FoodChain Issue 116 August 2016

FoodChain Issue 116 l AUGUST 2016

The business of food and drink

Brewing

legacy

Investments and innovation are helping to restore the Lacons name to its former glory in the brewing industry

Industry News l

Brexit The potential impacts of Brexit on the food and drink industry

l

l

Three new locations for MOD pizza in UK

New products from Big Al’s Foodservice Andrews Sykes introduces new chiller

Technology Mobile technology and the benefits it can bring to hospitality

FoodChain ISSUE 116 L AUGUST 2016

THE BUSINESS OF FOOD AND DRINK

Brewing

legacy

Investments and innovation are helping to restore the Lacons name to its former glory in the brewing industry

Editor’s Welcome

Industry News L Three

new locations for MOD pizza in UK

Brexit

L New

The potential impacts of Brexit on the food and drink industry

products from Big Al’s Foodservice

L Andrews

Sykes introduces new chiller

Technology Mobile technology and the benefits it can bring to hospitality

Chairman Andrew Schofield Editor Libbie Hammond

Future excellence

Art Editor Advertising Design Fleur Daniels Staff Writers Jo Cooper Andrew Dann 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 Kya Johnson Office Manager Advertising Administrator Tracy Chynoweth

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ell, after my assertion to look at Brexit in this issue, we do have some more coverage. But of course, it’s still early days and we are really not much wiser about what the future will bring – in

our feature on page 16 Mark Jones asserts that the real effects (which he describes as the ‘height of the difficulties’!) will be felt in six months. I am sure the topic will continue to feature in FoodChain as new conclusions come to light.

However, while the Leave vote may be making us all a bit anxious, life does go on and the stories from manufacturers in our magazine this month show that strong, resourceful and innovative companies are still thriving. They continue to inspire us all here and I hope their stories serve to illustrate that the future is

Follow us at:

going to be bright so long as there are brave and visionary businesses prepared to keep striving for excellence.

@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, and correct at time of writing, 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 12 4

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Features Beverages What’s your tipple?

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A mission is underway to recapture the Scottish brand name of smoked salmon - ‘The Pride of Scotland

Food manufacture Looking forward to 2050 The findings of Cranfield University’s Factory of the Future report revealed some interesting findings

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Industry issues – Brexit Preparing for change

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Mark Jones considers the impact of Brexit on the food and drink industry – he anticipates challenges in six months time

The growing requirements to display clear nutritional and related information on food packaging are a challenge

Seafood Respect the heritage

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Restaurants can take advantage of new agile and convenient technology to improve the customer experience

Andrew Dann takes a look at some of the new beverages that have been launched onto the market

Labelling trends Vying for attention

New technology From table to tablet

News

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Up-to-date products and announcements from the food and beverage sector

Taste Test

The FoodChain team sample a selection of new and innovative foods and drinks

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22 26

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34 Profiles

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

Reflex Nutrition

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Reflex Nutrition was founded with a goal of making the best supplements money can buy

The Southern Co-operative

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Ickx

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Alyasra Foods

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RoyalMnandi

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RoyalMnandi delivers exceptional food service solutions to a broad range of industries

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East End Foods

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With a culture based on the personalities of its founders, bartlett mitchell has honed a ‘can-do’ attitude throughout its operations

Its approach to providing the best quality ingredients helps to distinguish East End Foods from the rest of the competition

Al Safi Danone

Rocco Forte Hotels

The goal of Al Safi Danone is to keep introduce new and exciting products to the Saudi and GCC markets

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Alyasra Foods has grown into a trusted name in the fast-moving consumer goods and foodservice markets

CCL Products (India) is a leading specialist in the manufacture of rich and aromatic instant coffee products

bartlett mitchell

Morrow Brothers

Belgian chocolatier Ickx pays attention to creating quality, innovative and creative chocolates and pralines

Lacons brewery represents an iconic name that has experienced a phoenix like return to the market

CCL Products

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Since its foundation, Morrow Brothers has established an unparalleled reputation

Cosucra’s products may originate in the humble pea, but they offer wide reaching nutritional benefits

Lacons

Sternenbaek The careful selection of ingredients and fresh preparation of breads and pastries are integral to Sternenbaek’s success

With the business in prime shape for continued growth, Sweetdreams has turned its attention to expanding operations

Cosucra

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From its base in Latvia, Pure Chocolate is creating amazing truffles that set it apart in the industry

By growing organically, The Southern Co-operative has successfully grown its stable to 199 food retail stores

Sweetdreams

Pure Chocolate

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72

Each Rocco Forte hotel has an individual identity that harks back to its location, to make each one unique

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What’s your tipple?

W From refreshing fruit juices and stimulating energy drinks to crisp wines and eclectic varieties of speciality beers, 2016 has seen an impressive array of new beverages brought to market.

Andrew Dann takes a look at just a few of these that are currently whetting and inspiring consumer appetites

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ith the UK in the throes of the near legendary ‘British Summertime’ the nation’s demand for both refreshing hard and soft drinks is understandably high. Indeed, the period of 2015 to 2016 has represented an exciting time for the beverage industry across several sectors and markets, with changing consumer demands and new innovations driving a surge in tempting new hydration options. Within the UK soft drink market for example, research by the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) in its 2015 ‘Changing Tastes’ UK soft drinks annual report, suggests that significant numbers of UK consumers are switching to low, zero and midcalorie options. Indeed, the report further revealed that the majority of soft drinks now sold in the UK are low and no calorie including 49 per cent of all carbonates. As of October 2015 57 per cent of the UK soft drink market was

comprised of low or no calorie options; five per cent mid calorie; and 38 per cent regular formulas.

Feeling fruity

The growing demand for healthier beverage options has seen the introduction of several new products, including bottled waters, traditional and cold-pressed juices, smoothies and low-calorie sodas into the UK market.

A recent example of this trend is the introduction of a groundbreaking line of cold-pressed fruit waters, which hit UK shop shelves during Spring 2016. The GROUNDED line of coldpressed fruit waters was developed and brought to market by 22 year old recent Manchester University graduate, Gabriel Bean and was developed out of a genuine passion to create a natural, healthy and thirst-quenching beverage.

Aimed at the health conscious and active audience, GROUNDED comprises three

exciting flavours including cucumber and mint; lemon and ginger as well as lime and lemongrass and is set to take the health and wellbeing sector by storm.

“It baffled me as to why it was so hard to find a refreshing drink that is 100 per cent natural, tastes great and has a humble sugar count. I call that “the healthy hat-trick,” Gabriel reveals.

“Sugar is already established as a major problem in the food and drinks industry, so I believe the arrival of GROUNDED comes at an ideal time. Not only that, but consumers are increasingly aware of ingredients and claims, and they now demand more transparency.”

Additionally, in response to consumer demand for healthy, low-sugar fruit drinks, the Cracker Drinks Company has recently re-launched its line of fruit juices as a ‘no added sugar’ range that retains all of the sweetness and flavour of a tasty and refreshing fruit juice. As a juice drink with no added sugar, the range is naturally lower in calories, averaging around 30 per cent less calories per 100ml than 100 per cent juice or added sugar juice drinks, however the range remains high in fruit content to offer the added benefit of one of the recommended five a day. “Consumers want to continue to treat themselves while also drinking products that are better for them,” says Gavin Cox, Managing Director at Cracker Drinks. “With this new range, Cracker has aimed to offer this, as while providing the benefits of fruit and a great tasting drink, the new range limits calories and sugar. As with all Cracker drinks, this range is completely natural and free from anything artificial for example, we have used natural Stevia to add a little extra sweetness.”

The company’s strategy for removal of added sugar actually began as early as 2005 and this next brand is just the latest in a series of new product launches offering clients healthier options. All Cracker Drinks products are now no added sugar and this re-launch has seen the brand increase its overall distribution in multiple retailers despite significant pressure on the overall category in recent months following the sugar debate. The new range will

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Beverages

The demand for low sugar and healthier beverage options is supported by a firmly established trend in the demand for natural ingredients rather than artificial alternatives

replace all other Cracker Co drinks currently on sale in the ambient aisle and will include mango and passion fruit; pineapple, coconut and lime; still and cloudy lemonade; as well as an apple, raspberry and sloe variant - a seasonal limited edition which will be replaced in Spring/Summer 2016.

Getting energised The demand for low sugar and healthier beverage options is supported by a firmly established trend in the demand for natural ingredients rather than artificial alternatives. In its Global Food & Drink Trends 2016 report, the Mintel market research company identified 12 key trends set to make an impact on the global food and drink market.

The report observed that artificial ingredients are considered ‘public enemy number one’ in the Western and Eastern European, Russian and Australian markets where the trend is fully established and in the North American market, where the trend is currently mainstreaming. Furthermore, the call for natural ingredients is also emerging in South America, Africa and Asia, meaning that the trend is gaining momentum on a global scale.

This trend has reached the energy drinks sector, which has faced some challenges in recent years relating to the public’s perception of the sugar and additive content of energy drinks and increased competition. This has seen the emergence of several allnatural energy drinks, including the Scheckter’s Organic Energy range. The brand has proven highly successful since the company’s formation during 2011 and during 2016 the company improved its market presence through the introduction of a new look and two exciting and energetic new flavours.

The Scheckter’s organic energy drink

brand is certified by the Soil Association and Informed Sport and is quickly establishing itself as the leader in natural energy. The new additions to the Scheckter’s Organic Energy range are Scheckter’s Organic Energy Green Tea & Mint and Scheckter’s Organic Energy Green Tea & Ginger. Both flavours are the perfect combination of sparkling filtered water, organic cane sugar, organic lemon juice, organic green tea extract, organic guarana, organic caramel, Vitamin C and organic ginseng.

The green tea ginger is flavoured with organic ginger extract giving it a delicious and zingy taste, while the Green Tea Mint has organic spearmint extract making it particularly refreshing.

Alongside the release of these two new flavours, the Scheckter’s Organic Energy packaging looks to break the mould of energy drinks by taking on a new design and challenging the category. The new can graphics where designed by Magic8Ball and are inspired by traditional and artisanal food packaging. Featuring a craft paper background and a bold ‘O’ for organic they enable the brand look to be closer to its organic credentials, while adding a level of sophistication that is currently missing in the energy drink sector. “We were the first to market as an innovator in the space of organic energy, and proud to offer a drink that is naturally different. We want to ensure we offer consumers a great tasting, refreshing and healthier way to energise, as well as provide retailers with an added volume and revenue opportunity,” comments Charles Phillips, CEO and co-founder of Scheckter’s. “With the new packaging and new flavours, we expect to further the growth of our brand and lead this new premium category of adult functional soft drinks.”

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Beverages Groves, Head Brewer at St Peter’s says this is ‘the Rioja of Black IPA’s’.

“There is a growing interest in real cider and we felt the time was right for us to bring something completely new to the market,” explains Steve Magnall, CEO at St Peter’s Brewery.

“We launched our first batch in March and completely sold out! The response has been phenomenal. Our new Black IPA continues our 20-year-old tradition of making the highest quality real ales, while the new bottle size will help us compete in the now highly competitive crafted ale sector.”

Consumer choice A crafty approach While the call for both organic and increasingly healthy options has been a major driver across the beverage industry within a number of sectors, across the market the demand for an exciting and flavoursome drink experience remains king. Indeed, throughout the market for fruit and energy drinks manufacturers like GROUNDED, Cracker Drinks and Scheckter’s Organic Energy have all introduced quirky new flavours to entice new customers and reinvigorate the interest of existing clients. The market for alcoholic beverages is no exception as the recent trend for unique craft beers has demonstrated, resulting in the introduction of several robust and refreshing blends.

Greenwich’s craft brewer Meantime Brewing Company for example, has recently launched The Pilot Series of a small-batch beers brewed at the company’s brand new state-of-theart Pilot Brewery. The Pilot Series will showcase new and unique beers, with a new style released every two weeks.

Housed within Meantime’s brewery in Greenwich, the new range will be brewed on a high-tech Bavarian style brew house, with capabilities to brew smaller volumes whilst ensuring there is no compromise on quality. Richard Myers, Marketing Director at Meantime, says: “Meantime has always strived to introduce the British public to a wide range of great beers and open their minds to trying something different.

The Pilot Series gives us the perfect

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opportunity to continue to push the boundaries of modern craft and have a bit of fun experimenting with some unusual beer styles. We’re proud to say that innovation and quality are the heart of everything we do, so expect to see some great beers coming out of The Pilot Brewery in 2016.”

Furthermore, during May 2016 the Suffolk-based St. Peter’s Brewery announced that it had introduced a new 330ml ‘Crafted Range’, which includes its first ever cider and a seven per cent ABV Black IPA. Taking its unique and iconic oval bottle, St Peter’s Brewery has created a smaller 330ml version to showcase its new and existing products.

The brand new 4.6 per cent St. Peter’s Cider is a refreshing, dry and crisp cider, pale straw in colour and carrying a fresh uplifted apple aroma and a slight fizz on the tongue, while its St. Peter’s Black IPA is a seven per cent crafted IPA that’s black in colour and heavily hopped as a traditional IPA with a sweeter flavour belying the higher levels of bitterness.

It offers a hint of raisins, sultanas, sloes and damsons and has an aroma of dark chocolate with vanilla notes. Steve

The period of 2015-2016 has represented an exciting time for the global drinks market, with a wide variety of innovations and new flavours emerging throughout several industry sectors to match the tastes of clients of all ages and inclinations. Several of these trends, such as the emergence of organically focused energy drinks are still relatively new to market and will continue to develop well beyond 2016, while others such as the explosion in craft beers have established themselves quickly so that even as the initial interest in the trend begins to decline, craft beers should retain an important share of the market. For manufacturers in all areas of the drinks market the challenge is always to remain on-trend and to produce the next successful innovation, while for the consumer the challenge is one of choice, with so many new options becoming available the question of ‘What’s your tipple?’ is perhaps a more complicated question than you might expect. D Grounded Fruit Waters: www.groundeddrinks.com The Cracker Drinks Co: www.crackerdrinks.com Scheckter’s organic Energy: www.schecktersorganic.com Meantime Brewing Company: www.meantimebrewing.com St. Peter’s Brewery: www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk

IndustryNews

A pizza the action

Hot stuff Big Al’s Foodservice is enabling outlets to meet customer demand for quick, tasty, quality food with the launch of three new pre-cooked products.

The new products, now available through wholesalers and cash & carries nationwide, include gourmet continental hotdogs, authentic hand-twisted Italian pizzas, cooked in a stone baked oven, and a gourmet ‘chilli philly beef’, ideal served with rice or baked jacket potatoes, topped with sour cream, cheese & spring onion.

Big Al’s recognises that choosing hot snacks that offer consistent quality is essential. The range is pre-cooked, meaning a delicious taste is guaranteed every time. As the products are cooked from frozen there is no waste involved,

and they are quick and simple to prepare, making them ideal for fast-turnover lunchtime menus or in times of high footfall. Only a freezer and a microwave are required to store and prepare them, meaning they are ideal for outlets with limited staff or equipment. www.bigalsfoodservice.co.uk

Chilled out In July 2016 chiller hire specialist Andrews Sykes introduced a new, versatile, lowtemperature 100kW heat pump chiller. Its compact design, encapsulating all components in a narrow robust frame, will enable Andrews Chiller Hire to achieve installation in hitherto inaccessible places without the need for extended external pipework. This makes the new 100kW LT/HP one of the most economical solution for hiring, operating as a standalone system or to bolster the effectiveness of inhouse plant.

Where precise temperature fluctuations need to be maintained a heat pump is often the ideal solution as it acts as regulator, switching automatically from the heating to cooling process. The new Andrews Chillers Hire 100kW LT/HP heat pump with its advanced engineering technology achieves a nominal heating duty of 115kW enabling it to produce hot water on demand, whilst also having the capability to reduce temperatures to as low as minus 15°C courtesy of a 100kW nominal cooling duty.

A Digital Controller provides easy programming of the minimum and maximum temperature settings for smooth cyclic operation. To support the growing requirements of facilities managers Andrews ensured that the controller is compatible with modern BMS (building management systems) for remote monitoring.

Developed over a number years, the new 100kW heat pump low temperature chiller is one of the most cost-efficient and environmental

friendly designs currently available. It uses R410A gas, a cost-saving refrigerant that does not contribute to ozone depletion. Also, use of multi-scroll compressors aid operation efficiency enabling users to benefit from low power consumption.

Since the new Andrews Heat Pump is programmed to automatically switch operating cycles from heat to chill mode depending on prevailing temperatures the 100kW LT/HP unit is ideal for use with datacentres, care-homes, hospitals, food and beverage producers, manufacturing industries as well as the events market for ice rink applications, controlling indoor temperature of structure with no heating or air conditioning system. www.andrews-sykes.com

MOD Pizza has secured three additional UK locations in Newcastle, Nottingham and a flagship location in Leicester Square London. The newest locations are all slated to open before the end of 2016.

