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thegrocer.co.uk

18 January 2020

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IN-STORE

Is the end of the line approaching for the checkout?

FOOD SAFETY Tesco and Waitrose hike pesto prices 4, 14 as supply crisis deepens TESCO Company-owned One Stops 4 converting to Tesco Express CAT LITTER Why the shortage?

5

I WANT THAT JOB Field sales merchandising manager at Baker & Taylor P58

CONVENIENCE Simply Fresh in 6 Sainsbury’s supply trial TRADE Trump’s tariffs hit exports 10 NESTLÉ Fmcg giant eyes major coffee 38 pod recycling play DELIS Higgidy scores major deli 39 counter deal with Sainsbury’s DAIRY Müller finally stems losses as Project Darwin nears completion 42 FISH Hit US fish alternative Good 43 Catch lands in UK READY MEALS Sales fall for first time in five years as takeaway deliveries 45 and meal kits take off WAITROSE Rupert Thomas to stay but misses out on top trading job 56

leader

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top stories this week on thegrocer.co.uk

I

“Asda’s trial of a packaging-free fixture is a leap into the unknown” Adam Leyland, Editor

● Correction: In last week’s

column I suggested that Asda chief customer officer Andy Murray’s return to the US may have been connected to Asda’s Christmas trading performance.

This was incorrect. He is retiring to the US in March, after four successful years in the role, and will continue to chair the Asda Foundation.

“Peanut allergy sufferers will be forced to pay more or ditch pesto” Carina Perkins, managing editor

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

t used to be Catholics that suffered from a guilt complex. Now it’s consumers. Every time I open a crisp packet or use a coffee pod – let alone unpack my (much used) shopping bags of their contents – I’m consumed with guilt over the environmental impact of both my choices and actions. And so must the industry be.

Until recently, the response has been to blame the government and local authorities for their failure to provide a national recycling framework. And it’s a fair point. But the industry can’t wash its hands of responsibility for this mess and at last it’s working on measures to reduce, reuse and recycle.

As well as substrate switches, the most high-profile moves have been on the reduction side, though progress is still slow.

So it was interesting to see Asda become the first big four supermarket to trial a packaging-free fixture, and doubly so because it’s working alongside branded manufacturers to deliver this (p7).

So far only Waitrose has conducted trials and while they’ve been successful, the fact they’ve rolled out the concept to just four stores so far shows how difficult this is to scale up. Last year Asda called on brands to put the environment before sales and to act quicker to reduce packaging, but getting rid of it – with all the marketing that involves – is a really daunting prospect for brands and a huge step into the unknown. It’s also noteworthy because Asda is simultaneously cutting in-store costs. And a self-service fixture is complex and potentially costly in terms of mess, shrinkage, food safety – and lost sales.

No wonder the majority of focus is on the recycling side. In addition to trialling – and working with various governments to set up – a number of deposit return schemes, supermarkets and suppliers have been looking to provide additional recycling facilities. Meanwhile, suppliers of pods, pouches, crisp packets, toothpaste and other ‘difficult’ packaging have been setting up postal and collection return schemes for their ‘empties’. Trouble is, the return rates on these onerous and patchy schemes are woeful. Let’s hope Nestlé’s two new Podback kerbside collection schemes (p38) move the dial a bit further.

Pesto lovers are having a tough time. Market leader Saclà has recalled a swathe of SKUs amid fears they could be contaminated with undeclared peanuts. What’s more Aldi, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have recalled own-label jars of pesto too.

As a result, shelves have been left bare and supermarkets are hiking prices on the few unaffected pesto lines – forcing Brits nationwide to rethink their weeknight pasta rituals.

But as we ponder this culinary conundrum, let’s all spare a thought for peanut allergy sufferers. While most of us will soon see pesto return

to shelves, they’ll be unable to eat it.

Because rather than reformulate or find a new supply of uncontaminated cashews, Saclà, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have all chosen to re-label their pesto with warnings it may contain peanuts. It means people with a peanut allergy will be forced to either opt for more expensive pesto made with pine nuts – or ditch it from their diets.

So yet again, allergen sufferers are those paying the highest price. And that just seems like an unfair cop-out.

Tesco accused of return to old supplier tactics

Asda to replace counters with ‘food for now’ offers

Colgate adds ‘first ever’ recyclable toothpaste tube

Range preview: Aldi Veganuary 2020

Asda consults over back office redundancies

quote of the week “If this had been a microbiological contamination it would have been nailed by the epidemiologists in about half a day, two days max” p14

More on pages 4, 14 18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 3

news

Tesco converts company-owned One Stops to Express format Lyndsey Cambridge & Ronan Hegarty Tesco has kicked off a major conversion programme of One Stop stores into its Tesco Express format.

The programme began in November and so far research by The Grocer has identified 26 One Stops that have been converted. It is thought up to 50 stores could be included in the move.

The stores are in major cities such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow, as well as smaller towns including Farnborough, Wakefield and Devizes.

One source with knowledge of the situation suggested the stores were among the most profitable in the One Stop estate and would therefore provide a boost to Tesco’s bottom line ahead of the close of its financial year next month.

While already owned

by Tesco, One Stop Stores is run as a separate company. Therefore, the stores have to be transferred across to Tesco plc, with staff also moving to Tesco under TUPE rules.

In its most recent

One Stop Stores is run as a separate company

accounts at Companies House, One Stop posted turnover of £1.1bn for the year to 23 February 2019 with pre-tax profits of £28.8m. It operated 772 company-owned stores.

It also operates 200 franchise stores, having added 50 new franchises last year. This week it announced the appointment of former Bestway manager Bill Nelson to spearhead a major new recruitment drive among independent retailers.

“We are rebranding a number of One Stop stores to Tesco Express,” said a Tesco spokeswoman. “We believe the Express brand will better serve these communities, offering a broader range of both branded and Tesco own-brand products, as well as more fresh food and food to go.”

“We expect the stores to open under the Tesco Express brand early this year.”

Tesco’s end of year, the last before CEO Dave Lewis departs in the summer, is on 23 February, the same day as One Stop’s. Last week The Grocer reported it had become involved in a series of settlement wrangles with suppliers.

Referring to the supplier dealings, Sentinel Management Consultants CEO David Sables said: “Tesco is coming towards the end of the year and is looking to prop up the numbers.”

4 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Tesco and Waitrose both attributed the pesto price rises to price-matching activity

Tesco and Waitrose hike pesto prices amid supply crisis Daniel Woolfson Waitrose and Tesco have hiked the price of Saclà pestos amid a major shortage driven by contamination fears.

Past weeks have seen supermarket pesto stocks annihilated amid a swathe of product recalls from Saclà. The recalls have affected Aldi and Waitrose ownlabel products, as well as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, which shared a cashew supplier with Saclà.

Of the few 190g jars of pesto that remain on shelves in Waitrose and Tesco, prices have risen: research by The Grocer shows Saclà Organic Basil Pesto has been hiked from £2.60 to £2.70 this week in Tesco [52 w/e 16 January 2020].

Meanwhile, four Saclà SKUS in Waitrose

– Coriander Pesto, Fiery Chilli Pesto, Organic Pesto, Organic Vegetarian No.6 Pesto – have risen from £2.50 to £2.70 over the past fortnight, with Saclà Roasted Pepper Pesto rising from £2.50 to £2.60.

When asked why prices had risen amid the current shortage, a Waitrose spokeswoman said: “Since 2010 we have price-matched products against Tesco, and the pricing of these products has been increased to reflect market changes.”

Tesco advised The Grocer it had raised the price of the pesto in question as a result of pricematching the wider market, rather than anything to do with the current supply crisis.

However, neither Asda nor Sainsbury’s have

hiked the price of Saclà pestos since the crisis kicked off, our research shows.

In fact, the Saclà products that remain in Asda – Fiery Chilli Pesto and Roasted Pepper Pesto – have been priced at £2.59 since October, and are currently on offer at £2.

Saclà prices in Sainsbury’s, meanwhile, have remained largely stable over the duration of the crisis: it is currently charging £2.50 for Fiery Chilli Pesto and £2.60 for Free From Sun Dried Pesto. Organic Basil Pesto has cost £2.70 for some months [Edge by Ascential].

Morrisons has not changed the price of any Saclà SKU – six are listed – at all.

Analysis p14

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

HIDDEN CLAWS As a small brand you have to keep an eye on your suppliers – Ed Williams, MD, Candy Kittens

Candy Kittens mulls legal move against ‘copycat’ Aldi Daniel Woolfson Candy Kittens is considering legal action against Aldi after discovering the discounter’s plans to launch a range of sweets it claims are a knock-off of the upmarket brand.

Candy Kittens MD Ed Williams told The Grocer his team had discovered the sweets – which have not yet launched into Aldi – in the warehouse of one of its contract packers.

“To see that on the shelves of their warehouse was so disappointing,” he said.

“We have confronted them [the packer], and their answer was that the Aldi business was just too good [to turn down].

“It raises a real question of trust and partnership and as a consequence we are reviewing how we move forward.”

Williams said he believed there were “grounds for us to take

Candy Kittens said it had discovered the copycats in the warehouse of one of its packers

the action on the basis that [the product] is so similar.

“It takes value out of brands like ours that are working really hard to build brand equity.

“Aldi is a challenger brand itself to a certain extent in the current grocery landscape – for them to be the ones who

are flying in the face of challenger brands on the ground, it’s a shame they haven’t spotted the opportunity to support and nourish the thriving scene. Someone has to stand up to it and make a bit of noise”.

An Aldi spokesman confirmed the existence of the sweets, which he

said were likely to go on sale over the coming weeks.

However, he said Aldi had not yet received any correspondence from it.

Candy Kittens is the latest in a series of challenger brands to confront Aldi over its ‘copycat’ brands.

Last year Aldi bowed to

a deluge of bad publicity and redesigned the packaging of its Italian-style chicken sausages after it was challenged by Heck’s owner Andrew Keeble, who accused Aldi of “mimicking” his brand’s design for its Chicken Italia product. Dairy brand The Collective also successfully challenged Aldi over a copycat yoghurt it produced.

Candy Kittens’ Williams added: “I hope this sends a warning, even though the product hasn’t hit the shelves, that we are being vigilant and we are on top of our IP and trademark protection.

“As a small brand that’s working hard to establish itself, you have to keep an eye on the third party suppliers you’re working with.

Candy Kittens saw strong growth last year: sales were up 54% over the 52 weeks to 11 August 2019 [IRI].

Cat litter shortage in wake of Bob Martin collapse Supermarket shelves have been left empty of cat litter following a major supplier’s fall into administration.

Bob Martin, which accounted for a large proportion of the UK cat litter market including supermarket own-label, appointed administrators in November. Parts of the business were sold to Pets Choice.

But complications in

transferring supermarket listings from Bob Martin to Pets Choice have been blamed for a widespread cat litter shortage across a number of supermarkets.

“We are aware of the shortages of cat litter products across the market and we’re working hard to resolve this,” a Tesco spokeswoman said.

A Sainsbury’s

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spokeswoman added: “Some stores are running low on some cat litter lines but we continue to offer a number of options.”

The sale to Pets Choice on 28 November, a day after administrators were appointed, saw the company acquire the Bob Martin (UK) Healthcare brand including flea treatments and cat litter brands such as Felight.

“Since the acquisition of Bob Martin Healthcare business and assets in November 2019, both the teams at Pets Choice and Bob Martin have been working tirelessly to ensure it is business as usual after Bob Martin entered administration,” a Pets Choice spokeswoman said. “However, the transfer process to move the listings from Bob Martin Company to

Pets Choice can take time due to the necessary procedures and regulations.

“Pets Choice Ltd and Bob Martin brands are now pleased to confirm that the listings have been transferred and deliveries have already restarted.

“Production at both UK Bob Martin factories has now recommenced, and normal supply should be available shortly.”

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 5

WHOLESALE IMPROVEMENTS We’ve taken learnings from lots of trials and partnerships to make sure we’re offering SimplyFresh customers a great range – Sainsbury’s spokeswoman

news

From just heat to Just Eat as chilled ready meal sales fall Ready meals have slipped into decline for the first time in five years, with shoppers ditching the category for alternative meal solutions – including meal kits and takeaway deliveries.

Total sales in ready meals dropped £52.3m or 1.3%, driven by a move away from volume-based deals towards temporary price reductions this year [Kantar 52 w/e 8 September 2019].

The change in promotional tactic led to volume sales losses of 1.1%, with lower prices from TPRs dragging average price down 0.4% resulting in less spend per trip.

Ready meal shopper losses were seen “across the board” of big four shoppers, said Kantar analyst Madeleine Peck.

Focus on Ready Meals p45

Sainsbury’s in supply trial with SimplyFresh Lyndsey Cambridge & Ronan Hegarty Sainsbury’s is trialling a supply deal with independent convenience operator SimplyFresh, The Grocer has learned.

Currently limited to one store, the tie-up, which began this week, sees Sainsbury’s supplying around 2,000 own-label and branded convenience products to the SimplyFresh Old Oak Lane store in Willesden Junction, North London.

The products include food to go, fresh produce such as fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, and more.

SimplyFresh operates more than 80 stores and has a supply agreement with Costcutter. The Grocer understands this deal runs until 2022.

quality Sainsbury’s products,” said a Sainsbury’s spokeswoman. “The partnership is part of Sainsbury’s strategy to grow our business and offer even more customers great quality and choice.”

SimplyFresh CEO Tim Chalk said: “This trial will provide valuable feedback on how we conSainsbury’s is supplying SimplyFresh’s Old Oak Lane store tinue this in the future.

All other SimplyFresh and SimplyLocal stores agreement for the whole Sainsbury’s, which continue to be supplied SimplyFresh estate, or has ambitions to grow

by Costcutter.” invest in the business. It its wholesale business, A spokeswoman for is currently trialling supsaid it would be reviewply deals with WH Smith Costcutter said: “We curing the store offer as the rently supply over 80 trial progressed, and that and Euro Garages.

SimplyFresh stores and “We’ve taken learnit would use the results have been in close conand customer feedback to ings from lots of tritact with SimplyFresh als and partnerships to inform its next steps. make sure we’re offering about their decision to The retailer did not commence this individSimplyFresh customers comment on whether it hoped to secure a supply a great range of fantastic ual store trial.”

Greggs struggling to supply enough Vegan Steak Bakes Greggs is struggling to meet Veganuary demand for its new Vegan Steak Bake, prioritising supply to shops it is already available in ahead of a planned national rollout.

The popularity of the item – which swaps out meat for Quorn mycoprotein pieces – has been “bigger than anticipated” the company said.

“Our team is working hard behind the scenes to meet demand and we’re prioritising supply in the 1,300 shops in which it has already launched,” a Greggs spokesman said.

Greggs: 750 shops are yet to stock the vegan bake

“We still plan to roll out the Vegan Steak Bake nationwide and will confirm a date for all shops as soon as we can.”

Greggs is working towards achieving availability across all 2,050 stores by the end of this

6 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

month. It had initially planned to roll out the item across its entire estate by 13 January.

Greggs has been selling out of the bake at many of the launch stores. “Oh crumbs… Our tasty new Vegan Steak Bakes have been so popular today that we’ve sold out,” read a customer notice at a store in Cardiff earlier this month.

Greggs has launched a ‘Locate a bake’ website where customers can enter their postcode to find the nearest store stocking the item.

Fortnum & Mason reports Xmas boost Fortnum & Mason has reported double-digit growth in both overall sales and like-for-likes during the Christmas trading period.

The luxury retailer saw 15% sales growth across the business and a 13% jump in like-for-likes in the five weeks to 29 December.

The performance was helped by “exceptional” 22% online sales growth, according to the trading update, but bricks-andmortar alone also saw double-digit sales growth of 13%.

Store like-for-likes rose 9%, with the hospitality division increasing its contribution to growth.

Restaurant sales grew by 15%, or 8% on a likefor-like basis.

Fortnums said product innovation drove sales across food and drink.

Non-alcoholic sparkling tea accounted for one in nine sparkling drink bottles sold. Champagne sales rose 10%. Other bestsellers included hand-carved salmon (27%), hampers (24%), biscuits (15%), mince pies (13%) and puddings (5%).

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Iceland signs lease on new regional DC in Livingston Iceland has signed a new 20-year lease on a 284,000 sq ft regional distribution centre owned by RPMI Railpen, the £30bn pension scheme for retired railway workers.

The deal sees Iceland agree to rent the warehouse in Houstoun Industrial Estate, Livingston, for £6 per sq ft over the 20-year period.

The site would continue to serve as a base for Iceland’s national operational logistics, Railpen said.

“We are very pleased to have agreed a secure, long-term commitment from Iceland at this facility,” said Railpen asset manager Alastair Dawson.

Iceland also this week announced the addition of 43 new multi-temperature trailers to its fleet.

Asda to offer refills in sustainable store trial Ian Quinn Unilever and Kellogg’s have joined forces with Asda to launch a new packaging-free trial.

Under the trial, to launch in May, customers will be able to refill and weigh their own products to save on plastic packaging.

Asda’s Middleton store in Leeds will be converted to house banks of dispensers and weighing machines, with customers urged to bring their own containers or use those provided.

Kellogg’s Coco Pops and Rice Krispies cereals and Unilever’s PG Tips tea will be dispensed by machines, as will a raft of own-label Asda products including coffee, rice and pasta.

Asda customers will be able to refill and weigh products

Customers who do not want to take part in the trial will still be able to purchase the products in the usual way.

If the trial is a success after three months it will be rolled out across its store estate, Asda said.

The move follows a call by Asda CEO Roger Burnley in October for

suppliers to “take a step into the unknown” and speed up their reduction of plastic.

The industry had been too focused on producing packaging that was simple for consumers rather than good for the environment, he said, urging suppliers to come forward with new ideas.

The Middleton store would also increase the amount of loose produce on offer, Asda said. There will also be a range of new recycling facilities, including a reverse vending machine for plastic bottles and cans, and a “naked florist” devoid of plastic packaging.

“We’re on an ongoing quest to remove and reduce the amount of plastic in our business – and to find new ways to help our customers to reuse and refill our products,” said Burnley.

“It’s a journey we can’t go on alone, which is why we invited our suppliers to innovate with us and I’m delighted Kellogg’s and Unilever have joined us in testing new ideas and approaches.”

Krispy Kreme to roll out digital Greenyard donates doughnut cabinets in Tesco surplus frozen food Krispy Kreme is rolling out new digital doughnut display cabinets to 15 Tesco stores this month, with a view to a further nationwide distribution.

The new cabinets come with digital screens to allow tailored marketing, as well as motion-activated digital shelf edge labels offering product information – including full ingredient specifications, which allow customers to check for allergens.

Krispy Kreme said the display screens would provide specific tailored

Its new display cabinets roll into Tesco this month

content depending on the store, time of day and season. It has identified 10 core marketing opportunities throughout the year, such as the introduction of mini doughnuts this month and activity around

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Valentine’s Day. “We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Tesco to introduce our first technologyfocused cabinet,” said Krispy Kreme UK sales director Suk Nicholas.

“We are only at the start of this journey and there are huge opportunities to further develop the on-screen content.”

Tesco senior category buyer Amanda Hart added: “Tesco is delighted to be partnering with Krispy Kreme to trial these new state-ofthe-art cabinets.”

Funding won by The Grocer’s Waste Not Want Not campaign is being used to provide 80,000 meals for vulnerable people.

Food producer Greenyard Frozen is tapping into a £15m scheme launched by Defra last year to help redistribution organisations.

It has allowed Greenyard to set up a new production line dedicated to the charity FareShare, which will mean the equivalent of 80,000 meals of frozen purple carrots headed for

waste will instead help groups served by the charity.

The carrots will be redistributed through FareShare’s network of frontline charities.

Greenyard said it realised redundant quantities of carrots could be packaged up and used to feed vulnerable people, and was able to set up a separate packaging production line for the excess produce because of the funding which covered additional processing and labour costs.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 7

news wholesale & convenience

Spar hails fresh produce success in festive sales Spar UK saw like-forlike retail sales jump by 2.6% over the Christmas period.

The symbol group attributes the spike in sales in the four weeks to 29 December to its focus on fresh and availability.

Like-for-like sales rose by 7% for the week ending 29 December.

“Our performance shows we are responding to shopper demands, with excellent marketing initiatives, and communication of the role our stores play in local communities,” said Spar UK MD Louise Hoste.

“We are delighted to see this good performance continuing into January and by having stores at the heart of the community, our independent retailers are providing customers with a high quality service.”

Lynas demands cut in payments to suppliers Lyndsey Cambridge Wholesaler Lynas Foodservice has written to suppliers demanding reductions on their invoices.

In a letter seen by The Grocer, the Northern Irish operator said its intention was to “deduct 0.65% from your invoice statement to support the costs associated for the handling, storage and distribution of goods supplied to our various depots and food stores in Ireland and Scotland”.

Signed by newly promoted sales and trading director Melvyn Bacon, the letter said the deductions would commence from this month and apply to products that would be delivered by Lynas rather than sold in

Lynas said it would deduct 0.65% from suppliers’ invoices

its stores division.

Bacon said he would work with the trading team to improve integration between the Lynas sales and trading functions. He went on to say that turnover had grown over £50m in the last five years to £155m and during that time it had invested significantly

into its geographical expansion including over £10m to create hubs in Ballymoney, Belfast, North Dublin, Galway, Cork and Scotland.

The letter concluded by saying “our accounts team will automatically make this deduction to keep paperwork to a minimum, all other terms

agreed with the trading team remain.

“I would like to thank you for all you do and your continued support as a supplier to Lynas Foodservice.”

One supplier who got the letter branded the move “unfair” and a “bullying tactic”.

“They will be deducting 0.65% from our invoices to cover the costs of running their business,” he said. “They will do this automatically to save our admin though, which I thought was a generous offer! So bullying suppliers is still alive and well and living in Coleraine.”

Lynas, which is a member of national buying group Caterforce, declined to comment.

