Sandwich & Snack News - Issue 145

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Sandwich snack news INTERNATIONAL

www.sandwich.org.uk

issue 145 MAY 2013

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INSIDE EDITOR SIMON AMBROSE t: 01291 636343 e: editorial@papa.org.uk

ADVERTISING PAUL STEER t: 01291 636342 e: paul@jandmgroup.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS TONY LORIMER t: 01291 636333 tony@sandwich.org.uk

CONTENTS NEWS Page 5 - The British Sandwich Association has unveiled plans to attempt a new World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously making a sandwich in a five minute time period, as part of its British Sandwich Week activity this month May (12th-18th).

NEWS FOCUS Page 16 - Pret A Manger plans to create at least 500 new jobs in the UK this year, as part of a plan to add 1,000 new staff worldwide. Its announcement came as it reported a 17% rise in profits to £61.1m in 2012, with sales also up by 17% to £443m.

Page 18 - Some fascinating research on the comparative merits of buying in or making food to go by SSP Supply Chain & Technical Manager David Jones, confirms the conventional wisdom that full shelves drive sales SANDWICH MANUFACTURING Page 22 - He founded two major sandwich manufacturing companies and has been one of the key figures in making the sandwich industry what it is today. Now Tony Cleaver, until recently The Sandwich Factory’s Managing Director, looks back at his long career in the trade, in an exclusive two-part series PROFILES Page 12 - Birleys have always set something of a benchmark for competitors in London. Their new flagship near Liverpool Street station – their 12th shop in total - puts them on a new pedestal and proves that the traditional sarnie shop can still hold its own against trendy international food-to-go.

Page 36 - The recent London opening of Balthazar, Keith McNally’s highly successful New York restaurant, has been a hugely publicised event. Less well known is its Balthezar Bakery next door, selling wonderful sandwiches and salads.

Juliet Shield paid a call Page 44 - If ever there was a good example of a top sandwich bar in action it’s The Serious Sandwich in Chichester, where a deli background has given owners Trevor and Cindy Webber a taste for top ingredients.

THE SAMMIES Page 26 - Sandwich Designer of the Year heat results Page 32 - The Sammies Shortlist

MANAGING EDITOR SIMON AMBROSE, Tel: 01291 636343 e-mail: editorial@papa.org.uk ADVERTISING PAUL STEER, t: +44 (0) 1291 636342 e-mail: paul@jandmgroup.co.uk PRODUCTION AND DESIGN JAYSON BERRY, t: +44 (0) 1291 636339 e: jayson@jandmgroup.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS TONY LORIMER t: +44 (0) 1291 636333 e-mail: tony@sandwich.org.uk ©Published by J&M Group 2006.

Association House, 18c Moor Street, Chepstow, Monmouthshire NP16 5DB In association with The British Sandwich Association.

PHONE +44 (0) 1291 636338 FAX +44 (0) 1291 630402 WEB www.sandwich.org.uk EMAIL info@sandwich.org.uk Paper used in the production of this publication is sourced from sustainable managed forests

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NEWS

Greggs halve new openings programme Greggs is halving the number of new store openings this year after a fall in profits.

The group blames poor weather and the economic downturn for a 2.7 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the year to December 29.

The news comes as an indicator of just how bad marketplace trading conditions are in general, with Greggs considently turning in profits for as long as anyone can remember until now.

New chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “Last year we had the worst weather in 100 years. If you don’t pop out and buy a sandwich on Monday, you won’t buy two on Tuesday.

Once we’ve lost a sale, we’ve lost a sale. We’re confident

that with the plans in place we’ll see an improving trend this year... The drop in profits is not the new normal.”

The addition of 121 new shops last year saw sales increasing overall by 4.8 per cent to £735m. But annual pre-tax profits fell by 2.2 per

Birmingham Hippodrome sandwich bar closes after 30 years Birmingham Hippodrome’s wellknown sandwich bar – The Sandwich Bar – has closed after 30 years because of a site development.

Pat Round’s celebrity customers over the years included Joe Pasquale, John Barrowman, Ken Dodd, Jimmy Cricket and the late Danny La Rue, who was so satisfied with the service he sent staff a Christmas card in 1998.

Site owners RVB Investments have been given planning permission to build an office entrance through the sandwich bar.

Pat said: “We had a big petition signed by lots of people which even included staff at the Royal Ballet.

So much for the council supporting small businesses. I am not ready to stop yet. I’ve been so busy and this has happened so quickly I don’t know what I’m going to do next.”

Before Pat left, staff at the Birmingham Hippodrome gave her some flowers – and ordered sandwiches for the last time.

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cent fell to £51.9m. Snow in January resulted in a 4.0 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to March 16.

The group also completed 118 shop refurbishments, while closing 21 stores. It said it will return to a more normal level of between 50

to 60 new openings, net of closures.

Following the drop in high street footfall, Greggs is now shifting its sites to retail and industrial parks, motorway service stations and travel hubs.

“We are opening stores where people live, work or travel,” said Mr Whiteside.

“Over half of new stores were in these locations last year, not the high street. This year 75 per cent of new stores will be in these sort of places.”

He added that the group is not turning its back on the high street. “There will be net expansion on the high street,” he said. “Most of our shops - most of our best shops - are on the high street.”

New sandwich bar opens in a converted Victorian loo A new sandwich bar – The Attendant – has opened in a converted Victorian gentleman's toilet in the heart of Fitzrovia, London after extensive £100,000 renovations, including a jet wash!

Built around 1890 and mothballed in the 1960s, the Attendant has been dormant for more than fifty years.

After two-years planning and restoration the Attendant’s office has been turned into a kitchen and the original porcelain urinals are now table tops with green seating to match the original Victorian floor tiles.

There are 10 covers downstairs, and a Curbside service up on the street.

Peter Tomlinson took redundancy from his marketing job

and has ploughed much of his money into converting the former public toilet near Oxford Circus.

He told the BBC: "Everything has been jet washed and the soil stacks have been concreted and capped. It smells beautiful down here now."

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NEWS

BSA plans a sandwich making World Record attempt THE British Sandwich Association has unveiled plans to attempt a new World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously making a sandwich in a five minute time period, as part of its British Sandwich Week activity this month May (12th-18th).

The record breaking attempt will take place at Media City, Salford Quays on May 14th and the BSA is confident of attracting enough people to beat the previous record of 308 people, set by restaurant chain Café Rouge.

BSA Director Jim Winship explains: "We were keen that the association should do something a little bit different during this year's British Sandwich Week, to follow up our 250th anniversary celebrations in 2012, and this world record attempt will give us a great opportunity to showcase everything that's great about the sandwich industry.

"We are confident that we can beat the current record by a considerable margin and have already got hundreds of participants from amongst our membership signed up to come up to Salford to participate in the attempt and are also hoping to get lots of people from the local area to join us as well.

"This year's British Sandwich Week activity will be very much focused on encouraging people to make time for a short lunch break. There's lots of evidence about the benefits of taking time away from

your desk, having something to eat and enjoying some fresh air, and we hope by asking people to join us to set a new world record in their lunch break we can really reinforce the message."

In addition to the World Record attempt, the British Sandwich Association has also teamed up with its multiple and independent retailers to give away 1,000 ‘free lunches' as part of a nationwide ‘Love Lunch' promotion on its www.lovesarnies.com consumer website during May. The Café Rouge world record saw 308 people successfully make their own hummus, red pepper and rocket baguettes within the five minutes allowed, smashing the existing record of 253.

A second record was also broken – the largest number of people to consecutively open a bottle – with 309 people beating the old record of 303.

Asked why sandwiches were chosen for the record breaking attempt, Café Rouge area manager Alex Sheldon said: “Sandwiches is what we do. We make sandwiches at Café Rouge.

We chose something that was on our menu – so it seemed the logical thing to do for us.”

An early version of a visual for the World Record attempt - a number of changes to the format were made subsequently

Importers to the sandwich industry

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NEWS

Tuna sandwiches lead to food poisoning outbreak at Edinburgh College Edinburgh College, the NHS and city council environmental health officers have been working to establish the cause of a food poisoning outbreak, linked to a batch of tuna sandwiches sold in the campus canteen.

Nine students and a lecturer were taken from Edinburgh College’s Granton campus to hospital with suspected scombroid food poisoning after eating the sandwiches.

Witnesses told how the victims were vomiting and struggling to breathe, and said their faces suddenly turned “swollen, red and blotchy”.

All have subsequently left the hospital.

College chiefs said they thought the tuna was to blame, with an investigation set to also involve NHS and environmental

health teams.

A city council spokeswoman said tests were under way on the spoiled tuna.

“Our environmental health officers are working with NHS Lothian following reported cases of food poisoning. We have taken food samples for testing from Edinburgh College and will work with them to establish the source of the issue.”

Scombroid food poisoning is an illness caused by eating spoiled or decayed fish – usually mackerel, tuna, bluefish, sardines, anchovies and related species, inadequately refrigerated or preserved after being caught.

Symptoms can begin any time up to two hours after eating the fish. The most common are rash, diarrhoea, flushing, sweating, headache, and vomiting.

Subway launch new low fat flatbreads Subway has launched a new range of nine low fat flatbreads, under 400 calories and lower in salt than the standard ranges, in line with the Department of Health’s Calorie Reduction and Salt Reduction pledges.