This latest announcement follows MOD’s successful UK debut in Leeds this past June. The second UK location is due to open August 11 in Brighton Marina. Founded in the US by entrepreneurs Scott and Ally Svenson, MOD is expanding throughout the UK through a joint venture with Sir Charles Dunstone and Roger Taylor.

Simple and efficient, the MOD concept enables customers to build their own individual, artisanstyle pizza or hand-tossed salad, using MOD’s fresh-pressed dough, signature sauces and a choice of 34 toppings. Pizzas are cooked ‘superfast’ in MOD’s stoned baked ovens for under four minutes, and salads are hand-tossed in front of the customer. Regardless of pizza toppings, or salad ingredients, the price always remains the same at £7.87.

Each new MOD store is expected to hire approximately 25 employees – or MOD Squad members – and will partner with a local charity for opening day, donating 100 per cent of proceeds from all pizza sales, and a commitment to provide ongoing support to community based charities throughout the year. www.modpizza.com

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Vying for attention With growing competition for shelf space and the demand for clear product information, the labelling sector is increasingly an important area of focus throughout the food and beverage industry. Stewart Serls of Label-Form shares a brief insight with FoodChain’s Andrew Dann on some of the issues facing the labelling sector in the food market 8

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he food and beverage sector has always been a competitive market that represents a challenging arena for new brands and concepts.

Although it is understood that it can be difficult for new products to gain traction with consumers, there is some debate over the actual failure rate of new launches with estimates ranging from around 40 per cent to as high as 80 per cent! The upper estimate of failure rates in excess of 80 per cent was presented in ‘The 2020 Shopper’ white paper report, which was released by the Central Group in 2012 and written by the globally recognised speaker and industry leader, Inez Blackburn, Market Techniques and Innovations, University of Toronto. The report itself is focused on shopping trends generally rather than the food and drink market specifically, meaning that its findings do not necessarily accurately reflect the failure rate of new products in the food industry.

Stewart Serls

Indeed, the most intimidating predictions relating to failed project launches in the food industry have become something of an urban myth, however what is certain is that the sector is still a highly competitive environment where an eyecatching packaging and labelling can be critical.

The challenges facing manufacturers and suppliers to the food and beverage industry are further compounded by the growing requirement to display clear nutritional and related information on food packaging. The 2014 introduction of EU FIC regulations on food labelling, for example requires manufacturers to list any of 14 allergens used as ingredients in a pre-packaged food.

Businesses can choose what method they want to use to emphasise these allergens, including by listing them in bold, italics, highlighted or underlined, but information about allergenic ingredients is to be located in a single place, i.e. the ingredients list on

Labelling trends

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The rules governing nutritional values and presenting information to the public are changing year-on-year and as a result more new labels are coming through

pre-packed food. The requirement to comply with industry regulations coupled with the increasing competition for shelf space has created a rapidly moving market for packaging design, which has had a further impact on the labelling sector for food products. “For food and drinks manufacturers, new laws such as EU FIC regulation have had a huge impact on the industry as producers are forced to change their labels all the time – which is a good thing for our business,” observes LabelForm Commercial Director, Stewart Serls. “The rules governing nutritional values and presenting information to the public are changing year-on-year and as a result more new labels are coming through.”

Innovation Within the food and beverage industry, Label-Form supplies labels to some of the UK’s most prestigious brands and independent producers. The company is

focused on high-quality label solutions, including the ‘no label look’ to ensure products that stand out. To ensure the company is able to deliver the most effective solution, Label-Form works closely with customers from the initial concept design stages through to the sourcing of materials. An important trend within the labelling sector is the growing combination of digital with traditional printing methods which led to LabelForm deciding in April 2015 to install a Durst Tau 330 digital UV Inkjet label press, which will accompany its already well established print processes like Screen UV, Letterpress, Hot-Foil and Embossing. The decision has allowed the company to further expand its presence as a leading label printing specialist to clients within the food, luxury industry and beyond to reach what it refers to a ‘new level of digital print.’

In addition to increasing the capacity of Label-Form in the field of digital printing, the Durst Tau 330 places the company at the forefront of new developments in the use of low migration inks. The Tau 330 is fully compatible with SUNJET’s range of Tau low migration inks for primary food packaging, while substrates of the Tau Low Migration Inks comply with all of the guidelines of the European Printing Ink Association (EUPIA), the Swiss

Ordnance for Materials and the Nestlé Packaging Inks Specifications. Low migration ink expands the production range of the Durst Tau 330 to include self-supported foils, such as blister packaging, yogurt lids and many other applications and is critical in the food industry as it does not migrate into the food itself. “Many customers come to us because of the colour density and white we normally offer with screen printing,” Stewart explains. “The colours and white produced by the Durst range are absolutely fantastic, which is one of the main reasons why we opted for the Tau 330.”

Label-Form will be exhibiting at Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London, set to take place at London Olympia 14 and 15 September 2016. The event will showcase further innovations within the labelling and packaging markets, including a new type of bottle made from black glass, produced by Rawlings. The bottle’s high gloss finish not only increases the product’s shelf presence but its UK light protection act as a protecting element that extends the life of its contents.

With so many innovations within the packaging and labelling market, supermarket shelves are set to become very exciting indeed in the near future! D www.label-form.co.uk

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Respect the

heritage

Neil Greig discusses bringing back the Scottish into smoked salmon

10 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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hen you think of smoked salmon, what comes to mind? Well, for many people the association with Scotland would be uppermost in their thoughts. A bit like Scotch whisky, then so too does smoked salmon conjure romantic images of Scotland.

For Scottish smoked salmon, it is a picture of quality and a pristine environment; one of Scottish sea lochs and artisanal smokers carrying out their traditional craft. In short, Scottish smoked salmon is synonymous around the world for its quality and taste.

And quite rightly so, because Scottish smoked salmon really is something special. People like the association with

Scotland, the provenance of the fish and the care that has gone into producing this iconic product.

Naturally, other smoked fish producers around the world are keen to capitalise upon this and jump upon the Scottish bandwagon. It will, after all, help boost their sales and from their point of view makes sound commercial sense.

They are, in effect, looking to piggy-back upon the Scottish brand name.

This has led to all kinds of intricate wording on packaging – such as ‘Scottish-style’ - to give the impression that what they are producing is a Scottish product when in fact the association with Scotland is non-existent.

Labelling is often confusing and at worst,

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Seafood

While Scottish farmed and wild salmon already have protected geographical indication status, this sadly is not the case for Scottish smoked salmon

This is not some imaginary difference in quality, it really is there. The Scottish salmon we use is carefully sourced from selected farms and fish are selected so that they have the perfect fat content for smoking. Then, our master smokers gently smoke the salmon over the chippings from whisky casks to ensure that perfect flavour. The quality control processes are second to none.

Smoked salmon has become part of the Scottish DNA, amd many local smoking businesses have sprung up all across the country over the last 100 years or so, many of them proud of the techniques they use.

can be deliberately misleading. This is wrong and totally unfair and is an issue that needs to be addressed.

‘Smoked Scottish salmon’ is another classic one. It may well be Scottish salmon, but is it smoked in Scotland?

Well, with that wording, probably not.

For a salmon smoker like ourselves, based in Scotland and only ever using Scottish salmon, this is incredibly frustrating and is a misappropriation of the actuality. While Scottish farmed and wild salmon already have protected geographical indication status, this sadly is not the case for Scottish smoked salmon. Like our Scotch lamb and beef, we believe that safeguards are needed for Scottish smoked salmon too.

Pride of Scotland One should never forget either that the Scottish salmon sector is an international success story. It is Scotland’s top food export with sales overseas of around £450m every year. A million smoked salmon meals are eaten in the UK each week. How many of these consumers think they are eating genuine Scottish smoked salmon, when they in fact they aren’t?

It is for all these reasons that Associated Seafoods is embarking upon a mission to recapture the Scottish brand name so as to regain the high ground and bring back the name ‘Scottish’ where it should be. We are

doing this through our newly relaunched Pride of Scotland brand where throughout we are emphasising the Scottish provenance of both the salmon and where it is smoked.

We would like all genuine Scottish salmon smokers to join in this quest.

From a national perspective, we believe it will benefit both domestic and international sales, providing a boost to economically fragile areas of Scotland.

But as importantly, it will provide the consumer with the ability to make informed choices when buying their smoked salmon, knowing exactly its country of origin, rather than having to interpret the minefield of confused labelling. D Neil Greig is Commercial Director of Associated Seafoods. Using curing and smoking techniques developed over several generations by its Master Smokers, Associated Seafoods Ltd is a leading producer of the finest quality Scottish smoked salmon. Exported to 25 countries in five different continents, its Pride of Scotland Scottish smoked salmon is a regular feature on the menus of some of the world’s most prestigious hotels and restaurants. www.associatedseafoods.com

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published in June 2015, brought together experts from CCE and Cranfield University, as well as wider industry and academia, highlighted six major themes of People, Big Data, Technology, Collaboration, Value and Resilience. A second stage of research, a programme of quantitative and qualitative research involving face-to-face interviews and workshops with experts in the field of sustainability has led to a roadmap for future development and a vision for a sustainable ‘factory of the future’ by 2050.

Anticipating the future

Looking

toward 2050 F

Professor Mark Jolly sets out the findings of the Factory of the Future report from Cranfield University’s Centre for Sustainable Manufacturing 12 www.foodchainmagazine.com

aced by challenges around price and availability of resources, the food and drink manufacturing industry needs to undertake a further stage of transformation. Speed, efficiency and customer focus are a given. For long-term sustainability there need to be major changes in the ways in which the industry collaborates and works with new partners in the supply chain, as well as more directly with consumers and society more widely.

Working in partnership with CocaCola Enterprises (CCE), we have been mapping the challenges and opportunities in order to identify what needs to be done and how. The first stage of the research,

The use of sensors, big data analysis and the Internet of Things is already enabling real-time transparency across the supply chain, from ‘farm to fork’. Methods are being developed to exploit this data, be more transparent and to collaborate more with customers, suppliers and even competitors. This will help manufacturers to maintain a resilient business while meeting the needs of markets in general and, eventually, the needs of specific individuals.

Some parts of the supply chain will use data to operate autonomously.

Sensing technology will, for example, monitor the quality of farmland in real-time, ensuring that problems can be fixed immediately, keeping the land operating at maximum productivity and more sustainably. An existing example of a ‘smart farm’ is one run by a British farmer in the Midlands, whose company grows crops on 4000 acres using hitech tractors and using GPS satellite technology to map fields and identify what part of a field needs spraying with fertiliser to within a few inches.

By working together, agriculture and manufacturing operations can ensure sustainable harvests for generations to come by using technology to better maintain land.

Similarly in factories, sensor technology will be used as a tool for monitoring quality and supporting real-time decision-making to keep manufacturing operating efficiently, identifying oncoming bottlenecks in the process.

For consumers, data will be passed on, providing more detailed information about the provenance of food and the chains involved, as well as visibility about the use

Food manufacture of fertilisers and their impact to the land and surrounding environment. ‘Smart tags’ on food products that indicate when it is no longer safe to eat and ‘smart kitchens’ will help manage the food available and reduce waste.

Providing nutrition Food producers will need to focus on resilience and delivering the greatest value to customers, not just financially but in the broadest, social sense. In the future product ingredients will be examined ever more closely, and industry will be held responsible. Food and drink manufacturers have to find ways to remove or alter ingredients that are considered unhealthy, continue to produce popular products, and balance this with the need to counter incidences of food over-supply and food waste.

A constructive way forward will be to introduce models, which are service based and personalised to deliver convenience and value - moving away from mass production towards making personalised products to order. This will be achieved by small, local facilities that use technology to synchronise resource availability, supply and demand. Specialist manufacturers that currently make personalised products will move from niche enterprises into the mainstream as advances in technology progress. Companies will be a combination of large and small operations that are better for the environment because they are more local to the consumer.

Sharing the benefits P&G and Unilever are planning to collaborate on new product development, while Nike has been allowing customers to co-create shoes online. The food and drink industry should work towards engaging society and sharing benefits when creating products. Well-being must be put at the centre of delivery and shared IP considered as a way to protect the environment. As collaboration increases, there will of course be more debate about the trade-off between, on the one hand, keeping data and intellectual property private and, on the other hand, the opportunities to minimise environmental impact by sharing big data

and providing superior levels of service.

It will be imperative that big companies take responsibility for leading the debate and acting ahead of consumer opinion.

Collaboration amongst businesses, organisations and suppliers will be a key enabler for supply chain sustainability.

Ninety per cent of executives involved in the research strongly support the need for collaboration across industry.

Companies will need to show resilience to environmental change and show leadership to build trust, demonstrate responsibility and lead the debate and take action, rather than waiting for consumer pressure. In the interviews, experts predicted there will be greater competition to work with sustainable farmers as manufacturers seek to collaborate to secure quality resources.

Customers will have a more direct role in collaboration and co-creation beyond just initial planning and product development.

Inspiring the next generation With growing automation of both hard technology and soft information technology, fewer people will be developing, managing and improving complex businesses but these people will remain vital to tackling the challenges of sustainability. The growing skills gap - as a generation of experienced employees retire and there is a particular dearth of skilled engineers - will mean the need for more integration with universities and to reach learners as early as possible in schools.

A highly skilled, ethics-led workforce will be required in the future to maintain financial competitiveness, as well as address the pressing need to change the way we use the earth’s resources. This will include business leaders who are skilled innovators who instill an ethical stance of the business into those around them, as well as nurturing the careers of individuals in the wider community and meeting the expectations of all stakeholders. To make this happen, companies will need to support career development, not just for their staff but also in local society through community programmes in schools etc; nurture leaders at every level of the business; ensure leaders are visible not only to

employees but also directly involved with local communities; develop staff to drive change towards sustainability and embed this knowledge into their technical competencies.

Joining forces How value and leadership is understood will change dramatically as companies join forces with each other, and with customers and society. This will become accepted as the only way to grow positively whilst reducing impact and footprint. It will require manufacturers to be key agents of change, as they have the capabilities and insight required to help educate and strengthen different aspects of the value chain. The concept of ‘loyalty’ has to extend beyond a company, into the supply chain and to further connect with consumers and promote the value of resources. Employees will openly consider themselves as members of a wider supply chain to find ways to prevent negative supply chain impact on the environment. Connecting global environmental problems such as resource scarcity directly to individuals’ personal activities and lifestyles will be a major challenge but is an opportunity to encourage collective accountability.

Co-operation will be essential to ensure the ‘circularity’ of resources, to eliminate waste and allow valuable resources to be reused. Manufacturers will work beyond the industrial value chain system to educate society on how to achieve positive environmental impact.

In general, the food and drink industry will have to find ‘levers’ to improve value to customers that also benefit the environment and society. D Mark Jolly is Professor of Sustainable Manufacturing and Head of the Sustainable Manufacturing Systems Centre, Cranfield University.

Sustainable manufacturing for the future: The journey to 2050: research on the vision and pathways for sustainability in the food and drink industry in Great Britain, can be downloaded from www.cranfield.ac.uk

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From table to tablet

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According to Raj Parmar, the hospitality industry is in the midst of a mobile revolution 14 www.foodchainmagazine.com

unning a successful restaurant comes with its own slew of challenges; dealing with busy rush hours puts pressure on all staff, from managers to dishwashers. With cooks and waiting staff juggling so many orders and customers, it’s all too easy to slip up. A single miscommunication between front and back-of-house, an error on the order slip or bill for example, could be disastrous. Without a faultless performance, it’s inevitable that even the most esteemed restaurant will lose out on customers due to the extra pressure put on staff during peak periods.

This common problem pervades time, place and product. Every eating establishment, from haute cuisine to all-night pizza joints, has to deal with the occasional error and resulting loss of customers and sales. Making errors, of course, is only human.

The technological solution

Raj Parmar

With that in mind, it should be no surprise to discerning restauranteurs that the key to overcoming these errors lays in advanced and innovative technology.

In fact, a market report recently released by the British Hospitality Association predicted that technology would have a major impact on every aspect of the food service industry.

This same technology has already been embraced within the retail sector, where it has helped countless high street shops achieve success and stand tall in the wake of online commerce. With new applications and hardware designed specifically for the hospitality sector, it is now being used by restauranteurs to overcome the timeless obstacles associated with running a successful restaurant, pub or other food service establishment.

New technology

By employing the agility and efficiency of mobile tablets for example, these businesses can ensure a quick and seamless customer journey. Equipped with these tablets, staff are free to move among tables, display menu items via high-definition displays and suggest upsells to customers as they order. The use of digital menus has, in many cases, cut ordering times in half, a vital benefit for busy peak times.