Unitas streamlines board to be Costcutter kicks off ‘representative and nimble’ recruitment drive Unitas, the UK’s largest buying group, has streamlined its board from 16 to 12 members.

The new-look board has been designed to represent a cross-section of its members within retail, foodservice, on-trade and specialist sectors.

The voting process saw the 16 existing board members vote for a representative for each category. This meant three of the existing board members from the retail category were set to miss out on a seat under the new structure.

JW Filshill MD Simon Hannah: the new chairman

The Grocer understands East End Foods’ Don Wouhra and Time Wholesale Services MD Sony Bihal failed to get enough votes to remain in post, while JW Gray & Co resigned its position a day prior to the vote.

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Regal Brand Distribution’s Chris Hughes lost out to Sutaka’s Jay Suterwalla in the specialist category.

JW Filshill MD Simon Hannah has taken over as the new chairman following the retirement of Sam Wilcox.

The four largest wholesale members were re-elected. These were United Wholesale Scotland’s Asim Sarwar, United Wholesale Grocers’ Amaan Ramzan, Parfetts’ Greg Suszczenia and Dhamecha’s Manish Dhamecha.

Costcutter stalwart Jamie Davison has moved to the new role of business development director for new business, as the symbol group gears up for a major retailer recruitment drive.

Costcutter has also hired Paperchase Products retail director Francesca Haynes as business development director, wholesale. Haynes has been at Paperchase since August 2018 and has previously worked at B&Q, Asda and Aldi, including four years as store operations

director at the discounter.

Davison has been at Costcutter for 26 years and has been business development director since November 2010.

Davison will head up the recruitment drive, which will focus on demonstrating the growth existing retailers have experienced as a result of Costcutter’s Shopper First insight programme.

The campaign features Costcutter retailers and shopper testimonials, as well as case studies and insights into the levels of support Costcutter offers.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 9

news finance

TARIFF ANGUISH It’s very worrying and there’s a lot of businesses that are terribly badly hit by this – Dominic Goudie, head of international trade, FDF

Trump’s tariffs trigger slump in UK exports Harry Holmes British food exports to the US fell by a quarter following the introduction of Donald Trump’s punitive tariff regime last year, with the situation now at risk of deteriorating further.

The US imposed 25% duties on products including single malt scotch whisky, smoked salmon and cheddar cheese on 18 October after the World Trade Organization ruled EU nations gave illegal subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

The changes immediately hit food and drink producers, whose US exports fell to £185m in November 2019, down from £249m in the same month the previous year.

Exports of scotch whisky to the US were down by a third

The White House has suggested it may escalate the confrontation following the signing of its trade deal with China this week.

“It’s very worrying and there’s a lot of businesses that are terribly badly hit by this,” said Dominic Goudie, head of international trade at the FDF.

“The dairy market is on a hair trigger. [A fall in exports] can quickly lead to a surplus of supplies in the UK, which has a very immediate and damaging impact,” he said.

The US is scotch whisky’s biggest foreign market, leaving it particularly vulnerable to the tariff hikes.

Single malt was battered in November, with US exports down a third on the same month in 2018.

“The situation is serious,” said Karen Betts, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association. The tariffs were likely to cause further long-term damage to the industry, she said.

Betts and other industry reps will meet with the US trade department this week to try and alleviate the situation.

US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said it had “a basic trade problem with Europe” in an interview with Fox Business Network in December. “We’ve put tariffs in place on a variety of products, and we’re going to continue to focus on that,” he said.

Bay’s Kitchen makes sauces aimed at IBS sufferers

Bay’s Kitchen secures sixfigure funding Bay’s Kitchen has won a “six-figure investment” to fund NPD and bring its low-FODMAP range into the mainstream.

Bay’s, which makes stir-in sauces aimed at IBS sufferers, launched in Ocado a year ago and is now also available in 136 Morrisons stores.

The funding came from Tangerine Confectionery founder Steven Joseph, who saw a “significant growth opportunity” as digestive wellness continued to be a “major trend” for 2020.

SimplyCook secures Lakes Distillery to fast-track £2.3m investment growth with seven-figure fund Recipe kit brand SimplyCook has secured a further £2.3m in equity funding from previous backer Octopus Investments to fund its ambitious growth plans.

Octopus, which last year acquired a minority

SimplyCook will use the ‘top up’ funds for growth

stake in the meal supplier for £4.5m, purchased an additional three million shares in a move suggesting continued support of the fast-growing brand.

The latest cash boost takes the total raised

by SimplyCook since launching in 2014 to £9m, including a £2m round led by Maxfield Capital in 2017 and a £600k crowdfunding campaign in 2016.

SimplyCook founder Oli Ashness described the funding as a “top up” to be used to accelerate growth.

10 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

English whisky producer The Lakes Distillery has secured a further sevenfigure investment to fasttrack its growth plans.

The Cumbria-based distiller issued £4.3m of new equity to investment firm Comhar Capital to support “ambitious” stock build growth and capital expenditure.

The business, which in 2019 secured a total of £3.8m of external funding, will use the latest cash boost to treble single malt whisky production to over one million bottles a year.

It has secured investment to accelerate growth plans

Further funds will go towards financing the installation of eight new washbacks to facilitate 24-hour distillation, the construction of a new racked warehouse and sales support.

“The new investment

will help to sustain our ongoing program of capital investment,” founder and CEO Nigel Mills said.

“Our vision is to create a global luxury single malt whisky brand.”

The upmarket spirits brand fell to a £1.8m loss in its latest financial results to December 2018, blaming the costs of a failed IPO attempt for its poor performance.

In 2018, the brand considered a listing on London’s stock exchange that was subsequently pulled due to “market uncertainty”.

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city news

Avocado supply issues drive Greenyard Fresh to multimillion loss Henry Sandercock Greenyard Fresh UK has sunk to a significant loss off the back of a drop in sales caused by “difficulties” with avocados and stone fruit.

Turnover at the UK arm of the major European fruit & veg supplier fell 7% year on year to £154.3m in the year to 31 March 2019, according to its latest accounts. It also recorded a pre-tax loss of £3.9m, down from a profit of £700k in 2018.

The Lincolnshirebased business said the “quality and availability” of stone fruit, a deflationary market and availability issues with avocados in the second half of the financial year had “hampered the overall result”.

Availability issues with avocados hampered results

The global avocado market experienced significant shortages during this period. US production was hit by a heatwave in California during the summer of 2018, which led to a 30% increase in Mexican exports to the US, according to Mintec. This disrupted global export supply chains.

Avocado supplies were

further tightened following threats by Donald Trump to impose a 5% tariff on imports of the fruit, leading to a rush in purchases from traders.

Greenyard also pointed to a halted project in the US that resulted in a “significant write-off” as having had a detrimental impact to its figures.

However, it declined to comment on its accounts.

The news comes after a turbulent period for the supplier in 2019. In March, the main European business announced up to 422 jobs would be cut.

Meanwhile, at the end of August, the UK arm’s main site at Spalding, Lincolnshire was partially destroyed by fire.

Planet Organic slumps to loss but sales momentum is strong Organic supermarket Planet Organic fell to a loss last year as its new private equity owner invested cash to fund growth.

The eight-strong chain grew sales by 8% to £35m in the year to 31 August, but fell to an operating loss of £689k, having made a profit of £157k the previous year.

Planet Organic said profitability had been hit by £406k of costs from Scottish private equity house Inverleith buying a majority stake for around £15m in October 2018.

Planet Organic plans to double its store estate

The bottom line was also impacted by investment, including the new store in Queen’s Park, London, in August 2019.

Planet Organic has pledged to open 10 further stores in Greater London over the next five

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

years to more than double its estate. At least two new stores are expected to open in 2020.

Christmas like-for-like sales increased 1% and rose 11% including sales from e-commerce and the Queen’s Park store, “our most successful launch to date,” said CEO Peter Marsh.

Buying director Al Overton added: “Christmas trading was very good, but Planet Organic is unusual in that January is even better and that’s already proving to be the case.”

ABF SHARES Dates: 16 January 2019 – 16 January 2020 2,800 2,600 2,400 2,200 2,000 J

F

M

A

M

J 2019

J

A

S

O

N

D

J 2020

Associated British Foods’ sugar woes have long been a drag on the conglomerate, but its quarterly sales update this week finally suggests a sweeter outlook for the beleaguered division.

In recent years, ABF’s investment case has been predicated on the performance of its budget fashion chain Primark, with overall profits hit by huge losses in its sugar division driven by low EU prices and poor crops.

However, in the 16 weeks to 4 January, AB Sugar revenues were 7% ahead of the prior year as EU sugar prices recovered from a slump suffered last year. The price boost, combined with a reduction in sugar production costs, is expected to deliver a “material improvement” on AB Sugar’s profits for the year, the company said this week.

Together with a 4.5% year-on-year rise in Primark’s first-quarter revenues, the sugar recovery helped ABF post a sales rise of 4% in the quarter. It is on target to improve its full-year adjusted earnings per share. Grocery sales were flat year on year as Twinings’ growth was held back by Ovaltine’s “slow start” in Thailand.

Hargreaves Lansdowne’s Sophie Lund-Yates commented: “Of the rest of ABF’s divisions, sugar is the one most capable of moving the dial, and things have started to look less sour. A recovery in EU sugar prices and lower production costs are a good recipe for divisional profits.”

ABF shares were up 3.1% to 2,634p in early trading, largely driven by Primark’s prospects for international growth.

The market punished McBride this week after the household goods manufacturer issued its third profits warning in a year – this time saying its 2020 earnings would be hit by underperformance in its UK business. The group’s trading update for the six months to 31 December said first-half household revenues at constant currency were 1.4% lower on the prior year. Overall first-half UK revenues were down 8%.

The company’s shares plunged 16.6% back to 66.7p on Tuesday and have now more than halved in the past 12 months.

Track the latest share price movement and performance of 200 UK and international grocery and fmcg stocks via the new Grocer Finance channel at thegrocer.co.uk

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 11

analysis pesto

What does the pesto crisis say about the UK’s recall system?

How did it take up to a month from the first warning signs for products to be recalled?

Daniel Woolfson

P

esto is well and truly off the menu. Recent weeks have seen supermarket shelves stripped of the sauce amid fears a swathe of branded and own-label products could have become contaminated with undeclared peanuts.

The crisis began in December, when market leader Saclà recalled 19 SKUs after discovering cashew nuts used as an ingredient from an external supplier may contain traces of peanuts. It was followed by similar recalls of own-label pestos

by Sainsbury’s, then Tesco.

The recalls have resulted in a nationwide pesto shortage, with some shops having stopped stocking it altogether (when The Grocer visited Sainsbury’s Queens Road, Brighton store, on Tuesday 14 January, all pesto facings had been replaced with pasta sauces).

Given the severity of peanut allergies, the crisis has also raised questions over how long the potentially contaminated products were on shelves.

Saclà took 12 days to issue its recall after the alarm was first raised on Twitter, as The Grocer revealed last week, while Tesco recalled its products almost a month after fears around Saclà’s products were first raised.

So how did this happen? Why did it take so long for products to be recalled once fears were raised? And is the current recall system fit for purpose?

14 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

There are numerous ways peanuts – or peanut traces – could have ended up in the cashew chain, says Allergy Action’s Dr Hazel Gowland.

“It may be that they’ve been shelled on the same equipment, or possibly up the line there’s been a deliberate substitution because cashews are costing too much – sometimes this happens and it is transparent, sometimes somebody is covering something up.”

Whatever the case, Saclà has laid the blame squarely at its supplier’s feet, announcing it had kicked off an “in-depth investigation” into the incident.

“Our primary focus is on how these cashew nut supplies could have been contaminated, and how we can be sure that it can never happen again,” says a spokesman for the brand.

So are Sainsbury’s and Tesco, which have since confirmed that while their own-label pesto was not made by Saclà, they shared the same, unnamed, raw ingredients supplier.

Tesco says it checked its supply chain immediately after Saclà’s recall. “As Saclà do not supply our UK own-brand pesto, no further action was taken at the time,” a spokeswoman says.

“It’s not about explaining what’s gone wrong but preventing it”

“However, once it was identified that the issue was connected to a supplier of cashew nuts that we share with Saclà, we took action to put in place this precautionary recall.”

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman says that although it shared a raw material supplier with Saclà, “our supplier believed that they had not received any affected batches” and “launched our own investigation as soon as the issue was brought to our attention”.

Against the clock Still, the glaring problem is the sheer time it took to get products off the shelves.

Saclà was first alerted to a potential problem on 8 December, when a shopper tweeted the brand claiming his wife had suffered an allergic reaction to one of its pestos.

The brand says it contacted the customer immediately, requesting product details and batch codes, and engaged two independent laboratories.

Initial results, received on 17 and 18 December, showed no contamination, but a second batch of tests detected peanuts.

“We acted as swiftly as possible to establish whether any contamination had taken place and then immediately withdrew implicated products from sale,” says the spokesman.

Tesco was even slower. Its own recall, which took place on 10 January, happened almost two weeks after similar

concerns were raised on Twitter, with one shopper tweeting on 31 December they were “currently sat in hospital with my one year old after an allergic reaction to your pesto”.

Under EU regulations, any food business with reason to believe that a food it has made is not in compliance with food safety requirements “shall immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the food in question from the market”.

“In the middle of these live incidents a day can go quite quickly,” says one industry source. “But not 12. Even if you follow the obvious incident trail from the FSA to Tesco and the brand, you should end up with a much shorter timeframe.

“If this had been a microbiological contamination it would Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Timeline ● 8 December: A Twitter

user contacts Saclà, claiming his wife, who is allergic to peanuts, has suffered a reaction to its pesto. ● 10 December: Saclà receives product details and commissions two independent rounds of testing – but no recall is issued. ● 17-18 December: Initial results show no presence of peanuts, but a second round of testing shows potential contamination. ● 20 December: Saclà issues urgent recall of 19 lines. Waitrose and Aldi own-label SKUs also recalled. ● 9 January: Sainsbury’s recalls a host of its ownlabel pestos over peanut contamination fears, admitting it shares a raw ingredient supplier with Saclà. ● 10 January: Tesco follows suit, recalling several of its own-label pestos. But tweets show Tesco was first alerted to a possible contamination as far back as 31 December.

have been nailed by the epidemiologists in about half a day, two days max. And we’d all have been p***ed off we couldn’t buy any pesto.”

However, Dr Rachel Ward, fellow at the Institute of Food Science & Technology, says deciding when to recall is not a straightforward process. “[A shopper] could have had a reaction as a result of multiple different food safety problems. I have seen businesses run down rabbit holes looking for peanuts only to find out the consumer is actually allergic to hazelnuts – which means the supplier is less able to respond to the wider market. You cannot make assumptions.”

The biggest challenge in situations like this, she says, is “the ability to access accurate Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

data rapidly enough. The timing issue is nearly always down to the challenges of accessing data down the supply chain.”

The FSA says it “took action to publicise these recalls as soon as we had enough information”.

“We certainly believe the current process is fit for purpose,” it adds.

Our source maintains things should have moved faster. “The shelves being denuded of pesto is not the end of the world.” He suspects “retailers were worried it would be apparent they’re all buying their pesto from the same sources”.

But he adds: “It’s not about explaining what’s gone wrong but preventing it in the first place. This is one of those ‘never events’ that really shouldn’t happen. They should be testing

third party ingredients and the products they send out.”

The Saclà spokesman insists the brand “conforms to all relevant legal standards for testing of raw ingredients and finished product”.

And Ward says more testing is not a solution in itself. “They all do that every day. UK retailers routinely scrutinise their supply chain. Analytical testing is not the answer.

“This is about competency in the supply chain with a robust quality assurance programme that matters. And even then, people make mistakes. You cannot prevent that.”

So what now? Saclà, Sainsbury’s and Tesco say their products will return to shelves shortly, with updated packaging stating they may be unsafe

for peanut allergy sufferers, rather than new recipes.

“This is taking an ‘alibi labelling’ approach, when it would have been fairly straightforward to find a source of ingredients that didn’t include a risk of peanut contamination,” says our source. “It’s exactly the opposite of what the regulator wants.”

Plus it risks alienating longstanding shoppers. “Consumers will have been used to buying a peanut-free product,” says a second industry source.

Still, Ward says, as long as it is clear on the packs, this is best practice. “Put a little flash on it or change the colour. There should be some visual prompt.”

Yet, after almost a month of disruption, this saga will no doubt have left a sour taste in shoppers’ mouths.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 15

analysis catfood

Should fish in petfood meet origin labelling standards?

Labour has called for better labelling to guarantee sustainability each step in the supply chain.

MSC-certified petfood products have doubled in the past five years as brands look to reassure customers that their fish is sustainably caught.

Loren Hiller, MSC commercial officer, believes the growth is customer driven. “Customers are paying more attention to the food they’re eating so expect them to be doing the same for their pets,” she says.

Harry Holmes

I

t’s a fine time to be a cat. You don’t know what ‘Brexit’ means, the nights are long and you are more likely than ever to be eating premium catfood. The only downside: your food may contain illegally caught fish. Well, that and the cat litter shortage (see page 5).

While consumer awareness of food provenance has pushed retailers to provide sustainability guarantees on many of their human product lines, the same standards are often not applied to petfood.

Which means it runs the risk of including illegally caught and endangered fish, new shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard warned this week as he called for origin labelling on petfood products.

So is it time petfood met the same environmental labelling standards as human food?

Supply chain complexity In recent years, retailers have stepped up efforts to try and prevent threatened fish stocks from reaching their shelves. But it’s a tricky battle, with unsustainably caught yellowfin tuna and Atlantic mackerel among others still suspected of permeating supply chains.

That’s largely due to the complexity of fish supply chains, which makes comprehensive oversight difficult. Illegal fishing is rife in many parts of the world, with offenders often ‘laundering’ illicit catch by passing it to legitimate boats before they reach shore.

Although petfood is usually produced from the scraps of human production, the threat Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Just nine out of 84 own-label cans on supermarket shelves carry the MSC label

remains – but without the labelling guarantees. Few additional fish are caught specifically for catfood, but critics say it may still fund environmentally destructive practices.

“In some parts of the world where British catfood is made, there is very little monitoring and enforcement of fishery regulations,” says Terri Portmann, a marine consultant. “So even if the tin tells us there is tuna in it, we can take little comfort that the fish is sustainably sourced or legally caught.

“Pet owners need to know what the fish is, who caught it, by what method and where.”

The inclusion of tuna and

mackerel in catfood is seen as particularly troubling given the two species’ vulnerable status.

Despite being a premium product for humans, tuna remains prolific in catfood. It is found in a quarter of supermarket ownbrand products and makes up more than a half of some cans’ contents, our analysis suggests.

Guy Blaskey, founder of newly launched catfood brand Purr & Miaow, says many brands are unlikely to know the true origin of their fish.

“It relies on trust in the supply chain,” he says. “You buy from your supplier and trust that they have bought from good suppliers, and so on.”

The Marine Stewardship Council looks to solve the problem by certifying products that can provide full traceability for

MSC certification Asda, Co-op, Morrisons and Aldi are all now MSC-certified for a selection of products.

However, the majority of catfood lines remain uncertified.

Our analysis of own-brand cans on supermarket shelves showed just nine of 84 products carry the MSC label.

The lack of customer assurances on petfood is a problem retailers have long recognised. In 2015, members of the Sustainable Seafood Coalition, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, pledged to include sourcing information on all petfood products within two years.

But five years later that commitment remains unmet.

“We work hard to ensure that our seafood is sourced responsibly with respect for the environment and people,” says a Tesco spokesman. “We were named MSC’s supermarket of the year 2019 and are working with the industry to ensure that our sustainable seafood offer continues to improve, including petfood.”

Better labelling will not be a panacea for ending illegal fishing. But with consumers’ environmental concerns continuing to grow, expect calls for greater assurances to become ever louder.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 17

analysis commodity prices

UK supply of Aussie wine safe from fires Harry Holmes

A

ustralia’s devastating bushfires are unlikely to affect the UK’s wine supply, but the prolonged drought could take a toll, growers have warned.

The fires have killed 28 people and scorched more than 24 million acres of land since they began in September. The wine-producing Adelaide Hills region is among those hit by a “devastating” blaze, with a third of wine production in the area potentially affected, Jared Stringer, vice-chair of the local wine association, told The Guardian in December.

Australian vineyards are at risk from both the direct impact of the fires as well as “smoke taint” caused when fumes permeate the skin of the grape during ripening, leaving the wine with a smoky taste. Vines can take up to five years to return to full production.

Fortunately for buyers in the UK, which sources more wine from Australia than any other country outside Europe, early assessments suggest the

Bushfires have hit Australia’s wine-producing Adelaide Hills region

country’s overall wine production will remain largely unaffected. “We don’t see it being a major disruption to this year’s vintage,” says Hayden Higgins, senior wine and horticultural analyst at Rabobank. “You wouldn’t expect British supply to be severely disrupted, at least based on our current understanding.”

The impact of the ongoing blaze is currently limited to about 1,500 hectares of vineyards. “Even if all those

vineyards were fire-damaged – and they are not – it would only be about 1% of Australia’s total vineyard area,” says Andreas Clark, CEO of Wine Australia.

But fires aren’t the only risk to Australia’s wine production.

Higgins believes the ongoing drought is of greater concern after the country experienced its driest November on record.

“This year’s vintages will be more likely affected by the difficulty in accessing water, or its high cost for producers.”

prices digest ● Agriculture: The gov-

ernment’s agriculture bill was reintroduced to parliament on Thursday. It sets out how farmers and land managers in England will be rewarded with a “public money for public goods” system – through payments for enhancing air, water and soil quality. The bill also includes a commitment to regularly report on food security to parliament.

● Bird flu: Highly pathogenic bird flu of the H5 strain has been found in poultry in Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary.

There are fears it could spread because of limited immunity among younger wild birds owing to a lower number of outbreaks last winter. The risk of it reaching the UK is currently classed as ‘low’ by Defra. ● Climate: The past decade was the warmest on record, according to the Met Office.