They replace the existing wrap product, offering consumers a healthier alternative. The flatbread is lower in calories, fat, saturates, sugar and salt and contains more fibre than the wrap without compromising on taste, it says.

The brand has embarked on a £2 million multichannel marketing campaign to support the launch. The options include: Turkey Breast, Chicken Breast, Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, Turkey Breast & Ham, Chicken Tikka, Ham, Veggie Delite, Beef and Subway Club.

Pret blames rising costs for coffee price hike Pret A Manger has blamed an increase in costs for key ingredients such as organic milk, and transport, for a massive price hike for some of its coffee choices, up by 11p a cup to £2.10.

The 11p rise applies to lattes and cappuccinos, as well as a cup of flat white, and hot chocolate.

Meanwhile, the price of an extra shot of espresso has risen from 20p to 30p.

The changes are part of a strategy by the firm to have a single price for its drinks through all 240 of its outlets, rather than changing them according to what the local market will stand.

A spokesman said: ‘Over recent years the cost of what goes into our hot drinks has gone up, from the organic milk we use to the fuel to deliver the component parts.

‘We do everything that we can to keep our prices stable, but to ensure we are able to continue to pay our suppliers a fair price we have had to increase our prices on this occasion.

‘We have now moved to a single price across the whole of the UK, so no matter which shop customers visit they will always pay the same price.’

Sandwiches laced with rat poison in German factory

EAT profits halved last year The sandwich and coffee chain Eat saw its profits more than halve last year, according to The Independent.

The company reported a pre-tax profit of £1.1m during the year ending 28 June, compared with £2.7m the year before.

Turnover rose almost 9 per cent to £94.9m after the company opened eight new stores during the period.

The chain is backed by the private equity firm Lyceum Capital.

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25 people have been hospitalized in Germany after eating sandwiches laced with rat poison.

The filled rolls were left on the doorstep of Mueller Technik, a car parts company in the northwestern town of Steinfeld, Lower Saxony, on Tuesday morning.

The box of sandwiches was accompanied by a note saying they were a gift and inviting employees to help themselves.

Employees started eating the sandwiches, which were filled with cheese and sausage. It was only in the afternoon that one of the

workers noticed a strange substance on them, and contacted the police.

A total of 150 emergency personnel were dispatched to attend to the victims and everyone who had eaten a roll was hospitalized.

Berlin laboratory test results confirmed that the free sandwiches had been sprinkled with rat poison. "We don't believe the amount of poison used would have been deadly, but it could have caused serious illness," said a spokesman.

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NEWS

Jackson’s search for the Ultimate Yorkshire Sandwich JACKSON’S Bakery has embarked on a search to find Yorkshire’s sandwich superstar.

The team at Jackson’s want to seek out fillings that capture ‘Yorkshireness’ and come together to make the perfect lunchtime snack between slices of their own Yorkshire’s Champion bloomer – the latest addition to the Jackson’s stable.

The company is urging residents across the county to suggest fillings they feel reflect their region and make a perfect sandwich.

The suggestions, which judges feel capture the essence of their area, will go forward into an online poll, and the filling with the most votes will be crowned the Ultimate Yorkshire Sandwich during British Sandwich Week (12th18th May).

Jackson’s marketing coordinator Katie Seddon explained the idea behind the county-wide competition: “Yorkshire’s Champion is unique in that the wheat is grown, the flour is milled and the bread is baked in

Yorkshire. Naturally, we want people to try it, but we also want them to get involved and show us how this great bread can be made even better.

“We’re encouraging those living in Yorkshire to tell us which fillings they think represent their part of the county and also make a delicious sandwich. We’re looking for suggestions from across the region, and if there’s a Yorkshire ingredient that sandwich fans feel makes the ideal filling, we want to

know about it.

“We’re going to announce the winner during British Sandwich Week and the successful fillings will win a month’s supply of Yorkshire’s Champion and a hamper of luxury goodies for the culinary masterminds behind them.”

So which Yorkshire ingredients might go into the Ultimate Yorkshire Sandwich?

The cuisine of Yorkshire is diverse and varies from region to region, so a recipe

Deli celebrates its Po’ Boy Sandwich LIVERPOOL restaurant and deli Delifonseca Dockside has been celebrating its Po’ Boy sandwich as part of a week long festival.

The shop planned to sell as many Po’ Boys as possible in an attempt to serve their 10,000th sandwich.

The team, located at Brunswick Dock, has featured the New Orleans’ classic on its menu ever since the brand first opened its doors on Stanley Street seven years ago.

Served in a crusty French style

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baguette, the sandwich, traditionally a New Orleans speciality, is filled with slow cooked beef, braised for hours in a rich beef stock and "dressed" with tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise.

Delifonseca Dockside's blackboard menu showcased a special sharing ‘Po’Boy Platter’ featuring three types of filled baguettes; slow cooked beef, fried shrimp and pulled free range pork served with a mound of chunky chips.

from the West Riding might include rhubarb, curry or perhaps even liquorice! East Riding and coastal areas might include a fish-based filling or a good old chip butty, while suggestions from the south of the county may include pikelets (a regional pancake/oatcake hybrid, originally made in North Staffordshire but now associated with South Yorkshire), Yorkshire curd, Henderson’s Relish or mushy peas.

Those wishing to put forward their ideas are asked to visit the Yorkshire’s Champion Facebook page to register their Ultimate Yorkshire Sandwich; images of the sandwiches are also welcomed. www.facebook.com/Jacksons ChampionBread Yorkshire’s Champion is said to be the first ever sliced bloomer that boasts a true Yorkshire provenance, baked in Hull, with flour milled in Driffield and wheat grown only in Yorkshire. The bread is available in three varieties – white, seeded and brown

Seddon Property wins Pret contract STOKE-on-Trent painting and decorating specialist Seddon Property Services has won a major contract with sandwich chain Pret A Manger.

Over the next 12 months Seddon will work with Pret which has more than 240 UK stores - providing out-of-hours painting and decorating services to ensure its shops, which sell handmade sandwiches and salads, look their best.

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BRITISH SANDWICH WEEK

BRITISH SANDWICH WEEK:

The most frenetic yet!

From sandwich competitions to a World Record Attempt, British Sandwich Week is going to be even bigger than usual.

Simon Ambrose reports

B

ritish Sandwich Week (12th to 18th May), always a busy time for the sandwich industry, looks like being the most frenetic yet, with a host of events planned, including a new World Record attempt!

The focus this year is a campaign to encourage people across the UK to ‘Love Lunch' after BSA research showed that almost 60% of adults admit to eating lunch at their desk at least once a week and well over a quarter to taking less than the legal 20 minute break.

The results of the survey also showed that people in the South West and Wales currently take the shortest average lunch break and those in Scotland and Northern Ireland the longest.

With only a third of us managing to find somewhere nice to sit and relax and enjoy our lunch and over 20% admitting to often skipping lunch, it would appear that the UK is lagging well behind the rest of Europe when it comes to lunch breaks.

BSA Director Jim Winship explains: "Whilst UK employment legislation means employees are entitled to a minimum of a 20 minutes break if they are working for six hours or more, it would seem that people are simply not making the most of the time.

"We want to use this year's British Sandwich Week to remind people about the benefits of taking time away from their place of work, grabbing a nutritious lunch and, weather willing, enjoying some fresh air."

To encourage consumers to take time for lunch, the British Sandwich Association has teamed up with sandwich retailers across the UK to give

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away 1,000 ‘free lunches' on its www.lovesarnies.com website this month as part of the ‘Love Lunch' campaign.

The British Sandwich Week programme started in April with consumers invited to vote on their favourite sandwich (www.lovesarnies.com), supported by a press and social media campaign, with A4 posters in stores around the UK. “We know that sandwich shops sell more chicken sandwiches than any other variety, but is this an accurate reflection of British tastes?” asks Jim Winship, Director of the British Sandwich Association.

British Sandwich Week also includes an attempt on the World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously making a sandwich in the same place.

It will take place on Tuesday 14th May in Manchester and the plan is to not just beat but smash the current World Record, currently held by Café Rouge, who involved 309 people in making sandwiches in aid of Comic Relief.

But the momentum will be sustained right through the week, with the UK’s top sandwich creatives battling it out in the Sandwich Designer of the Year competition on May 16th, following a series of regional heats throughout the UK.

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On the same day there’s the announcement of this year’s winners for the ‘Sammies’ (the British Sandwich Industry Awards) which recognises the ‘movers and shakers’ in this fast-moving industry.

All the results will be announced at the gala dinner in London on the same day.

As ever, British Sandwich Week will create a stir not just in sandwich bars and businesses, but in workplaces, restaurants, pubs, schools and even nurseries throughout the UK, with special promotions and activities.

Pre-school children in a number of Busy Bees nursery locations, for example, such as Farnborough and Welwyn Garden City, will be working together to design and make their own sandwiches.

They will be looking at different types of fillings they can have, the different types of bread they could use and what shapes they can cut their sandwiches into.

At the end of the week there will a tasting session and the winning sandwich will be made for the children's tea.