Additionally, shock and waterproof cases make these tablets incredibly durable, even in a busy restaurant or pub setting, extending their lifespan and allowing businesses to protect their important investment. As the past decade has seen tablets become widespread within the consumer world, and more recently in the retail sector as well, these devices have become affordable enough for even smaller, independent food service establishments to find a return on investment relatively quickly.

More than just a menu When wirelessly connected with digital displays, staff can use these tablets to take orders, which are then displayed in the kitchen in near real-time. Along with saving precious time by doing away with the need for staff to make constant trips between tables and the kitchen, these digital displays also eliminate the need for chefs to decipher messy handwriting, greatly reducing the risk of human error and ensuring customers receive exactly

‘

Along with digital displays and mounts, there is an abundance of peripherals restaurants can adopt, such as receipt printers, to improve convenience and cut waiting times even further

what they order. This drives significant timesavings for restaurants, while also improving the customer experience.

When not being used by staff, tablets can be fitted into secure, swivelling mounts, making them an asset behind the bar or counter as well. These tablets can then be utilised as effective customer engagement tools – providing customers with easy access to bill information and display advertising.

Along with digital displays and mounts, there is an abundance of peripherals restaurants can adopt, such as receipt printers, to improve convenience and cut waiting times even further. By using the tablet as a point-of-sale device, the lengthy process of printing the bill, delivering it, fetching a payment device and taking a card transaction, transforms into a fast, seamless process handled right at the customer’s table. As tablets benefit from full connectivity, which can include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or NFC in order to suit specific requirements, they can be used to take orders, process contactless card or mobile phone payments and send the receipt straight to a nearby printer

– all without the need for wires or timeconsuming delays.

In addition to mobile tablets, restaurants, particularly quick service and takeaway establishments, can also take advantage of digital displays for the front-of-house environment. These fully customisable displays can be used to show menu items or advertisements to customers. Since they can be easily controlled from the back office, any changes to the menu or prices can be instantly incorporated.

By taking advantage of this technology, restaurants can provide an agile and convenient experience for both customers and staff, ensuring they maximise profits and overcome any challenges caused by peak periods. D

Raj Parmar is Marketing Director at Box Technologies.

For over 20 years Box Technologies has operated across retail, hospitality, banking, finance and other related sectors to transform operational efficiency and customer experience through its solutions. Its specialist consulting, support and technical teams help businesses communicate and engage with their customers more effectively, whilst ensuring staff increase their productivity through mobile devices, kiosks, POS systems, interactive digital signage and related technologies. www.boxtechnologies.com

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Preparing for change Mark Jones considers the potential impact of Brexit on the food and drink industry 16 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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lot has been written about Brexit and the challenges that are likely to materialise for the food and drink sector. Much like the pre-referendum campaigns, it is a challenge to understand what the big issues are and what issues are likely to be the most important in the coming months

Mark Jones

and years. What is clear is that the effects of Brexit (putting aside currency) are most likely to be felt in around six months to a year. Judging how the market is likely to shape up is difficult and future planning becomes more challenging when there is a high degree of uncertainty. So what are the big issues?

Industry issues: The impact of Brexit The changing market

Access to the single market is hugely important to our economy and taking the country in a direction where we turn our back on our biggest customer is not, I think, a likely one

Even before the referendum on 23rd June, food and drink suppliers had seen significant changes in the marketplace.

Reduced SKUs, over capacity, a change in consumer focus and a shift in how retailers sell their products, such as reduced promotions, were all impacting the sector. As a consequence of that, retailers are increasingly looking for long-term contracts.

Now of course, the big problem for suppliers is that the pound has dropped considerably in the wake of Brexit, making it more expensive to buy products from our continental neighbours.

Ordinarily, retailers will agree prices for a trading year, and in some cases it has crept in to two or three years. If a supplier’s prices are fixed for that period and the products they purchase from abroad are now more expensive, there is only one effect; reduced margins.

Pressure on margins of course is not new as retailers have been in a price war for the last 24 months. However, this is different. It is notoriously difficult to pass on increased costs to retailers when you have agreed a fixed price for a period of time.

Add to that the complexities of retendering for business and suppliers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Retailers are unlikely to entertain a discussion around increasing the price to reflect currency fluctuations when, at the same time, the supplier is desperate to hold on to next year’s business in a market of reducing SKUs. Of course for those who have agreed long-term contracts and fixed prices, it will be even more painful if retailers do not agree to increase prices.

Many, including myself, believed that Brexit would result in a halt to food price deflation as a consequence of the increased costs of manufacturing.

The introduction of the National Living Wage and the drop in the pound have a significant effect on food manufacturer’s production costs, but even that does not seem obvious at this stage. As recently as July, Asda’s new boss, Shaun Clarke, has indicated that the supermarket intends to be more competitive on price. In circumstances where input

costs of manufacturing food may be rising, retailers slashing prices spells unhappy news for food suppliers. As we know, retailer cuts in price hit the suppliers.

Consumer patterns According to Nielsen, more than two thirds of shoppers thought Brexit would bring a rise in grocery prices and only two per cent of those surveyed thought grocery prices would fall after the UK left the EU. Subject to how the retailers react to the rise in input costs, it seems consumers believe prices will rise – even if the price war is fierce enough to delay any increases.

Those same consumers, 64 per cent in fact, believed Brexit would adversely affect the UK economy. The recession has undoubtedly influenced how consumers shop; they save more, they spend less and are increasingly transient in terms of where they shop.

Nielsen research also shows more than one third of shoppers plan to change the supermarket from which they currently buy most of their groceries in order to reduce, or offset, the rise in food prices. Switching to cheaper grocery brands and spending less on clothes were said to be the most popular ways to save money.

Before Brexit, it seemed as if the big four were beginning to find some stability in a market where Aldi and Lidl had been a huge disrupting force.

Consumer confidence was growing and wages were finally increasing beyond the rate of inflation, which had a real effect on disposable incomes. With that comes a desire to obtain better products and better choice – but just when the big four believed they could capitalise on consumer cash and confidence, Brexit happened.

Nielsen points out, if we need it to be pointed out by now, that price-led retailers are the most likely to benefit from shoppers changing retailer or brands to save money. So it looks as if Aldi and Lidl will be smiling for a lot longer than expected.

Regulation Regulation is a challenging shifting landscape for any business, particularly

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Industry issues: The impact of Brexit those in the food and drink sector. When regulations change there is a direct commercial effect on businesses.

Take, for instance, the new food labelling regulations that come into force on 13th December 2016. Food producers will need to learn, or pay for advice on, what such regulations mean to their business.

In all likelihood the introduction of the new food labelling regulations will mean their packaging might need to change and if it does, that may also result in increased costs - at the very least at an increased administrative burden which has to be paid for by using resources.

The new food labelling regulations are of course introduced by the European Parliament. They look at and intend to harmonise the way in which food products are labelled, presented and advertised, and what information they provide in relation to nutrition – but food producers currently do not know if they need to comply with such regulations for a year or indefinitely.

It is not just new regulations that are an issue; it will also impact schemes to tackle obesity and our ability to import and export foods to Europe (62 per cent

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of agricultural exports are sent to the EU and 70 per cent of agricultural import is supplied by EU producers).

On top of that, the EU is responsible for laws relating to the transfer of employees when a business is bought by another, competition legislation (which, it should be remembered, gave birth to GSCOP and the Groceries Code Adjudicator) and the EU protected name scheme, which protects 73 UK names from being exploited on the continent.

What happens to all of this regulation as a consequence of Brexit? The truth is, no one yet knows, but my guess is that most of the regulations which applies, or which is introduced, will still apply in the future or will be adopted by the UK. Access to the single market is hugely important to our economy and taking the country in a direction where we turn our back on our biggest customer is not, I think, a likely one.

As with all things change presents opportunity. Aldi and Lidl have thrived as a consequence of such a changing marketplace. Ocado and now Amazon have also seen how technology can change the food sector and Google,

of course, is also trying food sales in America.

Those businesses with less exposure to currency fluctuations and integrated supply chains that can be flexible are likely to profit most from the uncertainty. Those which are tied into long-term contracts and operate on low margins, on the other hand, could find themselves in severe difficulty if food deflation continues but input costs increase. To start where we finished, the height of the difficulties are likely to come to the fore after six months. D Mark Jones is a solicitor and food and drink industry expert at Gordons law firm. Gordons has offices in Leeds and Bradford, employs 235 people and has a turnover of £22.5m. The firm’s current food and drink clients include Iceland, Costcutter, Budgens, Londis, Goldenfry, Nisa, Kerry Foods, Morrisons, Molson Coors, Noble Foods, Timothy Taylor, P&B Foods and The West Cornwall Pasty Company. www.gordonsllp.com

IndustryNews Future safety

Brexit & beverages

Fiona Sinclair and Mike Williams from STS Solutions, leading providers of UK food safety support, took a look at the potential impact of Brexit on food safety legislation here in the UK. “The requirement to manage food safety using HACCP principles is unlikely to change. HACCP was introduced in the UK via Europe as a sound and systematic method by which to produce safe food, however this is not ‘merely’ a European approach to food safety - it is worldwide. The World Health Organisation (WHO) sets down international food standards, which serve in many countries worldwide as the basis for legislation.

HACCP originated in the US and is now commonplace worldwide including, more recently, Australia. Its foundations are embedded in the WHO’s codex alimentarius and it’s unlikely they would change when Britain leaves the EU. “In fact, rather than legislative changes, we think any changes to food safety that might come about as a result of Britain leaving the EU are likely to be observed in terms of easing the legislative burden, for example reducing the number of enforcement visits. If as it has been speculated - the vote to leave has a detrimental impact on the

Rabobank has released its report looking at the impact of Brexit on the UK beverages sector. It claims Brexit will have critical implications for the beverage sector, given the UK’s role as both a major importer (e.g. wine) and a major supplier (e.g. scotch). With this high level of uncertainty, many beverage companies are rightfully concerned and are actively developing contingency plans. They will find that there are a number of short- and long-term strategic alternatives that can mitigate risks and help them to take advantage of new, attractive opportunities. These options include shifting sourcing, M&A, shifting geography for production/valueadd, pipeline loading, hedging and shifting market focus. For the full report, visit: https://research.rabobank. com/far/en/sectors/beverages/ beverage-companies-in-wake-ofbrexit.html

UK economy and we see more cuts to public spending then the already underresourced local authority environmental health departments could well be hit by further cuts, leaving them struggling to achieve inspection targets.

“It is likely that we would see an acceleration of schemes to reduce the financial burden on enforcement bodies, e.g. earned autonomy for multi site businesses which meet recognised standards of food safety, thereby requiring a reduced number of inspections by local authorities. Similarly we could see further development and encouragement of the Primary Authority scheme, through which advice is provided by enforcement bodies paid for by the food businesses.” www.sts-solutions.co.uk

Time to take control Organisations representing the health and long-term interests of millions of British citizens have called on government to adopt common-sense food, farming and fishing policies that are good for jobs, health and the environment, when they plan for the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Concerns are expressed in a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, and David Davis MP the Minister overseeing a new Department advising the Government and PM on the post EU Referendum strategy. The letter, co-signed by over 80 food, farming, fair trade, poverty, animal welfare, wildlife, health and environmental organisations, argues that good food, farming and fishing

policies must be central to any post EU Referendum strategy for the UK. The organisations point out that better food, farming and trade policies can help to cut greenhouse gas emissions from farming and food industries by 80 per cent by 2050, and promote healthier diets to combat heart disease, cancers, diabetes, and obesity, saving the NHS, and ultimately taxpayers millions. Such policies can also support a vibrant and diverse economy, supporting good jobs and working conditions, in the UK and overseas. Further, the UK could prioritise ethical and sustainable production methods, improved animal welfare, more farmland and marine wildlife, a healthy future for bees and other pollinators,

as well as enhancing the beauty of the countryside and protecting the environment, whilst also providing a safe and traceable food supply.

Kath Dalmeny, head of Sustain, an alliance of food and farming organisations, who co-ordinated the letter, said: “The British public has given no mandate for a reduction in food and farming standards, a weakening of protection for nature, nor a reversal of the UK’s commitment to lifting millions of the poorest people in the world out of poverty through trade. We are seriously concerned that such vital considerations may be over-run by a drive for new trade deals at any cost.” www.sustainweb.org

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TasteTest

Cuppas with clout

A new twist

Natur Boutique, a brand specialising in boutique style herbal teas, is proving there is still room for small producers to make their mark on the tea market. The Natur Boutique brand features a range of largely organic teas, including leading artichoke tea, which has proved extremely popular with those suffering from IBS (one research study showed 96 per cent of patients found artichoke extracts equal to or better than their current therapies, at treating IBS symptoms). www.fitoco.com

Stag Bakeries, the Stornoway-based family-owned bakery, has announced the launch of a new sub-brand to be known as West Coast. Whilst Stag Bakeries is built on heritage and provenance, West Coast will bring a contemporary twist and provide a point of difference. The new brand will allow the Hebridean bakery the opportunity to utilise flavours, ingredients and recipes that perhaps have a more international and modern influence and that wouldn’t necessarily ‘fit’ within the Stag stable.

The first products to be launched under the West Coast brand is a range of ‘Sweet Straws’. There are four straws in the range, each inspired by a different fruit base: l Apple & Cinnamon – a classic combination of a delicately spiced orchard fruit l Blackberry & Basil – a marriage made in berry heaven thanks to the delicate addition of basil

Natur Boutique’s ethos of producing great tasting, healthy teas appealed to our tester. She tried the Artichoke variety and while not an IBS sufferer, she was impressed with the product.

“I love the individual sachets and also the packaging was lovely, which is something that would make me look at it on the shelf,” she said. “The bags had a nice long string (I am infuriated when they are too short!) and most importantly, the tea brewed quickly, and I found the taste to be refreshing and most enjoyable!’

l Raspberry

& Chocolate – with a generous amount of raspberry pieces and distinct chocolate aroma l Sour Cherry & Vanilla – the sourness of the cherries perfectly complemented with sweet vanilla The light, crunchy, buttery hand-baked straws are a sweet-twist on traditional savoury straws. They can be enjoyed with yogurt, ice cream or as an alternative to a traditional biscuit. www.stagbakeries.co.uk

The team hadn’t had sweet pastry straws before and these were a very good introduction to the concept! The surprise hit flavour was blackberry basil, which sounds unorthodox but worked perfectly with the sweet berry and crumbly pastry. However, the classic apple cinnamon combo was a close runner up – it had all the flavours of a pie and dunked into a pot of ready made custard – heaven!

Getting the knack of snacks Peter’s Yard has extended its range into the growing baked snacks category with Knäcks (pronounced Ken-nex) - new baked crispbread bites in three flavours - Sea Salt, Five Seed and Cumin & Nigella Seed.

Sea Salt is light and crispy with the addition of Halen Môn Sea Salt. Five Seed has a more rustic texture with the additional healthy mix of pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, linseed and chia seeds. Cumin & Nigella Seed has a crunchy texture derived from linseeds and a warming flavour from the special whole spice mix that includes cumin,

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nigella, caraway, anise and fennel.

Each flavour is based on a Peter’s Yard’s classic sourdough crispbread recipe made with high fibre, all-natural ingredients including organic wholewheat flour, rye sourdough and organic fresh milk, before being cut into bitesized rectangular pieces and handbaked until golden and crispy.

The crispbread bites have been developed for various snacking occasions. They are the perfect base for bite-sized canapés with drinks and can be enjoyed on their own as a snack.

www.petersyard.com

The Team was delighted with these little bite sized delights. As Peter’s Yard noted, they really come into their own when served alongside a dip, as their size and texture make them perfect for dipping without the risk of them breaking or being ‘double-dipped’. The FoodChain favourite whipped cream cheese was our topping, but any kind of dip would surely be delicious served with these dinky little crackers. And what a lovely addition to a cheeseboard too!

TasteTest

Snack attack

Feeling fruity Sparkling Ice, a flavoured sparkling water, was introduced into the UK and Ireland in May from US category leader, Talking Rain Beverage Company. The new soft drink has hit the stores in three flavours: Peach Nectarine, Orange Mango and Black Raspberry.

At just 12 calories per bottle (500ml), Sparkling Ice is packed with full fruit flavours and subtly carbonated, and is designed to create a refreshing and enjoyable experience.

“We are excited to bring Sparkling Ice into the market, offering customers an enticing alternative to the sugary soft drinks currently on the shelves.

We’re proud to be offering a ‘better for you’ option that delivers an enhanced hydration,” said Kevin Klock, President and CEO of Talking Rain Beverage Co.

www.sparklingice.co.uk

The first thing the tasters all commented on was the Sparkling Ice bottle – simple yet slim enough to feel good in the hand. The text and images gave the product a very modern feel, definitely would catch the eye.