2019 was the second-hottest year in 170 years, despite not having an El Niño climate event, which typically boosts temperatures. Last year was only surpassed for heat by 2016, which did have a “significant” El Niño.

commodity prices: drought fears push up Thai rice prices Thai rice prices have continued to rise month on month as drought conditions have raised fears over this year’s crop. Further adding to the upward pressure has been the appreciation of the Thai baht against the US dollar. It means Thai rice is currently trading at a premium to that of other major exporters.

Delays to the harvesting of maize in France and Germany has caused the EU price to increase. EU demand for the commodity is also set to go up.

18 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Prices of arabica coffee have been boosted by 10% year on year due to expectations of a lower output in Brazil this year and higher consumption from key importers. A recent decline in prices had been caused by a weaker Brazilian real, as well as favourable production forecasts for next year’s coffee season.

Commodity and Wholesale prices data supplied by Mintec. Mintec is the principal independent source of information for commodities and raw materials. Mintec monitors the key factors that are vital for efficient procurement and provides sophisticated tools for analysing and interpreting market information. www.mintecglobal.com

WINNERS & LOSERS

CURRENCY

CHANGE

CHANGE

price per tonne m-o-m %

PRICE

y-o-y %

Key climbers Basmati rice (PK) Feed wheat (ICE) (EU) White rice (TH) White sugar (Ldn ICE) Maize (Euronext Paris)

PKR 12,150 GBP 156.4 USD 422 USD 375.6 EUR 179

6.6 4.7 3.7 2.5 1.9

5.7 –8.6 5 3.2 –0.4

GBP 30.8 GBP 35.3 US cent 124.1 USD 1,373.4 US cent 105

–16.5 –9.6 –7.8 –5.5 –2.1

–48.9 –41.7 9.9 –13.2 –15.1

Key fallers Gas (UK) Electricity (UK) Coffee arb (ICE) (NY) Coffee robst (ICE) (EU) Orange conc (ICE) (NY)

Source: Mintec. Note: All prices are indicative only and are representative within the country quoted

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

analysis retail & wholesale prices

PLATINUM MEMBERS GET MORE! Track annual grocery inflation since 2008 by retailer, by category, and by retailer AND category, at thegrocer.co.uk/GPI

Big night in costlier as Asda raises prices on pizza SKUs Daniel Selwood

A

sda shoppers are facing a more expensive big night in, after the supermarket ramped up the price of dozens of pizza SKUs. Across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose, the cost of chilled and frozen pizza & garlic bread is up 1% year on year, with the average SKU having risen by 3p to £2.48 from £2.45 [Edge by Ascential 52 w/e 15 January 2020].

This increase has largely been driven by Asda’s average price rises, by an average of 15p per item. The grocer has upped the cost of around 40 own-label pizzas, as well as a small selection of Goodfella’s pizzas and own-label garlic bread SKUs. Across chilled own-label pizza, Asda most recently added 27p to the price of its 14-inch Stonebake Hawaiian (687g), now £4.38, and 26p to its 14-inch Deep Pan American Hot (909g), now £4.26.

At £3.99, Asda’s own-label 14-inch Thin & Crispy Cheese Melt (550g) is 25p costlier. It has also made its Cheese & Ham

Vegan pizza: Asda said it had ‘something to suit all tastes and budgets’

Mini Pizzas (4x89g) 20p dearer at £2.20, while its 10-inch Deep Pan Mighty Meat Feast (552g) is up 17p from £3.42 to £3.55.

It comes after The Grocer reported in December that an assortment of Asda’s frozen range of own-label deep pan pizzas had been made smaller without any corresponding reduction in price [Edge by Ascential 52 w/e 18 December 2019]. Asda’s frozen Deep Pan BBQ Chicken Pizza shrank from 390g to 352g while the price

remained 95p – and its Deep Pan Meat Feast actually became 2p more expensive at 95p after shrinking from 390g to 349g.

“We offer a large selection of pizzas – including our new vegan pizza [pictured], which launched this week – and have something to suit all tastes and budgets,” says an Asda spokesman. “We are passionate about keeping prices low for customers and with pizzas starting from just 70p, our range, quality and value is market-leading.”

Elsewhere, Waitrose recently added 5p to the price of Pizza Express Classic Vegan Giardiniera (272g) – now £5.55 – while Tesco Finest Basil Pesto & Tomato Flatbread (245g) went up 25p to £2.45.

In several retailers, Goodfella’s frozen pizzas have seen price rises following an overhaul by the Nomad Foods brand. “Last year, we invested significantly in renovating and innovating across our core ranges, including Deep, Thin and Takeaway with the aim of improving product quality,” says a Goodfella’s spokesman.

“The updates we made included the addition of more cheese, improved sauce and topping weights and a more rustic and natural dough finish.

“The enhanced product quality is reflected in the price of our products, which have been updated to help drive value into the frozen pizza category.”

That means Goodfella’s Takeaway Slice N’ Share Fully Loaded Pepperoni pizza (553g) is now £3.50 in Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, having gone up as much as 50p.

wholesale prices: Norwegian cod TAC reduction among price-boosting factors The continued reduction in the total allowable catch quota for Norwegian cod since 2013 has been the main driver behind significantly higher prices.

Limited supply in conjunction with strong demand, which has in turn been supported by a weak Norwegian krone, has further boosted the cod price.

Availability of Norwegian salmon is limited owing to low levels of harvesting over the festive period and in January.

Not only have prices been pushed up by this slowdown,

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

but also by strong export demand. According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Norway exported one million tonnes of farmed salmon in 2019, a rise of 6% year on year.

Yellowfin tuna prices from the Seychelles are high. As many fishing vessels exhausted their quotas at the end of 2019, there was a drop in catching.

However, with the start of the new year price rises are expected to ease off as the new annual quota begins in the Indian Ocean.

CURRENCY

PRICES

PRICE CHANGE CHANGE £/tonne

m-o-m %

y-o-y %

5,000 4,000 28,850 1,680 78,760 2,060 49,538 16,295 900 1,640

74.8 0.0 19.5 20.0 26.6 1.0 –3.8 8.5 0.0 –7.9

31.9 27.8 25.3 21.7 20.1 16.9 16.4 10.1 –30.8 –34.4

Fish & seafood Sardines (ES) Horse mackerel (ES) Cod (NO) Whiting (UK) Salmon (farmed, NO) Yellowfin tuna (SC) C’water prawns (NO) Haddock (NO) Skipjack tuna (TH) Plaice (UK)

EUR EUR NOK GBP NOK USD NOK NOK USD GBP

Source: Mintec Info: All prices are indicative only and are representative within the country quoted

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 19

analysis the grocer 33

GOLD MEMBERS GET MORE! Read itemised service score breakdowns and full mystery shopper comments from each store visit at thegrocer.co.uk/grocer-33

mystery shopper

Sainsbury’s takes win by one point Edward Devlin

A

full basket helped Sainsbury’s edge out Morrisons this week in a close contest, with an impressive score of 84. Our mystery shopper praised the “welcoming, clean and well-presented” store in Torquay, with “friendly, smiley, lovely and helpful” staff and an easy-to-navigate layout leading to a “relaxed, stress-free and pleasant” experience.

Morrisons in Bathgate missed out on top spot by just one point as two missing products affected its availability score.

However, the store was clean and bright, easy to navigate and staff were helpful.

A respectable score for Tesco in Batley was helped along by an “effortless” Saturday morning shop and only one out-ofstock item. The “huge” two-floor Extra store was easy to navigate, with plenty of staff around when needed and lots of tills open to keep queues down.

Our shopper in Wrexham found guest retailer Lidl to have “wide aisles, clean floors and well-stocked shelves”, with staff quick to open more checkouts to manage queues. However, restocking cages caused obstructions at times and three lines were out of stock.

A “run-down and tired” Asda in Lincoln needed a refurb, according to our shopper. Shop floor staff were hard to track down and seemed more concerned with restocking than helping customers, she added.

Availability was a problem at the busy Waitrose in Finchley, with five products out of stock and one not stocked. Our shopper said shelves were halfempty, unattended restocking trolleys were blocking aisles and the store in general looked “rather unkempt”.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

store of the week Winner: Sainsbury’s Torquay Operations manager: Lee Carpenter Size: 22.5% Opened: 1991 Market share: 57,000 sq ft Nearest rivals: Asda – 1 mile Lidl – 1.2 miles Tesco – 2.8 miles Iceland – 3.2 miles Store data source: Analysis by CACI. Call the market planning group on 020 7602 6000

How do you motivate the team?

The management team lead by example, but we also have great colleagues in store. We try to pick up on any poor service and we also try to see the store through the eyes of a customer. Communication with colleagues is very important, as is being proactive with any positive feedback we get to celebrate

the success. Daily reviews also contribute to the picture.

What was Christmas trading like? We had great availability in store, which contributed to the Christmas success. It was important all the key lines had a strong presence on the shop floor and that the bestsellers were in stock. Operationally, from depot to shop floor, everything was executed well.

Have there been benefits to having an Argos store in store?

For us, it brings customers into the building to pick up products from Argos and then go on to do a shop with Sainsbury’s. It is a great addition for the store and helps with footfall, as well as bring a point of difference.

Sainsbury’s had the only full basket of the week. How have you kept availability high? It is about making sure our processes are right in store, and operationally, and that we are

Car park score (out of 10) Store standards score (20) Store layout (10) Shop floor service (20) Checkout score (20) Availability score (20) TOTAL (100)

Out of stock/not stocked Availability

Lee Carpenter was talking to Edward Devlin

WINNER

WEEK 29: SATURDAY 11 JAN 2020 ,11AM-1PM

SERVICE & AVAILABILITY

focusing on the key areas that customers are buying within that time. Generally, it is about focusing on key availability throughout the store, making sure that if it is in the building then it is on the shop floor. It’s an ongoing process.

Veganuary is bigger than ever this year. How have customers reacted to the own-label Plant Pioneers brand? From a store point of view, we have some great products and new innovation to give customers that offer.

We have seen more interest in vegan lines this year and we are promoting our own-label brand on gondola ends.

Has Dry January driven take-up of no and low-alcohol sales? We haven’t seen much in store on that, but we do have products that are ranged for that.

Tesco

Waitrose

Lidl

Torquay, Batley, Devon West Yorkshire

Finchley, London

Wrexham

10 13 10 20 11 20 84 0/0 100%

5 6 5 11 7 0 34 5/1 84.4%

10 11 8 15 14 5 63 3/0 90.9%

Asda

Morrisons Sainsbury’s

Lincoln

Bathgate, West Lothian

8 7 5 7 14 10 51 0/5 100%

10 12 9 20 19 13 83 1/1 96.9%

10 12 9 13 16 15 75 1/0 97.0%

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 21

analysis the grocer 33

Lidl knocks Asda off top spot with convincing win

Price & Promo History Average price Quorn Mince, 300g PRICE

£1.81 CHANGE YOY

£2.20

10p £1.34

CHANGE YOY

6%

52 W/E 11 JANUARY 2020

Asda Quorn Mince, 300g £2.00

Average: £1.74 YoY: –1p (–0.9%) Weeks on offer: 44

£1.70 52 W/E 11 JANUARY 2020

Morrisons Quorn Mince, 300g

£2.20

Lidl came in £6.60 cheaper than Asda this week, a difference of 12.9%

L

Ronan Hegarty idl capped a positive start to 2020 with a convincing Grocer 33 pricing victory.

The discounter was widely hailed as the grocery retailer that won Christmas last week, after posting an 11% uplift in sales for the four weeks to 29 December. This week it came in £6.60 cheaper than Asda at £44.53, putting a stop to the Walmart-owned retailer’s nineweek winning streak.

Lidl had the lowest price for 27 lines, with 24 exclusively cheapest. In so doing it significantly widened its margin of victory to 12.9%, compared with 8.1% when it made its previous guest appearance in October.

Asda would easily have made it a perfect 10 had it not been for Lidl. At £51.13 it was £3.56 cheaper than Morrisons and more than £6 cheaper than Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

Asda had the lowest price for seven lines and was exclusively cheapest for the brioche rolls,

sponge cloths and tuna chunks.

Asda also had more deals than any of its rivals. It had 11 promotions, one more than Morrisons, while Waitrose and Lidl each had five deals, Sainsbury’s three and Tesco just two.

Morrisons came in £10.16 more expensive than Lidl at £54.69, a difference of 18.6%. It offered the lowest price for three items, with none exclusively cheapest.

There was little evidence of Tesco’s much-publicised new year price cuts as it came in £12.68 more expensive than Lidl at £57.21. Sainsbury’s was a further 30p more expensive at £57.51. Both retailers only managed to offer the lowest price on two lines, while neither carried an exclusively cheapest product.

Waitrose was £17.81 more expensive than Lidl at £62.34, a difference of 28.6%. However it did manage to undercut all of its rivals, including Lidl, for the corn on the cob via a 20%-off promotion.

Average: £1.95 YoY: 25p (14.9%) Weeks on offer: 9

£1.00 52 W/E 11 JANUARY 2020

Sainsbury’s Quorn Mince, 300g £2.00 Average: £1.86 YoY: 6p (3.1%) Weeks on offer: 15

£1.00 52 W/E 11 JANUARY 2020

Tesco Quorn Mince, 300g

£2.00

£1.79 Average: £1.92 YoY: 13p (7.5%) Weeks on offer: 38

52 W/E 11 JANUARY 2020

Waitrose Quorn Mince, 300g £2.00 Average: £1.77 YoY: 12p (7.1%) Weeks on offer: 21

£1.00 52 W/E 11 JANUARY 2020

Lidl Quorn Mince, 300g £1.59

The Grocer 33 was conducted in association with Edge by Ascential. Trusted by major FMCG manufacturers and retailers, Edge by Ascential (formerly Brand View) is the UK’s largest provider of real-time price and promotion tracking and analysis. Learn more and sign up for a 14-day free evaluation at www.ascentialedge.com. Tel: 0844 357 9970 Email: Sales@brandview.com

22 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Average: £1.59 YoY: 6p (4.3%) Weeks on offer: 0

52 W/E 11 JANUARY 2020

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

1.10 2.25

∙

0

8

0

-2

WANT TO KNOW THE DEAL IN DETAIL? View precise promotion mechanic details by scrolling over the red dot on our enhanced online version of the Grocer 33 at thegrocer.co.uk/stores/ the-grocer-33. You can also view full price and promo history, as per the example left, for all 33 items, as well as other analytics, using the widget WINNER

WEEK 28

SHOPPING BASKET

Apples

Asda

Morrisons

Sainsbury’s

Tesco

Waitrose

PRICE P MoM YoY

PRICE P MoM YoY

PRICE P MoM YoY

PRICE P MoM YoY

PRICE P MoM YoY

2.40

0

6

2.30

5

-2

2.40

15

1

2.50

0

-13

1.06

0

1

1.01

0

0

11

27

3.00

19

-1

0

0

1

2.36

0

3

∙ 2.50 ∙

0

-3

1.80

Own-label, Jazz, six-pack (four to six-pack)

Baked beans

∙

Batiste dry shampoo Red Velvet, 425g

Blueberry wheats Own-label, wholegrain, 500g

Butter brioche rolls

0

2.05

0

1

1.39

0

-25

-3

1.00

0

-2

1.50

0

4

0.87

0

0

0.59

0

1

0.85

0

0

0.39

2.98

0

-5

3.05

0

-28

2.94

0

-25

3.00

0

-25

3.90

0

18

2.55

-4

1.50

0

-44

2.00

6

2.00

0

0

2.70

0

-1

1.25

0

0

0

0.45

6

-1

0.35

0

0

0.45

0

5

0.35

0

1

0

0

0.60

0

-4

0.53

0

0

0.89

0

0

0.42

0

0

∙

∙ -14

1.04

∙ ∙

∙ -20

3.00

∙

-4

∙

0

0

2

14

0.35

0

0

0.35

∙ 0.33 ∙

0

4

0.60

-2

0

0.60

0

3

0.60

10

-11

0.40

5

-6

0.72

0

5

0.30

0

-1

1.10

0

3

1.10

0

-1

1.20

5

5

1.10

0

2

1.10

0

-2

0.89

0

-9

5

1.00

∙ -58 0.60 ∙ 0

23

1.00

22

1.00

19

1.33

11

1.49

0

30

0

0.60

0

-4

0.53

0

-2

1.30

0

4

0.42

3

-2

2

1.65

0

1.80

0

0

1.50

0

-7

2.00

0

0

1.19

0

-22

1.00

17

2.00

0

8

2.00

45

-17

1.33

-2

1.19

44

-7

3.00

0

9

0

∙ -99

0.53

0

1.50

8

∙ -100

∙

0

∙ -29

∙ -30

3.00

81

-27

3.00

0

91

3.00

0

23

0.94

0

-2

1.13

1

4

1.25

0

-1

1.17

0

0

1.50

-5

5

1.14

0

-5

1.50

20

7

1.10

8

-2

1.47

0

0

0.65

0

-12

0.63

5

-9

0.70

0

-13

0.67

0

4

0.46

-44

1.25

0

7

1.38

13

-3

3.13

93

21

1.38

2

1

0.80

-1

2.50

0

3

3.00

29

-2

2.50

35

-15

2.79

25

1.89

10

-1

0

6

2.00

0

13

2.00

0

12

1.59

0

6

19

-6

2.00

0

0

2.00

0

-1

1.68

2

6

∙

∙ -25 2.25 ∙ 0 2.25

∙ -120

∙ -61

∙ 3.00 ∙

0.49

∙

∙ -67

∙

∙

0

20

2.15

0

-11

1

0.89

0

-5

0

-17

0.79

0

-4

0

-2

∙ -70

-3

2.00

9

-2

2.20

20

25

2.00

1.79

10

-5

2.00

0

-2

2.00

7.10

0

12

7.15

0

19

7.15

0

14

7.15

0

34

7.69

0

19

6.49

0

8

1.13

1

-24

1.60

0

0

1.63

1

0

1.63

1

0

1.65

0

1

1.29

10

-12

1.40

15

-10

1.70

0

1

1.50

0

-5

1.50

0

-5

1.32

-5

1.35

38

-11

0.34

0

-1

0.40

0

-6

0.55

5

4

0.50

0

0

0.58

0

0

0.33

2

-4

0.89

0

-3

1.15

0

1

0.80

-2

-5

0.95

5

-1

1.00

0

0

0.79

0

3

-6

3.00

0

-56

4.00

0

2

3.48

2

-4

4.00

0

0

2.99

50

-18

Raspberries Own-label, 150g (125g-170g)

Ruby port Own-label, 750ml

Sponge cloths Own-label, five-pack (four to five-pack)

Own-label, plain, white, eight-pack

0

0.76

0.94

Own-label, double concentrated, 200g tube

1.80

2

Own-label, frozen, 1kg (800g-1kg)

Tortilla wraps

4

0

Own-label, 300g (300g-320g)

Own-label, two-pack

10

0.63

Mixed vegetables

Tomato purée

-13

0

Mixed pepper stir-fry

Sweetcorn on the cob

12

0

1.00

300g

2.60

0.71

Own-label, wholewheat, 500g

Own-label, premium, 400g

9

0.90

1.00

Quorn Mince

52

3

Fusilli pasta

Pork sausages

26

0

∙ 1.99 ∙

0

284ml

Own-label, 500g (400g-650g)

2.25

1.00

Elmlea double cream alternative

Own-label, 125g (125g-150g)

-6

-5

Own-label, two litres

Plums

0

-9

Diet lemonade

Mozzarella

3.00

1.80

0.53

Fun size nine-pack, 195g

0

0

Own-label, dry, 500g

Maltesers

3

0

Own-label, tinned, 400g (390g-400g)

Mozzarella, 227g

-1

2.00

Conchiglie pasta shells

Own-label, vanilla, two litres

0.98

-3

1.25

Linda McCartney’s burgers

0

0

Chopped tomatoes

Ice cream

0

1.64

Own-label, medium, whole, 1.425kg (1.35kg-1.65kg)

Original, 500g

1.17

9

Chicken

Flora spread

2

9

Own-label, 100g (100g-150g

Own-label, breaded, southern fried, 270g (230g-300g)

∙ -23

∙ 81 2.49 ∙ 0

Cheese puffs

Chicken goujons

1.75

∙ 3.00 ∙ 2.50 ∙

0.80

Own-label, eight-pack (eight to 10-pack)

-2

1

3.00

Original, 200ml

Betty Crocker cake mix

∙

MoM YoY

13

0

1.04

Own-label, 4x425g

0

Lidl PRICE

Tuna chunks

2.97

Own-label, in sunflower oil, 4x145g-160g

UHT milk

∙ -16

∙ ∙ ∙

∙

∙

∙ -33

∙

0.69

0

1

0.90

0

0

0.90

7

-6

0.79

0

-8

1.00

0

5

0.52

0

1

Medium, sliced, 400g

0.90

0

7

0.90

0

5

0.85

0

-1

0.90

0

7

0.90

0

8

0.85

0

3

TOTAL (£)

51.13

Own-label, skimmed, one litre

Warburtons wholemeal loaf

Inflation/deflation on total (pence) Inflation/deflation on total (%) Price-only promotions Multibuy promotions Key:

On promo (details online)

-65

-1.3

9 2

54.69 -146

-106 -2.0

-2.6

4 6

57.51 71 1.3

67 1.2

3 0

57.21 3 0.1

224 4.1

1 1

62.34 -7 -0.1

-173 -2.7

4 1

44.53 84 1.4

129 3.0

41 0.9

3 0

Off promo (details online) ■ Out-of-stock ■ Not stocked

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 23

comment & opinion the saturday essay

Is it time for plant-based incentives?

Paul Whitehouse

T

he evidence is out there, and people are beginning to listen to it. Plantbased foods tend to be healthier and more environmentally sustainable than their meat and dairy counterparts. According to a 2019 report from the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), meat and dairy foods are now the most prominent source of trans fats in our diets, and a multitude of reports have warned that we need to cut down on meat and dairy in order to meet global climate goals (notably the 2019 IPCC report on land use).