Colston Bassett Dairy is running a competition asking entrants to tweet, email or post on Facebook their favourite Stilton sandwich filling ideas – focusing on original and interesting recipes. There will be four winners announced each week throughout May, all winning a piece of Colston Bassett Stilton and Shropshire Blue!.

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PROFILE

Birleys open a New City flagship shop Birleys have always set something of a benchmark for competitors in London. Their new flagship near Liverpool Street station – their 12th shop in total - puts them on a new pedestal and proves that the traditional sarnie shop can still hold its own against trendy international food-to-go.

Simon Ambrose talks to Paul Salter, managing director

I have to admit that now and again I worry that sandwich bars’ appeal might be waning a little as customers chase new and trendy food to go options.

Could it be that sandwich bars are starting to be seen as old-hat, a bit oldfashioned?

There’s no doubt that the ‘humble’ sarnie, as it’s invariably described these days, is having to compete against fashionable new food to go formats, particularly in metropolitan locations. On the one hand there’s the Far Eastern concepts –sushi and the Vietnamese bahnmi, as well as noodle bars; then there’s made to order salad bars – all heralded, rightly or wrongly, as more healthy and lower-calorie options. There’s the Mexican operators with burritos and other cuisine springing up all over the place.

The list is getting longer by the day as other new

“I suspect their retro look and oldfashioned values are signalling what might be called a renaissance of the traditional sandwich here” cuisines come into play.

Does the sandwich really stand a chance against all this variety of choice?

Well, I’m more than reassured that there’s a bright future after visiting Birley’s latest sandwich bar opening in Old Broad Street, London – their new flagship.

If proof was ever needed, this vast new traditional sandwich shop – the result of knocking two former units into one – has been pulling in office workers in their droves since opening in March, with up to 1,000 customers a day.

The mainly office-based customers don’t have a lot of time to spare during their lunch breaks, but they still seem more than happy

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to wait for a few minutes for their made to order toasted sandwiches.

They’re opting for Birleys’ legendary quality, in spite of the huge competition clustered around this corner location near Liverpool Street station. Just opposite is an Itzu and there’s a Wasabi a bit further down; round the corner there’s a Japanese shop selling oriental sandwiches; a bit further on Pret and a Costa; Holland and Barratt are also selling sandwiches.

True, Birleys is a wellknown and longestablished brand and mark of quality in London, particularly in the Canary Wharf and Docklands areas. But even so, I suspect their retro look and

old-fashioned values are signalling what might be called a renaissance of the traditional sandwich here.

Just a gut instinct, but I think what we’re seeing here is a backlash against the wave of what are effectively light eats.

Paul Salter, managing director, is equally excited with the new format which will now provide the benchmark for the three or so more openings that have been planned over the next few years.

“We secured the site two years ago and the work has really been going on since then, so it’s been a long time coming but we finally opened in mid-March and it’s been worth the wait it’s gone really, really well -

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PROFILE

better than we’d hoped.

“In some ways we see ourselves almost stepping back in time with this one; where we’ve opened on Canary Wharf, they’ve been a bit more modern, but coming back to an old city corner, with old-style canopies and such like, is something we haven’t done for a long time.

“I must admit that I lay awake for two weeks before the opening. You believe it’s one of the best locations in the city; the site felt right, but you can still never be quite sure. It was a ‘do you still want us?’ moment really.

“But when we opened and the customers started to flood in it felt as if we had achieved something

pivotal. I sat here all day on the first day and it was a real mixture of pride and relief for me.

“It feels like this is a switchback in time which has been really welcomed.

If you opened this up in Paris it wouldn’t look out of place. It’s like one of the last bastions of the traditional sandwich bar and I think it shows there’s plenty of life still left in the sandwich yet.

“The office population is telling us that there is not a proper traditional sandwich bar here and that there’s still a real need for a good old fashioned sandwich.”

I can see what he means about Paris. The interior fit-out is just extraordinary

with no expense spared, and a mix of both retro and modern with wood, marble and stainless steel.

In fact, it’s the most expensive fit-out they’ve ever done, and that’s saying something for a company which has always been known for its stylish interiors.

The vast run of gleaming stainless and glass counters are bespoke and made for them in Italy; there’s a huge poster for the ‘Belle du jour’ French film on the wall, and a blackboard menu inlaid in a vast copper clad extractor at the back of the kitchen. Two huge agate effect inverted dome light fittings hang from the ceiling and the centerpiece

is a vast tiled mural at the back of the wall featuring an artisan bakery scene.

Staff are in immaculate black aprons with matching stylish ‘thunderbird’ style hats, all attentive and smiling The shop’s vast linear run features three distinct areas: made-to-order speciality bread sandwiches, bespoke salads, and a soup servery a format that’s evolved over the 25 or so years Birleys have been in business, as Paul explains: “The big changes over the years have seen us moving from just being a deli sandwich and carvery offer to include soup and salads over the years.

“Salads have become increasingly important to us over the years. One of our most successful stores has been our soup and salads shop in Canary Wharf; it’s just a small kiosk size, but turnover has gone up over the years to £1.1m , selling just in lunch times mainly over five days a week.

“So we now have a three-pronged attack in terms of the offer in the city stores, out of a possible choice of four available to us including the carvery.

“First of all there’s the deli sandwich component.

We’ve been very aware that we need to stick to our core offer of ‘made-infront-of-the-customer’, rather than grab and go.

“With us its it’s not speed that’s essential, although we obviously try to be as quick as we can; it’s always going to take a minute or two too have your sandwich toasted- and that’s all part of the ambience. If you want it straight out of the chiller you’ve probably come to the wrong place. We have a few pre-made sandwiches

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PROFILE

on the three-hour rule basis, but don’t do too much because, on the whole, chilling really kills the taste.

“Then there’s soups, which are now very strong for us with six to seven different kinds available each day; and over the last three to four years we’ve been doing increasingly well with the made to order salad offer. They all contribute to turnover in more or less equal measure.

“The carvery offer has become a little bit more specialist and tends to be

about 90% male in terms of take-up. There’s such a huge mixed footfall on this site that we needed to appeal to a broad audience.”

Carveries have worked well for Birleys in their Paternoster Square location, and also their newish seventh floor inhouse shop at the JP Morgan HQ offices, in Canary Wharf.

Amazingly, Birleys are the only wholly-owned independent operation still left in the marketplace – all of its competitors have been bought fully or in-

part by venture capital companies. As Paul points out, the injection of a couple of million has given them more stores, but at the same time a loss of control of their own destiny “We’ve been approached but we’ve no intention of going down that route.”

Many readers will know that Birleys was set up by Robin Birley – son of Annabel’s night-club founder Mark Birley.

Robin, although instrumental in establishing the high design standards of the original stores, has been largely hands-off on the operational side.

Shops in docklands now include Churchill Place, Cabot Place West, Canada Place Mall, and at JP Morgan in Canary Wharf; a soup and salads bar in

Cabot Place West, Salt Beef bar in Canada Wharf and a baguette bar in Canada Wharf.

But they’re starting to become a major presence in the city again with the opening last October of New Street Square and the new Old Broad Street opening this March, adding to the existing delivery service, Paternoster Square, Copthall Avenue and Essex Street sites.

The Copthall Avenue site was a relocation forced on them as a result of a compulsory purchase on their Moorfield Site – their first shop - in 2010.

“Copthall Avenue was close by; we incentivised existing customers who were faced with crossing two roads and going up a side street. We put a large chunk of the relocation allowance into refitting the new store and it has done amazingly well. It’s actually ended up turning over more at the new site than on the previous site.”

It’s fair to say that the business has had something of a roller-coaster ride in recent years, which has meant that expansion has been frustratingly gradual in net terms.

One interesting diversion was when the company decided to open in San Francisco in 2000, with both Paul Salter and operations manager Dean Kelly relocating for a time.

“We initially bought a business in Seattle which didn’t trade under our name and didn’t really work out, and then we opened in San Francisco.

That went very well until the dot.com bubble burst.

“But then we got the opportunity to expand with two shops in Canary Wharf. I was going back and forward and that wasn’t working for me.

When to got to six stores

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e

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PROFILE in the UK I came back to head it up. We then sold the San Francisco shop and name to a local chef we knew and one of our managers stayed over there. The move over there seemed a good idea at the time, but proved to be a massive diversion.”

It let the lease expire at its ExCel site, because customer fluctuations were too unpredictable and unmanageable.

“One day we were making £500 and the next day it was £5,000. It was impossible to predict. We probably came out of it OK over the seven years we were there, but it was a major distraction at times, so we decided to let it go and concentrate on our core business.”

They also took a wrong turn by moving into the Westfield shopping centre.

“The site turned out to be a huge mistake for us - the shopfitting costs were double what they were supposed to be – but we believed that we could extend our usual format of providing food to go for office staff to providing for retail shoppers. It didn’t work out and we won’t be making that mistake again,” says Paul ruefully.

After those setbacks, caution has been the watchword with expansion, but expand they have successfully and it’s been an extremely busy

“If you opened this up in Paris it wouldn’t look out of place. It’s like one of the last bastions of the traditional sandwich bar” four years, increasing the turnover now to between £10- £11m, with around 200 employees.

“It’s taken its time to get there, with many a turn along the way. In 2009 we said we wanted t0 have 12 stores by 2012 and we’ve done it. We’ve got to be where we wanted to be.