“I tried the Black Raspberry and I loved it!” said one tester. “Nice strong, bold fruit flavour, good amount of fizz and very refreshing, especially on hot days.”

The Peach Nectarine and Orange Mango were equally well received – the fruity flavour also lingered pleasantly – “I felt it kept me feeling much less thirsty than plain water,” added another reviewer.

A proper kick Perfect for summer, a new fizzfree drink designed to provide a sophisticated alternative to alcohol with a unique cayenne kick has been launched. Ideal for non-drinkers, drivers and mothers-to-be, the range contains no added sugar and nothing artificial, meaning they can also be enjoyed by those embracing the rapidly growing sugar-free, ‘clean eating’ health movement.

NIX&KIX Co-Founders Kerstin Robinson and Julia Kessler said: “After a long stint working in the corporate world and enjoying London nightlife, we reached an age at which one (or a few) vodka and energy drink mixers on a night out just wouldn’t do. We wanted to be able to enjoy our active social lives without having to drink alcohol continuously.

“Our taste buds had changed too, but all the soft drinks available were either too sugary or too bland. So we set out to create a new, exciting flavour to be enjoyed at home, with brunch, lunch or whilst out and about in bars.”

www.nixandkix.com

The team tasted all three flavours available from NIX&KIX - Mango & Ginger, Cucumber & Mint and Peach & Vanilla. Immediately there were some super fans (mostly men as it happens).

“I would definitely order this if I was out but not drinking – it’s much more than just another sickly soft drink,” said one tester. “But I would also use it as a mixer for a cocktail – I love the cayenne kick, it’s very cleverly blended.”

Chika, a recent success story from hit BBC One Show, Dragon’s Den has launched her new line of African inspired snacks in the UK. Chika’s - An Adventure in Taste Awaits, includes Plantain Crisps, Hand-toasted Peanuts, Sea Salt and Black Pepper Cashews, Smoked Almonds and Chickpea Crisps, all made from the highest quality ingredients here in the UK. Chika’s – An Adventure in Taste Awaits, is now available to purchase from 750 retailers across the UK including Waitrose and Wholefoods.

Noticing the gap in the UK marketplace for African inspired foods, Chika developed and refined her ideas to produce an innovative range of snacks. Crafted from the same age-old traditions performed by Chika’s great grandmothers and grandfathers, her range of products provides an authentic and nutritious way to enjoy the exotic flavours of her native country. www.chikas.co.uk

The Plantain crisps were a great alternative to the usual potato versions! They have a slightly sweet flavour but it is mixed with savoury and the chilli seasoning makes them more sophisticated than a generic snack. “The packaging was eye-catching, and while they were quite high calorie, I would consider buying these if I was out and about,” said one tester.

The Smoked Almonds, infused with North and West African spices, also pack a punch, with a smoky, savour flavour hit. “The almonds were a good size and the flavour was a proper big hit, not just a hint of smoke,” said the tester. “I always prefer snacks with no artificial flavouring or colouring so that was a bonus and I found these quite easy to nibble as a desk snack, but I wanted to savour them, not just grab a handful. I would buy them!”

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Tomorrow’s supplements today Founded with a passion for windsurfing and delivering superior quality sports supplements, Reflex Nutrition represents an innovative solution in both nutritional and physical excellence

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Reflex Nutrition

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ithin both the demanding fields of sporting competition and personal physical development, the requirement for supplements that are safe, healthy and of the highest level of quality is critical. Reflex Nutrition was founded by its current owner and Managing Director, James Phillips with a goal of providing the world’s best sports supplements that address

the goals of lean muscle; weight management; muscle and strength; health and wellbeing; energy and endurance; and recovery. “I started Reflex Nutrition in 1996 to make the best supplements money can buy and I can put my hand on my heart and say that we achieve this goal daily,” James says. “Look at our range, you simply cannot find better and this is perfectly illustrated with 100 per cent Native

Whey, which is factually the world’s purest form of whey protein. You cannot buy better because it doesn’t exist.

It’s this type of commitment that has made Reflex Nutrition one of the most respected and trusted sports nutrition brands in the world.”

The remarkable story of Reflex Nutrition began while James was pursuing a career in professional windsurfing. During this time he realised

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that he would need to gain weight to become more competitive and subsequently found sponsorship with an American sports nutrition brand.

It was while using and gaining an understanding of these products that James began to consider the possibility of creating a superior solution to match his own needs and those of other competitors in a similar position. The Reflex Nutrition brand was born soon after and has quickly grown into a globally successful business. “I think what really separates us from the rest of the market is the genuine passion of James himself and the fact that he wanted to develop and manufacture the products himself. All of this coincided with his father deciding to sell the business that he owned and subsequently investing some money into the idea,” elaborates Marketing Director, Julian Wright. “They initially brought a fairly modest factory in Hove

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and James and his family attended various trade shows to understand more about the machinery used to manufacture the supplements. It was something of a baptism of fire in relation to how to create a factory, however with his sporting and nutritional knowledge James knew that he could produce a product that was far superior to anything else on the market.”

Supreme quality From its humble beginnings Reflex Nutrition has grown from a highly hands-on entrepreneurial team of as few as three individuals to a fully ISO 9001 accredited business that operates from a fully bespoke and modern manufacturing facility. During its early history the company quickly began to experience high levels of growth, historically enjoying expansion of as much as 20 per cent per annum and although the market for sporting

supplements has become increasingly competitive in recent years, Reflex Nutrition has continued to grow to meet the needs of sporting athletes and fitness orientated individuals across the world.

The company moved into its current manufacturing facility in 2007. The twoacre plant is located in Woodingdean, Brighton and houses powder production, its own pasteurising plant, a bar manufacturing line and capsule lines.

“This is something that I think makes us quite unique within Europe as a sports nutrition brand,” Julian observes.

Reflex Nutrition “The purpose of having our own manufacturing facility is to allow us to guarantee the quality of the sports supplements that we produce from start to finish. When it comes to the development of new products, James and the new product development (NPD) team will develop new lines and go on to specify the ingredients and formulation of the new product based on key research that incorporates the latest scientific studies and double placebo tested research.”

By working with a highly trusted and respected network of suppliers on a global scale, Reflex Nutrition has great flexibility in purchasing raw ingredients and formulating high quality sports supplements. The company also employs strict product testing to ensure that it provides proven product to its clients. “We have every single batch of our protein products tested in-house, which is unusual for a protein company and we employ our nitrogen combustion analyser to test the protein levels. Additionally, we randomly double test the proteins through an external lab and there is always absolute consistency between the recorded results,” Julian says. “We are also Halal certified by a UK based accredited company that works with Jakim in Malaysia. This can be a very emotive subject for some segments of our client base and in practical terms this meant that we had to avoid using alcohol in any cleaning products. We ensure that none of the ingredients that we buy are produced using alcohol in production or during clean-down processes. The absolute guarantee of absence of alcohol can only be a good thing when you are using products for sports and trying to optimise health.”

because to do so we would need an entirely different pasteurising plant,” Julian explains. “The development of this product came about in a very fortuitous manner and we worked with our suppliers to launch a pre-mixed product that is a recognition of the ever growing market when it comes to protein. Again, we work with trusted suppliers who care about the product to ensure that we can absolutely guarantee quality.”

While there are challenges within the market in terms of increased competition, Reflex Nutrition has a proven track record and an unrivalled passion that match its demanding pursuit of quality. Over the coming years, the business will continue to expand its presence within the UK and around the world, as Julian concludes: “I think the UK has become saturated in terms of brands and the different business models that have been applied to the UK market mean that where

ten years ago we were one of perhaps 20 brands, we are now one of 200 brands. Inevitably that is going to make the UK market a far more competitive environment, however the quality of our sporting supplements and the credibility of being an English manufacturer means that we are incredibly well received in certain markets further afield including Europe and the Middle East.” D www.reflexnutrition.com

Proven products Reflex Nutrition presently offers an extensive product portfolio that includes amino acids, bars and drinks, capsules, carbohydrates, creatine, health and wellbeing and high protein products.

The company’s philosophy is to produce its products in house, aside from a few rare instances including its new range of protein coffees. “We currently do not produce our protein coffees in-house

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Making a difference With a genuine passion for its local area, The Southern Co-operative Ltd is a successful independent regional business owned by its members

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The Southern Co-operative Ltd

E

stablished in Portsmouth (Hampshire) over a century ago, the business now runs community food stores and funeral homes across 11 counties in southern England, and can trace a continuous line of unbroken ownership by local people over the past 143 years.

This impressive heritage is something of which The Southern

Co-operative Chief Executive Mark Smith is very proud. “We were formed in 1873 in the centre of Portsmouth by a group of dockworkers who wanted to set up something in the city they had seen operating elsewhere in the country.

They started small with one shop, but as success grew, the number of shops spread out. And that is very much the model we have established, we aren’t the result of a number of reasonably sized Co-operatives coming together and merging, we have grown organically. Our footprint now stretches from the eastern tip of Kent to the middle of Devon so it is generally a south of England proposition,” he began.

From that one humble shop, The Southern

Co-operative has successfully grown its stable to 199 food retail stores throughout the region, including 25 franchised operations. “It is tantalising at the moment, as we are so close to getting to 200 managed stores!” said Mark. “Then like many societies we have a funeral related business, which is a part of our historic background as well. That runs to 53 funeral homes, two crematoriums, a natural burial ground, masonary and florist. That side is a very important part of our business, but is relatively separate from the food operation.”

The growth in the number of food stores is the result of an ambitious investment programme, with 11 added in the last financial year, and around 100 in the previous seven. Mark highlighted how this has been achieved: “We have been growing quite ambitiously and that programme continues and we are aiming at the region of another

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The Southern Co-operative Ltd Key2 Group Key2 Group is proud to have worked with The Southern Co-operative for the past 12 years and during that time has continuously branded and re-branded its stores throughout the Southern area with full internal and external signage, graphics, acrylic display and other sundry items and services.

The Hampshire-based company is a direct manufacturer of plastic fabrication, acrylic display, signage, graphics and digital print.

All work is produced in-house and the company has the capability to provide a complete and comprehensive service - which includes product design and installation - without outsourcing any elements.

ten to 20 stores this year, 2016. We aim to put ourselves down in areas where we are not currently represented but we feel we can put a good service in front of local people. There are some places where we have already ventured into, such as the Greater Bristol area and east Sussex, where we also see more opportunities going forward, along with parts of Devon, Kent and around the M25. The expansion is very well researched, as we always want our offering to be a good match for the local community and for what is currently there.”

He added: “I think what we have been able to do is establish a model that is regionally focused that works for the south.

Therefore it has been replicated and scaled up from within. There has been a degree of careful business management over a number of years to make sure that there is the resourcing in place to accomplish that growth. Furthermore, we have been able to fund that growth, through financial prudence and taking a

The Tomato Stall The Tomato Stall, speciality tomato growers on the sunny Isle of Wight, have been supplying the Southern Cooperative since 2011, initially supplying six stores across the Island before expanding to locations within Hampshire and West Sussex last year. Their award winning tomatoes are famous with chefs and foodies for their exceptional quality and flavour. Sustainably grown under glass, every tomato is allowed to fully ripen on the vine for maximum taste before being handpicked and delivered swiftly to store. Their range of artisanal products includes pure tomato juices, sauces, accompaniments and slow roasted tomatoes.

long-term view on opportunities, which is part of the model.”

Local flavours As a local food retailer, the customer service offered by The Southern Co-operative stores extends beyond its customers to the communities it serves. This dedication to ensuring that what it offers is going to benefit the local community is a huge part of The Southern Co-operative’s business success and that in-depth knowledge of its market brings benefits to the table that perhaps a big multiple can’t offer. But this approach does require a genuine focus on the local community’s needs and one way in which the organisation has addressed this is by establishing close working relationships with regional producers. “‘Local Flavours’ has been an important area of focus for us for probably about ten years now,” explained Mark. “We have been able to establish a range of local products that sits alongside our nationally sourced items through the Co-operative joint venture. We have taken an approach that focuses on a county or adjacent county for the definition of ‘local’ and it has reached a serious scale now, in terms of the range, with about 2000 lines of local products, and these are represented in around three quarters of the stores.

“What is stocked in each store is carefully selected as one size doesn’t fit all. We are always keen to meet the needs of the local area, and we find out which products work best in certain demographics and in certain types of areas.”

Mark also explained that this approach originated on the Isle of Wight, and then, using its strong retail presence, the business was able to build the concept and extend it across from Hampshire.

The suppliers that it works with become close partners and The Southern Cooperative is keen to build a long-term relationship with them. “We do try to behave quite differently with small suppliers, and some of them have grown with us, like The Tomato Stall and The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight, who have been with us for about ten years.

“This is where our medium-size and flexible approach are beneficial, as we can adapt our logistics procedures if necessary, even at the very small scale, where someone brings their products in the boot of their car! We’ve built a bit of a local hub model that has enabled us to receive those deliveries in and start distributing them on to our network.”

The support for suppliers extends further than logistics though, as The Southern Co-operative also helps the smallest suppliers with advice, in areas such as writing business plans, getting funding, complying with rules and regulations and so forth. “If our local sourcing staff are out there in the field, then they are more than happy to have a conversation and offer advice, which also helps to put a bit of added value into something like a business plan. We have even done some work with that in Chichester College, to further a more formal training approach for start-up SMEs in the food production side in Sussex. There’s loads more potential to develop on the local side.”

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The Southern Co-operative Ltd Support options This support for local products works in harmony with another of The Southern Co-operative’s programmes called Love Your Neighbourhood. This is a refreshed community programme, which builds upon its history of supporting local groups and replaced a previous community support scheme that had been running for ten years.

It is designed to reinforce all three of the company’s sustainability priorities to share, protect and support. The new programme will include inkind donations, cash donations, local fundraising partnerships, local volunteering, foodbank collection points and even community defibrillators.

“This is a community focused scheme, that we are able to drive through the store footprints,” explained Mark. “The great thing with convenience retail, and with funeral, is that your locations tend to be in neighbourhoods,

Caroline’s Dairy Ice Cream Caroline’s Dairy Ice Cream is made at Chalder Farm, Sidlesham near Chichester in West Sussex. Caroline uses only the milk from the family dairy herd to make their luxury ice cream, which supplies 19 Southern Co-operative shops. All year round flavours are a must such as Royal Bourbon Vanilla and Belgian Chocolate, not to mention their National Gold Medal winning Toffee & Honeycomb but for something a little special try one of this summer’s seasonal flavours; Amarena Cherry, Lime Cheesecake or Coconut.

On 23 August this year Chris and Caroline Spiby are inviting Members to visit their dairy farm and to also see how their ice cream is made which is proving to be of great interest, with the Southern Co-op’s Events Team saying they have had an overwhelming response from Members wishing to visit the farm. During the visit Members will learn all about how the cows are looked after, what they eat, where they sleep and see the milking. They will also learn about the conservation that is so important to the local habitat before setting off to the ice cream parlour where they will find out how the ice cream is made then it will be time for a delicious tasting.

small high streets, and so forth. So the touch points with the community are more obvious and easier to create, though obviously they need to do something with it.

“Love your Neighbourhood is putting a framework together that is pretty flexible, depending on where you are and what the local catchment is and wants. But stores are then able to offer a range of different support options, whether that be volunteering, or help with donations, or work with mentoring, apprentice opportunities, those sorts of things, tailored to the specifics of their catchment.

“We are trying to get to a place where in some respects our store managers are like the old traditional shopkeepers, that they are an integral part of the community, they are able to take part in the activities that are going on there, whether that is being active in the local trade association, or good works that

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The Southern Co-operative Ltd down stores in brand new housing developments where we can, that is a long-term play.”

are being done for a good cause, to provide that local focus, and Love your Neighbourhood is a part of that.”

Relevant and modern Love your Neighbourhood perfectly complements the Local Flavours initiative, as customers can see how a store supports local growers, and that narrative helps to highlight The Southern Co-operative’s aim to create long-term partnerships with its local communities to the benefit of everyone.

As the second half of 2016 unfolds, the food retail sector is facing the new challenges that have been born as a result of the UK’s referendum decision.

But Mark is confident that The Southern Co-operative will weather any storms that may be on the horizon: “Our business model has dealt with many things over 143 years, and long-term it will deal with this as well. I think there will be a little short term uncertainty, on how consumers are going to behave, and perhaps more importantly how bigger retailers are going to behave.

“But we are in some ways in the best place to handle that, because our food retail isn’t big ticket, it is convenience pop-up rather than big spend. Of course there are still a lot of unknowns, and bigger picture, we have to consider what it means particularly for currency and devaluation and how that flows, and will it go on to put further pressure on margins – all these questions are still unanswered.

“But we are carrying on with our strategy. There is always more to do,

finishing the job that we have been doing for the last six or seven years, which is to further replicate this model into areas that don’t yet benefit from it.

