FoodChain Issue 114 June 2016

FoodChain Issue 114

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JUNE 2016

The business of food and drink

Crystal clear The use of celebrity branding is increasingly common in the food and beverage space

Industry News l

Scanning the future The amount of data now available means easier traceability

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Parkside launches self venting steam bag

Patak’s enters ready-meal market l

CHEP honoured for sustainability

Paper possibilities Brands and consumers have to consider greener packaging

FoodChain SUMMER L 2016

THE BUSINESS OF FOOD AND DRINK

Editor’s Welcome

Crystal clear The use of celebrity branding is increasingly common in the food and beverage space

Industry News Scanning the future The amount of data now available means easier traceability

L Parkside

launches self venting steam bag

L Patak’s

Paper possibilities

enters ready-meal market

L CHEP

honoured for sustainability

Brands and consumers have to consider greener packaging

Chairman Andrew Schofield Editor Libbie Hammond

Better business

Art Editor Advertising Design Fleur Daniels Staff Writers Jo Cooper Andrew Dann Ben Clark Profiles Manager Emma Crane Sales Director Joe Woolsgrove Sales Mark Cawston Tim Eakins Andy Ellis Darren Jolliffe Jonas Junca Dave King Theresa McDonald Elliott Scales Rob Wagner Operations Director Philip Monument Editorial Researcher Alasdair Gamble Mark Kafourous Office Manager Advertising Administrator Tracy Chynoweth Studio Assistant Barnaby Schofield

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hat an interesting story we are running this issue about the East of England Co-op. With roots stretching back to 1861 and still based on the same principle that there is a better, fairer and more equitable

way to do business, today the East of England Co-op has over 220,00 members and a turnover of over £350m. The history of the organisation fascinating but what the Co-op is doing now for its local communities and its local suppliers is a credit to the business and may surprise some readers. For more details see the entire company profile on page 32.

I would hope that in my June editor’s page I could share that in the next issue we will be talking all things summer. But as I write this, the wind is blowing outside the window, while the rain lashes down. It’s cold and unwelcoming outside and it’s hard to be optimistic about warmer times to come! Hopefully we shall soon see a bit more sunshine and next month we can talk about ice creams, cold drinks and summer BBQs.

@FoodChain_mag

Schofield Publishing Cringleford Business Centre, 10 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, U.K. T: +44 (0)1603 274130F: +44 (0)1603 274131 www.foodchainmagazine.com

libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

© 2016 Schofield Publishing Ltd Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Contents

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Features Food fraud No more horsing around

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The lessons learned from the horsemeat scandal and what the future holds in the battle against food fraud

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Businesses in the food sector are realising that cloud-based solutions afford them agility and flexibility

Cold storage Food for thought

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Recipe creation Fresh inspiration

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Animal Welfare Compassion and sustainability

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As a society, do we need to rethink our future food strategy and concentrate on higher welfare meat dairy and eggs?

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The need for food companies to demonstrate increasing levels of agility in responding to market changes

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Nutrition The state of nutrition

Putting a modern spin on traditional recipes and making sure they hit the right note with consumers

Trends in paper packaging can create environmental challenges

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Consumers are showing more of an interest in nutrition but there is still a long way to go

Tea is a diverse and hot contested market, with speciality teas growing in popularity

IT Time for a menu refresh

Celebrity endorsements Crystal clear The use of celebrity branding and how Dan Aykroyd’s commitment and pride in his product is driving sales

The implementation of sophisticated refrigerant technologies can significantly cut down on costs

Packaging Paper possibilities

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How scanning solutions can enable seamless tracking of goods – vital for efficient food logistics

Cloud Computing A growing appetite for cloud

Speciality Tea A storm in a teacup

Barcodes Scanning the future

News

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Taste Test

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Up-to-date products and announcements from the food and beverage sector The FoodChain team sample a selection of new and innovative foods and drinks

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46 80 52 Innovations & developments within some of the world’s finest companies

Profiles East of England Co-op

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EWOS (Group)

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By focusing on the local community and members, the East of

EWOS continues its committed approach to driving innovation

England Co-op upholds its ambition to be the friendly face of retail

forward in the production of food for the aquaculture industry

bartlett mitchell

Heritage Portfolio

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A five year growth strategy is in place to enable innovative

Heritage Portfolio has built itself a truly prestigious platform from

contract caterer bartlett mitchell to reach £50 million turnover

which it has been able to serve top quality food to high-end guests

McDonald’s Nederland

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Fond Doux Plantation and Resort

Constant attention on the customer is what keeps

A Green Globe certified plantation resort; Fond Doux’s strategy

McDonald’s Nederland innovating and reinventing its menu

is to always provide fantastic holiday and culinary experiences

Lambertz

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European Vending Association

Lambertz has transformed itself into a global market

The EVA serves both its membership and the wider needs

leader for seasonal and speciality Christmas baked goods

of the vending industry within Europe

Krönleins Brewery

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Zip Technologies

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The most awarded brewery in Scandinavia, Krönleins Brewery

A provider of finely crafted brewing equipment, Zip Technologies

continues to release innovative new beers, ciders and soft drinks

concentrates on brewmasters and brewing enthusiasts

Mackie’s at Taypack

Oerlemans Foods Group

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With flavours such as Haggis and Whisky, the crisp and popcorn

Oerlemans Foods Group’s strategy is to become the leading

products from Mackie’s at Taypack reflect their Scottish heritage

fresh frozen provider through Europe

Thurne-Middleby

KK Fine Foods

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Thurne-Middleby, a leader in bacon, deli and cheese slicing

As a family-owned business, KK Fine Foods brings passion

technology, is keen to expand its presence within the UK and Europe

and energy to its business

Project Pie

Lainston Country House Hotel

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The next exciting chapter of development is starting in July

Lainston Country House Hotel provides guests with an

for Project Pie when its new Bromley store opens

extremely high quality food offering

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No more horsing around

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More than three years have passed since the horsemeat scandal sent shockwaves through the food industry. Dr Mike Bromley looks at the lessons we’ve learned since and what the future holds in the ongoing battle against food fraud 4

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efore the horsemeat scandal of 2013, the concept of food fraud was far from the mind of the average consumer.

But when news that horsemeat had been found in products like mince, beef burgers and lasagnes started to appear in the media, the topic was thrust into the mainstream. Many market-leading brands came under fire as more and more cases of fraud came to light and consumer trust was rocked.

Perhaps surprisingly, the issue of food fraud is not a new notion, but rather one that has plagued the industry for many years. Historical records through to the most recent are littered with examples of unscrupulous individuals adulterating both high-value foods like saffron and caviar as well as mass-produced foods in order to increase profits. In fact, the first British law combating food fraud dates back to the 13th Century when new legislations were implemented to regulate the quality of products such as bread and ale.

Dr Mike Bromley

Yet still today, the problem is far more prevalent than many realise, with conservative estimates putting the annual cost of such deception at around $15 billion globally1 and research suggesting that it affects around ten per cent of all commercially sold food products2.

The horsemeat scandal was a clear indication of how the loss of consumer trust in major supermarkets and food producers can have an enormous impact on corporations. A year after the initial reports came to light, and as a direct result of scandal, sales of frozen ready meals were down six per cent3 and several enterprises including the major food manufacturer Spanghero are no longer with us. Rather than the nature of the fraud itself, the root of public outrage was the perceived breach of trust between trusted retailers and consumers.

Widespread media coverage and public indignation led to devastating consequences for many organisations

Food fraud and have been a catalyst for change in the industry. Positive steps have since been taken to combat and control fraud in the industry.

Back in 2013, only two analytical methods were commonly used in laboratories to detect the content of meat products and test for contaminants. However, these tests were designed to detect the presence of a fixed and very limited range of adulterants. In short, the tests could only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if asked about a particular meat species.

Prior to 2013 risk profiling of food contamination would not have identified horsemeat as a likely risk so it generally wasn’t tested for. Naturally that’s all changed in the intervening years. Not only is horsemeat very much on the radar of those screening for food fraud but so too are the vast number of other species from across the globe that could be used to adulterate mainstream meats or other foods.

Previously, the investment of time and money that would have been required to detect every single potential contaminant in a food sample by using old testing methods that existed at the time was highly impractical. For any real change to happen in the industry, new testing procedures and technology had to be found.

This need was reiterated by the UK government who revealed the findings

of a commissioned report, which recommended that cases of food fraud should be afforded a zero-tolerance approach and that a greater focus on intelligence gathering was needed4. In order to prevent a scandal of a similar nature, the testing methods available to support the industry needed to offer tighter controls over authenticity to police and prevent similar cases of food fraud.

The incident has indeed begun to usher in changes to the food industry and in many cases, where existing detection methods were not comprehensive enough for the food industry’s needs, improvements have now been made.

One of the biggest changes has seen the creation and introduction of Next Generation Sequencing to detect food fraud. These new diagnostics use techniques developed to rapidly sequence the human genome and can simultaneously screen for the DNA of more than 10,000 different animal and plant species in a sample. In effect, for the first time ever it’s possible to find out exactly what is in a food sample.

Since the horsemeat scandal, demand for food manufacturers and retailers to demonstrate the authenticity of their products has grown and pressure to verify the quality of food products continues to increase. Now high on the agenda and fresh in the mind of the general public, the issue of food fraud

actually offers retailers an opportunity to win back consumer trust and position themselves as industry-leaders by publicising the fact that they employ the highest standards of testing and expect nothing less from their suppliers.

Moving forwards, an industry-wide standard must be established. However, it’s important that manufacturers and retailers take some accountability and continue to be vigilant. While the technologies now exists to better support the industry to satisfy the Government’s recommended zerotolerance approach, it is critical that they are adopted wholeheartedly by the major players in the industry. In this environment of intense scrutiny, those responsible for quality assurance will inevitably want to invest in the best possible detection methods in order to combat food fraud effectively and put consumer minds at rest. D 1 (1. GMA, Consumer Product Fraud, Deterrence and Detection, 2010, http:// www.gmaonline.org/downloads/wygwam/ consumerproductfraud.pdf; and A. Kircher, NCFPD, “Tools for Protecting the Nation’s Food Supply,” June 5, 2012.)

2 (Estimated by the Food Standards Agency of the U.K., as reported by K. Everstine and A. Kircher, “The Implications of Food Fraud,” Food Quality & Safety magazine, June/July 2013. 3. https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/ R43358.pdf.

3 (http://uk.kantar.com/media/619292/ horsemeat_scandal_one_year_on_-_press_ release.pdf) 4 (Elliot Review: https://www.gov.uk/ government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/350726/elliot-reviewfinal-report-july2014.pdf).

Dr Mike Bromley is founder of Genon Laboratories (now part of Synergy Health Laboratories) and a lecturer in Medical Mycology at the University of Manchester. He is a specialist in the development of diagnostic assays and has worked with the team at Manchester to develop next generation sequencing for application in the food industry. www.genonlabs.co.uk

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A growing appetite for cloud

W Mike Edgett looks at the role of cloud computing in helping the food industry to boost performance 6

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ith analyst firm Gartner predicting that the worldwide market for cloud systems will hit $204 billion this year, a 16.5 per cent increase on 2015’s $175 billion, cloud adoption is showing no signs of slowing.

Unbelievably, cloud solutions have been around since the 1990s. However while their core value proposition is still the same (easy provisioning, flexible scaling, always-on latest release and lower TCO), the cloud solutions of today are very different to their predecessors, something

which is reflected in the breadth of organisations investing in them.

Typical early cloud adopters were high-growth, innovation-focused, lean organisations. What we’re now seeing is the adoption of cloud expanding to include a wide range of organisations across all industries. The food industry, while not an early adopter of cloud, is catching up fast and could be categorised as part of what Forrester is calling the ‘second wave of cloud computing’, which is much more application focused than the first wave,

Cloud Computing which was primarily concerned with IT networks and infrastructure.

The cost conundrum So what’s driving cloud adoption in the food industry? In the face of intense price competition and ever-changing consumer tastes, food and beverage companies are under increasing pressure to slash costs while introducing new, ‘improved’ products to market much faster than ever before. For an industry known for its low margins, the cloud is an ideal solution as the costs associated with traditional software solutions (systems upgrades, virus patches, database management, for example) are eliminated with cloud computing, but many food businesses were put off by the perceived risk of investing in the cloud, or cultural barriers associated with changing the model on which systems operate.

However, the last few years have shown that organisations using cloud solutions have quickly achieved cost savings that increase over time, with a recent IDC study showing that on average, cloud solutions have a seven month payback period and a five year ROI of 626 per cent, figures that the food industry cannot afford to ignore.

As well as cost, security was perceived to be the biggest cloud threat but this too has proved to not be the case, with the majority of cloud adopters saying they have seen an increase in security benefits since moving to the cloud. In fact, security now takes centre stage of many cloud providers’ offerings, eclipsing any in-house security measures their customers might already have in place.

The hybrid model Another barrier that seemed to deter many food businesses from going to the cloud was the supposed need to go ‘full cloud’. For businesses that had already invested heavily in their on-premise IT infrastructure, starting all over again in the cloud was a particularly difficult notion to contemplate. However, the once ‘runner-up’ hybrid model (the combination or hybrid of cloud and onpremise systems) is now openly accepted as the right model for some businesses and so solutions and services to support

this model are on the rise. Add to this the fact that many of the major cloud suppliers are also now not as adamant that customers must go ‘full cloud’ and the potential is there for organisations to take a perhaps more easily digestible incremental cloud approach.

Like most other industries, the food industry is seeing an increasing trend for organisations to pursue a digital business strategy, part of which involves replacing legacy applications and systems. Shifting these legacy systems to cloud-based services ensures a more robust, reliable technology platform, the only way to underpin a successful digital business strategy, as well as reducing the need to rely on a physical infrastructure, patching upgrades or server maintenance.

A clear way forward In line with this, many previous challenges and roadblocks that prevented certain applications from being deployed in the cloud are disappearing. For industries such as the food and pharma sectors, where legislation and regulations often determine which solutions businesses can implement, this application-driven focus means that businesses no longer have to delay cloud adoption as cloud-based solutions designed to meet the specific regulatory needs of their particular industry are very much the order of the day.

Another key dynamic that’s driving the food industry’s adoption of cloud computing is the need to gain greater insight into the performance of the business. Alongside sector-specific cloudbased business intelligence applications, in-built analytics monitor performance, identifying potentially costly bottlenecks and faults, enabling the business to take proactive steps to increase efficiency while keeping costs under control.

Accelerating performance In an industry where speed to market is often the difference between success and failure, the overarching benefit of turning to the cloud for the food industry has to be the loss of friction points that slow businesses down. Operating with cloud-based systems facilitates

access to accurate information, makes communications easier and ensures applications scale and evolve alongside the business. For food businesses operating in an increasingly tumultuous business environment, agility is key.

Market conditions change rapidly, customer demand can be unpredictable and competition is ever growing. If organisations are to survive and thrive in the food sector, they need to be able to take decisive action, quickly and confidently.

What more and more businesses in the food sector are realising is that cloud-based solutions afford them the necessary agility to keep pace with the market, with cloud solutions providing the flexibility that’s needed to do business today. Cloud solutions can be expanded without worrying about new hardware or modifications, growing and evolving with the business, regardless of the challenge, be it a new partner, a new product or a new service. And, with more cloudservices operating seamlessly across multiple locations by providing local capabilities like multi-currency financial tools and multi-language interfaces, the sky really is the limit when it comes to cloud computing. D

Mike Edgett is industry and solution strategy director, process manufacturing, Infor. Infor builds business applications with last mile functionality and scientific insights for select industries delivered as a cloud service. With 13,000 employees and customers in more than 200 countries and territories, Infor builds software that automates critical processes for industries including healthcare, manufacturing, fashion, wholesale distribution, hospitality, retail, and public sector. www.infor.com

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Food for thought Shaun Evers explains the importance of cold store safety

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he food and drink processing industry, worth £103 billion to the UK economy, relies heavily on cold storage technology to ensure its smooth operation. As a result, the sector remains the fourth highest industrial energy user in the UK. However the implementation of sophisticated refrigerant technologies can significantly cut down on electricity consumption and the associated costs.

Refrigerant gases are crucial for powering cold storage and industrial refrigeration units across the food and drink sector, but if a leak occurs the impact can be extremely damaging both to the environment and a company’s bottom line.

According to research by the Carbon Trust, a leak of just 1kg of refrigerant gases can cause the same environmental damage as driving a van for 10,000 miles. The financial implications of failing to address leaks is also evident, with energy consumption in the refrigeration sector costing British industry approximately £300 million each year,

and the average site energy bill for a cold store totalling £0.5 million.

Add to this the fact that an estimated 4.1 millions tones of food is wasted in the food and drink industry annually, largely due to the incorrect storage of perishable goods, and the financially repercussions of not addressing cold store gas leaks is obvious. In fact, this figure represents over half of the UK’s total yearly food waste.

Gas leaks occur for a number of reasons. Equipment failure, improper maintenance work, mechanical damage and accidental release during refrigerant replenishment can all cause a potentially dangerous leak. Reducing the amount of gas leaks, or spotting and stopping them as early as possible, not only improves energy efficiency and helps protect the environment, it can also ensure employee safety.

While refrigerants are essential for keeping industrial refrigeration systems in food processing premises running, exposure can cause a serious threat to workers. Symptoms can include, irritation of the throat, eyes and skin, frostbite, and

Cold Storage chemical burns, as well as more severe ailments like lung and brain damage.

Despite increasingly stringent regulations placed on companies who use refrigerants, leaks are still common.

In fact, the Carbon Trust has recorded an average annual leak rate of up to 20 per cent in UK refrigeration systems, meaning store operators remain on the lookout for ways to ensure their employees safety.

Refrigerant gases Steps are already being taken to ensure the most damaging refrigerants are not in use. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) gases have been banned in new refrigeration equipment, due to their Ozone depleting properties, and have been gradually replaced.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) refrigerants have become more popular as a like-forlike substitute. However, these gases are still not environmentally friendly.

While safer than HCFCs and CFCs, HFCs still carry a significant threat.

In fact, research has revealed that when released in to the atmosphere HFCs have a global warming potential of over 3000 times that of CO2. This significant discovery has led to a call for urgent action to reduce gas leaks from refrigeration systems.

These figures paint an even starker picture when leaks are left unrepaired. A typical 300kW refrigeration system with a small but continuous leak, left unrepaired for three months, could incur an energy penalty of 10kW in electricity once the leak becomes critical. This means an increased energy cost of £1400, not including the repair costs, which will be higher than if immediately repaired, as more refrigerant will be required.

Given the fact that 60 per cent of gas escapes before an employee notices, it cannot be left to staff to spot potentially dangerous leaks. However, by installing new technologies action can be taken to ensure leaks are spotted immediately and promptly repaired. This not only minimises the amount of energy loss, but is also a legal requirement as part of the EU F-Gas Regulations. The solution is quite simple, the use of a high-tech gas detection system.

Gas leak detection EU legislation states that any refrigeration system with 300kg or more of refrigerants must be fitted with a leak detector, with cold stores that have a charge of 3-30kg required to be tested for gas leaks once annually and those with a charge of 30kg or more needing to be tested twice a year.

Fitted gas detectors must have a sensitivity of 5g/year and should be checked after 25 hours of continuous use. This is particularly prevalent in the food and drink industry where cold stores are required to operate on a 24/7 basis to keep foods safe and prevent spoiled produce. They should also be calibrated with a 1,000ppm gas to air mix.

Gas detection systems can be programmed to detect a wide array of both toxic and non-toxic gases, including HFCs. Staff members are alerted to any sensed gas leak with an audio and visual alarm, while LED colours indicate the presence and status of each sensor. This ensures that any problem can be quickly rectified.

Shutting the door on energy loss Although gas leaks are the foremost contributor to energy loss and health and safety risk in modern cold stores, equally detrimental to an industrial refrigeration system’s energy performance is leaving doors open.

While it may seem like a minor error, leaving a cold store door open can force a system to work harder to stay cool, in turn using more energy and incurring higher energy costs.

An easy way to prevent doors being left open for an extended period is through the installation of a door open alarm. These wall mounted devices use flashing Xenon Beacon lights and 100dB sounders, which produce audible and visual warnings to alert staff of open doors. An adjustable delay of up to 30 minutes can be preset and the sounders can be independently disabled or adjusted to ensure maximum speaker volume.

The alarm provides the food industry with a simple, cost effective solution for preventing major problems and

the costs associated with damaged merchandise and energy losses due to refrigeration doors being left open.

Temperature control Running equipment at the incorrect temperature is another area where energy is wasted throughout the food and drink sector. In fact overcooling by just 1ºC can lead to a significant increase in energy consumption of up to three per cent with temperature differences of 5ºC proven to increase electricity consumption by ten to 20 per cent.

Efficient thermometers linked to audio and visual alarms that warn staff of variants are essential to both monitor the temperature of the cold store and the temperature of its contents. At its most basic this could be a digital thermometer designed to be used with a thermistor probe across a range of plus or minus 50ºC that will constantly display the temperature. These probes can be wall mounted or hand-held and chosen for wash down areas.

While vital to the extending the shelf life of food and drink, cold stores and refrigerated warehouses can be hazardous working environments.

However, with the installation of effective refrigeration systems a business can reduce energy costs, limit unnecessary food waste, cut carbon emissions, and demonstrate corporate responsibility.

With a payback period of less than two years, installing technologies to monitor gas leaks and energy waste in cold storage offers a simple solution for businesses across the entire food and drink sector. D

Shaun Evers is managing director of Stonegate Instruments. Stonegate Instruments designs, develops and manufactures electronic equipment for the refrigeration industry.

The company’s products are proven in cold storage facilities for reducing energy, carbon emissions and the associated costs.

For more information, please visit www.stonegate-instruments.com

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A storm in a teacup S Tea is one of the UK’s most beloved hot drinks and the beverage appears to be gaining steam across the world.

