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NEWCOLD: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF A GLOBAL DEEP FREEZE PHENOMENON

NewCold Advanced Cold Logistics strives to increase global food security by providing leading food companies with the most innovative cold storage and transportation services. The company has an international network with 11 locations on three continents with over 927,000 pallet positions worldwide.

Always striving to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment and local communities, NewCold optimise existing and new innovative concepts in the cold chain to achieve the best for their customers and the industry at large. The company believes that the efficient usage of natural resources together with healthy local community and employee relations are key elements which lead to outstanding financial results and business prosperity.

In keeping with this philosophy, NewCold incorporates a Triple Bottom Line framework in its core operations which enables the evaluation of company performance from different perspectives while creating greater overall transparency.

The company’s unique Triple Bottom Line approach embraces three distinct criteria: Planet, People and Profit. Firstly, NewCold recognise that all their facilities consume energy and use air and water for cooling purposes and so employ sustainable solutions wherever possible.

Then, in regarding their people as their greatest strength and most valuable asset, NewCold encourages all employees to focus on creating customer satisfaction, to promote long term customer relationships and sustainable revenues.

Thirdly, NewCold employ the simple formula whereby efficient operations combined with satisfied customers contribute to a competitive advantage, which in turn leads to commercial success.

This sustainable methodology is the driving force behind the success of NewCold’s existing Wakefield site and already is providing the operational foundations for a new deep-freeze facility due to open in Corby later next year.

“As with each of our sites world-wide, our focus at the new Corby facility will be on sustainability” says NewCold. “Both the Wakefield and Corby sites are fashioned on our unique cold store design and use around 50% less energy than conventional stores. This, coupled with our ability to reduce food miles by using high-volume trailers, will greatly reduce CO2 emissions and energy use.”

The new Corby facility sits on a 23-acre plot which, says NewCold, is a prime location in the logistics ‘golden triangle’. The site is in proximity with frozen distribution centres of retail and food service customers and perfectly located to help minimise consignment handling and logistics costs.

Key to the delivery of NewCold’s energy efficiency is the company’s state of the art warehouse management systems and fully automated handling equipment. These include FEFO handling (First Expired, First Out); shipment buffer zones to minimise truck waiting times; automated storage and racking; bespoke picking floors with automated replenishment and pallet discharge. All of which combine to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

For example, the Wakefield facility, with a footprint of 129m x 170m and storage height of 41m., handles 4,000,000 pallets annually and in one, 24-hour, day can receive and dispatch up to 18,000 deep frozen pallets.

To help control this colossal, non-stop operation NewCold uses a proprietary WMS which is produced by daughter company Davanti Warehousing. Working in the company’s eleven facilities around the world, the cloud-based system, called CORAX, employs Saas (Software as a Service) to control all movements in the operation, while providing constant real-time information regarding consignments and equipment performance.

AUNT BESSIE’S TAPS INTO PREMIUM ROAST DINNER DEMAND WITH SPECTACULAR YORKSHIRES LAUNCH

Aunt Bessie’s is expanding its portfolio with a premium Yorkshire Pudding option, as shoppers look to create a showstopping roast dinner this autumn. Rolling out in stores from 20th September, Aunt Bessie’s’ new large and show-stopping Yorkshires, flavoured with Roasted Sea Salt, Rosemary & Sage, will ensure that the brand continues to drive category sales during the colder months.

The Premium Yorkshires segment is a real growth area in the Yorkshire pudding category, seeing a strong performance of +10.2% YOY[2], as shoppers look for even greater results when cooking a roast dinner. Enjoying a 60.5% share of the total Yorkshire Pudding market[3], Aunt Bessie’s is in the prime position to drive additional shoppers to the Premium Yorkshire Pudding segment with this launch. In fact, feedback from consumer research has revealed that 61% of respondents believe that just adding a flavoured salt would make a Yorkshire pudding more premium and add a level of excitement[4]. Additionally, with 22% of roast dinner shoppers only buying the Aunt Bessie’s brand[5], the new premium Yorkshires will be a popular item over the festive period.