We are trying to target areas that are new and growing communities, putting

He concluded: “We still are very much following that approach, playing into what we think is a long-term desire of people to support local businesses, and to see local people employed, and where possible local products sold in there as well. That holds good whatever.

There are clearly some near term pressures, which we have to keep an eye on like everyone else, and some cost base pressures around, like the national living wage, and business rates, which are obviously the two big ones for all retailers. But we think we are in a good place to deal with those, and that with these plans that we have, we can continue to be even better.”

The story of The Southern Cooperative is one of longevity, experience and steady, continual growth. Thanks to its attention to detail and genuine care for every community where it has a shop, the company has been able to recently report a 4.7 per cent increase in total income, and a profit increase of 4.4 per cent. By staying relevant and modern, and maintaining its successful growth strategies, there is every reason to think there will be another 140 years of success for the business as it goes forward into the future. D www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk

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Chocs away!

Through diversifying operations and investing in new machinery, Northern confectioner Sweetdreams is enjoying sweet success

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O

riginally an accidental creation

by Dobsons Confectionary in Ponteland, Choc Nibbles has developed a dedicated following in the North of England over the last 30 years. In 1998 the unique milk chocolate snack formed the foundation for Sweetdreams Ltd, which was acquired

by Matthew Stephenson nine years ago with the goal of establishing a nationally successful brand of chocolate products.

Talking with FoodChain in November 2015, Matthew commented: “The core product is Choc Nibbles, but as we have developed flavours and ingredients the product range has increased. The second largest seller is Toffee Crumble, followed by Choc Lick, and then we have introduced flavour variants of orange and mint. In 2015, we have launched two new products, which are Jammie and Posh. Our products are completely unique and can’t be mixed up with being anything else as we’re the only one doing it. We affectionately call it an ‘ugly’ treat, which can be a struggle to get new consumers to buy into, but those who have tried it, trust it and keep coming back.”

Indeed, with a loyal brand following in the North, Matthew and his small, dedicated team made the strategic decision to put the development of new flavours on the back burner and instead focus on new markets. “If you look at our business, historically we focused being a supplier to the traditional wholesale market, who then sold onto the traditional sweet shops. Three or four years ago we progressed into the re-bagging market and began to supply our products in bulk; this wasn’t innovation in any way, but gave us an opportunity to create a whole new market for Sweetdreams. This development resulted in our company getting listed with Bonds Confectionery and their three for a pound range – and for the first time ever, Bonds Confectionery added our Original Choc Nibbles branding alongside their logo – a first for this range. This shows how far we have come.”

Alongside this project, the company has also recently announced it has secured its first order for Choc Nibbles to go into the UK’s national discount retailer, B&M Stores; a breakthrough for the company that stems from an investment of £100,000 during 2015 that has enabled Sweetdreams to diversify its packaging formats and be more reactive to market developments.

“We have spent a lot of money on improving areas such as quality, production and packing, the latter of which includes investment into new in-house bagging machinery,” says Matthew. “Following this investment we have been working with B&M on the development of our 250 gram pre-pack bags of Original Choc Nibbles. Once the bag was up to a standard we were happy with, B&M listed the bag and got it a prominent showing in a retail environment, which is a hugely difficult task for a small company to achieve; thankfully we had fantastic support from B&M and their confectionery team.

“We are now supplying the whole of the B&M estate and are supplying tens of thousands of bags. In fact, our forecast for the year for the new bag was just over 120,000, and we have already superseded that in the first six weeks.

It has been an astonishingly brilliant success that has been well supported by

Sweetdreams B&M.” Made with premium ingredients and real milk chocolate, the 99p packs of Choc Nibbles continue the company’s trend of delivering high quality ingredients at excellent value.

With the B&M contract an undeniable success, Sweetdreams is now keen to increase its market presence by building on the national brand exposure. “Having tangible, successful sales data from a national retailer for our products will hopefully open doors to new markets and new customers,” says Matthew. “We are hoping to announce a second listing in a large national retailer in the coming weeks, as well as introducing new products and flavours in the prepack format.

“These are exciting times, and we are in a good place at the moment, but as a private, family-owned business, any risk is my risk, so we make sure we keep our core customers and suppliers happy and then take manageable, controlled steps to grow the business for the future.”

MOULDED PACKAGING SOLUTIONS (MPS) MPS is a UK based manufacturer of containers and closures for the food service and confectionary markets. As a relatively young and expanding company it has invested significantly in its product ranges and production capabilities to improve its offering to these sectors.

In addition to its expanding product portfolio, MPS customers benefit from a quick and responsive service, with over 50 years of packaging and processing/production experience that it is more than happy to share with you.

With the business now in prime shape for continued growth, Sweetdreams has turned its attentions to expanding its operations by integrating its strengths in a controlled manner. “Our growth will be over 30 per cent this year and I don’t see a problem maintaining or even surpassing that in 2017. The key to this growth has been investment, innovation and finding the right people who work together,” highlights Matthew.

“Although we took a risk and invested before we had the orders we are now reaping the benefits and looking positively to the future; in the next six months we are looking to relocate as we have outgrown our factory and have more than doubled our staff numbers in the last six months. We want to increase these numbers again and are looking for technical personnel to join our team at this exciting time in our history,” he concludes. D www.chocnibbles.co.uk

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Deep-rooted history ‘From seed to food’ is the motto at Cosucra and is something it truly believes in.

Partnerships with more than 400 food manufacturers and more than 1000 product references worldwide demonstrate that Cosucra works alongside clients from idea to launch 36 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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ith a rich history that can be traced all the way back to 1852 in Belgium, Cosucra is a family owned business led today by Jacques Crahay (CEO) who is the fifth generation of the family. It began business by extracting the sugar from locally grown beets, something that would evolve in the coming centuries. Having this pedigree that can be followed back centuries is core to the ethos of the company - one of traditional values that are combined with modern methods.

Despite an expanding market across the world, it never yields quality, integrity, or values in order to achieve this. It is a well-established Belgian chicory and pea processor, and has continued to find new ways to improve its high pea protein Pisane, which provides high

levels of nutrition and functionality to its customers. This alternative is free from common allergens, non-dairy, and supports bone health, as well as cutting out many of the sugars and fats that can be found in other high protein foods. Cosucra also produces Inulin Fibruline, which is a chicory root soluble dietary fiber, and is globally recognised fiber that has wide reaching nutritional benefits.

The lists of useful applications of the pea are remarkable, and appear to almost be endless. Cosucra itself is not a small figure in this sector, but rather a leading character. Already having pioneered products such as pea protein Pisane, pea fibers Swelite, Exafine, and pea starch Nastar, it is one of the most experienced companies in the market, and when discussing this with Michel

‘

Cosucra

Cosucra is determined to respect the natural resources, help mitigate any impact on the environment, and to ensure a sustainable process from start to finish

premium with a lot of applications.

We have already greatly increased our capacity, however with the market continuing to grow we have more plans to continue expanding capacity to ensure that we can meet demand.” For most companies this is a considerably more advantageous problem to have. It can still be a concern, but it also offers a lucrative opportunity, which Michel said the company is intending to take advantage of: “There is a reason why

our brand is of premium reputation.

And so we have decided to be the first to announce massive increases in capacity, because the market is really demanding these.” Cosucra is ahead of the competition by having already seen expansion, and Michel presented the intention to increase further: “The future plan is to continue increasing our capacity, as we have already made investments in modern systems, as well as modern abilities.”

Deweal, commercial director, it was something he expanded on: “Pisane has very strong demand, and we have been able to produce this for more than 25 years. We started in the 90s, and we were one of the first ones in the market.

We have built upon this by a continued effort to improve our products. There is a long history, with extensive experience in processing peas and chicory roots, and the subsequent adaptations of these products.”

Expanding capacity One of the biggest hurdles the company has to jump over is that of meeting a higher level of demand, as with good product comes increased reputation, which inherently brings greater consumer numbers. Michel elaborated on this situation: “Our products are

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Cosucra Clean label Cosucra is also managing to achieve this success and expansion while maintaining an environmental consciousness at the heart of the company. Crops are grown by local farmers, which Michel cited as having another positive: “Our products are useful for those wanting to have a no GMO diet, and all the things our company puts on the market are clean label products.” Cosucra is determined to respect the natural resources, help mitigate any impact on the environment, and to ensure a sustainable process from start to finish. There are many more ways in which it tries to act environmentally, the use of green energy as much as possible is one, energy effectiveness is another, and managing water use. Sustainability takes another form as well, as Cosucra works long– term with its farmers, ensuring that there is a positive and fair relationship, where there is a dialogue between the two parties.

The overwhelming principles of the company are clear, it believes in the products it makes, and these provide a healthier and more wholesome alternative for people. There is a pride in what is being done at Cosucra, and the product offers dietary and nutrition solutions to needs and preferences of growing sections of society. Whether it is for weight loss, low salt, or low fat, there is a multitude of applications in which Cosucra products can help. There is another benefit of the company, which is that with the market growing it provides a higher quality and more reliable product than its competitors, something Michel was keen to emphasize: “On the market today you can probably find other companies producing this, but of a lower quality. As there are more and more companies in Europe and US that want a large supply of this product, they don’t want to rely on Chinese producers, as they can be concerned about quality issues or safety risks.”

Dietary solutions With people across the world, particularly within Europe and the

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Temafield Cosucra has opted to work with Temafield to transform its industrial processes. Temafield uses TPM/WCM – a structured, staff-wide, cohesive management process – to drive change within its partners’ organisations.

TPM/WCM is an effective method that delivers long-lasting results, promotes employee ownership and garners management support. It involves implementing an enterprise-wide project underpinned by practical methods and tools, in which individuals are encouraged to look after, manage and continuously improve their workstation. In turn, this personal ownership contributes to the success of the collective project.

The TPM/WCM method delivers a more structured, coherent organisation in which there is genuine integration across all disciplines. And because the corresponding tools are practical, transparent and easy to use, every member of the organisation is able to make a meaningful contribution to healthy, sustainable performance.

TPM/WCM is about taking the long view and looking ahead with confidence. It fosters a positive corporate culture that benefits each and every employee.

US, becoming more environmentally conscious and seeking alternatives, it is no wonder that Cosucra can boast such success. With people every day moving towards a more varied diet, whether it is a wish to avoid meat, lessen the environmental impact, or due to specific dietary concerns, Cosucra offers the solution, and it comes from the humble yet beneficial and versatile pea. From such a proud history, there will no doubt be an even prouder future to come. D www.cosucra.com

Lacons

Brewing

legacy

With a history dating back over more than 250 years within Norfolk’s historic seaside town of Great Yarmouth, Lacons brewery represents an iconic name that has experienced a phoenix-like return to the market in recent years

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T

he Lacons brand was originally established during 1760 as a family-run and highly self-sufficient brewery, with its own malting houses and brewing equipment. “Eventually the company moved to a larger premises located at Fullers Hill in Great Yarmouth. At its peak Lacons brewery sent over 150,000 pints of ale per week to London. The brewery also had more than 350 tied houses, as well as a further 50 in London and at that time was producing 80,000 barrels of beer per year,” elaborates Communications Manager, Simon Baldry.

“The brewery continued to grow from strength to strength as a family run business until 1957, when Whitbread first became involved in the company and started to acquire a shareholding in the business following its insertion on the stock exchange,” Simon continues.

“Over a number of years Whitbread continued buying up shares in Lacons and gradually took complete control.

Unfortunately the brewery was ultimately mothballed in 1968 with the loss of over 150 jobs in Great Yarmouth, as Whitbread’s main interest was Lacons vast pub estate.”

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‘

Following its closure the business and the Lacons name laid dormant for close to half a century, until 2009 when the company’s present Managing Director, Mick Carver began to research into the possibility of reawakening Lacons.

After several years of negotiation with the modern brewing arm of Whitbread, (Luxembourg based SA Brand Brew, a subsidiary of AB Inbev) the iconic Lacons’ falcon was refreshed with the brewery finally opening its doors again during May 2013. Most recently the company has further solidified its position by unifying the brewery and its distribution partner as a single entity under the Lacons banner during 2015.

Prior to taking on Lacons brewery, Mick was also the Managing Director of the Lowestoft based company JV Trading. Following the rebirth of the Lacons brewery, JV Trading continued to operate as a leading distributor for Lacons alongside many other iconic drinks brands. The decision to merge the two businesses has enabled both to grow even stronger under the firmly established and fondly remembered Lacons name.

“We have worked in partnership with JV since our return and the relationship

Today the company crafts a core range of five ales, comprised of Encore, Legacy, Affinity, Pale Ale and Falcon Ale alongside seasonal and heritage ranges they have with the licensed trade in the Anglia region is second to none. As a business, the core values of JV Trading are parallel to Lacons and for us and all involved it makes perfect sense to marry both entities together under the iconic Lacons name and manage them as one,” Mick says. “Lacons as a name carries such nostalgic significance for so many people in this region, it’s a story that began over 250 years ago and was nearly lost forever in the late 1960s.

This decision means the name can once again stand proud, not only as a brewer, but as a business that offers a complete drinks and support package to the many public houses that require it.”

Original yeast The impressive rebirth of the Lacons business has been matched by the quality of the beers the brewery has

Lacons developed. Once the management team of Mick Carver and Sales Director, Trevor Hourican managed to acquire the Lacons name and intellectual property the company was finally able to secure the original Lacons yeast for beer making from frozen storage in the National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC), based in Norwich. Around this time the multi-award winning brewer Wil Wood joined the business after previously brewing at Scotland’s Fyne Ales and began to develop the next generation of Lacons ales. Today the company crafts a core range of five ales, comprised of Encore, Legacy, Affinity, Pale Ale and Falcon Ale alongside seasonal and heritage ranges.

“We began by developing three core beers, which were trialled extensively before general release and contain the finest whole cone hops and malts. The beers are also crafted in a unique way, using the original Lacons yeast. Most brewers have their own yeast strain that they brew with and each yeast reacts differently and this gives the range its unique flavours, making it fully authentic and therefore allowing the beers to be crafted under the Lacons name,” Simon details. “Further to our core and seasonal beers, we also produce our popular heritage range.

This is comprised of nearly ten beers that have been inspired by the original Lacons recipes that we have in our archive and the original artwork that was associated with them. Our head brewer has modernised these recipes and they are now released on a month-by-month basis and are very popular beers in addition to our core range.”

London’s Olympia which is an honour,” Simon exclaims.

With a successful resurrection and many award-winning beers already under its belt, the future appears to be very bright for Lacons. Indeed, the company has recently invested a six figure sum into commissioning new brewing plant, which will allow it to

Mick Carver with William Lacon

increase its levels of production by at least four or five times, once the equipment is installed. “The level of investment that we are committing speaks volumes about the amount of opportunity in the market for our ales. Norfolk is a hot bed for cask ale breweries at the moment, with over 30 in operation in the region,” Simon concludes. “We are focused on fully restoring the Lacons name to its former glory. Once the new brew plant has been commissioned we will be able to substantially grow our business at quite a pace, through our own delivery network and by going further afield around all over the UK. On the drink distribution side, we are about giving our customers quality and consistency of deliveries and ensuring that our customers have the right products on their bars to serve to their patrons – including Lacons multiaward winning ales.” D www.lacons.co.uk

Champion ale Indeed, the Lacons range has proven so popular that its flagship ale, Encore, has no less than eight awards to its name out of a total of 16 awards across the core range. “These accolades include the recognition of Encore as the World’s Best Bitter under four per cent at the World Beer Awards, as well as being awarded the title of CAMRA’s Norfolk Champion Golden Ale for 2016. We are also very pleased to have been invited

by CAMRA to pour Encore on the bar at this year’s Great British Beer Festival at

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Rich potential

O With over two decades of industry experience, CCL Products (India) Ltd. has grown into a leading specialist in the manufacture of rich and aromatic instant coffee products

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perating as a public limited company listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE), CCL products (India) Ltd. was founded in Duggirala Village, Andhra Pradesh, India by its current Executive Chairman, Sri Challa Rajendra Prasad. The company was established during 1994 with a single 3000 MTs plant and has since continued to grow in terms of its market presence and manufacturing capacity.

With a strong manufacturing base and distribution network, CCL is able to offer a comprehensive variety of coffee products from a single location with a broad range that includes: • Plain instant coffee • Speciality instant coffees - flavoured, non-flavoured, caffeinated, non decaffeinated • Spray dried coffee • Freeze dried coffee • Liquid concentrated coffee • Roasted coffee, roast and ground coffee • 3-in-1 coffee (premix) • Functional coffee • Certified coffee, speciality coffee

Upholding the reputation for being one of the most trusted brands in the industry, CCL Products is committed to delivering its promise of manufacturing unparalleled quality products. Roasted, blended and processed to the precise requirements of clients, the Arabica and Robusta green coffee is handpicked from different parts of the world. Its coffee is manufactured at -60 degree Celsius to retain the original flavour and aroma and CCL is among the only companies in the world to produce all four types of pure soluble coffee from a single location. What’s more, the company maintains all of the relevant quality certifications, including BRC version 7, manages a fully certified quality management system (QMS) and regularly conducts internal quality audits to ensure the consistency in product quality. This allows major brand owners to rely on CCL for an excellent grade of proven coffee products.