But this is the first time in four years that I can sit here and say everything is where we wanted it to be from top to bottom.”

Expansion has been largely self-financed with low gearing as a result.

Unusually after all the bad press the banks have had recently, Paul has nothing but praise for the way Barclays has supported them over the years. “In

Tel: 01992 641641 email: sales@martinmathew.co.uk www.martinmathew.co.uk

spite of the recession the bank has been keen for us to expand. We’ve had a great relationship with them.”

The recession has also helped in terms of making some good sites available.

“We probably fit into their model of good businesses that have performed well, that they can support.”

As well as open new shops, they’ve also ‘upspec’d’ the shop fit-outs– all the counters are all bespoke, made in Italy.

They have also completely stripped out and refurbished the Cabot Place shop on Canary Wharf. But at the same time they’ve been at pains to retain the shops’ old values.

Systems have also undergone a thorough overhaul to be able to cope with the massive rise in staff.

They have also relocated the Central Production Unit, which they had outgrown, from Poplar, Canary Wharf, to Canning Town a year ago. The 2,500 sq ft unit has a training facility for staff, as well as a state of the art kitchen. “It’s been a huge cost, but it’s given us a massive advantage. We could probably double in size as a company and still be using it comfortably.”

So what now? “What we are really thinking now is that we are going to trim the menu and focus on food for a while after such a hectic time.

“But having said that, over the next three years or so it’s likely that we will open three more city stores on the same model as Old Broad Street and a similar size.

“We also have half an eye on looking for a shop in Mayfair, Robin’s area.

But it will probably be more of a very upmarket cafeteria with a patisserie element. We need to adapt what we do and also to capture more of the evening market as well.

“But we will carry on being cautious – we don’t need to rush and you only need one or two bad shops to spoil it for the rest.”

We offer an extensive range of premium quality ingredients for the Sandwich & Snack market.

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Pret A Manger plans to create 500 new jobs P

ret A Manger plans to create at least 500 new jobs in the UK this year, with 1,000 new staff added worldwide.

Its announcement came as it reported a 17% rise in profits to £61.1m in 2012, with sales also up by 17% to £443m.

The company has maintained robust growth in the first quarter of 2013 despite the economic uncertainty in many of its markets.

Chief executive Clive Schlee said 2012 had been a "strong year" for the firm. He also responded to criticism that the firm was not hiring enough UK citizens, saying it had 15% more British employees this year than last year.

The group - which was bought by private equity fund Bridgepoint in 2008 - has 323 stores, mainly in the UK, but with others in Hong Kong, the United States and France.

It plans to open another 50 new shops worldwide this year, up from 36 new launches last year.

During the year it opened nineteen shops in the UK, eleven shops in the USA, two in Hong Kong and four new shops in Paris - average weekly sales in Paris are now bigger than in any other of its World regions. Four further shops will be opened in Paris this year.

In the USA, Pret opened two shops

16 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

in its fourth city, Boston. “There is every sign that as we build critical mass there that this will prove a successful market for us,” added Clive Schlee.

During the year it has continued to refurbish its shops and expand them when it has had the opportunity to do so. The new, lighter design and extra seats have been well received by customers, it says. “Pret continues to evolve from being a take away concept for office workers into a more comfortable environment able to satisfy workers, shoppers and local residents, as well as tourists and people on the move.”

Earlier this year, London Mayor Boris Johnson said that an increasing number of workers at food outlets like Pret were not "native Londoners". But Mr Schlee told Radio 4's Today programme: "We've responded to a lot of criticism like that. It depends on what market you're talking about.

Outside London Pret is predominantly British," he said.

"Inside London it's a much more cosmopolitan economy and our staff reflect the nature of the people in London," he added.

He added: “2012 was a strong year for Pret. We continued to invest in our core values, improving our menu, launching innovative employment

schemes and building and refurbishing shops in all our markets. We opened in Paris and in a fourth US City, Boston, and we gave more money to our charities than ever before.’’

In detail, Pret plans to create approximately 1,000 new jobs in 2013, of which at least 500 will be in the UK. It has already launched its fledgling National School Leaver Programme to encourage British school leavers to work for them: nine school leavers have already joined and the scheme will be expanded in September this year.

In 2012 it distributed approximately 2.5 million products to the homeless and visited and sent direct grants to 34 homeless charities.

It also employed a growing number of homeless people and now employs 84 homeless apprentices, of whom over 60% have been with the company for more than six months.

On the ingredients front it says it continues “to climb the welfare ladder” in respect of as many products as possible, including a recent upgrade to higher welfare British pork.

Meanwhile, its pole and line caught tuna baguette overtook the classic super club as Pret’s best selling sandwich in the UK in 2012. The fastest growing category during the year was fresh fruit.

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NEWS FOCUS

TO MAKE OR BUY? of on the comparative merits Some fascinating research ain & to go by SSP Supply Ch buying in or making food Jones, confirms the Technical Manager David t full shelves drive sales conventional wisdom tha

S

SP is boosting food to go sales at its regional Pumpkin sandwich brand sites following recent trials on the comparative merits of making or buying in sandwiches and other food to go lines.

The trials, conducted across three of its Café Ritazza locations, concluded that SSP was able to boost food sales by as much as 18% by “buying in” manufactured prepacked food to go, as the added shelf life enabled increased product availability and variety in ‘provincial’ sites.

The brand still makes bacon rolls and filled croissants, freshly baked muffins and cakes and is now exploring ways in which it can “make and buy” as part of a hybrid solution utilising key attributes of each food category solution, giving their staff the chance to focus on the more ‘creative’ elements of the food to go offer such as baking cakes and muffins.

Café Ritazza however, is still making its own food to go in-house, across the estate.

The trials were devised and conducted by SSP Supply Chain & Technical Manager David Jones, who’s remit, as part of the Purchasing team, includes investigating the most effective solutions for its food and beverage sourcing.

“We buy sandwiches for our retail solutions and make sandwiches in our catering solutions,” he said. “But within the Purchasing team we are constantly challenging everything we buy to see if we can do it better: should we make or buy, or should we focus our efforts on core competencies like making great barista coffee? Our environment and our customers’ preferences are constantly changing, so what are the most appropriate solutions for our business and our customers?

“With some of our brands such as Upper Crust we will always need to freshly bake and fill baguettes, but in a retail catering brand, the debate is around finding the most appropriate solution for the brand and the location.

The need to examine this area has become more pressing in recent years with direct and indirect food cost inflation.”

SSP decided to focus the ‘make or buy’ trials on its brand Café Ritazza, as it gave them the option of trialling at a variety of different sites, namely a provincial train station, main line train station and airport. Each location was significantly different in terms of footfall, average transaction value, peak flows and consumer demographics This trial also gave SSP the

18 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

opportunity to obtain information on customer purchasing decisions associated with navigation and product range and a detailed understanding on direct and indirect production costs, associated with each different location.

Raw materials have a broadly fixed cost nationwide, but final product cost to make price is highly elastic and correlated to economies of scale, e.g. making 10 or 100 sandwiches

per day. When calculating the cost to make, it considered direct costs as fully built up labour cost, including holidays, company NI contributions, staff training days and actual time taken to make the sandwich, whilst indirect costs included sub recipe preparation e.g. washing salads, preparing sandwich mixes, stock movements, utilities and clean down.

“Mainline train and airport sales are markedly

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NEWS FOCUS

higher than a provincial station site,” said David Jones. “At all three we were looking at the entire food to go offer including sandwiches, paninis, compote, fruit salad and hot eat breakfast muffins.”

The main line train station Café Ritazza had a high footfall with peak flows at breakfast and lunch but the airport site was different, with people buying throughout the day, depending on flight frequency. The airport

location also showed marked seasonal customer variations shaped mainly around holidays. “Catering for such seasonal variations brings with it challenges around effective staff scheduling and raw material buying, where production and demand can vary significantly and there are flight delays with very little notice, whereas provincial rail stations are heavily commuter dependent and the proportion of food to go consumed is significantly

lower than mainline and airport locations.”

SSP currently makes all the sandwiches for Café Ritazza on site each day to ensure they are as fresh as possible.

“Freshly made in house sandwiches have always been a cornerstone to Café Ritazza.”

So what were the results?

Café Ritazza traditionally displayed its premium, unwrapped open sandwiches such as its signature mezzaluna or panini in an assisted serve glass cabinet, and a maximum six-hour display rule, and its baguettes with a maximum three-hour display rule, but in the provincial site, this assisted serve was the a chiller, so the product was re-merchandised to display a pre-packed sandwich offer. The increased shelf life enabled higher stock holding and increased range, which led to a significant increase in sales, even though pre-packed products were merchandised in a glass cabinet and not grab and go.

“We put in pre-packed breakfast muffins, paninis and sandwiches and that increased range gave us dramatically increased sales value, up 18% throughout the trial period.”

At the mainline and airport trial site there were both an assisted serve and a grab and go chiller. The assisted serve was used purely for cakes and pasties – with 100% of sandwiches displayed in a grab and go chiller.

This had some unexpected results as sales of the prepacked mezzaluna dropped rapidly, historically a category leader, and sales did not translate when moved into the grab and go chiller.