These stark facts, combined with a growing surge in consumer demand for plant-based foods, are good reasons for regulators to champion plantbased diets. Unfortunately, many current regulations stifle

the plant-based foods industry.

Readers may have seen EU-level labelling disputes in recent years on foods like almond milk (or the less palatable “almond drink”, as many brands have had to adopt) and veggie burgers (there is an ongoing battle about naming these “veggie discs”, although a Dutch court recently ruled against this move).

So, what is the rationale behind these restrictions?

The common argument is that calling something “almond milk” or “plant butter” will confuse consumers into thinking it is dairy milk or dairy butter. This argument patronises consumers – a 2017 US court confirmed that “by using the term almond milk, even the least sophisticated consumer would know instantly the type of product they are purchasing”.

Why, then, does the plantbased sector care about these restrictions? The principle is simple: these foods are better for the

planet and for us, and these joint public health and sustainability credentials should incentivise governments to put plant-based foods on a level playing field with meat and dairy counterparts.

This includes allowing products to use names that accurately describe their function (e.g. “almond milk” is consumed in

“Label restrictions are just one way meat & dairy is unfairly protected” the same way as dairy milk).

Of course, stringent labelling restrictions are just one of several ways that meat and dairy products are unfairly protected at the expense of plant-based foods. Another factor is subsidisation for the meat and dairy industries – a 2019 Greenpeace report found that over £24bn of

taxpayer money goes to support livestock farming across the EU (nearly a fifth of the EU’s total annual budget). The resulting unrealistic prices fuel continued meat and dairy consumption, which is bad news for our health and our climate.

Instead, public funds could be better spent on incentivising western populations to consume less meat and dairy and shift towards a more plant-based food system that can cater for the global population – we are already seeing positive moves in the UK’s forthcoming updated Agriculture Bill.

At the start of a new year, during the month in which people are embracing Veganuary, is it time for regulators to take this long-term trend seriously, and support consumers to make healthier, more sustainable eating choices? We think it is.

Paul Whitehouse is scientific affairs director at Upfield

third party

Confectionery needs a change in mindset

C

hocolate was the fastestgrowing product sector of 2019, adding £183.5m to smash through the £4bn ceiling. This growth was largely driven by innovations catering for food trends and an increased focus on wellbeing, and has set the stage for chocolate to become the wellness trend of 2020.

Once a discrete sector, wellness is now a core element of many brands. Global sales of wellness confectionery are set to grow at double the rate of 24 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

traditional confectionery this year [Euromonitor].

An enjoyable experience with high-quality, natural confectionery is no longer a guilty pleasure.

In our world of uncertainty where anxiety runs high, physical and mental wellbeing have become more desirable than ever before, and occasionally treating yourself is part of self-care.

Therefore, the new breed of wellness confectionery is not a pared-back, free-from offering.

It’s an indulgence, the new luxury. And a rising generation of entrepreneurs has recognised this shift in consumer mindset and is delivering products to

meet the demand. Look at Raw Halo. Ethically sourced, made and minded, each ingredient is sourced from small, organic farms and traded for a fair price.

Its recent rebrand clearly aligns it within the wellness space, which is helping Raw Halo move into a more mainstream space.

The question a growing number of corporate brands are asking is whether they can meet it there.

They certainly have some way to go. Mondelez launched its Dairy Milk 30% Less Sugar last summer, billing it the most significant innovation in the brand’s history. But with its focus on guilt and on-pack disruptors, it is not

going to reach consumers looking for premium experiences.

Others are taking a more functional approach, with confectionery offerings based around protein. But function alone does not deliver love or loyalty.

The confectionery brands that will matter in the future will be those taking an authentic and holistic approach to wellness indulgence, talking body positivity rather than calorie reduction. The emerging category of wellness confectionery presents significant opportunity.

Lisa Desforges is strategy director at B&B studio Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

second opinion

Climate-smart protein Andrew Swift

H

igh-protein” is increasingly being used globally to market products such as smoothies and snack bars. But what really is protein, and is it all the same?

Proteins form a key part of the cellular infrastructure for most plants and animals, while amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Some of these are ‘essential’, which means they are required in human diets.

These essential amino acids are a sought-after ‘commodity’ and usually have to be produced at such scale that their sourcing is becoming increasingly challenging to the natural environment.

Fishmeal is a key source of methionine, for example. Our increasing reliance upon fishmeal has led to overfishing, with the associated damage to oceanic ecosystems. Some plants are also

good sources of key amino acids such as lysine, but the main crop that has been used to provide this into animal diets is soybeans, grown in vast monocultures, often where there was once a biodiverse rainforest.

The protein we feed animals provides us with meat, fish, eggs and milk, and these introduce

“It’s a good idea to keep the protein production chain short” further environmental issues such as methane emissions from cattle farming.

What can we do to reduce the environmental impact of protein?

From an environmental perspective, it’s a good idea to keep the protein production chain short by eating more plant-based protein. Including high-protein

higgins

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

pulse crops such as peas, beans and lentils in human diets reduces protein losses.

New technologies are increasingly making plant-based protein available in innovative forms.

For those not embracing this, some types of fish and chickens have relatively short life-cycles in which they efficiently convert feed into body mass, requiring fewer resources and producing less emissions than slower-growing farmed animals.

We can also consider what we feed to our livestock. Pigs and poultry require the key amino acids that are generally found at high levels in fishmeal and soybeans. What other sources of protein could be used? There is growing momentum behind the use of insects in animal diets.

Beside some major economic advantages, there are huge environment benefits to it, too.

Andrew Swift is CEO at Fera Science

CRITICAL EYE George Nott

H

ear that? It’s the sound of a shared sigh of relief from UK pig farmers, who feared Channel 4 documentary How to Steal Pigs and Influence People (14 January, 10pm) would set off a spate of copycat, farmgatecrashing activism.

Judging by its portrayal of the vegan influencers who gain followers with pig-napping video posts, their concerns it would “glamorise the theft of pigs” were unfounded.

The documentary followed 23-year-old Wes and his quest to enter the vegan Instagrammer big leagues by filming farm break-ins to free piglets from their sizzling fate.

He convinced scores of activists to storm a smallholding while live-streaming the event.

Once in, the hazmat-suited clan focused their phone cameras on a prostrate piglet.

“It’s dying” they cried. An aghast farmer appeared and gave the animal a tap: “It’s asleep you great dumbo!”

Later Wes pinched a daysold piglet to raise at home, posting its progress on social media. But the updates soon ceased and Wes’s accounts disappeared. Clips of similar thefts where the piglet died were shown. In one a farmer warned they couldn’t survive without a sow. Once found, Wes unconvincingly denied his piglet had met the same end.

A raw meat eater and vegan antagonist also featured. He took his ‘carnie crew’ to eat unprocessed animals at vegan protests, seemingly sustained by their anger.

In both cases, the answer to the programme’s question to its stars – “what’s more important, making change or finding fame?” – seemed clear.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 25

comment & opinion talking shop

to contact us... e-mail: name.surname@thegrocer.co.uk tel: 01293 610 +(3 Digit Extension) letters: letters@thegrocer.co.uk

Using proximity marketing

editorial Editor Adam Leyland 263 Managing editor Carina Perkins 240

news desk

News editor Ronan Hegarty 406 Deputy news editor Steve Farrell 01293 846613 Chief reporter Ian Quinn 265 Senior reporter Marianne Calnan 319 Retail reporter Lyndsey Cambridge 01293 846647 Digital & social editor Ellis Hawthorne 468 Online content assistant Maddie Maynard 440

finance desk Finance editor Alec Mattinson 01293 846512 City reporter Elena Cherubini 411

buying & supplying desk Food & drink editor Daniel Woolfson 442 Fresh foods editor Kevin White 290 Fresh foods reporter Henry Sandercock 492 International trade reporter Harry Holmes 01293 846553 Food & drink reporter Abbie Dawson 01293 846516

features desk Group features editor Emma Weinbren 488 Features editor Lois Vallely 01293 846653 Technology editor George Nott 247 Special projects editor Daniel Selwood 369 Food trends reporter Ash O’Mahony 398

subs desk Chief sub-editor Mark Dishman 232 Sub-editor Charlie Cook 415

art desk Art director Michael Joslin 207 Group Art editor Stuart Milligan 270 Art editor Nick Figgins 451 Designer Caitlin Watson 01293 846611

commercial Commercial director Cathy McDonagh 289 Area sales managers Beverley Burkett 284 Stephen Cooke 436 Sam Dack 453 Damien DuVivier 245 Oliver Hamilton-Williams 352 Mark Hayward 293 Tim Parker 217 Andrew Simcock 285 CCM ad production Kevin Porter 020 7216 6449

recruitment Recruitment Commercial Director Zoe Cooper 278 Online sales executives Esther Mean 250 Holly Hodges 589

Matt Lee

W

ith increased pressure from the discounters, a shift to convenience and continuous changes in shopper behaviour, it is safe to say we will continue seeing lots of changes for brands and grocers in 2020.

In fmcg, brands should be seeking smarter ways to reach their target audiences and convert them to buy. But the sad reality is that over the past few years we have seen one too many chances missed by brands to reach and convert their shoppers, leading to advertising wastage and a diminishing return on investment.

Why is this happening? All too often (and particularly in fmcg), the marketing planning process is fragmented. While this sometimes stems from disjointed team structures, many media agencies are also contributing to the problem – they’re not connecting the campaign to the opportunity to buy the product.

Let me put this into context. My colleague recently came across a

new product launch advertised in his local gym, from a wellknown healthy snack brand.

Straight after, he popped into the Tesco next door to the gym to purchase the product, only to find it wasn’t stocked in that store. What’s worse is that he fell directly into the hands of a competitor brand selling a similar product to the one advertised.

Not only did this result in some

“These channels can be targeted by audiences and by micro-location” of the brand’s advertising budget going to waste (even worse, to drive sales of one of its rivals), but it also created a very poor customer experience.

For fmcg brands looking to grow grocery sales, it doesn’t have to be this way. Proximity channels (those that are targeted to run in close proximity to the point of purchase through geolocation data) are proliferating and they are delivering

results for brands. They can include anything from geotargeted digital display ads on phone devices, location-targeted social media and out-of-home advertising.

This means that not only can these channels be targeted by audiences (for example, in postcode districts with the highest proportion of the target audience) but also by micro-location (for example, to run within a 10-minute drive of large Asda stores).

Furthermore, the activity can be planned to run only near stores where the product is stocked, or even better, in stores with maximum headroom for growth.

So now there are no compromises for brands looking to make more effective use of their marketing spend – campaigns that use detailed customer insights, accurate geolocation data and have a direct (and measurable) link to purchase. While there is a simple but important lesson to learn here, it will be interesting to see just how many brands change their old habits and explore this avenue in 2020.

Matt Lee is MD at Capture

events Events manager Helen Law 587

corporate contacts Managing director Retail & Manufacturing Lorraine Hendle 243 CEO Charles Reed 242 Head of content marketing Tracy Larner 01293 846543

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ISSN 0017-4351. Incorporating Grocery Marketing and CTN. The Grocer, Grocery Marketing, CTN and William Reed are trademarks of William Reed Business Media Ltd. Printed by Wyndeham Group. For more information: William Reed Business Media Ltd, Broadfield Park, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 9RT Tel: 01293 613400 Web: www.william-reed.com

Volume: 242 Issue Number: 8437

26 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

32%

53%

15%

Great products

Great pricing

Lots of vouchering

NEXT WEEK: What do you make of Asda’s refill trial?

Vote now at twitter.com/thegrocer

● Game-changing ● Token effort ● Scale it up quickly

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

feedback

SWEETENERS ARE SAFE Low and no-calorie sweeteners are safe, as repeatedly and consistently confirmed by regulatory authorities around the world – Robert Peterson, chairman, ISA

Sweeteners are a useful tool in fighting obesity Sir, As stated in your article (‘Are synthetic sweeteners a dirty secret?’, 11 January, p32), it is critical to tackle obesity and related diseases including diabetes. Low and no-calorie sweeteners have an important role to play in this context as they allow people to replace sugar and reduce calories in their diet, in line with public health recommendations worldwide. They also have the benefits of not affecting blood glucose levels and of being kind to teeth, as supported by the wealth of robust scientific evidence.

In addition, while we are

Dedication to veganism ● Sir, The revelation that Burger

King cooks its vegan Rebel Whopper patties on the same grill as its meat variety, and the subsequent criticism for paying mere lip-service to veganism, highlights a need for brands to have a more genuine and nuanced understanding of vegan consumers.

Veganism has just been registered as an ethical philosophy akin to a religious belief, and – just like with any religion – vegans follow a code of practice.

Burger King’s laissez-faire attitude to the delivery of the vegan purity of this burger reveals a failure to understand the full cultural relevance of the movement. It’s a warning to brands that only those committed to the principles that underpin veganism will succeed.

Alex Gordon, CEO, Sign Salad

A counter point ● Sir, Asda’s decision to remove

traditional fresh meat and fish counters (‘Asda to replace fresh meat and fish counters with food for now,’ 11 January, p6) is a sign of the times. A similar move by Tesco suggests these

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

born with a natural preference for sweetness, there is no evidence supporting the ‘sweet taste confusion’ hypothesis in humans. In your article, you refer to a study on appetite in fruit flies. Actually, the collective evidence in both human adults and children shows that low and no-calorie

counters are simply not doing enough sales. Supermarkets are seeing better opportunities in out-of-home consumption. But this is a real shame. Shoppers that use counters spend around 40% more than other shoppers.

your tweets Tesco accused of ‘reverting to type’ with supplier tactics This industry cannot selfpolice, this is why we need a strong, well-funded Groceries Code Adjudicator to protect supply chain fairness @feedbackorg UK will keep ban on chlorinated chicken, promises Villiers Yeah, right. The only way to stop it, is to boycott it. Stores can’t afford to carry food that doesn’t sell. @MaisonCool Asda to replace fresh counters with ‘food for now’ offers Much better margins and fewer skilled staff needed.

Not great for #plasticfree as means more packaging needed. @LyndonGee

sweeteners do not increase appetite and may, on the contrary, help satisfy our desire for sweetness and can therefore be a useful tool in this context.

Importantly, low and no-calorie sweeteners are safe, as repeatedly and consistently confirmed by regulatory authorities around the world, including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the European Food Safety Authority.

It goes without saying that in order to be approved for use, they all go through the same safety evaluation and the regulatory authorities thoroughly assess all kinds of studies examining potential toxicity or side effects.

Robert Peterson, chairman, International Sweeteners Association

Human contact plays a huge role in creating lasting loyalty and between shopper and store. Perhaps there is room for a middle ground, where stores can meet food-for-now demand while retaining that human touch.

Bryan Roberts, global insights director, TCC Global

Drinks 2020 predictions ● Sir, I always love reading

these trend predictions (‘The story of beer & cider in 2019’, thegrocer.co.uk, 18 December).

The Grocer picks out a few trends for the drinks industry in 2020 here: the fact low and no-alcohol products are blowing up; craft beer and cider are winning over drinkers; and beer/cider and food pairings are finally taking centre stage. In addition to all this, in 2020, we have football in the form of the European Championship.

Pair that with an excellent summer and this might be a massive year for drinks. The question is whether small breweries can brew enough lager to satisfy potential demand.

Rebecca Pate, freelance marketing consultant, via LinkedIn

best of the blogs Consumer preference shouldn’t come into Aldi’s choice of sustainable bag We learned this week that Aldi customers like compostable plastic bags more than paper ones. It’s not an altogether surprising result. Plastic is what customers are most used to. But should customer preference have been the deciding factor? After all, the aim of such alternatives is greater sustainability, and customer behaviour is hardly a measure of that.

Steve Farrell, 15 January

Heston Blumenthal is annoyed by food pics – but there is an upside Aesthetics have now become of paramount importance in the dining experience.

That mindset is most evident at restaurants like Heston Blumenthal’s, where diners are expecting show-stopping presentation. But it’s also influencing grocery. After all, it’s not hard to think of innovations that have been strongly led by aesthetics.

The rise of food pictures is simply making cooking and eating more of a sociable, shareable experience.

Emma Weinbren, 14 January

Can Johnson be trusted to protect food and drink?

The debate on chlorinated chicken has divided cabinets since the referendum.

Former trade secretary Liam Fox often insisted the UK would have to accept the practice, with Michael Gove taking the opposite view.

Villiers’ comments are the latest example in a long line of government failures to reassure the food industry on where it stands.

Harry Holmes, 13 January

You can subscribe to the Daily Bread blog and the new finance newsletter and blog at thegrocer.co.uk

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 27

in-store

Is this the beginning of the end for the checkout?

George Nott

Checkout-free technology is advancing quickly, with the likes of Amazon and Albert Heijn investing heavily. So what challenges remain – and could these ‘miracle’ stores soon be commonplace?

T

he future of grocery retail can be found in a shipping container at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. Inside the black metal box is Dutch supermarket giant Albert Heijn’s new concept convenience store. There are no cashiers, no checkouts, not even a self-scanning device or app. Customers scan their payment card at the entrance, pick from 70 SKUs, and leave.

“This is ultimate convenience, like taking things from your own fridge,” says Jasper Hoogers, Albert Heijn’s manager of instore digital.

The 14 sq m store – soon to be lifted on to the back of a truck and whisked to a new location – represents a truly “frictionless” customer experience, says Hoogers.

The experience is enabled by a combination of vision software, which monitors a shopper’s position in store, and more analogue techniques like scales built into shelves that detect when they are an item lighter. As one awestruck shopper put it: “It automatically recognises what you pick up – that’s a miracle, right?”

If retailers like Albert Heijn can pull it off, and at scale, the checkout could soon be consigned to history.

Retailers are salivating at the prospect. No checkouts mean no queues. A 2018 Forrester study of US supermarket customers found they rated line length as the least satisfying part of their shopping experience. Queues that are too long see 18% shop elsewhere in future, the biggest turn-off after location and price.

No checkouts means fewer staff, lowering costs and extending opening hours. As Albert Heijn CEO Marit van Egmond puts it: “The store can always be open.”

But just how realistic is the prospect of customers simply leaving a store after their shop, without interacting with even a self-scan terminal, let alone a cashier? Does the promise of checkout-free stores check out?

The technology is advancing fast. Amazon, a pioneer in the field, has already opened 24 of its checkout-free

28 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Amazon Go stores dotted around Seattle, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Two more are coming soon. The ‘Just Walk Out Shopping Experience’, which Amazon says is enabled by the “same types of technologies used in self-driving cars” allows shoppers to scan their phone on arrival, fill their bags, then walk out. A receipt arrives “a little later”.

The tagline for the autonomous stores, which offer a small range of groceries and meal kits, reads “No lines, no checkout. No, seriously”.

In the case of Albert Heijn’s “digital store”, the miracle tech comes from AiFi, a startup founded by former Google and Apple researchers. It opened the “world’s first autonomous gas station store” in December in Campbell, California, under the Loop brand. Carrefour partnered with AiFi to launch a similar store at its headquarters in Paris late last year. Polish convenience retailer Zabka, and Swiss chain Valora, have AiFipowered stores planned too.

“Shopping transactions at these stores can be completed in seconds,” says Steve Gu, AiFi’s co-founder. It is, he adds, “the most efficient shopping experience”.

The promise of such an experience has seen millions of dollars flood into the sector over the past year.

In October, Tesco announced it had made an equity investment in Israeli frictionless checkout startup Trigo. A test site has now been established within the supermarket’s Welwyn Garden City headquarters.

“Frictionless shopping is a good example of Tesco using applied technology in a way that simplifies the shopping trip,” says Jo Hickson, head of Tesco Labs.

As with other frictionless stores, items are automatically added to a digital shopping basket as they are chosen by the customer.

“Colleagues in the store have enjoyed the buzz that naturally comes when we test the latest technology.

They’ve been keen to give it a go and get involved.”

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 29

in-store

In practice: using Albert Heijn’s Digitale store

↑

To enter the store you first need to scan a payment card

→

There are about 70 SKUs from which to choose

Elsewhere, startup Zippin, which opened a checkout-free demonstration store in San Francisco in 2018, has since inked a deal with one of Brazil’s biggest retail groups, Lojas Americanas SA. Another provider, Standard Cognition, is “installing systems for multiple retailers around the world” but is yet to name them; while rival Grabango in July announced a partnership with US grocer Giant Eagle to create a “no-wait checkout experience”. Inokyo is operating a prototype store near its base in California.

Who took what Each provider’s solution works in a similar way. The main challenge is figuring out who took what.

A store is fitted out with cameras that provide a total view of the retail space, and scaled shelves monitor the weight of the items they are holding. The clever bit happens at the software level. Deep learning – a type of machine learning technique – is applied to the camera feeds. People moving around the store are labelled and tracked, as are any objects they pick up. When it appears a customer’s arm is reaching for a shelf and taking an item, it is linked to any change in weight on the shelf. Many providers call this “sensor fusion”.

Beyond the obvious benefits of better customer experience and fewer cashiers, the set-up also allows for a greater level of data collection, says AiFi’s head of partnerships Liu Yang.

“There’s insight from when someone enters the store but doesn’t buy anything. Or picks up a can of cola but puts it back. Those data points are not just not captured in brick-and-mortar stores,” Yang says.

30 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Does checkout-free mean cash-free?

Whether it’s done in an Amazon Go-style store or with a supermarket’s self-scanning mobile app, checkout-free shopping is not conducive to paying with cash. Does that matter? → Banking industry body

UK Finance predicts that by 2028 61% of all payments will be made by card. Cash use will continue its “long-term decline” and be used in only 9% of transactions by the end of the decade, the group says. → Debit cards alone already account for

almost three in five store transactions, according to the BRC. Cash was used in just over half of all transactions in 2013, but less than 40% in 2018. → In-app payments – via Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay – are a small but growing

category, which Juniper Research forecasts will make up 15% of contactless transaction value this year. → Cash is even less frequently used in certain stores.