As the first company to establish and operate a freeze-dried coffee plant within India during 2005, CCL has developed a reputation for both innovation and quality. This is further highlighted by its use of both Swiss and

CCL Products (India) Brazilian coffee making technology, as well as the company’s continued investment into its plant facilities.

To give an insight into its manufacturing procedure, and using the Freeze Concentrated Liquid coffee as an example, the speciality of Freeze Concentration technology is its ability to retain product quality to the maximum, as a result of operation at sub zero temperatures. The closed system design of this technology eliminates vapour/ liquid interfaces. There is no loss of aromas or other volatile components, no thermal degradation, no oxidation and there is retention of sensory properties of the original feed product.

The modern freeze concentration process consists of a crystallization section, where part of the water is converted into solid ice crystals with the use of a refrigeration system. The ice crystals are then separated by filters, centrifuges or with the help of wash columns. This technology is based on a specific form of suspension melt crystallization and has made freeze concentration economically feasible for a wide range of applications.

Supporting its range of coffee products and to ensure they arrive at the customer in perfect condition, CCL offers a wide range of packaging options, including jars, cans, pouches/ sachets, bag-in-box, drums and bulk box. Its range of jar options illustrates exactly how flexible the business can be – it has the capacity to offer coffee in 25 gms, 50 gms, 100 gms and 200 gms jars. The jars and caps on the jars can be customised in varied shapes, and printed or embossed with labels and design/logo, as per the requirements of the customers. CCL is also in a position to offer shrink sleeve labels. The jars can be further packed in corrugated boxes and loaded into the containers or can be shrink wrapped on trays and palletised as well, depending on the requirements of the customer.

Apart from maintaining the highest standards of quality in respect of its products, CCL is also vigorously devoted towards its responsibilities to observe standards in respect of environmental protection and ethical fair trade. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

initiative the company has undertaken many projects such as the promotion of education in rural areas, infrastructure and sanitation development, improving the welfare of young girls, and facilitating pure drinking water to rural areas identified in and around the factory at Duggirala, Guntur District, Andhra

Pradesh. The company also contributed towards the improvement of health and sanitation by setting up Green Toilets at several places throughout Guntur District. Furthermore, the organisation took the initiative to construct houses for the Hudhud cyclone victims at Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh. The overall objective of its CSR programme is to operate the business in a sustainable manner respecting society and the environment, while recognising the interests of all stakeholders.

As coffee continues to grow in popularity around the world with both domestic and commercial clients, CCL is in a favourable position to expand its market presence within India and abroad. Although the industry inevitably faces some challenges relating to cost and increasing competition, the company is confident that the coming years will be very positive indeed. D www.cclproducts.com

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Putting food first

Operating in 90 locations across the UK, multi awardwinning 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.

“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

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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.

Coffee co-operative 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

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bartlett mitchell 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.

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.”

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.

Berkeley Scott Since 2010, Bartlett Mitchell have relied on Berkeley Scott to provide them with chefs, kitchen porters and front of house staff in order to successfully grow their business. They not only want legally compliant, fully trained and reliable staff, but they need an agency that is able to support their growth and shares their vision. For this reason Berkeley Scott have become increasingly important partners, supplying a growing number of staff each year. With their own sustainability and ethical supply chain, Berkeley Scott also remove the logistical headache away from Bartlett Mitchell, who can rely upon the quality and unrivalled service offered by the UK’s oldest, most established and largest hospitality recruitment experts.

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

Award winners This dedication to sustainable food has resulted in the company winning several awards, such as the Corporate Social

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Cream

of the crop

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Joint venture Al Safi Danone has pushed boundaries over the last 35 years to ensure consumers in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East receive dairy products that not only provide proper nutrition, but also maintain quality, fun and exceptional taste 48 www.foodchainmagazine.com

stablished in 1981 by Saudi entrepreuner giant Al Faisaliah Group, the Al Safi Dairy Farm was initiated with the goal of enriching consumer’s lives while also taking care of their families’ nutritional needs. Over the last 35 years this goal has been met and exceeded time and again thanks to the company’s commitment to delivering wholesome and delicious dairy products. Keen to push for further innovative developments, Al Safi Dairy Farm partnered with Danone Group, the leading French dairy producer, in 2001 and swiftly expanded and enhanced its operations in the dairy industry. By pooling both companies’ knowledge into the industry, the joint venture has not only successfully made a difference to the community, but also cemented its strong reputation in the market.

“Al Safi Danone is a dairy company that provides 100 per cent fresh products directly from our farm, which is located in Al Kharj area, 120km southeast of Riyadh. Al Safi Dairy Farm has been operating in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East for the past 35 years, allowing it to fully understand the culture of the community and thus meet the needs of its consumers. Furthermore, our farm is globally recognised as the largest integrated dairy farm in the world and has been credited as such since 1998; we have more than 3500 hectares

of land, more than 32,000 Holstein Friesian cattle that produce 165 million litres of milk per year and have around 1200 employees working around the clock,” begins Abdulmajeed Alrasheed, Senior PR Officer at Al Safi Danone.

Complementing what is arguably the world’s most advanced and wellrespected dairy farm in the world is Danone Group, an organisation that has been recognised since 1973 as Europe’s leading nutrition-driven company and holds the crown as the largest dairy producer in the world. “A pioneer in the field of healthy nutrition research and development, Danone’s partnership with Al Safi Dairy Farm has enabled Al Safi Danone to introduce innovative and value-added products into the Saudi market.”

Today distributing to 28 branches inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through 600 distribution routes that reach 35,000 retail stores, as well as 11 countries including the GCC region, the company’s varied portfolio includes fresh milk, long life or UHT milk, Al Safi yoghurt, Al Safi cream, Safio flavoured milk and yoghurt; Danao’s milk-juice with essential vitamins and flavours, Activia Laban and Danette pudding with different flavours.

New products Commenting on the company’s ever-expanding range of products, Abdulmajeed says: “Our biggest brand is Al Safi, the traditional Safi brand, which started more than 35 years ago and is really the core of our business and features products such as milk and Laban; the latter is a drinkable yoghurt that also has 100 per cent pure cows milk in it that has proven highly popular in the Middle East. We always have new innovations in the pipeline; in fact, our latest collaboration was with Disney by co-branding our flavoured yoghurt and using various Disney characters for our younger customers.

“Moreover, we recently launched a suite of cheese types under our main brand, Al Safi, to cover all tastes and needs of our consumers, and are extremely happy to announce that we are entering the fresh juice market in August with seven flavours. This is the single

Al Safi Danone biggest investment in our company’s history and we are aiming to be a strong contender in the juice market within the region,” he adds.

Proud to be known as an innovator, Al Safi Danone has also introduced a new size of 1.5 litres, which is a brand new innovation in the entire region and offers benefits when it comes to pricing and availability for customers. The company has also added introduced chocolate, cream caramel, a brand new innovation from Danone, which is also seeing positive results. “We are the most innovative company in the region and are bold when it comes to creating new products,” says Adbulmajeed. “For example, one of the main themes of the Saudi Vision 2030 is ‘Caring for Health’ and promoting preventative healthcare,

antioxidants through using green tea; this is a new innovation for the region.”

which is already synced with our main message and products. However, we are taking it a step further, as some of our upcoming juice line-up includes

With the Saudi market showing yearon-year growth between five and ten per cent, the company is enjoying solid growth and accumulating new customers

each year. However, Abdulmajeed comments that the biggest challenge facing the dairy industry in Saudi Arabia is price capping: “The price cap on dairy products was established in the 1980s as the Government views milk and yoghurt as a basic commodity. It is a challenge but we are working with the Government to solve this issue, particularly when it comes to inflation that has taken place over the years, the rising cost of labour, production and utilities.”

Despite these issues, Al Safi Danone continues to grow in the market and attract new customers that want products that provide good health, yet taste great. With innovation, quality and nutrition a constant focus for the company, Abdulmajeed concludes: “It is our goal to introduce products that will be game changing to the Saudi and GCC market and for us as a company too, so stay tuned!” D www.alsafidanone.com

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Sweet Success Pure creates high quality chocolate products, in particular delicious and unique truffles.

These come in a wide choice of flavours and blends that make it stand out from others in the chocolate industry

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ure Chocolate began in 2007 with just one factory, and has since opened another in 2013.

It derives its name from the city it was founded and operates in, Pure in Latvia. It is a family owned business – by a father and son - that strives to be a strong and fast growing company. Though it is in some respects a small producer, in a small town – which has a population of around 2000, it supplies countries all over the world with uniquely designed chocolates. The approach taken at Pure means that in less than a decade it has built a global reputation.

The company outsources several products - it produces ice cream and cakes, which prove popular in the summer, but the heart of the company and the main focus of it is chocolate truffles. These are all made from natural materials and for special customers it has fair trade and UTZ chocolate, and Pure is committed to providing the most innovative flavours for its consumers, and makes about 60 or 70 tonnes of chocolate a month.

Pure works according to ISO 22,000:2500 and the BRC food safety management system, ensuring that everything it makes not only provides an amazing taste, but also peace of mind that it is has been made under brilliant standards.

The chocolates are all made by a team of passionate and dedicated experts, that come up with the various flavour combinations and truffle designs.

The love that goes into the product should not be underestimated, there is a genuine belief in the food that is being made. This is able to happen due to it being a small family owned business, and the staff are committed to doing the company proud and meeting its values, all in order to ensure that a customer will try Pure chocolates once and will want the truffles again.

Member of the board Karlis Kvals went into greater detail about the truffles it crafts: “We have three lines of chocolate truffles. The first one that is really unique and shows why Pure chocolate is high class is the decorated option, this is our premium line, which is more for special events like Christmas, Easter, EID Mubarak or birthdays etc.

The raw material is purchased as a chocolate from Belgium, and we then use only natural fillings and natural garnishing around it, such as dried fruits etc. Then we have the smaller truffles without decorations, these are more for every day enjoyment, and this has two lines, the berry line and the cream line.

The berry line has a square box of 75g,

Pure Chocolate it also has a larger box option as well for the more indulgent days. Lastly, we have a more recent addition that we launched a year and a half ago which is really exciting, and these are big twisted truffles, which are for pick and mix bags or standup bags.” Karlis was also keen to impress that Pure is always innovating and adapting to changes in tastes: “Our technologists are always working on new flavours. Different regions have different tastes, some that are proving popular in the Gulf are flavours like cheesecake, whereas in the USA cookie butter is preferred.” The variety of products means that whatever occasion, and whatever taste someone has in chocolate, then there will be a selection from Pure that is perfect.

Ambitious aims One way in which Pure has established itself in the global market is by attending trade fairs, something that

Karlis highlighted: “The trade shows are very important for us. All our customers who we have outside of the Baltic States we met there. The most important fair is the ISM in Cologne, and next year it will be the 6th year in a row where we have participated. Every year we get around three to five deals from it, one recent deal we secured is in New Zealand.” Pure also is active at many other events as well, these range from in Chicago in America, to Shanghai in China.

The company has achieved a great deal in a short period, but intends to build on this, and one of the ambitions that the owner’s aim for is that one-day everyone in the world will taste a Pure chocolate at lease once. The company has other strategies, which are a less long-term than that, as Karlis outlines: “The plan is to grow at least twice in terms of volume and turnover until 2020. The next four years we have to

build the business up, and it is quite realistic at this point. We will invest in new equipment, and we will move forward in some places at varying speeds depending on the market.” This flexible approach means Pure is more sustainable, rather than booming too fast and getting caught out by material price changes or demand drops.

Pure has seen improvements year on year, which is no wonder when the range and quality of the product is considered. The truffles that the company makes are unique, and the flavours stand out, to such a degree that whether it is in the US, Russia, Gulf States, Japan, or anywhere in-between, there is a growing demand for its chocolate. Pure has made inroads in a great number of countries now, it seems just a matter of time until the people in those areas try one truffle and can’t stop having more. D www.purechocolate.lv

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Sternenbaek GmbH

Rising up Celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2016, ninth generation family run bakery Sternenbaek GmbH is as fresh as ever

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eginning operations with its first bakery in 1766, Sternenbaek GmbH has grown over the last 250 years to accumulate more than 270 locations and over 1800 employees. The company also has production facilities in Gera, Spremberg, Hechingen and Enfurt, all of which operate with a philosophy that the processing of baked goods by hand is just as important as the utilisation of modern technology.

“Sternenbaek GmbH was founded in 1766 by my great grandpa nine times over,” begins Gerhard Bumuller, Managing Director at Sternenbaek GmbH. “During the eighth generation in the 1950s and 60s, the company was a small bakery with one shop at the front of the building, a bakery in the back and a restaurant on the first floor. Managed

by my grandpa from the 1960s, the company was driven forward to deliver products to regular customers and by the final years of the 80s we had around 80 stores in West Germany. Following this growth, my Dad decided in 1989 to expand into East Germany and diversified our services for a brief amount of time before focusing only on doing business with shops by 1992.”

He continues: “A major benefit for our ongoing growth throughout the 1990s was the fact that we were in the right place at the right time to expand. We also has the right business partners, which enabled us to grow quickly in East Germany, while also maintaining a solid presence in West Germany. However, this growth wouldn’t be possible without our competitive levels of quality and evolving menu of products; we also offer a mix of traditional and

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‘

non-traditional business. For example, if we are making strudels we will use machinery that can produce 14,000 rolls per hour, but for baked sweet traditional items, we will produce these by hand.”

As a fresh baker that believes in

Maintaining tradition

and pastries are integral to

Indeed, alongside the latest production technology, which is used for high volume products, the company places strong emphasis on the importance of craft within the pastry departments.

Here employees produce goods almost entirely by hand; a tradition that also extends to many other baked goods.

The facility in Hechingen, which stands at 15,000 square metres and has been in operation since 1992, focuses on modern artisan bakery and confectionary, the production of frozen dough pieces that are focused on liquor goods, Danish pastry and puff pastry.

Meanwhile, the Gera production facility, which stands at 7200 square

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delivering ‘taste with heart’, the careful selection of ingredients and fresh preparation of breads Sternenbaek’s successful delivery of high quality foods

metres and opened in 2000, focuses on bread and pastry, confectionary and frozen goods. In this location around 60 million units per year of the popular Kaiser buns are produced; Gera has also been awarded the DLG award for its Champion Roll and rye rolls as well as the silver DLG award for its pumpkin seed buns.

The final production facility, Spremberg, stands at 7000 square metres, and focuses on bread and pastry, confectionary goods and frozen goods. It is here that approximately 90 million pieces of precooked Kaiser, bread and Schrippenteiglingen are produced, and also the Schrippen were awarded with the Silver DLG Award for quality in 2013.

“After 250 years it is important to remember that we are still the only owner of this company and have maintained tradition throughout this time. We are not a big bakery with

Sternenbaek GmbH

machines, and have instead stuck to our roots by producing a lot of our products by hand; these include cakes and rolls,” highlights Gerhard.

knowledge on baking products within the company’s growing portfolio remains up to date. “We listen to the market and what our customers want to remain up-to-date on market trends and in turn train our employees to produce

Daily improvement As a fresh baker that believes in delivering ‘taste with heart’, the careful selection of ingredients and fresh preparation of breads and pastries are integral to Sternenbaek’s successful delivery of high quality foods. This commitment to quality also naturally extends to the choosing of suppliers and the training of its bakery professionals; these employees are trained continuously to ensure their

WACHTEL With us, oven-building is linked to decades of experience, care and precision.

We have been producing ovens, loaders and refrigeration equipment, all Made in Germany, since 1923 – and all this now in the 3rd generation of the family. Our passion for service to our customers and our quality expectations for future-fit premium equipment made us pioneers in the shop bakery sector.

Today we continue to develop product innovations that become the models for the entire industry. Regardless to which industry the customer‘s company belong we can offer ovens that correspond exactly to the needs.

these food items to a high quality,” says Gerhard. “However, although we pay attention to trends, our key focus is on delivering our day-to-day products to a high level of quality every day. In fact, a big part of our product range is the same as it was 20 years ago.”

Once baked, the company’s goods are sent to locations such as bakeries and cafes in retail establishments in the payment zone; bakeries and cafes in shipping centres and retail parks, bakeries and cafes in pedestrian areas or busy places such as buildings at road junctions, metro, tram and bus stops; products are also available at self service bakeries, which would be found at bus stations or train stations.

