well as filled rolls, baguettes, pitta, bloomers, wraps, bagels, and the like, but not burgers and other products assembled and consumed hot. Hot eating sandwiches are also included.

Jim Winship, continued to share that he is keen to generate as much noise as possible this year: “Any awareness campaign is better when we celebrate together. We have several planned press and awareness activities that we’d love establishments to jump on board with.”

Deals/specials/offers • If you have dedicated offers running on sandwiches during the above dates, get in touch as soon as possible and

Sandwiches fit for a Queen The BSA plans to mark Her Majesty’s 70th year on the throne with sandwiches fit for royalty.

• Street Party Specials - If you’ve any sandwich specials planned for the Queen’s Jubilee street parties, we’d love to hear all about them.

• The association is keen to explore if there has been a renewed interest in cucumber sandwiches with the rise of the vegan market. Can you help with any insight? Any tips on stopping them from going soggy?

• What about Coronation Chicken? Do you sell it? Are sales of the dish created for the Queen’s coronation waning? If so, what will replace it? We would love to hear any industry facts and stats on this topic.

We’re on the hunt for a confident spokesperson to talk about the dos and don’ts of creating sandwiches for our article on the Sandwich Commandments.

And finally…

• Are sandwiches your bread and butter? Do you earn your crust making sandwiches? We’d love to hear from any sandwich entrepreneurs who’d like to share their stories for regional and national media.

GET INVOLVED If you can help with any of the above, or would like to know more about work of the Association, just drop a line to the British Sandwich Week press office team on BSW@pretzelgroup.co.uk Otherwise, anyone can get involved from their fingertips with supporting and joining in with digital content over on the association’s social channels and using the pre-created press releases on the association’s web site at www.britishsandwichweek. com.

Website: www.britishsandwichweek.com Instagram @brit_sandwich Twitter @britsandwich Facebook @britsandwich

Sandwiches as you’ve never seen them…

• What about sandwiches that didn’t make the cut? Those flavour combinations that never made it to the shop floor.

Can you share any behind the scenes insight?

• Do you have any talented sandwich makers on your team? www.sandwich.org.uk I 21

SANDWICH DESIGNER

How far would you go for a truly great sandwich?

The kitchen? The local shop? A walk into town? Maybe these days, you just reach for the phone and order one in? Here at Sammies HQ, we’re not even sure if we should answer that question in minutes or miles. Let me explain…

There’s been very little any of us could describe as typical over the past two years. The routine has been anything but routine and that thing we’ve always done has become no longer the done thing. So, the story of how far we’ve gone to find a truly great sandwich, at least for this year’s competition, is getting on for three years in the making. It all started way back in late May 2019.

You see, the planning for each annual awards and competition begins in earnest with a full and frank de-brief of the previous one.

Caron Parry, the events manager, leads the team through each step of the process, discussing the notes and observations each member has made. It’s this constant fine-tuning which we hope keeps things fresh, engaging and ultimately better with each passing year.

Having to improvise and adapt to the circumstances of these past two years meant that our plans for this year had to go back to the last time we had a “typical” awards cycle.

That was during the heady days of 2019, when facemasks were for surgeons; no one was an armchair epidemiologist, and a Zoom chat would surely have meant something involving ice lollies.

20 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

LUNCH! LAUNCH! From that review, this year’s competition launched in the September 2021 issue of this very magazine and at the lunch! show, with competitors invited to register to take part and receive the sponsor’s ingredients package in early January.

By February, with hundreds of recipes entered, the measure “how far” changed from days to distance as we were once again able to hold in-person semi-finals around the country. And so, for two of the team, that meant it was time to put some miles on the tyres.

THE GREAT BRITISH SANDWICH ROAD TRIP “We’ve got 253 miles to Darlington; half a pack of Haribo; it’s March and we’re making sandwiches.”

Recollections may vary as to whether these were the actual final words of chief competition sandwich wrangler Sandra Bennett before she and her long-suffering sidekick Josh Davis set out for the first of the Sandwich & Food to Go Designer semi-finals, but let’s not let the truth get in the way of a nod to Jake and Elwood.

The pair had already clocked around 35 miles by way of a visit to Nisbets National Catering Equipment

Centre to collect the oven and hob they kindly loaned for us to use during the semi-finals. You can visit Nisbets too at www.nisbets.co.uk.

SANDWICH DESIGNER In Darlington – well technically in a Holiday Inn between Darlington and Richmond – our intrepid pair were joined by judges representing the competition sponsors as well as the first batch of semi-finalists. There were more than twenty sandwiches and food to go dishes prepared and tasted, resulting in four of the competitors progressing.

Gary McDowell and Adrian Fitzpatrick, both representing Deli Lites, will be joined at the finals by Elizabeth Goodman from On a Roll Sandwich Company and Greencore’s Megan Grove.

“WAY ON DOWN SOUTH, LONDON TOWN” The Sultans of Sandwich clocked up another 244 miles as they headed for the next showdown in their bid to find the finest sandwich designer in the land. Beaufort Sports in Feltham played host to another cohort of hopefuls and, having munched their way through each of the recipes presented to them, the judges advanced three more competitors to the finals.

Alexia Cowen and Catherine Fleetwood, both from Greencore,

made it to the next stage alongside Simon Broadribb from Uptons of Bassett.

With two semi-finals in the rearview mirror and two more to come, Sandra and Josh headed the 115 miles back to Sammies HQ for a brew and a half-time orange. This being a road-trip, it was probably a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. And some doughnuts. And some more Haribo.

BRIZZLE-ING WITH EXCITEMENT Semi-final three was just a short hop over the Severn and down the M5 to old friends Nisbets whose National Catering Equipment Centre at Avonmouth, near Bristol, gave the competition a home for the day.

Although slightly fewer in number than the other semi-finals, the competitors at Bristol had multiple entries in multiple categories, meaning there were more recipes for the judges to sample than there were at either Darlington or London.

This resulted in Kieran McGivern from Around Noon, Tony BishopWeston from Foods for Life, Nutrition & Health, Dai Llewellyn from Co-Op and Around Noon's Stanley Revell taking their places in the final.

www.sandwich.org.uk I 21

SANDWICH DESIGNER

THEY FINISHED IN THE MIDDLE For the final leg of their sandwich odyssey, Sandra and Josh found themselves headed 120 miles up the M5 and M42 to visit long-time supporters Flexeserve® www.flexeserve.com – who welcomed them with open arms and, crucially, open kitchen.

This hotly contested semi-final resulted in no less than seven competitors receiving the judges’ nod to make a date for the finals.

Bradgate Bakery’s Harry Dempster and Edvinas Smigelskis will be joined

by Greencore trio Frances Cope, Eleny Mito and Martin Willsher as well as Sam Tebbatt from Melton Foods and The Soho Sandwich Company’s Susannah Montgomery.

A THOUSAND MILES AND COUNTING Okay, so those of you paying attention will have clocked 922 miles, but I’m adding some extras for unrecorded drive-through visits plus, by the time this goes to print, inflation will mean I’m pretty much on point!

As for the “and counting”, well there’s still the final on 5 May 2022 to go, where we will find out the individual winners in each of the sponsored categories as well as who claims the £2,000 winner’s cheque and the title of Sandwich Designer of the Year 2022. We’ll be covering that in the next issue.

SPONSORED BY

www.sandwich.org.uk I 22

Enjoy Lunch!

Jacksons, baking Great Bread for the sandwich industry. #enjoybread

THE SANDWICH & FOOD TO GO INDUSTRY AWARDS

The Sammies Awards Dinner is the source of that intangible secret ingredient which keeps the industry ticking. A sprinkling of stardust!

T

hat stardust doesn’t appear by magic though, it’s ground from the monumental effort of the Sammies Awards team, with the added muscle of the judging panels. First, the awards entries were shortlisted earlier in the year and then, during March, the serious work began.

Eight marathon judging sessions were conducted throughout the month with representatives for each of the shortlisted entries given the opportunity to present the judges with a compelling case as to why they deserved to win.

There can be no doubt that this is serious work and thanks need to be given to everyone who took part, and especially to the judges who gave their time and loaned their expertise to choosing a winner.

With the judging finished, preparations complete and the invitations sent, the industry is ready to sprinkle a little stardust as it is once again able to celebrate its success stories in person at the Sammies Awards Dinner.

In the next issue of the magazine, we’ll bring you full coverage of the evening but in the meantime the winners will be revealed at www.thesammies.co.uk on 5 May 2022, right after the awards dinner.

THE SANDWICH & FOOD TO GO INDUSTRY AWARDS

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR SPONSORS

Why

YOUR

membership matters

What’s the benefit to my business? This is the question most often asked when someone is approached to join us, or indeed, any trade association. It is also the most difficult to answer as many of the real benefits are not tangible, such as the work that goes on behind the scenes to make sure that the industry’s good name and interests are protected as much as possible, particularly from government.

REPRESENTATION AND PROTECTION This can all seem very remote if you are running a café or sandwich bar where your focus is on the day-to-day job of making sandwiches and keeping customers happy. Yet, in reality, our work provides ongoing protection for you as we fight back against attempts to impose increasingly draconian legislation.

This unseen work leads to very tangible benefits that members can take advantage of.

Perhaps the most important one is translating legislation into practical advice, which we do both through guidance and the relationship we have with both national and local 28 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

government. This is often presented as Assured Advice, which has quasi-legal status, thus making it difficult for the authorities to challenge businesses following it.

Only BSA members can take advantage of this protection.

ADVICE Through the same agreement, and our own knowledge base, we also provide members with a reliable source of technical, legal and other advice which they can use to get assurance that they are doing things correctly. For example, our industry agreements with government can be used by members to check the wording on a label is correct.

Members also have unrestricted access to a wealth of information on our website which includes guidance on issues around employment law as well as member-only access to specialist employment lawyers for more specific advice.

The Association also organises regular on-line briefings on issues likely to affect member businesses, including presentations from leading market researchers that many smaller businesses would generally not have access to. Furthermore, these briefings are recorded and available for members to access at any time.

On top of all this, there are a range of very specific benefits, such as discounts on insurance, that members can tap into if they wish plus, we keep them informed of legislation and other matters that might affect the running of their business through weekly ebulletins.

In many ways membership is rather like an insurance policy that you hope you will never need to use but with the added value of advice and support that you can use as and when you need it. www.sandwich.org.uk

Time for a

moratorium?

After a tough two years for the sector, and with upcoming legislation to be taken on board - calorie labelling, HFSS, and environmental taxes – is it time for a moratorium asks BSA director, Jim Winship.

A RANGE OF CHALLENGES At the best of times, it must be difficult being a politician trying to run a country while keeping voters happy and meeting manifesto commitments, particularly at times like these where there seems to be a new crisis at every turn.

Governments can become blinded by the complexities of keeping this balance to the extent that they can seem remote and to be struggling to see the wood from the trees. Yet at times like these it is not always possible to stick to the policy commitments made at a time when things were very different.

Never before have businesses faced such a range of challenges than they do at present, so much so that many are struggling. From Covid

and supply chain problems to staff and energy shortages… The list goes on with no clear end in sight.

BAD TIMING On top of this, new legislation is piling additional pressure and costs onto hospitality and food businesses, from allergen and calorie labelling laws to restrictions on the advertising and promotion of foods high in salt fat and sugar and the introduction of new packaging taxes.

While there may be arguments to justify many of these, the timing could not be worse, which is why it is time for a moratorium.

While delaying some of this legislation may not be popular with some politicians, the priority has to be to keep businesses alive

and functioning as they are the lifeblood of our economy, providing employment and income through taxes that allow the country and government to function.

Furthermore, a moratorium on new legislation would not cost the Treasury anything – it would just put back a few things that we have all managed to live with to date.

Just as it will take time for businesses to get back on their feet, so it will take time for some of the major issues arising out of the Ukraine war to be resolved – not least the energy and world crop shortages that have yet to have their full impact.

A two-year moratorium would allow us all to regroup and get our businesses back on firm ground. www.sandwich.org.uk I 29

PACKAGING RECYCLING

The environmental challenge of packaging In a recent webinar for BSA members, Trewin Restorick (CEO of Hubbub), outlined some of the current challenges being faced in relation to packaging waste and the successful approaches that had been deployed to help counteract them, with Gareth Morton (discovery manager at Ecosurety) giving further insight on specific initiatives taking place.

DRIVING ENGAGEMENT Hubbub, Trewin Restorick explained, is an environmental charity set up eight years ago with an aim to take environmental messages to a mainstream audience in a way that is fun, and it does this by talking about the things people are passionate about – the food they eat, clothes they wear, their homes and neighbourhoods They partner with big businesses (Starbucks, Ikea, Virgin Media O2, for example) to deliver behavioural change campaigns based around good academic thinking and good design, and then they measure what they do and share results so that others can learn from mistakes and successes made.