Andrew Dann talks to James Wenden, Sales Director of the Welsh Brew Tea company, about the growing popularity of specialty teas in local markets and beyond 10 www.foodchainmagazine.com

econd only to water as the world’s most popular beverage, tea is a familiar sight within homes throughout the UK and around the globe. Elsewhere tea is becoming increasingly present on the high street as well as in other specialty retail segments. Starbucks for example, continues to trial its Teavana teashop concept in the US, while tea sold in its Starbucks locations has reportedly accounted for a one per cent increase in same-store consumption at 14,000 of its units for two consecutive years. Nor is the growing popularity of tea limited to the traditional ‘hot cuppa.’ In addition to increasing presence of iced and chilled teas internationally, Absolut vodka released its Absolut Wild Tea vodka brand in 2010 and the drink continues to be a success today.

The UK tea market has proven to be consistently resilient, which is a trend that has been noted by market players around the world. In its 2011 market indicator report titled Consumer Trends – Hot Drinks in the United Kingdom, the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada International Markets Bureau noted that the sales of hot drinks

grew in the UK during 2009, despite the global economic downturn causing particularly tough trading conditions domestically. By 2015 data collected by Statista suggested that the combined UK hot drinks market had reached a value of around £2.3 billion. Within the tea market specifically, information gathered by the consumer analyst Mintel during August 2015 indicated that the market value of tea was £654 million.

Within this diverse and hotly contested market, Welsh Brew Tea has roots that date back as far as 1989 as part of a farm diversification venture in MidWales. By 1993 Welsh Brew Tea was fully established as a family owned company located on the beautiful Gower peninsula in Mumbles, South Wales.

Today Welsh Brew Tea is recognised as an iconic Welsh brand that has created a unique blend of African and Indian teas that are specifically blended to perfectly complement Welsh water. “The concept behind the formation of the company was to blend a tea that would complement Wales’ soft water as well as provide the Welsh consumer with a product that best suited their taste for a good traditional full

Speciality Tea flavoured yet smooth cuppa,” explains Sales Director, James Wenden. “The Welsh Brew tea brand was founded by its current Managing Director Alan Wenden, who also had his eye on the Celtic market for export and set off on the road of building what has become a truly iconic brand here in Wales. No small feat considering in those early day we would blend enough tea to fill the Volvo and hand deliver to stores across Mid-Wales.

The past 25 years has seen Welsh Brew tea develop into a high quality brand that is now available in every supermarket in Wales and is also showing significant growth in the border cities of Bath, Bristol, Chester and the surrounding areas - it’s been an impressive journey since those early Volvo days!”

With the near universal popularity of a well-brewed cup of tea, it is unsurprising that UK consumers are increasingly particular about which brand they drink.

According to the Mintel report, by 2011 tea consumption reached 165 million cups per day, or 60.5 billion cups per annum. Added to this are 900 million cups of fruit and herbal teas and 279 million cups of green tea consumed per annum. Interestingly however despite the position of tea as the UK’s most popular hot drink, the nation’s sales of tea have dropped by six per cent over the past five years. The report states that UK tea retail sales dropped from a peak of £699 million in 2010 to an estimated £654 million for 2015 and that it is the ‘standard’ cup of tea that has experienced a decline in popularity, while the demand for speciality teas has grown significantly. Sales of ordinary teabags that had previously dominated the market, fell by 13 per cent between 2012 and 2015, while the sale of fruit and herbal teas grew by 31 per cent from £58 million to £76 million between 2012 and 2014. During the same period the sale of specialty teas also increased, growing by 15 per cent to £63 million and sales of green teabags skyrocketed by 50 per cent to some £36 million.

The growth of brands like Welsh Brew Tea is a clear indicator that there is a strong market demand for high-quality, specialty teas that hold appeal for both local and international consumers. The success of Welsh Brew Tea shows that

this potential has existed for many years and that for the companies that possessed the foresight to develop this business, their investment have paid rich dividends. “There was a huge opportunity to do something great in Wales as well as for Wales. Like the majority of the UK we here in Wales are passionate about our tea and with our wonderfully soft water we were able to blend a tea using Indian and African teas that meant we kept all the strength, colour and flavour that we enjoy so much whilst being able to maintain a consistent and smooth finish.

Working closely with our tea blenders in Powys, Newtown Welsh Brew Tea was born. Alan’s history was in FMCG and blue chip companies, which gave him great insight into the market. This combined with knowledge of Wales and its people meant that Alan could see the real possibilities of a Welsh company doing great things,” James says.

“The tea consumer is a savvy one who sees the benefits of speciality brands.

We are up against global giants like Tata Tea (Tetley/Teapigs), Unilever (PG) and Apeejay (Typhoo/Glengetti) to name but a few. Each of these has huge muscle in the market place, yet quality local brands are able to fight their corner with huge success. A walk down any supermarket tea aisle in Wales will prove my point with Welsh Brew holding substantial ground.

With limited resources but real passion and commitment we are testament to what can be done. There is no corporate front to get beyond, just a family business doing its best for itself and its customers,” he adds. “There has never been a better time for us in the speciality beverage market. The consumer knows

what they want and we can react quickly to this. With a real volume growth of 16 per cent last year in a black tea market that saw decline of eight per cent it shows what can be done if the passion and desire is there.”

Although research published by the Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) during February 2015 suggests that speciality teas are not generally stocked in supermarkets throughout the EU, companies like Welsh Brew Tea are increasingly bucking this trend and redefining the market. Presently Welsh Brew Tea is sold in retailers including Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Waitrose, Ocado, The CoOp, Cost Cutter and Spar as well as countless independents across Wales.

Furthermore its internet presence has generated sales across the world, while Welsh Brew Tea enjoys a strong export relationship in Ireland and growing confidence in the US market.

The market for tea and other hot beverages is an increasingly exciting, as well as a competitive one. Further to its brand of speciality teas Welsh Brew Tea has introduced a comprehensive selection of beverages to suit all tastes that include fruit and herbal teas, coffees, malt drinks and hot chocolate.

Throughout 2016 and beyond the company will continue to target further market penetration, suggesting that the future of the hot drinks market for Welsh Brew Tea and the wider industry is bright for speciality beverage providers.

“We currently have about four per cent of the Welsh tea market and through innovations and diversifications we see this heading toward eight per cent.

Our focus at present is on Wales, the market we know best. We are investing in marketing campaigns that see the traditional above the line spend with radio being this year’s focus,” James concludes. “Current trends see growth in the tea pod area but this we feel does not fit in with our model for quality and sustainability. New packaging however and huge potential in the vast flavoured tea sector has us constantly brain storming and looking for new opportunities.” D www.welshbrewtea.co.uk

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Paper

possibilities The environmental challenges associated with upcoming trends in the paper packaging sector

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he food packaging industry is subject to a range of trends and developments – from colours and materials to supply chain and sustainability. Key brand challenges across the global packaging industry remain consistent – enabling basic functionality, maintaining or reducing cost and appealing to consumers are all crucial to the success of a brand or product. However, there are changing factors, which create additional challenges and responsibilities for brands. The appetite for innovative and inventive packaging – creating something with extra wow-factor – is palpable, while consumers’ demand and desire to be ‘greener’ is putting brands under continued pressure to become more environmentally friendly.

As a supplier for the packaging industry bespoke paper manufacturer James Cropper is all too familiar with the changing face of paper packaging and,

as the trend for environmentally friendly packaging solutions grows, so does the demand for sustainable paper-based packaging.

Richard Burnett, market development manager from James Cropper, explains: “As a naturally versatile material, which is easily recycled, paper is often a ‘goto’ choice for sustainable packaging.

It can be recycled and reused many times, being one of the most commonly recycled materials in society, makes it an attractive choice for brands to fulfil their ‘green’ objectives.”

It’s important to remember that branding and packaging is a crucial factor to help entice and attract customers towards a specific product.

‘Shelf stand-out’ has never been more important in an ever-increasingly competitive market, with new and quirky food items launching on a daily basis. This is made even more difficult as e-tailing prevails. Making a product

Packaging types of plastics, for instance, is not viable at this stage. Paper, on the other hand, is the ‘original’ recyclable material, requiring very little sorting before it can go back into the supply chain.

stand out on a screen presents an even greater challenge than being prominent in store as it’s primarily reliant on simply visual appeal.

Design trends The importance of package design should not be underestimated as a fundamental sales tool. As brands ‘outdesign’ each other with limited editions and seasonal packaging, for example, the importance of the role of speciality papers continues to grow in preference to commodities that limit point of difference.

With the growing trend for eco-friendly packaging comes a more minimalist, raw look and design. Natural shades and textures – such as award-winning ‘Cocoa Shell’ for Barry Callebaut and ‘Obsidian’ for Nestlé editions – nod to the organic fibres used to produce the material and give an impression of ‘earthiness’. This inclination towards anchoring earth tones and pastels with gold and gold tones lending a touch of the exotic – and currently being used widely in the design world – means we can expect to see more of these hues in food contact paper packaging.

This contemporary look and feel delivers simple elegance, and the brand story and pack messaging lends itself to a wider education and correspondence with consumers. Communicating the value of sustainability at all levels – to customers, retailers and manufacturers – is a key objective, which is growing daily.

Equally as important as the design and visual appeal of packaging, is its ease of use for both consumers and retailers. Functionality should not be underestimated, particularly in the world of ‘on the go’ and ‘convenience’ food packaging, where single-serve pack sizes and re-sealable options can be important.

Richard continues: “Paper is actually very adaptable – there’s no reason why it can’t be used for many packaging items that are ordinarily made from various types of plastics and polyethylene. At James Cropper we are pushing the boundaries with the creation of a capsule collection of dyedthrough papers that are safe for primary

Richard, added: “Consumers and businesses alike are already doing their bit for the environment with a wide range of recycling programmes in place. But global companies have a duty to think innovatively about how they can do more. Projects like our trial with McDonald’s and Simply Cups to recycle post-consumer waste are a good example of how the industry can work together to create a cost-effective supply of sustainable materials.”

In an increasingly disposable society, as brands and consumers we have an environmental conscience to consider.

Environmentally friendly packaging may come at what seems a higher initial cost, but there are savings to be made for those willing to commit the time and resource upfront. D packaging of dry, fatty and even moist foods. There is scope to do much more, but in this very competitive landscape it is also understandable that brands may select ostensibly cheaper alternatives.”

Balancing a brand’s global environmental responsibility against costs can prove challenging. There are many moving parts to the puzzle – the availability of recyclable products and processes; the consumers’ desire and ability to recycle; and packaging budgets to name a few.

So, the importance of creating and maintaining a sustainable product that is commercially viable, without compromising on the look and feel is essential for the packaging industry.

Green conscience While consumers are progressively becoming more pro-environment and creating a demand for recyclable products and packaging, the reality is that there is huge scope for improvement with current recycling processes in the UK. As consumers we’ve only just got used to separating plastics and cans from paper, so the idea of identifying and sorting different

James Cropper is a prestige paper innovator based in the English Lake District, supplying distinct, custommade paper products to many of the world’s leading luxury brands, art galleries and designers. Celebrating 170 years of high quality paper production in 2015, the business has been carefully stewarded and nurtured by six generations of the Cropper family and is renowned globally for individual expertise in colour, dedicated responses to the most challenging custom projects and award-winning commitment to the highest standards of sustainability. www.cropper.com

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Time for a

menu refresh?

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Mike Edgett examines the need for food companies to demonstrate increasing levels of agility in responding to market changes 14 www.foodchainmagazine.com

n the face of intense price competition and ever-changing consumer tastes, food and beverage companies are under increasing pressure to slash costs while introducing new, ‘improved’ products to market much faster than ever before, something that’s easier said than done, even for the global brands.

For an industry that’s still reeling from 2013’s horsemeat scandal, the perfect storm of price competition, fast-changing consumer and retailer demands, often complex manufacturing processes, multifaceted supply chains, not to mention everchanging health and safety requirements, means that companies operating in this sector are under constant pressure to respond quickly and effectively. For food and beverage companies, never has it been more important to ensure a business has the ability and the agility to implement and manage successful change.

Technology is key So many and varied are the factors that need to be taken into account when

contemplating even the most seemingly innocuous of changes, technology is key. And, while tempting though it may be to rely on the familiar systems, which have steered the organisation this far, this is often where food and beverage companies are failing.

Food companies rely on technology to optimise performance and drive efficiencies, but very few make sure their software is efficient as possible.

ERP, for example, has changed beyond recognition in recent years, as one-sizefits-all solutions are no longer tolerated, instead being replaced by solutions which are designed specifically for the needs and nuances of food and beverage companies – crucially, with scale and flexibility in abundance. These solutions have optional modules to address unique industry requirements such as the all-important traceability, new product introductions, and complex scheduling, to name but a few, helping to provide a business with the necessary flexibility and agility to respond to industry challenges.

IT to bring them all under 250 calories, makes them just the latest in a list of confectionary companies who are reducing the size of their snacks in response to the UK government’s antiobesity drive. With some cynics regarding these types of changes by manufacturers as merely taking the opportunity to charge more for less, in reality these seemingly simple changes bring with them a whole host of other modifications – new packaging, new labelling, new recipes, new storage requirements, new pricing structure, to name but a few. However, with the optimum solution in place, these can all be managed effectively.

Best laid plans

Recipe for success With the right solution in place, food businesses can cut costs without sacrificing quality, a common necessity in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The levels of complexity that are so prevalent in food and beverage manufacturing mean that solutions are needed that that can handle recipes to such a level of detail that, for example, if an ingredient with a slightly different specification is used in a product, it can re-calculate the amount of that ingredient as well as others in the formula that will be needed to maintain the finished product specification and quality. This allows manufacturers to not only track precise costs but enables the provision of accurate nutritional information, providing that all-important visibility for both retailers and consumers relatively easily.

It’s not just recipe reformulations that business management systems can help with. Unilever’s recent announcement that it will be cutting the size of British ice-creams including Magnum, Cornetto, Ben & Jerry’s and Feast by up to a third

More than any other industry, the food and beverage sector is reliant on the accuracy of its forecasting and demand planning. Obviously seasonality has a big role to play for many manufacturers but increasingly aggressive pricing and promotion strategies across the board mean that many suppliers find themselves in the unenviable position of having to change tack at lightning speed, running the risk of falling foul of the competition if not.

Traceability is another area where the right solution can mean the difference between success and failure, with the inability to facilitate a product recall within stringent timeframes, for example, spelling disaster for a food business. To try and achieve full batch traceability with manual processes would be like looking for a needle in an enormous haystack. The right business management system can more than handle all the necessary information (to include batch number, department, date, product characteristics, ingredients, testing, nutritional information, best before date, for example), helping manufacturers to achieve that allimportant BRC grade A accreditation when it comes to traceability, improving control and visibility over production, products and manufacturing and ensuring that vital speedy response to compliance requirements.

For optimum business agility, food companies need a technology solution that provides all the functionality that’s critical to their specific business needs

within a unified suite. A business with numerous disparate, industry-generic, siloed applications just can’t hope to compete with a competitor whose business systems provide enterprise-wise visibility at the click of a mouse.

It’s only with this holistic view of operations that a business can hope to refine manufacturing to drive down costs and increase profitability.

Future proofing The ability to deal with changes to the business itself is also paramount in a sector of frequent mergers, acquisitions and partnerships. If a food company is to grow, it needs a system with the ability to keep pace with this growth. A technology might be more than capable of dealing with domestic growth, but what about the additional functionality required when moving on to an international stage?

Multiple currency and multiple channel support are part and parcel of the best food and beverage-specific solutions out there, speeding-up and easing the transition from the domestic to the international stage.

Today, food and beverage businesses across the board are inundated with market pressures from all angles. Key to their survival is the ability to adapt and evolve quickly and effectively in response to changing market requirements.

Those with the right tools in place will go from strength-to-strength, increasing profitability and maintaining growth, even in an often hostile business environment.

For those whose systems aren’t up to the challenge, now is definitely the time for a comprehensive rethink. D Mike Edgett is industry and solution strategy director, process manufacturing, Infor.

With over 14,000 employees and customers in more than 200 countries and territories, Infor automates critical processes for industries including healthcare, manufacturing, fashion, wholesale distribution, hospitality, retail, and public sector. Infor software helps eliminate the need for costly customisation through embedded deep industry domain expertise. www.infor.com

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Scanning the future

Barcode advancements the next aid to reduce waste.

By Justine Clark

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he food chain is continually under pressure to adapt to the way customers shop. The huge increase in next-day and same-day deliveries, combined with a growing demand for sustainability, responsible and fresh groceries affect an increasingly complex supply chain.

Currently, more than seven million tons of perishables are wasted every year in the UK alone, because of a breakdown in the cold chain in particular. With the spotlight on responsibility and quality, the ability to easily track and trace goods during the entirety of the food chain, through the collection of valuable data has become vital. This process allows for all key players, from the supplier to the distributor, involved in the chain to be better prepared for every delivery. To thrive in this evolving world, supermarkets and retailers need to act quickly and work smarter.

Visibility is crucial Historically retailers have used the barcode to solve simple issues, as the amount of data the barcode can hold is limited. For example, scanning the barcode, when paired with a warehouse management system, may set off an alert on an expiry date or flag when promotions needs to be implemented; enabling access to a high quality product at a lower price and allowing retailers or supermarkets to move product quantity that is nearing the end of its shelf life.

However, more companies are looking to the barcodes as the solution to increasingly complex traceability requirements. Additionally, the amended 2014 General Food Law introduced a new regulation that forced companies to indicate where items are located in the chain within a specific period of time.

Grocers and supermarkets now require a detailed visible tracking

Barcodes throughout a product’s journey, from the moment it’s packaged and distributed, to sitting on a store shelf or delivered to a customer’s home. Consumers want this transparency, too. Throughout the life of the product, the ability to trace (in real-time) when a particular product needs re-stocking or when it should not be sold due to its expiry date is crucial to providing a basic level of customer service, ensuring they have a positive experience no matter where they are.

Traceability requirements, hand in hand with greater complexity are increasing. Companies need to deploy scanning solutions to enable seamless tracking of goods that is vital for efficient food logistics resulting in minimal waste.

Taking action One company making a difference is DB Schenker, which operates land transport, air and ocean freight, contract logistics and supply chain management.

With the amended General Food Law in place, the company needed to amend some processes to align with the regulation but in the meantime also recognised that full access to accurate and real-time data is an absolute necessity.

Most recently, the company has overhauled its largest warehouse in Willebroek, which acts as a distribution point for customers located in the

Benelux region. Due to the need for accountable traceability within the complex food logistics industry, accurate and efficient track and trace of goods is of uttermost importance.

DB Schenker has made direct changes to its own approach to traceability, ensuring that all items include a serial shipper container code (SSCC) labels, which provide the product details that are used for transport purposes, in accordance with customers’ guidelines and regulation.

This is especially important in the case of standard supermarket products. The company has to pick the pallet with the correct product, the precise product date and the accurate ‘best before date’. The system then determines whether they can use the products that are still good for 90 or 120 days. This level of scrutiny would not possible without the incorporation of barcodes and scanning technology.

To achieve a high-level of visibility, DB Schenker implemented rugged hand-held terminals, ring scanners and vehicle-mounted computers on their order picker trucks and the SAP warehouse management system.

With these devices and applications, working with a warehouse management system, DB Schenker is able to achieve the visibility needed for better management.

These implementations have also helped to achieve a streamlined quality service for its customers with the aim that in the end there would be a reduction in waste, from both the customer and supplier.

What is next?

When it comes to the food chain, freshness is significant. Ultimately, the task is to provide the best quality goods to the customer in the fastest route available, within an environment that is both realistic and suitable to keep the goods at their best with minimal-to-no wastage.

By collecting and analyzing all the relevant data points now available that have been implemented through scanning technologies, companies will have better access to real-time information that is traceable to everyone involved in the food journey. This leads to faster and more accurate deliveries and goes a long way in helping suppliers meet customer needs from their grocery shopping.

The supply chain industry continues to see interesting moves and developments from disrupters. For example, most recently, Amazon announced that it is expanding into the food chain market with its partnership with Morrisons.

With ‘traditional’ online retailers taking a widening their offerings the industry needs to quickly adapt to not only to remain competitive in an everevolving market, ensuring they retain market share but also have the ability to attract potential customers. D Justine Clark is Industry Marketing Manager for Transport and Logistics in Europe at Honeywell Sensing & Productivity Solutions.

Honeywell is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. For more information on Honeywell, visit: www.honeywellnow.com www.sensing.honeywell.com

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Crystal Clear

As competing brands vie to move products from shop shelves to kitchens and bars of commercial and residential clients, the use of celebrity branding is an increasingly common sight. Andrew Dann speaks to Crystal Head Vodka Managing Partner, Jonathan Hemi about this phenomenon and its importance throughout the food and beverage industry 18 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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Celebrity Endorsements

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n today’s competitive marketplace, advertisers are increasingly spending significant amounts of money annually on celebrity endorsement contracts that employ personalities as spokespeople and representatives of the respective brand or issue. For example, through its partnership with Michael Jordan the Nike corporation was able to increase its presence in new markets and create a multibillion subsidiary company, Air Jordan, while Mobile One has previously employed the NASCAR driver Tony Stewart to endorse its brand of motor oil. These partnerships offer several benefits to manufacturers by allowing them to build brand equity, create memorable advertisements, generate a feeling of ‘superstar’ status and to ultimately assist brands to stand out in the market.

Research carried out by Jeroen Verleun while studying as an MSc Finance student at VU University Amsterdam and Anita Elberse of the Harvard Business School concluded that celebrity endorsements are ‘big business’, particularly in relation to sporting and athletic partnerships.

Titled ‘The Economic Value of Celebrity Endorsements’, the report appeared in the June 2013 Journal of Advertising and went on to observe that companies outside the sports apparel industry actively benefit from the use of celebrity endorsements and partnerships.

Broadly speaking the report stated that the decision to develop a celebrity endorsement generally has a positive effect on brand sales, in both an absolute sense and relative to the firm’s competitors, as well as in increasing the company’s stock returns.

Brand loyalty Within the food and beverage industries, these same advantages exist along with the added benefit that in addition to landing their name and personality to brands, celebrity chefs and culinary experts often have a hand in designing and creating the products that they endorse. This adds a sense of uniqueness and enhanced quality to previously existing or new market brands. The list of existing celebrity

While Dan Aykroyd is better known for his work as a respected actor...his work with John Alexander in creating and launching the Crystal Head Vodka brand was driven by genuine passion to create a naturally smooth and pure vodka

endorsed brands within the food and beverage industry is extensive and includes well-known personalities such as Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal, Ina Garten - better known as the Barefoot Contessa and Gordon Ramsay.

