Marks & Spencer (M&S) is planning a bumper Christmas with novel food and drink products and ‘natural’ packaging design ideas sourced from around the world.
The freak September heatwave is providing a welcome boost for the food industry but placing impossible demands on some parts of the supply chain, it has been claimed.
Finsbury Foods' results for 12 months to July 2 show ‘a year of substantial progress on the balance sheet’, according to financial analysts Panmure Gordon.
Britain’s free-from food sector is witnessing meteoric growth as more consumers report intolerance to certain foods, according to a new report about to be published by market research company Mintel. Retail sales are set to soar from £303M a year to £519M...
Employees of Park Cakes in Bolton and Oldham are considering industrial action after the introduction of new employment contracts which one union official described as tantamount to ‘slave labour.’
Marks & Spencer (M&S) insists it is not marginalising suppliers of mainstream food products, despite a high-profile shift into premium speciality goods.
The launch of two new gluten-free products by Dr Schär UK is further evidence of the category’s move from niche to mainstream lifestyle choice, according to the free-from manufacturer.
Food Manufacture magazine, the sister publication of FoodManufacture.co.uk, has been redesigned to meet the needs of 21st century food and drink industry professionals.
It's a curate's harvest - good is some parts but poor in others, according to Stuart Borthwick, operations director, Roberts Bakery, based in Northwich, Cheshire.
Manufacturers are no longer looking to make healthier cookies and biscuits, preferring instead to focus product development on indulgence and portion control, according to a market expert.
Reconciling retailers' expectations of a constant flow of exciting new products with the constraints of production lines has been a dilemma for plant bakers for many years.
Allied Bakeries' (AB's) group operations director Nick Law has admitted that meeting the 2012 salt reduction guidelines is a "huge challenge" for the firm.
Several UK research organisations have answered a call made only three days ago for scientific support to help food manufacturers meet their commitments on salt reduction under the Public Health Responsibility Deal.
Staff at Burton’s Foods in Blackpool will vote on a revised pay deal for the second time after initially rejecting the company's offer, FoodManufacture.co.uk understands.
A leading M&A lawyer has described Kraft’s plan to divide its global operations as a “hugely significant” move that could lead other multinational food businesses to demerge operations.
Premier Foods group sales director Ian York will leave the company at the end of the year to pursue "other business interests", a spokesman has confirmed to FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Premier Foods shares rose slightly this morning after an announcement that new ceo Michael Clarke will start work next week, as one City analyst warned that the firm's shares are currently "un-investable".
Despite fears of sovereign downgrades and tumbling share prices, UK food and drink manufacturers increased their output by 0.5% in June 2011, but many are suffering pain from rising input prices.
Baker Greggs says it is monitoring the London riots to co-ordinate activity across its retail and supply chain and minimise the risk to consumers and staff from angry mobs.
Allied Bakeries operations director, Nick Law, tells FoodManufacture.co.uk what makes a good manager. In an age of skills shortages, Law tells Mike Stones that the company looks for leaders, who drive staff to achieve more at a higher level collectively...
Version 6 of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard for Food Safety could lead to more unannounced audits being forced on manufacturers, according to a third-party certification body.
The retail promotional system is flawed, unsustainable and needs a complete overhaul, although manufacturers are divided over the ability of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) or the new adjudicator to tackle this.
Increasing demand for cross-category continuous replenishment and flexibility and growing calls for sustainability are core challenges that manufacturers must face to add value to the supply chain, according to General Mills.
Fortification of gluten free bread products in the UK is likely to be limited and inconsistent, according to a study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
Strike action now seems less likely at Burton’s Foods' Blackpool site, after the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) said it would endorse a new company pay offer.
Genius Foods says it is frustrated by additional charges levied on gluten-free bread that it supplies to the NHS in Wales, although the nation's government insists that talk of £32 loaves is incorrect.
Finsbury Food Group ceo John Duffy says that “relentless commodity price inflation” on basic ingredients such as butter, sugar and flour have eroded the firm’s profit margins.
The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) has called off scheduled strike action at Burton’s Foods Blackpool site, after the union agreed to further talks with company management.
Ranjit Boparan says that running Northern Foods and 2 Sisters Food Group across five rather than four business divisions this year will give the group a “sharper business focus”.
Premier Foods is consulting with 140 staff employed over the closure of its Hovis head office in Windsor, with some job losses possible, while further redundancies will occur at the division's Avonmouth bakery.
The “bad news was no worse than expected” said analysts, after Associated British Foods (ABF) posted its third quarter trading update to June 25 2011 this morning.