However, panini sales, although reduced, did not suffer as dramatically. “I suspect the panini is generally accepted as a grab and go product, whereas the mezzaluna consumer appeal

is compromised when prepacked”.

Whilst sandwich sales by volume were stable, consumers switched into lower priced grab and go options, resulting in lower average transaction value.

The increase in sales numbers was seen in the assisted serve, where again increased stock holding of cakes, pastries and muffins drove a category increase of >20% by count, albeit at a lower average transaction value. On balance, site profitability was flat but the number of transactions increased with food sales up 6% in mainline train station and 11% in the airport.

With regards to the costs to ‘make versus buy’: this varied considerably, depending on location and daily throughput. There was clear evidence that in the provincial site costs to make per unit were double those of mainline and airport sites, which could be primarily, attributed to direct production costs. However, the cost of waste when bought in, was much higher than made-in-house, but this could be negated due to the increased shelf life of bought in, with good stock management.

SSP decided to continue making its own product.

“The data obtained from this trial gave us a much greater insight into our cost to produce and the consumer decision making process, which we can use to tailor our next trial and gain an even greater understanding of the travel environment.

“From our perspective, the most significant finding overall was that the trial confirmed that full shelves drive sales, and at the provincial site, where cost to make is high, there was a massive sales uplift by having a broad range available all day, everyday,” added David Jones.

www.sandwich.org.uk May 2013 19

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PRODUCT FOCUS

Adande three refrigerator drawer systems

Bel UK launches new soft Cheese - Cantafrais BEL UK has launched a new spreadable soft cheese for the out of home market, said to be ideal for sandwiches, as well as for sauces, soups and baking.

Adéle Bird, channel marketing manager at Bel Foodservice UK, says: “Cheese is the nation’s favourite sandwich filling, both in and out of home. Its versatility means it can be used as a smooth filling, accompaniment to deli meats, smoked salmon and salad items, a substitute for butter or mayonnaise or as a creamy coolant for spicy fillings.

“Adding Cantafrais to our portfolio means we can provide operators with a full range of cheese products for any occasion.

Cantafrais will join our range of loved and trusted brands like kids’ favourite Mini Babybel and popular sandwich filler Leerdammer.” The 500g tub makes around 25 sandwiches.

ADANDE has supplied three refrigerated drawer systems to the kitchen of the new Café Estro, 90 seat customer restaurant at Debenhams’ Newbury store. The refrigerated drawers were specified by food service design and build specialist, CDSWilman.

Café Estro represents the retailers’ new food service brand, focusing on a customer friendly approach to counter sales. The concept is based on quality and speed of service with a varied menu, including sandwiches, baguettes, toasties, jacket potatoes and “one pot” hot meals. The busy café is proving popular amongst shoppers, the local business community and parents with young children.

Adande supplied three double drawer refrigerated drawer units, which are located beneath the kitchen’s food preparation counters. They are used for the storage of ingredients and sandwich fillings, as well as “one pot” meal portions, which are freshly prepared each day.

Its patented refrigerated drawer systems feature an innovative modified air flow pattern, which delivers high efficiency cooling. They work on the principle that cold air is denser than warm air, with specially designed insulated drawers holding the refrigerated air within the units. The units eliminate warm air infiltration, delivering stable temperature and humidity, for optimum food quality and freshness.

The efficiency of the insulated drawers means that less energy is used

Exquisite Handmade Cakes’ gateaux, muffins and flapjacks EXQUISITE Handmade Cakes has launched a selection of gateaux, muffins and flapjacks at two branches of Café W, Waterstones’ flagship new coffee shops, located within their Bradford and Swansea book shops.

The company is supplying a selection of nine gateaux, three muffins and two flapjacks, which will be available at Café W for customers to enjoy with a coffee or tea as they take a break from browsing the book shelves.

20 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

Paul Coleman, Café W Regional Manager at Waterstones, said: “We selected Exquisite Handmade Cakes for its traditional and eclectic range, fine and delicious products and the warmth of its company character and customer service.”

The gateaux, muffin and flapjack selection forms part of its ‘coffee shop’ range. This has been specifically designed for in-store cafés and high street outlets requiring cakes for their customers.

for cooling, providing savings of up to 60% and a reduced carbon footprint, compared with other refrigeration systems.

Debenhams’ Category Manager, Emma Swift, stated: “The units achieve stable temperatures in a busy and hot kitchen environment, no matter how frequently the drawers are opened.

This helps keep ingredients and prepared meals fresh throughout the day’s service. The space saving drawer systems also offer ergonomic benefits and ease of access, promoting operator efficiency and speed of service.”

A spokesperson for CDS-Wilman added: “The Adande systems were specified for their proven performance and energy saving characteristics. The fact that the systems may be operated at chilled or frozen temperatures, at the flick of a switch, provides the flexibility for possible future menu development.”

S&SN_145_May13_p20-21_Layout 1 02/05/2013 13:09 Page 21

“

Y T I L A U Q T A A N U T E L B A K REMAR S PRICE

”

H&T Walker have been importing tuna for over 100 years.

Our “GODDESS” brand has surpassed all requirements and has been approved by most UK and Irish food manufacturers who supply UK Blue Chip companies producing sandwiches/fillings and ready made meals.

We ensure timely and consistent 365 day supply at the lowest possible input cost.

H&T Walker Ltd Est 1876 Goddess House, Helford, Cornwall, TR12 6JX Tel: 01326 231800 / 07824 325480 Fax: 0034 952776734 Email: eriktheviking8899@gmail.com www.goddessfoods.co.uk

“It has to be good to be Goddess!”

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SANDWICH MANUFACTURING

Industry giant

Tony Cleaver looks back He founded two major sandwich manufacturing companies and has been one of the key figures in making the sandwich industry what it is today. Now Tony Cleaver, until recently The Sandwich Factory’s Managing Director, looks back at his long career in the trade, in an exclusive two-part series

I

n the early 70’s I trained to be chef before realising that I had a gift of the gab. It was either sales or teaching and fortunately I decided to go into sales.

I eventually joined Henry Telfer in Northampton in 1985 as northern general sales manager, looking after general catering van sales, and covering an area that ranged from the Midlands to Scotland.

At that time it was just a few years after M&S had become the first retailer to start selling pre-made sandwiches and Henry Telfer were the manufacturers.

After a few years in the job I got called down to the head office and was asked if I would take over the responsibility for looking after the production of non-M&S sandwiches.

I went several shades of grey, and told my wife: ‘I’m sure they’re trying to get rid of me – they’ve put me in charge of butties.’ She said to me, ‘Just think about it for a minute –it could be a massive opportunity for you.’ (Boy was she right!)

I spent about a week at my desk writing reams of paper on where sandwiches were being made commercially and who was making them. I came to the conclusion eventually that just about everyone was making sandwiches on site, in poor conditions and of a very poor quality. And you have to bear in mind that in those days you had just three options: wholemeal, white or granary; 18 or 22 slices to the loaf that was it!

My very first success was with British Rail’s Travellers Fare, which handled all the catering at that time.

22 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

“I had one of the first ‘brick’ mobile phones, and I think that using that must have earned us the best part of £12.m turnover!”

They were renowned for their Lyons fruit pies, pork pies and the infamous curled up ham and cheese sandwiches.

Remarkably, the deal was enormous, delivering to all the main line stations around the UK; so the challenge was not only making sandwiches in large volumes from Northampton, but also delivering them around the country. After seven months we were doing 180,000 sandwiches a week, and this eventually built up after 12 months to 300,000 products a week.

Meanwhile, things were building up on other fronts. Forte, which is now Welcome Break, and were fairly

dominant on the motorway network, were also making sandwiches on site and were an obvious target.

In those days it was really difficult finding the person ultimately responsible , so I spent a lot of time trolling up and down the network, eventually identifying the regional directors and getting them all together. We trialled our first sandwiches with them at Leicester Forest East, and bizarrely, their man in charge was also called Tony Cleaver, which was strange to say the least!

While this was going on, people like Compass started to get involved, and there were events such as the National Garden Festivals coming on stream. All of a sudden everyone was talking about sandwiches!

Within around 12 months I had built the business up to £14m worth of non-M&S business. At Henry Telfer I could ‘walk on water’, as it were – due to my success.

However, although M&S had agreed before-hand that the manufacturing facility could be used for non-M&S customers, they probably weren’t too pleased that the business had grown to that extent, and eventually they decided they wanted it as a dedicated site just for their own business.

Hillsdown Holdings, our owners at that time, weren’t interested in building another production facility, and I got a call from the MD who told me we had to get rid of the nonM&S business!

I went back to sit at my desk and came to the conclusion pretty quickly that this was a ridiculous situation. If

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SANDWICH MANUFACTURING I was going to offload it, where was it going to go – there weren’t many players really capable of dealing with large volumes on a foodservice basis?

There was only Buckingham Foods, which in those very early days was Fitch & Lovell, and a handful of small sandwich manufacturers.

Greencore, then Mill Stores, was a very small business at that time.

So I made contact with an excolleague of mine and we started to talk about the opportunities. We created a business called Eat Fresh in 1987 and launched it at the Fast Food Fair in Brighton.