MOST LITTERED To illustrate what Hubbub do and using cigarette butts (one of the most littered items, mainly by drunk young men) as an example, Trewin Restorick outlined how they had asked themselves “how could we stop this?”

“We didn’t think a sticker would work, so came up with a ‘voting bin’, posing the question ‘who’s the best footballer in the world – Ronaldo or Messi?’, and whereby people could vote by which part of the bin people placed their cigarette butts in,” said Trewin Restorick.

“At the time, Messi was ahead in the voting, so we weighted it in favour of Ronaldo, creating interest on social media, and then requests for bins, leading to the creation of a social enterprise selling around £20,000 worth of bins a month that now go all over the world, and helping to cut cigarette littering by 30-40%.”

30 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

ON THE GO PACKAGING CHALLENGE Packaging on the go is a real issue, Trewin Restorick acknowledged. Prior to Covid, they had done some research and found that the UK generates 10.7 billion items of packaging from lunch on the go annually; the average person having four pieces of packaging from their lunch, making it very significant in terms of volume and its levels, and what people see and think about it, and thus at the forefront of people’s concern.

Functionally it is good, but environmentally it’s a problematic thing to deal with for the following reasons.

1. Where does it end up? (a variety of locations – office, park, home etc.)

2. Having a closed loop system for it is difficult.

3. Small, lightweight, low value with a multitude of materials, making it hard to deal with.

4. Contaminated with food – a real issue at the recycling plant.

5. Currently, the UK has a poor closed loop recycling infrastructure for on the go packaging so local authorities do not invest in it, or not very well.

In summary, it’s high on public perception but hard to deal with in terms of a closed loop recycling solution, Trewin Restorick felt.

As a result, government is slowly moving on Extended Producer Responsibility, observe Hubbub, and looking at moving the costs of littering and recycling on to businesses, leading to a significant cost to them. Deposit return schemes, and shifting the cost away from the local authority sector to the private sector, are also being looked at and following much consultation, legislation will be coming in, Trewin Restorick confirmed. In the meantime, Europe has been looking more at a circular economy and how they can introduce policies which drive more circularity “Maximising the resources that we have got in the UK helps resilience and to keep down costs, but when Covid hit, interest in packaging and environmental concerns did dip; our polling has revealed that people are concerned about it, but it is not so much at the fore-front of people’s minds,” said Trewin Restorick.

“Public pressure for companies to act has eased, but will it come back when things settle? Our feeling is, it will, but over time, although concern about littering has greatly increased we have found, particularly when lockdowns were lifted. So this could be a bigger driver for change.”

PRESSURE FOR CHANGE Public concern around pollution and littering is massive, especially the latter; people are always writing to their councils about it, and plastic awareness is high after David Attenborough’s Blue Planet.

SOLUTIONS “There is a need to go back to the ‘waste heirarchy’ which should be driving all things environmental within a company; namely reduce the amount of materials available on the market, explore and push re-use, then recycling,

PACKAGING RECYCLING and then responsible disposal (ie. how do you stop all that packaging being littered?). This approach has been around for years, but focus always tends to have been on the ‘visible’ recycle aspect (reduce and re-use being harder to achieve and with less emphasis in businesses),” Trewin Restorick continued.

“In connection with reduction, the sandwich sector is doing a lot in terms of innovation and the complexity of packaging – can you produce packaging which keeps food safe and helps with longevity, and has less of a mix of materials, particularly plastics?

“At the same time, there needs to be consumer education (should the consumer no longer be able to see the sandwich due to no plastic wrap, for example, and will they actually recycle it?). Light-weighting can help, but it can make materials harder to recycle.

There’s a need to think about can you change your retailer and customer behaviours? We did a trial with some simple messaging at a McDonalds around not taking so many napkins, using less stirrers etc., which had a big impact on the amount of materials used and the amount of littering in the store, indicating that having a good ‘reduce policy’ is a fundamental first step.”

RE-USE AND REFILL SCHEMES These are growing, Trewin Restorick reported, and are likely to be further driven by legislation, although Covid has put a bit of a stop to progress, with quite a few concepts along these lines starting to suffer financially, but there are still things the industry can do.

Hubbub persuaded Starbucks to introduce a 5p charge on all their single-use disposable cups, whereas if you go in with a reusable cup, you can get a 25p discount. They trialled the 5p levy in 36 stores and sales did not diminish, whereas take-up of re-usable cups doubled, and public perception of Starbucks improved.

Based on this, Starbucks extended the scheme to all of their 900+ stored in the UK, and now to other countries, with eventual plans to do so to all their

territories. All the 5p levies go back to Hubbub as a charity who use the money to invest in recycling and re-use campaigns (for example, they ran a big re-use campaign at Gatwick airport where they encouraged people to use re-usable cups).

They have also invested the money raised – around £100,000,000 – in coffee cup recycling facility infrastructure across the UK that can be found at train stations and shopping centres, for example, although the predominant aim was to boost re-use in the first instance and shift consumer behaviour.

RECYCLING “In conjunction with Ecosurety in Leeds, we got 27 companies (Coca Cola, Pepsico, Costa, Starbucks and Marks and Spencer, for example) to each invest £10,000 and go to Leeds City Council to look at ways to boost recycling rates in the city,” Trewin Restorick explained.

“This was called the Leeds by example campaign in which various collection methodologies were tested, leading to an uptick in recycling rates there and a decrease in contamination at the recycling points. This successful campaign made a real difference and was extended to other cities - Swansea, Edinburgh and Dublin - and is to be extended to parts of London and the Midlands this year.”

They also looked at incentives, such as a machine where you can drop off your bottle or can and get money off, testing this in the form of a token which could be redeemed in the local area, but finding that people did not really redeem the token that much, instead liking using the machine.

They changed the amount of money and also gave it to local charities, but apart from certain demographics like students who did use the incentives, found that redeeming of the tokens did not alter much whereas simply having the machine available instigated a lot of recycling with low levels of contamination – again suggesting that thinking about ways to incentivise, or nudge, your consumers could be part of recycling initiatives.

RESPONSIBLE DISPOSAL “In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, we flew drones over the entire area, mapping what litter was being dropped and where, and by who (the most littered item being cigarette butts, but also a lot of sandwich packaging, napkins and coffee cups),” said Trewin Restorick.

“We were then able to share this information with Bournemouth City Council, assisting them in when and where collections were made, where bins and any associated messaging were placed, as well as the nature of those bins (such as bins by the beach that played disco music when anything was put in – a ‘playful’ approach that disincentivised littering).

“In fact, use of this insight enabled littering to be cut by around 70%, we discovered, alongside some strong ‘don’t mess up the area’ messaging run by the council, although we found this increased littering (it’s best to stick to lighter, more playful language, I would advise).

“We also worked with businesses – such as with McDonalds - to let them know where most of their litter was being dropped, and where to send their collection teams to. This, and the data insight, in conjunction with accessible, easy to use bins, had a dramatic effect on littering. Indeed, there is a lot companies can do if they have access to good data, indicating that responsible disposal needs to be part of a corporate policy around environment and packaging, even though this aspect is not ‘top’ of the waste hierarchy.”

In conclusion, Trewin Restorick referenced the massive nature of this area, and it being a potentially complex one for the food to go sector.

However, campaigns already initiated and data gathered provide good indicators of what can be done in the future to reduce the environmental impact of littering and waste packaging disposal.

Turn to page 42 for the second of these articles. www.sandwich.org.uk I 31

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Lighter

choices

With warmer weather on the horizon, salad dishes are set to increase in demand; provision of interesting and exotic salad options on a menu also helping to address the rising interest in healthier, and vegetarian, meal offerings.

CONVENIENCE AND VARIETY “As the weather begins to warm up, many consumers will be on the lookout for salads to complete their BBQ or picnic, as a lighter lunch or a handy grab and go option. Today’s consumers are seeking convenience and variety as much as they’re looking for quality and value,” says Rachel Shoosmith, marketing manager at Creative Foods, a manufacturer, importer and supplier of a vast range of both branded and bespoke products for the UK foodservice, wholesale and retail sectors.

“The increasing popularity of vegan and vegetarian diets, along with ease of consumption on the go, are the main factors driving the growth of salads. Containing a range of vegetables and fruits, and supplemented by a choice of meats and seafood if preferred, salads are popular because they provide a natural source of fibre and nutrients.

During the pandemic, pre-packed salads became a way of life for many consumers with the packaging acting as a barrier that not only protects the food but also preserves its freshness and flavour.

“We expect to see many of the pandemic eating trends to continue, with meal preparation all about ease and convenience balanced with taste and quality. Not only can grab and 34 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

go salads relieve some of the labour shortages operators are facing, they are also a format that consumers have come to expect due to their convenience.

“Also, after a lot of time spent preparing meals at home, many consumers are actively looking for ways to put meals on the table quickly. Busy consumers can pick up a grab and go salad to use as a side for family dinners, taking a step out of the preparation process whilst simultaneously providing more meal variety.”

TRAVEL THE WORLD With the pandemic having also caused restrictions and disruption to travel, salads provide the ultimate platform for consumers to travel the world with every bite, remind Creative Foods (the Food People having identified that both Korean and Japanese cuisines are growing at pace, in turn providing an opportunity for operators to provide more of these global flavours through salads in particular).

“While traditional deli salads such as tuna, chicken, egg and seafood remain popular, the category growth is occurring in globally inspired flavours and plant-based options,” observes Rachel Shoosmith.

“Plant-based is one of the fastest growing categories, with meat-free

product sales rising by 16.3% (£92.5m) to £659.9m (the Grocer, 2021). A recent survey by the Vegan Society and BOSH! saw 37% of Brits saying that they have actively reduced or removed animal products from their diet in the last five years. 28% said they have cut back on meat or only eat meat-free products, whilst 19% have reduced their dairy intake or are dairy-free. Therefore, it is important that caterers offer a range of vegan salads, sandwiches and wraps to cater for these consumers too.

“Our chefs at Creative Foods have suggested using our new Harvest Farms Plant-based Southern Fried Goujons (main picture) in a salad as a way to add flavour and excitement to the dish. We also have a high quality Oasis Luxury Vegan Mayo in our range, which consumers can enjoy with their salad safe in the knowledge that it is vegan.

“In addition, Tabasco® Green Pepper Sauce is mild, zesty and made with jalapeno peppers, and can turn a good salad into a great salad. You can also mix it with mustard to create a delicious tangy salad dressing. Not only can such sauces add an element of heat to a salad, it is also vegan and therefore on-trend in multiple ways.”

Creative Foods are also helping to take the pressure off operators via their Love Fresh range of salads

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To advertise please call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 II 35 35 www.sandwich.org.uk

SALADS and slaws, which includes traditional rice, bean, and pasta salad classics to innovative, on-trend salads, using its own Oasis mayonnaise, sauces and dressings to offer the flexibility to create new and innovative concepts and flavours.

When it comes to sauces and dressings for salads, flavoured mayonnaises are a growing trend as they represent a quick and easy way to create a point of difference.

The addition of chillies – particularly named varieties - adds a touch of heat and colour, whilst ingredients such as yuzu and lemon add acidity. The simple addition of herbs can also turn mayonnaise from its traditional creamy colour to an attractive pale green that also hints at freshness, they add.

WIDER SCOPE Survey results from Bidfood and CGA (bespoke consumer survey, 1,500 UK consumers, October 2021) revealed that “appealing to health-conscious consumers is crucial, our research revealing eight in 10 people consciously look for healthy options when eating out, and one in four people would actually go somewhere else if they saw no healthy options on a menu.”

“As an easy to assemble option with a myriad of ingredients for caterers to play with, salads are an essential part of any menu and answer the call for a lighter meal which can easily suit a grab and go situation,” agrees Greta Strolyte, brand manager at noodle company, Lucky Boat.

“For a tasty salad offering, tap into

the trend for global foods. The vast scope of ingredients and flavours inspired by world cuisines, combined with a little imagination, allows operators to offer a range of exciting salad options which can cater for dietary requirements too.

“Noodles, for example, offer a substantial ingredient for a satisfying yet light meal choice and provide the perfect base for umami flavours and spicy or citrus notes. Operators find our noodle range a great choice for quick serve dishes as they are easily and speedily prepared with excellent noodle strand separation and minimal breakage, meaning less wastage.

Made from the very best ingredients, all our range is suitable for vegans and vegetarians too, containing no egg.”

Chop’d launches fully circular salad packaging solution Faerch UK Ltd have supported Chop’d - through Tri-star Packaging - with the launch of their popular salad bowl in a fully circular packaging solution, having gone into their London stores as of March 2022 (the bowls and lids, available in APET Evolve by Faerch, feature packaging made from postconsumer recycled content that can be recycled back into food packaging – again and again).

