Oakland International Selected as Ireland Distribution Partner by Kepak
Supply chain food distribution specialist Oakland International has been appointed by food innovator Kepak Convenience Foods to distribute their Convenience product range for the three major retailers in Ireland.
Kepak Convenience Foods produces a variety of ‘Hot, Quick & Tasty’ convenience food products for the retail markets in Ireland, the UK and Europe including the ‘Rustlers’; ‘Feasters’ and ‘Speedy Snacks’ ranges, with Oakland engaged to undertake daily stock consolidation and retailer distribution of Kepak Convenience Foods products to Musgraves, Tesco and Dunnes stores across Ireland.
Kepak Convenience Foods Purchasing and Supply Manager, Mairead Lynch, stated: “We are confident that working with Oakland will enhance the overall offering to our customers with improved service levels through a professional and responsive approach. We look forward to building a long term partnership with Oakland for our chilled distribution.”
Oakland offers ambient and chilled food retail support for customers from their County Meat depot.
Campden BRI is delighted to be supporting the newly created Crop Health and Protection Centre, created under the Government’s Agri-Tech Strategy.
The new Centre for Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) has been launched under the government’s Agri-Tech strategy, which was launched in 2013 to ensure that its investment in agriculture delivers material benefits for society and the economy in the UK and overseas. CHAP will lead the way in developing solutions to the challenges facing world agriculture, bringing together the best expertise, knowledge and insight from leading research organisations and industries in the sector. This collaboration between academia and industry will, for the first time, give farmers access to the best and most sustainable technologies, strategies and protocols to improve crop performance, making a real difference at the farm gate.
CHAP has secured £21.3 million of government investment over four years and will be headquartered at the National Agri-Food Innovation campus at Sand Hutton near York. CHAP’s consortium partners include Bayer CropScience, Farmcare, Frontier Agriculture, Dow AgroSciences, Tesco, Stockbridge Technology and Unilever, alongside AHDB, CABI, Cranfield University, FERA Science Ltd, Newcastle University, ADAS, The Met Office, Warwick University, Campden BRI and Rothamsted Research. CHAP will enable these organisations, alongside retailers, processors, agronomists and manufacturers, to share resources, optimise return on research and development costs, reduce waste and accelerate the registration process for new products.
Interim CEO of CHAP Ltd, Dr Andrew Swift, said, “CHAP will establish the UK as a world-leader in agri-technology, innovation and sustainability. It will create an environment that encourages the exchange of leading edge knowledge, resulting in greater innovation and wider access to the best available technologies and solutions. By taking science to the farm, CHAP will help farmers, growers and the food industry to improve yield, reduce costs and meet the need for sustainable solutions to present and future challenges.”
Prof. Sam Millar, Campden BRI’s Director of Technology comments “Crop protection is essential to securing a sustainable supply of food, but is also subject to many changing pressures. Following the creation of our Primary Production and Processing department, we have plans for further investment to expand our existing capabilities and expertise in the area of primary production, raw materials and ingredients, and primary processing operations. As a key intermediary for the translation of science and technology into practical benefit for the food supply chain, Campden BRI will work with the CHAP partners to deliver focused innovation for producers, processors, retailers and consumers bringing to bear our unique insight into both the worlds of technology and food production.”
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SECTOR RECOGNISED AS QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE GOES TO APETITO FOR THE SECOND TIME
apetito, the UK’s leading food producer for the health and social care sector – serving some of the most vulnerable people in society – has won the UK’s highest business accolade, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation…for an impressive second time.
It has again been recognised for innovation leading to commercial success – this time for its work in pioneering ground-breaking texture modified meals (a range of softer foods), which has been specially developed for those living with dysphagia (the clinical term for individuals who experience chewing and swallowing difficulties).
Citing the fact that “apetito’s innovative texture modified range has had a ‘significant and positive’ impact on the wellbeing of its customers by helping to stimulate appetite and increase nutritional intake”, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise’ praised the company’s track record of growth, success and commitment to its market.
Only awarded for what it describes as ‘the highest levels of excellence’, the Awards are highly coveted and attract thousands of entrants across the UK. The 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise were all announced today, (21st April), on what is the Queen’s 90th birthday.
The Award itself will be presented to apetito, in the forthcoming weeks, by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sarah Rose Troughton.
