DAWN FOODS LAUNCHES TERROR-RIFICALLY EYE POPPING HALLOWEEN PRODUCTS

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

DAWN FOODS LAUNCHES TERROR-RIFICALLY EYE POPPING HALLOWEEN PRODUCTS

Dawn Foods has launched three limited edition finished frozen products developed to help bakers and caterers make scarily good profits this Halloween!

With eye catching Halloween themed packaging and toppings, Dawn’s ‘Monster’ Halloween products include a Double Injected Donut, an indulgent Triple Chocolate Muffin and a Triple Chocolate American-style Cookie. All are supplied frozen for ease of use and convenience – meaning bakers and caterers only defrost as demand dictates.

The Dawn Duo Filled Donut is made using Dawn’s signature donut mix to give a delicious and fluffy dough then their centres are double injected so that the donuts ooze with orange and blackcurrant sauce filling in every mouthful. These eye-catching donuts are topped with tasty orange icing and chocolate bat decorations for ‘spooktacular’ pick me up appeal.

The delicious Triple Chocolate Muffin is made using Dawn’s authentic American-style muffin mix- quality muffin with moist texture topped with crispy orange sugar nibs. It is made using free range eggs and does not contain palm oil. For extra on-shelf impact, this spooky special features and attractive Halloween muffin cup.

Ideal for younger consumers at Halloween, Dawn’s Triple Chocolate Cookies are very indulgent. This American-style soft-baked cookie contains generous Belgian chocolate inclusions in every bite. Each cookie comes in its own eye-catching Halloween wrapper too, for extra appeal but also making it ideal for food to go businesses and individual snacking.

Brexit Crisis or Opportunity?

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Brexit Crisis or Opportunity?

Oakland Invicta and Brexit Lead, Robert Hardy

The last in a series of successful Brexit Seminars focusing on food, and attracting international attention, will take place at The Crowne Plaza, NEC, Birmingham on Wednesday 17^th October 2018.

Attended by food businesses and non-food importers, Embassies, logistics providers and consultants from the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, France and Asia, the event is hosted jointly by Oakland International and Oakland Invicta, with October’s final Brexit event focusing on transit and how existing border arrangements today could be extended for EU-UK-EU trade.

Oakland’s Robert Hardy, a career-long Customs specialist and an advisor to the Institute for Government, InterTradeIreland, InvestNI and a registered expert with the EU Commission on matters relating to international trade, commented:

“There is a great deal of scaremongering going on that appears to be politically motivated rather than based on pragmatism, knowledge or ground-level experience, ranging from huge delays to huge tariffs, or both! The UK exports more to non-EU than within the EU, furthermore the non-EU element is growing, consistently, year on year.

“Today, 140K traders create 50 million Customs declarations per annum. Post Brexit this is expected to grow by 200 million declarations and expose 140K additional importers/exporters to customs formalities for the first time. Tools including AEO, CFSP and Customs Warehousing are available today. AEO is 10 years old and CFSP and warehousing have been around for longer than that. It is very possible to embed Customs processes within your day-to-day business, but you need to accept change and adapt. If you do nothing, nothing will happen!”

Previous seminar panel speakers have included Dean Attwell CEO and Co-founder of Oakland International, Liam Gilbert from IGD, Chris Sturman CEO of FSDF, John Keefe Director of Public Affairs for Getlink (formerly Eurotunnel), Karl Trumper Managing Director – UK Trade & Working Capital at Barclays and Robert Hardy Operations Director of Oakland Invicta, who covered subjects ranging from exports and imports, the customs union, the Irish Border and port delays; each theme unpicked and demystified, with questions answered by the panel who provided delegates with practical advice and guidance.

Delegates have included Netherlands based food producer Conveni’s Head of Commercial UK and Ireland, Noel Reidy, who stated: “Time really well spent, – Rob Hardy clearly explained how to navigate Brexit with practical, sound advice, without all of the political spin and jargon.”

Katrina McWhinnie from The McWhinnie Consultancy commented: “Very positive information delivered in a clear and light-hearted manner. I will definitely be attending the next one.”

For more information and how to book, please visit: www.mybrexit.uk or call 01527 594570 for further details.

Bidfood unveils five casual dining essentials

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Bidfood unveils five casual dining essentials

New research from Bidfood reveals value for money, convenience and healthy choices as essential when attracting consumers to casual dining restaurants.