The Evolve by Faerch concept has been embraced by consumers because it illustrates circularity, and with its unique look, communicates directly to consumers that these are products made from recycled content, report the company.

The design also serves as an additional reminder to make sure that used trays are sorted correctly, thus promoting circularity.

With the bowls varying in colour, this reflects the recycled material they are made from, and effectively communicates the sustainable nature.

David Lucas, sales director of foodservice, UK and Ireland at Faerch UK Ltd commented: “Evolve by Faerch is designed to close the loop on food packaging and therefore plays a key role in the industry’s transition towards a true circular economy. Evolve by Faerch APET material is made from recycled household post-consumer material which, after use, can be recycled into new mono- material food packaging without any loss of quality.”

Eddie Holmes, managing director of Chop’d added: “We are proud to partner with Faerch and be the first foodservice in the UK to adopt this product. Using a bowl that is made from recycled PET and is fully recyclable aligns with our values for a greener future. Chop’d has had sustainability in its DNA 36 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

since day one, and we strive to offer the best solution for the environment. By using Evolve by Faerch packaging, we are achieving a true circularity, while cutting manufacturing carbon emissions.”

Today, most of the recycled PET on the market is derived from transparent bottles. However, with more and more companies sourcing recycled PET, the demand for recycled bottle content has increased significantly. Claiming to be the world’s first integrated recycler of PET food packaging, Faerch says that it is offering tray to tray recycling on an industrial scale, the company’s recycling facility in the Netherlands capable of taking in used post-consumer trays from collectors, sorters and recycling them back into food grade monomaterial, repeatedly.

NEW FOODSERVICE CATALOGUE OUT NOW

New product catalogue for the Foodservice industry out now At Faerch we are proud to have over five decades of cutting-edge thermoforming packaging experience, and we are dedicated to bringing value to your business, through our design, quality and first-class service.

We recognise the importance in supplying the right products into the fast moving foodservice industry, and are delighted to support you with the launch of our all-new 2022 standard product range catalogue.

Plaza Range, a fully sustainable Sushi selection, together with great new pot concepts and bespoke print options. All of the ranges are in stock, available today, and can be viewed online.

Should you not find what you are looking for in our catalogue, we have many more made to order products available. Please get in touch with your Account Manager and discuss your options.

For further details, please contact ukely@faerch.com or visit www.faerch.com

The new catalogue offers some exciting new product ranges, featuring the Evolve by Faerch offering in the Scan to see the catalogue online

@faerchgroup

Faerch Group

DELIVERY

DELIVERING the

goods Here, mealtrak’s, Nick Blake, proposes that cracking the delivery model in food on the go is key to future success.

OPPORTUNITY Since the turn of the year, we have finally seen the emergence of a more sustained recovery in food to go. Although sales are still down by a third compared with pre-Covid, they are more than double those of a year ago and on a rising trend, which bodes well for the future.

But, the market has changed, and it is the manufacturers and brands which embrace this change and recognise the emerging trends who will succeed, whilst others lose ground. Nowhere is that change more

38 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

profound than in food delivery. We are all aware of the huge surge in the uptake of grocery home delivery during Covid and the fact that higher levels of online shopping are here to stay. What is less evident – yet – is how this will play out in the food on the go arena.

In our view, there is little doubt that food to go delivery represents one of, if not the, biggest area of opportunity out there at the moment.

With retailers as diverse as Greggs, McDonalds, Aldi and M&S all testing the water, it is only a matter of time

before delivery becomes a major force in food to go.

The reason is simple – they are responding to an unmet consumer need! mealtrak data shows that well over two-thirds of food to go buyers find the idea of food to go delivery both at work and at home appealing – with half of these saying it is extremely or very appealing.

This potentially represents a big slice of the market, so it is very much a mainstream rather than niche area of opportunity.

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DELIVERY INFLUENCING FACTORS A number of interlocking factors combine to drive the FTG delivery opportunity. · Delivery appeals most strongly to Gen Z and millennial consumers, who are driving the wider food to go recovery (also strongest in London and amongst men). · The rise of online grocery has heightened expectations that food to go needs can be met in the same way, especially at work. · Changing working patterns mean more working at home, but do not lead to a reduction in food to go demand; however, there are often fewer food to options on hand, so delivery fills the gap. · More local retailers – shops, pubs, restaurants, takeaways, manufacturers – have adopted a delivery option, so the range of channels available has extended. · Consumer missions have evolved during Covid, swinging away from the more functional (quick and easy, good value, etc) towards added value missions, such as treats, sweet or hot food to go options. These create demand for home delivery of FTG for social rather than (or as well as) work consumption. · Almost half of all FTG occasions are now shared rather than solo and this also lends itself more to a delivered solution.

In short, you need to jump on the delivery bandwagon in food to go, but there are lots of areas of opportunity within it.

UNCERTAIN ECONOMICS The biggest barrier is perhaps that the economics remain uncertain: how do you do it well and make a buck, without diluting margins too far? There is no easy answer here, but the models will evolve. If Aldi and Greggs, who are by no means premium operators, can make it

40 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

work, then so can others. Whether they will do so in conjunction with their current delivery partners, or test the water then create their own bespoke solutions remains to be seen. Currently though, there appear to be two discrete models...

LOCAL Over 60% of deliveries are sourced from local outlets, so there is a lot to play for at this level.

NATIONAL The national brands, like Deliveroo and Just Eat account for less than one third of food to go deliveries, but are well placed to take a greater share of this market,

which perfectly complements their infrastructure, grocery and takeaway activities; potentially creating a viable framework for success.

Currently Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats dominate this market, with competition likely to intensify.

To conclude, delivery in food to go isn’t something it is easy to do well, or profitably. But it does sit at the heart of the recovery from Covid and represents a core market sector for the future. And there are added value areas of opportunity that can help mitigate margin dilution. So, it is certainly not an opportunity you can afford to ignore.

HELP US TO

HELP YOU

The British Sandwich and Food To Go Association aims to ensure the best market conditions for our industry.

From lobbying Government to organising British Sandwich Week, we aim to provide the best environment for you to trade in, plus a wide range of benefits.

This all comes with membership: Facing the Brexit staffing challenge – Our business needs good people. We are lobbying to ensure Brexit does not lead to the door shutting on the people we need to keep going.

Reducing Energy and Telecoms costs – Our specialist advisor will shop around to get you the very best deals – and it’s free!

Insurance with Free Membership – Our specialist insurers offer really keen prices for shop and business insurance – and independent retailers can get free membership if they use them.

KPMG Accounting offer – Members can take advantage of a three months free accounting offer from leading accountants KPMG. Training – Our discounted on-line hygiene training is focused and saves you money and time.

Assured Guidance – Members following our Assured Advice are protected from enforcement challenges.

Free Advice – From legal to technical advice, our members have free access to experts.

Buying ingredients or equipment from abroad? Our agreement with Cornhill offers exceptionally keen exchange rates.

Business rates and financial help – We have teamed up with a specialist business finance consultancy who provide members with advice on everything from business rates to raising finance.

Cutting Fuel bills – Members can enjoy savings of up to 5p per litre on diesel & petrol, and up to 10p per litre at motorway pumps, with a free no-obligation fuel card.

London hotel discounts – Save money when staying in London using the unique Association booking code with Grange Hotels.

HELP US TO

HELP YOU BY JOINING TODAY

Plus you get free password access to

our online magazine and guidance

Visit www.sandwich.org.uk

Or Call Sandra on

01291 636348

PACKAGING RECYCLING

Voluntary EPR for sandwich packaging?

In the second half of the recent BSA waste packaging-themed webinar, Gareth Morton (discovery manager at Ecosurety) outlined the nature of voluntary EPR-type (extended producer responsibility) collection schemes that the company runs, in the process highlighting parallels with, and for, the sandwich sector to consider.

CHANGE IS COMING Ecosurety describe themselves as not just a company, but one with a conscience who want to accelerate change (becoming B Corp certified in 2020, the first compliance scheme to do so, and joining a global community of 4,000 organisations balancing purpose and profit and using business as a force for good).

They pursue change via collaboration with like-minded businesses who want to make a difference to the world around us; working with them, looking at the data, and acting as a compliance scheme (the second largest in the UK). They also work with companies like Hubbub who aim to influence the public and take action by coming up with new and engaging ways of addressing the environmental issues of concern and making people change their behaviour.

“About quarter of the UK’s packaging is made from flexible plastic packaging,

yet only around 6% is recycled, but that is set to change,” said Gareth Morton.

“There has been a lot of pressure on businesses and since David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, consumer awareness has gone through the roof, now reflected in changing business priorities, and in turn affecting the government view on it. A lot of change is coming down the line, but the timetable of it remains to be seen.

“The consultation response on EPR legislation is already somewhat delayed and likely won’t appear until after the elections in May, but the direction of travel is quite clear. At the moment, this means that there are two choices for organisations and businesses – the mandatory route (which is coming) or voluntary.”

MANDATORY AND VOLUNTARY Mandatory requirements will be government-led and cover everyone in an all-encompassing system, whereas the voluntary systems are very different, being industry-led, collaborative - a group of the willing, targeted around the biggest issues in the form of a group of companies who have identified an issue of mutual concern and come together to address a solution, and in so doing very often come up with a voluntary EPR-type initiative.

Ecosurety runs two such schemes – Podback (a coffee pod recycling scheme) and the Flexible Plastics Fund (which aims to increase the recycling of flexible plastics). Taking the latter as an example, it started in May last year with five brands and now there are twenty brands involved who are funding the scheme, and it has two main initiatives.

Currently, the main fund is targeting and incentivising the recycling of retail collected, front of store flexible plastics film through various provided containers.

The second initiative which is in the pipeline are some trials on kerbside schemes to answer the vexing question of when EPR does come in, how are we going to collect all the flexible plastics from the kerbside given that there are numerous types of collection schemes from boxes to bags, to wheelie bins, and varying combinations of colour usage etc.?

“The ambition of the brands involved in the Flexible Plastics Fund is to recycle all types of flexible plastic at kerbside.

However, we are not there yet, which is why the retailer incentive scheme is being run and why there are plans for kerbside trials,” Gareth Morton explained.

“One thing we need to know is whether or not the public is willing to recycle flexible plastics, but going by the amount of material that is collected by

PACKAGING RECYCLING the retailers at the moment, and the mix of plastic types that ends up in recycling due to confusion over what can, and can’t, be recycled, the answer would seem to be yes.

“The recycling industry needs to see that there is sufficient material to recycle coming their way to make it financially worthwhile and make the investment.

This is a critical issue right now; not quite at a tipping point, but getting close to the point when it should be possible to recycle the thousands of tonnes expected when EPR comes in, and when the infrastructure will be needed, but we don’t have it yet.

“The Flexible Plastics Fund supports UK Plastics Pact goals and is like an EPR-like proof of concept that will be informing government thinking via the kerbside trials, for example. It potentially could end up with modulated fees, and could well end up being an alternative to EPR if flexible plastics recycling is not mandated, but time will tell.”

HOW DOES IT WORK CURRENTLY? Retailers collect the physical plastics which get transported to an approved recycler where they get washed and sorted and reprocessed prior to being made into something - typically a nonpackaging product (park bench, plant pots etc), packaging products of various types including wheelie bins (classed as packaging) to food grade packaging (the latter being considered the ‘holy grail’, although the technology and infrastructure for this is not really there yet).

In the meantime, Ecosurety are trying to stimulate all three by providing a fixed price for the packaging recovery notes or PRNs; prices for which fluctuate and are based on the easy to recycle plastics such as PET that can be recycled.

Last year, this price went from £20 a tonne to £100 a tonne, which is not sustainable for a business needing to make big investments in this area, so by providing a fixed price for this material, a guaranteed income stream can be given.

In return for purchasing the PRNs – the material that’s recycled - the funders will get the PRNs in return.

It’s very important within this process that what is being paid for is indeed post-consumer retailer-collected flexible plastics so Ecosurety have developed an audit and certification platform with a company called Greenback that enables the material to be tracked from the retailer through the recycling system and into whatever end product it makes.

So when a company makes a claim that they have just produced ten tonnes of whatever, and wants someone to buy the 10 PRNs, it can be tracked back through the system to a particular retailer due to the collection of the data on how much flexible plastic has been collected and then dispatched from the distribution centre at which it has been logged (then when it arrives at a recycler its onward use can be tracked and logged, and its provenance established to help reduce fraud and also manage ‘pay on output’).

Ecosurety are engaging with various retailers to different degrees according to their own collection infrastructure development stage, and there are currently in the region of 4000 retail collection points across the UK at present, but this is increasing all the time. They are also engaging with a lot of recyclers – key to this process - in order to track the material and incentivise its collection.