Speaking on behalf of the company, Chief Executive, Paul Freeston, reinforced that this win was reflective of the extraordinary teamwork from top to bottom within the business:
“We are proud, honored and delighted to have been recognised for a second time in the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation” he says, “and, it is testament to the hard work, dedication and vision of our entire team.
“All of us at apetito are passionate about ‘making a real difference’ to people’s lives and we believe that our softer foods range is the very best of its type across the world.
“The range has helped thousands of people improve their quality of life, allowing them to dine with dignity whilst increasing nutritional intake. Most importantly, it has brought back enjoyment into people’s mealtimes”.
apetito – which incorporates Wiltshire Farm Foods – first won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2005 for its development of the “Chefmobil”, which revolutionised the meals on wheels market by cooking meals whilst on route to customers rather than being prepared hours in advance in a central kitchen.
Freeston concludes:
“The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation, is the highest accolade we could receive, and to have won this twice is an incredible feat.”
Baker Butt Foods named a finalist in Nottingham Post Business Awards 2016
Specialist baker Butt Foods has been selected as a finalist in the Nottingham Post Business Awards 2016.
The Nottingham-based business, which was founded in 1990 and supplies a range of naan breads, flatbreads and sub rolls to the food service sector across the UK, has been shortlisted in the Small Business of the Year category.
The family owned bakery, which prides itself on keeping abreast of trends and developing new products to satisfy consumer demand in a fast-paced industry, supplies hand-finished frozen sweet and savoury products.
Butt Foods managing director David Williams said: “The whole team at Butt Foods is absolutely thrilled that the company has been named as a finalist in the 2016 Nottingham Post Business Awards. Our recent surge in success at the bakery has been down to teamwork, and each and every member of staff can take credit for playing a role in getting us this far in the awards process.
“The list of names of the other shortlisted organisations is very impressive, which illustrates just how many great companies there are working in and around Nottingham. We wish them all the best and are looking forward to meeting them at the final in May.”
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Nottingham at the East Midlands Conference Centre on 11th May 2016.
Packaging hazards: what they are and how they affect your business
Identification of hazards associated with food and drink is a long established and key priority within the industry. Hazards associated with packaging are less well documented and may not be considered, but they can affect the safety and quality of the product.
With changes to legislation and issues being highlighted through the media and industry groups, it is important to firstly recognise what the hazards are and how they may affect your business, and then understand how to implement a plan to monitor or eliminate them. This Campden BRI seminar (see www.campdenbri.co.uk/packaging-hazards.php) – Packaging hazards: what they are and how they affect your business – to be held on 5 July, will discuss:
Identification of potential packaging hazards that should be considered
Guidelines on migration testing
Methods for decontamination of packaging materials
Oakland International gets stuck in for BITC Responsible Business Week
As part of their commitment as a socially responsible and ethical family business, through its charitable Foundation, Oakland International employees will be taking part in the Business in the Community’s (BITC) Responsible Business Week 2016 running from the 18th to 22nd April.
R to L: Oakland Foundation trustees, Mark Williams, Luke Attwell, Peter Vaughan, Hayley Smith and Debbie Roberts
Barry Davies, Managing Director, said: “Oakland International is keen to share ideas and demonstrate how by working within our local community we can inspire and nurture ambition to create a fairer society and a more sustainable future for the next generation.”
Throughout Responsible Business Week, Oakland International together with the Oakland Foundation, have a number of activities planned.
Barry Davies added: “Every day next week we will be doing something different. Joining together for an Oakland Foundation volunteers’ lunch and working with local school pupils, through to sponsorship of Bromsgrove District Council’s Spirit of Bromsgrove Awards which celebrates community achievements, local sport and the arts.”
The anaerobic digestion (AD) industry outside of the water sector has grown by over 600% in the past five years, partly thanks to innovation from world class UK researchers. ADBA has appealed for academia to focus their current efforts behind delivering major improvements which would put the cost of AD on par with the cost of energy from Hinkley Point C.
The call came at ADBA’s two day Research & Innovation Forum 2016 in York last week, which centred on industry efforts to drive up operational efficiency and drive down costs. As incentives fall, academia will be instrumental in working in partnership with the AD industry to ensure UK operations continue to thrive while we position ourselves as world leaders in a global biogas market worth billions.