Throughout the culinary marketplace celebrity endorsed products have proven to be an established success that have encouraged brand development and customer loyalty for a number of products around the world. While the strategy of celebrity partnerships is more pronounced in some regions than others, it continues to influence the development and sale of products across the food and beverage industries. “The trend of celebrity endorsed products is much more prevalent in the US, however it depends on the celebrity and the product,” reveals Crystal Head Vodka Managing Partner, Jonathan Hemi. “I think that consumers are realising that there is a difference between simply endorsing a product versus being the creator.”

Product creation Crystal Head Vodka is produced in Newfoundland, Canada and is owned by the privately held company, Globefill Inc. The brand was launched within the US during 2008 and is now sold in 60 countries around the world. The multi-award winning, ultra-premium vodka was created by Dan Aykroyd and renowned artist John Alexander.

The vodka is filtered through Herkimer diamonds and is completely additivefree. While Dan Aykroyd is better known for his work as a respected actor, comedian, screenwriter, and musician than as a celebrity chef or mixologist, his work with John Alexander in creating and launching

the Crystal Head Vodka brand was driven by genuine passion to create a naturally smooth and pure vodka.

“When you are the creator, owner, and driving force of a product, it shows how much you truly stand behind your product. A large difference can be seen by the person who puts their own money, sweat, risk and time into the brand versus simply being paid to endorse something,” Jonathan says.

“People have a different level of respect towards the brand when they find out how involved and passionate both Dan and John really are. Dan invested all of his own capital to create Crystal Head and he is the majority owner. Without Dan, Crystal Head could never have existed. As the business has grown, Dan’s involvement isn’t as critical, but still remains a valuable piece of the business. However, he is all about making a better tasting vodka using top high quality ingredients. Quality over quantity is something he has always strived for whether it was comedy, writing, acting, etc. Dan’s commitment and pride in the product can be seen by his choice to solely drink Crystal Head in addition to serving nothing else to his family and friends. He is on the Dan Aykroyd

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Celebrity Endorsements road every month educating people on the quality of the vodka using his time, money, and reputation.”

As a distinctive brand, there are a number of characteristics that set Crystal Head Vodka apart from other spirits on the market. The vodka was conceived with purity as the most important factor, therefore zero additives, glycerol, citrus oils, or additional sugars are added during production. Peaches and cream corn are used as the base of Crystal Head vodka, which is filtered seven times with three filtrations passing through Herkimer diamonds. “The bottle itself is a piece of art, which was designed by John Alexander and crafted in Europe by leading glass manufacturers,” Jonathan elaborates. “The one-of-a kind bottle is an accurate glass rendering of a human skull. Our high quality product offers an enjoyable drinking experience for the consumers that appreciate premium brands.”

The use of celebrity endorsement has proven to be a potent tool in differentiating brands across a number of markets,

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whether that is through personalities endorsing pre-existing products or through well-known celebrities working with partners to introduce new product lines. The work of Dan Aykroyd and John Alexander in developing Crystal Head Vodka represents a unique example, where both instances are true to some degree. The passion to create a pure vodka product lead to the creation of an exciting new enterprise, which is now supported through Dan Aykroyd’s public ambassadorship and the work of John Alexander in designing unique vessels for the product. Throughout the food and beverage industry the trend is set to remain an important factor in the development of new and existing products over the coming years. This

is also true for Crystal Head Vodka as the company prepares to further establish its brand throughout 2016 and beyond. “I do not see celebrity endorsed products going away. It is a concept that has been around for a while now,” Jonathan concludes. “Over the next 12 months Crystal Head will be focused on increasing its distribution in key markets, like the US, Canada, UK, France, Spain, and Germany particularly on premise; and to continue to release and promote new products.

Over the next three to five years, Crystal Head will be expanding more globally, finding ways to further improve quality, and maybe exploring the possibility of another line extension.” D www.crystalheadvodka.com

IndustryNews

Steam solution

Two new product launches In response to customer demand following a survey of itscustomers, Scottish oats company, Stoats, has launched its new Porridge Sachets and Rustic Scottish Oat Muesli. The new Porridge Sachets will be available in four different flavours: Original, Multigrain, Cranachan and Hedgerow. The new Rustic Scottish Oat Muesli will be available in two flavours: Triple Berry and Hedgerow.

Managing Director at Stoats, Tony Stone said: “At Stoats we continue to invigorate the porridge category with new products and we’ve been listening to what our customers want, which has led to the development and launch of our new sachets and muesli.

“The new sachets offer consumers a convenient range with a variety of flavours. The Original Porridge Sachet provides a simpler option for consumers looking for a base that is versatile to eat on its own or with their preferred

toppings while the Multigrain Porridge Sachet allows consumers to enjoy a nutritious breakfast in minutes and taps into the ancient grains trend we’re seeing emerge in 2016. As with all our products the two mueslis are made with the best natural ingredients, something our consumers also love with 53.1% of those surveyed stating that this was the most important feature for them when choosing breakfast products.” www.eatstoats.com

Award honour CHEP was recently named winner of Coca-Cola Enterprises’ (CCE) 2015 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) Supplier Award for its continuous efforts to develop innovative and sustainable supply chains.

CCE praised CHEP’s sustainability efforts as well as their rise to Gold Level – the highest possible – in the analysis system of EcoVadis, the leading European agency for evaluating supply and service partners. Every year, EcoVadis assesses about 20,000 suppliers from over 100 countries and across 150 business sectors and rates them on 21 criteria related to Environment, Fair Labour Practices, Ethics/Fair Business Practices and Supply Chain.

CCE also participates in CHEP’s Collaborative Transportation Programme in which CHEP

customers and partners work together to make sure loaded trucks never run empty after a delivery, instead collecting empty pallets from a CHEP partner or quality-inspected pallets from the nearest CHEP plant to be sent to another CHEP customer.

Michael Pooley, CHEP President for European Pallets Operations, said: “It is an honour to be named Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Award winner.

A great achievement that we reached due to the continuous sustainable collaborations and initiatives we established and continue to set up across Europe. The award demonstrates what can be achieved by working together. When we are recognised by our customers in this way, we know that we are moving in the right direction.” www.chep.com

Spiced up ready meals Indian food brand Patak’s has partnered exclusively with Tesco to bring its first Indian frozen ready meal range to market, with the launch of a six strong premium range of microwaveable and traditional oven cook curries.

Featuring Patak’s spice blending expertise, the range will be made by The Authentic Food Company, under licence from AB World Foods Limited.

The rise of smaller households, longer working hours and the need for convenience has inspired speciality packaging manufacturer, Parkside, to design and develop Parkscribe Steam, a revolutionary self-venting steam bag for frozen vegetables. Rivalling existing packaging formats in the convenience foods market, Parkscribe Steam is a hassle-free, flexible microwavable pack.

Paula Birch, head of sales at Parkside, said: “Convenience is one of the fastest growing grocery retail trends globally and as a leading packaging manufacturer we want to tap into this need and deliver innovative solutions to brands, retailers and consumers. Parkscribe Steam is quick and easy, allowing consumers to take products straight from the freezer to the microwave, and also offers retailers peace of mind as the pack is fully sealed, leaving no holes for contamination.” www.parksideflex.com

In line with all Patak’s products, the new curries are free from artificial colours, flavouring & preservatives. Made with high quality ingredients these premium curries are all served with a separate pilau rice accompaniment in a twin compartment, microwaveable and oven-able tray. This super-convenient range allows consumers the chance to enjoy a high quality, authentic Indian meal at home in just ten minutes. www.pataks.co.uk

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The state of

nutrition Rachel Clarke gives us an insight into the current nutrition market and the problems we are still facing when addressing the overall education, health and nutrition of the UK market 22 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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n the current market, consumers have been showing more of an interest in nutrition and the food industry has seen an increase in the production of specialised food. This includes ranges that cater for particular dietary requirements such as vegetarians and consumers who choose not to eat wheat, dairy or gluten products. We have also seen an explosion of social media accounts, which now focus on nutrition, gaining more popularity every day.

Nutrition is a consistent topic across a variety of channels and is at the forefront of many minds in the UK especially for the health conscious or diet-focused individuals. However, there is still a long way to go to improve the overall health and knowledge of the entire nation.

The move towards healthy

Rachel Clarke

On a positive note, we have seen an active effort to improve nutrition in recent years. To begin with there has been a raft of government initiatives and policies to help nurture a healthier society. Also, in our digital age, technology has been used to create supportive communities and tools to help people stay healthy.

Of course, there is an app to help with your nutrition. Well actually, there are hundreds to choose from but one of the most popular has been My Fitness Pal. It allows you to track your food intake, check nutritional values and measure your calories consumed more efficiently straight from your pocket. Development of apps such as this has gone a long

Nutrition way towards helping consumers understanding what they are actually eating on a daily basis.

There has been an increase of awareness of healthy eating with magazines and a variety of social media accounts focusing on the overall healthy lifestyle. Celebrities such as Millie Mackintosh have made careers out of this trend. These accounts and outlets have millions of followers and subscribers, clearly displaying the keen market interest.

Supermarket shelves are now accommodating this change of attitude and are stocking more products to cater for those opting for wheat, gluten or dairy free options that are typically seen as being healthier, even if you do not suffer from any of these allergies or intolerances.

This ideology of cutting out certain foods has also seen a rise in ‘flexitarians’, the people who have become part time vegetarians due to wanting to decrease their overall meat consumption. Red meat in particular, is high in saturated fat content, making it unhealthy for your body in large volumes and this can cause other health problems later in life. So, cutting down on the amount of meat we consume can be a positive lifestyle change and is one that many are looking to make.

There has also been a growth of revenue in the sports supplement industry. In 2014, it had a recorded worth of £301 million in the UK alone. Sports supplement products tend to be bought alongside a healthy exercise routine.

This displays a move towards a more nutrition focused attitude and an army of consumers who are choosing to work on their health and nutrition.

Not as healthy as we could be However, despite these positive advances, we are not a nation that is completely under the spell of the healthy living attitude. According to a recent WHO report, by 2030 74 per cent of men and 64 per cent of women in the UK will be overweight. It also suggests that 36 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women to be obese in 2030, which is a significant figure. Of course, being obese is defined by a BMI of 30 or

above and this is extremely unhealthy.

These obesity levels are already being seen as problematic, with many children now categorised as obese.

The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, claims it to be a ‘national emergency’ and a problem that urgently needs to be addressed. Poor nutrition has been estimated to cost the NHS £5.8 billion annually and this is an expense that could be completely avoided.

This trend of unhealthy eating can be down to a lack of nutritional education.

Many have criticised food stores for this due to focus being put on advertising unhealthy food. These snacks, which are linked to obesity, are given more preference at point of sale. When you walk into a supermarket or reach the payment point, there are usually sugary foods or foods which are high in fat on offer, making it more tempting to buy something easy and cheap rather than something which is actually good for you.

It is not only the prominence of these products on display that is the problem but also the overall prices throughout stores. According to studies, healthy food costs now three times as much as junk food when prices were measured per 1000 calories. The cost of fruit and vegetables has also risen in the last few years, making it ever more expensive for consumers who want to have a healthy lifestyle but struggle to do so on a budget.

Nurturing the right attitude Also, attitude towards nutrition is a problem. Many of us are now aware that consuming healthier food is linked to better health outcomes, however

many people in the UK don’t meet the daily healthy eating recommendations.

Only nine per cent of people in a recent WHO report considered food healthiness to be the most important factor when purchasing food products.

However, 39 per cent of people rated price at the most important factor when making their buying decisions. Although budgets will affect this decision for some households, we also need more education around nutrition to inform consumers how to make better choices, as there currently seems to be a severe lack of understanding.

Although we have seen improvements in nutrition and more media focus on overall wellbeing, there is still a long way to go to improve the overall nation’s nutrition levels. Obesity statistics are becoming alarmingly high and this is extremely unhealthy for us and is costing the NHS billions. The rise in the supplement industry is a promising indicator that people are becoming more aware of their health and nutrition, but it is clearly not the majority who are choosing to buy these products. It would be great to see a better education in nutrition from a younger age so that we can build a nation of healthy eaters. D Rachel Clarke is CEO of JBC Nutrition. JBC provides nutrition consultancy and product development services to a number of clients from elite, world-class professional athletes to private clients including Olympians, British and world record holders in power lifting and strongman as well as a range of sports clubs including, premiership football club Swansea City AFC, Wales Rugby League, Oxford United FC, Newport County FC and Royal Navy Rugby. www.jbc-nutrition.co.uk

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Fresh

inspiration

Product development: putting a modern spin on traditional recipes 24 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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eople are always asking me how we come up with the ideas for our products,” says Steve Walpole, Head Development Chef at famous Italian food and oriental noodle manufacturers, Ugo Foods, based in Borehamwood, not far from the famous Elstree film and TV studios. “The answer is quite straightforward, we are simply following in the footsteps of the company founder, Luigi Ugo. We’re always looking to find that certain product which will make the difference, not simply be another version of something that’s already out there.”

Luigi Ugo left his home in Tortona, northern Italy, in 1921 at the age of just 14 and made his way to London where he went to work in a grocery shop. With no wages, just board, lodgings and a daily supply of flour and eggs, he made fresh pasta by hand and was soon

Recipe Creation Paul Ugo

selling it to local hotels and restaurants.

He was so successful that he opened his first shop in Soho in 1929 and never looked back. As well as being the first company to introduce fresh pasta to shops the UK, Ugo was also the first oriental noodle manufacturer in the UK and supplied noodles and dumplings to the oriental community. In 1932 Luigi was responsible for introducing potato gnocchi to the UK. From there his innovations continued. In 1967, Ugo was the first company to supply organic and whole wheat pasta in the UK, then, in 1995, gluten-free pasta.

Ugo is now owned and run by a third generation Ugo, Paul, Luigi’s grandson, and he still has the passionate interest in creating outstanding food that his grandfather had and he inspires his staff to go that extra mile in the company’s innovative product development.

So, just how does Steve come up with the new ideas? “They’re normally generated by internal discussions and workshops. We do a lot of research around trend watching and consumer/ customer requirements. A good example of this is our Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese Fiorelli. As well as being on trend with the rise in popularity of beetroot, this product was launched in conjunction with the Breast Cancer Care charity, being beautifully pink, and Ugo donate 10p per pack sold to the charity. It proved so popular as a product with consumers, however, that we transferred it to our main range and sell it all year round now. Finally, target markets are a big part of what we look at as this helps us to drill down into what these areas may want, need or maybe missing to capture a point of difference.

“We also take part in judging awards and visiting trade shows on both food service and retail to see how each area affects and influences the food market. Inspiration comes from all sorts

of sources. Our team draws on their experiences from retail, manufacturing, culinary areas, as well as the Italian links and family heritage of the company. We actually do spend a lot of time in Italy and other countries sourcing the best ingredients and that in turn helps to inspire us to make exciting and innovative products.”

Once they come up with an idea, what’s the next step? “Recipe development,” says Steve. “Both new ones and tweaking existing ones.

However, customers can be a fickle bunch when it comes to recipes that have been around for a while. They grow accustomed to a flavour or product profile, so even if you feel it can be improved or enhanced, it may not be well received! We do however always review our products, choice and range, as trends, choice and competition changes so we have to be honest and true to our range and change where necessary. Also, we always do our own recipe development. We might take inspiration and ideas from external sources, but all products, ideas and work is done internally. We do work with third party suppliers but we work with them to develop products to our specification.

We’re very fussy about that.

“Generally, new recipes are first tested in-house by a selected team to give more diverse feedback. We then move selected products to a more focused lead group, which can

be internal or external depending on the brief. We also run public focus groups to test the water on new or different projects to gauge the market opportunity.”

The critical stage then, how does a product with the required potential move to the production line? Steve explains: “This depends on the type of product and ingredients. It can be difficult to go from a development kitchen sample to main factory trial. But it’s about understanding the process change and how ingredients will change or need to be adapted to keep the end product as true to its initial or original recipe. There will always be sacrifices but it’s about being true to our business and what we want to produce. We want to be known for our quality and innovative products.”

Paul Ugo, the Chairman sums up their product development ethos and USPs: “We are always looking to differentiate ourselves and our recipes have to follow and fit into these guidelines. Our fillings are typically 1020 per cent higher than the competition, we only handle kitchen cupboard ingredients and British free-range eggs and, most importantly, our production machines are designed to fill pasta with particulates, NOT paste, so if the recipe doesn’t accommodate this, we won’t run with it. For me, it’s not about how Mama used to make, but how my Grandfather did it!” D

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Compassion and sustainability Andrew Dann talks to Director of Food Business for Compassion in World Farming, Dr. Tracey Jones about the rise in awareness of animal welfare and its impact on the food industry

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Animal Welfare

A

nimal welfare is increasingly becoming a high profile concern and although the subject often has to contend with issues surrounding the day-today cost of food for consumers and manufacturers as well as increasing demand, it is undoubtedly an issue that is accelerating as a priority on the corporate agenda. However ‘animal welfare’ is not as straightforward as might at first be expected, for example the varied opinions and requirements of consumers, farmers, producers and retailers all present challenges that need to be addressed in reaching a co-operative solution in humane and sustainable farming.

The desire to reach the goal of compassionate animal farming and the understanding of the need for dialogue

Dr. Tracey Jones

between the general public, food producers and government organisations led to the establishment of Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) by British dairy farmer Peter Roberts in 1967.

Mr Roberts had become increasingly concerned about the development of modern intensive farming and since the founding of CIWF, the organisation has grown to provide a unique programme of engagement with the world’s leading food businesses and the community.

“The goal of Compassion in World Farming is to end factory farming, advance the wellbeing of farmed animals and drive a more humane and sustainable food system,” explains Dr. Tracey Jones, Director of Food Business for CIWF. “Factory farming includes the prioritisation of production

at the expense of the welfare of animals, people and the planet. It treats animals as commodities rather than individual sentient beings and is largely characterised by confined and barren systems including cages, crates, high stocking density and feedlots that are usually at scale. Farm animal welfare is rising rapidly up the corporate agenda.

Where welfare may once have been considered ‘nice to have’ at best, and irrelevant at worst, today food companies from all sectors are paying more attention to this issue, viewing it both as a strategic necessity born out of risk and opportunity and an ethical imperative.”

The trend towards humane and sustainable farming within the food industry is undoubtedly growing and is increasingly driven by education and

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public perceptions of animal welfare and quality. For example, regardless of whether it is ordered in a restaurant or prepared and eaten at home, the quality and safety of the food we eat is a vital concern for both consumers within the UK and beyond. A Food Standards Agency (FSA) report entitled ‘Update on Animal Welfare’ released by COO, Jason Feeney during June 2015 included information showing that consumers are acutely aware of the issues surrounding food production and where they feel responsibility in safeguarding food quality and animal welfare lies. The report observed that a quantitative online omnibus survey of 2060 adults showed that food fraud and lack of authenticity (61 per cent), food technology (55 per cent), food safety and hygiene (53 per cent) and ethics and animal welfare (50 per cent) are considered to be the top four issues falling within the responsibility of the Government. The report further indicated that while it appears that animal welfare is often a secondary concern for consumers when compared to eating safe and healthy foods within their budget, there is a growing awareness of the potential impact of their choices in terms of animal welfare.

Qualitative data collected from a citizens’ forum for the 2015 report, consisting of three waves of deliberative research with a total of about 100

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‘

people, concluded that animal welfare was a secondary concern for consumers.

Although consumers thought it was important that food production was ethical and sustainable, making ethical choices was considered unaffordable for many. Within the forum’s second wave of research however, there was some shift in attitudes due to consumers’ own research that caused them to form a link between welfare standards and the health of animals. This was linked to a concern that diseases present within the animals could travel up the food chain to consumers.

The end of the cage

Consumers say they care about animal welfare and are prepared to support higher welfare purchasing choices if products are labelled or promoted accordingly; according to the latest Eurobarometer (2015) survey, 59 per cent of all Europeans are prepared to pay more for products sourced from animal welfare-friendly production systems and 52 per cent look for animal welfarefriendly identifying labels when buying products. Even acknowledging a likely gap between what people say they want, and what they actually choose to buy, there’s no denying that animal welfare is increasingly on the consumer’s radar – and they expect companies to make responsible decisions on their behalf.

Although significant progress has been made across several markets across Europe in the field of sustainable farming and animal welfare, there is still much work to be done “Consumers understand the behavioural restriction associated with cages for laying hens for example, where there is clear labelling of products such as whole shell eggs. When the price differential is around 2-3 pence per egg, consumers tend to support higher welfare alternatives. The demand for cage-free and predominantly free range whole eggs has rapidly increased market share in the UK by around 56 per cent, and as a consequence some UK retailers do not stock whole eggs from caged hens at all including Waitrose, The Cooperative Food, M&S, and Sainsbury’s. This ensures that higher welfare is the baseline offer for these stores and other large outlets also have a similar sourcing policy including McDonalds UK,” Tracey says. “Cagefree production is increasingly viewed as a more future-proof investment, as legislation and public opinion increasingly renders cages obsolete. The recent flurry of US company commitments to go cagefree for laying hens is a case in point and demonstrates the power of corporations and the market place. Since September 2015 when McDonalds announced they will go cage-free in the US and Canada by 2025, a further 30 companies have also made similar commitments. Indeed, the Canadian Retail Consortium recently announced that all of its members will be voluntarily cage-free on the eggs they buy by 2025. The lead time is long, but the direction of travel is significant - it signals the end of the cage in modern farming systems.”

On the manufacturing side, companies are increasingly keen to develop solutions to the dilemma of killing male chicks in the egg laying industry in addition to the treatment of hens once they reach egg laying age. In February 2016 the maker of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Unilever, announced the addition of a plantbased mayo alternative to its product line in the US. The company’s ‘Carefully

Animal Welfare Crafted Dressing and Sandwich Spread’ hit shop shelves throughout the US on February 15, 2016 and avoids the ethical complications of mayo, which traditionally contains eggs. Each year within the US and beyond, millions of male chicks that are considered as a ‘waste product’ as they cannot lay eggs, are killed soon after hatching.