“This has been an interesting process and we are currently undergoing a review process as uptake has not been as we would like for various reasons that are worth noting if other businesses – such as those in the sandwich sector - are thinking of doing similar as there are a lot of hurdles and vested interests to overcome if you are to make something new like this work,” said Gareth Morton.

“Over the last eleventh months or so, technically, we have found that flexible plastic packaging is very challenging to recycle because it features different materials and can be laminated, making it expensive and uneconomic to recycle.

“Other barriers include getting the financials right and making in viable and of interest to companies, as well as existing embedded retailer relationships with certain recyclers, including PRNs

as part of the contracts. Therefore, do not underestimate how long it will take from when you start a scheme to making it work, which is why Ecosurety’s own scheme is being reviewed and could change dramatically to make it work.”

WHAT DOES A SUCCESSFUL SCHEME NEED? 1. In terms of what you’re collecting, you need to be brand agnostic because the public will put any type/brand in a collection bin.

2. You need to try and frame and reduce the issue in some way.

3. Pay on results, not on promises (the Flexible Plastics Fund will not pay until they know categorically that the plastic has actually been recycled).

4. You’ve got to be impartial and have transparency (a need to be able to see the provenance of the material not just for the industry, but public, media and NGO interest).

5. Costs for participating members need to be shared fairly.

6. Ideally any scheme needs to work within an existing framework.

7. Start small and build up.

8. Needs to be backed up by a verification and auditing system to prevent fraud and also for transparency.

9. There will be a cost/management fee involved per tonne and for someone to run it, and deciding what this should be is key.

10. Use a market share principle to decide this fee, based on the amount of flexible plastics companies put onto the market.

There are two different types of models currently being used at the moment to do this – full net cost recovery and the voluntary mechanism which is more based on the evidence (members having put money into a fund, with the recycling and collection incentives based around PRNs to pay on output, but also the kerbside collection which is in trial and could need funding quite significantly in order to further understand how the UK is going to collect its flexible plastics this way).

www.sandwich.org.uk I 43

NEWS BACKGROUND

Pesticides: Why, how and what?

ALS Laboratories (UK) Ltd (www. als-testing.co.uk) is one of the UK’s leading providers of food and drink testing services. With six accredited laboratories located across the country, they offer a comprehensive range of high quality, analytical testing services, including microbiological, nutritional, vitamins and minerals, pesticides and contaminants, allergens and speciation. They also provide clients with a wide range of consultancy services and technical support on food safety, labelling requirements, allergens management and sensory testing.

Is it a legal requirement, public safety or public perception? In this article, Buddhi Dias, ALS’s contaminants laboratory manager at their Chatteris site, considers the common reasons for testing food for pesticides, as well as what you should expect from a testing laboratory.

WHY DO WE NEED PESTICIDES? If you ask your colleagues what is their perception of pesticides, what would be the top answers? Most likely the following will be at the top - poisonous, cancer causing, bee killers.

All of these have been in media headlines in one form or the other. As much as there is some truth for using those terms, we still rely heavily on use of pesticides. Global demand for food is ever increasing, with more and more of us changing our lifestyles and choices of food.

According to UN Food and Agriculture Organisation data, half of all habitable land is used for agriculture.

Hence, to feed the ever-growing global populations, the yield of food production must be sustained and increased. The technology around farming is evolving to be able to give better yield, but the technology is not there yet to keep it sustainable and affordable. Hence, we still rely on old agricultural techniques, such as use of pesticides and crop rotation to increase and sustain crop yield. Pesticides are used for crop protection, to avoid diseases, unwanted vegetation, and pests.

It is also used in the storage and transport of fresh produce.

44 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

One of the questions that is often asked by those working in the food industry is why do we still need pesticides? The answer is that pesticides are used to increase crop yield, keep costs down, and to protect and maintain the appearance of crops. Another reason which is not always immediately apparent is that pesticides are used to inhibit the production of natural plant toxins, such as glycoalkaloids, tropane alkaloids and pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

In 2019, there were two major foodpoisoning outbreaks in Uganda that resulted in five deaths and hundreds of people being admitted to hospital (‘Tropane alkaloid contamination of agricultural commodities and food products in relation to consumer health: Learnings from the 2019 Uganda food aid outbreak’ – Abia – 2021 – Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Wiley Online Library).

Testing carried out revealed that the source of this poisoning was from a supercereal which contained tropane alkaloids.

It has been suggested that without the use of pesticides the plants will create their own defensive mechanisms to combat pest and diseases, one such mechanism

is plant toxins and these toxins can be far more dangerous than pesticides for human consumption, even in small doses.

In summary, we still need pesticides to produce safe, quality food at affordable prices.

HOW DO WE MAKE IT SAFE? We can all agree that pesticides are poisons, so how do we make sure that they are safe for use? The simple answer would be to adhere to maximum residue levels (MRLs).

When our clients ask for pesticide testing, many of them will request MRL testing as this is what is legislated, either, under EU regulations or as of January 2021 under GB regulations. These regulations are for any EU countries and Great Britain.

It is slightly confusing, however, as there will be different sets of MRLs for different regions of the world. Other than MRLs set by different countries/regions, there are internationally agreed MRLs under CODEX. Hence, it is always important to recognise where you are selling your product and if the product is legal to be sold under those regulations.

It is easy to think that MRLs, as well as the approval of an active substance,

PESTICIDE TESTING that applies to Great Britain should be the same in Peru for example. However, it is not that straightforward as MRLs or approval of actives are set by data gathered by the pesticide producers.

The data is gathered whilst doing field studies in different regions which can be determined by the weather and soli conditions, as well as many other factors.

Therefore, a certain active could be approved for use in Peru and but not in GB. In some cases, the MRL would reflect this fact. This is where you have certain actives that are not approved for use but have higher set of MRLs. To establish MRLs, several other factors are considered first. The first level that is established for an active is what is called the NOAEL, ‘No Observed Adverse Effect Level’. This is the highest level of pesticides that can be ingested without showing any adverse effects.

The next levels are what are used in consumer risk assessments, ADI and ARfD values, which are established by dividing the NOAEL by at least 100.

ADI, Acceptable Daily Intake, is the safe amount of a pesticide that can be ingested every day over an entire lifetime without compromising the health of the consumer.

ARfD, Acute Refence Dose, is the safe amount that can be ingested in a single day without effecting the health of the consumer, which, why these factors are used to calculate the risk factors of finding certain pesticides in products. This is a more beneficial tool when you are dealing with a mixture of commodities. MRLs are applied to the raw materials, so in order to establish the MRL of a product and grant approval for use, a dietary risk assessment is conducted using ARfD and ADI values.

If the MRL values are safe under the worse-case scenarios, then the approval is granted and the MRL is established.

The MRLs are established as legal trade standards, intended to check if the pesticides have been applied correctly.

Therefore, a minor MRL exceedance does not automatically pose a risk to the consumer. It is then pertinent to question why the industry like to see residue levels that are 50% or 30% below the MRL. What is the purpose of these limits if there are already established safe limits to the consumer?

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A LABORATORY One of the key factors in deciding your testing partner, apart from their capabilities, is whether the lab is accredited or not. The fundamental basis on which all the accreditations are carried out is by assessing against the ISO 17025 standards.

These standards are set to harmonise all labs across the world. In the UK the accreditation and assessments are carried out by UKAS. Each country will have its own accreditation body to verify if a lab is carrying out testing according to the ISO standards.

Within the European Union, there is an extra guidance document for pesticide testing laboratories to follow.

SANTE/12682/2019, a complimentary document to ISO 17025 guidelines, helps to provide harmonised, accurate testing methods for labs, as well as ensuring the quality and the comparability of results across different labs. It is not yet clear if GB will adopt this or will provide its own set of testing guidelines. It is difficult to see the latter happening as SANTE is already a well-established set of guidelines. SANTE document have guidance from sample preparation, extraction, calibration, instrument calibration, confirmation of results to commodity groups. SANTE guidelines also provides a default measurement of uncertainty (MU) for detected pesticides as ±50%. To use this value by a laboratory, they must demonstrate that its own expanded MU is below 50%. This value is also recommended to use by regulatory authorities when they are enforcing MRL exceedances.

Most, if not all labs, will be using the well-established QuEChERs method for pesticide extraction, whether it is the EN method or the AOAC method. Either way they all have the sample principle. This method has revolutionised how pesticides have been tested. Prior to this, individual sample types had individual testing methods and used high toxicity solvents in larger volumes. Also, the number of actives previously screened was far less than what currently screened for. With the introduction of QuEChERs, it allows for extraction of multiple different sample types using one extraction and using safer

solvents in smaller quantities, which allows for a safer and cheaper extraction.

Before the extraction can take place, samples are homogenised down to either a fine powder or a smooth paste.

It is important that representative samples are submitted to the lab and the minimum weight guidelines are followed according to 2002/63/EC. In the lab, it is also important to take the correct portion where MRL is applicable to and take a representative portion to be homogenised.

These steps are vital in getting accurate results when using QuEChERs method.

Essentially QuEChERs can be broken down to two steps. One is extraction and the next is clean up. During the extraction step, the pesticides are removed from the sample into an extract solvent. Then during the second step, many different interferences are removed. This is then ready to be run on chromatographic systems. Depending on the sample type the clean up can vary to aid the process.

For more complex matrix such as teas and spices, a more extensive clean-up process is carried out compared to fruit or vegetables.

The rate determining steps of the process, in terms of releasing results, is the run time on the different chromatographic systems. In pesticides analysis, gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC), coupled with a mass spectrometry (MS) are utilised to give quantitate results. A typical runtime for a sample on an LC system can be somewhere between 12-15 minutes.

Whereas on a GC system it is around 30 minutes. Hence, a lab is limited on how many samples can be done by the number of GC systems they possess. Similarly, this will also limit how many same day samples can be reported.

Once all the QC criteria has passed and any MRL exceedances are confirmed by means of repeat analysis, the lab is ready to report the results to the client. If there is an MRL exceedance, it is always good to check with the lab if a repeat analysis has been done and even better to send in a second potion from the batch to test, before any red buttons are hit (ALS has been conducting pesticide testing for over 30 years and we have seen a wide variety of samples and requests). www.sandwich.org.uk I 45

Breakfast changes

In the wake of the response to Covid which saw lockdowns and outlet closures, and associated changes in demand and people’s out of home eating habits, there has been a merging of dayparts and new trends and developments shaping resurging breakfast and brunch demand.

THE CASE FOR BETTER BREAKFASTS How does your day start? Do you take a more leisurely mid-morning breakfast? With both hot and cold breakfasts featuring in the Top 10 Food To Go product categories, and real changes in consumer behaviour emerging during Covid, you need to know the latest trends if you are going to capitalise on this key area of opportunity, advise sector analysts, mealtrak.

In the spring of 2021, the government showed us the road out of lockdown plan, and we all started to feel a little brighter. However, the real road to recovery for businesses started much later with many city-based companies keeping work from home policies in place until October 2021 and beyond. The hybrid/flexible working model is now here to stay with 84% of managers reporting that their businesses have adopted hybrid working (mealtrak’s State of the Nation Report for 2021), and this new model is providing us with a chance to really think and consider our options for how we choose to experience life best, including our choice of eating experiences, feel the researchers.

Pre-pandemic, mealtimes were traditionally set pretty much around the nine to five of a working week with weekends off. However, as lockdown was introduced, without the standard working day or week, one of the ways 46 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

we were encouraged to cope with what was to be a long time working from home, was to stick to a routine and to start the day well. Breakfasts became a way of marking the this, to kick start a plan for the day.

During lockdown, the resilience of fast food and takeaway being ahead of cold breakfasts. Although year on year at the end of December 2021, breakfasts were at -27% overall and porridge or oat based breakfasts performed the best in the hot breakfast category with hot cooked porridge at just -2%.

2021 versus 2022 sample comparison out of home eating breakdown (source mealtrak W99 Food to Go & Eating Out Home Report 2021 and 2022)

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BREAKFAST CONSUMER MISSION DEVELOPMENT Throughout the pandemic we saw a marked shift towards the more rewarding and emotionally satisfying consumer missions, things like sweet treats, products which satisfied a craving, or those treats that were a little difficult to make at home. As we move forward though, there is now a general consensus around working towards a more healthy diet and, although the sweet treat mission has not disappeared, there is a recognition that a good breakfast has benefits for the start of the day, something consumers are keen to maintain. mealtrak noted that eating out during the shoulder periods of mid-morning and mid-afternoon increased significantly as consumers looked to break the day a little differently whilst working from home during 2021. We are now seeing that mid-afternoon shoulder period reducing, but the really interesting trend is the emergence of a more leisurely breakfast period which carries through midmorning (and for some, brunch!), they report. Once again, millennials and Gen Z consumers are leading the trend in taking a more leisurely approach to breakfasts.

