Earlier this month, BFFF attended the latest Move to -15°C Members’ Meeting, at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

 

The day began with site visits to Aviko’s french fry production and cold storage facilities, and the Wageningen University & Research campus. The meeting then continued with in-depth discussions on how to scale impact and increase member engagement across the cold chain. This included identifying opportunities to reduce energy use and costs within existing operational and regulatory frameworks (which the Coalition calls Every Degree Counts), and moving beyond controlled environments into real-world conditions to build a shared evidence base, support regulatory dialogue, and to demonstrate feasibility of -15°C. 

 

To explore opportunities for involvement or express interest in future pilots, or to join the Coalition and start making savings today, visit www.movetominus15.com

Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has launched ‘Countdown to Christmas’, designed to help operators to make the most of the festive period, with a range of new products, offers and supporting activity.

 

Spearheading the festive campaign are more than 130 new lines with everything from premium desserts including a Chantilly Patisserie Jaffa Orange Dome to innovative ingredients like Browns BBQ Shredded Turkey and Cranberry. There is also a new range of Christmas-focussed tapas-style sharing dishes to help operators capitalise on the trend of social eating.

 

With more than 1,000 products in the Christmas range, covering a comprehensive selection of seasonal essentials from fantastic food to festive favourites like crackers, there is a range of products to suit a wide variety of menus, dietary requirements and venues.

 

Brakes has also created some useful guides on its website helping chefs to carefully plan the run-up to Christmas to ensure that they can maximise the festive period.

 

Helping chefs to put together cost-effective, perfectly paired menus, there are a number of 70% margin costed set meals to suit a range of budgets, including traditional, gastro, vegan and gluten free.

 

As part of its support programme, Brakes will also be providing a wide range of market-leading cashback, link and save and festive giveaways to return value to customers through mybrakes rewards. It will also see the return of its popular ‘Meat & Vodka’ deal offering a free bottle of Smirnoff Vodka with the purchase of certain meat products.

 

Paul Nieduszynski, CEO of Sysco GB, said: “A successful Christmas is critical for any food business, and our focus has been on making sure our customers can achieve that. From a wonderful array of new products to comprehensive guides on how to plan and prepare the festive rush, we’ve created a Christmas package that will help customers win at Christmas.”

Specialist fresh produce supplier, Bidfresh, has moved Daily Fish from its Kings Cross base in North London to a new 24,298 sq ft state-of-the-art depot in Enfield.

The site, now fully operational, is designed to deliver faster, more reliable logistics across London, helping chefs receive the freshest fish at the highest quality. The move also represents a significant investment in sustainability, customer engagement and capacity for growth.

The Enfield depot includes modern preparation and filleting areas, improved storage and workflow, and facilities designed to boost capacity and efficiency while ensuring the highest levels of quality and consistency.

Sustainability is central to the building’s refurbishments, with solar panels, EV charging points to support a future electric fleet and LED lighting that has been fitted over a number of months to meet the needs of the business.

A new customer experience centre will open on site in early 2026, offering chefs an innovative space to collaborate with expert fishmongers and development chefs on menu planning, skills training, and market insights.

For its employees, the new depot provides a brighter, more comfortable working environment through its lighting and ergonomic design, while meeting health and safety standards. Importantly, there is no change to order processes for customers, who can continue to order in the same way as before.

Andy Farnworth, Managing Director at Bidfresh, said: “This investment marks an exciting new chapter for Daily Fish and Direct Seafoods. Enfield gives us a stronger base to grow, with modern facilities that support both our team and our customers.

“The new depot means we can deliver even fresher fish, more efficiently across London, while our customer experience centre will let us work more closely with chefs, supporting menu development, skills and creativity.

“At the same time, we’ve created a better place to work for our people and built a more sustainable operation. We’re proud to be moving towards a greener future for our business and our customers.”

Founded more than 30 years ago, Daily Fish sources fresh fish every day from Brixham, Peterhead, Cornwall and Billingsgate, and delivers up to six days a week to chefs across London.

ENDS.

The new address: Daily Fish Supplies, Unit 5, Enfield Distribution Park, East Duck Lees Lane, Enfield, EN3 7SR.

 

Website: www.dailyfishsupplies.co.uk

Pacific West is thrilled to announce its return to Lunch! 2025, the UK’s premier trade show for the food-to-go industry. The event, taking place on 24th and 25th September 2025 at ExCeL London, will see Pacific West at Stand L128, ready to present its latest innovations in the convenient and sustainable seafood sector.