Louise Grace, Senior Brand Manager at Aunt Bessie’s, said “As a brand synonymous with Yorkshire puddings, we’re in the perfect position to help consumers to get the most out of their roast dinners. With families wanting to spend more time over a quality roast dinner than ever before, but unwilling to sacrifice time to do so, we recognise the role we can play in making family mealtimes more special than ever.

“With consumer demanding elements that will amplify their roast dinners, Premium Yorkshires represent a great opportunity for both our brand and the category. The addition of special ingredients like roasted sea salt, rosemary, and sage have seen our new Spectacular Yorkshires launch already resonate well with consumers. This new launch really does offer consumers maximum reward for medium effort – helping to make those family get togethers as easy as possible without compromising the taste experience.”

Aunt Bessie’s Spectacular Yorkshires will be launching from mid-September 2021 into Tesco, before being available in Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda. The product will have an RRP £1.90.

[2] Nielsen MAT % CHG YA data w/e 14.08.21

[3] Nielsen (data w/e 14.08.21)

[4] Survey Monkey Sept 2020

[5] Kantar – Purchase Panel, Roast Dinners, 52w/e 27 December 2020

PRINCES WINS EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR AT THE GROCER GOLD AWARDS 2021

Princes has been named Employer of the Year at The Grocer’s Gold Awards 2021.

A Gold Award is the highest accolade a company operating in the food and drink industry can receive.

Open to retailers, wholesalers and grocery manufacturers, the prestigious award is for the employer who, over the past 12 months, has ‘done the most to create a positive working environment, motivating, redirecting and training its people, and improving the company’s reputation and performance in the process.’

In announcing Princes as Employer of the Year at a glittering ceremony at London’s Guildhall hosted by Rt. Hon. Lord William Hague, the judges described Princes as a “true turnaround story”.

They went on to say: “In 2018, Princes suffered a 22% slump in pre-tax profits. That prompted a transformation – and Princes’ people were a crucial part of this mission.

“The starting point was a ‘People Excellence Strategy’ that went on to deliver concrete action. To reward achievement, it put in place a quarterly Pride in Princes awards programme that gave out cash prizes to high performers. This was followed by an Inclusion & Diversity programme in the summer.

“And to support health and wellbeing, Princes put together a monthly campaign with updates and information. Plus, it ensured staff weren’t out of pocket for Covid-related absences, and has committed to flexible working in the wake of the pandemic.

“Princes has not only managed to boost retention, but had a record number of entries to its Graduate Scheme in 2021.”

Other companies shortlisted for the award were Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons.

Joe Dent, Princes’ Chief People Officer, said: “I am thrilled for everyone at Princes that our business has been named Employer of the Year in The Grocer’s Gold Awards. These awards are the most sought after in our industry.

“What is also exciting is that we are only at the beginning of our journey. There is still so much to do to complete the transformation of Princes into a true Employer of Choice.”

The judges were impressed by Princes’ commitment to ensuring that colleagues feel part of one team and that no matter where they are in the world, they have a common purpose in striving to achieve our vision to ‘proudly help families to eat well without costing the earth’.

Fundamental to this was the creation of our ‘Our Princes – Our People’ employer brand which enabled us to bring together the 6 pillars of our People Excellence Strategy

We recognise that there is a still a long way to go on our journey to become an Employer of Choice, but we are also proud of the progress that has been made in the last 12 months – and which has been recognised in the winning of this prestigious award.

We are particularly proud of the engagement we have received for our Pride in Princes awards programme. Held each quarter, the first three saw us receive 712 separate nominations, resulting in 289 colleagues receiving an award (£200 if you are an individual recipient and £50 if a member of a team). In April 2020, we increased the team award to £100 to give every one of our key workers an honorary Pride in Princes Award.

Our decision to continue running our Graduate Scheme has also been rewarded with a record number of entries in 2021. Within a couple of days of opening the scheme, we had received over 800 applications for six places, more than we would normally receive in two months. This at a time when many employers have cancelled their equivalent schemes and furloughed graduates.

Our commitment to our 7,000 Princes colleagues is evident from our strong recruitment and retention rates. For example, in the last year, we have brought on 58 new starters at our Liverpool head office compared to 40 leavers.