The desire for consumers to eat with friends is now being matched with the availability of time to do so, and it is this which is by far the biggest influencer in the decision to eat out. The second biggest influencer is still the need to “treat”, say mealtrak. Most home-based breakfasts used to consist of a quick bowl of cereals or toast with a coffee or juice so the idea of a longer, more adventurous breakfast immediately appeals to the consumer looking to satisfy those two main missions.

WHAT’S NEXT? Global economics will now be a major influencing factor in consumer spend so it is now more important than ever to ensure that the business strategies are developed with

48 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

this in mind, say mealtrak. The longer breakfast period is perfectly placed to take advantage of consumers’ needs to treat and the new hybrid working patterns. For the eating out of home market, restaurants and takeaways, longer or even all-day breakfast options open up a means to provide consumers with the treat they crave as a value for money choice that may be more affordable than eating out in the evening.

For the food to go business model, it’s about responding to the changes we are seeing in consumer behaviour and making the breakfast options more exciting and varied, whilst still adding value, mealtrak conclude.

CHANGING HABITS According to sector analysts, CGA (Food Insights 2021), evening and lunchtime remain the biggest dayparts when consumers typically eat out. However, a sizeable proportion – around one in five, CGA observe – also visit hospitality venues for breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea and for on-thego snacks.

In particular, these researchers report, compared to preCovid, weekdays and earlier dayparts have seen an increase in visits across the total market (CGA BrandTrack, February 2019 and February 2022 comparison). For example, in February 2019 6% of visits took place in the morning, whereas this had risen to 15% come February 2022 with weekday (Monday to Friday) visits showing a 4% increase in particular.

“Our data shows that weekdays are growing in terms of visits but the sizable change can be seen when analysing day parts, with morning (+9%) and lunch (+9%) times showing strong increases, although the most frequently visited time remains evening and lunch time,” reports James Ashurst, CGA’s client director, hospitality operators and food team.

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BREAKFAST “The average spend around brunch occasions show a slightly higher spend than for traditional lunch, driven by the female demographic (61%). If frequency of visits sits between once and twice a month, brunch (40%) sits even higher than lunch (30%). However, if visits are higher than that it seems that consumers become slightly more spend-conscious in which case lunch ranks stronger in terms of frequency.”

In their Food Insights 2021 report, CGA reported that the average breakfast spend is £11.94, and the average brunch spend is £15.56 (the majority of customers at this time being female and almost half aged between 18 and 34). Out of those eating out for breakfast, brunch and an on-the-go snack, over 40% do so on a weekly basis, CGA found, highlighting an opportunity to encourage repeat visits in these dayparts and expand coverage, propose the researchers.

Pre-pandemic figures from MCA Insight indicate that breakfast was the fastest growing of all meal times in 2019 and more recent research from Mintel shows almost half (49%) of people now eat breakfast sometimes out of home (Mintel also noting an opportunity for ‘healthier but convenient breakfasts’ out of home in its latest research).

“Food on the go inevitably declined during Covid 19 (down nearly 20% MAT to March 2021 across all FMCG - NielsenIQ Scantrack 52 weeks to 27.02.21 data), but there is expected to be a recovery in ‘on the go’ consumption this year, even if it doesn’t yet reach pre-Covid levels. With hygiene still front of mind for conscious consumers, the focus will be on how to deliver hygienic yet convenient solutions for grab and go breakfasts,” says Scott Oakes, commercial manager for bakery product brand, St. Pierre.

“I would always encourage caterers to be brave with menu development and there is an increasing trend to showcase speciality breads on the menu. It makes sense, particularly when you consider the growing trend for premiumisation.

Brioche is a good example, adding value to breakfast menus to help drive margins. The rich and buttery flavour of brioche products complements a wide range of flavours, with a signature glaze finish for added visual appeal. Sales of morning goods and speciality breads were up 4.2% MAT up to January 2022 according to Nielsen.

“And if you are switched-on enough to exploit the potential of added value breads, then make sure you are shouting about it on menus, table-talkers and other POS to inform customers.”

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER “As journeys for business and pleasure rise again, following a prolonged period of home-working and various iterations of lockdowns, breakfast is starting to recover. Breakfast is expected to continue to be a fast-growing day part (HIM, 2021 data) and so it is a key category to get right. Operators should consider their customer base as well as current and potential footfall in the morning when deciding to add a breakfast offer,” says Phil Carratt, head of marketing & strategy at sector supplier, Country Choice.

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“Currently, the most significant trends are health and indulgence. When it comes to indulgence, full breakfast baps and baguettes, including bacon, sausage, eggs, and hash browns, alongside a coffee, are very popular, whereas those looking to make a healthier choice head for porridge and fruit selections. Despite all that went on during 2021, croissants are still hugely popular, whilst Viennoiserie sales in general have recovered well, buoyed by the increase in impulse, on the go sales.

“To grow their breakfast business operators should get to know their customers’ routines. The pandemic has undoubtedly delayed these routines, especially on days when they are working from home, and this means that operators need to have good availability, along with straight from the oven freshness, slightly later in the morning than was the case pre-pandemic.

“The products included in an operator’s breakfast range should be appropriate to their customer demographic. Hot breakfast items should be held in a well-maintained heated unit with clear ticketing detailing the price, along with any allergen information. A hot food to go range should include a good variety of items including rolls, turnovers, baps, and hot boxes, whilst the in-store bakery range should include breakfast favourites such as croissants, pains au chocolat and Danish pastries.

“Coffee is a great way to grow breakfast business. The majority of coffee is purchased during a breakfast mission, so linking a coffee with a best-selling food item, be that a hot food to go item or pastry, can drive incremental sales. Country Choice has links with all major coffee brands enabling operators to offer their shoppers a good value breakfast deal from two well-known brands.”

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Herald’s soup containers are a win An instant hit for those selling soup alongside their sandwiches, quality disposables manufacturer and supplier, Herald’s double wall kraft and white containers are now available in an assortment of sizes.

Aimed at specialist food stores and delicatessens - notably, those who are keen to offer the highest quality packaging to complement their produce - the soup containers can accommodate a multitude of uses, from soups and noodles to salads and desserts.

The containers complement Herald’s selection of premium, eco-friendly, disposable, kraft salad bowls, also available in a selection of sizes, including 500cc, 750cc

and 1000cc. The salad bowls come with PET lids and are designed to enhance the product offering, presenting the contents in the most optimum light.

Managing director of Herald, Yogesh Patel is delighted to widen the company’s range of top quality products, and said: “Customers expect a certain standard of quality when they are paying for take outs and the packaging is very much a key part of the experience.

“Our aim, as a supplier, has always been to provide products that match all needs and expectations.”

Call 0208 507 7900 or email sales @heraldplastic.com to order a copy of the catalogue. www.sandwich.org.uk I 51

OPINION Mezze is an online ordering platform designed specifically for the food manufacturing industry, offering an alternative to traditional email, phone and fax ordering.

Utilised by Samworth Brothers, Simply Lunch and the Real Wrap Co, it’s this food industry focus that gives its approach the edge over its more generic rivals, argues Mezze’s Hugo Walker.

ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY? It should come as a surprise to no one that food companies which have tried to implement large-scale ordering solutions in the past are hesitant to give it a second chance. Remember the expense? The complication?

The undelivered promises of a pot of efficiency gold at the end of the implementation rainbow? Why would you go through all that again?

You might be using your ERP’s (Enterprise Resource Planning) generic ordering platform. You might be using an off the shelf solution. You might have built your own ordering software, probably based on a generic blueprint for what an ordering platform ‘ought to look like’. Chances are that what you have ended up with has been heavily customised to suit food industryspecific needs.

Broad solutions like these have their place. No one is suggesting you should bin your ERP, which has all sorts of back-office firepower your business needs, but in my opinion, when it comes to ordering, a generic platform can’t meet the unique ordering needs of today’s food to go (FTG) sector.

Perishable product, rapidly changing demand, early order cut-offs, allergen reporting, variable customer pricing and last-minute amendments are some of the many challenges to be 52 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

Food industry

specific ordering met these days whatever software you decide to use.

Yes, you can tune a generic ordering platform to accommodate the brief, but potentially at considerable cost and complication.

And as the industry — or your business — changes, those modifications may no longer be fit for purpose. Back to the drawing board you go...

WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES? Chances are you are currently using one of the following solutions to meet your food ordering needs.

ERP+ You bought into a large-scale ERP system and customised it for your food ordering needs. It’s a bit clunky and there are things it will not do, but it cost a lot of money and supports a number of different business areas.

As a result, operations are modified to

suit what it can and can’t do. The cost and complication of upgrading the ERP is prohibitive.

Fax/phone Yes, the technology that served the industry in the mid-1980s is still going strong in your operation.

Three decades of supercharged developments in computational technology have elapsed, but your ordering software — insofar as it exists — fails to be as efficient as hiring someone to manually place and amend daily orders.

Bespoke software solution You built an ordering system for your business. It was specified as an all-singing, all-dancing fix for your food ordering needs and the CTO flushed with pride to think of the transformational effect it would have on the business. But the debugging was never quite completed and

OPINION

modifications to keep up with the changing business environment have stalled, particularly since developers no longer work with the code it was written in. A number of workarounds are in place to keep it hobbling along.

Off the shelf software It’s pretty, easy to use and doesn’t cost much. No wonder you decided it was a no-brainer to go with it. It sounded like it could do everything you needed, but now you realise a consumer-facing eCommerce product isn’t what fits your business and your customers are starting to realise it too.

Some/all of the above This isn’t what hybrid working means.

You know how and why you got here, but how much longer can you fudge along with an outdated or ‘make do’ technology solution underpinning your food ordering operation before it undermines your business?

Why the food industry needs an industry-specific ordering platform It’s possible that you are entirely happy with one of these solutions.

Everyone understands it and it works.

The alternatives are too costly and there is too much that could go wrong. “Besides, we’ve always done it this way.”

But the food industry is advancing just like any other. Digital transformation — the widespread adoption of technology to empower and streamline business operations — will come. Finding industryspecific solutions that anticipate your business needs and adapt to industry trends in real-time is part of the fourth industrial revolution (the one currently underway).

To better understand Industry 4.0, we need to rewind a couple of centuries. The first industrial revolution involved mechanisation through water and steam power,

followed by mass production and the incorporation of electricity into processes to increase scope and efficiency. This is where Industry 3.0 comes in, characterised by the adoption of computers and early automation processes.

Industry 4.0 essentially dials this up to elevate processes beyond human capabilities — analysing data at newfound speeds and developing automation at exponential rates. For sandwich manufacturers, this fourth industrial revolution is creating numerous opportunities to digitise supply and demand systems, thereby reducing waste and maximising profitability.

Many other industries are already benefiting from software built with their particular needs in mind. A glut of industry-specific software is emerging in response to dissatisfaction with the abilities of generic platforms to anticipate the unique needs of any given vertical.

An ordering platform designed specifically for the food industry can anticipate sector-specific needs and adapt as new ordering trends emerge. It should interface perfectly with your existing technology allowing business as usual to continue while customers get the benefit of a made-to-measure, branded front end that meets their needs and yours.

In the case of Mezze, it has been designed to work by addressing the exact needs of food ordering and can be integrated to work alongside legacy technology in your business.

It can be implemented quickly and customised with your brand identity.

Its powerful ordering and self-serve features also mean that you can remove the customer service burden, with the aim of helping to provide a better experience for your customers.

You can muddle along with your existing ordering system(s) so long as your competitors do the same. But if your competitors adapt, you could be left behind, whereas if you adapt first, they are likely to as well. www.sandwich.org.uk I 53

CALORIE LABELLING

Calorie labelling legislation Hot on the heels of allergen labelling legislation which took effect in October last year, and at a time when many hospitality businesses are still trying to get back on their feet in the wake of Covid, comes new Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021.

CALORIE DETAILS REQUIRED From 6 April 2022, the new Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021 came into effect, meaning that many food and hospitality businesses will now be required to display calorie information to customers.

Under these new regulations, food businesses with more than 250 employees will be required to provide calorie information on physical menus, online menus, food delivery platforms or food labels. And in line with the Calorie Labelling Regulations, businesses will be required to include the energy content of the food in kilocalories (kcal), reference to the size of the portion which the calorie information relates to and a statement that ‘adults need around 2,000 kcals a day’.

It is estimated that twothirds of adults in the UK are now overweight or obese.

This new legislation aims to tackle these rising numbers and promote consumer choice, enabling people to make more informed choices and opt for healthier meals.

The Calorie Labelling Regulations apply to foods sold for immediate consumption including prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) items like grab and go sandwiches and salads.

They affect out of home food businesses with 250+ employees and those that do not comply could face fines of up to £2,500.