The business got off the ground on the 13th February, 1988. Our first order was a trial from Travellers Fare for 1,200 products, which took around 20 hours to produce! The problem was that the hand sealers failed and all the pack seals came undone.

I remember standing in the small manufacturing unit in Tamworth, surrounded by 10 drivers, and I stood there and started crying like a baby – I’d given up a career and here I was with the pack film on each of the sandwiches floating merrily in the air. We couldn’t even use cling film because the company were used to getting their products from Henry Telfer and they produced their products on Multivac.

We had to get the finished products to the stations or we were finished, and next day the trial size was increasing to include on-board train sandwiches as well.

Fortunately we had a local engineer who came out and he found that every one of the sealers had a faulty thermostat. Once he’d fixed those, it was all hands to the pump and we finally dispatched the product to the vans at 2.0am that morning (they had been due to go out at 11.0pm) and we then started production on the next trial at 6.0am.

The team arrived on time, which was just as well as the orders were slightly higher than we’d thought. We were producing for Edinburgh and Glasgow, and quite simply we had to get it right. Everything had been against us, except that we had a very good team of people and we got there in the end.

So, by the next day we had produced 6,200 products varying

from sandwiches, cold and hot eating, burgers, scrambled egg, baps and so forth. We could put them on the train in those days and I remember arriving at Red Star in Birmingham with about 60 huge plastic containers with ice packs in each one, bound for Edinburgh and Glasgow. It certainly wouldn’t be allowed now!

To start with we used to work for 18 hours continuously a day. In fact, the first break I had was after six weeks. I was so exhausted that I remember going out for a meal with the family, and after placing the order I slept through the whole of the meal until my wife woke me up at the coffee stage! To pay the bill!

The bottoms of my feet were latticed from the Wellington boots because I was wearing them for so long every day, and that lasted for a few weeks after I’d stopped working in the factory.

We’d decided beforehand to concentrate on the foodservice side and the business quickly built up.

We eventually won all the Travellers Fare business; we got all of the InterCity businesses, the motorway business – Granada and Forte.

That first Easter it was a sunny weekend and companies like Forte were continuously on the phone saying we need more product. They put garden sheds up at the service station car parks selling sandwiches and coffee. At some stations like Gordano they had to close motorway

lanes because of the queues of people (they must have heard of our sandwiches).

Companies such as P&O, Red Funnel and Sealink also came on board and by the end of that first year we were turning over £10.5m.

We went up from 1,200 a day to 80,000 products a day. Fortunately, we had some warehouses we were able to convert for the additional production, but kitted them out really well with proper drainage and segregated high and low risk areas, and proper refrigeration. We ordered a Bryant line, probably one of the first self-cleaning assembly lines. It looked fantastic and was a great story to sell to the big boys – a huge conveyor belt with a big hot water reservoir underneath, and blown hot air to dry the belt … but it was disaster for us!

It was fine as long as the belt was running, but when it wasn’t being used it started to melt the butter on the bread before your eyes and it added something like 10 degrees to the room temperature.

It’s easy to forget that because we were pioneers in the industry there was no-one else you could talk to in those days; you had to find your own feet and try to do what was right.

Looking back, I would say the automatic tomato slicer was probably the best bit of kit that came out then.

How were we so successful? At the end of the day, sandwiches are not rocket science. It’s a very simple

www.sandwich.org.uk May 2013 23

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SANDWICH MANUFACTURING

NEXT ISSUE: LAUNCHING THE SANDWICH FACTORY business at heart, but it’s very, very exacting. It’s about controlling costs and delivering great products to your customers. I always used to say to my people in the early days that a piece of smoked salmon the size of my thumb nail could cost the business a couple of pence a product – it was that precise.

Looking back they really were extraordinary days. I had one of the first ‘brick’ mobile phones, and I think that using that must have earned us the best part of £12.m turnover!

I remember hearing that we had won a tender from Inter-City once for 120,000 products a week on that phone. By the time I got back to the office they told me they’d made a mistake and it was actually 280,000!

In our board room they’d lined up six large cokes – they knew I didn’t drink – and a large chocolate cake.

That’s how we celebrated in those days.

We did so well that eventually we opened a dedicated 25,000 sq ft site in Wigan for Inter-City in 1989 and we ran that for quite a long time. We were also allowed to bring the Littlewoods business in there.

We had also started talking to Boots about manufacturing sandwiches for them – at that time Hazelwood Foods and Buckingham Foods were their manufacturers

24 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

In Tamworth we were just a little blip; you might say off the radar really – but we had invested heavily in talent and had, what I believe, was the finest NPD team around. After talking to them for around two months we started to manufacture the Shapers range – our first move into retail.

In 1989 we exhibited at the Chilled Food Fair again - which had by this time moved to Birmingham and it was one of those events where you really just couldn’t believe what was happening!

We had every major company wanting to talk to us about buying our business, from Grand Met, Unigate to Northern Foods.

Of course, we said we weren’t interested, but Grand Met were relentless; we ended up selling the business to them in the early 1990’s, although I stayed on in charge, and it then became part of the chilled division, under the Express Foods banner. When we sold it, the turnover was around £12m – profitable to say the least.

As time went on we became a massive threat to competitors, to the point that Booker approached Grand Met to buy Eat Fresh.

To be fair to Grand Met, buying the company eventually proved to be the wrong move for them – they needed to concentrate on their drinks

division. So we were taken over by what became Buckingham Foods and I became the sales director of Buckingham Foods/Eat Fresh, with Peter Halman as the managing director, and stayed until 1995.

Our business with Boots had grown to the point where we were stronger than Buckingham Foods, in terms of the amount we were doing.

We tended to say yes to everything that was asked of us and then worked out a solution and delivered.

You have to remember that it was very different in those days: only around 15 products made up an entire range – it was a dream for manufacturing, with the core range of BLT’s etc, and some variants on top.

Nowadays you can be talking about 250,000 a week with about 120 products in the range. This sort of thing has actually been the demise of a lot of sandwich business - too much choice? At the end of the day you want to produce a solid, high quality core range without the ‘complication of lots of additional products, and that satisfies everyone’s needs. I remember talking to Kerry Foods in 1999, for instance. They were selling a few sandwiches on the vans, being made for them by a London operator; we started talking and formed a partnership, which grew from 25,000 products to 500,000 products a week and there were only about 14 products in the range.

These days prices frequently go past the three pounds mark because of raw material costs , but then you have the labour, which make margins tight and customers won’t pay the price– these are really hard times.

Booker unfortunately eventually killed Eat Fresh, in my view. They decided to transfer the foodservice business from my Tamworth Eat Fresh site to the Milton Keynes Redmoor site and move the retail business from there to Tamworth.

Redmoor couldn’t cope with it. It was a very different business, which could be very volatile – if the sun shone the motorways could be chocka-block and if it rained it was going to be dead. So volumes fluctuated enormously. But the foodservice side of the business was profitable and customers were loyal and helpful when times were hard.

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NEWS

SANDWICH DESIGNER

OF THE YEAR

Regional Heat Winners 2013

Creating new sandwich recipes is vital to the future of the sandwich industry and The British Sandwich Designer of the Year Award aims to recognise the major contribution made by those involved.

A series of five regional heats in Livingston, Manchester, Wolverhampton, London and Cheltenham has now produced winners in each of the six categories – a full report is shown here. The lucky few and the best runners-up next attend the final in London, when we will be inviting panels of expert judges to assess the creative and commercial skills of those who enter with the aim of finding the very best sandwich creator in the UK. The Final will be held at the Lancaster London Hotel, London on Thursday 16th May 2013 – on the same day as the Sammies (The British Sandwich Industry Awards)

SCOTLAND HEAT The Scotland heat took place on Monday 4th March, at West Lothian College, Livingston

BEL UK Leerdamer Mature Cheese Category

UNIVERSAL MEATS Chicken Category WINNER

WINNER Andy Phillips of Greggs Plc, Newcastle upon Tyne, with his ‘Reuben Rye Stottie Sandwich.’

GODDESS Tuna Category WINNER Una Kincaid, of The Sandwich Company, Derry, Ireland with her ‘Tuna and Pomegranate with Wasabi and Sesame Seeds Sandwich.’

26 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

Jeanette Lindsay of Pepper Alley Ltd, Sligo, Ireland with her ‘Winter Feast Sandwich.’

ENGLISH PROVENDER COMPANY Apple, Pear and Fig Chutney Category WINNER Dave Gannon, of Charcuterie Continental Ltd, Glasgow, with his ‘Medium Sliced Roast Beef, Apple, Pear and Fig Chutney, Mayo and Spinach Sandwich.’

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NEWS WARBURTONS Gluten Free Category WINNER Dave Gannon, of Charcuterie Continental Ltd, Glasgow with his ‘Pastrami with Cream Cheese, Dill Pickles and Mustard Mayo Sandwich.’

DELL’AMI Hummus Category JOINT WINNER There were joint winners in this category. Andy Phillips, of Greggs Plc., Newcastle upon Tyne with his ‘Tomato Hummus, Vegetable Tagine, Beetroot, Ginger and Orange Relish Sandwich.’

DELL’AMI Hummus Category

Joint winner, Mark Dillon, from Buttercup Café, Doune, receives his winning certificate from Angela Trofymova, from sponsors Dell’ami.