For organisations like CIWF the issues surrounding animal welfare cover several aspects of food manufacture including eggs, meat & dairy products. Likewise major market retailers are becoming increasingly aware of animal welfare and the importance of consumer perception of the issue. During February 2016 for example, the Waitrose supermarket chain announced its commitment to guarantee that all of the dairy cows that produce the supermarket’s milk have at least 100 days of outdoor grazing every year, making it the first and currently only supermarket to do so. The dairy farming of cows is becoming more intensive in order to increase the amount of milk produced by each animal. Within the UK some dairy cows still have access to grazing on pasture for part of the day during summer, but an increasing number of animals are being kept indoors for longer periods while others are kept inside all year round.

CIWF has welcomed the decision by Waitrose as intensive dairy farming can result in a number of welfare issues for cows, including lameness and mastitis and a lack of opportunities for expression of natural behaviours.

Significant progress To continue to promote the issue of animal welfare and humane farming practices, CIWF works in close collaboration with a broad base of government agencies, NGOs and food manufacturers to spread both awareness and understanding of the issue of animal welfare and to create partnerships that lead to effective solutions and humane food production.

CIWF has partnered with several NGOs in the implementation of specific projects including the RSPCA, World Animal Protection, the Soil Association and Sustain, while businesses such as Unilever and its Knorr brand, Greggs, Waitrose and Noble Foods have all

shown a willingness and dedication to championing humane and sustainable farming methods. “Through our UK HQ and our offices on the continent, we also lobby the EU institutions and the EU Member States urging them to strengthen animal welfare legislation and policies. In doing this we present the relevant scientific evidence and provide examples of alternative high welfare approaches that are already being successfully used by better farmers,” Tracey explains. “We also put forward the economic case as higher welfare can often produce benefits in terms of improved health and productivity. We are respected for the accuracy and depth of our work and our constructive engagement with food businesses is welcomed by government agencies. We also lobby the OIE (World Organisation of Animal Health), which is producing international standards on the welfare of animals on-farm and during transport and slaughter.”

Further to its lobbying activities, CIWF also acknowledges companies that have demonstrated a dedicated commitment to animal welfare across several criteria through its Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards. The organisation’s flagship Good Egg Award was established during 2007 and continues to recognise companies that source cage-free eggs and the scheme has since been expanded to include the Good Chicken, Good Dairy, Good Pig and the Good Rabbit awards. During the 2015 Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards ceremony held in Milan, the offshore catering business Garrets won the Good Egg Award in recognition for its commitment to source only cage-free whole eggs across its European operation. Garrets

are currently the only maritime company in the world to have received this award, which follows on the heels of their winning Good Egg and Chicken Awards for 2010 for their efforts in the UK market. “These awards are a vital tool that allows us to engage and converse with food companies under the banner of recognition and celebration which is very successful in helping us forge strong relationships,” Tracey says. “We congratulate all our Good Egg winners for the huge difference they are making to the lives of thousands of hens. We need more businesses to follow their excellent example and keep the momentum going across the industry.”

Although significant progress has been made across several markets across Europe in the field of sustainable farming and animal welfare, there is still much work to be done throughout the entire food industry. Using the production of pig meat as an example, Tracey elaborates: “A lack of clear labelling to differentiate systems for sows is becoming a major barrier to progress. Those producers who operate higher welfare systems with the provision of bedding and free farrowing (with nesting material), are not able to differentiate themselves from those producers keeping sows in barren environments and operating with farrowing crates. As a result, those higher welfare producers are being penalised as their products are sold under the same non-labelled banner, and for the same price, as pork meat where the sows are reared in standard intensive systems. It’s not fair and it’s not sustainable.

“Our focus for the next five years is ending the use of all cages for farm animals in food production systems, implementation of clear labelling by method of production, and firmly embedding farm animal welfare as a key pillar of humane sustainable global food production,” she concludes. “As a society we need to rethink our future food strategy if we are to feed the world with healthy, nutritious food, humanely and sustainably. In developed countries, we can start by eating less but better (i.e. higher welfare) meat, dairy and eggs; by being prepared to pay for the true cost of producing food; and by wasting less.” D www.compassionfoodbusiness.com

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TasteTest

Is it gin o’clock yet?

Dorset Dry Gin, from Conker Spirit is a unique and intricate gin of ten botanicals, balancing juniper bite and casia spice with the fresh Dorset notes of elderberries, samphire and handpicked gorse flowers. Dorset Dry Gin is crafted to stand up on its own, poured over ice, or works extremely well in a cocktail.

This small batch gin is distilled in Dorset from British wheat spirit and New Forest Spring Water. www.conkerspirit.co.uk

The resident gin fan was quick to claim this to sample, and she wasn’t disappointed. “The first impression was good as I love the bottle – it’s modern and interesting and feels solid in the hand. I took Conker Spirit’s advice and mixed the gin with Fever Tree tonic and a lime slice and it was the perfect, refreshing summer drink.

I also added a drop of angostura bitters to change it up, and I loved this variation as well.”

Upgrading the wedge Cheshire Farm has created a new dish by selecting the finest Halen Môn Anglesey sea salt and combined it with the warmth of ground black pepper to provide the perfect seasoning to its fresh potato wedges.

The product is additive free, and award winning, with a Gold Medal from the Great Taste Awards. Suitable for vegetarians, the wedges are made from the family’s Cheshire potatoes, grown on

the farm that has been in the Jackson family for over 80 years. www.cheshirefarmchips.co.uk

“There is something comforting about a potato wedge, but they can feel a bit like the children’s option,” said one reviewer. “I love that these are a more grown up version of a classic. They cooked beautifully, the slight saltiness was perfect and I would definitely buy them again – they make the perfect accompaniment to any dish.”

Crema the crop A new contemporary coffee roaster, Purssells London offers bespoke, premium, specialty coffee, roasted to-order using traditional methods combined with the latest technology.

A large focus goes on the continual development and sustainability of the origin coffee bean farms, located in Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia and Kenya.

The brainchild of former chemist Chris Jennings and coffee expert Michael de Renouard, Purssells London coffee is seasonal, has demonstrable provenance and is ethically sourced from around the world. Hands-on throughout the coffee’s journey from tree to freshly-brewed cup, Purssells London produces both single estate and blended coffees. Roasting only the

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beans from the highest grade cherries by hand in small batches ensures the most delicious taste and superb quality whilst also producing consistently great coffee all year long without compromise, never settle for a sub-standard cup of coffee at home again.

The Purssells London coffee range

is categorised by the degree of roast using a simple colour guide - Gold Espresso Roast, Blue - Medium Roast, Burnt Orange - Light Roast and Green – Decaffeinated. www.purssells-coffee.co.uk

“If presentation is anything to go by, this coffee is going to be amazing,” said our tester. “I absolutely loved the matt black box, it was so sophisticated, and perfect for a lovely gift. I’d be so pleased to receive it! The coffee itself smelled wonderful and when brewed was rich, with a deep flavour, but no bitterness. It is clearly a product created with both care and attention and the quality shines through.”

TasteTest

A new twist

Fresh new season We’ve finally had some warm weather, and as we step into the new season, Charlie Bigham’s, makers of delicious dishes for two, is offering a variety of wonderfully Meditarranean and European recipes, guaranteed to spice up dinner time.

The new range includes: Charlie Bigham’s Moroccan Chicken Tagine, Charlie Bigham’s Paella and Charlie Bigham’s Spanish Chicken and Roasted Potatoes. The latter dish is made with tender chicken, Spanish chorizo and fresh peppers in a rich tomato sauce, and served with roasted potatoes. www.bighams.com

it with couscous and vegetables. “I am not a fan of fiery spice, so this level of gently aromatic seasoning was perfect. I found the dish true to its Moroccan roots, as it took me straight back to a holiday there – a lovely memory which enhanced a lovely meal.”

The tester at FoodChain tried Charlie’s Moroccan Chicken Tagine, and she was impressed with the results. The dish is made with a mix of apricots, honey, black olives, almonds and spices, and she served

Spoiled for choice Farmdrop was founded by former Morgan Stanley stockbroker, Ben Pugh with a mission to fix the food supply chain by removing the supermarket middlemen to offer consumers better quality, fresher food and local producers a better financial deal. Farmdrop launched after raising a record £750,000 on crowd-funding platform CrowdCube and is now backed by a number of technology entrepreneurs.

Farmdrop works a little like an online farmers market: it’s a place where customers can get delicious food and meet the local producers behind it. The producers get to work digging, harvesting, baking and catching only when they receive an order. That means that no food is wasted and no fresh produce is lying around in a warehouse. The company currently delivers across London. www.farmdrop.co.uk

Oil, Newton & Pot Beetroot & Orange Chutney, a Simply Cook Korean Lamb Chops Flavour kit, Trikalinos sea salt, Coco Loco Little Choc Chicks, Suma Organic Cocoa Powder, The London Jam Factory Blackberry & Liquorice jam and Greek bee pollen. Every product was of extremely high quality, with clearly artisan roots. We were all very impressed with the wide selection of products available (which all tasted utterly delicious as well – importantly!) – and are looking forward to the delivery area expanding from London to across the UK!

Alara Cereals’ organic Into The Garden range has been created to provide delicious and innovative breakfasts for the growing number of health conscious consumers. Each of the six boxes in the range has a distinctive and innovative flavour, while having the perfect balance between taste, texture and health. Every box keeps it simple – nothing artificial, no hidden ingredients, just delicious, nutritious, real food.

The different mix of seeds, nuts and whole grains are specific to each box, gives them a distinct flavour, texture and nutritional benefit. The range boasts a unique inclusion of superfoods for that, not-to-be-missed, health kick.

The range includes Cocoa, puffed amaranth, cashew nuts, goji berries and yacon, to name a few. www.alara.co.uk

The Alara mueslis definitely hit the spot with the Taste Test team. The Very Berry flavour came out as the overall winner, but all varieties were found to be tasty and interesting, with lots of flavours and generous amounts of added extras – you could see and taste the berries and nuts. “I am still not entirely sure what yacon is (does it rhyme with bacon?)” Said one tester. “However, I really enjoyed the muesli and was pleased it wasn’t all dusty oat flakes – there was a proper flavour to it. It felt like it was doing me good – which is always a nice way to start the day.”

The Test Team was lucky enough to try a selection of delicious products from Farmdrop. This included some Pavilina Kladopoulou White Truffle

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The friendly face of retail

With roots tracing back to 1861, today The East of England Co-operative Society is one of the three largest consumer co-operatives in the United Kingdom

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East of England Co-op

I

t was in 2005 when the organisation finally took the form that it has today, when the Ipswich and Norwich Co-operative Societies joined forces with the Colchester and East Essex Co-operative Society and created the East of England Co-operative Society. As a result of this step, the company became the largest independent retailer in East Anglia, with a coverage stretching from Heacham in the North down to Burnham-on-Crouch in the South.

While Food may be the first area of business that springs to mind when thinking of the East of England Co-op, in fact there

are three strategic pillars within the business, as well as several other smaller businesses. To get an insight, FoodChain spoke to Roger Grosvenor, who is today one of the business’ five joint CEOs. Roger has over four decades of experience at the company, and he gave more details about how the organisation works: “One of the pillars is of course Food, and the other is Funeral, which includes masonry. We also have a huge Property portfolio with over 600 rental properties split between commercial and domestic,” he began.

“The other smaller businesses give support to our membership and they are Pharmacy, Opticians and Hearing Care, Travel, Electricals and Security (this business is called Secure Response Services.) Furthermore, we have petrol station forecourts and post offices and we also have an events, conferencing and wedding centre based at our head office Wherstead Park. This is a grade II listed mansion with a stunning full height atrium. This building functions as a high quality business centre, as well as offering exceptional facilities

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‘

for corporate and private events. I am confident we will establish Wherstead Park as one of the finest events and conference venues in the region.”

These multiple divisions have taken time to create and evolve – the two years following the merger saw several big changes, but since 2007 the organisation has enjoyed significant growth. “We took the opportunity to focus on areas that we felt would have a longer term sustainability for us, so during that period we exited from a processing dairy for which we used to serve doorsteps as well – we sold that business onto Dairy Crest,” Roger explained. “We also had a motor division, department stores and jewellery and we exited from those, too, so our core focus could go onto food retailing, funeral and property.”

The food side has been expanding ever since, and a recent programme of investment is still only midway

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With local sourcing we were very keen to support local producers, whether they are large or small.

So we could be talking about a national producer that supplies all our stores – for example Adnams - and then you might have a lady baking cakes in the village

through its schedule. “This is called Carousel, and it involves refurbishing all of our 132 food stores – that will be completed by August 2017,” said Roger. “We are also continuing to expand our funeral business, so by 2017 we will double our number of branches and will have somewhere in the region of 60 funeral homes from a starting position of 32.”

In fact, 2007 was a significant year for the Food side of the business in another way, as it was then that the East of England Co-op entered into

local sourcing in a big way, with its Sourced Locally initiative. “This is part of our focus on the communities that we serve and also as a membership organisation we look to do things a little bit differently so it’s about the smaller things that we do,” Roger pointed out.

“With local sourcing we were very keen to support local producers, whether they are large or small. So we could be talking about a national producer that supplies all our stores – for example Adnams - and then you might have a lady baking cakes in the village, who just supplies one of our stores.

“With the smaller companies we wanted to be able to give them a route to market because it’s very difficult to get past what can be complicated legal requirements associated with barcodes, packaging and distribution. We recruited a Trading Standards Officer who can discuss their needs, such as labelling requirements, health and

East of England Co-op safety, EU Law and risk management.

As part of this scheme we’ve helped over 100 local suppliers.

“We also have a three P policy Profit for the producer, Profit for the society and a Price that is acceptable to customers. So local strawberries might be 10p dearer than some from Holland and I think that is easily tolerated – but £1 more expensive would be insulting. I fear that is what happened to the whole Organic trend – they tried to use what I call ‘insult pricing’ and that is why it failed.”

Natural partnership The company is also scrupulously honest with its Sourced Locally Pledge, as Roger noted, because some ingredients just have to be found elsewhere. “We pledge that products in the Sourced Locally initiative are produced or grown in our region wherever possible but we let customers

know if it comes from further afield.

You can’t have a coffee with beans grown in East Anglia but they can be roasted and blended here, so we put that little proviso in – just to make sure it’s clear for our customers.”

Roger mentioned Adnams and indeed the two organisations have a very close and successful relationship: “Adnams actually approached us to bottle some beer!” he said. “They only bottle beer for Marks and Spencer’s and us, so that’s pretty significant. They produced two beers for us - a pale ale and a brown ale - and they do very well.” John Lynsdale of Adnams is also very pleased with the two companies’ working relationship: “This is a really natural partnership between two trusted businesses who together share a rich heritage, a commitment to serving local communities and a passion for the amazing food and drink in our region,” he said.

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y l g n i t n u a H . . . r e e b d o go

AVAILABLE AT

THE EAST OF ENGLAND CO-OP Adnams Ease Up I.P.A, Broadside and Southwold Bitter also available.

adnams Adnams_A4_Ghost Ship.indd 1

adnams.co.uk 01/06/2016 11:24

East of England Co-op To give some idea of the genuine ‘localness’ of products, which the East of England Co-op states as coming from ‘within 30 miles of the store’, Roger gave some examples of other producers. “Tim Briscoe from Buxton Potatoes in Cawston supplies all the Norwich stores with potatoes, and Fairfield Farms supplies Suffolk and Essex. Cornerways Tomatoes from Kings Lynn supply our tomatoes and their business is amazing, as it’s totally sustainable, using heat from the sugar beet factory next door and 180 beehives to help pollination. They even sift the soil that comes off the roots and send it to Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal football grounds for use on the pitches!”

At this time of year strawberries are in big demand and as Roger noted, the further they travel, the more the quality suffers. “Fresh is a big pull on these products and Richard and Charlie Tacon of The Tacons near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk have been supplying the East of England Co-op food stores with fresh local strawberries and asparagus since 2009,” he said. “We also work with Gnaw chocolate, which is Norwich based. They do a range of chocolates that we sell in the Norfolk stores, and Lakenham Creamery does our ice cream.”

Lane Farm Country Foods produces some of Suffolk’s most succulent sausages, hams and bacon – all from happy, home-reared pigs. The farm supplies many of the East of England Co-op stores around the region, which has helped the business to grow steadily in the last few years, including opening up job opportunities for a

new generation. Owner Ian Whitehead credits the Co-op with much of his businesses’ success: “We are so proud to be able to supply and feel part of the East of England Co-op. We have grown our businesses together and Lane Farm Country Foods wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”

Overall, such has been the success of Sourced Locally, which started only selling locally grown asparagus, that it now includes thousands of different products from over 100 suppliers

Lane Farm Country Foods Lane Farm Country Foods is a family business producing beautiful dry cured bacon, hams, sausages and its fabulous Suffolk Salami and Chorizo from pork reared on its Suffolk farm. All products are made in SALSA approved premises to very high standards. The company is very proud to have been supplying East of England Co-op stores for over 20 years now.

ADNAMS Based in sunny Southwold since 1872, with an award-winning range of authentic beers and spirits, Adnams is a brewer with a passion for quality and an instinct for innovation.

Adnams has an exciting range of beers available at the East of England Co-op, one of which is Ghost Ship, a 4.5% citrusy Pale Ale that has seen very strong growth within the category over the last 12 months. Jack Brand Ease Up IPA is a golden session IPA packed full of flavour, and is the latest addition to the Adnams range.

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the highest quality local produce has meant that the scheme has scooped an array of nationwide and regional industry awards, from achieving Finalist in the Grocer Gold Awards to winning the Hermes and Retail Week Supply Chain Award.

Community support

across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex: everything from beer, bread and bacon to honey, haddock and heat logs. There has been a year on year growth in sales of Sourced Locally sales, with a £16.8m turnover in the last financial year.

“This means that since the scheme launched, we’ve ploughed more than £45 million back into the regional

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economy and supported the creation of around 400 new jobs in the region,” said Roger proudly.

One of the reasons Sourced Locally has been so successful is because the East of England Co-op has a dedicated team who hunt out the very best local produce the region has to offer. Their hard work and enthusiasm for sourcing

At the heart of Sourced Locally is the local community, and the East of England Co-op recently illustrated another way it supports customers by adopting 12 Post Offices, in order to save them. “They don’t make us any money but they would have been lost if we didn’t take them into our stores,” said Roger. “This trend for Post Office closure is also seen in local pubs and so far we have converted two of these as well, in partnership with others to provide support for homeless people and those reintegrating back into their local community.”

East of England Co-op The most recent of these opened in April 2016, in the former The Royal Oak in Ipswich. The premises were totally renovated and re-opened as ‘The Oak Café’, a new, alcohol free community venue, which alongside the café includes a music venue on the ground floor and short-stay accommodation on the first floor, to support those recovering from addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling, shopping and gaming.

Roger explained how this project came into existence: “We had 75 street drinkers in Ipswich which was a problem. We worked with the police, the NHS and the local council to help resolve this, and one of the steps was for us to stop selling cheap, superstrength alcohol from Ipswich stores, before extending it to all our stores, as part of the successful Reducing the Strength campaign.

“It was from this that we met Simon Aalders and we then got involved in setting up the recovery centre, where I am one of the directors.”

Simon Aalders is now Director of The Oak Café and has had more than 25 years of experience working with and running services that treat addiction.

He added: “So many people have helped us to renovate the former Royal Oak and start its exciting new journey as an alcohol free café and community venue. The East of England Co-op has

been there for us every step of the way – from leasing the building to providing support with food waste, electrical equipment and security.

“We want the café to be a comfortable, relaxed and safe space for people to chat and enjoy themselves, and we have even created a child friendly area for families to relax and

Maldon Salt Salt makers born and bred, the Osbornes have been hand harvesting these world famous sea salt flakes from the coastal town of Maldon since 1882.

Seawater is carefully harvested on the spring tide every two weeks. Using unique traditional methods, it’s as natural as can be. There’s an art in temperature and timing, which is the secret to ensuring these distinctive pyramid shaped flakes are simply perfect in both taste and texture.

Maldon salt is a prestigious and unique product known for its flavour and quality, sought after by chefs and aspiring cooks around the world.

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East of England Co-op and maintain health and wellbeing by speaking to friendly colleagues and accessing free of charge services.

“We’ve also added a token scheme in our stores and over 250 local good causes have benefitted from the token scheme,” added Roger. “Customers get a token from the checkout and use these to show which of three local charities they would like us to support. Each location has £1000 every three months and its gets divided as a percentage of the tokens that have been put in.

Customers get to choose who benefits in their area and we see it as a way of sharing the love between good causes.” play in. We are really pleased to be opening our doors to the public - it is the culmination of a lot of hard work and we look forward to welcoming everyone to the cafe for some great coffee, tea, sandwiches and cakes.”

Nick Denny, Joint Chief Executive at the East of England Co-op added: “I am so impressed with the hard work and dedication that Simon and his team have put in to the project. The building has been completely transformed and is now a light, welcoming and warm space for people to enjoy.

“We are very happy to have been able to help Simon through his journey, directly giving back to the community through his innovative idea. To be able to contribute to and support a cause that sustains people when they need it most is something we feel passionately about at the East of England Co-op.”

Closely following the opening of The Oak Café was the launch of Emmaus Ipswich’s new shop. The Emmaus team supports people who are rebuilding their lives after experiencing homelessness and unemployment, and Emmaus Ipswich offers work opportunities to develop skills, with the aim of helping people into long-term employment. The new shop sells upcycled furniture and household items, and will help fund plans for the organisation to provide accommodation for homeless people.

Years after a chance meeting on a train with the East of England Co-op’s former chief executive Bill Brown, Terry Waite CBE, who is now the Emmaus UK president, officially opened the Emmaus

Ipswich store, with Nick Denny, present on the day.