While some businesses may already state calorie content on menus or labelling, the regulations require clear calorific declarations at every ‘point of choice’ for consumers.

So, for example, in a single outlet this could extend to a menu board, on-table menus, product labels, display cabinets and an ordering app.

Discussing the regulatory changes, George Macfie, food technical manager at testing, inspection and certification company, Bureau Veritas, said: “The health of adults and children has long been a hot topic with various tactics put in place over the years to reduce unhealthy eating, including restrictions on television advertising.

“However, with data now showing a staggering number of adults measuring as overweight or obese, the government is taking muchneeded action on larger food businesses to ensure they play their part in supporting informed and smarter food choices.

“The legislation will impact a significant number of food businesses, including restaurants, cafés, fast food outlets and takeaways,

54 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

specialist food stores such as delicatessens and sweet shops, as well as domestic transport businesses including planes, trains and ferries.”

EDUCATE AND INFORM According to Bureau Veritas, it will be key for business to educate staff members in order to pave the way for a successful transition to the new rules, as they will very likely be responsible for informing visitors on the calorie information and where this can be found.

It’s also vital that the calorie information is calculated using average values and supported by data, based on either the manufacturer’s analysis of the food, a calculation from the known ingredients used or from established and accepted data, they propose.

George Macfie added: “These food businesses have been focusing on processes to meet the requirements of other regulations such as Natasha’s Law – the legislation governing allergy labelling of food. Now the focus turns to calorie labelling. This is a positive change in the provision of nutritional information which must be researched, planned for, and welcomed.

“By implementing changes to food labelling and display, everyone

involved can meet the new requirements and support customers to make better food choices.

If it seems daunting, we would encourage firms to seek support from external specialist partners.”

Bureau Veritas says that it has recently launched a Calorie Labelling: Guidance for Food Businesses guide which includes all the relevant information for food businesses to follow and details of the exempt food types and organisations (and downloadable from their web site, www.bureauveritas. co.uk).

IMPACT UNCERTAIN Sophie Claessens, company dietitian at procurement specialist, allmanhall, acknowledges that the new regulations have caused a lot of controversy in both the hospitality sector and nutrition industry in terms of their possible impact on both eating habits and businesses.

“The government says that it will help in the mission to tackle obesity but many nutrition professionals think it is likely to either have no impact at best or a negative impact at worst,” she said.

“Many health professionals who work with individuals with eating disorders worry that it will have a negative impact on their recovery. The other concern is that calories

CALORIE LABELLING are not the only number to consider when deciding what to eat; most registered dietitians would tell you that in fact, calorie counting is not a healthy way to manage weight. What about the fibre, protein, healthy fats and vitamins and minerals that you may be getting from that meal?

“And how will it impact restaurants? Many called for a delay in these regulations to give the industry time to recover after a difficult two years. That’s because these regulations will have required a significant amount of work to get menus up to standard. Additionally, many chefs are saying that it will quash creativity with dishes due to the time and effort to calculate the calorie content for any new dishes and for fear that it will increase the calories.”

LABELLING SOLUTIONS UK’s foodservice wholesaler, Brakes, reports that it has created a number of new resources following feedback from some of its customers that these regulations were causing concern and confusion in the countdown to the 6 April 2022 introduction.

Identifying some exclusions and complications, Brakes has created a range of resources to help customers better understand how the legislation impacts their business (these include practical guides and a twopart on-demand webinar which can be accessed at https://www.brake.co.uk/ virtual-food-event).

In addition, the company has partnered with Nutritics to launch the Virtual Chef,

aimed at making the entire process simpler. Virtual Chef is an all-encompassing recipe management tool, feeding from a live list of Brakes’ products and incorporating highlighted allergen and nutritional information. This helps save time and lowers risk by reducing human error and avoids having to separately enter data for allergens and calories, claim the company. With a bespoke label design functionality too, outlets are able to comply with legislation for adding calories to menus and provide relevant allergen information.

Gerry Thomas, technical director at Brakes, commented: “The feedback we’ve received from customers is that some are unsure about this legislation and how it applies to them. We’ve therefore tried to create a range of resources that make it as easy as possible for individual operators to ensure that they are compliant with the new rules.”

Food labelling company, Planglow, have announced that they are offering food and drink businesses of all sizes a quick and easy way to calculate and add calorie information to labels and displays using their awardwinning food labelling app LabelLogic Live.

To aid food and drink operators in producing compliant information, the company has added a calorie labelling tool to its LabelLogic Live which allows users to automatically calculate the calorie content of food and drink products and simply add to their labelling and ticketing.

Planglow’s technical director Richard Newman commented: “The new calorie labelling regulations are of course preceded by the winter Covid restrictions and the introduction of Natasha’s Law last October which, understandably, have left many food and drink providers on the back foot. We have therefore developed a way to produce fully regulation-compliant labels and ticketing in a few simple clicks without costing businesses yet further setbacks.”

The calorie calculator is accessed via the company’s online labelling app, LabelLogic Live, and works on any web-connected laptop, computer, mobile phone or tablet, users creating their food labels online and then

printing using a standard desktop printer.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SMALLER BUSINESSES LONG TERM? Smaller businesses are currently exempt, as are food and drink providers within Scotland and Wales, although further legislation is anticipated in the next two years. Exceptions are made for some operators - such as schools - and certain food and drink offerings (for example off-menu choices as requested by the customer).

“While large businesses only are currently required to give calorific declarations, we feel SMEs will increasingly be encouraged to do so too over the coming 18-24 months,” Richard Newman added.

www.sandwich.org.uk I 55

INTERVIEW

85ofYEARS

packaging

innovation early. A perfect example of this was when we showcased six plain white paperboard food packaging prototypes at the very first Fast-Food Fair in Brighton in the early 1980’s. You could say that point in time marks the birth of modern day Colpac.

Since Colpac was founded in 1937, the business has witnessed many changes, from globalisation in the 1970’s to the internet in the 1990’s and the fast-paced adoption of technology which followed. How has the company responded to external changes?

Working in a dynamic, ever-changing market is something which has existed throughout the history of Colpac. It is our ability to be flexible and agile to maximise the opportunities which come from these changes which has shaped us and continues to underpin the business.

As a global business, we are continually horizon scanning at home in the UK and across the world to spot the trends in food, materials and manufacturing that will shape the food packaging of tomorrow. We work as a partner with our customers to create the best solutions for them, recognising that they have so much more than food wrapped up in their packaging.

Also, our foresight into the market has strengthened us over the years, enabling us to spot the opportunities 56 I www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

The Colpac brand is synonymous with creating paperboard food packaging solutions. Has this always been the case, and at what point did you recognise the value of focusing on paperboard as a material?

Paperboard has always been what we are about – even back when we were making rigid boxes. We have always recognised and supported the benefits of a material which is inherently sustainable both in terms of being easily recycled, and coming from renewable carbon sources i.e., trees.

What is important to us, and what we are continually striving towards, is the ability to improve the performance of the paperboard material we use.

The demands on packaging are ever increasing. From sustainable sourcing and reducing plastic, to packs that work at all stages of the supply chain, from freezing through to the consumer reheating at home and reducing food waste. The market demands sustainable all-purpose packaging. We continually invest in research and development, looking at materials and manufacturing processes to enhance paperboard as a material and its capabilities.

An example of our innovative use of materials would be the launch of

With packaging company, Colpac, celebrating their 85th anniversary in April, CEO, Neil Goldman (pictured), reflects on what has shaped the business and its continual efforts to meet and exceed the evolving needs of the marketplace.

our ColMAP™ range in 2012. Modified atmosphere packaging that extends shelf life by combining paperboard with film lamination, creating a seal where the oxygen is removed. This prolongs the shelf life of the contents and reduces food waste.

The environment has always been close to my heart personally, and as a business we were supporting local wildlife trusts long before it was mainstream to do so. For decades, we have embedded sustainable objectives into our operational practices and work to mitigate our impact on the environment. This was recently reflected in our decision to create an ESG manager position. Talia, who holds an MSc in Environment, Politics and Society, and has worked as a COP26 Nature Campaign Policy Advisor for the Cabinet Office, now joins us as ESG Manager to build a stronger voice for Colpac. Through this, we hope to help shape legislation and other sustainable initiatives, to develop food packaging for the future.

Back in the 1990’s, Colpac’s ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ campaign for biodegradable packaging was ahead of its time. Today however, the market is saturated with sustainable packaging solutions. How do you ensure that Colpac stays ahead of the curve and on top of new materials launched onto the market?

It’s interesting, as biodegradable is not a word which we commonly use today.

However, this was of the time and our

INTERVIEW response to a growing movement.

Today, as a company, compostable is more widely used as a term rather than biodegradable, as we utilise materials that are commercially compostable to the EN13432 standard, where they are converted to soil enhancers and bio pellets that can be used to complete a circular system.

Our programme of continual innovation and investigation into the viability of new boards, films, and coatings, leads to creative new packaging solutions. All of this is made possible through our highly agile manufacturing plant, and our longstanding history of collaborating with third party organisations to turn a good idea into a product which adheres to the quality standards and the accreditations required by the market.

We are self-aware enough to know that, in a highly saturated and complex market, we do not have the perfect sustainable solution. We invest heavily in our manufacturing capabilities and innovation hub, to fully understand the properties of the recyclable materials available to continually develop our products and pioneer food contact applications. Sustainability is continually evolving, and our customers are being challenged on other global issues such as food waste, so it is vital that they are able to ask questions and interrogate the details of their packaging. We are here to listen and respond.

With Colpac’s global reach, how do you manage your international supply chains while minimising the environmental impact?

As the business has grown, so too has our global reach and our products are now sold throughout 60 countries. It has been vital to sustain these relations, and that keep our finger on the pulse of these international markets and the different challenges each faces.

To manage these relationships, a large number of our team are multilingual, and we have representatives working within the UK, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Australasia, and the Far

East. To facilitate these markets, and ensure continuity of supply, we have warehousing and distribution centres located in the UK, Belgium, USA, and Canada, which supports our objective to keep transportation to a minimum.

Currently, our NPD teams are making our products lighter and smaller to maximise space efficiency, which will make them even easier to transport, while driving down environmental impact.

Carrying on this thread of minimising our impact on the environment, onshoring is another avenue we are fully exploring.

Throughout our history we have, for the most part, manufactured locally in the UK, and we are investing heavily in additional capabilities in the UK to produce what we previously have imported.

Colpac was founded in the post-war era when packaging was simply functional. Over the years, while still fundamental, functionality has been surpassed by design, durability, and sustainability. Packaging can determine the success of a brand and it is frequently updated and refreshed by companies – how does Colpac keep one step ahead to continually evolve to meet these different needs?

Fundamentally, the role of food packaging is to preserve and protect its contents, but it also plays a significant role in helping our customers, enhance their brand, and improve sales performance. Therefore, it is important to consider all aspects of the supply chain in the design of food packaging.

The trend of high-end restaurants expanding to provide at home dining is a good example of this. A meal at a restaurant is generally something which is served on a plate with great attention to detail in a restaurant, representing the brand’s ambiance and hospitality values. Translating this experience into a delivered food at a customer’s home is a challenge, as it is important that the restaurant, its standards, and brand travels with them through the delivery.

Packaging plays a huge part in this process, though, and the selection of the right packaging to display and transport the food is important to successfully achieve this. For instance, you wouldn’t put expensive, Michelin Star rated food into a simple burger box. Being able to react quickly to changes in the market and respond to customer demands has been an essential component of our success. I believe that this derives from the fact that we have remained an independent company operating from one main manufacturing site, which has afforded us the luxury of being able to offer an immediate response at every level.

Much emphasis is put upon the materials used within the construction of food packaging to ensure that they are sustainable and disposed of correctly. How is Colpac supporting the correct disposal of its packaging?

This has long been an area that we have incorporated into the design of our packaging. What is the point of creating a recyclable pack if it can’t be disposed of correctly? We consider the entire recycling waste chain and the infrastructure which is in place both here and internationally. We work with bioprocessing and recycling companies to ensure that packaging can be disposed of without going to landfill. We are developing solutions to communicate with end users on how to recycle packaging which will be announced later this year.

What are your thoughts on the future of food packaging?

Sustainability, and the evolving legislation and trends surrounding this, will continue to have a significant impact on the future of food packaging.

For us it will be the continuation of our approach to seek to understand our customers’ needs, combined with our insight and knowledge of materials which will enable us to create future solutions. We are all on this journey of understanding together, striving to make a better world for generations to come. www.sandwich.org.uk I 57

BSA Product Index ADVISORY & CONSULTANCY

Yoghurt

SERVICES

Freshfayre

Bespoke Software

Futura Foods UK Ltd.