The launch in February 2021 of our Pathways Learning and Development portal has also received a phenomenal response – to date there have been over 30,000 visits to the platform and over 8600  course enrolments.

We have seen similar strong engagement levels since our Feel-Good Hub launched in November 2020 offering a range of rewards and benefits with over 40 per cent of colleagues registering.

And we have recently held our second Princes Group Inclusion Week including an Anti-Racism webinar with England football legend John Barnes which enjoyed widespread colleague engagement.

LATEST 52-WEEK KANTAR DATA TO 5TH SEPT 2021

We have received the latest 52-week Kantar data to 5 Sept 2021. The frozen category is still significantly larger than pre-pandemic sales in 2019, with value being up by 14.5% and volume 10.6%. The value performance is above that for Total Grocery (+13.1%) and Fresh & Chilled (+12.4%). We are still seeing both value and volume growth over the 52-week period at +3.9% and 1.8% respectively. However, the category is behind the value growth of Total Grocery (+4.0%) and Fresh & Chilled (+4.9%)

Over the 12-week period ended 5 September Total Grocery (-2.7%), Fresh & Chilled (-1.2%) and Frozen (-3.6%) are in decline as sales move from retail and into out of home consumption. Across the 9 categories monitored 7 remain in value and volume growth.

For a more detailed analysis of the data members can access the BFFF Presentation by following this link.

FREE TO ATTEND – RESOURCING THE FUTURE CONFERENCE 20/21 OCTOBER 2021

Members are now able to attend for FREE, in person or online, the 2021 Resourcing the Future Conference which will take place in London on 20th and 21st October 2021.

This event has been jointly organized by our colleagues at Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN), Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), Environmental Services Association (ESA) and Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Hear from Government representatives, business leaders, industry experts and pioneers and explore the topic of ‘thriving in the age of acceleration’ and ‘keeping pace with technological, environmental and political change’

Click here to register and view the programme which is packed with thought-provoking keynotes, lively panel debates, practical case studies and in-depth presentations.

BRAKES & M&J SEAFOOD WIN MSC FOODSERVICE WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR

A focus on provenance, the largest range of MSC products and the best customer sustainable seafood proposition saw Brakes and fellow Sysco company, M&J Seafood, walk away with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Foodservice Wholesaler of the Year award.  The latest award means that Brakes and M&J Seafood have won an award every year since the awards launched in 2014.

In a joint statement Charlotte Howkins, Brakes’ Fish and Seafood Category Manager and Sarah Phillips, Senior Category Manager at M&J Seafood said: “Combining M&J’s seafood expertise and Brakes’ foodservice knowledge gives customers access to a unique foodservice fish proposition.  We know that customers want seafood products that meet sustainable, assured standards, particularly with growing consumer concerns over the environment.  That’s why most of our seafood range now comes with certification (either MSC, MCS or ACS), with more than half produced to MSC standards.

“We want customers to be confident that when they serve up any fish dish, they do so reassured that it is sourced sustainably and responsibly. Something that we know resonates with consumers.”

Brakes and M&J Seafood already have the largest MSC range in wholesale, but the companies are continuing to grow the category, with three new Hoki Fillet Products, a Cod Fillet and a fish cake, all recently added.

Howkins continued: “While we are delighted to have won the MSC award every year since it was launched in 2014, at Brakes, it’s about making sure that we meet customers’ expectations and offer them the product range that they want.  Working hand in hand with M&J Seafood, we’ve big plans to expand our MSC range, rigorously working with the MSC towards our common goal of safeguarding the future of our oceans, so watch this space!”

Member Benefits

Exclusive Partnership deals on key products and services:

  • BFFF energy deals and rates
  • Vypr member deals and introduction
  • Defib Plus deals
  • Company Shop – membership
  • Mentor – MHE training health check

Exclusive access to networking opportunities and events:

  • Meet the Buyer events (retail & foodservice)
  • Annual Business Conference with networking dinner
  • Specialist H&S and Technical Conferences
  • Special interest groups (packaging, frozen food temperatures)
  • Annual Lunch
  • Awards Night
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