By placing itself in locations that are central and highly frequented, with good infrastructure, metro, tram or bus stops nearby and good visibility to the public eye, Sternenbaek has developed a strong presence in Germany. Despite its success, the company is keen to continue growing through ongoing expansion into new strategic areas, with its most recent opening taking place in a shop in Meßkirch, Germany, in June 2016.

“Over the coming years we will focus on developing our presence in East Germany further while also developing our shops through refurbishment and so on. Improvement is a daily process, which is why it is important to keep progressing as a way to maintain our competitive edge,” he concludes. D www.sternenbaeck.de

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Cask masters

Proud to be supporting the brewing industry, Morrow Brothers has continuously improved its business, with a new kegging-filling operation next on the agenda

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lready a world leader in cask and keg refurbishment, when FoodChain last spoke to Morrow Brothers in late 2015, the company was in the very early stages of its new venture, Morrow Brothers Packaging Ltd. The new business includes a new facility, based in Buckshaw Village and operates as a contract bottling plant providing bottling, labelling and packaging services, as well as further distributing products for speciality beverage manufacturers.

The company founders Alan, Kieron and Liam Morrow believe that Morrow Brothers Packaging Ltd is a natural diversification from its roots in the repair and refurbishment of kegs and casks. They spent two years dedicating themselves to market research in order to ensure they could provide the highest standard of service to customers, with a primary focus being on maintaining the characteristics of the beer sent to the plant, as well as achieving high quality and consistency with low losses when filling. The plant is set up to eliminate dissolved oxygen contamination and process the beer as efficiently as possible. Since opening, the production

team at Morrow Brothers has managed to reduce losses for customers to well below five per cent on average and on recent regular runs losses have been zero. Such low losses have been achieved on run sizes between 10 BBL and 100 BBL. With a laboratory on site Morrow is even able to provide a full analysis service along with specified carbonation and filtration levels, offering a bespoke service to all customers.

Having a high quality production plant is one thing, but efficiency is really the key factor as that is what makes bottling worthwhile for brewers of all sizes. As Morrow’s client Seven Bro7hers Brewery stated on its website: ‘We really struggled to find a packaging partner with the high standards we sought. Having had a bad experience at two other companies we were reluctant to go down the contractor route for a third time. After visiting the Morrow Brothers plant and meeting the team of people our fears were allayed.

The beer they packaged for us not only tastes fantastic in pack but they provided us with 100 per cent of it back therefore saving us a significant amount.’ Having now been in business for almost a year, Morrow Brothers

Morrow Brothers Ltd Packaging has firmly established itself as one of the leading contract fillers for microbreweries within the UK, and its plans for expansion keep growing. As Liam Morrrow told FoodChain previously: “The next phase will be to offer our own contract kegging facility, which is an obvious fit with our keg business. This will enable us to provide the keg while the customer supplies the beer, once the keg is full it can be delivered to wherever it is required.” Twelve months on and at time of writing the new kegging operation is just weeks away from launching.

While the new businesses are demanding a lot of attention, the heart of Morrow Brother’s success lies in its repair and refurbishing services for kegs and casks within the brewing industry.

Indeed, when the business was founded in 1969 Alan and David Morrow really created the British keg and cask repair sector. “What previously happened when kegs or casks began to leak is that they were sent to the manufacturer and exchanged at scrap value on a pro rata basis against the purchase of new ones. This was fairly inefficient and not very economical compared to repair and reconditioning,” explained Liam when he last spoke to FoodChain. Seeing that this process could be improved, the Morrow Brothers created a service where stainless steel and aluminium kegs and casks could be repaired and refurbished.

“A further benefit of this, although this was perhaps not as considered during the 1960s, is that it is also a relatively green approach,” added Liam.

Since its foundation, Morrow Brothers has established an unparalleled reputation in the UK and also now exports to all major continents around the world. Over the past decades many millions of containers have been processed through its factory and hundreds of breweries have been

satisfied with the best quality and service in the industry. Going forwards, Morrow Brothers Ltd will continue develop its service offering and consider new investments that will enable it to further support the brewing industry. D www.morrow-brothers.co.uk www.morrowbrotherspackaging.co.uk

Unparalleled reputation This trend for innovation continued as the company evolved – in 1988 Morrow Brothers started selling new stainless steel kegs and became market leaders in the UK and a year later it introduced the Boetzkes tamper evident snapcap to the UK. A decade later, Morrow Brothers became UK agents for GEA Till, and has been successful in selling over £25m of keg systems in the UK. The company now offers additional services including cask and keg sales, cleaning, and rebranding. The business has continued to grow through industry trends of growth and decline and today employs 40 people across its three sites.

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Delight

for all seasons

Belgian chocolatier Ickx has built its reputation on quality products for all occasions 58 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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ased in Belgium, Chocolaterie Ickx was first formed in the 1970s when it started making its first exclusive hand-made pralines alongside other chocolate products. Success within the market for the company quickly followed, so much so that in 1982 it opened up a small studio in Kapellen, employing

traditional chocolate making methods to create the high quality, premium range of chocolate confectionary it has become well known for today. Growth continued at such a rate that Ickx was eventually able to build a completely new chocolate factory in Essen, marking the firm out as an innovative and thoroughly modern company.

Ickx NV

‘

All ingredients are carefully selected for the highest quality and the company follows its own objective to constantly develop new ideas continually surprising the customer with unique and exclusive pralines

Attention to quality In 1993, Ickx’s sister company Dragee, which began as a wholesaler of chocolate dragées and a small selection of other chocolate products in Roosendaal, Holland, moved a large proportion of its business to the Essen site. The move brought with it a dedicated sales team for the Dutch

market continuing to operate from Roosendaal and in 2008, the Dutch importer/exporter, Rosenberg, was acquired to further enhance the brands’ presence in the region alongside its range of exclusive and high quality products destined for Dutch multiples.

In addition to a core market in Belgium and Holland, Ickx has also established

itself a market across the globe including in the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia and the USA. When it comes to its products, quality is unquestionably at the top of Ickx’s list of priorities. Through a refined mix of various modern techniques and traditional handcrafting, the company works in strict accordance with a quality assurance

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system based on the principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). As a result anyone who indulges in the firm’s luxurious chocolates can rest assured that it is of consistently high quality and satisfies all HACCP guidelines, its own internal specific requirements and any appropriate legislation concerning foodstuffs. The business also has BRC Higher Level certification.

However, attention to quality at Ickx goes beyond a mere adherence to regulated guidelines and legislature, and to the care and passion that goes into making exquisite chocolates. All ingredients are carefully selected for the highest quality and the company follows its own objective to constantly develop new ideas continually surprising the customer with unique and exclusive pralines. As such, every year, adjustments and extensive investments are made to keep it

ahead of the competition with a unique selection of chocolates.

Themed products All of this is thanks to a team of highly motivated specialists who are responsible for the continual updating of a wide selection of handmade pralines and other chocolate assortments. The studio is underlined by quality, creativity and innovation as core values for the business’ success and the ongoing development of expert recipes. A keen streak of traditional chocolate making mingles seamlessly with cutting-edge and state-of-the-art production techniques to produce Ickx’s unique signature of flavours before each chocolate is individually hand-finished with extreme care.

With new products added to its range every year, Ickx not only provides an extensive variety of specially made seasonal and occasioned products.

Its Autumn range of chocolates, for example, reflects the season’s warm colours and natural themes with a large selection of luxurious chocolates, varying from pine-cones to walnuts and tree trunks to pumpkins, all in typically autumnal hues. As autumn turns to winter, the brands are similarly quick to capture the atmosphere with a special range of Sinterklaas chocolates marking the Dutch celebration of the Feast of St. Nicholas. A range of hollow, solid and lolli-popped St. Nicholas and his ‘merry Zwarte Pietje’ helper become a firm favourite of the company’s customers alongside exclusive marzipan products.

Christmas swiftly follows Sinterklaas and Ickx and Dragee never fail to get stuck in with a wide range of fine, high-quality chocolates consisting both traditional and modern festive themes.

Holly leaves, wreaths, baubles, stars and Santas all feature in a range of products that gets refreshed and updated every December.

Creative chocolates As with Christmas, Easter marks a particularly busy time for the company as modern-takes on the tradition revere chocolate more and more as each year passes. Yet again, Ickx is a step ahead

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Ickx NV with a wide range of Easter figures for its customers, including solid chocolate ducks and bunnies. More traditional eggs come in all sizes, wrapped or coated in weights of 5.5 grams to 13 grams, ranging from solid chocolate to deliciously filled assortments. Other products include decorated chocolate drops and figures covered in hundred and thousands, plus a selection of tasty filled products such as sugared ducks, filled nests, half-decorated eggs, pralines and countless other mouthwatering products.

and marriages, are also available throughout the year with like-wise assortments of luxury products.

The rich and smooth taste of chocolate is as timeless as it has ever been and the market for premium products that appeal to young and old is one that looks steadfast in its market

position. The careful attention paid

by Ickx and its sister brand Dragee to quality, innovative and creative chocolates and pralines is exemplary and will surely play a significant role in the business’ growth and success around the world for years to come. D www.choc-ickx.be

Throughout the year numerous events like Valentine’s day, the Queen’s birthday and major sporting events all follow suit with varieties of chocolate selections that both mirror the occasions’ unique celebrations and maintain Ickx’s long-standing commitment to quality and innovation.

Beyond this chocolates to mark a host of other occasions, such as births

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A full menu

With over 25 years of industry experience, Alyasra Foods carries a wide selection of leading international food and beverage brands to homes and businesses across Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets 62 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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ince the company was founded in 1989 by Yousef Al Sager in the Shuwaikh Industrial area in Kuwait, Alyasra Foods has grown from a relatively modest venture into a trusted name in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and foodservice markets, supplying a wide selection of leading international brands from the food and beverage markets to clients across the GCC. The business later commenced operations

in Iraq during 2003, before expanding into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2013. Alyasra Foods today continues to operate with ambitious plans to become the region’s best distribution and marketing solutions partner in the Middle East.

Alyasra Foods is currently managed by a multi-cultural team of over 2700 employees that serve homes and businesses, representing the largest supplier to the hotel, restaurant and

Alyasra Foods and business-to-consumer operations.

Its business-to-business activity involves modern trade in the foodservice sector, including hotels, fine dining restaurants, fast service restaurants, franchises, cafes and catering operations. Alternatively, its operations in the business-to-consumer market are comprised of retail and direct customers, including hypermarkets, local supermarkets and grocery stores. By operating in a diverse base of food and beverage outlets, Alyasra Foods can serve the interests of all its stakeholders. Indeed, as one of the largest suppliers to the food service and retail sectors, the company’s partner brands are the top three players in water, fresh dairy and potato chips, as well a market leaders in the cereals, frozen poultry, meat and vegetable categories. By implementing an innovative approach to the market, Alyasra Foods increases the visibility of its partner brands, therefore strengthening its client relationships and position in the market. This has allowed the company to become a trusted distributor of products for leading brands in the FMCG market including Sadia, Al-Safi Danone, LambWeston, Kellogg’s, Pringles, Dr. Oetker and many others.

café (HORECA) sector within the Gulf region. “Alyasra Foods leads the market in frozen foods, fresh dairy and potato chips amongst other highquality products,” says Marketing Manager, Gebran Edouard Charbine. “In everything we do, Alyasra Foods strives to retain and enhance the essence of what makes the company successful.

This is the company’s uncompromising commitment to our customers, vision and core values. Alyasra Foods prides

itself on its simple company values of integrity, diversity and the passion to succeed and has achieved international standards in ISO 22000:2005 certification for food quality and safety in receiving, storing and delivering goods to customers.”

Trusted distributor Across the company, Alyasra Foods serves two key business channels comprising its business-to-business

Alyasra Foods aims to provide excellent services to all of its partners to achieve complete satisfaction, thus ensuring the welfare of stakeholders and to continuously innovate the foodservice sector. With a fleet of over 400 vehicles, the company is able to provide full end-to-end supply chain solutions for all areas of the food and beverage market, including retail, key accounts food service, government institutions and home delivery. To support its logistical operations, Alyasra Foods continues to invest in cutting-edge technology through the implementation of the Oracle

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Alyasra Foods E-Business Suite, IBM Cognos Business Intelligence and INFOR (EXCEED) WMS to drive process efficiency and manage both the performance and inventory of the business. This allows Alyasra Foods to reach every segment of the market, as well as to manage its own private labelled products in addition to leading licensed brands, which together with the brands that it distributes results in a complete product offering. This allows the company to move in line with the market and to deliver the highest levels of quality and service.

“As market demand changes so do we.

We want to continue being the leader in providing value-added brand distribution solutions to Kuwait and the GCC as well as to continue to focus on investing in our people,” Gebran explains. “We will always continue to develop our expertise, invest in the company’s private brands and inspire our partners for immediate and long-term results.”

The company’s private brands are an important concept within Alyasra Foods that enables the business to achieve its goal of delivering a complete service package to the food industry. “Juman is our very own private label that we take great pride in. It is exclusively produced by Alyasra Foods and spans several product categories that include water and beverages, rice, nuts, spices, coffee, rice and dried fruit. The range is available within the retail market through our network of store concessions and represents greater taste, freshness and value,” Gebran details. “ Alternatively, the ‘Only’ range represents our premium brand of organic products that offers healthy products to the market, helping to achieve personal health and wellbeing. The range includes juices and eggs that are farmed free of harmful chemicals, resulting in produce that is packed with natural nutrients and taste.”

with that being said we have always found various ways to stay on top when it comes to providing solutions to both the company’s shareholders and stakeholders. We will continue to be market leaders and to develop, motivate and create expertise with our team to increase sales and long-term results,” Gebran concludes. “During the coming 12 months we will be focused on delivering outsourced full solutions to the international food service industry by providing end-to-end solutions to Kuwait and the market within the KSA. This will also involve giving full attention to our value added proposition services, which includes a strong supply chain planning team for product availability and forecasting, a user-friendly order placing system and an excellent warehousing storage capacity within the chilled, frozen and dry categories.” D www.alyasrafoods.com

These exclusive ranges are supplied alongside the company’s Altaiyeb Rice private label that delivers the finest Indian basmati race and its Chef Juman range, which delivers a full range of solutions in the dairy category. Additionally, its Makani label, taken from the Arabic meaning ‘my place’, represents a uniquely designed concept for retail stores that highlights the selective categories of Alyasra Foods’ seafood, poultry, meat and dairy products to consumers and restaurant owners.

End-to-end solutions The market for fresh and tempting food items is a highly competitive environment in which clients demand the very highest standards in freshness, quality and service. With close to three decades of industry experience, Alyasra Foods is on-hand to meet and exceed the expectations of its customers and deliver exceptional food and beverage services. “One of the market challenges that we face daily is the increased competition in the sector, resulting in a need to reduce the cost of our overheads. This is especially true in light of the staggering drop in oil prices worldwide that has caused a trickledown effect throughout the region. However,

Certified Angus Beef LLC Founded in 1978 by real Angus cattlemen, the Certified Angus Beef® brand is the original Angus brand of beef. These family farmers and ranchers created the brand with a shared a passion for delivering great-tasting beef – a passion that still drives the brand today. It utilises ten exacting standards that every cut must meet – more selective than USDA Choice and Prime*. In fact, only one in four Angus cattle meet the standards and ensure incredible juiciness, unparalleled tenderness and exceptional flavour.

Serving as a leading distributor in the Middle East market, Alyasra Foods continues to strive for excellence. Providing a high level of customer service and quality products such as the world’s first premium brand of beef, Certified Angus Beef ® to its customers.

Alyasra Foods has connected with customers through taste demonstrations and last fall hosted a chef competition featuring Certified Angus Beef®. The winning Chef was awarded the opportunity to participate in a Global Chef Tour in the United States learning about the beef industry and networking with top chefs from around the world.

The Certified Angus Beef ® brand. From our family ranchers to your family table.

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When we set out to create the world’s first premium brand of beef, we started by choosing Angus cattle, known for producing beef of superior taste and tenderness. But that alone wasn’t going to satisfy us. So we put into place 10 exacting standards that every cut of the Certified Angus Beef ® brand has to meet. The result is an Angus beef of unrivaled flavor, juiciness and tenderness.

The Certified Angus Beef ® brand.

From our family ranchers to your family table™.