Other community schemes include working with schools during Fairtrade Fortnight, and Meet and Mingle sessions, designed to help combat loneliness, take part in fun activities

Sustainable future The past 11 years since the merger and the beginnings of the transformation of the East of England Co-op have seen major changes in the organisation, but Roger was keen to point out that there is no time for slowing down or losing

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East of England Co-op Signwaves Signwaves designs, manufactures and prints a wide range of point of sale signs and displays. From kerb to counter, window to product display and beyond, Signwaves has the perfect solution for boosting footfall and converting sales.

The company specialises in supplying both indoor and outdoor promotional displays. It has the ability to deliver to all business sizes and sectors, including many retailers, sign companies, marketing agencies and leading brands.

Signwaves is proud to be part of the East of England Co-op supply chain and looks forward to supporting the business in the future.

momentum: “The strategic vision is to reshape our business, to have a sustainable future. This isn’t all plain sailing, as we may have to consider closing some of our stores that we believe do not fit our long-term portfolio, however, on the expansion side we are also looking to work with partners, such as bringing big names such as Subway and Brantano into the larger stores. This is designed to make our stores more of a destination, with a wider appeal to the customer.

to the Co-op and speaking with one of our store colleagues may be the only social interaction that person living alone has for days or even weeks.

For people living with Dementia there may be challenges going shopping so ensuring our colleagues have the knowledge and support to make those interactions positive is a key part of us becoming a leading dementia friendly retailer.” Such was the success of this initiative that the East of England Co-op won the Staff Education award at this year’s Better Society Awards for its Dementia Friends Awareness Training.

It is clear from its vast sway of activities and sectors that the East of England Co-op is an eclectic business, and Roger confirmed it is unique in many ways. “We don’t have a single Chief Executive, we have five Joint Chief Executives but we all have specialist areas. The specialist area for me is the retail and distribution

functions, because we have our own distribution centre. Doug Field covers finance and technology, Mark O’Hagan covers people and performance, Nick Denny covers property and Minnie Moll covers membership and marketing. We also have an independent secretary that reports to the Board of Directors and liaises with us as an executive team.

That is how our governance works and we have a lay board of 16, which are voted for by our members.”

“We also want to really make people’s lives easier, so we are encouraging people to ‘pop-in’ – if your glasses break, if you need funeral advice, if you need some food, we want people to pop down to the Co-op - no appointment needed, just come in and see what we can do for you. On top of the convenience factor, we want to be the friendliest retailer, so over 3000 of our 4700 colleagues have all been trained in customer service and acts of kindness, as part of a Dementia Friendly Initiative.”

Minnie Moll, Joint Chief Executive at the East of England Co-op gave some more details about this: “As a community retailer it’s important that we support all of our members and customers to retain their independence and feel part of their community for as long as possible. We know that popping

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East of England Co-op And ultimately, it is the members of the Co-op who make the difference.

All of their members own a £1 share in the business. The Co-op works out how much dividend each of the members will get, depending on the amount of points they have collected over the year – the more they spend, the more they get! Members also get the chance to give back to the community and have a say in how the Co-op is run. 2016 will see over 220,000 members of the East of England Co-op looking forward to a share of a £3 million dividend payment. The company is incredibly pleased to be able to share such a good dividend with its members once again, and this is the seventh year that it has been able to pay a dividend of 2p for every £1 spent in its stores. For regular

a better way of doing business; one that would make a difference for its customers and the communities that they live in. From speaking to Roger, to this very day those same values remain at the East of England Co-op, despite having been founded over 140 years ago. Thanks to keeping a focus on the community and its members, the business has grown to become one of the largest, totally independent businesses in the region, with over 200 stores, 4,700 employees and a turnover of £350m a year. Without big corporate shareholders; the decisions made by Roger and his fellow Joint Chief Executives are always done with their members and customers in mind. And that is why when you pop into your local East of England Co-op, you will find good

shoppers, this will be a welcome and substantial dividend.

The original Co-op was created because the founders felt there was

value, locally sourced food, a friendly face, and ability to share in the profits.

It would be difficult to ask for more! D www.eastofengland.coop/home

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Quality catering Operating in 90 locations across the UK, multi award-winning contract catering company bartlett mitchell puts 35,000 smiles on a plate every day

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bartlett mitchell

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ovingly kneaded into reality by its three founders, Wendy Bartlett, Ian Mitchell and David James, bartlett mitchell began in 2000 thanks to a vision to run a catering company that respects and values its clients while also keeping its team and ‘fundamentally food’ principles at the heart of its operations. With a culture based on the personalities of its founders, all of whom are entrepreneurial foodies, the company has honed a ‘can-do’

attitude throughout its operations and built strong, long-term relationships with clients.

“Founded in 2000, the company was a real millennial start-up,” begins Francois Gautreaux, Managing Director of bartlett mitchell. “Wendy and her business partner Ian Mitchell established the company with a strong belief that food must always come first, however, this cannot be done without an absolute obsession about their teams. They have always maintained a strong focus on team values such as honesty, openness and integrity while also providing a fun place to work where all employees feel they can contribute.

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bartlett mitchell

“This formula worked and today bartlett mitchell operates over 90 locations around the UK. These are predominantly in London and the South East. The company now employs over 800 team members, feeds over 35,000 people a day and is on track to achieve an annual turnover of approximately £35 million in 2016.”

New developments Remaining true to its roots while other catering firms have expanded into facilities management and other sectors, Francois believes this commitment is key to bartlett mitchell’s success and growing customer base: “We are exclusively caterers and operate for cafes, restaurants, hospitality, executive dining and events. We do not cater to a specific demographic, though a lot of our clients are in the B&I sector; other clients are advertising firms looking for something a bit more creative from

their caterer. Our customers include, but are not limited to, sectors such as financial, property, media, technology, engineering, charity, retailers, pharmaceutical, legal and government.”

Although it may be easy to think this dedication to the food sector will restrict bartlett mitchell’s expansion or profitable growth opportunities, the company has proven this is not the case with its move into the event and coffee arenas. Having acquired event catering specialist Inn or Out in the final quarter of 2014, the company formed a new company, bartlett mitchell Services Ltd, which boasts a combined turnover of £32 million and a team of approximately 800 personnel. “The events business was a natural transition for us as we have been doing events for years through our current business.

However, we have found there has been an increasingly larger demand as companies have risen out of the

recession in recent years,” says Francois. “This strategic decision has opened up some fantastic opportunities for us and has created a great area for our teams to flex their creative muscles and work in some exciting venues.”

The deal means that bartlett mitchell acquired a new London office and central production kitchens; these will also be used as a base for its new Chef’s Academy for training. Other benefits include increased power to compete more effectively with other caterers and the opportunity to further develop the skills, knowledge and expertise of its personnel.

A more recent development for the dynamic catering firm is its launch of ‘Perkee’, a new premium, sustainable coffee brand, in March 2016. Produced in partnership with Bewleys and the Soppexcca coffee co-operative in Nicaragua, Perkee has been developed to meet customer expectations for a coffee with strong ethics that is also of exceptional quality. With dark chocolate and caramel notes, Perkee coffee is single origin 100 per cent Arabica bean from Nicaragua that is roasted in Yorkshire.

Speaking about the launch of Perkee, CEO Wendy Bartlett said: “The UK coffee market in 2014 turned over in excess of £7.9 billion and we take it very seriously within bartlett mitchell. With Perkee, our customers can drink a great tasting, fair-trade coffee and make a positive difference to the Soppexcca community.”

Indeed, Soppexcca’s profits are put back into the education, diversification and health centres of Nicaragua.

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bartlett mitchell The Caterers Linen Supply Laundry the Sustainable Way! The Caterers Linen Supply are the UK’s most sustainable linen hire and laundry service. We offer a wide range of products including chefs wear, uniforms, table linen, napkins and kitchen items. We also provide an EkoChef Range of garments that are made from recycled plastic bottles; these come with huge environmental benefits. We pride ourselves on our flexible high quality service. We are delighted to have been recognised for our sustainable achievements by gaining accolades including the ACE Sustains Corporate Award, Sustainable Supplier Footprint Award and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Footprint Award. We are also an Approved Supplier to the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Proud to use the finest quality ingredients across all operations, bartlett mitchell believes its supply chain is one of the integral pillars of its success.

The company’s purchasing process is based on working closely with suppliers and developing long-term, sustainable relationships that allow both parties to win. “Once we find the right fit, there is a rigorous process where we test the quality to ensure it is fit for our business. We tend to look at promoting British food heroes and try to champion local produce. We seek out ethical sustainable sourcing, food picked in season and ripened on a vine rather than during transport; 80 per cent of vegetables are seasonal varieties from the UK. We also only use free range eggs and MSC certified seafood; these are just some examples of what we look for in a supplier.”

This dedication to sustainable food has resulted in the company winning several awards, such as the Corporate Social Responsibility Award and the Best Chef Award at the recent Cost Sector Catering Awards. Discussing these awards, Francois states: “The Corporate Social Responsibility Award is huge for us; not only did we win the Food Made Good

Caterer of the Year for the third year in a row with the Sustainable Restaurant Association, but also were awarded the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the Cost Sector Catering Awards.

Sustainability and CSR have to be part of your identity to win these awards; it has to pervade every aspect of what you do.”

In addition to this award recognition, the company is also accredited with Investors in People Gold.

Having announced a record turnover for the fifth year in a row on April 22nd 2016, bartlett mitchell will push forward with its five-year plan to grow in a measured way and never forget the values and culture that makes it special, as Francois concludes: “We announced a 50 per cent increase in turnover,

taking the company to £32 million; we are forecasting £36 million for 2016, which will fully double our turnover since 2012. We will grow to £50 million by 2020 and expect to have 1200 employees; that growth, both in finances and people, will allow us to do more and more of the projects that we have had our eye on, but that will have to wait for the next interview!” D www.bartlettmitchell.co.uk

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A unique trend

McDonald’s Netherlands is Europe’s oldest branch of one of the world’s best-known franchises outside of the US and continues to innovate in the dining experience that the company provides

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McDonald’s Netherlands

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McDonald’s Netherlands

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he iconic golden arches of the now globally recognised McDonald’s brand first appeared in the Netherlands during September 1971, when Europe’s first McDonald’s restaurant was opened in Zaandam, near Amsterdam. By 1987 the franchise opened its first ‘McDrive’ Drive-Thru restaurant to huge success and over the subsequent years the McDonald’s brand has grown to represent 246 restaurants throughout the Netherlands. The franchise has grown into region’s market leader in the quick service restaurant (QSR) market.

In 2016 the McDonald’s franchise will celebrate 45 years of serving the Dutch community since its pioneering Zaandam restaurant first opened its doors. Over the years the business has seen several product launches in the Netherlands, with the instantly recognisable McDonald’s Happy Meal arriving in 1986 and the introduction of the vegetable burger in 1993. Further to being at the forefront of the introduction of new dining experiences to customers in the country, McDonald’s Netherlands

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was one of the first companies with its own system of separate collection and recycling of waste.

All of the waste from McDonald’s Netherlands is recycled or recovered with energy recovery, with paper and paperboard collected and processed into napkins and placemats for example.

Furthermore, 100 per cent of the cooking oil that is used in the company’s restaurants is collected and ultimately recycled into biofuels. “Being the first country in Europe where McDonald’s chose to export its formula from the United States is something that makes us very proud,” explains General Director of McDonald’s Netherlands, Manu Steijaert. “We are truly a part of the Dutch society and are deeply involved with corporate responsibility initiatives like the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and local sponsoring. Sustainability is highly developed in the Netherlands and following almost three decades of hard work, McDonald’s Netherlands can consider itself a profound company in recycling, reusing and reducing litter.”

Throughout its history, McDonald’s Netherlands has placed great importance of being at the centre of the local neighbourhood and today has over 17,500 employees across its 246 restaurants that serve as many as three million visitors per week. The company operates in accordance with its mission to ‘Think Global, Act Local’ and treats responsibility towards the environment and the wider community as key values. The 76 franchisees involved in McDonald’s Netherlands are highly supportive of local communities and are members of local business and merchant associations. Throughout

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McDonald’s Netherlands the business franchisees help to organise clean-up operations to keep the environment clean, take part in employment projects and sponsor local sports clubs. Additionally, many franchisees are also involved as board members at a Ronald McDonald House or participate in the national board of the RMHC, like Franchisee Pieter Honing, who just has been knighted for his social achievements for the RMHC in general.

community. “To continue to provide an exciting and fun experience, McDonald’s developed a ‘Present Calendar’ campaign, which is similar to an advent calendar, during December 2015,” Manu exclaims. “Everyday in December we offered a surprise/present for our McDonald’s App users, such as the chance of winning a car, Playstation 4 or scooter. Other activities such as singing a song for example, allowed customers to earn free fries. We currently have over 1.1 million App users and the Present

Intensive investment McDonald’s Netherlands also works to ensure that it actively engages with its customers to further a sense of fun and community spirit. This has led to the development of its ‘Fun to the Max’ concept, which is implemented through the McDonald’s app and other activities.

These can include seasonal events that help to make the brand a continued part of day-to-day life within the wider

PepsiCo PepsiCo is one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies with over $63 billion in net revenue in 2015. It has a complementary portfolio that includes 22 diverse and beloved brands that in 2015 each generated more than $1 billion in estimated annual retail sales. With Tropicana Pure Premium Orange and Apple juice it offers Mc Donald’s a 100 per cent pure juice squeezed into a 250 ml ready to drink bottle. No water, sugar or preservatives are ever added and it is never from concentrate so you get the freshest, most delicious straight-from-the-fruit taste.

Calendar generated more than 840k activated in App presents.”

During 2015 McDonald’s Netherlands and its Franchisees completed an intensive investment programme across many of its stores, which included extensive redevelopment and expansion activities, as well as the opening of new restaurants. “This investment represents a significant step in the further innovation and modernisation of the McDonald’s brand within the Netherlands,” Manu elaborates. “Four new restaurants have been opened during 2015 and nearly half of the current 246 restaurants have already adopted the platform of integration including a new kitchen and counter lay out, which empowers us to personalise burgers and menus and offer other services.”

The investment into the development of its restaurants coincides with the introduction of the ‘My Burger’ concept

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McDonald’s Netherlands that was launched across McDonald’s Netherlands in October 2015. This option is designed to give visitors to McDonald’s restaurants greater freedom in building the burger of their choosing and following successful implementation within the Netherlands, the initiative could travel to McDonald’s stores throughout Europe. “The ‘My Burger’ concept enables customers to personalise their favourite burgers, including the Quarter Pounder, McChicken and Fileto-Fish sandwiches (Royal Fish) and to add further items such as an extra piece of beef, chicken, fish, or bacon, cheese, jalapenos or nacho chips and add extra sauce,” Manu says. “Forty per cent of the customers ordering at the new easy order kiosk personalised their burger, with The Quarter Pounder representing the favourite choice. Most of the time a piece of beef, bacon and cheese were chosen as the extra ingredients.”

Luxury burger

Van Gorp Greenfood Cutting and processing fruit and vegetables is an art in itself. Hessing has mastered this craft for almost 60 years. Hessing processes fresh raw materials into salads, ready-to-cook vegetables, processed fruit, fresh pressed juices and meal salads. All Hessing products are ultra-fresh with a short shelf life of four to seven days. This requires a fast chain from farm to shelf. The products find their way to supermarkets, quick service restaurants, hotels, wholesalers and (in-flight) caterers. Hessing values long-standing customer partnerships.

One of the most unique partnerships Hessing has with McDonald’s. Since 1985 Hessing and its entity Van Gorp Greenfood have been supplying vegetables like salad leaves, slices of tomato and cucumber to several McDonald’s countries in Europe. Hessing has also recently developed some more innovative fresh concepts for McDonald’s, like fruit salad cups, a range of meal salads with their dressings and the Salad Bar concept of McDonald’s Netherlands.

During October McDonald’s Netherlands also introduced its new Maestro Burger, which aims to offer a ‘high-end’ burger experience. The Maestro Burger features two 100 per cent angus beef burgers with bacon, naturally aged cheddar cheese, red onion rings, Batavia lettuce, ketchup and wild mustard sauce on a special sesame and poppy seed bun. The new burger has been a huge success for the company and is set to remain as fixed feature in McDonald’s Netherlands restaurants. “McDonald’s introduced the Maestro Burger in October while responding to the burger bar trend of luxury burgers,” Manu explains. “Owing to its success this burger is here to stay, with some 25,000 burgers sold a day since October. In all we have sold 3.8 million Maestro Burgers as of March 2016.”

Core to the success of McDonald’s Netherlands and that of the wider

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McDonald’s Netherlands group, is its continued focus on delivering the finest quality foods and ingredients. The company employs a three-pronged approach to ensuring the highest levels of quality and service,

which focuses on strong relationships between McDonald’s Netherlands and its franchisees, employees and farmers and suppliers. These relationships will also enable the company to invest

Spadel NL Sustainable collaboration McDonald’s Netherlands and Spadel NL Over four years ago McDonald’s Netherlands and Spadel NL signed a sustainable collaboration agreement. The fact that McDonald’s Netherlands at the time chose the brands of Spadel NL, is among other things, inspired by sustainable entrepreneurship. Not only within the organisation but also in the entire chain.

Tanya van Alphen, Channel Manager Travel & Convenience Spadel NL

The supply chain of McDonald’s The supply chain of McDonald’s is a complex web of direct and indirect suppliers. McDonald’s manages this complex system by working with partners in business that share its values and vision for sustainable supply chain management. McDonald’s sets clear standards of quality, safety, continuity and durability. It also expects that Spadel NL’s own suppliers will agree the demands previously mentioned.

Sustainable enterprise At McDonald’s, sustainable entrepreneurship has been part of its philosophy since its inception. Founder Ray Kroc found that McDonald’s had to put something back into the society in which the company does business. McDonald’s also requires of its business partners that they deal with people, the environment and society in a responsible way.

That is why the partnership with Spadel NL works out as well, as it is a partner that takes this responsibility extremely seriously. In the environmental policy of McDonald’s in the Netherlands, the 3R’s are central: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle. That means less waste, less energy and less emissions. The sustainable packaging policy and the optimisation of the logistics at Spadel NL are fine examples that fully connect to the policy of McDonald’s Netherlands.

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in further dining experiences and innovations as the McDonald’s brand continues to grow. “The ‘three-legged stool’ approach is the main driver success of McDonald’s. Besides McDonald’s Nederland on the one hand, its franchisees and suppliers are also key to its success. Relationships that we have built last over ten to 20 years have helped to optimise quality and stimulate innovation,” Manu concludes.

“Our strategic goals are aimed on three things, the consumer, the consumer and the consumer. We are consumer obsessed. In order to keep up with the ever-changing world, the only fact that will be the same is that there will be change. Our guests are at the core of the choices we make and we would like to create special moments for our guests, by serving quality products while doing good for the community in the way we operate.” D www.mcdonalds.nl

Lambertz Hermann Buehlbecker

A tradition of

invention With a rich history dating back to 1688, Lambertz has grown from a regional business to an international company specialising in premium quality biscuits

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hile Lambertz today operates as Germany’s oldest confectionary brand, the roots of the business date back to 15 September 1688, when master baker, Henry Lambertz established the ‘Haus zur Sonne’ baking house in Aachen. The company quickly earned a reputation for delivering truly excellent baked good, including its traditional Aachener Printe gingerbread. Throughout its

history, Lambertz has continued to develop new and exciting products.

During 1820 for example, Henry Lambertz IV sweetened the Printe dough for the first time with sugar syrup and icing sugar, while in 1831 Johann Werner introduced new developments in herbal Printe dough.

In 1978 the business entered into

its ninth generation when Dr. Hermann Bühlbecker, a direct descendent of Henry Lambertz took control of the company.

Today Lambertz generates a turnover of around €620 million and employs more than 4000 people at its production sites in Germany and an additional site in Poland. After growing from a small supplier of baked good within a niche market, the company has transformed into a global market leader for seasonal and speciality Christmas baked goods within circa 40 countries worldwide and the business shows no signs of slowing down. “In five years, we would like to be an even more international company than we are today,” reveals the current owner of Lambertz, Dr. Bühlbecker. “We still see considerable growth potential in the United States and Eastern Europe. We also want to continue to extend our range of products. As a global market leader in autumn and Christmas baked goods, it will be a success in itself if we can defend our current position.”

Core to the ongoing development of Lambertz, is the on-going development of new and exciting baked products that both offer tantalising innovation and reflect the changing tastes of consumer demand.

In addition to its impressive organic growth, the company has made several strategic acquisitions over the years that have increased the range of confectionary products that Lambertz is able to offer.

During May 2015 for example, Lambertz took over all business operations belonging to the Ifri Schuhmann Group in Nuremberg, including its gingerbread and Dauerbackwaren factory Ifri Schuhmann GmbH & Co. KG. The purchase also

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Lambertz CROWN Aerosols and Specialty Packaging Europe CROWN Aerosols and Specialty Packaging Europe are a brand-building packaging manufacturer. As part of Crown Holdings Inc. we afford our clients a century of experience and knowledge.

We can support you from concept to launch, be it through our innovation capabilities or our in-house design office. We constantly seek technological improvement as shown in our seated end technology.

This development allows the brands that choose to work with us, to clearly differentiate with premium and unique packaging.

We take pride in producing in Europe and engage in the environment and sustainability, as Metal Recycles Forever.

included the Burg Lebkuchen GmbH Nürnberg and Josef Wendler nougat GmbH & Co. KG brands.

“One of the reasons that Lambertz remains so strong in the market is its continuing innovation with new products,” elaborates Head of Marketing, Wolfgang Siegel. “We have several product launches each year that really enable us to push into the market and this has been supported by the acquisition of several other brands during the company’s history.

Dr. Bühlbecker started by taking over control of Lambertz and later added brands such as Kinkartz and Haeberlein-Matzger to the business.

This is partly why Lambertz has been able to achieve continued growth and today there is no other company within Germany that can boast over 365 years of baking tradition.”

organic marigold turns this cookie into a special taste experience. The trio is completed by the delightful apple-chia cookie, the full fruitiness of sun-ripened apples in harmony with chia seeds, which are attributed a health-giving effect thanks to a particularly high nutrient content that is the secret of this cookie.”