Kelsius

Sour Cream

Mezze

Freshfayre

Business Systems

CHUTNEYS & RELISHES

Kelsius Mezze Nutritics Factory Grote Company Food Attraction Ltd. Kelsius Millitec Food Systems Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd. Food Safety ALS Laboratories (UK) Ltd.

Chutneys Freshfayre Leathams Mizkan Euro Ltd. The Ingredients Factory Zafron Foods Ltd. Relishes Blenders Freshfayre Harvey & Brockless

DRINKS

Seafood/Shellfish Products

Juices

H Smith Food Group plc

Freshfayre

Freshfayre

Royal Greenland Ltd.

Leathams

Leathams

Tuna

EGGS & EGG PRODUCTS

Freshfayre

Eggs (hard boiled) Freshfayre

H Smith Food Group plc Moy Park Ltd.

Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Egg Products

FOOD WHOLESALERS

Freshfayre

Country Choice Foods

Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Futura Foods UK Ltd. Leathams

FRUIT General

Stonegate Farmers

The Ingredients Factory

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Guacamole Leathams

Continental

Smithfield Foods Ltd Duck Bernard Matthews (Sunderland) Ltd. Freshfayre H Smith Food Group plc Ham Freshfayre Gierlinger Holding GmbH Leathams Smithfield Foods Ltd. Lamb Freshfayre H Smith Food Group plc

Leathams

EQUIPMENT & VEHICLES

Mizkan Euro Ltd.

Buttering Machinery

INSURANCE

The Ingredients Factory

Snowbird foods

Deighton Manufacturing

Insurance Protector Group

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Pork

Grote Company

Food Attraction Ltd.

Pickles

Millitec Food Systems Ltd.

Freshfayre

Conveyors

BAKERY PRODUCTS

Leathams

Deighton Manufacturing

The Ingredients Factory

Grote Company

British Lion Eggs Kelsius Nutritics Retail

Doughnuts

Bawnbua Foods NI

Sausages

Millitec Food Systems Ltd.

Dawn Farms UK

Cutting & Slicing Equipment

Food Attraction Ltd.

DRESSINGS, SAUCES AND

Freshfayre

Depositing Machinery

MAYONNAISE

Grote Company

Dips

Millitec Food Systems Ltd.

BREAD & ROLLS

Blenders

Labelling Systems & Barcoding

Fresh

Freshfayre

Nutritics

Jacksons Bakery

Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods

Planglow Ltd.

Speciality

The Ingredients Factory

Leathams

Grote Company

Blenders

Mission Foods

H Smith Food Group plc

Smithfield Foods Ltd.

Morning Goods

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Reflex Labels

Gierlinger Holding GmbH

Bacon

Millitec Food Systems Ltd.

Tortilla & Wraps

Planglow Ltd.

Freshfayre

Moy Park Ltd.

Salsa Freshfayre

Nutritics

Dawn Farms UK

MEAT PRODUCTS

Moy Park Ltd. New York Bakery

LABELS

Meatballs

Dew Valley Foods Freshfayre H Smith Food Group plc Gierlinger Holding GmbH Leathams Moy Park Ltd.

Freshfayre Gierlinger Holding GmbH Leathams Moy Park Ltd. Smithfield Foods Ltd. Snowbird foods Turkey Bernard Matthews (Sunderland) Ltd.

Reflex Lables

Smithfield Foods Ltd.

Mobile Catering Vehicles

Beef

H Smith Food Group plc

Freshfayre

Food Attraction Ltd.

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Jacksons Bakery

Dressings

Jiffy Trucks Ltd.

Freshfayre

Mission Foods

Leathams

Blenders

Retail Display

H Smith Food Group plc

Moy Park Ltd.

Spreads

Flexeserve

Leathams

Smithfield Foods Ltd.

Sandwich Making Machinery

Moy Park Ltd.

OILS

Deighton Manufacturing

Canned Meat

Freshfayre

Grote Company

Freshfayre

Millitec Food Systems Ltd.

Moy Park Ltd.

ORGANIC PRODUCTS

FISH PRODUCTS

Smithfield Foods Ltd.

Leathams PACKAGING

New York Bakery Bread Making Ingredients Harvey & Brockless

Blenders Mayonnaise

BUTTER & SPREADS

Blenders

Butter

Freshfayre

Freshfayre

Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods

Fridays

Spreads

Harvey & Brockless

Freshfayre

Piquant

Crayfish

Chicken

Harvey & Brockless

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Freshfayre

Bernard Matthews (Sunderland) Ltd.

Spreads (olive)

Mustards

Royal Greenland Ltd.

Cargill Protein Europe

Freshfayre

Blenders

Prawns

Dawn Farms UK

Leathams

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Freshfayre

Freshfayre

CHEESE & DAIRY PRODUCTS

Sauces & Ketchups

H Smith Food Group plc

H Smith Food Group plc

Cheese

Blenders

Royal Greenland Ltd.

Leathams

Freshfayre

Freshfayre

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Smithfield Foods Ltd.

Coveris Flexibles (St Neots) UK Ltd.

Futura Foods UK Ltd.

Piquant

Salmon

Moy Park Ltd.

Nutritics

Harvey & Brockless

The Ingredients Factory

Freshfayre

Seara Meats BV

Pro-Ampac RAP

Leathams

Zafron Foods Ltd.

Leathams

Smithfield Foods Ltd.

Reflex Labels

58 January/February 2022 www.sandwichandfoodtogonews.co.uk

Cardboard Colpac Ltd. Coveris Flexibles (St Neots) UK Ltd. Pro-Ampac RAP Disposable Colpac Ltd.

BSA Manufacturers & Distributors BT34 2QU Tel: 0283 0262333 info@aroundnoon.com www.aroundnoon.com BRC Rating – AA

GREENCORE FOOD TO GO LTD – MANTON WOOD Manton Wood, Enterprise Zone, Retford Road, Manton, Worksop, Notts, S80 2RS Contact: Sales Tel: 01909 512600 Fax: 01909 512708 www.greencore.com BRC Rating – AA

AROUND NOON (LONDON) LTD. 762A/763A Henley Road, Slough SL1 4JW Tel: 01753 523 636 Fax: 01753 573 125 infoANL@aroundnoon.com www.aroundnoon.com BRC Rating – AA

GREENCORE FOOD TO GO LTD – BROMLEY BY BOW Prologis Park, Twelvetrees Crescent, London E3 3JG Tel: 0207 536 8000 Fax: 0207 536 0790 Contact: Sales sales@greencore.com www.greencore.com BRC Rating – AA

Food wraps Pro-Ampac RAP Sandwich Packs Colpac Ltd. Coveris Flexibles (St Neots) UK Ltd. Pro-Ampac RAP PASTA Freshfayre Leathams Pasta Foods

AROUND NOON LTD. Unit 24A Rampart Road, Greenbank Industrial Estate, Newry, County Down

SANDWICH FILLINGS (READY PREPARED) Fresh Fillings Bernard Matthews (Sunderland) Ltd. Freshfayre Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Fridays Harvey & Brockless Zafron Foods Ltd. Frozen Fillings Bernard Matthews (Sunderland) Ltd. SOUPS Freshfayre Leathams VEGETABLES & HERBS Canned Vegetables

GREENCORE FOOD TO GO LTD. – ATHERSTONE Unit 7, Carlyon Road Industrial Estate, Atherstone Warwickshire CV9 1LQ Contact: Alex McLaren Tel: 01827 719 100 Fax: 01827 719 101 alex.mclaren@greencore.com www.greencore.com BRC Rating – AA+

DELI-LITES IRELAND LTD. Unit 1, Milltown Industrial Estate, Warrenpoint, County Down BT34 3FN Contact: Ronan Gourley Tel: 028 417 54807 ronan.gourley@delilites.com www.delilites.com BRC Rating – AA

GREENCORE FOOD TO GO LTD. – HEATHROW Unit 366 Stockley Close, West Drayton, London UB7 9BL Contact: Alex McLaren Ray-Odekeye Tel: 0208 629 8600 alex.mclaren@greencore.com www.greencore.com BRC Rating – AA

SAMWORTH BROTHERS MANTON WOOD Manton Wood, Enterprise Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 2RS Tel: 01909 511800 commercialftg@ samworthbrothers.co.uk www.samworthbrothers.co.uk BRC Rating – AA+

MELTON FOODS 3 Samworth Way, Leicester Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE13 1GA Tel: 01664 484400 Fax: 01664 484401 commercialftg@ samworthbrothers.co.uk BRC Rating – A

SANDWICH KING Enfield Street, Leeds LS7 1RF Contact: Julie Crimlisk Tel: 0113 2426031 enquiries@sandwichkinguk.com www.sandwichkinguk.com STS Audited

Chargrilled Vegetables Leathams

Jalapenos Freshfayre SALAD Fresh Agrial Fresh Produce Ltd. Freshfayre Salad (prepared) Agrial Fresh Produce Ltd. Sundried Tomatoes Freshfayre Leathams Plc Sweetcorn Freshfayre Tomatoes Freshfayre

RAYNOR FOODS Farrow Road, Widford Industrial Estate, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3TH Contact: Heather Raynor Tel: 01245 353249 Fax: 01245 347889 sales@sandwiches.uk.net www.sandwiches.uk.net STS Audited

BRADGATE BAKERY Beaumont Leys, Leicester, LE4 1WX Tel: 0116 2361100 Fax: 0116 2361101 commercialftg@ samworthbrothers.co.uk BRC Rating – AA

Freshfayre

Moy Park Ltd.

ON A ROLL SANDWICH COMPANY The Pantry, Barton Road, Middlesbrough TS2 1RY Contact: James Stoddart Tel: 01642 707090 Fax: 01642 243858 jstoddart@onarollsandwich.co.uk www.onarollsandwich.co.uk BRC Rating – AA

GREENCORE FOOD TO GO LTD PARK ROYAL Willen Field Rd, Park Royal, London NW10 7AQ Contact: Clare Rees Tel: 0208 956 6000 Fax: 0208 956 6060 clare.rees@greencore.com www.greencore.com BRC Rating – AA

REAL WRAP COMPANY LTD. Unit 2 Haslemere Industrial Estate,Avonmouth, Bristol BS11 9TP Contact: Jason Howell Tel: 0117 3295020 jason@realwrap.co.uk www.realwrap.co.uk STS Audited

SIMPLY LUNCH LTD. Unit 2 ,ZK Park, 23 Commerce Way, Croydon CR0 4ZS Contact Sales Tel: 0345 2007631 sales@simplylunch.co.uk www.simplylunch.co.uk BRC Rating – AA STREET EATS FOOD LTD. Prince William Avenue, Sandycroft, Deeside, CH5 2QZ Tel: 01244 533888 Option 1 orders@streeteatsfood.co.uk enquiries@streeteatsfood.co.uk www.streeteatsfood.co.uk BRC Rating – AA

THE SOHO SANDWICH COMPANY Unit 7 Advent Business Park, Advent Way, London N18 3AL Contact: Daniel Silverston Tel: 0203 058 1245 Fax: 0207 739 1166 dan@sohosandwich.co.uk www.sohosandwich.co.uk STS Audited TIFFIN SANDWICHES Tiffin House, 20 Commondale Way, Euroway Trading Estate, Bradford, Yorkshire BD4 6SF Contact: Sales Tel: 01274 494939 sales@tiffinsandwiches.co.uk www.tiffinsandwiches.co.uk BRC Rating – A

The British Sandwich Quality Promise The sandwich manufacturers and distributors listed above support The British Sandwich Association Code of Practice as The Minimum Standard for Sandwich Making and are subject to regular independent audits. Copies of BSA Audits are available, on request, to buyers (subject to agreement of manufacturers) by calling us on 01291 636338

BSA Suppliers Index DEIGHTON MANUFACTURING (UK) LTD Gibson Street, Leeds Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire AGRIAL FRESH PRODUCE LTD. Unit 5 Walthew House Lane, Martland Park Industrial Estate, Wigan WN5 0LB Contact: Emma Hesketh Tel: 01942 219942 emhesketh@afproduce.co.uk www.agrialfreshproduce.co.uk

CARGILL PROTEIN EUROPE

Clerkenleap Barn, Bath Road, Broomhall, Worcester WR5 3HR Contact: Claire Thomas

BD3 9TR Contact: Andy Hamilton Tel: 01274 668771 Fax: 01274 665214 sales@deightonmanufacturing.co.uk www.deightonmanufacturing.co.uk