ADBA’s Chief Executive, Charlotte Morton, commented:
“Falling incentives and unworkable funding caps hinder renewable technologies’ efforts to scale and improve their cost competitiveness.
“With ever limited support from government, therefore, the AD industry is seizing the initiative by challenging the expertise of the UK’s world class researchers to help find innovations which will revolutionise performance even more, such as new sources of input, improvements in operational performance, more valuable outputs, to reduce the overall cost of production.
“During our annual Research and Innovation Forum this week, which brings together academia and businesses to collaborate on key AD priorities, we unveiled our Cost Competitiveness Task Force. With the right support, this body aims to establish the means by which industry can reduce the cost of producing its energy by at least five per cent each year between now and 2020.”
If the AD industry is to reduce ‘levelised costs’* to £100/MWh by 2020, then five key elements will be instrumental in reducing costs to a par with new nuclear:
Additional investment in R&I – helping to hone, adapt and upgrade AD technology to improve efficiency;
Government action to implement segregated food waste collections – unlocking valuable new feedstock;
Recognition of and training on digestate – improving soil quality, crop yields, nutrient availability and soil structure;
Increased public & business awareness of AD – driving up recycling rates and securing additional investment; and
Policy certainty and ambition – ensuring a policy regime which offers the certainty for further growth and investment.
M.J. Baker Foodservice records 25 per cent increase in sales at its annual trade show
Leading independent wholesaler M.J. Baker Foodservice completed record-breaking sales at its annual foodservice trade show.
The Newton Abbot-based firm, which runs the biggest foodservice event in the West Country, concluded deals worth more than £600,000 at the event at Newton Abbot Racecourse.
More than 700 foodservice professionals, including leading independent food manufacturers from across Devon, Cornwall, Bristol and Somerset, and some of the UK’s leading suppliers, attended the show, which smashed the £500,000 sales mark set in 2015.
Jo Baker, Operations Director of M.J. Baker Foodservice is pictured right with some of her staff at the trade show
The trade show, which was free to visit, featured 250 exhibitors displaying their new and best selling products, as well as offering one-off deals to attendees on the day.
Sales director Giles Thomas said: “I think the key to success was in the support provided by our suppliers.
“There was a fantastic mix of suppliers taking part – from big household names to fabulous locally based suppliers.
“We’ve a brilliant range of food producers and manufacturers across the West Country, and it’s wonderful to showcase their products at our event.
“The show was a huge hit, and we’re looking forward to making next year even bigger and better.”
Bodmin-based supplier Proper Cornish Food Company were among the exhibitors on the day and have already confirmed their place at the 2017 event.
One of the UK’s leading suppliers of traditional hand-made Cornish pasties, Proper Cornish unveiled new products, with its 6in chorizo sausage roll proving a hit with the attendees.
Senior commercial manager Kevin Pugsley said: “The M.J. Baker Foodservice trade show doesn’t disappoint, and this year was no exception.
“The proof is in the pudding, and we recorded a high volume of sales, particularly with the new products including the chorizo sausage roll.
“We’ve already confirmed our place for next year and look forward to improving on this year’s fantastic sales achieved at the trade show.”
M.J. Baker Foodservice is the West Country’s leading independent foodservice supplier.
Launched in 1999, the wholesaler supplies businesses and organisations across the West Country, including Somerset County Cricket Club and Exeter Chiefs rugby club.
M.J. Baker Foodservice is a member of Fairway Foodservice, a buying group made up of 17 independent wholesalers from across the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Spanish Costas and Balearic Islands.
Kepak Convenience Foods produces a variety of ‘Hot, Quick & Tasty’ convenience food products for the retail markets in Ireland, the UK and Europe including the ‘Rustlers’; ‘Feasters’ and ‘Speedy Snacks’ ranges, with Oakland engaged to undertake daily stock consolidation and retailer distribution of Kepak Convenience Foods products to Musgraves, Tesco and Dunnes stores across Ireland.
Kepak Convenience Foods Purchasing and Supply Manager, Mairead Lynch, stated: “We are confident that working with Oakland will enhance the overall offering to our customers with improved service levels through a professional and responsive approach. We look forward to building a long term partnership with Oakland for our chilled distribution.”