The new organic bio-cookies are equally impressive in terms of taste and look. Baked in the shape of a small leaf, they are an attractive and healthy occasional snack. The new delicacies are presented in a new packaging design, to be introduced as a new bio range under the Lambertz brand. In addition to the introduction of its bio-cookies, the company’s bio range has been further enhanced by the introduction of its bio-oat cookies.

“Lambertz is devoted to delighting the palate and constantly developing innovative, new delicacies. The new

bio-oat cookie is a real highlight in that respect,” Hermann says. “The combination of oats, quinoa, amaranth and chia makes the new bio-oat cookie a delicious treat that melts in the mouth.

As a non-chocolate coated version, the new 150g bio-oat cookies with special ingredients are an outstanding addition to the existing bio-oat cookies with milk or dark chocolate, and are also suitable for the warmer months of the year. The new bio-cookie appears in the attractive new packaging design among the new bio range of the Lambertz brand.”

Culinary journey Further to its healthy range of biocookies, Lambertz has also introduced its luxury Weltgenuss brand of biscuits as well as its Heavy 1 cookie. Weltgenuss represents a culinary journey around the world that combines precious chocolate with South American red pepper, Asian peanuts and oriental pistachio and

Bursts of flavour In recent months Lambertz has introduced several new product lines that appeal to a diverse spectrum of consumer tastes. Its new range of biocookies for example, enable diners to enjoy the sweet temptation of Lambertz in a healthy way. Its new line of biocookies is available in three delicious flavours, comprised of Matcha, apple-chia and meadow herbs. “The combination of cookie with delicately sweet matcha tea reveals not only the tea’s aroma as well as its colour as the cookie melts in the mouth. The delicious new meadow herbs cookie is another real treat and in every way the equal of the matcha cookie,” Hermann says. “A harmonious mix of organic spearmint, organic lemon balm and

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Lambertz liquorice, while Heavy 1 represents a ‘wake up’ innovation in baked goods.

“The Heavy 1 cookie is a crispy, crunchy guarana cookie with natural caffeine, filled with a tenderly melting cream filling with the taste of the popular, new energy drink ‘Heavy 1’, Hermann explains. “Not only does it have a great taste, but is also a real eye-catcher that is coated with a fine white chocolate cover and adored with lovely sweet number ones in a red colour, as well as popping candies. This is literally a burst of flavours, because the small popping candies provoke a nice tingle in the mouth. It is a unique cookie, which is not just tasty, but also gives you energy because of the content of natural caffeine.”

With these innovative product developments and a proven track record as a leading supplier of marketleading and exquisite baked goods, Lambertz is set to continue to offer tasty

and inviting treats that will tempt even the most discerning diner. With the introduction of its bio range of cookies and its Heavy 1 and Weltgenuss lines, Lambertz has once again proven that it has something for everyone. D www.lambertz.de

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Brewing excellence since 1790 A family-owned brewery since 1790, multi-award winning KrÜnleins Brewery’s forward-thinking approach to delivering high-quality products has resulted in a solid reputation and increased global recognition

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Krönleins Brewery

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ctive in the brewing industry for six generations, the Krönlein family’s history began in 1790 when brewmaster Johann Albrecht Krönlein from Bayern moved to Sweden.

Following a number of brewery developments in Sweden over the years, Krönleins decided to acquire Appeltofftska brewery in Halmstad, Sweden founded on 15th February 1863. The Brewery grew from its humble beginning in an old halftimbered house at Stora Torg into a well-reputed brewer of pure and natural beers with a modern and highly efficient brewery. Notable business developments include the strategic decision to move from Stora Torg to its present premises on Westre Katt in 1897; this is located on one of the town’s initial well, which is full of high quality spring water that the brewery had been using since 1836.

A new brewing and malting facility was also built during 1897 and 1898, which are still partly in use today.

Following the re-location and investment, Anders Krönlein took over the stock majority of the company in 1920 and a new era began with extensive modernisations and

In addition to beer, the brewery also makes Halmstad ciders and soft drinks. Its 33cl Halmstad Cider Pear, 4.5% volume, is a sparkling wine cider that should be served chilled investments into brewing, fermentation tanks and filling equipment. It was also during the 1920s and 30s that the brewery focused on not only being a leader in high quality machinery and efficiency, but also turned its attentions on product development. This hard work paid off, with the brewery launching a high-grade strong beer, Three Hearts Export, in the 1950s; it was made solely for export because beer of this strength was prohibited in Sweden at this time.

Award winners Today Krönleins Brewery is run by Carl Krönlein, Managing Director and 6th generation family member and is Sweden’s fifth brewery in terms of size. Located in the south of Sweden, the brewery benefits from a strong regional retail market share but also an important national market share within the Swedish monopoly chain, Systembolaget. Alongside the Retail & Monopoly chain, the brewery has two other business sectors, Horeca and Export, as Carl notes: “The state owned monopoly is our biggest business area, with half of our turnover coming from here; the grocery chains and supermarkets then take approximately 30 per cent, with Horeca and export responsible for 15 per cent each when it comes to turnover. Because our main customers are Systembolaget, future

growth for us lies in the state owned monopoly, export and Horeca.”

With some 35 million euro net sales and an enviable local market share, the 100+ employees strong brewery is continuing its long-term aim of developing and improving products by paying attention to customer demand and maintaining quality. This strategy has so far held Krönleins Brewery in good stead, as it has become the most awarded brewery in Scandinavia. Awards include 32 gold, 31 silver and five bronze DLG for German Quality Awards and a Best in Class for obtaining medals during a ten-year period from the DLG. The brewery also won silver in 1996, gold in 2002 and silver in 2011 in the Brewing Industry International Awards for Strong Beers above seven per cent with its Three Hearts Extra Strong 7.5% beer. Krönleins Brewery is the only brewery in the world to receive both the gold medal in the Brewing Industry International Awards and gold prize in the DLG-pramierung; no other brewery had this success!

Discussing the reasons Three Hearts Extra Strong won these awards, Carl says: “I would say that we are brewing very elegant, smooth and well balanced beers regardless of strength. Three Hearts is a strong beer at 7.5%, and it is not that easy to get a normal taste in a beer of that percentage; it is more like a wine product in the sense that it has an alcohol taste, but we have managed to get flavors to cover the strength. So if you are drinking this product in normal temperature from the fridge it wouldn’t taste so strong; it is a pleasant, tasty rich beer, that is not very hoppy.”

The brewery also won silver in 2002 and gold in 2005 at the Brewing Industry International Awards for Strong Beer above

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Krönleins Brewery seven per cent with its 7.2% Stockholm Fine Festival Beer. The Stockholm Fine Festival Non-Alcoholic Beer was also awarded gold in 2013 from the Brewing Industry International Awards.

Other non-alcoholic beers, up to 0.5 per cent, include Original Crocodile Lager Beer and Three Hearts Green Eko lager. Using organic barley malt and organic hops, the brewery uses special processing techniques to deliver a superior taste that is mixed with balanced bitterness.

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The brewery’s most recent release was Three Hearts Amber “källare No 9”, a 33 cl can that is a niche in volume and boasts typical hoppy aromas. In addition to beer, the brewery also makes Halmstad ciders and soft drinks. Its 33cl Halmstad Cider Pear, 4.5% volume, is a sparkling wine cider that should be served chilled and, like all Krönleins products, is produced with pure water from the well; also available is the 33cl Halmstad Cider Apple product.

In order to remain at the forefront of brewing high quality products, Krönleins

Brewery’s operations will be further enhanced through investment over the next 12 months. “We are focusing on replacing a lot of equipment, which has to be changed bit by bit due to our location in a historical part of town.

This will be quite a challenge as we will have to keep up production while also building a new brewhouse in and around the old one. While this is ongoing, our strategy remains the same, to market high quality, world-class, competitive, tasty beers,” Carl concludes. D www.kronleins.se

UNIBOTTLE/RUSCAM Your company is looking for an alternative to the usual European glass supplier groups — but without compromising on price or quality. Until recently there was no real alternative, in terms of capacity and quality. Now there is: UNIBOTTLE works with the certified Russian glass group RUSCAM, which provides a unique opportunity to the European food & beverage industry. RUSCAM is part of the world’s 5th largest glass group, SISECAM. Together we offer you the best in modern glass manufacturing, combined with impeccable service.

Mackie’s at Taypack

Crisp success Mackie’s at Taypack is taking the flavours of Scotland around the world

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M

ackie’s at Taypack was formed in 2009 from a joint venture between Mackie’s of Scotland and the Taylor Family, whose potato packing business, Taypack, was the second biggest of its kind in the UK. By combining the heritage brand of Mackie’s, which has been producing luxury dairy ice cream from Aberdeenshire since 1986, with Taypack’s unrivalled potato sourcing expertise, Mackie’s crisps are today representing Scotland around the world.

The business was founded out of a desire from both parties to enter the booming snacking industry, and bringing the two partners together in a 50/50 agreement provided the perfect platform upon which to launch the foray. Taypack initially mainly handled production, but by 2013 success had been strong and it was decided that the business focus needed solidifying, so all management, sales and marketing were brought into the business along with a further 25 per cent share. “It very quickly got to the stage where our customer base was growing, the brand was growing rapidly and both parties agreed it was important that we could focus this from one organisation,” explains Rebecca

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Russell, Global Brand Manager. “So whilst we’re still associated very closely with Mackie’s and use the brand under license, everything is managed from the Taypack site.”

At the heart of Mackie’s Crisps is its heritage. Both founding families have a strong farming background, where fresh produce and quality ingredients are key values. “Maintaining the taste of the potato in our crisps is very important to the brand,” Rebecca explains. “We use a gentle cooking method, which involves cooking the product at a much lower temperature and for a longer period of time than most other crisp manufacturers would. This is unique within the industry and creates a distinctive crunch and drier texture.”

Scottish provenance is also a major part of the brand. Not only is this illustrated by being the only crisp branded product manufactured in the country, but also in its flavours – many of which

are inspired by traditional Scottish tastes.

Haggis and cracked black pepper, Flamegrilled Aberdeen angus and Whisky and Haggis all feature in the line up and is something that has helped the business establish a strong export market.

International sales currently make up around 15 per cent of Mackie’s at Taypack’s total turnover and represent a key growth area. “We currently export to 17 countries around the world, with China, Singapore and Canada being the biggest,” outlines Rebecca. “Scottish food and drink in general is perceived around the world as being of high quality, so there’s almost a readymade market for us to tap into. Canada seems to have quite a strong affinity with Scotland so we really push the Scottish heritage in our marketing there. In terms of China there is high demand for imported products universally as they are trusted more than locally produced brands. Of course, with such a large

Mackie’s at Taypack population this represents a huge opportunity for any international brand.”

Being able to tap into market trends is not something confined to Mackie’s at Taypack’s export business either. In January 2016, in response to changing snacking habits in the UK, the company launched its first range of popcorn products. “We know that health is high up on the agenda, not just from a consumer and retail point of view, but also coming from the government and other bodies putting pressure on the food industry,” Rebecca explains. “We also undertook focus groups with our shoppers to understand not only what they expected from the market, but also from Mackie’s as a specific brand.

Ultimately, we needed to work out which direction was most suitable to the more premium brand we represent.”

The current line up of popcorn snacks consists of four flavours: lightly sea salted, sweet and salted, butterscotch and scotch bonnet chilli pepper.

Deciding upon flavours and packaging also benefitted from focus groups, and this close attention to what customers are looking for is clearly paying off.

Mackie’s popcorn is now listed in both Sainsbury’s and Tesco in Scotland, and come July will be appearing in Asda superstores as well.

Current production facilities for Mackie’s crisps are located in Perthshire. “We moved to our new site in Errol in 2013 after we outgrew the original factory,” Rebecca says. “The new site used to be an old brickworks and has a long history in the area so ties in well with our heritage. Crucially, at the moment we’re only using a portion of the 11 acres available to us so we have plenty of room to expand as the business grows.”

south of the border and in the wholesale and food service sectors. “It is a tough market to be in, snacking trends are always changing and its also a very promotional driven industry, so staying on top of our pricing whilst keeping

up with trends is crucial to remaining competitive,” Rebecca concludes.

“Continuing to innovate with our products and cementing our position in global markets are core to our future.” D www.mackiescrisps.com

Focused strategy Growing the business is a clear objective for the company, and whilst tackling changing consumer tastes across numerous markets can be challenging, Mackie’s at Taypack sees a wealth of opportunities to explore as it moves forward. Already on its way to becoming well established in the Scottish market, coming months will see a more focused strategy to further develop the brand

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Thurne-Middleby

A cut

above Thurne-Middleby creates precisionengineered slicing systems for bacon, cooked meats and cheese applications

W

ith over 45 years of industry experience, Thurne-Middleby Ltd has a proven international reputation in delivering high quality, precision-engineered slicing systems for bacon, cooked meats and cheese applications.

Since its formation as Thurne Engineering in 1967, the Thurne brand has developed a reputation as a leading name in the provision of high speed slicing equipment, through a succession of ‘industry first’ slicing machines that pioneer vision, scanning and computer technologies that benefit small family firms and large multi-site corporations alike. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Thurne Engineering joined forces with AEW Engineering and Delford to form AEW Delford Systems.

AEW had previously excelled in the manufacture of high-speed bandsaws as well as automatic portion control slicers and saws, while Delford had earned a worldwide reputation for its pioneering

labelling and dynamic weighing technology. During 2006 the business became part of the Marel group as part of the company’s expansion in food processing equipment.

During the close of the first quarter of 2015, the Middleby Corporation acquired the assets of the Marel highspeed slicing business unit. The roots of the Middleby Corporation date back to when the company was founded as a bakery supplier in 1888. In 2014 Fortune Magazine named the Middleby Corporation as its fastest growing company, while today the business continues as a leading provider of commercial cooking equipment, industrial processing equipment and residential appliances.

As part of the purchase, Middleby took the decision to rebrand the unit under its original trademark of Thurne while continuing in the manufacture of the company’s broad line of high-speed slicers and integrated slicing systems.

The slicing technology developed

by Thurne includes market leading, automated bacon, deli-meat and cheese slicing equipment that delivers clients unique solutions that reduce labour, increase production throughput and reduced food costs while assuring quality and precise portion control.

“Both Thurne and AEW began as Norwich-based engineering companies involved in producing process equipment for the food industry, with Thurne operating as a leader in technology for high-speed slicing,” elaborates President at Thurne-Middleby Ltd, Peter Jongen.

“Thurne was the first company to develop the ‘vision system’ with an aim to improve the accuracy of individual slices for deli products. Thurne is currently solely focused on concentrating on slicing technology, with its biggest market currently in the field of bacon slicers in the United States. The company also continues to have a strong presence in the UK and has always remained an innovator in food slicing solutions.”

Thurne is presently highly active within the US, where its products are currently employed by nearly all of the country’s large bacon processers. As part of the company’s on-going growth strategy for 2016 and beyond, Thurne is keen to expand its presence within the UK and Europe and attended the IFFA in Frankfurt exhibition for the meat industry during May 2016. The show gave the company the opportunity to both meet with current and potential future clients, as well as demonstrate the technologies available to clients. “IFFA is one of the world’s largest exhibitions in the meat industry,

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where food processing companies and manufacturers are all present,” Peter says. “We were in attendance and displayed our IBS4600 precooked bacon slicer, which is a four-blade slicing machine. The machine itself was developed around eight years ago and we have an install base of 25 units at present, so it is not a new machine in

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that respect. Within Europe however, the IBS4600 is a relatively new development and a unique slicing technology, meaning that there is no competing machine on the market.”

The IBS4600 is essentially four slicers in one, featuring four independent feeds, four independent blades and four independent cameras, which

are combined with Thurne vision technology. As the world’s first slicer to have four independent feeds, the IBS4600 represents a bacon processing revolution that is becoming increasingly known the world over. Each of the unit’s independent feeds is equipped with its own vision system that gives weight control of individual slices, regardless of belly size. High yields with low giveaway are the norm thanks to the precision and control that delivers constant weight portions with remarkable consistency, while end user and consumer appeal is enhanced because the end product has a uniform appearance, texture and quality and can be sorted into fixed weight and count packs.

Through the invigorated marketing of its new and existing machines, Thurne is already expanding is presence within the UK market. During February 2016 for example, the company launched its IBS1000 Bacon Slicer with great success. “We launched the IBS1000 early in 2016, specifically for the UK food industry. We have sold more than half a dozen of the machines already and expect more sales to follow as there is great interest in the machine,” Peter reveals. “The IBS is very efficient and therefore increased volume and

Thurne-Middleby Knecht Maschinenbau GmbH A 950 Grinding Machine for Slicer Knives from KNECHT The A 950 sharpens sickle knives of all brands up to 900mm (35 inches) and circular knives up to 700mm (27 inches). The machine works with driven grinding tools. As a result, the slicer knives are ground with precisely defined edges. The grinding pressure is applied pneumatically. The material removal on the cutting tool can be exactly regulated. The grinding angle is adjusted electrically with utmost precision. The reproduction accuracy is 0.1 degree.

The heart of the A 950 is the cam. It is individually customised for any slicer knife. The cam ensures that the knife retains its exact original shape over its entire service life.

The A 950 is easy to use. An individual grinding program, consisting of the number of grinding cycles and the selected grinding angle, can be saved for each slicer knife. When the program is called up, the machine automatically

aftercare solutions, which allow clients to order with full peace of mind and form a core pillar of the company’s continued growth strategy. “We offer service level agreements in various grades, including taking full ownership of the machines. We carry out inspections regularly and deliver spare parts from Norwich to Europe and also have a service office based in Chicago to service North America. Thurne also has field engineers living in the US and the UK to ensure that we are always close to our customers,” Peter concludes.

“I think that presently we are doing very

well and we are keen to continue to grow within the UK, because although the US is a highly successful market for us, we want to expand the success in the UK and Europe. Our membership of Middleby is a great strength for us in this respect, as it is a strong company in food processing with various other companies within the group. This allows us to make use of its vertically integrated systems to strengthen our market leading position.” D www.thurne.com

adjusts to these settings.

yield. It is capable of high blade speeds and throughput to match production needs, while ensuring consistent slice thickness and integrity. The machine also has a small, space saving footprint and can produce a variety of retail and food service pack formats.”

While the largest market for Thurne is presently within the bacon-slicing sector, the company continues to manufacture slicing solutions for the deli and cheese markets, where it began in slicers several decades ago. These include machines for slicing beef loins, cheeses and so on. Across all of its targeted market sectors, Thurne offers comprehensive

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One more slice

P

After the first bite of artisan pizza inspired Susan and her husband John Canavan to bring the concept from the US to the UK, Project Pie is preparing to deliver its unique culinary experience to diners throughout the country 76 www.foodchainmagazine.com

roject Pie was previously featured in FoodChain in August 2015 after the company’s first store opened its doors in February during the same year. In the 15 months since the artisan pizza concept was first introduced to the UK, the concept has proven to be a smash hit with younger and older diners alike and Project Pie has continued to grow from strength to strength. Indeed, the popularity of the restaurant’s ‘build your own pizza’ concept and the refreshing freedom of its ‘guilt free’ pizzas with their fresh and healthy ingredients, has enabled the business to quickly capitalise on the momentum generated by the success of its first store.

The next exciting chapter in the story of Project Pie is set to take place in Bromley, Greater London where the company is busy preparing to open its second store on 1st July 2016. The new store will be located within intu, Bromley as part of a £24 million investment in the busy shopping centre that includes significant internal remodelling of the centre and a new cinema. The investment into the intu shopping centre will also allow for the development of

a new restaurant terrace alongside the historic Queen’s Garden, creating a picturesque al fresco dining experience.

Despite being a relatively new brand, Project Pie will join established chains including Wagamama and Byron, which demonstrates the lasting impression the company’s unique culinary offering has had on both diners and the casual dining industry as a whole.

“The restaurant is situated in an annex overlooking Queen’s Garden and the area really is just beautiful. We have the great fortune of having some outdoor seating at the Bromley store, so we are really hoping that the summer weather will be nice because we have doors that open up and have views that directly overlook the gardens,” reveals Director, Susan Canavan. “In keeping with our Dundee store we aim to continue with the theme of an ‘industrial’ feel, while incorporating images and touches that are unique to the local area. The restaurant will of course be very comfortable and we want to embrace some quirky qualities as well as becoming an established part of the community.”

The July opening of the second instalment of Project Pie coincides with the opening of the intu Queen’s Garden development and several other casual dining branded restaurants, however Project Pie is keen to go the extra mile in marking the occasion. “We have a lot going on in the run up to the opening of the Bromley store. We have a lively marketing campaign and like many of the other restaurants involved in the opening we will have a number of offers on the day,” Susan explains. “However, because we are a new brand we will also be doing a little more. For example, we will have live music and hopefully some celebrity guests to really make the opening more of an event.”

Although the Bromley store will stick to Project Pie’s proven and mouth watering artisan pizza concept, the new restaurant will also introduce tempting breakfast pizzas and calzones the match to earlier opening times of the busy intu shopping centre. Of course Project Pie, Bromley will also offer the company’s delicious thin-crust pizzas made from special recipe dough and topped with

Project Pie the customer’s choice of an impressive range of toppings. All of the ingredients and toppings used by Project Pie are delivered fresh and the vegetables and other produce used are cut daily rather than arriving pre cut and frozen. This ensures great tasting pizza that is also ‘guilt free’ and healthy.

With such an extensive choice of dining options, Project Pie can really boast that it has something for everyone, including its unrivalled dessert pizzas and its hugely popular classic American Boylan’s soda – complete with free refills. “Nobody does the dessert pizzas that we do,” Susan exclaims. “We have so many options, including our banoffee, apple pie and smores pizzas, as well as ever popular ‘black and white’ and banana and Nutella options. We are also very proud of the high quality of the fresh ingredients in all of our pizzas that makes them a delicious and healthy option and customers continue

to go crazy for our uniquely flavoured American style sodas.”

