As a great believer in giving consumers a mix of culinary pleasure and technology-led products, I am encouraged by the investments being made in the UK’s food manufacturing industry.
Hampshire-based Stiletto Foods has made its first foray into the US market after striking a deal with natural foods giant Whole Foods Market that will see Mrs Crimble's free-from products listed in five of Whole Foods Market’s 11 regions in the US.
The alignment of Somerfield and Co-operative food ranges will be completed by the end of next month, 17 months after the £1.6bn merger was sealed and at least six months before the Somerfield store fascia disappears from the High Street.
Surveys that compare salt levels in products of different weights targeted at different eating occasions and then single out individual firms for criticism are unfair and unhelpful, Marks & Spencer has argued.
UK media watchdog Ofcom has rejected complaints from cereal food giants Nestlé and Kellogg’s that they were treated unfairly by the Channel 4 programme What’s in Your Breakfast?
Asda boss Andy Clarke’s recent ‘Gerald Ratner’ moment simply reflects what any product developer working with the supermarkets will tell you in private, that the retailer’s own-label range does not stack up against the competition in the quality stakes.
The firm behind heart-friendly beetroot juice Beet It has secured new retail listings for its ‘one-shot’ 70ml packs after a successful launch in Holland & Barrett.
Premium muesli Nature’s Pleasure was pulled from supermarket shelves after just 12 months because of "economic pressures", according to Kellogg's UK md Greg Peterson.
Oxford Nutrascience is launching cranberry and omega-3 fortified chews in September, having already produced calcium fortified chews under its Ellactiva brand.
The appointment of Dr Hans Tromp as professor of Colloid Chemistry at Utrecht University promises new technological solutions for low-fat food products, according to food research firm Nizo.
Ben & Jerry, Green & Black, and, er, Mike & Dan? If Peppersmith gum co-founders Mike Stevens and Dan Shrimpton are not quite household names just yet, give it a few years and they might just turn out to be one of grocery’s more interesting...
School meal take-up might be back on the rise in secondary schools but still appears to be well below where it was before Jamie’s School Dinners and the School Food Trust (SFT) arrived on the scene five years ago.
The first major speech from the new government outlining its approach to public health and nutrition makes no reference to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) or its future role within the Department of Health (DoH).
With the economy still emerging from recession and many firms keeping a tight rein on spending, it should come as no surprise that blue sky new product development (NPD) is not top of the agenda at many food retailers, according to food manufacturers...
The food industry has significantly overplayed the technical role that salt plays in processed foods in order to avoid the "nuisance and expense" of reformulation work and fend off the health lobby, the chairman of salt reduction charity CASH...
Over 50 years ago, Charles Percy Snow CP Snow the acclaimed scientist and novelist, presented his Rede lecture at the University of Cambridge titled 'The two cultures'.
It's that time of year when, as you drive the length and breadth of the country, you see signs at the roadside advertising country shows, festivals, fêtes and fairs. Being someone who always likes to cover new ground, I usually go if I have a spare...
Functional foods could be a better way of improving the health of consumers who aren't listening to the dietary health messages they are bombarded with, a leading nutritionist has claimed.
New research has found that animal welfare is Britain's number one food concern, with as many as four in 10 (40%) consumers worried about the issue, according to Mintel.
Danone finally ditched its Shape Feel Fuller for Longer yogurt because it could not get the taste right, but insists it still believes there is a market for products promoting satiety.
The market for products designed to keep our grey matter ticking over as we get older remains ripe for exploitation by food manufacturers, provided they can find a way to communicate their benefits without falling foul of health claims legislation, according...
Danone has quietly dropped its hunger-busting Feel fuller for longer brand and pumped all available resources into promoting its Shape Zer0% fat-free yogurts instead.
The National Trust is discussing contract manufacturing deals with firms making everything from chutney to soup as part of an ambitious plan to get its branded products into every major UK supermarket.
A fledgling food manufacturing business created by an accountant, a geophysicist and a priest is targeting independent retailers, delis, farm shops and supermarkets with an unusual range of products based on British herbs, Asian spices and blueberries...
Game-changing innovation is not – and should not – be the top priority for every new product development team, especially in the current economic climate, according to the boss of one of the nation’s biggest brands.
An assertion in new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) that firms making progressive reductions in salt can simply carry on indefinitely without any technical or commercial consequences has baffled industry...
While shoppers’ enthusiasm for low-fat, low-sugar or low-calorie claims (‘minus’ claims) or added functional ingredients claims (‘plus’ claims) has waned; their interest in natural claims has continued to grow, according to Mintel.
Consumers, observed Mintel’s David Jago at a Leatherhead Food Research conference on natural trends last week, want foods that are ‘wholesome’, ‘authentic’, and above all ‘natural’, although few of them can articulate what this actually means.
Plants native to the British Isles from wild raspberries and elderflowers to seaweed could prove just as exciting to food developers as the exotic flora and fauna of South America and Africa, according to experts at Kew Gardens.
A leading UK bakery, sugar and ingredients company is set to open a new factory this month to develop a larger range of artisan bakery goods which were identified as the source of strong first half performances in 2010.
Scientists at Dutch food research organisation NIZO are teaming up with the University of Cambridge as they embark on the first leg of an EU project exploring overeating.
Ethnic breadmaker Honeytop Speciality Foods has moved into the morning goods sector after making a major investment in its Dunstable factory. This has resulted in some "exciting new product launches", according to Honeytop's new product...
Around 2.3m women admitted eating chocolate more than three times a day, but over 70% of all women said they felt guilty for eating it, with health and weight-management cited as the top reasons for feeling guilty, new research shows.
Gaudins Patisserie has manufactured celebrity chef Shaun Rankin's new Bakewell Tart. The tart is the second in the range, following the launch of Rankin's Treacle Tart the dessert that was described as "high art" when he made it on...
The UK market for yogurt products has seen a modest growth over the past year, led by strong sales of bio and luxury products, according to the latest market data.
Shoppers abandoned discount retailers and budget brands and returned to premium offerings in the first quarter of 2010, according to Sarah Mitson, global account director at Kantar Worldpanel.