The company’s presence at the show highlights its commitment to providing high-quality, protein solutions that meet the evolving needs of the food-to-go market. As a well-regarded trade-only event, Lunch! provides the perfect platform for Pacific West to connect with key decision-makers from cafés, coffee shops, food manufacturers, wholesalers and other food-to-go establishments.

Attendees visiting the Pacific West stand can look forward to discovering a range of delicious and responsibly sourced seafood products designed to elevate menus. The team will be on hand to demonstrate how their convenient solutions can help businesses streamline kitchen operations while offering customers tasty and ethical options.

Chef Steve Walpole will be preparing and serving a special menu, showcasing the Fully Cooked seafood range, that plays on current food trends. His creations will demonstrate the range’s incredible flexibility and creativity, highlighting how the products can be prepared to create high impact FTG solutions.

Among the exciting dishes being served at the stand are a Japanese katsu fish sando, posh coronation fish hot dogs, and our new AirCrisp prawns with Chef Walpole’s special recipe, all designed to showcase the versatility and deliciousness of the Pacific West range!

“We’re looking forward to being back at Lunch!,” said Martin Finegan, Managing Director at Pacific West. “It’s an excellent opportunity for us to showcase how our products can help businesses in the food-to-go sector meet the growing demand for convenient, high-quality, and sustainable food options. We’re looking forward to connecting with our peers and highlighting the benefits of our latest innovations.”

Pacific West invites all trade professionals to visit them at Stand L128 to sample their range and learn more about how their products can become a key part of their food-to-go offering.

For more information, visit the Pacific West website. Link to – https://pacificwestfoods.co.uk/serving-up-innovation-at-lunch-2025/

Prepared by Michelle Dalley, Umami Design for Food

Lakeside Food Group, a leading supplier in the UK frozen and chilled foods sector, today announced the acquisition of SFC Ltd., a well-established frozen poultry brand known for its popular range of chicken products across retail, foodservice, and wholesale markets.

The acquisition expands Lakeside Food Group’s product portfolio and presence in the UK retail and foodservice sectors. SFC’s strong brand recognition and loyal customer base will complement Lakeside’s existing operations, accelerating growth and enabling the group to offer a wider range of innovative products.

Gary Irvine, Managing Director, Lakeside Food Group, said:

“We are delighted to welcome SFC Ltd. into the Lakeside family. This acquisition provides an exciting opportunity to invest in a branded business that delivers quality and convenience for UK consumers. Together, we can broaden our reach and create new opportunities for growth in the frozen poultry category.”

Tony Nuttall, Managing Director, SFC Ltd., added:

“Joining Lakeside Food Group marks an exciting new chapter for SFC. With Lakeside’s scale and resources, we can continue to build on our success and bring even more innovation and value to our customers.”

SFC will continue to operate under its established brand name from its Preston office and will become a subsidiary of Lakeside Food Group.

kff, the Kent-based leading regional foodservice wholesaler, has launched more than 70 new products as part of a Christmas range that showcases local provenance and offers menu solutions to maximise the festive opportunity for customers, including Grab and Go ideas and festive brunches.

The ‘Make Christmas Magic’ campaign introduces products from south-east producers, including the Homemade Brownie Company, Weald Smokery, Speciality Breads and Korker. It also includes kff’s own Purple Pineapple brand, which is produced on its headquarters’ site in Aylesford and is a versatile, premium sandwich filling that is also perfect for creating festive canapes,

The company has focused on increasing its range over the past three years, with a particular focus on ‘fresh’, including hundreds of new meat, fish and fresh produce lines.

As a part of the world’s largest foodservice supplier, Sysco, kff has access to a wide range of products, and has also introduced more than 300 Sysco own label products in the past two years.

To support the Christmas launch, kff has created a number of promotions, including a free vodka offer and 10% cashback on additional purchasing over the Christmas period.

Neil Williams, Managing Director of kff, said: “Christmas is an incredibly important time for food businesses, so we’ve focused on helping them make the most of it, whether that’s our ideas for grab and go, or a traditional Christmas dinner.

“The seasonal range has everything a kitchen needs to deliver a successful Christmas, including some great regional products as well as non-food festive choices, giving chefs access to a one-stop for all their Christmas needs.”

The kff Christmas brochure is available to download now.