JOINT WINNER Mark Dillon, of Buttercup Café, Doune, Perthshire was also a joint winner with his ‘Hummus Salad Sandwich.’

SOUTH WEST HEAT The South West heat took place on Wednesday, 13th March, at Gloucestershire College, Cheltenham.

BEL UK Leerdamer Mature Cheese Category WINNER Gal Almoznino, from Schnafel, Bristol, is pictured with his winning entry ‘The Monte Cristo Brunch’.

GODDESS Tuna Category

UNIVERSAL MEATS Chicken Category WINNER Keith Allen, from the Foodservice Centre, with his ‘Chicken Carbonara Ciabatta’

ENGLISH PROVENDER COMPANY Apple, Pear and Fig Chutney Category WINNER

WINNER

James Workman, from The Sandwich Factory, with his ‘Tuna with cracked black pepper and lemon mayo sandwich’

Ben Sibbald, from Made by Ben, Bath with his winning ‘Smokin’ Goat’ entry

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NEWS WARBURTONS Gluten Free Category

WARBURTONS Gluten Free Category WINNER

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Elliott Cantrell, Buckingham Foods, won the Warburtons category with his ‘Tofu and soya nut Bahn-Mi, with British root vegetables and Vietnamese chutney’

John Bowyer, from Panini’s Ltd, was highly commended for his ‘Tuna Nicoise Salad’

DELL’AMI Hummus Category

DELL’AMI Hummus Category HIGHLY COMMENDED

WINNER James Ingram, from Mercedes AMG, won the Dell’ami Hummus category with his ‘Lamb Kofta, roasted pepper and tomato hummus sandwich’

Sue Price-Whittle, from Yew Tree Café, Wotten Wawen, was highly commended for her ‘Prawn Chana Massala’

LONDON HEAT WINNERS The London heat took place on Monday 11th March, at Bel UK, Sevenoaks, Kent

BEL UK Leerdamer Mature Cheese Category

UNIVERSAL MEATS Chicken Category WINNER

WINNER Glenn Evans, SSP UK, London with his winning entry, Philly steak and Leerdammer baguette with red onion and Jalapeno relish.

GODDESS Tuna Category WINNER Vince Martorana, SubXpress, Cheshunt with his winning entry, ‘Angry Tuna’

28 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

Tom Hollands, Raynor Foods Ltd with his winning ‘Jerk Chicken’.

ENGLISH PROVENDER COMPANY Apple, Pear and Fig Chutney Category WINNER Mike Crofts, Raynor Foods, with his winning ‘ Mackerel Pate and Chutney’ sandwich

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NEWS WARBURTONS Gluten Free Category

DELL’AMI Hummus Category JOINT WINNER

WINNER

Jake Golding, from Lunch

by Lancasters, Colchester, with his ‘squashed squash and hummus bloomer’

Ashleigh Kirk, from Food Partners, with her Goat’s cheese with beetroot, mint and pomegranate relish sandwich

DELL’AMI Hummus Category

Bel UK Leerdammer Mature Cheese category winner, Glenn Evans, from SSP UK, is congratulated

by Tony Burton, from sponsors Bel UK.

JOINT WINNER Roseanne Strong, from Birdwood Bakery, Leigh-onSea, with her winning ‘Minted lamb kofta and manchego flatbread sandwich’

MANCHESTER HEAT WINNERS The Manchester heat took place on Friday 8th March, at Tameside College, Ashton-under-Lyne.

BEL UK Leerdamer Mature Cheese Category

UNIVERSAL MEATS Chicken Category JOINT WINNER

WINNER

Gavin Lewis, 2 Sisters Food Group with his Me Like Yuzu Too

Matthew Forde, Greencore, Manton Wood, with his winning ‘Leerdammer with avocado, smoky bacon and rhubarb chutney’

UNIVERSAL MEATS Chicken Category

GODDESS Tuna Category

JOINT WINNER

WINNER

Paula Smith, from Let’s Lunch, Wallasey, with her Roast Dinner Sandwich

Amy White, Greencore, Manton Wood with her winning ‘Tangy, tasty Mediterranean tuna’

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NEWS ENGLISH PROVENDER COMPANY Apple, Pear and Fig Chutney Category

WARBURTONS Gluten Free Category WINNER

WINNER

Emma Taylor, Greencore, with her winning ‘Blazing Blue Bird’

Kelly Merry, Greencore, Manton Wood, with ‘Scrumptious shredded pork with her chutney and fresh red cabbage’

DELL’AMI Hummus Category

Emma Taylor, from Greencore, is congratulated by sponsor, Chris Hook, Business Unit Director, Warburtons.

WINNER Russell French, Fresh Pak Ltd with his ‘Lamb, feta and hummus’

WOLVERHAMPTON HEAT WINNERS The Midlands Heat took place at Wolverhampton College, on Monday 18th March

BEL UK Leerdamer Mature Cheese Category

BEL UK Leerdamer Mature Cheese Category WINNER

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Neil McCulloch, from 2 Sisters Food Group, with his winning ‘Chilli cheese and pineapple bloomer’

Lee Williamson, from Greencore, was Highly Commended for his Californian Mini Wraps.

UNIVERSAL MEATS Chicken Category

GODDESS Tuna Category

WINNER

JOINT WINNER

Lee Hurcomb, from Freshway Chilled Foods, with his winning ‘Thai Chicken Ciabatta’

Tara Byrne, from Mercedes AMG, was joint winner of this category with a tuna mayonnaise bagel with quails eggs and celery salt

30 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

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NEWS GODDESS Tuna Category JOINT WINNER William Gamble, from The Sandwich Factory, was joint winner of this category with his ‘Warming Tuna Focaccia’

DELL’AMI Hummus Category WINNER Neil McCulloch, from 2 Sisters Food Group, with the winning ‘Warm shawarma chicken pitta and chunky tomato hummus’

ENGLISH PROVENDER COMPANY Apple, Pear and Fig Chutney Category WINNER Ricky Bliss, from Adelie Foods with his winning ‘Mozzarella and fig with parma ham’

WARBURTONS Gluten Free Category WINNER Ben Curtis, from Bradgate Bakery, with his winning ‘El Diablo’

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SAMMIES SHORTLIST

AWARDS 2013

Shortlist The British Sandwich Industry Award Sponsored by: Ginsters There is no short list published for this award

Independent Sandwich Bar of the Year Award Sponsored by: Norseland Short list: SubXpress, Cheshunt Schnafel, Bristol Cheshire Sandwich Company, Chester Anderson and Company, Peckham The Serious Sandwich Company, Chichester The Sandwich Company, Derry, N.I Cook and Garcia, Richmond Seasons, Norwich

The Café Award Sponsored by: 2 Sisters Food Group Short list: Greggs Moment Costa Soho Coffee Company Caffe Pausa, Dunelm Mill M & S Flavours Café Pret Café Waitrose Café

Specialist Sandwich Bar Chain of the Year Award Sponsored by: Fridays Short list: Greggs Pret EAT Birleys Subway

Bakery Sandwich Shop of the Year Award Sponsored by: SSP UK Short list: Greggs Martins Greenhalghs Cooplands Paul Maison Blanc

Sandwich Marketing Award Sponsored by: Karro Food Group Shortlist M & S Shelter and MacMillan Cancer Support Upper Crust Fresh and Unwrapped promotion URBAN Eat Ultimate Birthday Bash and Freebie Friday social media programme

32 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

Sodexo Delifresh campaign Greggs – Great Greggs Sandwich Maker social media campaign Tesco London themed packaging Pret ‘For Goodness Sake’ campaign

En-Route Sandwich Retailer of the Year Award Sponsored by: Greencore Short list: Shell Deli2Go M&S Greggs Upper Crust

Sandwich Multiple Retailer of the Year Award Sponsored by: Buckingham Foods Shortlist All multiple retailers are considered for this award.

There is no short list published

Sandwich Convenience Retailer of the Year Award Sponsored by: Greggs Shortlist All convenience store retailers are considered for this award.

There is no short list published.

Sandwich Manufacturer of the Year Award Sponsored by: TMI Foods Shortlist All BSA accredited manufacturers are considered for this award. There is no short list published.