Sainsbury’s said at the Holborn Circus store it piloted checkout-free, 82% of transactions were cashless. → But refusing to accept cash is risky. This month Tesco copped criticism for saying it will no longer accept cash at its Scan As You Shop terminals, even though 90% of shoppers pay at them with card. Asda’s Scan & Go option is similarly card-only.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

↑

Cameras and shelf sensors detect when you pick an item off a shelf

→

When you have everything you need, you check the list, and are charged on exit

There are significant limitations, though. All examples to date have been small, offering a limited number of easily distinguished SKUs. AiFi’s Loop service station has 1,500 SKUs. Amazon Go stores stock just over 1,000 items, which must remain well-ordered, often with fixed compartments for specific items to go. The stores always look tidy, because they must be to function.

Trigo and Grabango are hoping to make their technology work in supermarket-sized stores, but are not there yet. “We believe that our path will prove to be much more scalable. The business problem is large stores, not tiny boxes in an airport,” says Trigo marketing chief Ran Peled. Its solution will be less reliant on shelf placement, he adds. “It’s not how a normal supermarket operates,” he says, but that will take longer to develop. “They [Tesco] are operating in demo mode.

The technology is fitted. But it takes more time to open the first one because it’s a bigger challenge.”

For now at least, the technology is incredibly expensive. Even Amazon appears to be struggling to make it add up. Bloomberg in November reported the Go project had cost more than a billion dollars, with store sizes significantly downgraded from initial ambitions.

In September, The Information reported Amazon Go’s operating losses would swell to $58m in 2020, with the number of openings falling well short of initial projections. There has been talk of Amazon licensing the technology for other brands to use.

Most providers of the tech can so far only claim 99% accuracy. “That’s pretty bad,” says Christian Floerkemeier, chief technology officer at barcode Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

“At any given time we have a number of innovative and exciting trials going on. It’s important we keep testing concepts”

scanning solution firm Scandit. “Ninety-nine point five per cent is not good enough. There’s a lot of money in that 1%.” And that 99% has only been achieved in small stores with carefully selected merchandise.

Sceptics have been circling. Former Walmart head of checkout innovation Joel Larson called Go “just a fairytale for retailers that actually want to make money”.

Even the tech’s backers are cautious. “This is a longterm technology play,” says Tesco’s Hicks, “and at any given time we have a number of innovative and exciting trials going on. It’s important we keep testing concepts.”

‘Just Walk Out’ tech is not the only innovation threatening the checkout. A wall of handheld scanners for shoppers to ring up items as they shop has become a common feature of supermarkets around the world.

Waitrose was the first UK supermarket to introduce the devices and others have since followed suit.

Customers using Scan & Go in Asda “take half the time to check out, and there are fewer queues” says Asda.

Sainsbury’s SmartShop is available in 525 stores after 450 locations came online in 2019. “And by the end of the year we’ll be saying 100% of all stores,” says Michele Swaine, Sainsbury’s head of digital product.

On average, 15% of sales now go through SmartShop in stores where handsets are available. While users benefit from not having to rescan their items and queue, supermarkets also gain. Shoppers using devices and apps get a running total of their shop.

“We wondered if they would spend a bit less. But – and we now have a year of data – we found they’re actually spending more,” Swain says. “Now they 18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 31

in-store

Going global: checkout-free around the world

Valora

Amazon Go

Loop Neighborhood

Coop Denmark

Sobeys

Swiss company Valora launched a cashier-free convenience store Avec Box at Zürich Central Station in April last year, which has since moved to a nearby university campus.

Shoppers download an app, which they use to open the door to the store and scan items they pick up within. Payment is done through the app as well.

“The entire shopping experience can be done even more comfortably, at your own pace and outside normal opening hours,” Valora says.

Amazon Go’s first store opened at its HQ in 2016, initially only to employees.

The public opening in 2018 was reportedly delayed due to issues around tracking multiple shoppers and dealing with people picking up items and putting them down on a different shelf.

There are now 24 Go stores in four cities.

Late last year Amazon confirmed it is launching a chain of large grocery stores separate to its Whole Foods Market venture, which will use conventional checkouts and not Go tech.

The Loop convenience store by AiFi is situated next to a Shell petrol station in Silicon Valley and open 24/7.

Customers swipe their card to enter, select from around 1,500 SKUs and then walk out.

“The fast, frictionless process is delightful and helps customers get what they need to move on with their day,” says Loop Neighborhood.

The two companies have more locations for the format planned and hope to deploy the technology in a much larger store.

Coop Denmark last year put its own spin on the checkout-free concept: a store that is manned during the day and switches to autonomous mode between 11pm and 7am.

During those times, customers use an app to enter, scan items and pay.

Self-scanning with a smartphone was launched across 1,150 stores in Denmark and Greenland last year. The scanning app has been downloaded 1.6 million times and is used by 250,000 people daily for an average of four minutes.

Canadian grocery chain Sobeys in October introduced “the first intelligent shopping cart” to one of its stores.

Customers scan item barcodes as they put them in the trolley. Its maker Caper says the cart will soon be able to identify items with built-in high-resolution cameras.

“Supported by the cart’s sensitive weight measures, customers will eventually be able to toss their items into the cart without having to enter any information or scan barcodes,” Sobeys says.

can track spend as they’re going, they’re saying ‘I can take that extra one or nicer one’. They can manage their budget and therefore spend up.”

Many mults have brought the same functionality as the handsets to their mobile apps. “It’s a way of deploying and realising customer convenience without very large risks on the commercial and technology side,” says Floerkemeier, whose company supplies the barcode reading capability to many supermarket apps.

The final pain point Typically, those that scan in the aisles must still go to a checkout, dedicated or otherwise, to pay. But that remaining pain point is beginning to be removed by adding the ability to pay in-app – via Apple Pay or Google Pay – as well.

In 2018, in what it called a “UK supermarket first”, Sainsbury’s trialled the feature at its Clapham North Station Local store. In-app payments make it “superquick for customers to get in and out of the store” said Sainsbury’s group chief digital officer Clodagh Moriarty at the time. It is now available in eight stores.

In October that year, M&S rolled out its Mobile, Pay, Go app across six London stores. Tesco has made inapp payments available to 5,000 employees. Co-op launched ‘Pay in aisle’ to 30 stores in a trial starting in July. “As long as it doesn’t make things more difficult or slower for customers, that’s a mark of success,” it said.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

“As long as it doesn’t make things more difficult or slower for customers, that’s a mark of success”

Customers are making positive noises. “Those using SmartShop are more loyal to us now because they like that convenience. If we get them past the first and second times using it then they really don’t look back,” says Swaine.

Might mobile scan, pay and go mark an even sooner end for the checkout? Sainsbury’s success story comes with a tale of caution. In April, it launched the “UK’s first till-free grocery store” at Holborn Circus. Customers’ only option was to scan and pay in the SmartShop app.

Although always an “experiment rather than a new format for us” the supermarket had high hopes. It summarised the findings: “It’s clear that not all our customers are ready for a totally till-free store.”

Swain says the company plans to “keep testing, experimenting, iterating and improving”. “It’s all about experimenting, seeing how customers respond, and making sure they’re ready while we’re learning as well,” she says.

Ultimately, customers will determine if the checkout has a future in the face of new technologies.

Hicks says Tesco will “see how customers respond, before deciding what comes next”.

“We’ll keep testing new ideas, thinking carefully about how technology is applied and checking it benefits customers. When these ideas are fully developed and are proven to provide value to customers we will consider going further.”

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 33

supply chain

The era of the drone is here.

But there is more to these machines than the ability to deliver goods door to door: they’re being used in warehouses, DCs and even in agriculture Julia Glotz

W

hen Nestlé opens its new state-of-the-art distribution centre in the East Midlands later this year, it will be lifting the lid on one of the most technologically advanced DCs in operation in the food industry – and drones are set to play a starring role.

But if that conjures up images of Kit Kat airdrops and jars of Nescafé delivered from the sky, think again.

This isn’t about the last mile. In fact, it’s not about delivery at all. Nestlé will be using indoor drones, designed to operate across its site to help with stocktaking and safety checks.

“Drones equipped with high-quality 4k cameras mean we can avoid working at height, something the law asks us to do wherever possible,” explains Nestlé group safety, health and environment adviser Gary Dripps. “Using drones for jobs like checking factory rooftops following severe weather, or solar panel inspections, is affordable, quick and avoids working at height using scaffolding or cherry pickers.”

Nestlé is just one of a growing number of food companies proving there’s more to drones than high-profile delivery stunts. They are using drone-based tech to tackle a surprisingly wide range of business challenges, from on-site safety checks and crop forecasts to traceability audits and inspections.

So what’s driving this uptake of drone tech? And what are the most promising applications for drones in the food industry?

Understanding why and how drones are used in food starts with understanding what drones are good at: they can go high, they can go wide, they’re fast, they can capture images, they can measure and they can see things the human eye can’t.

34 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Given these attributes, it’s little surprise that agriculture has been an early – and enthusiastic – adopter of drones.

Often this takes the form of mapping. “Essentially, we’re generating what looks like a satellite map but is much more detailed, from flying a drone over a field,” says Alex Macdonald-Smith, operations team member at DroneAg, a Northumberland-based startup that’s developed a crop-scouting app for farmers and works with Kellogg’s. “It gives farmers a much better overview of their crops.”

That bird’s eye perspective is just the beginning.

When combined with sophisticated, multispectral sensors and machine learning capabilities, a dronebased ‘eye in the sky’ can give farmers highly granular insight about the health and performance of their crops, right down to the level of chlorophyll in the plants and humidity in the soil.

At G’s Fresh, whose total cropping area in the UK comes to nearly 6,000 hectares, drone-captured images are analysed using a proprietary algorithm to count how many established plants there are in each field, and how big they are. “This lets us better forecast how much crop we’ll have available, the final size of the crop, and better understand the effect each of our fields has on variation within batches of crop,” says G’s innovation analyst Iain Flint.

It’s precisely this level of insight that is prompting more and more food companies to build up their own drone fleets, train up their agronomists to analyse drone-captured data or partner with drone tech providers. “Big companies like Kellogg’s all need to know what’s going on in their fields – and using drones is a quick way of doing that,” says Macdonald-Smith. He Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Drone s beyon d delive ry

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confides that DroneAg has recently received interest from another major (as yet undisclosed) food brand.

In addition to monitoring and predicting yields, drone data also allows growers to diagnose diseases such as potato blight at an earlier stage and create variable spraying maps that allow herbicides to be applied only where needed.

“Traditionally, what companies would do is to spray herbicide across the fields. But that has a cost, and particularly an environmental cost,” says Thomas Nicholls, chief marketing officer at drone maker Delair.

“What you can do with drones is create a so-called digital twin – a digital replica of the field – that tells you not just that you might have weeds or you might need to put some sort of product in the soil, but also exactly where you need to put it. That dramatically reduces the amount of herbicide you need to use.”

The use of drone-captured images and data goes far beyond horticultural and arable fields, though.

Livestock farmers are increasingly using drones to count cattle and even to herd sheep. First pioneered in Australia and New Zealand, it’s an approach that’s now being adopted in the UK, with Shropshire farmer Wojtek Behnke recently making headlines for training his sheep to follow a drone.

In the US, meanwhile, Tyson Foods has begun experimenting with drones for a variety of uses, including animal health and safety. “We’re exploring the use of drones to safely inspect our buildings and keep our facilities secure,” wrote Scott Spradley, Tyson’s executive VP and chief technology officer, in an op ed for CNBC last May. “Eventually, if the pilot is successful, the idea is we’d even use drones to help us with animal tracking, herd management, identify animal 18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 35

supply chain

safety issues or animal health concerns.”

At a time when consumers are demanding more transparency about how food is produced, drones are also starting to be used in supply chain audits and to help support traceability efforts.

Delair is working with John Deere, the agricultural machinery maker, on a concept called ‘from drone to fork’, which is all about using drones to provide traceability, says Nicholls. “It’s about tracing exactly what is happening in the first part of the supply chain. How are raw materials being produced and under which circumstances?”

Nicholls cites palm oil supplier Siat as an example of a company that already uses drones to underpin traceability efforts, monitoring palm production across its plantations and measuring environmental impact. He says he’s also had interest from a group of wine producers in France, who are considering using drones to keep tabs on whether individual producers in receipt of EU subsidies are using the money as intended.

“At the moment, they have people who drive around in cars and do spot-audits,” says Nicholls. “One could very well imagine that most of those use cases would be replaced more efficiently by drones.”

Part of what makes drones so useful in these contexts is the fact that drone-captured images are geospatially referenced and time-stamped, says Joanne Murray, a drone technology expert at PwC. “We call it the golden thread,” she adds. “It’s producing data that can’t really be disputed.”

It’s a point echoed by Nicholls. “Data and traceability are about trust, and drone-captured data is a relatively objective and certifiable way of collecting data,” he says.

It’s not just in fields, plantations and vineyards that the ability of drones to capture objective data is delivering major benefits. Manual stock checking in distribution centres is often labour-intensive and requires working at height – and one wrongly copied number or letter can mean the work needs to be repeated. If a drone takes a photograph of the stock number instead, it can be checked and rechecked at leisure.

As Nestlé’s new RDC shows, safety is another major driver of drone adoption in warehouses and manufacturing plants. Instead of sending a human being into potentially dangerous or hard-to-access areas, such as silos, drones can be used to carry out checks and inspections more safely and quickly. They can also be significantly cheaper.

Nestlé says it’s also found drones useful for training purposes, particularly when producing employee and contractor induction films. “Drones can clearly display 36 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Safety is a major driver of drone adoption in warehouses and manufacturing plants, as drones can easily access places that may be dangerous for humans

the layout of a site and footage has been used to highlight important areas like evacuation muster points, ammonia plants and access roads,” says Dripps.

Yet despite the growing number of use cases in the food industry, deploying drones is not without its challenges. With most drones optimised for outdoor use, indoor drones in warehouses or DCs can struggle to deliver good return on investment.

“One way to counteract that is by developing a warehouse that’s fully digitally enabled from the get-go, where the drone is factored in right from the start and the whole warehouse is designed for automated stockchecking,” says Murray. “But fitting that retrospectively into a traditional warehouse doesn’t really work.”

There are also UK regulatory challenges. The most significant of these is the requirement to maintain visual line of sight, meaning anyone operating a drone must be able to see it at all times – not ideal given one of the benefits of drones is their ability to quickly travel across large areas of land.

It’s possible to apply for exemptions from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), but the process is inflexible and in need of modernisation, says Joe Taylor, assistant manager in the infrastructure advisory group at KPMG. Having said that, the industry should also be doing more to make the case for change, Taylor insists. “What companies are missing at the moment is that link to the regulatory point of view,” he says. “They look at drones purely from a business perspective without realising aviation is heavily regulated and slow-moving traditionally. The CAA are quite receptive to new ideas, and companies should seek dialogue with them.”

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

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“The question is often ‘We have a drone, how can we use it?’ instead of starting with what you’re trying to achieve” Restrictions around spray drones – that is, drones that can spray substances from above – are another major source of frustration. While other countries, particularly in Asia, are taking full advantage of such drones for precision agriculture, UK farmers are not allowed to do so.

“We’re really behind when it comes to utilising the capabilities of spray systems,” says Jonathan Gill, a mechatronics researcher at Harper Adams University, who is campaigning alongside DroneAg and fellow drone startup Crop Angel for spray drones to be allowed in the UK. Spray drones wouldn’t just help farmers apply chemicals in a more targeted and controlled manner, they could also cut fossil fuel use in farming, says Gill. “A fully electric, multi-rotor spray drone doesn’t use any fossil fuels at all. Considering spraying is probably one of the most intensive operations over agricultural/arable crops, it’s a system that could be used to reduce the fossil fuels used to care for our plants.”

Business objectives More generally, drone use can run into trouble when companies are taken in by the lure of sexy technology and forget about business objectives. Drone experts are full of anecdotes about companies splashing out on fancy kit before they’ve figured out what they’re trying to achieve and farmers capturing truckloads of data without being able to analyse it.

“The main problem with the use of drones in agriculture to date has been that, yes, you can generate a heck of a lot of data, but you may not necessarily know what to do with that data,” says Macdonald-Smith at DroneAg. In fact, being excited about the very idea of using drones should give pause for thought. What companies should be excited about is the data they can collect. “Drones are just flying sensors,” says Nicholls at Delair, while Murray at PwC calls them “a bit of a red herring”. “The drone is a tool,” she adds. “It’s about how it can capture data and how that data is analysed.”

Taylor at KPMG concurs. “I see that companies are using drones as a bit of a novelty application,” he says.

“The question is often, ‘We have a drone, how can we use it?’ instead of flipping that question around and starting with what you’re trying to achieve.”

When used as part of a wider technology and data strategy, however, experts agree: there’s enormous potential for drone-captured data to transform food businesses, supply chains and distribution channels.

They may not be a silver bullet in and of themselves, but if used smartly, drones really could take food and farming to new heights.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Five key drone tech startups for food and farming Aerobotics Founded: 2014 Based: Cape Town, South Africa With lots of drone tech optimised for arable crops, Aerobotics is carving out a niche with image analytics software specifically for tree crops.

The citrus sector is at the heart of its client base, where Aerobotics is helping to detect early cases of costly diseases such as citrus greening by analysing drone and satellite footage.

Crop Angel Founded: 2015 Based: Norfolk, UK Against a challenging regulatory backdrop, Crop Angel is on a mission to become one of the first companies to offer crop-spraying drones in the UK. Part of a consortium that also includes DroneAg and Harper Adams University, the company was able to secure a pioneering trial for flying spray drones from the Civil Aviation Authority in 2018 and is currently applying again.

Its big battle is now with the government’s Chemicals Regulations Division, which currently prohibits the application of pesticides via drones.

DroneAg Founded: 2015 Based: Northumberland, UK ‘Farmers who know drones’ is the tagline of this startup, which has quickly made a name for itself thanks to its industry-leading training courses, partnerships with the likes of Kellogg’s and innovative Skippy Scout crop-scouting app. Instead of mapping entire fields and creating unmanageable amounts of data, Skippy Scout helps farmers zero in on what’s important via a simple smartphone app that can be used with offthe-shelf drones.

Drone Deploy Founded: 2013 Based: San Francisco, US Mapping is the name of the game at Drone Deploy – and live mapping is a particular

forte. The drone mapping specialist’s software allows drone-captured images to be analysed in real time, as the drone is flying, instead of having to be downloaded and processed after the fact.

Hummingbird Technologies Founded: 2016 Based: London, UK With backers including BASF’s venture capital arm and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (Salic), AI startup Hummingbird Technologies is one of the biggest names on the UK agritech scene today. Its machine learning and computer vision technology is used to gain insight on crop health, pests and diseases as well as to count plants and predict yields. Following an undisclosed investment from Salic last May, Hummingbird tech is now used across 400,000 hectares of Salic-owned farmland in Australia and Ukraine.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 37

buying & supplying grocery

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Despite the relative success of existing recycling schemes, recycling rates for portioned beverage pods in the UK still need to improve – Nestlé spokesman

Nestlé eyes major shake-up of coffee recycling scheme Abbie Dawson Nestlé is to launch a new recycling scheme for its Dolce Gusto and Nespresso coffee capsules, The Grocer can exclusively reveal.

The scheme, called Podback, will offer “a combined solution” for consumer recycling of both Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Nespresso capsules.

While the exact logistics of Podback are yet to be revealed, Nestlé told The Grocer the combined solution would “require collected pods (a combination of plastics, aluminium and coffee) are separated and then processed separately after collection”.

Despite the “relative success” of its existing recycling schemes,

collection in partnership with Suez and TerraCycle.

Podback was “still in the early stages” and Nestlé “hoped to be able to provide more detail later in the year”.

“In the meantime, we would encourage all our customers to continue using the recycling schemes we already have in place,” it said.

Both brands are currently recyclable by collecting the capsules in a plastic bag and taking them to a drop-off point. Nespresso capsules can also be taken to Nespresso boutiques as well as to over 7,500 CollectPlus and Doddle locations, while Dolce Gusto capsules can only be taken to CollectPlus.

Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Nespresso pods will be included in the scheme

recycling rates for portioned beverage pods in the UK “still need to improve”, said a Nestlé spokesman.

The brand was “actively looking at ways of achieving this”, and had already completed

two separate kerbside trials for the capsules, he added.

The Nespresso trial took place in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, covering 90,850 households, and offering a bi-weekly

co-mingled collection in partnership with Suez and Tandom. The Nescafé Dolce Gusto kerbside trial was in Bracknell Forest and covered a total of 48,786 households with fortnightly co-mingled

Carabao production Black Bee Honey gets manukamoved to Thailand rivalling antimicrobial status Energy drinks brand Carabao is moving its production base from the Netherlands to Thailand.

Carabao – which is Thai – said the move would deliver benefits including “increased supply chain flexibility

Carabao has constructed a production site in Bangkok

and improved integration with the Thai R&D product development team”.

The bulk of its production (but not all – a portion will remain in the Netherlands) will now be based in a new purposebuilt facility in Bangkok, which it described as “a convenient location for product transportation”.

Carabao is also adding a new “fruity” flavour to its energy drinks lineup.

It will be the first to be manufactured at the new production facility and will hit shelves this spring.

38 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

Black Bee Honey has set its sights on stealing manuka’s spotlight, after a round of scientific testing revealed it was “top of the scale” for antimicrobial properties.

The British Heather Honey, harvested on Exmoor’s National Park, was tested by Minerva Scientific for its antibacterial activities.

It was rated by Minerva on a scale referred to as total activity (TA), on which any honey with a score of 10 or above may have beneficial antimicrobial properties, which

British Heather Honey is on sale at £12.95 for 230g

are more effective as the TA level increases.