Project Pie was recently announced as the 2016 Independent Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year amid fierce competition, in what is a rapidly

growing market sector. This recognition in conjunction with the brand’s growing presence is something that Susan has attributed to the restaurant’s unique cuisine and its dedicated and passionate staff. When asked what it takes to be a Project Pie Chef and the future of the business Susan concludes: “Nothing – just a smile and some Chutzpah!

Our staff learn to use the pizza oven very quickly and all of our employees are cross trained, so that they can fill every part of the puzzle from prepping in the kitchen to baking the pizzas.

Moving forward, the challenge is always in finding new sites, the casual dining sector has grown so much and everyone is competing for the same sites and as a new brand we have to be perhaps a little more savvy. However, I think that our references from Dundee speak for themselves and we are looking forward to opening more stores soon.” D www.projectpie.co.uk

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Scaling up As the global demand for farmed fish rises, EWOS continues its committed approach to driving innovation forward in order to improve fish health and sustainability in the seafood industry

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eginning life as a trading company of nutrients to the Swedish agricultural industry in 1931, EWOS (Group) has grown steadily through new market entry to become the leading global producer of feed to the aquaculture sector.

Predominantly serving the fledgling salmon farming industry, the company operates from seven sites in five countries and has established a reputation in the market for innovation. As global demand increases for aquaculture and fish feed, EWOS continues its driven commitment to delivering high quality and innovative solutions to help improve and bolster the health and growth of fish stocks.

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Based in Chile, Canada, Scotland, Norway and Vietnam, EWOS is well placed to serve the world’s biggest aquaculture markets, making the most of robust infrastructure networks already in place. “Fish feed is a volume product, which needs to have proximity to the customers and the market because distribution contributes a big proportion of the feed’s cost in all markets,” explains CEO, Einar Wathne. Across these sites the company has a total of 22 fish feed production lines, mostly for salmon but also for other white fish needs. Einar outlines the general process: “We use the same basic technology called ‘extrusion technology’ to make the feed, which

allows us to make very clean pellets with no dust. We can also regulate the sinking speed so that the fish can eat everything and we minimise wastage. The process gives us good flexibility with what ingredients and composition we would like to achieve in the feeds. For instance, we develop very targeted solutions for each individual fish species and for each stage in the fish life. We call this the life cycle approach to nutrition.”

This responsible approach to delivering high quality and sustainable solutions is inherent throughout EWOS’ operations, and its ‘Innovation’ division most aptly highlights this. “Our R&D division focuses on the continuous improvement of feed in terms of the main properties we are looking for,” highlights Einar. “These are to have the most efficient feed, to get the fish to grow as fast as possible and to provide a healthy and robust fish that can survive diseases and parasites. We also do a lot of testing with alternative ingredients from which we can make feed to sustain a long-term supply without suppressing natural resources.”

In February 2015 EWOS began construction of its new Fish Health Centre in Puerto Montt, Chile. Due to be completed at the start of 2016 the new innovation facility is the biggest investment into research and development made by a private operator in the aqua industry at NOK 80 million (USD 9.5 million). “What is special about this centre is that it will enable us to work with the health of the fish in a very systematic way,” says Einar.

“We know that good nutrition and certain functional components, which are all non-medicinal, can strengthen the health of the fish. We call these preventative and sustainable solutions.

They are completely natural solutions with no contamination from medication or chemical, it purely strengthens the natural defence of the fish.” Tested under controlled and contained conditions, EWOS hopes to deliver strong results to the industry from the site within two to three years of opening, with a major

EWOS (Group) focus on reducing sea lice effects and other marine diseases. Astonishingly the new facility not only increases the company’s research capacity by four to five times, but also increases the global research capacity by 30 per cent.

One particular area of investigation that will be expanded by the new site is the company’s research into reducing the harmful effects of sea lice in the salmon industry. “Sea lice is naturally present in the marine environment and thus on wild salmon. When you start farming, you have a higher concentration of fish and this increases the potential for parasites to attach,” explains Einar. “We have added some masking components to the feed that produce a different odour of the salmon so that we cheat the lice and it passes by the salmon. We call this the ‘anti-attachment solution’ and it has shown to be very effective reducing sea lice attachment by 30-50 per cent. In addition to this we have developed the

feed to improve the fishes own immune system to enable the fish to better fight the parasites with its own defence system.” Another important research area is into raw material availability and sustainability, by looking at novel feed ingredients like algae oil or ensure that no trimmings from the fillet industry are wasted, in order to sustain growth and minimise the environmental impact.

On the journey to achieving its vision of ‘seafood for generations’, EWOS leads the way in delivering a healthy and sustainable future for the seafood industry and currently has its sights set on applying its expertise to the shrimp-farming sector.

As for the next 12 months, Einar outlines a major strategic reshuffle to help direct the business towards this vision: “We have an extensive improvement programme in place for the way we execute our own business, which goes through the entire business including how and where we source our raw materials, how we manage logistics, how we run our factories, how we operate commercially and how we execute our R&D. We think it is extremely important with our knowledge we contribute to the wider understanding in the seafood industry. We have a lot of good messengers in place to convey that in order to provide for and support the growth in seafood consumption around the world.” D www.ewos.com

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Heritage Portfolio Ltd

Proud traditions

By carving out its own unique niche in the culinary market Heritage Portfolio has grown to become one of Great Britain’s most prestigious catering services

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passion for food defines Mark Miller, Founder and Director of Heritage Portfolio Ltd (HPL) – one of Great Britain’s leading high-end caterers. An entrepreneur in the truest sense, Mark founded Portfolio Catering in his mother’s kitchen back in 1993 and over the years that followed has served clients that included World Cup Cricket venues and the Sultan of Brunei. In 2003, the business merged with Heritage Hospitality to form what is today renowned for its innovative and creative menus as Heritage Portfolio. Based in Edinburgh, the company at this point was looking after a number of prolific Edinburgh venues including the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the National Museums of Scotland.

In 2013, the business took its place amongst the UK’s elite by becoming one of only three caterers (and the only in Scotland) to be granted the Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth II for services to catering, distinguishing its unfaltering attention to quality and service. In 2014 it was approached by American hospitality group Centreplate to acquire the business, giving HPL the freedom to continue its own niche with the investment backing to expand even further. Today, thanks to the hard work and dedication of over 200 permanent staff, the company is implementing a new growth strategy to cross outside of Scotland into England. Yet, whilst its geographical spread might be changing its attention to detail and fine quality food remains very much the same.

“The business can be split into two key disciplines,” outlines Mark. “The first is destination cafes, so restaurantcafé style operations within visitor attractions. Our skill here is to create

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an offer that complements the client’s overall strategy, whilst at the same time ensuring that it shares the common values that permeate throughout the business. Central to these is that all our food is made from scratch. From bread to pesto, we try to cook everything in the venue’s kitchens from raw ingredients. The other avenue is in catering for special events at heritage properties, which we define as being castles, palaces, stately homes and other buildings of distinction, where our hallmark for quality and detail is perfectly suited.”

Crossing the border Food undoubtedly takes centre stage within HPL and key to upholding this for more than a decade is award-winning Executive Development Chef, Brian Canale who has trained with some of Europe’s most revered chefs and worked in some of the UK’s most prestigious

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and exclusive restaurants. Keen to challenge himself, Brian, a former Scottish Chef of the Year, joined the company with the mission to change the perception that event catering couldn’t meet restaurant quality levels. During his time at the company he has injected his passion for authentic flavours, which let natural ingredients speak for themselves, and created a range of innovative menus that now define Heritage Portfolio’s offering.

With the backing of Centerplate and its leading reputation in Scotland, 2016 marks a significant milestone for HPL as it crosses the border into the English market. “Because we are very focused on quality, service and the strong relationships that we have formed, we have always kept to quite a tight geographical area,” Mark says.

“However, as we have grown and become more robust and sophisticated we have always seen an opportunity

Heritage Portfolio Ltd for expansion and with the investment potential of Centerplate we now have the chance to develop this strategy.

Whilst we do this, however, it is vital that we retain our high-end niche so it is important to find those areas of the country where there are clusters of heritage properties and a suitable demographic profile that is looking for our style of offer.”

Prestigious platform In March 2016, HPL announced two successful wins in England: the worldrecord breaking British Airways i360 in Brighton and the historic Arley Hall and Gardens in Northwhich, Cheshire.

In Brighton, Brian will be working with Centerplate’s Director of Culinary Operations, Terry Price and Steven Edwards – winner of MasterChef: The Professionals – to develop signature dishes for the venue. Opening this summer, the contract will include the catering management of a 400 seat brassiere and 50-500 capacity event room at the base of the 162 metre moving observation tower plus a reconstructed 18th century toll booth tea room on the beach’s promenade.

In Cheshire, HPL has installed an in-house team to manage all event bookings and event design for weddings, private dinners and receptions. It has created The Gardener’s Kitchen, which is a new café to serve exquisite ‘made from scratch’ menus to garden visitors. “At both venues we will be building local teams with the flexibility that such unique and special locations will need, whilst maintaining the quality and traditions

that we at Heritage Portfolio are proud of,” highlights Mark.

Following it’s ethos to be open, honest and proud, Heritage Portfolio has built itself a truly prestigious platform from which it has been able to serve top quality food to a whole host of highend guests. As far as the future is concerned, Mark has his focus trained keenly on developing the English market and is open to new opportunities to grow as and when they present themselves.

“We will continue to look at what people like and what they want, to see where and in what direction we can head,” he says. “However, the service and quality we provide will remain the same. We have become known for setting trends in the industry so as long as we ensure the resources are in place to continue this and keep people excited then I am confident that we will have a business to be proud of long into the future.” D www.heritageportfolio.co.uk

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Green gold Nestled in the heart of St. Lucia and just a 45-minute drive from the island’s international airport, Fond Doux Plantation & Resort is a romantic getaway that features intimate and private luxury cottages

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perating today as a plantation and an intimate holiday destination featuring an assortment of 15 uniquely crafted cottages, the colonial Fond Doux Plantation & Resort was originally owned

by King Louis XIV and subsequently granted to the Devaux brothers. The Fond Doux Estate was purchased by its current owners, the Lamontagne family, in 1980 and operated as a banana plantation throughout the 1990s, in a period when the banana was nicknamed ‘green gold.’

By 1999 the Lamontagne family took the decision to diversify into heritage tourism and in 2006 had erected the resort’s first cottage, the ‘Angelina Villa’ in the gardens of the estate.

During the subsequent years, Fond Doux has since grown to become a Green Globe certified plantation resort with a total of 15 cottages, a triple-tier swimming pool, an organic spa, a gift shop, two onsite restaurants, a wedding gazebo and many hiking trails. The Green Globe Company Standard is designed for organisations within the travel and tourism industry and provides a framework to assess an organisation’s environmental sustainability. Its commitment to operating as an authentic plantation with sustainable business practices that extend to its hotel and catering

services, has earned Fond Doux an enviable reputation and global acclaim.

“Fond Doux is today the only authentic organic plantation in St. Lucia with most of its produce being harvested on the plantation. It is also the only resort on the island that engages in true eco building practices and natural preservation of historic buildings,” reveals Owner and Executive Director, Mrs. Eroline Lamontagne. “The British newspaper, The Guardian voted Fond Doux as one of the five best plantation retreats in the world and additionally, in 2008, His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall visited the resort for an official tour.”

The Fond Doux Plantation has been in operation for around 250 years and is conveniently located just minutes away from some of St. Lucia’s main attractions, including the Pitons volcanic plugs; the island’s sulphur springs – known as the ‘Caribbean’s only drive-in volcano’; and the region’s best diving sites. All of which are set within a prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site. The resort offers an authentic Saint Lucian experience that is appreciated by a new trend of responsible travellers around the globe. Fond Doux is situated amongst lush cocoa groves so that guests can not only smell chocolate wafting by on the warm breeze, but can

Fond Doux Plantation & Resort also actively engage in the processing of chocolate with cocoa harvesting, drying and even cocoa dancing.

This local flavour extends to the report’s two restaurants that provide both authentic Saint Lucian Creole and fusion style cuisine. The Cocoa Pod restaurant for example, offers tempting Saint Lucian dishes including Creole chicken and freshly caught fish, combined with locallygrown seasonings, vegetables and salads, which are traditional Saint Lucian staples that make for healthy and delicious culinary experiences. The Jardin Cacao Restaurant offers á la carte options for both lunch and dinner with a fusion of Caribbean and St. Lucian cuisine.

The lunch menu has been thoughtfully designed to have lighter, healthier dishes to include organic soups, salads sandwiches, wraps, roti’s and pasta dishes. The dinner menus are created with the freshest produce found in the resort’s gardens, including local farmed fresh water shrimps. Visitors can enjoy a selection of signature dishes combined with a modern interpretation of authentic Saint Lucian cuisine to include vegetable soups, chicken/fish souse kaye, organic house salads, pan seared Mahi-Mahi, Creole shrimps, Jerk pan fried chicken breast and grilled beef sirloin.

“The inspirational concept behind the resort’s restaurants is to offer a ‘Plantation to Plate’ experience to its diners. Every day one of the resort’s gardeners visits a rare certified organic farm to harvest fresh organic fruits (grapefruit, guavas, star fruits, passion fruits, oranges and bananas) vegetables, (Chinese cabbage, kale, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers), ground provisions (yam, dasheen, sweet potatoes, turnips and breadfruit) and local spices,” Mrs. Lamontagne explains. “The organic fruits are used to make fresh local juice, which guests can sample during breakfast, lunch and dinner. The chef then uses the vegetables, ground provisions and local spices to create authentic Saint Lucian and Caribbean dishes.”

Fond Doux ensures that it makes regular adjustments to the resort’s menus to coincide with the change in seasons and typically employs two chefs that use their culinary expertise to consistently produce excellent authentic Saint Lucian

and Caribbean infused masterpieces while making use of the organic tropical fruits, vegetables and spices grown in their gardens.

During the coming years, the Fond Doux Plantation & Resort will continue to focus on delivering fantastic holiday and culinary experiences. This will include the addition of five additional cottages; the construction of a gym that will enhance guests’ visits by allowing them to add fitness to their daily activities; chocolate making on the resorts premises; and

continuous staff training. The resort’s owners continue to meet the essential training needs of the staff through on property coaching activities as well as the training programmes that become available over time. Furthermore, as a Green Globe member, the resort is dedicated to championing the protection of the environment. “We are extremely satisfied with the recently signed Paris Agreement and believe that it has lived up to the demand of many environmental activists who were most pleased that the deal includs a long-term emissions reduction goal, the five-year review cycle and strong measures to ensure transparency,” Mrs. Lamontagne concludes. “The Lamontagne family is on a mission to continue raising awareness on the importance of protecting the environment. The resort is committed to self-sufficiency and is focusing all efforts on maximum participation in the community and the wider world.” D www.fonddouxestate.com

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Out of the box thinking

Serving the interests of coffee service and vending industry throughout Europe, the European Vending Association protects its members through lobbying actions, education and raising industry awareness

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ince its foundation in 1994, the European Vending Association (EVA) has operated as a non-profit organisation committed to serving the interests of the European coffee service and vending industry in relation to EU institutions and other relevant authorities and bodies. The EVA operates as an internationally recognised association governed by Belgian law and its membership comprises 15 European National Associations representing 16 countries, as well as 78 corporate members. EVA members also include the National Automatic Merchandising

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European Vending Association

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Association (NAMA) and European Drinking Water Cooler Association (EDWCA) as associate members, with overlapping synergies and interests throughout the international vending industry.

“The EVA was founded in Brussels so that it could be close to other industry associations. Brussels is the capital of power within Europe, so it was important for the vending industry to be represented there with its own office to manage legislation and to be close to key decision makers,” elaborates Director General, Erwin Wetzel. “The vending industry covers a lot of generalised areas such as packaging and nutritional information that can be covered by other associations, but also covers more specialised areas that require a targeted representative.”

In accordance to EVA statutes, the association’s members are divided into five distinct categories, ranging from full members to associate organisations and supporting companies. Its members cover a broad spectrum of industry sectors within the coffee service and

vending market. While its national associations and corporate members have different sizes and resources, they share a common objective of serving and promoting the vending industry with national authorities and to the EU. The various aspects of the coffee and vending industry covered by EVA members include machines, such as table tops, freestanding, combimachines, coffee, cans & bottles, snacks, ice cream and hot meals; cups in paper or plastics; ingredients (milk, coffee, tea, chocolate, soft drinks, snacks, etc); water filters; coin mechanisms; banknote validators; cashless systems utilising cards, tokens, keys and contactless payments; and security systems.

‘

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During November 2016 the association will host its second EVEX event in France, where members and supporting partners will be able to discuss important developments

Market trends Vending represents an important and growing market within Europe and includes a significant manufacturing sector with plants principally located within Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. There are currently approximately 3.74 million vending machines in Europe, 2.2 million of which dispense hot drinks with the vast majority of these comprising tabletop coffee machines. These machines are commonly located in offices and businesses, corresponding to an average of 140 European workers for every hot drinks machine. Across Europe, the industry employs more than 85,000 individuals directly within some 10,000 companies. Throughout Europe the annual turnover of the business amounts to around €11.8 billion. The largest markets within Europe in the coffee service and vending industry are currently Italy, France, the UK, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, which in total make up around 77 per cent of the total European market.

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Every day, countless cups of hot beverages are purchased from vending machines. Preparing the perfect beverage in a vending machine requires a combination of factors. Reliable operation, attractive cups, user-friendly equipment – and a dependable source of excellent water – are all crucial to producing the right result, and the right revenue. All factors are equally important, but one topic is on the rise.

“If your business wants to stand out from the crowd and win customer loyalty, you need to offer products of consistently great quality”, explains Dr. Hilmar Walde, Chief Technology Officer at the leading water technology company BRITA and member of the EVA board.

Taste and appearance have become key differentiators for quality.

Coffee is a prime example. Ideally, it should match the standards today’s discerning consumers expect from a barista-staffed café. However,

contains a balanced mix of minerals, such as calcium and sodium.

Only then it has the ideal hardness for brewing hot beverages such as coffee”, he highlights.

Still service and maintenance is the key to profitability and revenue.

that means more than just rich flavor – appearance, including a classic

Therefore BRITA’s filtration systems have been designed for ease of

crema, also plays an important role. But one swallow does not make a

operation. Installation and servicing, including filter replacement,

summer – it is only a consistency within the customer’s experience that

are simple and intuitive. BRITA Professional products offer a variety

creates trust.

of tried-and-tested features: a pivoting wall mount for the filter head enables cartridges to be replaced quickly and smoothly, without special tools. The hoses remain attached to the filter head, and the machine can continue to operate thanks to an integrated bypass system. A convenient interlocking ensures that. Moreover, the filter can be rinsed and drained at the touch of a button – with no risk of water leakage.

Water as main ingredient in your recipe for success.

BRITA’s PURITY filtration systems improve the quality of the water used to prepare hot beverages in your vending machine. Moreover, BRITA-enhanced water extends the service life of your equipment.

All key components that come into contact with water are reliably protected against limescale and deposits of unwanted minerals, such as gypsum. By guarding against damage in this way, you can increase the operational availability of your valuable equipment. And by avoiding repairs and reducing maintenance effort, you generate savings that

Water of the finest quality – and easy maintenance.

boost your bottom line.

Dr. Walde asserts: “We have extensive hands-on

A beverage is only as good as its ingredients. And that applies to vending

experience of your industry.

machines, too. Aromatic coffee beans and fine teas are all-important.

As a result, we understand

But so, too, is the water that goes into each and every cup. Dr. Walde

that the combination of

points to the scientific research provided by BRTA and other mayor

excellent service – provided

players in the market like the SCAE organization: “Water has a significant

by trained professionals –

impact on the taste, aroma, and appearance of the final product.”

and user-friendly technology

Any good water filtration systems turn mains water into a liquid ideally suited to the specific needs of your vending machine. “The filtered water

is key to ensuring high equipment availability.”

European Vending Association As such a large and increasingly diverse market, the vending industry is subject to the trends of several industry sectors as well as the changing requirements of international and national legislation. The EVA provides a vital platform and single point of contact to represent and promote the needs of its members. In December 2014 for example, new European legislation was introduced that had a significant impact on foodservice operators and vendors throughout the market. EU Food Information Regulation No 1169/2011 (FIR), also known as Food Information for Consumers Regulation (FIC), relates to the way that operators and their suppliers label and describe nutritional and allergy information on packaging.

“FIC represented a significant challenge to the vending industry, however the EVA was able to exclude the vending machines themselves from legislation that would have meant that operators would had to provide information relating to pre-packed foods on the machines.

For products including snacks, pre-packed sandwiches and canned drinks the requirement is to provide the information regarding nutrition and allergies after the purchase of these items on the item’s packaging,” Erwin reveals. “However for non pre-packed foods and drinks, such as hot chocolate

and coffee it has been required since 2014 to display this information on the machine.”

FeelGood project Today the EVA continues to serve its membership and the wider needs of the vending industry within Europe. During November 2015 the association hosted its first European Vending Experience (EVEX), in association with the Spanish vending association (ANEDA). The event was held in Malaga, Spain and included seminars, workshops and networking opportunities to operators and supporters at every level of the vending industry. The event also hosted two keynote speakers who discussed important trends within the vending industry, including the further development of healthy options in vending machines and the need for technological innovation to deliver a positive and meaningful experience to customers.

To help spearhead the further introduction of a healthy choice of food products within vending machines the EVA is a member of the EU Platform for Diet, Nutrition and Physical Activity, which was established by the European Commission. One of the commitments promoted by the EVA via this platform is the FeelGood project that is currently in operation within France. “The

FeelGood logo is now used on over 4000 machines throughout France. It is a special label that has been approved by the French Ministry of Health as well as nutritional bodies and is designed to give an indication that the machine contains healthier food options,” Erwin explains. “To be awarded this label, the machine must contain products from five categories compromised of water, cereals, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. This is a project that we support at the local level and we would like to see it take off in other countries.”