Bidfood’s Consumer Views Study shows that Brits are eating out less frequently than the same time last year and 45% are actively reducing their leisure spending[1]. With a host of social and economic trends playing an intrinsic role in how we spend our time and money, the report sheds light on how dining operators can stand-out in a saturated and intensely competitive market.

Five casual dining essentials

Bidfood’s research has identified the following to be the most highly rated factors that would encourage consumers to dine out more frequently^[2]:

Value for money: 28% of consumers want smaller portions of British classics at cheaper prices
Convenience: 25% of consumers look for dining outlets that offer takeaway options at a cost that’s less than dining in
Health: 20% of consumers want menu choices that meet their healthy eating goals
Experiential: 20% of consumers are looking for something different when eating out
Flexibility: 14% of consumers look for menus available at all times of the day

Lucy Pedrick, Insights Manager at Bidfood, said: “Our aim was to uncover restaurant must-haves, as rated by diners, to help operators attract footfall and ensure their business is future fit in such a competitive market.

“Without a doubt, the biggest deal breaker for consumers today has to be the cost of eating out. With decreased disposable income to contend with, people are looking for extra value for money and certainly don’t want their food going to waste – that’s why smaller portions and discounts on takeaway options ranked among the highest in our survey.

“Ultimately, remaining competitive requires outlets to respond quickly to emerging food trends and preferences. Some 50% of consumers themselves recognised that with changing menus and service offerings, pricing structures and greater personalisation, eating out frequency could be reinvigorated[3].”

[1] Bidfood Consumer Views Survey (2018)

[2] Bidfood Consumer Views Survey (2018)

[3] Bidfood Consumer Views Survey (2018)

Whatever Happens Hot & Crispy Fries

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Whatever Happens Hot & Crispy Fries

Lamb Weston set to revolutionise the food delivery market with brand new fries concept

One of the world’s leading brands in high quality potato products – Lamb Weston is launching a brand new fries concept, Hot2Home™, that ensures fries are delivered hot and crispy to the consumer at home, every time. A stunning combination of product and packaging innovation, Hot2Home™ is set to boost repeat sales from happy consumers and in turn drive profits for operators across the industry.

From fully loaded dirty fries to single portioned sides, fries are one of the most popular additions to any casual dining menu, but with the UK home delivery market growing 10 times faster than the total eating out market,[1] services such as Deliveroo and Just Eat are increasingly looking to improve consumer reviews, particularly with regard to fries.

Outlets who offer home-delivery have come to accept that the temperature and crispiness of fries deteriorates rapidly after an order leaves the kitchen, and that consumers never really receive the quality they deserve. However, with Hot2Home™ there’s no need to let your in-store standards slip. The unique concept deals with the two main problems that make fries cold and soggy during delivery. It introduces a revolutionary type of fry and specially developed packaging, with the combination of the two innovations creating fries that can be delivered to the consumer in the best possible condition.

Andrea Deutschmanek, Country Marketeer UK & ROI at Lamb Weston says, “At Lamb Weston, we understand the potential disappointment facing consumers when ordering fries for delivery and we know chefs want to stay proud of the dishes they create. With many businesses delivering within miles from their premises, there are a number of factors that can produce the delays, such as traffic jams, or even consumers living on the top floor of a block of flats. Customers want hot and crispy fries with their meal and Hot2Home™ is the first overall solution for delivering fries with the guarantee that fries stay in optimal condition for up to 20 minutes. Our research team has been listening to both our customers and their consumers and we know the size of the challenge. The team spent months developing and testing both the fries and the packaging until we knew it would ‘deliver’! Lamb Weston’s Hot2Home™ is truly the end to soggy fries.”

In addition, the disposable Hot2Home™ fry packaging has been created with sustainability in mind. The wood used for the carton board is harvested under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the greaseproof coating on the cardboard is also fully recyclable, enabling the consumer to dispose of the packaging at home.

Be sure to visit the Lamb Weston stand at the Restaurant and Takeaway Innovation at ExCel on the 25^th and 26^th September. Stop by stand 1634 to meet the team and taste the revolution of the home delivery store2door concept that is Hot2Home.