Tel: 0121 7253476

FRESH-PAK CHILLED FOODS

H SMITH FOOD GROUP PLC

Way, Wombwell, Barnsley

Ferry Lane South, Rainham,

S73 0BB

Essex RM13 9BP

Contact: Mike Roberts

Contact: Chris Smith

Tel: 01226 344850

Tel: 01708 878888

Fax: 01226 344880

chris@hsmithplc.com

mike.roberts@fresh-pak.co.uk

www.hsmithplc.com

1 Waterside Park, Valley

www.fresh-pak.co.uk

Claire_Thomas@cargill.com

INSURANCE PROTECTOR

www.cargill.co.uk

GROUP

B1 Custom House, The

DEW VALLEY FOODS ALS LABORATORIES (UK) LTD. Aspen Court, Centurion Business Park, Bessemer Way, Rotherham S60 1FB Contact: Nigel Richards Tel: 01354 697028

Enterprise Way, Flitwick, Bedfordshire

Fax: 00353 504 23405

MK45 5BW

cmurphy@dewvalley.com

Tel: +44 (0) 1525 712261 Fax: +44 (0) 1525 718205

www.als-testing.co.uk

info@colpac.co.uk www.colpacpackaging.com

BAWNBUA FOODS NI

Tel: 028 38 344224 joanne.grant@bawnbua.com www.bawnbua.com

www.dewvalley.com

COUNTRY CHOICE FOODS Swan House, New Mill Road, PANTONE 1585 U

PANTONE NEUTRAL BLACK U

C 0% M 60% Y 65% K 0% WEB #FF854F

C 0% M 0% Y 0% K 85% WEB #4B4846

St Paul’s Cray, Orpington, Kent BR5 3QD Contact: Neil Lindsell neil.lindsell@brake.co.uk

Tyne & Wear SR2 9TE Contact: Marie Marandola Tel: 07873 301954 sunderlandsales@2sfg.com Marie.Marandola@2sfg.com

Tel: 01666 890500

FLEXESERVE

Tel: 01455 638300 Email: info@flexeserve.com www.flexeserve.com

JACKSONS

40 Derringham Street, Hull HU3 1EW Contact: Commercial Team Phone: 01482 301146 hello@jacksonsbread.co.uk www.jacksonsbread.co.uk

Road, Hinckley GIERLINGER HOLDING

JIFFY TRUCKS LTD

Weingartenstraße 14,

West Yorkshire BD18 1QG

GMBH

26 Jubilee Way, Shipley

A-4100, Ottensheim, Austria

Tel: 01274 596000

Contact: Harry Prutton Tel: 07747 621586 hp@gierlinger-holding.com

Contact: John Briggs john@jiffytrucks.co.uk www.jiffytrucks.co.uk

www.gierlinger-holding.com

BERNARD MATTHEWS

Toll Bar Road, Sunderland,

Contact: Jo Carter

www.futura-foods.com

Contact: Warwick Wakefield

www.insuranceprotector.co.uk

GL11 4HR

jo@futura-foods.com

Leicestershire LE10 3BZ

business@ipgdirect.co.uk

Dursley, Gloucestershire

Fax: 01666 890522

www.countrychoice.co.uk

Leechmere Industrial Estate,

The Priory, Long Street,

Orchard House, Dodwells

Tel: 01689 301203

(SUNDERLAND) LTD.

Tel: 0800 488 0013 FUTURA FOODS UK LTD.

The Alan Nuttall Partnership Ltd

67 Crowhill Road, Bleary Contact: Joanne Grant

Contact: Christina Murphy Tel: 00353 504 46110

Contact: Sales Department

Brierley Hill DY5 1XH

County Tipperary, Ireland

Maulden Road,

sales.uk@alsglobal.com

County Armagh BT66 7AT

Waterfront, Level Street,

Holycross Road, Thurles, COLPAC LTD

24 Easter Industrial Park,

COVERIS

Howard Road, Eaton Socon, St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 8ET Contact: Sales Department Tel: 01480 476161 UKfoodservice@coveris.com www.coveris.com

www.2fsg.com

FOOD ATTRACTION LTD. Langham Court, 21 Langham Road, Leicester LE4 9WF Contact: Jake Karia

GROTE COMPANY

Newtech Square, Zone 2 Deeside Industrial Park CH5 2NT

Tel: 0116 2744066

Contact: Paul Jones

jake@foodattraction.com

Tel: 01978 362243

www.jakeandnayns.com

Fax: 01978 362255 sales@grotecompany.com

KELSIUS

Unit 2 Ballyconnell Industrial Estate, Falcarragh, Co. Donegal F92 AF8N Tel: +353 (0)7491 62982 Contact: Mario Kelly info@kelsius.com https://bit.ly/3jEOiu0

www.grotecompany.com DAWN FARMS UK BLENDERS Whitestown Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24 DV24 VY75, Ireland Contact: Barnaby Barber Phone: 00 353 14536960 /07741 639006 barnaby.barber@blenders.ie www.blenders.ie

60 I www.sandwich.org.uk

Lodge Way, Lodge Farm Ind. Est, Northampton NN5 7US Contact: Bryan Murphy Tel: 01604 583421 Fax: 01604 587392 info@dawnfarms.ie bmurphy@dawnfarmfoods.co.uk

FRESHFAYRE A trading division of Fresh Direct Unit 10, Severn Way, Leeds LS10 1BY Contact: Telesales Tel: 0113 277 3001

HARVEY & BROCKLESS 44-54 Stewarts Road London SW8 4DF Contact: Tina Alemao Tel: 0207 8196045 Fax: 0207 8196027 tina.alemao@harveyandbrockless.co.uk

www.tmifoods.co.uk

sales@freshfayre.co.uk

www.harveyandbrockless.co.uk

Accreditation body: BSA

www.freshfayre.co.uk

Accreditation body: BSA

LEATHAMS LTD

227-255 Ilderton Road, London, SE15 1NS Contact: Des Hillier Tel: 0207 635 4000 Fax: 0207 635 4017 des.hillier@leathams.co.uk www.leathams.co.uk

BSA Suppliers Index MEZZE

LINKED ASSOCIATION

12 Colston Yard, Bristol BS1 5BD Contact: Hugo Walker Tel:: 0117 379 0309

NEW YORK BAKERY CO.

Email: hugo.walker@mezze.io

Swinton Meadows Industrial

Web address: www.mezze.io MILLITEC FOOD SYSTEMS LTD. 20 Victoria Road, Draycott, Derbyshire

Estate, Swinton, Mexborough S64 8AB Contact: Angela Young Tel: 0208 283 0500 angela.young@grupobimbo.com www.newyorkbakery.co.uk

PLANGLOW LTD The Quorum, Bond Street, Bristol BS1 3AE Contact: Rachael Sawtell Tel: 0117 317 8600 Fax: 0117 317 8639 info@planglow.com

NSF FOODS LTD. Sutton Farm, Claverley, Shropshire WV5 7DD Contact: Steve Money Tel: 01902 925330

Renown Avenue, Coventry Business Park, Coventry CV5 6UJ Contact: James Brown Tel: 07725 496799 Jbrown@missionfoods.com www.missionfoodservice.co.uk

steve.money@nsffoods.com www.nsffoods.com NUTRITICS

PROAMPAC-RAP Mansel Court, 2A Mansel Road, Wimbledon, SW19 4AA Contact: Martin Beaver Tel: 0208 069 0700 catherine.young@rapuk.com www.rapuk.com

Swords

Email: info@nutritics.com

REFLEX PACK PLUS

www.nutritics.com

Moat Way, Barwell

Contact: Melissa Aplin

2nd Floor Building 10,

Tel: 01455 852400

Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick

melissaa@reflexlabels.co.uk

Craigavon, County Armagh BT63 5QE Contact: Emma Hallam Tel: +44 (0) 28 3835 2233 Emma.Hallam@moypark.com www.moypark.com

SUPPLIERS

Norwich, Norfolk NR1 3PA Tel: 01603 252400 customerservices@smithfieldfoods.co.uk www.smithfieldfoods.co.uk SNOWBIRD FOODS

Wharf Road, Ponders End, Enfield, Middlesex EN3 4TD Contact: Helen Swan Tel: 0208 805 9222 Fax: 0208 804 9303

Contact: Julie Smith Tel: 01922 711116 Fax: 01922 473240 salesinfo@piquant.co.uk www.piquant.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA

Contact: Sara Harling Tel: 01249 730700 Sara.Harling@stonegate.co.uk www.stonegate.co.uk THE INGREDIENTS

Way, Chester CH1 4QP

ROYAL GREENLAND LTD. Gateway House,

Manchester M22 5WY Contact: Solenne Labarere Tel: 0161 4904246 soll@royalgreenland.com www.royalgreenland.co.uk

The following are elected members of the British Sandwich and Food to Go Association Management Committee CHAIRMAN

Robert Potts, Greencore (Producer) THE COMMITTEE

James Faulkner Leathams (Supplier) Neil Wood, Woods (Independent Sandwich Bar) David Winter, Street Eats (Producer) Vacant (Van Sales) Rusty Warren, Subway (Sandwich Bar Chain)

Ind Estate,160 Hamilton

Peter Mayley, La Baguetterie (Independent Sandwich Bar)

Unit 2-3 Hamilton Road

Contact: Tim Marcuson tim@theingredientsfactory.com

Amy James, Greggs (Baker)

www.theingredientsfactory.com

Cathal McDonnell, Deli-Lites (Producer)

ZAFRON FOODS LTD.

Caroline Bartrop Freshfayre (Supplier)

Estate, Willow Lane,

James Faulkner Leathams (Supplier)

Styal Road, Wythenshawe,

THE BRITISH SANDWICH AND FOOD TO GO ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

FACTORY

Fax: 0208 670 9676

stuart.mills@pastafoods.com

Walsall, W.Midlands WS3 2XN

Wiltshire SN15 2LZ

Tel: 0208 670 6701

Tel: 01493 416200

Willenhall Lane, Bloxwich,

Road, Lacock, Chippenham,

Road, London SE27 9SF

Contact: Stuart Mills

PIQUANT LTD 39 Seagoe Industrial Estate,

www.reflexlabels.co.uk

NR5 0JH

www.pastafoods.com

MOY PARK LTD.

48-52 Surrey Street,

The Old Sidings, Corsham

Tel: 020 3769 5265

Forest Way, Norwich

11-13 The Quad, Sovereign

admin@laca.co.uk

STONEGATE FARMERS

Co Dublin, Ireland

PASTA FOODS

LACA Administration

Tel: 0333 005 0226

www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk

Contact: Craig Dillon

CATERING ASSOCIATION

www.seara.com.br

Main Street,

High Road, London W4 5XS

LOCAL AUTHORITY

valeri.zhekov@seara.com.br

helen.swan@snowbirdfoods.co.uk

MIZKAN EURO LTD.

www.mizkan.co.uk

Tel: 0044 2035358857

22c Town Centre Mall

LE9 8EY

craig.dillon@mizkan.co.uk

Contact: Valeri Zhekov

London

Leicestershire

Tel: 0203 6752220

Road, Borehamwood WD6 1JN

Norfolk Tower,

Tel: 01332 320400

MISSION FOODS EUROPE LTD

1, Imperial Place, Maxwell

SMITHFIELD FOODS LTD.

Contact: Richard Ledger

www.millitec.com

2nd Floor, Building

www.planglow.com

DE72 3PS

sales@millitec.com

SEARA MEATS BV

Unit B-G Eagle Trading

Mitcham, Surrey CR4 4UY Contact: Jack Kenny Tel: 0844 847 5116 Fax: 0844 847 5117 jack@zafronfoods.co.uk www.zafronfoods.co.uk

These suppliers are members of The British Sandwich Association and subject to its rules, codes of conduct and accreditation. While the Association cannot guarantee the products supplied by those listed, it does make every effort to ensure that the companies are reputable and offer quality products and services.

Dan Silverston Soho Sandwiches (Producer) SECRETARIAT Jim Winship, Director

Classifieds International Sandwich Manufacturers SIGMA BAKERIES PO Box 56567, 3308 Limassol, Cyprus Contact: Georgios Georgiou Tel: +357 25 878678 Fax: +357 25 346131 info@sigmabakeries.com www.sigmabakeries.com SUBWAY Chaston House, Mill Court,Hinton Way, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire CB22 5LD Contact: Georg Buhrkohl Tel: 01223 550820 www.subway.co.uk TAMARIND FOODS SPRL Brixtonlaan 2c, Zaventem, Brussels 1930, Belgium Tel: +32 2 731 6977 Fax: +32 2 731 6978 fteichmann@tamarindfoods.be Contact: Frederic Teichmann

Product Listing

BAKERY INSERTS Sigma Bakeries Ltd BREAD Sigma Bakeries Ltd FRANCHISING Subway ORGANIC PRODUCTS Sigma Bakeries Ltd SANDWICHES

Tamarind Foods SANDWICH FILLINGS (prepared) Sigma Bakeries Ltd SPECIALITY BREADS Sigma Bakeries Ltd

Kraft Soup Containers High quality food containers, for those with good taste

See for See page page XX 15 for more details

Call: 0208 507 7900 sales@heraldplastic.com

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