During 2016 and beyond the EVA will continue to support its members as the vending industry continues to evolve and address new challenges and opportunities. During November 2016 the association will host its second EVEX event in France, where members and supporting partners will be able to discuss important developments including the ongoing delivery of healthy food options and the upcoming EU ban on fluorinated greenhouse gases (F gases) in new equipment like refrigeration systems of chilled vending machines. The ban on F gases is due to come into effect during 2022 and represents one of the many areas in which the EVA will assist its members over the coming years. D www.vending-europe.eu

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Finely

crafted

With over two decades of proven experience, Zip Technologies is a manufacturer of brewing equipment with a passion for delivering turnkey brewing solutions to the brewpub, craft brewery and microbrewery industries

O

perating from the Hungarian city of Miskolc, Zip Technologies is a forward thinking provider of finely crafted brewing equipment, with a goal of making brewing as enjoyable and seamless as possible by bringing to a small scale the technology and automation that is usually exclusively enjoyed by larger breweries. “The idea of producing brewing equipment grew

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from a simple intention to start brewing ourselves,” reveals the Founder and Executive Director, Lászlo Tóth. “At the beginning of 1993, the market offer for craft breweries was quite scant and was mainly represented by a couple of companies, producing for big industrial breweries. Not having found the desired capacity, we gathered a group of talented engineers and created the very first type of Zip craft brewery. The idea found a

Zip Technologies

configurations. “With time the driving concept behind the business came into shape – we wanted to create equipment that was unique in every detail, with parts that can only be found in a Zip brewery,” Lászlo elaborates. “Today Zip delivers equipment for small scale beer production that is suitable for beginners in brewing with a genuine passion to brew, just like we were at the beginning. Through the automation of all of the brewing processes, Zip is able to ease the brewmasters’ life and leave space for creation and experiment. Based on traditional brewing techniques with automation at hand, we provide a professional starting kit that helps the brewer grow through experience.”

True beer lovers

positive response and soon we had more and more requests for small brewing kits, particularly from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.

Those were experimental breweries, which were tested together with our customers.”

Beginning with just a single type of brewing equipment, Zip gradually grew to offer 50 varied solutions comprising of different designs, capacities and

The Brewhouse Restaurant represents Zip’s contribution to a new generation of brewpubs and brewing restaurants that share one common goal – to promote the beer and gastronomy concept

Zip’s main focus is geared towards brewmasters and brewing enthusiasts, including individuals who have been involved in the brewing industry for years and want to develop a brewery of their own, entrepreneurs from a host of industries who are ready to invest in new projects, restaurant owners in search of new ideas and home brewers with some brewing experience looking to expand their capacities. Throughout all of its applications, Zip’s client base is comprised of people who are true beer lovers.

Today Zip continues to operate from its 5000m2 manufacturing plant, from where it develops bespoke equipment for its clients. “Although we have grown in recent years, we want to preserve the status of a craft manufacturer and not the feel of a large industrialised product supplier,” Lászlo explains. “Along with industrial equipment for cutting and treating the stainless steel rolls and sheets before shaping them into vessels, a lot of work, such as welding is done manually. We have around 100 employees of whom at least 40 are engineers and experienced specialists including mechanical and food and beverage processing engineers, as well as welders, cooling engineers, technicians, fitting specialists and programmers. Ninety-five per cent of our equipment is produced by Zip without any outsourcing.”

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Competition success

Tecnofondi S.p.A TECNOFONDI SPA STAINLESS STEEL DISHED HEADS. Tecnofondi S.p.A is an Italian company located in the province of Brescia, which since 1965 has produced dished heads for the construction of tanks, cisterns and boilers.

The production takes place in two separate divisions: The Division of Stainless Steel Heads was created in 2004, and is separated from the main building and thus allows the company to produce stainless steel heads through machinery and equipment specially developed for the processing of stainless steel. Furthermore, after production heads can be polished up to a mirror finish.

In total the business has 44 employees, ten in the office and 34 in the production. It can support the following languages: Italian, German, French and English.

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Zip also operates its Brewhouse Restaurant, which opened during 2012, featuring five brewmasters on staff as well as a selection of seasonal and speciality beers. “The Brewhouse Restaurant represents Zip’s contribution to a new generation of brewpubs and brewing restaurants that share one common goal – to promote the beer and gastronomy concept. The most prominent feature of the restaurant is its on-site brewery, with the beers being served straight from the tanks to the table taps,” says International Sales and Marketing Manager, Anna Svibovich. “In 2014 we presented our beers for the first time at most of the world’s most popular beer competitions and cups to great success. For example Zip’s Imperial Stout won Dublin’s Craft Beer Cup for 2014 and later the Diamond Cup in the European Beer Competition, while our 2013 Xmas Ale won a gold award at the

Zip Technologies Alltech Commonwealth Craft Beer Cup in Lexington. We brew many popular beers under the Zip brand including ales, pale, ales and lagers. Among the most recent of which are the Pineapple Noir Black saison speciality beer, Instead of Innocence IPL, Hopiverzum Black IPA and our Don’t Panic blond ale. Many recipes are created in co-operation with our Scandinavian, American and English partners and currently we are working on recipes of sour beers that appeal to the hearts of connoisseurs of beer and fruity beers.

The main priority is placed on the use of only natural fruit without concentrates or sweeteners.”

Over the years Zip has enjoyed great success at several global brewing industry events and its presently keen to explore opportunities to expand its market presence in the US, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Germany, Asia, India and Africa. “It goes without saying that industry events and competitions are the main venues for meeting prospective customers, as well as chance to reunite with the existing and past clients. The events provide an opportunity to exhibit our new developments, equipment and services and a place to meet industry peers and competitors to learn new techniques.

They also help us to stay tuned and be aware of the emerging trends in craft brewing,” Anna concludes. “Throughout 2016 and beyond, we will continue to work to enlarge the geography of our sales in the European market with a focus on increasing service works in-line with increased demand.” D www.zipbier.com

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CPS Case Packing Systems congratulates Oerlemans Waalwijk CPS Case Packing Systems congratulates Oerlemans Waalwijk with their modernized production line. The relationship with Oerlemans goes back to 2005 with the delivery of four fully automatic case packer CP201 lines in Broekhuizervorst, and several lines in Poland for packing frozen potato products and vegetables at high speed. The casepacker lines executed with features like a low noise rumble section distributing the product in the bag with air expel unit. Bag collecting belts and possibly turned or overlapped before entering the case packer. The case packer unit has a menu-controlled bag compressing system on the bomb doors in order to compact bag formations to the carton inner sizes. This all to pack frozen food quick and solid in transport cases. The new Oerlemans distinguished case packer line has extra features.

The lines can pack beside the pillow bag also doystyle bags in alternating format packing in American Style cases. This features is developed by CPS to comply with the packing demands of Oerlemans. This makes the CP201 case packer multifunctional in packing different bags and packing formats.

CPS Case Packing Systems has the knowledge and proven experience to pack flexible and semi flexible packaging. Due to the fact that flexible bags are not stackable you need a special way of packing. Through the years has CPS Case Packing Systems got the knowledge and experience to handle flexible packaging in a way where speed, product handling and more product packed per m3 are increased.

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The CP 201 Casepacker will pack more product per m3 than is possible by hand for Oerlemans. This will reduce costs as production costs, stock and transport costs.

CPS: making the impossible packable A Case packer line can be built with several modules like in-feed systems, metal detectors, leak detection, check weighing, devices to level, spread and devide products. CPS Case Packing Systems listens to their customers and reduces the customers packaging costs by supplying a sophisticated packaging line.

Oerlemans Foods Group

Inspired by

nature

With close to four decades of industry experience, Oerlemans Foods Group specialises in producing private label freshly frozen vegetables, fruit and potato solutions to the Retail, Foodservices and Industry segments

F

ounded in 1977 as ‘Oerlemans Diepvries Centrale BV’ by Dutch entrepreneur Mr. Oerlemans, the Oerlemans Foods Group (Oerlemans) has today grown to employ circa 700 members of staff across the four production facilities and central offices. The company has developed a strong presence inside both Northern and Eastern Europe from its current headquarters in Venlo within the Netherlands. In addition to its manufacturing facilities located in the Netherlands and Poland, Oerlemans also manages regional offices within the UK and Poland as well as a further office in

Andre Hendriks

Moscow. Throughout its history Oerlemans has grown to export to customers within the retail and foodservice markets across 50 countries globally and continues to deliver a market driven and innovative service.

“Mr. Oerlemans was a visionary who clearly saw the potential and value of the fresh frozen market and as such Oerlemans was one of the first companies to focus in the area of fresh frozen food sourcing and production. Building the Oerlemans company from 1977 onwards means that the business has built up a great history of experience in the production of fresh frozen vegetables, fruit and potato products,” explains CEO, Andre Hendriks. “Oerlemans has the control of the full value chain from field to fork and works together with its loyal famers based in the Netherlands and Poland to ensure the best raw materials to process according to the highest quality standards.

Nowadays the Oerlemans Foods Group is delivering a full product portfolio, focused on private label excellence. By bringing inspiring fresh frozen solutions to the market to help our customers to grow the category.”

Oerlemans was previously featured in FoodChain magazine during June 2015, when Andre discussed the importance of innovation across the food industry as well as a growing appreciation of the freshness of frozen foods. Where previously frozen

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products may have been undervalued, today consumers & customers are increasingly aware of the benefits of the fresh-frozen sector. Most vegetable products arrive at the Oerlemans production facilities within only four hours of harvest, meaning that they are incredibly fresh having been harvested at their peak and immediately frozen on arrival. This means that the resulting products that are manufactured by Oerlemans retain high levels of freshness as well as their important vitamins, fibres and minerals.

The growing demand for fresh and healthier foods has generated new trends and opportunities across the food and beverage industry that has helped to generate increased business for Oerlemans and its clients. “What you typically see throughout the market is the fresh frozen category is of increasing importance to retailers and food service customers. This is linked to the growth

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of fresh frozen concepts such as fruit smoothies and meals for example, in line with the growing trend for the consumer who are more and more looking for healthy, easy to prepare and tasty food offerings.

“There are new innovative food solutions entering into the market that are targeted towards those consumer needs and are selling very well generally.

The awareness of consumers regarding fruit and vegetable intake has had a positive impact on the fresh food market and with this development more retailers are linking the fresh market with the fresh frozen goods,” Andre elaborates.

“Next to the increasing health awareness, I see that the fresh frozen market is of increasing interest to the consumer because of the benefits it has in terms of convenience and the simplicity of preparation and storage of frozen fresh foods. Another element that I see will benefit the fresh frozen market is the

growing public awareness of food waste, which is eliminated by fresh frozen food because consumers are able to use these products only when they really need them. As a result of above positive indicators, we have seen increased attention from consumers, and with this from our customers, and as a result producers & customers will be interested in developing further interesting solutions that are in line with these trends. These are all really positive developments

Oerlemans Foods Group for the future of our business and the market in general.”

Further to the growing demand for healthy food options, there is an increasing expectation for food safety and transparency in food production. To meet the challenges of both greater demand in potato and vegetable products as well as for high quality manufacturing processes, Oerlemans has continued to invest in its facilities by doubling the size of its potato factory in Broekhuizenvorst while relocating its vegetable production to Oerlemans’ dedicated vegetable production facility in Waalwijk. As well as allowing the company to increase its manufacturing capacity, the on-going investment of Oerlemans into its facilities has helped the business to obtain high levels of certification in food safety.

During September 2015 for example, the company underwent an unannounced BRC International Standards (BRC) and an International Food Standard (IFS) audit, with Oerlemans again earning a high level of certification. “The demand for food safety is growing as consumers and authorities increasingly expect that the food we eat should offer the highest levels of quality and security. At Oerlemans we are constantly investing in and ensuring the adequate availability from field to fork, the nutritional adequacy, and the safety of the food supply which has become increasingly complex and requires substantial and continuous focus. We are proud to have earned over the last years a high certification in both IFS and BRC,” Andre says.

“We are making significant investments in innovating and delivering the best in fresh frozen fruit, vegetables and potatoes. This will allow us to meet the rising demand but also produce more efficiently with an even better outcome, while meeting the evolving expectations of our customer base. We have invested for example in a new packaging line in Waalwijk and recently installed a state-of-the-art fryer for our potatoes in Broekhuizenvorst together with a new filtering system,” he continues. “We have decided that our mission is ‘To be the best private label supplier of fresh frozen vegetable, fruit and potato solutions in Europe.’ This is quite a statement, as it

means that we really have to be much better than the market on some essential competencies. I see that this has to be achieved mostly through really good customer service and innovative capacity to make a difference as a medium-sized enterprise like Oerlemans.”

The company’s strategy to operate as the leading fresh frozen provider through Europe is supported by the Oerlemans Foodlab, which enables the company

to network directly with suppliers and customers to develop market-leading products in line with current consumer trends. “Our Foodlab is the centre of innovation and inspiration, we believe in agile and flexible development together with our main customers who are looking for category growth initiatives,” Andre concludes. “Innovation in Oerlemans is enabled by our unique capability to proactively support the concept development needs of our strategic customers with the aim to drive category growth as well differentiation by bringing fresh frozen inspiration to the shopper community of our customers. This means that we invite our main customers on a regular basis in our Foodlab to come together to codevelop unique and innovative solutions.

We as an industry have so much to offer in bringing excitement into the fresh frozen category and the consumers are ready for it!” D www.oerlemans-foods.com

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Passionate

creators Delivering award winning frozen foods and ready meals, KK Fine Foods represents a trusted supplier to pubs and wholesalers throughout the UK

Samir Edwards & Leyla Edwards

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S

ince the company was first established in the kitchen of its founder and current CEO Leyla Edwards during 1987, KK Fine Foods has grown into a leading brand in the delivery of high quality meat, fish and vegetarian meal solutions to the UK pub and wholesale sectors. From its base in Northern Wales the business has nurtured a trusted reputation in the supply of frozen foods and ready meals and fostered strong relationships with some of the UK’s leading brands.

KK Fine Foods was originally founded to produce a comprehensive range of vegetarian frozen foods and following the success of the business the company later diversified into the manufacture of foods incorporating meat, poultry and fish. This resulted in an unprecedented

demand for its products that has enabled KK Fine Foods to grow from a small business into a mid-sized market leader, twice winning the Welsh SME of the year award.

The company today employs in excess of 250 people at its Deeside location, having completed a £4.2 million expansion project in 2015. The investment into additional manufacturing space and new equipment created as many as 90 new jobs within the business and increased its production capacity to more than £40 million worth of frozen food in a year.

More recently during November 2015, KK Fine Foods announced the creation of an additional 100 jobs with the further investment of £833,000 into the business following the award of several major contracts from key customers.

The investment will enable KK Fine Foods to create a third production hall including new freezing facilities and cooking lines, as well as new equipment and IT control systems to increase productivity and efficiency. “This latest expansion is part of our strategic longterm growth plans which we have been able to bring forward thanks to recently winning several new contracts that widen our presence across the market place,” explains Managing Director Samir Edwards. “It will enable us to meet the growing demand from some of our key customers and we anticipate it will increase our turnover to £40 million within three years.”

The announcement of the company’s latest round of investment coincided with an exciting end of 2015 for the firm, with the KK Fine Foods winning the coveted British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) Catering Product of the Year prize at a prestigious gala dinner. The company was awarded Catering Product Of The Year 2015 for its Korean Spicy Vegetable Curry as well as the competition’s gold, silver and bronze awards. As well as taking the competition’s top prize, KK Fine Foods’ Korean Spicy Vegetable Curry also won the gold award for ‘Best New Meat Free/Vegetarian Product’, while its Slow Cooked Roasted Shredded Pork achieved the silver award for ‘Best New Multi-Portion Product’ and its Pumpkin,

KK Fine Foods Kale and Sweet Red Onion Tart claimed the bronze award in the Best New Meat Free/Vegetarian Product category.

“KK Fine Foods’ profile has increased considerably after winning a string of awards at the 2015 BFFF Gala Dinner.

These awards, combined with our ongoing investment in the business and high quality innovative range of recipes and dishes, is a winning combination and has resulted in significant new orders from our customers,” reveals CEO Leyla Edwards. “Managing Director Samir Edwards is driving sales forward with a young and dedicated team of new product development chefs who are aware of the ever changing trends in food consumption based on global innovation.”

“We had an amazing evening and these awards demonstrate

ago there was no demand for Korean curry, but through remaining at the forefront and predicting the development we have been right on the money in terms of the timing of the product, and the feedback has been that it’s been one

our commitment as a business to continually deliver quality, innovative and great tasting products to our valued customers,” Samir adds. “Twelve months

of the best products available.”

The development of new products within KK Fine Foods begins with the company’s passionate product

development team, which creates dishes with the aid of market research to determine current industry trends.

The firm’s ‘Product Champions’ then take on a hands-on role throughout the factory by training teams in new product preparation and make-up to ensure that its dishes not only taste great, but also look authentic to their respective country of origin. Only once the new dishes are given an all-important seal of approval do the new products finally enter full production. “For us, it is all about relationships and delivering what you say you are going to deliver,” Samir concludes. “As a family owned business, there is a lot more passion, a lot more energy, and ultimately care and attention. Building upon our experience within the food business, our aim is that clients look to us to develop solutions, and that we are always their first point of call for every brief.” D www.kkfinefoods.co.uk

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Five star

service

As part of the Exclusive brand, the three AA Rosette Avenue Restaurant at Lainston Country House Hotel maintains the group’s fundamental values to deliver high quality food that is both creative and progressive

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laced elegantly in 63 acres of beautiful Hampshire parkland, just two miles from the ancient city of Winchester, the Grade II listed Lainston Country House allows guests to enter a world of historic charm that is seamlessly mixed with contemporary elegance. Currently operating as a five star luxury hotel, this enchanting 17th century William and Mary house endeavours to deliver optimum quality to guests by following the five star standard of service that is provided at all other hotels under the Exclusive umbrella, as James Mearing, Sous Chef at Lainston Country House Hotel’s restaurant The Avenue begins: “Exclusive has a few properties that are five star hotels, such as Pennyhill Park and the Manor House, so we aim to deliver the same level of luxury as other hotels within the group by maintaining the same fundamental values and traits.

Examples of these traits would include the fact we have lavish rooms that offer real luxury to guests, as well as the fact we have a very strong food offering.

“Here at Lainston we have Olly Rouse as our Head Chef; he has worked at the vineyard with John Campbell for a long time, has cooked at two Michelin star restaurants and has earned a Michelin Star in his own right. Working with Ollie, we in the kitchen are progressive and creative when it comes to the food we offer to customers. For example we create our own home made pro-biotic beverages which are packed with vitamins and digestive enzymes. We also grow our own food and herbs in our fantastic kitchen garden which is open for guests to come and view, and also see our birds of prey, whilst there,” he adds.

Proud to challenge themselves when it comes to creating dishes that delight the senses, chefs at The Avenue undertake a thorough and open approach when developing the menu in line with changing seasons, as James comments: “It is an open forum for all chefs in the kitchen to input ideas, which we believe creates a more productive atmosphere as everyone feels like they are a part of

Lainston Country House Hotel the dish development process. Whoever then comes up with a dish will present it to myself, Olly and Joe, the senior chefs, who will then taste and discuss whether any changes need to be made to the food. Once this part of the process is complete we will then do a tasting for all members of the kitchen; we will then take photographs and type up each recipe before it is sent through our recipe database where it is made easily available on iPads for all departments of the hotel, to utilise the information for their particular requirements.

“Following this development we then have a tasting for the restaurant team so everyone is aware of changes we have made and provided knowledge on how the dishes are constructed as well as what the ingredients are so they have answers for any questions from guests.

Once all of these parts of the process are complete, the dish is ready to go live.”

within this menu is the new star of the show: pressa iberica, which he sourced himself and built a great dish around.

Sourcing and traceable provenance is a key part of Lainston; everything we use is analysed and sourced and tested to make sure it is the very best we can offer. For those wanting food at the bar, we offer dishes such as burgers that have been sourced from our local buffalo farm that is based just a few minutes down the road. We are always

progressing and improving to ensure all dishes are the very best we can offer.”

Alongside this commitment to sustainability and quality, Lainston, in line with the Exclusively Green programme set up by its parent company, has continued with a number of initiatives to reach the group’s overall aim of being ‘zero direct to landfill’. One example of this is the group’s trial for a sophisticated boiler management system at Lainston House in 2008, which stops the boiler from running when it is not

Buffalo burger To make the most of its harvest from the kitchen garden and its suppliers’ best ingredients, the menus at The Avenue are often changed to ensure guests receive optimum quality foods at their most fresh. Those seeking the highest quality ingredients that are skillfully prepared and artfully presented, the restaurant’s award-winning a la carte dining menu includes starters such as crab tortellini, with cauliflower, pomegranate and peanuts and main courses such as pork with smoked pork rib, sweet potato and apple.

Discussing recent innovations on the menu, James says: “Our tasting menu has just been changed and our Sous Chef Joe worked very hard on this; one example of the high quality

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Lainston Country House Hotel needed; in a two week trial the system saves 27 per cent energy consumption.

Lainston House also now works with Yates Disposables, a company that provides it with 100 per cent recycled toilet paper, kitchen roll and bio-degradeable tissue paper. “We won the Green Award in 2015, which shows the levels we go to and what we strive for. We try to ensure we are the best we can be in every area of the business, whether that is food we are offering or the property that the guest is staying in,” says James.

Fun and relaxed One way Lainston House and its chefs will continue this level of quality is through its Exclusive Academy, which is breeding chefs for the future, as James explains: “As a group we have an academy that takes on 12 chefs each year; these chefs go through a two year programme, which includes cookery classes, day trips to visit suppliers and working with some great

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chefs in our group. The chefs will then be filtered into the group’s kitchens for work experience.” This kitchen is also home to Season, an Exclusive cookery school that offers a diverse range of classes to customers, as James continues: “The cookery school was introduced just over a year ago and was a £1 million pound development that enabled us to open our kitchen for cookery lessons to the public.”

With the cookery school increasing in demand and the five star Lainston House undergoing renovation over the next 12

months to become more modernised and informal, James has a positive outlook for the future of the hotel and the level of service it will provide guests. “We will be continuing with the luxury element of what we offer, while also making the hotel more relaxed; we want to make the dining room a bit more interactive and fun rather than formal. There isn’t any real change in direction, it is more about progressing and improving on what we already offer,” he concludes. D www.lainstonhouse.com

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