[1] NPD Group UK Food Delivery Market 2^nd March 2017

NewCold opens UK’s biggest deepfreeze

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

NewCold opens UK’s biggest deepfreeze

Mark Slaughter, Director General for Investment at the Department for International Trade. Bram Hage, Founder and CEO, NewCold. Jon Miles, Country Director, NewCold UK. Denise Jeffrey, Deputy Leader, Wakefield Council

NewCold has unveiled its newly-completed deep frozen storage and distribution centre which, says the company, is now the largest of its kind in the UK.

At the grand opening in Wakefield, customers, dignitaries, staff and well-wishers gathered on the 16.5-acre site to mark the occasion and hear from NewCold’s Country Director, Jon Miles, regarding the impressive facts and figures surrounding the new storage and logistics facility.

“Today see’s the culmination of 6 years dedicated work,” announced Jon Miles “and the opening of a food-handling facility which, in terms of size, performance, sustainability and low energy consumption, raises the bar to new heights – until now, not seen in the UK.”

The Wakefield plant will handle 3,000,000 pallets annually and with a total volume of over 4 million cubic metres, the giant deepfreeze has the capacity to store 143,000 pallets – at a constant, minus 23 degrees. 175 pallets come in and out every hour and just five minutes is required to unload NewCold’s bespoke-designed moving floor trailers.

Featuring some of the most advanced automated technology of its kind anywhere in the world, the NewCold plant is fully automated and minimal handling maintains product temperature, at all times. The operation is driven by Davanti software which has been improved year on year specifically to get optimum use of the automation. Furthermore, the dispatch bays are deep-frozen, whereby many conventional stores are chilled.

“Not only does the facility operate at around 50% of the energy consumed by conventional deep-frozen storage sites,” adds Jon” but also, given the proximity to the motorway network, 90% of NewCold’s delivery points can be reached and returned from within a driver’s shift. This improves customer service and keeps ‘food miles’ to an absolute minimum.”

NewCold’s founder and CEO Bram Hage commented on the ‘challenges’ met and overcome by the NewCold team during the development and growth of the Wakefield site and referenced similar greenfield projects undertaken by NewCold elsewhere in the world.

“This is the coming together of talented people, both from NewCold and our many supply partners and customers, to formulate a truly global consolidation of skills and recourses in the supply chain.”

Also addressing those present, Mark Slaughter, Director General for Investment at the Department for International Trade, highlighted the importance of ongoing commercial partnerships between the UK, the Netherlands and the numerous other countries in which NewCold has established similar cold storage and logistics operations.

“I am delighted that the Department for International Trade, working in partnership with Wakefield Council, has been able to support NewCold to deliver a truly world class facility bringing over 200 highly valued jobs to the area. I know that the completion of this site is just the start for NewCold and our international economic department stands ready to help the company further expand their UK presence.”

To complete the official opening ceremony, Denise Jeffrey, Deputy Leader of Wakefield Council and a long-term supporter of NewCold’s Wakefield venture, cut a ribbon suspended between two NewCold double-deck temperature-controlled trailers.

While overhead, NewCold Logistics advisor Tom Cassells treated the crowd to an aerobatic display and ‘fly-by’ in his single-seater, Cap 23 aerobatic plane.

“It was a fitting conclusion to a great afternoon”, concluded Jon Miles. “From the start, Denise Jeffrey and Wakefield Council have helped greatly, including 3 years ago with the introduction of many new recruits – 75% of whom, I’m pleased to say are still with us and remain part of our 200-strong team.”

Jon went further to say that NewCold has so far committed around £100m on build cost alone, and their growth plans over the coming two years will see further investment, including the recruitment of an additional 70 personnel.

The NewCold logistics operation expands in line with their core business and so far, comprises 50 tractor units and 80 temperature-controlled trailers – many of which are high-volume double-deckers with auto-loading.

Employment Seminars – Autumn 2018

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

What will happen to your EU workforce post Brexit?

The negotiations centred around EU citizens rights have given both employers and their European workforce a bumpy ride so far and there’s no doubt that UK businesses will require immigration to fill the skills gap. In this series of seminars, we will discuss how businesses can start reviewing the immigration status of their employees to be in the best possible position to secure their EU workforce post Brexit.

We’ll also roundup some of the latest employment updates, including a look at the decision in the Mencap case on the issue of the national minimum wage and back payments to carers for “sleeping-in”.

Please click here to view the full seminar programme

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