Black Bee said its British Heather Honey’s score of 21 was equivalent to a unique manuka factor (UMF) of 20-plus.

Manuka honeys with a UMF of 20-plus can retail

for as much as £109 for a 250g jar. British Heather Honey is currently on the market for £12.95 for a 230g jar. Black Bee said it would be promoting the TA result on the tamper sticker of all new jars of British Heather Honey.

The honey is billed as having a “toffee colour, crunchy texture and an aromatic, smoky flavour”. It also contains vitamins A, C, D and E and has “high concentrations” of vitamin B that would “be lost in the pasteurisation process of commercial products”.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

grocery digest

Higgidy to extend instore deli counters to 244 Sainsbury’s stores Daniel Selwood Premium pie maker Higgidy is extending its in-store deli counter at Sainsbury’s following a successful trial.

The West Sussex supplier will run a branded section of the deli counter in 244 stores by 22 January, offering a selection of its pies, quiches and sausage rolls. The likes of Free Range Chicken, Ham & Leek Pie; Smoked Salmon & Broccoli Quiche; Abergavenny Goat’s Cheese, Roasted Tomato & Basil Tart and pastryfree Spicy CherryBell Pepper Frittata will be available.

There would also be “rotational special guest products… to drive

A selection of pies, quiches and rolls will be on sale

innovation and bring new flavours to the deli on a seasonal basis” Higgidy said.

The brand’s rollout of counters across Sainsbury’s supermarkets nationwide follows a trial that kicked off last spring in 11 branches across England – from Cornwall and central London to the Midlands and West Yorkshire. It

was extended in late July to 37 stores, with Sainsbury’s agreeing in November to the current expansion.

“This is an exciting partnership that will add bold new flavours and colour to the deli counter, and we’re excited to see what the future holds,” said Higgidy MD Mark Campbell.

It comes after the brand this month rolled its Miso Mushroom Vegan Rolls into Sainsbury’s and Ocado.

Unveiled in November, they are made with chestnut and porcini mushrooms, pearl barley, spring onion, miso and soy, wrapped in vegan puff pastry and topped with a kale crumb.

Kingsland invests in canned wine

Wine writer launches no-alcohol brand Wine writer Matthew Jukes has started his own nonalcoholic drinks brand: Jukes Cordialities. The brand has debuted with two ‘Cordialites’ it claims are “a new category of drink”. They are billed as having an “uncommon texture, flavour and richness” and are available via the brand’s website (rsp: £35/9x30ml).

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Kingsland Drinks has splurged £1.2m on boosting its capacity with a new canning line.

The new line will enable the Manchester-based business to enter the canned wine market, as consumers “look to enjoy the convenience and sustainability canned formats offer”, it said, and will be able to produce 80 million cans per year.

Kingsland Drinks MD Ed Baker said the investment “taps consumer appetite for a trend we’re confident will continue to gain momentum”.

Mr Kipling minis: Premier Foods has expanded its Mr Kipling mini range with Mini Bakewells (rsp: £1.99/9x24g), Mini Fruit Pies (rsp: £1.99/9x28g) and Mini Sponge Tarts (rsp: £1.99/9x23g). It has also added Lemon slices to its 30% less sugar range (rsp: £1.75/6x24g).

Graze campaign: Graze has launched a £1m campaign to promote its ongoing sugar reduction initiative. The multichannel campaign focuses on its Cocoa Vanilla Protein Oat Bites, and will include roadside posters, in-store activations and social media.

Pili nuts in Boots: Pili nut brand Mount Mayon has gained listings for its nut snack sachets in Boots. Two pack sizes of Pink Himalayan Salt, Ecuadorian Cacao and Kyoto Matcha flavours have hit 19 Boots stores nationwide (rsp: £5.25/28g and £12.59/85g).

Duvel aged beer: Duvel has launched a new beer aged in bourbon barrels. Barrel Aged Batch No. 4 (11.5% abv) was aged for nine months and is billed as having aromas of “intense toffee, caramel, a light roast, vanilla and bourbon”. A limited run of 80 cases have hit UK specialist beer shops (rsp: £42.50/75cl).

Tropical Monster Energy: Coca-Cola has added two new tropical flavours to its Monster Energy range. Monster Ultra Paradise combines hints of kiwi, lime and cucumber, while Monster Pacific Punch holds “exotic flavours” inspired by traditional tropical punch (rsp: £1.29-1.39/500ml).

Guac snack pots: Holy Moly is launching a trio of chip-n-dip-style guacamole snack pots. Guac n’ Roll, Avo n’ Carrot and Avo n’ Eggs are billed as a “delicious and convenient way” to enjoy avocado.

Two SKUs – Guac n’ Roll and Avo n’ Carrot – hit WH Smith stores this month (rsp: £2.75/150g).

Sustainable tissue: Sustainable bamboo tissue brand Cheeky Panda has switched the packaging of its four-pack of toilet tissue to paper. The toilet paper is the first to be switched as part of a wider commitment to remove all plastic packaging from its tissue products this year.

Lyre’s listings: No-alcohol spirit startup Lyre’s has secured listings for three spirits in Sainsbury’s Taste of the Future bays. London Dry Spirit, American Malt and Spiced Cane roll out from 19 January (rsp: £22.50/70cl).

Kind protein bars: Kind has netted listings for its Crunchy Peanut Butter Protein bar at 1,000 Tesco Express stores from 20 January (rsp: £2/50g).

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 39

buying & supplying drinks

acid test

Aussie brewer Lion creates UK craft beer division Little World Daniel Woolfson Australian brewing giant Lion has created a new UK craft division, called Little World beverages.

The move will see the two craft brewers it has purchased over recent years – London-based Fourpure Brewing Co and Huddersfield-based Magic Rock – managed by a newly enlisted division boss Gordon Treanor.

Treanor previously worked for Lion in Australia, where he headed up Lion’s craft portfolio.

The newly founded division “offers a strong portfolio of global brands and we’re excited by the opportunity in the UK market”, said Treanor.

Fourpure Brewing Co was bought by Lion in 2018

The next year will see Magic Rock expand its brewing capacity, while Fourpure will add two new core brews.

Little World also hinted at “some interesting collaborative projects with partners across the UK, Europe and US”.

The news comes as Lion in November snapped up much-loved US craft brewer New

Belgium, which Treanor said “has the whole team excited as to what potential learnings can be shared across our brewing estate”.

Last September saw Fourpure embark on a major revamp of its brand.

It upped its core range from four to eight brews, all of which were given new names and pack designs.

However, it hasn’t been all good news for the fastgrowing brand: its longstanding Juicebox Citra IPA this month fell foul of alcohol industry watchdog the Portman Group, whose independent complaints panel ruled it risked potentially appealing to children.

Haymans creates distribution division

Hawkes adds low-alcohol London cider

Haymans Distillers has created its own spirits distribution wing, called Symposium.

Billed as being based on “the model pioneered by independent spirits merchants in the 19th century”, Symposium

BrewDog-owned Hawkes Cider has launched a lowalcohol cider it claims is the first brewed in London.

Made from British dessert apples and cider apples, Designated Cider (0.5% abv) is billed as a “fresh, juicy, gently sweet” drink.

It has rolled out in a 330ml can (rsp: £1.30) to 50 BrewDog bars across the UK, as well as exclusively on draft at BrewDog’s AF bar near Old Street, London, and at the Hawkes Taproom in Bermondsey.

Symposium will initially sell only Haymans brands

would be “a brand-led business”, Haymans said. Although it would initially sell Haymans’ brands only, it would “be extended in time to include both in-house and agency brands”.

It has enlisted a sales team to target “those who are no longer content to settle for ‘bigname’ brands from large producers and who seek a quality, independent option with a partner they can rely on for the long term”, said Haymans co-owner James Hayman.

40 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

47/50 Overall score

Ritz Baked Bites Who: Mondelez International What: Ritz Baked Bites Olive Oil & Grana Padano Where: Savoury biscuits/crackers How much: £1.50/100g

Why: Offering an upmarket, Italian spin on the much-loved crackers, these Baked Bites were launched under Mondelez’s Ritz brand in October 2019. They contain olive oil and grana padano cheese as well as salt and dried parsley. Per 100g they contain 454 calories, 66g carbs and 16g fat.

Ritz has had a solid year in the supermarkets: sales of the snack brand grew £2.1m (13.9%) to £17.6m last year [Nielsen 52 w/e 7 September 2019].

Consumer verdict: Forty-four per cent of our shoppers gave the product five stars, declaring them “moreish” and “very tasty”. A further 44% gave the biscuits four stars, with feedback including that they were “good value for money”, had a “crisp texture” and were “easy to eat”. One shopper gave the biscuits one star, saying they were “tasteless” and “very dry” with “no cheese flavour”. Seventy-eight per cent of shoppers said they would share them with friends and family, and only 2% (one shopper) said it wasn’t for them.

Pre-trial purchase:

78%

Post-trial purchase:

69%

Better than what’s out there:

63%

Exciting new idea:

65%

All own-label lines reviewed for Acid Test can apply for accreditation in The Grocer Own Label Accreditation Scheme. For more information visit thegrocerownlabel.co.uk Acid Test is conducted by Cambridge Market Research using its Fast Foodfax methodology, which has developed consumer assessments of new products for more than 30 years. Fast Foodfax compares results against a database of more than 25,000 products across 130-plus categories of food and drink. Objective, impartial and totally independent, contact 01223 492050 or visit www.cambridgemr.com for more information

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

SUSTAINABLE PRICES We don’t want [the contract] if they are not willing to pay a price that is sustainable – Patrick Müller, CEO MMI

buying & supplying fresh

Müller predicts return to black after Darwin Kevin White Müller Milk & Ingredients is expected to return to the black later this year, CEO Patrick Müller has said, after a far-reaching cost-cutting drive.

Speaking at the 2020 Semex dairy conference in Glasgow this week, Müller said the dairy giant was on track to arrest “unsustainable losses” that topped £230m during the 2017 and 2018 financial years, and was expected to move back to profitability over the next six months.

The past 18 months had been “very difficult” said Müller, with plunging margins pushing the liquid milk sector “to the brink of collapse”.

“Production was going up while consumption

Müller has been cutting costs through its Project Darwin

was falling. This, coupled with huge competition in retail and very low prices, created an unsustainable situation.”

However, a series of initiatives through MMI’s Project Darwin costcutting plan, including the closure of its Foston dairy in the summer, a cut in the number of

SKUs produced and a move to outsource logistics to Müller subsidiary Culina, had contributed to greater efficiency.

A wholesale renegotiation of Müller supermarket supply contracts had also borne fruit, Müller added, with 90% of MMI’s retail partners having agreed to new

“long-term profitable contracts” and just 6% still under negotiation.

“For the remaining 4%, we said no and walked away. We don’t want [the contract] if they are not willing to pay a price that is sustainable,” he added.

Darwin “wasn’t an easy exercise”, Müller admitted, but contract renegotiations had been in everyone’s interest in order “to add value back into the category”.

His comments follow a turbulent two years for the sector, amid plunging profit margins across the leading processors.

“I’m much more positive than a year ago when we were questioning whether it was clever to be in the milk business,” he added.

I Am Nut’s product has been renamed Oh, Grate

Vegan brand’s ‘Parmesans’ is renamed A British vegan supplier has been forced to change its branding after being accused of “violating” parmesan’s PDO. I Am Nut OK’s product Parmesans, sold in Selfridges, carried taglines ‘Grated Italian style’ and ‘Artisan not cheese’.

However, the Parmigiano Consortium said this amounted to “counterfeit branding”. The supplier has since rebranded as Oh, Grate and added new tagline ‘An alternative to a certain cheese we cannot mention’.

M&S-backed food surplus app Danone adds ‘simple’ Cogz looks to rescue fruit & veg range of yoghurts An M&S-backed app that connects growers who have surplus produce with processors has been revamped and expanded.

Cogz, which has received £250,000 through M&S’s partnership with startup incubator Founders Factory, aims to cut food waste and create a more transparent supply chain.

It offers buyers the opportunity to buy produce at 10%-30% below wholesale price, while also allowing growers to boost their margins through the sale of foods

Sean O’Keefe (r): ‘Everyone benefits from less waste’

that would otherwise have gone to waste.

The app soft-launched in November 2018 and initially dealt with top fruit before expanding into root veg through an upgrade last week.

According to Cogz’s

42 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

data, an average of 1,200 tonnes of produce a month has been put up on the app since it went live. So far, about 50 growers and 80 processors have signed up, with many of M&S’s suppliers and processors anticipated to follow in 2020.

“The beauty of this technology is that everyone benefits from a more connected and less wasteful food supply chain,” said co-founder Sean O’Keefe. “We want to see a world where everything grown gets eaten.”

Danone has launched a new range of yoghurts using only “simple” ingredients – which is the first to be sold in the UK under the Danone masterbrand.

The range contains no added sugar, artificial

Simply Fruit and Simply Fruit & Veg are on sale now

sweeteners or artificial flavours and consists of Simply Fruit yoghurts in 145g single serve pots and 6x100g multipacks, and Simply Fruit & Veg yoghurt lines in 6x110g multipacks and 450g sharing pots.

It also includes a fourpack of 70g organic kids’ yoghurt pouches and a 450g natural family sharing pot. Flavour combinations include strawberry & blood orange and blueberry, blackcurrant & beetroot.

The range went on sale nationally this week.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

fresh digest

US success story Good Catch debuts plantbased ‘tuna’ in Tesco Kevin White US plant-based tuna alternative Good Catch has landed on UK shores with a national listing in Tesco.

The brand, developed by Wicked Kitchen founders Derek and Chad Sarno and plant-based food investor Chris Kerr, started rolling into stores this week.

Pitched as an alternative to premium albacore tuna, Good Catch is an ambient product that resembles the flaky texture of tuna.

Merchandised in the canned fish aisle, it is made from a blend of peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans and navy beans with seaweed.

The range also uses

Good Catch began rolling out to stores this week

algae extracts to give it “a flavour of the ocean”, said Kerr, and is fortified with Omega-3.

The brand is available in 94g pouches in standard ‘naked in water’, oil & herbs and Mediterranean variants (rsp: £2.50).

The product was carefully developed to ensure an authentic mouthfeel, said Kerr. “It’s a big giveaway when it’s bad and a

really hard one to break.”

It was also versatile, Kerr claimed, with applications ranging from tuna melts and sandwiches to sushi, pasta sauces and pizza toppings.

Good Catch has proven a hit in the US, with distribution rising to more than 4,500 retail outlets since launching in 2018, added Kerr, who is also the chief investment officer of main backer New Crop Capital – a US-based venture capital fund that invests in plant-based startups.

Launching in the UK in such a relatively short time made sense as it was the “hottest market on the planet” for plantbased innovation, he added.

Irish food exports at record high in 2019

Charcuterie link-up for Cranswick

Irish agrifood exports hit their highest levels in Bord Bia’s 25-year history last year, jumping 5% on 2018 levels.

Total exports rose from €13.6bn to €14.3bn in 2019, according to Bord Bia. This contributed to a

Cranswick is to link with Spanish pork supplier Costa Food to provide charcuterie to the UK. The meat processor’s Continental Foods arm will import produce from the Spanish producer.

Cranswick started production at its £28m Continental Foods site 18 months ago in Bury, Greater Manchester.

“The UK market is increasingly demanding transparency of continental supply chains,” said Norman Smith, sales director at Cranswick Continental Foods.

Food and drink exports increased by nearly €1bn

67% increase in agrifood exports on 2010 levels – equivalent to an additional €5.6bn in sales.

Food and drink made up the lion’s share of Ireland’s export growth, climbing from €12.1bn in 2018 to €13bn last year.

Amid uncertainty over the UK’s relationship with the EU, Irish suppliers had successfully diversified, said Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy. This was reflected in a 1% volume rise in exports to EU markets and a 2% hike in sales to the rest of the world.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Chicken welfare: Fast food giants are still not doing enough to improve the welfare of chickens in supply chains, a new report has warned. ‘The Pecking Order 2020’, by World Animal Protection UK, judged firms based on their publicly available information on welfare policy, ambition and transparency. It placed Domino’s at the bottom of the table with a ‘very poor’ rating, along with Burger King and Pizza Hut. Coming out on top was KFC which the report classed as ‘making progress’ following its signing up to the Better Chicken Commitment in 2019.

Liberté revamp: Yoplait yoghurt brand Liberté has undergone a redesign to ensure it has a “premium” look that highlights its “simplicity and respect for authenticity”. It’s available now in all the major mults.

Vitalite & Bosh: Dairy-free spread Vitalite will carry an on-pack partnership with plant-based social media channel Bosh from 20 January. The campaign will initially run for six months and will offer consumers a free trial of Bosh’s new meal and exercise plan.

Aldi XXL meat: XXL packs of British chicken and rump steak have gone on sale in Aldi stores across the UK this week as the discounter targets the family weekly shop. The 21-day matured rump steaks (rsp: £7.49/900g) and chicken breast fillets (rsp: £7.99/2kg) will be available while stocks last, with two new XXL lines launching weekly.

Oatly campaign: Oatly has launched what it has described as its “biggest ever” nationwide marketing campaign. The Swedish oat drink brand has hired billboards in Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow and will also run adverts in print, broadcast and digital media outlets in these locations. The quirky campaign will also appear in London.

NI farming: ABP and Dale Farm have collaborated to build a “more sustainable market for dairy beef” in Northern Ireland.

The Horizon scheme will see a guaranteed market for Dale Farm members’ dairy calves that have been bred to “strict” specifications which enable them to be marketed at 20-21 months, some four months below the UK average. The firms said this would reduce the carbon footprint of production and lower costs for farmers.

Somerdale US sales: US value sales of Somerdale International’s British cheese have been boosted 17% year on year thanks to a strong performance over Christmas. The exporter’s own figures show value sales are on course to reach £19m for the year ending March 2020.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 43

focus on... ready meals 46 Top eight sectors

48, 49 Soup slip-up

47 New meals

The most popular meals are in decline, while Mexican enjoys the biggest growth

Soup sales have tumbled. So how are brands and retailers planning to win shoppers back?

NPD includes broths, soups in cardboard pots and low-calorie slow-cooked meals

The break-up After years of happiness, Brits are falling out of love with ready meals. Brands are now looking to hike quality and convenience Ash O’Mahony

I

t was a match made in heaven.

When the culinary-shy Brit met the microwave meal, it seemed as though nothing could tear them apart. But now it looks as though a break-up may be on the cards. Because after five years of continuous growth, the ready meals market seems to be losing its touch with shoppers.

Sales have fallen by £52.3m [Kantar 52 w/e 8 September 2019], marking the first decline since 2015. That was driven by shoppers simply buying less. Volumes fell 1.3%, equating to 7.9 million fewer kilos.

So is all the talk of Brits turning away from convenience-led fare in favour of scratch cooking finally coming to pass? And is there any hope of Britain rekindling its love affair with the ready meal?

This unexpected decline isn’t all to do with Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

culinary tastes. Pricing has been a driving force behind the decline of chilled own label meals, which make up three quarters of the £3.9bn market.

They have suffered a £55.9m slump due to a shift in promotional tactics, says Kantar analyst Madeleine Peck. “Promotions that encourage higher volumes per shop or higher basket spend – like multibuys, Y for £X, and meal deals – have all fallen into decline in chilled own label over the past 12 months.”

Without these deals to encourage larger

“Promotions have fallen into decline in chilled own label over the past 12 months”

purchases, volumes took a tumble. In total, 43 million fewer packs were sold on deal.

And it seems shoppers are pretty price-sensitive. Just look at Morrisons, which suffered a 4% drop in ready meal value sales – the largest of the big four. According to Kantar, a “key factor” behind its decline was that its temporary price reductions weren’t as deep as the year before. Its promoted meals were on average 14p more expensive this year, “making them less attractive” to shoppers, says Peck.

Not that there was any hope of price rises adding any value to the market. Overall, there was a rise in temporary price reductions across the mults, which meant that average cost per pack actually fell. That only “served to devalue chilled own label’s offer, reversing any average price increases that came through full-price sales”, explains Peck.

The impact of pricing is evident elsewhere in the market, too. Frozen ready meals, 18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 45

focus on... ready meals

“As a sector, our biggest challenge is to change the perception of a lack of quality”

Declines despite price drops: top eight ready meal sectors

English

Italian

Indian

Chinese

£1,271.5m

£669.1m

£435.2m

£349.3m

(▼ 3.9%)

(▼ 1.9%)

(▼ 0.7%)

(▲ 3.2%)

American

French

Other European

Mexican

£156.0m

£107.4m

£77.3m

£73.8m

(▲ 4.2%)

(▼ 12.3%)

(▲ 4.1%)

(▲ 19.6%)

Source: Kantar 52 w/e 8 September 2019 ● The past 12 months saw decline in ready meals for both frozen and chilled, with value sales down £12.5m and £39m respectively. ● While the frozen market lost shoppers, reducing penetration to 73%, chilled maintained shopper penetration of 91%. ● However, the chilled market has seen shoppers reduce their basket spend following a 14% reduction in promotions. ● The category’s previously rising average prices

For the full data, visit thegrocer.co.uk

have reversed, with both frozen and chilled seeing marginal drops (down 0.1% and 0.2% respectively). ● In frozen, full-price sales have fallen slightly (0.5%), while sales on promotion have continued to be pulled back. These factors have counteracted each other to result in little movement, notes Kantar analyst Madeleine Peck.

● English ready meals continue to take the biggest market share at 32.8%, but it is seeing decline as shoppers turn to emerging cuisines such as Mexican, which is up 19.6%. ● Demand for plant-based options have resulted in “impressive growth” for brands such Linda McCartney’s and Vivera, Peck says.

Kantar’s Worldpanel FMCG service monitors consumer behaviour across Great Britain. Its primary panel tracks take-home purchases of 30,000 demographically representative households. Data on consumption habits, nutrition and out of home sales is collected through subsidiary panels. Visit kantarworldpanel.com for details.