P.O.Box 3228 - Safat - 13033 - Kuwait T : +965 184 0012 | T : +965 222 49100 | F : +965 222 49699 www.alyasrafoods.com Foodservice@yasra.com alyasra_foods Alyasrafood

Food fit for a king

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South African based catering company RoyalMnandi has become a preferred food service solutions supplier to industries including commercial, healthcare, industrial and mining, education and events

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specialist outsourced catering company with a taste for delivering the best possible solution to each client’s unique requirements, RoyalMnandi has enjoyed significant growth since it first began trading in 1990 as Royal Food Services. A decade on from its inception, the company merged with Sechaba Catering Services to become Royal Sechaba, which thus enabled the firm to extend services to a broader South African market. Following further ownership changes, RoyalMnandi was launched in June 2011; named after the Zulu word for delicious, RoyalMnandi was set up with a simple service philosophy: ‘Made from the heart’ and today operates throughout South Africa.

With Bidvest Group’s purchase of Mvelaserve Pty (Ltd) in November 2013, RoyalMnandi became a proud member of the Bidvest family, as Chief Executive Officer Rob White explains: “Royal Mnandi being a wholly owned subsidiary of Bidvest Group gives our clients and staff a greater sense of comfort in terms of stability and support. The Bidvest Group added catering to their service offering as strategic intent to further the services that they are able to offer.”

As part of Bidvest Group, RoyalMnandi continues to deliver an exceptional service to a broad range of industries, as Rob comments: “Our main sectors are commercial, healthcare, industrial and mining, education and events.

Our commercial clientele receive a customised and unique on-site food solution, offering catering for breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks, functions, vending services and special events. We pride ourselves in offering a high standard when it comes to serving restaurant standard lunches, café meals, barista services, fine dining events, cocktail functions or executive board function catering. Of course, all services are customised to each client’s unique requirements and budget.”

Meanwhile, the company’s presence in the healthcare sector remains strong and continues to grow; it is within this sector that it offers patient meals to hospitals in a variety of service systems to best suit the customer’s needs. “By utilising our unique electronic patient meal ordering system, we’re able to accurately capture information for meal ordering and production schedules. Our passion is for patients to look at healthcare catering as a compliment to their health recovery, as opposed to the negative stigma that surrounds hospital food,” says Rob. To make this goal possible, the company serves homely meals to patients that are suited to their dietary and healthcare requirements. “Health and wellbeing is such an important part of our food services that we employ a qualified dietician to ensure that all menus contain the right components in the correct quantities.”

In comparison to the blossoming healthcare sector, RoyalMnandi has been at the forefront of the remote and urban catering industry for over two decades and was awarded the biggest catering tender in Southern Africa in 2010 at a power station, with more than eight million meals served on-site to date. “For our mining and industrial sectors we have a highly innovative and comprehensive HACCP compliant centralised kitchen that delivers fresh, prepared and cooked produce to our operational units, which enhances efficiencies in cost and labour components. The central kitchen also acts as our disaster recovery plan in the event that any of our operational units are unable to prepare meals for our valued customers,” says Rob. By using the experience it has gained in industries such as industrial and

RoyalMnandi mining, RoyalMnandi has gained an enviable portfolio of customers in sectors such as education and events also.

Aware that a well-balanced diet is pivotal for young bodies to get the most out of their day, the company prides itself in having some of the best universities and private schools within its elite customer base. “From a lunch packed with brain-boosting nutrients, to a healthy homely meal away from home, we have the passion, experience and knowledge to exceed students’ and clients’ expectations,” says Rob. “Moreover, when it comes to our events sector, no matter the size, scale or budget of your required occasion, our leading event catering service is able to provide unique solutions to the most challenging of requirements,” he

management and events team will look after even the smallest of details to provide a turnkey solution that will make your special event run smoothly.”

At the heart of RoyalMnandi’s success

adds. “We love to get creative and these occasions provide the perfect opportunity.

Whether we’re catering in a field, under canvas or in a boardroom, our event

are its people, who are encouraged to be creative and entrepreneurial in their delivery of exceptional quality food solutions, and its commitment to

innovation. “We place a lot of emphasis on our people,” says Rob. “We have a highly skilled and passionate research and development team that have been working diligently on a few new product ranges, one of which will see us enter a new untapped market, however, we don’t want to give too much away at this stage and spoil the fun!”

Although the market is on a decline in South Africa, the company remains a competitive player thanks to its focus on delivering the best possible solution for the changing demands of its customers. “The next three to five years will see RoyalMnandi resuming a pivotal position as one of the largest contract catering companies within South Africa. The economy, environment and people’s needs and wants are constantly changing, and we have the agility and speed to move faster and more quickly than our competitors,” concludes Rob. D www.royalmnandi.co.za

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Raising standards Operating in a competitive market place, East End Foods’ values of quality, innovation and social engagement are marking it out as an example to the rest of the food industry

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t can be difficult to cram 40 years of history and family values into a short 20-minute interview, but talking to Tony Deep Wouhra MBE, Chairman of East End Foods, it quickly becomes clear that underpinning the company at every stage of its history is a committed attention to quality. Founded in 1972, the wholly family owned and run West Bromwich business today operates four cash-and-carry branches,

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stocking major FMCG brands, and imports spices, rice and lentils from all over the world to the UK and European markets. It’s by no means alone in its ambitions in importing food, but its approach to providing the best quality ingredients certainly goes some way to distinguishing East End Foods from the competition.

“Our father taught us not to sell anything that we wouldn’t eat ourselves,

East End Foods

co-operatives, East End Foods secures contracts that ensure local growers meet the exact specifications and quality standards required by the firm in the UK. Ultimately, the approach ensures that the company has full control of the supply chain. This maintains the quality aspect.

“For instance, once the spice crops have been harvested they are cleaned at source and tested to ensure they meet the UK legislation around toxins, artificial preservatives, additives and pesticide residues,” Tony continues. “Then, once they reach us, we test them again in our in-house laboratory and the product undergoes our own cleaning and crushing processes. We use a very sophisticated cleaning plant to remove any excess stalks, stones and other impurities that may have slipped through the initial cleaning procedure, and then use a slow and ‘cool’ grinding process to retain the volatile oils and pungent flavours that are essential to good quality spices. By doing this we believe our ground spices are the purest you will find.”

Focus on CSR

and to this day that very value informs the way we do business,” Tony explains.

“Unlike many of our competitors in the UK we clean and grind all of our spices here in Birmingham and ensure that we have full control of the ingredients right from the source. We also clean and pack all dry beans, peas, rice, lentils and spices before distributing them to customers.” By engaging with suppliers around the world through farming

Our customers recognise the quality of our products and therefore come back and it’s from this that our business is able to grow

Such a commitment means that from a range of over 1400 products, East End Foods currently supplies into some of the UK’s biggest superstores including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrison’s, Asda, the Co-operative and Aldi.

However, it is not just the company’s focus on quality that marks it out as a pioneer in the industry. Beyond this, East End Foods’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme is exemplary. At its headquarters in West Bromwich, for example, a third of the roof space is covered in 80,000 sq. ft. of photovoltaic (PV) film, and its newest branch in Aston Cross, has an additional 25,000 sq. ft. with photovoltaic panels creating enough energy to power 145 homes for a year.

Rainwater harvesting systems have also been installed to help improve the environmental footprint of its sites.

Yet it is perhaps the firm’s most recent undertaking that really demonstrates its solid commitment to environmental and social engagement, with the installation of a state-of-the-art hydroponic Urban Farm

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system at its Aston office. Reaching the height of the building’s three-storey atrium, this hydroponic installation is currently growing a variety of organic produce such as lettuce, spinach, rocket, dill, coriander and tomatoes.

“We want to demonstrate that we are an innovative, forward-thinking company,” Tony explains. “It’s not something that’s going to make us money, instead it’s showcasing a possible solution to ensure food security, which is going to become more and more of an issue as global population rises over the coming decades.”

Healthy future Inspired by Japanese urban farming systems, the vertical system is made up of multiple layers of plants to maximise space for cultivation and offers full control of nutrients and water to optimise the quality and speed of growth. Whilst the company’s own installation will be a

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one-off demonstration of the concept, rather than a commercial enterprise, the business does have plans to produce and sell simple, non-mechanical hydroponic systems, which can introduce the technology into the homes of people around our country and later worldwide.

East End Foods’ £1.3m investment – which is currently the biggest of its kind in the UK – will also be the centrepiece of the company’s vision of a healthy future as it invites young people to learn about healthy eating.

The visitors will include school and university students so that they can learn about the importance of purity in food without chemicals and pesticide residues. The leafy crops like lettuce, spinach and fenugreek leaves will reach the harvesting stage in 30 days.

“Our guides will take the visitors round the atrium to understand how the hydroponic Urban Farm works. The

outcome of eating excessive meat in our diets is often responsible for high cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and heart trouble. The visitors will hear the evolution of human food consumption as they go round the colourful vegetable growing area. On the top floor, our chefs will welcome them to the food auditorium.

“The chefs talk about how simple it is to grow vegetables without the use of chemicals and pesticides. They will demonstrate how to cook the freshly harvested vegetables using pure spices and flavours which makes them tastier and flavoursome. Children should be encouraged to eat vegetables and quality organic ingredients.

“We’re by no means telling people to become vegetarians,” Tony adds.

“Birmingham in particular has historically been labelled the obese capital of Britain so we felt it our moral duty to help educate people how

East End Foods important healthy eating habits are to adopt, and how just a small reduction in meat intake can have great health benefits.”

Continuing this focus on CSR and environmental sustainability will undoubtedly remain central to East End Foods as it moves forward. “It is these values that make us a strong business,” Tony emphasises. “Our customers recognise the quality of our products and therefore come back and it’s from this that our business is able to grow.

This sector is tough at the moment with lots of competition and price pressures changing all the time. However, we firmly believe that the way forward is to keep on the road of initiatives and innovation and we know that when we do come up with good ideas, the consumer responds positively.”

Putting this into practice, Tony highlights that over the coming months a number of other initiatives designed

to enhance East End Foods’ reputation and profitability within the market are in the pipeline. He also discusses the company’s ambition to expand both nationally, by opening up more cashand-carry branches in cities outside of Birmingham, and internationally.

“At the moment we’re supplying into

European markets like Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, but there is no reason why we cannot take our quality products to the US, Australia, the Middle East or the Far East,” he says. “So that will also be a focus moving forward.” D www.eastendfoods.co.uk

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Star quality Located in truly exceptional locations around the world, Rocco Forte Hotels offer luxury hotel and resort services as well as exquisite culinary experiences

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Rocco Forte Hotels

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oday encompassing ten fivestar luxury hotels situated within some of the finest cities in Europe, Rocco Forte Hotels was founded in 1996 and has continued to grow to include both fully-owned and part-owned locations, with new openings scheduled in Jeddah during September 2016 and Shanghai in 2018. All of the hotels are landmarks, both old and new, occupying

magnificent buildings in exceptional locations with their own individual styles, incorporating the zeitgeist of their locations. Brother and sister Sir Rocco Forte and Olga Polizzi originally established the business, which today continues as a family-run operation with sisters Lydia and Irene Forte joining the group in recent years.

“Each Rocco Forte hotel has an individual identity that harks back

to their location, we try and appeal to a local market so that each hotel, restaurant and bar is a fully unique concept, tailored to the city it’s in and individual in its food and service offering.

No chains,” explains Bar & Restaurant Development Manager, Lydia Forte.

“Also, because we are still a small company, I can personally visit every restaurant and bar and develop the details. For example, we just launched

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Sophia’s in The Charles Hotel in Munich – the concept was developed around the botanical gardens next door and the beautiful terrace we have because the hotel is in a very green area, with lots of dishes and cocktails focusing on fresh herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits. Each restaurant is really created for the local population and we want all of the venues and bars in our hotels to be a local meeting point as well as a reference point for the city.”

Scottish charm The group’s Balmoral hotel is no exception as it is set within a magnificent and historic building. It was the first of the great railway hotels in its vibrant location at the heart of Edinburgh. The Balmoral hotel offers 188 suites and rooms, designed by Olga Polizzi to include a touch of Scottish charm. It is also one the group’s strongest hotels in terms of food and

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‘

The Balmoral Bar is perfect for both pre and post-dinner drinks with delicious cocktails, wines and beers from across the globe. Scotch is a particular favourite and with over 500 malts, blends and vintages of whisky, the bar boasts one of Edinburgh’s largest collections beverage offerings with its Number One restaurant retaining its Michelin star for the 14th year in a row in 2016.

“Number One is all about modern Scottish cuisine, the emphasis is placed on using delicious local ingredients to create innovative, contemporary dishes whilst keeping the friendly, inviting atmosphere that the restaurant has had since its opening in 1997,” Lydia elaborates. “Jeff Bland is our Executive Chef and has held the Michelin Star for

Rocco Forte Hotels 14 years - he is truly excellent and a brilliant asset to the team. Equally, our head chef Brian Grigor is incredibly talented and as he is from a family of gamekeepers, local produce is of the highest importance. My aunt Olga has designed the restaurant in a way that retains a warm atmosphere, with eclectic artworks from Scottish artists, in combination with touches of Scottish heritage.”

While the Number One restaurant offers an outstanding culinary experience featuring modern Scottish cuisine, Hadrian’s Brasserie offers a more casual dining experience that still guarantees diners the very best of regional Scottish produce. The lavish setting of Palm Court is enhanced by the beautiful accompaniment of a harpist to create the perfect setting for champagne and some delicious teas, coffees and pastries. These dining experiences are further enhanced by two outstanding bars, which offer a staggering array of beverages to suit all tastes. “The Balmoral Bar is perfect for both pre and post-dinner drinks with delicious cocktails, wines and beers from across the globe. Scotch is a particular favourite and with over 500 malts, blends and vintages of whisky, the bar boasts one of Edinburgh’s largest collections,” Lydia explains.

“The Whisky Ambassadors are on hand to help guests make a selection from amongst the varieties and are complete experts in the field. It’s easy to spend hours there learning about the processes whilst tasting Whisky and the delicious specially selected snacks that accompany it.”

Healthy options Throughout the Rocco Forte Hotels group there has been a growing focus on delivering a healthy as well as a relaxing experience, which has been driven by the introduction of the brand wide spa proposition, Rocco Forte Spas, which includes the Forte Organics bio-cosmetic range and the continued use of nourishing healthy food offerings across all of its premises. “The use of seasonal and local produce has been a trend for a long time and is something the group never compromises on. Now

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more than ever, there is a strong push towards foods that are good for you, but still delicious. Rocco Forte Nourish is something I have developed with my sister, Irene Forte, partnering with local nutritionist personalities across the group to develop healthy menus. Not only are these available throughout the day in the hotel restaurants, but we also have healthy in room bar and breakfast buffet offerings. Having access to healthy food and drink at all touch points of the hotel is vital nowadays, when society is very health focused,” Lydia details.

“In the restaurants we are currently focusing on food that is fresh and light, with ingredients like vegetables and fish.

In Florence for example, we launched the new restaurant Irene at Hotel Savoy – named after my grandmother who was an amazing Italian cook. Fulvio Pierangelini, Creative Director of Food for Rocco Forte Hotels, developed

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Rocco Forte Hotels a menu there that is Tuscan, but a fresher, lighter version of what is often a very heavy cuisine, filled with fried food and lots of bread,” she adds. “We also did traditional Tuscan dishes but in a very feminine way and introduced lots of lighter soups and fresh, seasonal dishes where vegetables are the protagonists of the dish rather than an accompaniment.”

Continuous improvement Working within the multifaceted hotel industry certainly presents several exciting opportunities to deliver breathtaking culinary experiences and taking into account the global presence of Rocco Forte Hotels, the potential to experiment with local cuisines only magnifies this potential. Indeed, the company has big plans for the future with several new and tempting venues due to open over the coming months and years. “The Assila is opening during September 2016 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and will include five wonderful restaurants opening with five completely different concepts including the Il Café Italian coffee lounge; Twenty Four, the all day dining restaurant that will play host to specially themed evenings; the Argentine steak restaurant, Pampas that features a colourful and eclectic design, by the famous interior designer Martin

Lydia Forte

Brudninski; Aubergine restaurant, located on the top floor of the hotel, by the pool, serving Arabic Mediterranean dishes, including Lebanese, Turkish and Armenian dishes as well as more local specialities; and finally the Coco’ba chocolatier bakery,” Lydia concludes.

“Currently, we also have a very exciting project in development in Shanghai, China. We will be opening a hotel there in 2018, in the bund district, surrounded by galleries and shops. The hotel will house three restaurants, a tea lounge and a cocktail bar and focus on a variety of cuisines. Authentic Italian and Chinese food will feature. We are lucky to work in an industry that is multifaceted and exciting. This does also mean however, that we also need to be up-to-date with trends. We are constantly updating and renewing our restaurants, ensuring that we have the best offerings.” D www.roccofortehotels.com

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FoodChain The business of food and drink

Schofield Publishing Ltd

10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road l Cringleford l Norwich l NR4 6AU T: +44 (0)1603 274130 | F: +44 (0)1603 274131 Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Director Joe Woolsgrove jwoolsgrove@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Rob Wagner rwagner@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

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