46 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

for example, have seen a 1.8% decline in sales on promotion. That coincided with a 1.8% drop in value sales and the loss of 114,000 shoppers. “There has been a particular decline in the 20 to 34 age group, who are core users of the category, and that has dampened sales,” says Peck.

Unlike the chilled market, brands were the main casualty here – suffering a 3.8% hit to value. Three of the top five brands are in decline, Nielsen figures show [52 w/e 24 August 2019].

Consumer perceptions Still, these brands believe there is more than price at play here. Take Young’s, whose range of frozen ready meals suffered a 18.9% hit to volume, resulting in a £2.3m drop.

The brand’s head of frozen marketing, Jason Manley, believes a perceived lack of quality is to blame for the demise. “As a sector, our biggest challenge is to change that perception,” he says.

Indeed, a survey of 891 consumers by market research provider Streetbees found 35% were planning to reduce their ready meal consumption this year. More than half of the consumers are cutting back because they feel the products are too processed, found the December research.

This desire for less processed food coincides with the rise of another consumer trend that is hitting sales: convenience. As something that typically takes five minutes in the microwave, ready meals should theoretically benefit from that movement. However, they don’t necessarily capture the consumers who are simply too busy to eat at home.

Polina Norina, senior behavioural analyst at consumer insights specialist Canvas8, says the past year has “seen a growing number of consumers replacing the traditional three staple meals a day with a more irregular schedule, where they are often eating on the go.

“One third of Britons now regularly eat just one proper meal a day and fill the gaps with snacks, and almost two thirds of gen Yers say they replace square meals with snacks because they are simply too busy to eat.”

Even if these consumers do go for a quick meal option, there are several other, less processed formats vying for their attention.

“Several adjacent categories to ready meals have upped their game in ease, convenience and quality this year, with products like

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

straight-to-oven trays and pre-marinated products,” says Lauren Kisby, category management lead at Bisto owner Kerry Foods.

That innovation includes straight-to-oven frozen steaks from Dutch meat producer Diviande, Merchant Gourmet’s Persianstyle quinoa and lentil packs, and The Spice Tailor’s selection of south east Asian curry recipe kits aimed at providing all the ingredients to create an easy and authentic curry in just 10 minutes.

There is a similar premise behind the growing recipe box market, which aims to marry convenience with the benefits of scratch cooking. HelloFresh, for example, has trebled its recipe selection over the past year to include recipes that take just 20 minutes to make. The proposition is “winning customers by relieving them of the shopping time, preparation and planning that goes into cooking” according to Laurent Guillemain, UK CEO of Hello Fresh. “Our customers still enjoy and want to cook, and our products give them a quick and easy way to do that,” he adds.

Plus, of course, there is the impact of the out-of-home sector. For the ultimate quick meal, consumers are turning to the likes of Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, all of which have run sizeable campaigns in the past 12 months. Their figures speak for themselves.

Deliveroo reported a 72% rise in global revenue for 2018, while Just Eat reported 33 million UK orders in the third quarter of 2019, an 8% increase on the same period in 2018.

“The increased popularity of these delivery services, which offer a huge variety of trendy, modern cuisines, is a key factor driving reduced ready meal consumption,” says Strathmore Foods MD Julie Nisbet.

In the face of so much competition, ready meals are having to up their game. “Shoppers already use ready meals as a sweet spot between the financial saving of cooking from scratch and the treat of ordering takeaways or eating at a restaurant,” says Canvas8’s Polina. “Brands need to consider how their meals offer a money-saving alternative to eating out while also giving an interesting menu that keeps buyers interested.”

So several ready meals players are using the popularity of takeaways to their advantage.

Take Iceland’s limited-edition Far Eastern range, added last March. Featuring innovative dishes that wouldn’t look out of place on Deliveroo, such as Jungle Chicken Curry and Malay Chicken & Noodle, it amassed almost £750k and 240,000 shoppers in its first six months on shelf.

This desire to mimic the out-of-home experience means there is also “huge potential” in ready meals from restaurant chains, says Amy Price, senior food & drink analyst at Mintel. Last May, a Mintel poll found 30% of ready meal eaters believed restaurantbranded products to be higher quality Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Itsu Brilliant Broth Launch date: January 2020 Manufacturer: Itsu The latest addition to Itsu’s restaurant-inspired grocery range helps shoppers make authentic ramen noodle soup quickly. The Japanese-style Brilliant Broth – a Marks & Spencer exclusive – is intended to be heated and poured over protein, vegetables and noodles. The three variants are vegan Miso Mushroom, Chicken Ramen and Classic Ramen, each in a 500ml pack (rsp: £2) providing enough liquid broth to serve two people.

WW Slow Cooked Ready Meals Launch date: November 2019 Manufacturer: Ribworld The brand formerly known as WeightWatchers launched this brace of meals for two exclusively into Morrisons last autumn. Both Chicken Tikka Masala and Sweet Korean Chicken (rsp: £2/300g) are free from artificial colours and flavours. Each 150g serving provides no more than 176 calories and four WW SmartPoints.

Protein by Nature Launch date: TBC Manufacturer: Whitworths Whitworths is yet to set an exact launch date for Protein

by Nature, its first foray into ready meals – unveiled last summer and expected this year. The six ambient, plantbased options include Mediterranean Tabbouleh and Vietnamese Grains, each providing 8g of protein per 100g (rsp: £2.30/250g) as well as being low in sugar and satfat.

Super-Licious Launch date: October 2019 Manufacturer: Baxters Keen to cash in on the trends for sustainability and convenience formats, Baxters’ four-strong lineup of microwaveable soups come in a cardboard pot. The range is currently exclusive to Waitrose, and includes Thai Chicken & Coconut with Rice and Minestrone & Smoked Bacon with Orzo Pasta (rsp: £2/350ml).

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 47

focus on... ready meals

“A focus on very low price points on very lowquality products quickly spirals to nowhere” A challenging year: soup sectors by value Frozen

£4m

(▲ 25.5%)

Dry instant

£114.1m (▼ 9.1%)

Wet ambient soup

Fresh

£127.9m (▼ 6.8%)

Source: Kantar 52 w/e 8 September 2019 ● The past 52 weeks proved challenging for the soup market. After 2018’s marginal growth (0.3%), value slipped into the red, with shoppers spending £22.4m less. ● Volume losses of 6.3% were at the core of the category’s decline – though its penetration, while in slight decline (1.6%), remains high at 86%. ● “The real driver for volume decline is shoppers making fewer trips, and buying less volume on these trips” according to

£317.4m (▼ 0.8%)

For the full data, visit thegrocer.co.uk

Kantar analyst Rob Cassie. ● Wet ambient soup remains the largest sector in the market, accounting for 56.3% of sales. Despite seeing a slight sales decline of 0.8%, the sector is performing ahead of most of the market. Only frozen soup, which accounts for less than 1% of the market, outperformed it. ● Meanwhile, fresh sales

are down 6.8% following three years of growth. The decline was driven by both a slump in branded (down 7.8%) and in the premium own-label tier, where the majority of retailers are in the red. ● “Within standard private label, performance is relatively better, with Co-op a noticeably strong performer,” Cassie says.

Kantar’s Worldpanel FMCG service monitors consumer behaviour across Great Britain. Its primary panel tracks take-home purchases of 30,000 demographically representative households. Data on consumption habits, nutrition and out of home sales is collected through subsidiary panels. Visit kantarworldpanel.com for details.

48 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

than even premium own-label offers like Tesco Finest and Waitrose No.1.

That’s inspiring a raft of restaurant names to venture on to grocery shelves. Although it’s not a guaranteed success – in December, The Grocer reported Tesco had dropped the Bella Italia frozen ready meal range – the sheer number of launches suggests there is money to be made.

Those launches come from both big and small names. In terms of chains, Las Iguanas made its grocery debut with chilled ready meals in October 2018. Wasabi followed suit last January with the launch of five Home Bento ready meals into Sainsbury’s, each containing the same ingredients as the restaurant version.

On the smaller side, independent London restaurant The Brook launched a premium plant-based range in March. The eight frozen recipes include a Mushroom Bolognese and Seafood Stew made with seaweed.

Convenience opportunity Another opportunity lies in making ready meals even more convenient. That means securing listings in the easiest channel for consumers to access: convenience stores.

The Co-op’s sales figures are proof of the potential. While the big four, Waitrose and Iceland have all seen a decline in ready meals sales, the Co-op has managed a 1.5% increase in value. This was driven by “an increasing number of younger, pre-family customers shopping in store” claims Kelly Moore, Co-op buyer for chilled ready meals.

Many brands are seeing success with this strategy. Take Cook, which is reaping the rewards of its partnership with Co-op. “Our concession sales are up roughly 25% since the start of our financial year in April,” reports CEO Rosie Brown. “A big part of that growth has come from working closely with Co-op to roll out Cook freezers in series of stores in parts of the country where we don’t have many of our own outlets.”

Charlie Bigham’s is similarly feeling the benefits. CEO Patrick Cairns says the brand’s foray into convenience was a driving force behind its £15.3m growth over the past year [Nielsen]. The brand’s associations with quality have also helped boost sales, he adds.

“We offer something different in the market by challenging people’s preconceptions on what ready meals can offer,” he says. “That

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

focus on quality will be key in getting the likes of chilled own-label ready meals back in growth in the year ahead.”

That means a return to the volume deals of old isn’t necessarily the way to go. “A focus on very low price points on very low-quality products very quickly spirals to nowhere. The way for the category to grow is through quality and promoting the idea that convenience doesn’t have to equal compromise.”

Looking at the brands in growth, he seems to have a point. Fellow premium chilled player Gressingham has seen sales of its range, which includes Duck à L’Orange and Duck Legs in Cherry Hoisin Sauce, soar 59% this year on volumes up 50.5% [Nielsen], while McIntosh of Strathmore plans to launch a premium selection later this year.

“Shoppers are turning to these branded chilled ready meals due to their perception of being more unique, premium and natural than private label,” says Mintel’s Price.

Indeed, our exclusive Streetbees poll found more than two thirds of shoppers (67%) would be willing to spend more on higherquality ready meals.

Many are also apparently happy to splash out on meat-free options. The past year has seen a 20% rise in sales of meat-free ready meals, fuelled by new launches, developing brands and “increasingly competitive ownlabel ranges,” says Kantar’s Peck.

This has meant a raft of NPD from the supermarkets. Asda was the latest to jump on the trend with its Plant Based lineup this month. That followed the launch of M&S Plant Kitchen in December, which has already attracted “significant shopper spend” according to Kantar. Tesco unveiled its Plant Chef range in October, the follow-up to its vegan Wicked Kitchen range, and Aldi made its debut with I Am Vegan, later rebranded as Plant Menu.

Brands have also innovated with gusto.

Quorn launched a range of ambient bowl meals in May, while Deliciously Ella relaunched its plant-based range in the autumn with larger portion sizes and new recipes. Whitworths is also planning to add meat-free options in the year ahead.

Such launches could be another way of revitalising the ready meals category. Indeed, a report created by Kerry Foods and Kantar last year suggested meat-free options could go some way to improving perceptions of ready meals. It found the number of people who associate meat-free with quality had nearly doubled from 2016 to 2019. “Bringing meat-free alternatives to favourite recipes in both chilled and frozen is a significant opportunity for the category to drive frequency,” says Kerry’s Lauren Kisby.

If ready meals can play into these trends, they might just be able to win back the love of the British public.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Soups seek recovery via new formats and flavours It’s not just ready meals that have fallen out of Brits’ good graces this year. Soup sales tumbled £22.4m (3.8%) in the past 12 months, driven by 6.3% volume declines through fewer shopper trips and lower volumes bought per trip [Kantar 52 w/e 8 September 2019].

Unfortunately for the category, the major factor dragging down value is entirely outside of its control. “The Beast from the East in March 2018 was an unusual and seismic event for category demand and sales, but this year we didn’t have that to capitalise on,” explains Gordon Sloan, category development controller at Baxters.

Still, in lieu of inclement weather there remain several opportunities to get soup back in the black this year, he continues.

“Retailers should focus on areas of strong performance: health and vegetarian.”

Indeed, sales of Baxters’ Super Good range, focused on “goodness and wellbeing”, gained almost £1m in additional sales this year, and its Veggie Goodness is the only topfive ambient soup lineup in growth [Nielsen 52 w/e 7 September 2019].

But growth potential isn’t all centred on recipes.

Another promising area for soup is convenient formats.

The past year has seen a slew of NPD targeting timepoor consumers.

Take Heinz’s microwavable pot, launched last January in Cream of Tomato and Vegetable as a convenient alternative to the brand’s standard ambient cans.

Sales surpassed £550k within eight months [Nielsen], prompting the supplier to add Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom in September.

Handy formats are important in attracting new shoppers to ambient soup, says Asmita Singh, senior brand manager for Heinz Soup. “Over the past few years, the challenging performance of wet ambient soup has been largely driven by reduced engagement from younger consumers. Alternative formats will evolve the category further as younger consumers become more familiar with them.”

Brands both large and small have followed Heinz’s lead. Baxters unveiled microwavable SuperLicious pots in October (see p47), five months after UK startup Re:Nourish made its debut with a range of fresh soup in a heatable bottle (which the brand claims is a world first).

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 49

focus on... spreads 52 Sticky and sweet spots

54 Spread unevenly?

53, 55 Innovative NPD

A steep decline in manuka honey sales has impacted category value, according to Kantar data

Rowse and Marmite have made big gains, while challengers Gü and Pip & Nut make moves too

Double-cocoa Nutella and peanut butters flavoured with wasabi and Marmite fill our NPD round-up

Dessert on toast Sweet treats aren’t just for pudding any more. Shoppers want an indulgent kick for breakfast, and sweet spreads are booming Rob Brown

P

uddings were once reserved for after dinner. Nowadays, desserts are permissible first thing in the morning. Because sales of indulgent spreads – many of which sound more like a decadent treat than a breakfast item – are booming.

And the more they resemble gooey confectionery, the better. Spreads from Lindt, Hotel Chocolat, M&M’s and Cadbury Caramel are doing a roaring trade. Last autumn also saw the launch of Banoffee, Salted Caramel and Gingerbread spreads by Lidl, as well as a White Chocolate Hazelnut spread by Morrisons.

So powerful is the trend that even players from the dessert world are getting involved.

Gü, for example, launched its Salted Caramel and Hazelnut & Chocolate spreads in 2018.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

The lines have already passed the £1m mark and have gained listings in all of the big four.

“Consumers are looking for ways to upgrade their simple treats and a generous dollop of our new spreads is just perfect for this,” said Gü global marketing manager Hannah Kehoe at the time of the launch.

The likes of Gü have helped the supers sell an extra 450 tonnes of chocolate spread in the past year [Kantar 52 w/e 6 October 2019].

That’s the greatest volume gain in the jams & spreads category.

“Historically spreads has lacked innovation, focusing on chocolate and hazelnut”

All this flies in the face of the supposed healthy eating agenda and Public Health England, which has set an ambitious sugar reduction target for jams and spreads. So what’s going on? Have consumers not seen the polls that say they’re all trying to avoid sugar like the plague? And is this a sign that their passion for peanut butter, often marketed as the ultimate health food, is waning?

There is one crucial factor at play here: innovation. Not long ago, peanut butter was at the epicentre of product development in the category. Now sweet spreads are catching up.

Premium popcorn brand Joe & Seph’s, whose new sauces are due to roll into Booths’ spreads aisle later this year (see p53), believes this level of innovation is unlikely to die down any time soon. “Spreads is a category that could still do with brightening up,” says cofounder Adam Sopher.

“Historically it’s lacked innovation, 18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 51

focus on... spreads

“It’s the products that sit in between indulgent and healthy that seem to be struggling more”

Sticky and sweet spots: jams & spreads value sales

Honey

Jam

Peanut butter

Chocolate spread

£124.1m

£111.8m

£105.2m

£75.9m

(▼ 6.6%)

(▲ 3.7%)

(▲ 3.5%)

(▲ 3.0%)

Marmalade

Yeast spread

Other sweet spread

Curd

£55.1m

£44.7m

£7m

£6.9m

(▼ 3.3%)

(▼ 1.1%)

(▲ 47.2%)

(▲ 5.4%)

Source: Kantar 52 w/e 6 October 2019 ● For a market that’s only mustered value growth of 0.2%, there’s a surprising amount to talk about in jams and spreads right now. First, look at the sticky situation honey is in: value has slumped 6.6% but units have grown 1.4%. ● This can partly be explained by a steep decline in sales of manuka honey. Given that the stuff can sell for more than £50 a pot, any decline in manuka will have a huge impact on category value. Kantar says another factor is a

For the full data, visit thegrocer.co.uk

rise in brands’ reliance on promotions. Sales on deal have risen from 24.2% a year ago to 28.5%. ● Premiumisation has been a key factor in the growth of value ahead of volume in peanut butter and jams.

With peanut butter players expecting a return to stronger growth, fuelled in part by the veganism trend, the product could overtake

jam as Britain’s secondbestselling spread in the coming year. ● There could be difficulties in store for chocolate spread, the strongest-performing sector in volume. “Health will continue to be an important factor for sweet spreads in the year to come,” says Kantar analyst Chantel Kennaugh.

Kantar’s Worldpanel FMCG service monitors consumer behaviour across Great Britain. Its primary panel tracks take-home purchases of 30,000 demographically representative households. Data on consumption habits, nutrition and out of home sales is collected through subsidiary panels. Visit kantarworldpanel.com for details.

52 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

with brands primarily focusing on chocolate and hazelnut.”

Joe & Seph’s has certainly gone beyond that brief. Its sauces, launched after the brand was inundated with enquiries about the coating it uses on its snacks, include flavours such as Espresso Martini, Chocolate Orange, Banoffee Pie and Prosecco Caramel.

Its “hero product”, the Salted Caramel Sauce, won a Grocer New Product Award.

None of these sound particularly virtuous.

But the buzz around healthy eating doesn’t seem to be stopping consumers from buying into this indulgent fare. Sopher has a theory.

“We’ve seen it in snacking and we’re seeing it in spreads: when consumers want to indulge, they really indulge, but for most of the time they’re looking to eat healthily,” he says. “It’s the products that sit in between that seem to be struggling more.”

What’s more, consumers seem willing to pay above the odds for a slice of this ultimate indulgence. Super premium lines such as Joe & Seph’s Chocolate Caramel Sauce (stocked in the spreads fixture in Ocado) and Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel Pecan Chocolate Spread fetch £4.29 for 230g and £6 for 150g respectively. Meanwhile, Gü sells for £2.50 for a 200g pot (though Tesco and Asda have recently been running £2 promotions on Gü).

These all come at a premium compared with chocolate spreads market leader Nutella, which retails at £2.89 for a 400g jar. This means value is growing ahead of volume in branded chocolate spreads. While value is up, volume is actually down 1.6%.

The latter, less positive figure is down to Nutella. Because although chocolatey spreads are thriving as a whole, the beacon brand has suffered the category’s biggest volume loss. It shifted 1.8 million (8.9%) fewer pots, equating to a £1.2m drop [Nielsen 52 w/e 7 September 2019].

That’s in no small part down to the success of these aforementioned innovative brands, which are keen to give established names such as Nutella a run for their money. The competition isn’t just coming from higherpriced, ultra-premium offerings. Rival confectioner Mondelez waded in last spring with the launch of Cadbury Caramel Spread and Mars has seen strong growth for its M&M’s spread (Nielsen puts its value growth at 81.2% to total £570k).

Ferrero is also having to contend with an

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

increasingly innovative own-label sector. The new Morrisons White Chocolate Hazelnut spread received rave reviews from shoppers, who likened its flavour to that of the manufacturer’s Kinder Bueno confectionery, for example. Considering own-label chocolate spreads are on average £2.58 cheaper than branded options per kilo [Kantar], these kind of lines are attracting price-sensitive shoppers. That has helped drive a 9.9% growth in the value of retailer chocolate spreads on volumes up 12%, the category’s biggest own-label gain by a long shot.

Ferrero customer development director Levi Boorer acknowledges that price remains an important factor in the spreads market.

“Promotions in spreads are a key driver of growth,” he says. “Our fastest-growing SKU has been our 400g jar – our core product that has benefited from having a £2 price point when promoted, which has attracted consumers looking for high-quality products that give good value for money.”

At the same time, Ferrero can’t afford to ignore the innovation at the more premium end of the market. To that end, it has developed Nutella + Cocoa (see right), which claims to contain double the cocoa levels of the standard chocolate spread. “Off the back of the recent boom for richer, more intense flavours seen across a multitude of categories, we wanted to offer this new Nutella + Cocoa variant to our consumers,” says marketing director James Stewart.

“The UK has been chosen as a test market because we’ve seen a growing trend for richer and more intense flavour variants,”he adds. “This new alternative flavour delivers on that.” According to Stewart, taste tests ahead of the March launch date have been “really positive”.

Peanut butter Nutella isn’t the only major brand feeling the impact of fresh competition. A similar picture is emerging in peanut butter. Overall value sales grew 3.5%, driven by a 2.6% rise in prices that was pushed through by smaller brands. Meanwhile, the category stalwarts are being forced to either compete on price or face a hit to volume.

Market leader Whole Earth is a case in point. It suffered the greatest value loss in the spreads market of £1.4m (6.1%) on units down 6.2% [Nielsen]. That has partly been driven by fierce deals from rivals such as Sun-Pat and Meridian, which have slashed average prices per pack by 5.3% and 1.7% respectively. Meanwhile, Whole Earth’s prices have remained more or less flat.

Still, Whole Earth brand controller Kirstie Hawkins says the brand’s performance recovered in the second half of 2019. She believes there is room to trade on more than price.

“We are the official peanut supplier Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Whole Earth Chocolate & Hazelnut Peanut Butter Launch date: February 2020 Manufacturer: Wessanen This smooth chocolate peanut butter with Cocoa & Hazelnuts (rsp: £4/340g) is a bid to tap growing demand for indulgent spreads, says Wessanen. But there’s a twist: the product contains 90% less sugar than a standard chocolate spread. That’s because it is naturally sweetened with dates and contains no refined sugar. A natural source of protein and fibre, the new product is expected to hit shelves just in time for Pancake Day. So you’ll feel a bit better about smothering your pancakes in the stuff.

Joe & Seph’s Orange Chocolate Sauce Launch date: November 2019 Manufacturer: Joe & Seph’s OK, it says ‘sauce’ on the jar, but Joe & Seph’s reckons this extra thick blend of fresh double cream, Belgian chocolate and orange (rsp: £3.99/230g) works well on toast or pancakes. The brand says it is on a mission to shake up sweet spreads with its innovative recipes, which include banoffee pie and gin & tonic sauces.

Nutella + Cocoa Launch date: March 2020 Manufacturer: Ferrero Ferrero says consumers are craving “richer and more intense” flavours. Enter Nutella + Cocoa, which contains twice the cocoa of the regular spread (15% versus 7.4%) and carries a premium recommended price to match (£2.89/350g versus £2.89/400g for standard Nutella). A 15g serving contains 80 calories.

Sweet Freedom Chocolate Spread Launch date: January 2020 Manufacturer: Sweet Freedom There’s a reason Sweet Freedom has put an orangutan on jars of this new line (rsp: £2/220g), which rolled into Iceland this month. It’s donating 10% of the profits to the Orangutan Project. Plus the brand points to benefits over “the leading chocolate spread” including “no palm oil, no refined sugar, 75% less fat and half the calories”.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 53

focus on... spreads

Spread unevenly: top 10 spreads brands by value ● Spreads are in a jam.

Value has inched up just 0.4% on units down 0.3%. Still, it’s not all flat – there are plenty of duckers and divers to be found when you delve deeper into the figures. ● Rowse and Marmite have bagged the biggest gains of £2.6m and £1.3m respectively.

Rowse puts this down to advertising investment and promotions. The April launch of Marmite Peanut Butter was key to the latter’s growth. ● The trio of chocolate spreads launched by Gü in July 2018 have already racked up £1m.

This proves two things: shoppers still have an appetite for indulgent spreads and there’s room for challengers. ● That final point is reinforced by the growth of Pip & Nut, up £800k (74.1%), following major distribution gains for its kilo tubs and 400g jars. ● The gains of Gü, Pip

& Nut and fourth fastest grower Sun-Pat, up £900k (4.8%) thanks partly to deals that drove average price down 5.3%, have taken the shine off Nutella and Whole Earth’s (leaders of their respective categories) sales. They’re down £1.2m (2.4%) and £1.4m (6.1%) respectively. ● Whole Earth says its sponsorship of Team GB for the Olympic year will return it to growth. “Team GB is really something that makes you proud to be British and it’s a great opportunity,” says brand controller Kirstie Hawkins. “It’s really something we can all unite around.” And isn’t that something we all need right now?

Rowse (▲ 5.0%)

£54m Nutella (▼ 2.4%)

£48.4m Marmite (▲ 4.2%)

£31.5m Whole Earth (▼ 6.1%)

£21.0m Sun-Pat (▲ 4.8%)

£18.6m Meridian (▼ 0.8%)

£12.8m Bovril (▼ 0.6%)

£7.2m Princes (▲ 0.6%)

£5.1m Heinz Sandwich Spread (▼ 3.5%)

£3.2m Cadbury (▼ 5.8%) Nielsen Scantrack monitors weekly data from a national network of EPoS scanners to represent sales in grocery multiples, co-ops, multiple offlicences, independents, forecourts, convenience multiples, symbols and online grocery retailers.

to Team GB for the Olympic year,” says Hawkins. “This is something we are really excited about for a number of reasons. It’s a really good opportunity to boost awareness of the healthiness of the product, which is something athletes use as a natural, healthy source of protein. There’s also a huge opportunity around the vegan trend so next year we will be driving the plant-based protein message to get new people to shop the brand.”

Hawkins is adamant the peanut butter boom is far from over, despite growth slowing down from the 9.5% value and 4.2% volume gains we reported this time last year [Kantar 52 w/e 7 October 2018]. “There’s still so much potential in peanut butter,” she says.

“From the conversations we’re having with the trade, no one is expecting its growth to end now. We are still at just over 40% penetration but if you compare that to the States, they are at close to 70%. If we get all the elements right there is no reason why we can’t get there too.”

The question is who would benefit from such a growth in shopper numbers. Because 54 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

£2.7m Source: Nielsen 52 w/e 24 August 2019

smaller players are snapping keenly at the heels of Whole Earth and its ilk. One player that claims to have made huge progress in attracting new shoppers to the category is Pip & Nut, which has shot up a whopping 74.1% to £1.8m on units up 41.8%.

“We’re responsible for about 50% of category growth, so future growth in peanut butter is clearly about backing the right brand,” says founder Pip Murray, citing Kantar figures. “Seventy per cent of our growth is incremental. We’re a classic, millennial brand that is bringing in younger, healthier shoppers into the category.”

Many of these shoppers buy in bulk, which means the brand’s larger tubs are performing

“Innovation plays a huge role: consumers are on the lookout for something exciting”

For the full data, visit thegrocer.co.uk

particularly well. “We launched our kilo tubs in Sainsbury’s at the end of 2018, which has driven our growth and increased spend per shop,” reports Murray. “Kilos make up 15% of the nut butter category, growing at £2.1m [IRI]. We’ve accounted for 60% of that growth.

The amazing thing about our kilos is they’re incredibly expandable and have the highest frequency and repeat of our range.”

Flavour innovation is also crucial. Instead of promoting on price, Pip & Nut uses limitededition nut butters to attract shoppers. These include the festive Pumpkin Spiced Almond Butter, launched in September and replaced this month with a Blueberry Trail Mix variant (see p55). According to Murray, these limited editions typically drive a 70% uplift on base sales.

Focusing on NPD seems to be working for other brands, too. Hawkins says the Whole Earth Hazelnut Crunch and Dark Roasted Peanut Butters have been key launches of the past year.

Then there is arguably the biggest launch of them all: Marmite Peanut Butter (see p55).

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

The innovation helped the total Marmite brand rack up the second-greatest value gain in spreads over the past year of £1.3m (4.2%) on units up 1.7% [Nielsen].

Parent company Unilever is particularly keen to point out that half of Marmite Peanut Butter sales are incremental to the category, according to Aimia data. That was likely fuelled by the extensive media coverage (there was even a live taste test on This Morning). “The launch created a media frenzy with national newspapers reporting on the ground-breaking innovation and fans going wild on social media,” says Unilever marketing VP for foods & tea Hazel Detsiny.

Another brand looking to widen the appeal of peanut butter is Jackpot. Head of NPD Rupert Leigh wants to do this with innovative flavours such as wasabi and raspberry (see right), functionality (the brand launched Britain’s first CBD peanut butter last year) and sustainable credentials. On the latter front, Jackpot is the only peanut butter involved in Loop, a global e-commerce platform that aims to reduce single-use packaging by encouraging shoppers to return bottles, tubs and pots for reuse.

“Since January 2019, we’ve been pioneering a closed loop reusable packaging concept at Broadway Food Market in Hackney,” says Leigh. “This has driven repeat purchase and closed the loop for 50-plus customers who return their packaging each week. Closed loop is something older generations remember and younger people understand.”

USPs It’s increasingly important to have such a USP, says Hamish Renton, MD of consultancy HRA Global. He points to the jam market as further proof. Renton cites the decline of jam brands such as Hartley’s and Tiptree – down in value by 2.2% and 10.9% respectively – as evidence of the middle ground being squeezed.

Instead, retailers are pushing either cheaper own-label lines or more premium brands such as Bonne Maman, which is up 3.8% on units up 2.6% [Nielsen]. “It’s tough being an ‘ordinary’ jam right now,” he says.

“The victims are undifferentiated jams with neither provenance nor taste USPs.” Richard Duerr, marketing & sales director at branded and own-label preserves manufacturer Duerr’s, agrees. “Value growth in jam has been driven by consumers who are more and more discerning in their choices.

Therefore, quality is increasingly important.

Innovation also plays a huge part in this as consumers are on the lookout for something new and exciting to try.”

So the message is this: compete on price, innovation or a brand message. Just don’t fall into the middle of the road, or you might find yourself spread thinly.

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Duerr’s Artists Range Launch date: 2020 Manufacturer: Duerr’s Hot on the heels of family jam maker Duerr’s 2018 launch of a duo of Artists Marmalades comes this quartet of unusually flavoured preserves, in packaging designed by artists hailing from the brand’s home city of Manchester. The range (rsp: £1.99/340g), which Duerr’s contends will attract new shoppers into the category, comprises Strawberry & Elderflower, Raspberry & Orange, Blueberry & Lime and Ginger & Honey jams.

Raspberry and Wasabi Peanut Butters Launch date: November 2019 Manufacturer: Jackpot Jackpot began life in 2010 as a logo (Jackpot Motherf***ing Peanut Butter) on a T-shirt for clothing company APN Apparel. There was no peanut butter, and no intention to make any, until the cool kids started asking for it. So, in 2016, Jackpot was launched. These raspberry and wasabi flavoured lines (rsp: £7/500g) are the latest offering.

Marmite Peanut Butter Launch date: April 2019 Manufacturer: Unilever This one might be a bit old, but it’s still well worth a mention. The launch of Marmite Peanut Butter (rsp: £2.50/250g) last year represented an exciting new avenue for Britain’s third-biggest spread brand, into the fastgrowing peanut butter sector. The launch has helped Marmite rack up £1.3m growth (p54).

Blueberry Trail Mix Almond Butter Launch date: January 2020 Manufacturer: Pip & Nut The latest limited edition from Pip & Nut (rsp: £3.95/225g) is a blend of almond and sunflower and pumpkin seed butters with a trail mix of real blueberries, coconut and almond nibs. Pip & Nut says its limited-edition products, which have included Chocolate Orange and Cherry Bakewell almond butters, are among its bestsellers.

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 55

news people

I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

Thomas named JLP head of food & grocery Edward Devlin Waitrose commercial director Rupert Thomas has been named director of food and grocery for John Lewis Partnership, as part of the radical management restructure that will bring the two brands together from the start of next month.

His new role will give him responsibility for both Waitrose and John Lewis, and he will report to the new executive board led by incoming chairman Sharon White.

Thomas, who joined Waitrose from Sainsbury’s in 2003, is one of three members of the Waitrose board to survive the executive cull of the Future Partnership plan, masterminded by outgoing chairman Sir

i want that job

Charlie Mayfield.

Customer director Martin George is set to become director of marketing and IT director Mike Sackman has been appointed as chief information officer.

The new positions are understood to work in a similar way to the current Waitrose management

board, but all the roles will be working across Waitrose and John Lewis.

Waitrose MD Rob Collins, who helped develop the new strategy to align the two business more closely, is leaving at the end of this month as part of the shake-up.

Supply chain director Wim van Aalst is also

leaving, as reported by The Grocer in October last year, after the new plans were announced.

It isn’t yet clear if there are roles in the new structure for the remaining three members of the Waitrose board: digital director Ben Stimson, personnel director Jo Walmsley and finance director Ross Avery.

It was also announced this week that director for shop and trade Mark Gifford would leave the business.

A spokeswoman for JLP said more than 90% of leadership appointments had now been confirmed, with more details to be announced by Sharon White when she takes up her role at the start of February.

What was your first job?

Making sandwiches in the ITV studios cafeteria. Jeremy Kyle didn’t think I was nearly liberal enough with the cheese, though, so I only lasted two days.

What’s been your worst job interview? An interview for a garden centre café, called the Garden of Eatin’, where I failed the practical test of how to stack a dishwasher.

What was the first music single you bought? I’ve never bought one. Is that bad? Do people still buy singles? My first albums were The Spice Girls and Hanson.

How do you describe

your job to your mates?

Like Mad Men, only with less sexism and a little less liquor.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Coming up with a brilliant idea.

What is the least rewarding part? Finding out that someone else doesn’t like your brilliant idea.

What is your motto in life? When they go low, you go high.

If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? An office country retreat to de-stress and work poolside.

Do you have any phobias? A fear of being cold in board rooms with

non-adjustable air con.

If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? It’s an obvious one and rightly a hot topic, but we have to continue to work together to make grocery more sustainable.

What luxury would you have on a desert island?

A library of books, including some nonfiction idiot’s guide to survival manuals.

What animal reflects your personality? An online test tells me I’m a hummingbird, “symbolising the enjoyment of life and lightness of being, lifting up negativity whenever it creeps in”.

Rupert Thomas had been Waitrose commercial director

Baker & Taylor UK is the leading provider of books and gift stationery to UK retail markets.

It is looking for a national field sales manager, who will be responsible for its sales and merchandising team, for coaching and development, setting individual and team targets, and driving customer experience.

The ideal candidate will have sales, merchandising and management experience. See p58 to find out how to apply.

I can also fly backwards, which is pretty cool.

What’s your favourite film? Can I pretend this says book? I’m much better with books. Orlando

by Virginia Woolf as she defies time and gender constraints.

What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? Wetting myself in ballet class, neatly hidden by my tutu but apparently I left a puddle behind.

What would your death row meal be? An egg and cress sandwich, for the namesake, and because I’m a northerner and it’s always the cheapest sandwich in the shop.

my alternative cv

Cressida Holmes-Smith Client partner, Lucky Generals, on Jeremy Kyle, the Spice Girls and Virginia Woolf

56 | The Grocer | 18 January 2020

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how to hire

Pennycook appointed non-exec chairman of Boparan Holdings Kevin White 2 Sisters Food Group parent Boparan Holdings has appointed former Co-op CEO Richard Pennycook as non-executive chairman.

Pennycook, described as a “retail industry heavyweight” by 2 Sisters, succeeds former ITV CEO Lord Allen of Kensington and will chair the group’s board meeting later this month.

During almost nine years in the non-executive chairman role, Lord Allen helped steer Boparan Holdings through its acquisition of Northern Foods in 2011 to become “the successful, diversified food manufacturer it is today”, 2 Sisters said.

Pennycook is credited with rescuing the Co-op Bank

Pennycook joined the Co-op Group in 2014 at the height of a financial meltdown at the Co-op Bank, and is widely credited with saving the bank and revitalising the Co-op’s food business alongside current CEO Steve Murrells. He also won praise in 2016 when he requested a 60% drop in salary after saying his job had got easier as the

society had “turned a corner”.

After leaving the Co-op in 2017, Pennycook resumed a portfolio career, becoming chairman of the BRC and department store chain Fenwick and the lead non-exec board member at the Department of Education.

On his retirement from the business Lord Allen was praised by Boparan owner and president Ranjit Singh and thanked for his “wise counsel, support and leadership over the last nine years”.

Pennycook’s “knowledge, skills and experience of the sector will be invaluable as we continue to transform the business”, Singh said.

Lynch to step down as CEO of barcode standards group GS1 GS1 UK CEO Gary Lynch has announced he will retire from the barcode standards organisation by the end of the year.

Lynch joined in 2002 from Avaya and was appointed CEO in 2007.

“It’s been a hard decision, to give this all up,” he said. “I’ve decided to stick to my life plan and retire early at the end of 2020 to spend more time with my family and friends, and I plan to take up a non-exec directorship role or two.”

During his tenure, membership has more

Gary Lynch joined in 2002 and was made CEO in 2007

than trebled to nearly 40,000.

Lynch led GS1 UK’s expansion into the healthcare sector in 2002.

GS1 standards have now been mandated across every NHS acute trust.

More recently he oversaw

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the growth of product data platform and catalogue ProductDNA. More than half of the retail grocery market has now committed to building the cross-industry platform, which will contain more than 170 product attributes, including weight, dimensions and customs, excise and VAT requirements, GS1 UK said. Sainsbury’s, Unilever, Waitrose, Nestlé, Tesco, P&G, Ocado and General Mills have already signed up.

A search for a new CEO is now underway.

Jonathan Fitchew

My 10-year challenge: how the past decade changed how we work

A

s we enter a new decade, a big trend on social media has been for people to compare their 2009 and 2019 selves. What has happened to them over the decade? Did they complete a degree, move countries, get married, get divorced, have a first child or change career?

So much can happen in the space of 10 years.

This approach of personal reflection got me thinking about how many changes I’ve lived through with my business alone. We enter our 25th year this January, but even since 2010 the disruption of industry has been immense.

Many changes have been positive – finally, seeing women leading businesses isn’t an anomaly. Since 2010 both the number of women on FTSE 100 boards and the amount of VC funding for female founders has doubled. The egalitarian workplace will continue to rise, and I look forward to this continuing, positive shift.

Undeniably, tech and IT has been a huge focus of the decade just gone. The rollout of 4G networks began globally in 2010. Combined with the advent of the smartphone, this was the catalyst for so much industry change. We could find out how people operated, what they wanted and use data to deliver in unprecedented ways.

B2B tools such as Skype, Slack, HubSpot and others have made it conceivable for businesses to operate globally and remotely without cost.

Attitude, too, has also dramatically shifted.

When I began my company in 1995, many people were ‘lifers’. While we have supported many people to find jobs that they have stayed with, in some cases for as many as 21 years, the reality is that people now change jobs regularly. Whether this is for a total career change, to pursue a new opportunity or just to experience change and new people, it is more common for people to move on. In a survey in 2018 by Deloitte, 43% of millennials were planning to leave their current jobs within two years, with the average tenure about eight years. This is a particularly important reflection for my company, and for anyone looking to hire and retain the best talent.

Gen Z, and over the next decade gen alpha, will have completely different expectations of work.

They’ve grown up in a world with exposure to these advancing technologies and are well versed in change and disruption. We must prepare for this workforce. I wonder what we will be saying in 2030 when we reflect back on 2020?

Jonathan Fitchew is CEO of Pareto Law

18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 57

bogof

Tiresome loudmouth Piers Morgan was predictably full of outrage as Greggs launched its vegan steak bake at the start of the month.

The TV presenter labelled the product a “con”, going on to ramble about meat terminology, almond production and, er, how French people are good looking.

So is Morgan secretly working as a reverse-psychological plant-based shill? Apparently covert snaps of him browsing the meat-free section at

Alison Jackson

‘Piers Morgan’ nabbed in vegan sting

FOOD RETAIL EXPORT IMPORT & TRADE MINISTER

I

Unlikely sight: ‘Piers Morgan’ browses the meat-free aisle

Tesco seem to suggest so.

Of course, it’s not him – rather a (more handsome) lookalike, photographed by artist Alison Jackson, who has made her name with such doppelgänger-based trickery.

Veggie brand Naked Hermione McCosh

Spread the love for marmalade In the bleakness of January, an orangey light emerges in the form of a spread that can ‘bring people together’.

That’s the claim made by the organisers of the World’s Original Marmalade Awards, now open for entries – which come in from 40 countries. It has even inspired the formation of women’s co-ops in Senegal, who plan to sell their product

DONNA PUMSEY

Orange crush: a taste of the award contenders so far

commercially to fund education projects.

All entry fees go to charity, of course. Could it be any more heartwarming? You don’t get this with Marmite.

Glory, which staged the stunt, reckons its ‘meaty’ range could tempt even the snowflake king himself: “You simply won’t be able to resist cheating on meat this Veganuary,” it says. “Even if you’re Piers Morgan.”

Wilko in hot water for sauce Wilko found itself in hot water over a hot sauce this week. A pack sold by the discounter contained one titled ‘My Outback is Burning’. The label carried the image of a (cartoon) kangaroo with its tail on fire. Chuckle!

Wilko has withdrawn it and said sorry. The label was probably conceived a while ago, to be fair – you know, when burning wildlife was funny.

f there’s one thing that proves this government has got off on the right foot in its aim to cut social inequality, pleblets, it’s surely the recent performance of the top grocers. It’s sad news indeed to see Roger ‘Slash And’ Burnley taking the knife to another chunk of the Asda back office, but nonetheless heartening that Fortnum & Mason posted a record Christmas.

Call me naïve, but I reckon this can only mean that Britain’s army of noble C2s and Ds are flocking away from Rodge’s hangars and towards that wonderful Piccadilly emporium.

While it’s true that food bank usage is rising, surely it doesn’t matter too much if one’s foie gras or Maldonado acorn-fed Iberico ham are a day or two past their best? I’m assuming Fortnum’s hand over their surplus to the Knightsbridge Food Bank. Don’t they?

Closer to home (Mayfair – obvs), it is rather looking as if my inspiring boss Theresa Villiers is headed for a new role that better suits her abilities in dear Dominic’s brave new world. I’ve heard Aberystwyth Council is in desperate need of a new head of sanitation. In any case, your devoted public servant Donna has been asked to take over all of Theresa’s high-priority ongoing projects at Defra, so I’m filing my nails furiously and considering if Huawei should be allowed to bid for Northumbria’s lucrative sheep dip contracts.

Oh yes, and there’s Br*xit. Well, the chemistry between Boris and the new EC supremo Ursula von der Leyen seems to have picked up where BoJo’s relationship with Juncker left off. It may be time to book your warehouse space for next January. Just sayin’.

ad of the week: Young’s Seafood’s ‘Masters of Fish’ make a splash Young’s Seafood faces a totemic rival when it comes to ads: Captain Birdseye. The cheerful seafarer is as famous as they come. And since 2018 he’s even been kinda handsome, too!

Discarding its Rupert Everett-voiced posh cat, Young’s is starting the 2020s with a more aggressive new tack.

‘Masters of Fish’ sees shoppers perched atop a seaside rock, clutching

tridents like Aquaman.

A bold voiceover details the impressive Young’s fish-containing meals they create – a scampified salad and a gym bunny protein boost among them. One SKU apparently helps Sarah “seal the deal every date night” – quite a claim.

It’s good fun, anyway – as refreshing as the sea spray that splashes over the ad’s mealtime masters.

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18 January 2020 | The Grocer | 61