New Sandwich Product of the Year Award Sponsored by: Marks and Spencer Shortlist This award is split into two categories – Ingredient and Product/Equipment Ingredients Category Delifrance The Crois’ Sandwich Leathams Roquito® Pepper Sauce Dejong Cheese, NI – Fresh spreadable goat’s cheese Strong Bread – Turkish flatbread Beacon Foods – mushroom, tarragon and Madeira pate Product/Equipment Category Food Partners/St Neots – Picnic in a box for Royal Ascot Tri-Star – Tri-pak with SureStrip™ Corintech - WiFi temperature sensors Foodservice Centre – Fresh Every Day fillings concept

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SAMMIES SHORTLIST

PARTY PACKS SPONSORED BY:

Workplace Sandwich Provider of the Year Award Sponsored by: Raynor Foods Shortlist Sodexo Talkington Bates

The BSA Technical Excellence Award Sponsored by: Hazeldene Shortlist Pret a Manger – Salt reduction and new product development systems - Anita Kinsey Bradgate Bakery – Validation projects around CCP’s and pre-requisites – Norma Fennemore Melton Foods – Improved technical and operational standards of controls and systems – Fiona Heppell/Richard Midgeley Waitrose – reduction of salt, fat and saturated fat levels – Moira Howie Greencore – Use of predictive microbiological modelling to support determining shelf life of ready to eat salads and sandwiches – Helen Smith

New Sandwich of the Year Award Sponsored by: St Neots Packaging Ltd Shortlist This award is split into two categories – Hot eat and Cold eat Hot eat category M & S Fuller Longer chargrilled chicken, mozzarella and pepper toastie EAT – The Hot Cubano Toastie Tasties ‘Street Heats’ range Costa Coffee Panini Range Caffe Pausa Pesto Chicken Melt focaccia Asda Café Italian range – supplied by Danora Upper Crust Hot hog roast and crackling

Cold Eat Category Waitrose Good to Go World Flavours Tuna Greek Salad Wrap Morrisons New York Deli Greggs BBQ Chicken Oval Bite Tesco Finest British ham hock and extra mature cheddar Pret ‘Nuts about Christmas’ Foo-go Chicken and Bacon Club URBAN Eat Mozzarella and tomato single wrap M & S Fuller Longer smokey chilli beef and cheese wrap Sodexo Levi Roots Reggae Reggae chicken salad sandwich Sainsbury’s Southern Fried chicken sub AWARDS ALSO SPONSORED BY:

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SANDWICH BAR DIARY

Reflections on retail along the Gray’s Inn Road Would-be independent David Bell, muses on the importance of providing “positive guest perceptions,” as he continues to search for his first Krunch+Press site in London

G

ray’s Inn Road.

Flippin’ freezing my goolies off. Sleet blowing into my eyes.

Trusty footfall clicker not having to work very hard at all. English flipping weather, can you believe it?

And it’s nearly May….but let’s not go there!

It’s now day three of scouting out a couple of potential A1 units in this area of town for Krunch+Press, my frustrated-in-waiting tossed salad bar concept that’s looking for its first site.

But, notwithstanding the paucity of people traffic and the bitterly cold wind, it does provide a bit of time to muse on, well, the whole business of starting a retail business. And, in particular, how easy it is, at this stage anyway, to over-focus on one particular issue – in my case, finding the right first site – at the expense of other equally important elements within the retail start-up mix. For example, the importance of guest perceptions. Three recent and personal experiences float to mind…….

To glove or not to glove?

That’s the question, dear ISSN readers. There seems

to be a growing notion that regular and systematic hand washing can be more hygienically sound than using gloves in food preparation.

I was challenged on this very issue recently whilst checking out a ravely reviewed West London independent café. Got there at lunchtime, the queues were building (good start – I’m in love with queues), the food looked fresh and appetising and the visual branding – the experience – was, thus far, warm and inviting. All great stuff.

But then…CRASH. At least in my mind anyway.

Suited and booted chappie in front of me ordered the BBQ chicken wrap-to-go, and staff member quickly got to work elegantly

34 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

positioning salad and meat ingredients into the centre of the flatbread. What then follows – as we all know – is a modicum of squeezing and pinching, pulling and moulding to compress all the nutritious goodies into the loving arms of the flatbread.

Except……big except… the member of staff was not wearing gloves. And you know, at that point I just didn’t care –not one little bit – about how brilliant and how assiduous she might have been with her hand washing routine.

I just plain didn’t fancy the wrap, nor for that matter any of the other seemingly inviting food on offer. I about heeled. As I passed the till, a chap (who had an owner-ish look about him) looked at me with a quizzical expression.

“Should I feed back?” I nano-seconded, but by then I was out the door and out of appetite. Point? It’s not so much about gloves or hands; guest perceptions are the hard currency of food retail.

More protein that we bargained for My second vignette has an Italian flavor – physically and metaphorically. The

scene: Brindisi, South Italy and my two kids, missus and I are waiting in a gelateria to buy some ice cream. Weather may be different in the southern Mediterranean but guest perceptions - boy oh boy – also rule regal.

Picture the scene – kids longing for their gelati, slavering over the array of flavours amongst a hussle and tussle of Italians doing their – as only Italians can do – impression of a queue.

Abigail points to a half gastronome piled high with creamy vanilla loveliness.

But then her tone changes: “URRRGH there’s a FLY!” she shrills. In fact it was not a fly but a daddy long-legs wriggling with all its might to extract itself from the now not so-creamy loveliness.

A few Italian gelato buyers followed Abigail’s finger to the offending quarter gastronome but most, due no doubt to their lack of English, were totally oblivious to what was going on. Outcome = quick exit, a 9 and 11 year old falling out of love with vanilla gelato

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SANDWICH BAR DIARY

quickly and, almost forgot, a very sugared-up daddy of a longlegs.

Lettuce rock The last little story (really I’m so not making these up) occurred only last week and again a similar guest perception theme emerged.

Perhaps the Big Man upstairs is trying to get something through to me .

Anyway……once again I was checking out an independent café that has just rolled out their fifth unit in West London. It’s a great concept with a narrative around made-onpremises bread, a simple but compelling brand proposition and a fab use of retail theatre - in this case, a wonderful fresh bready aroma that’s vented out into the street.

So how did it fare? The front of house guest experience was positive, the pomodorini on my mini

gourmet pizza were deeply flavorsome and married well with the spelt base and the customer service seemed polite and courteous… so a definite 8/10. Person serving me even wore gloves! Ha. But just readying myself to leave, I glanced back of shop and through a large window into an open-plan baking area. Then it got interesting. Standing behind the window was a member of staff holding a filled ciabatta in hand.

Suddenly, with his right hand, he whipped out a piece of lettuce from newly prepared sandwich and stuffed it in his gob! Was this his own lunch? Had it been made for a guest but an over generosity on the lettuce was being corrected last minute?

As it turned out it was the former, and the said member of staff then retook his front of house position happily masticating! Perhaps I’m old fashioned but, once more dear readers, my perceptions about my otherwise positive eating experience were recalibrated. Not hugely, but recalibrated none the less.

Jolting out of my state of muse and the reality of the Gray’s Inn Road greyness and B*?!**Y freezing weather I decided enough was enough and started to head home. Dreaming of long summers and long queues and how these sorts of misperceptions were never ever ever going to happen at Krunch+Press. If only life and business were that simple….

All the best

David

PS. Why not drop me a line at info@krunchandpress.co.uk with any of your own retail related perception or misperception experiences. I’ll get thinking of a prize for the most hilarious…

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Balthazar Bakery

The recent London opening of Balthazar, Keith McNally’s highly successful New York restaurant, has been a hugely publicised event. Less well known is its Balthazar Bakery next door, selling wonderful sandwiches and salads.

Juliet Shield paid a call

sandwiches to treasure

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JULIET SHIELD

“I bought a very generous section of foccacia filled with rare roast beef, and celeriac remoulade on focaccia for £5.50. A long tranche of quiche was also displayed invitingly, ready for easy slicing”

T

he most eagerly awaited opening in the restaurant world this Spring was the recent London opening of Balthazar, Keith McNally’s highly successful New York restaurant.

Arguably the doyen of the New York restaurant scene, McNally has opened 12 individual restaurants over the last 25 years, all in out-of-the-way places.

Although, such is the self-generated buzz which accompanies these openings, the locations do not remain obscure for long.

Balthazar is probably the best known, and it is this one that Caprice Holdings tycoon Richard Caring, now his business partner in this venture, suggested should be duplicated in London.

The location chosen this time was not in some up and coming industrial backwater, but slap bang in the middle of tourist land, by the Piazza in Covent Garden. In fact the premises used to be the Theatre Museum, and it was the building itself rather than the location

which dictated the choice. Its dramatic character has meant that the original Balthazar concept could easily be slotted in.

What has made Balthazar so successful in New York is not a particularly innovative menu, nor a cutting edge décor (think traditional French brasserie on both counts), but the attention to the indefinables that make for a relaxed and happy experience for the customers. Hiring efficient, engaged and genuinely friendly staff for a well laid out space sounds easy and obvious, doesn’t it? But getting the formula right requires continuous and alert attention to detail. And a degree of humility.

McNally possesses this last trait in common with my subject Juliet Shield is a café and restaurant consultant www.julietshield.com office@julietshield.com

in the last but one issue of this magazine: Alan Yau. Neither is complacent. Nor puffed up with pride of ownership. McNally even says that he does not take a lot of pleasure in his restaurants per se, but does like knowing that other people enjoy them.

Yau is similar; often to be seen selfeffacingly seated in a corner observing the working of his various operations, to work out improvements.

It is ironic that the concept of the Parisian brasserie, the inspiration for Balthazar has been transported to New York and then on to London. What hasn’t been included in the transfer is the aloof and patronising service often found in Paris, where some restaurants could learn a few lessons from the friendly team here.

So what has a well-publicised restaurant opening got to do with sandwiches, you may ask? The answer is that in London, Balthazar is following the same model as in New York by opening a bakery/patisserie next door to the restaurant premises. It would obviously not make

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JULIET SHIELD

economic sense to have the large amount of space required for bread baking on such a premium site, so in both cities the bakery which supplies the restaurant and wholesales to other restaurants and shops is sited elsewhere.

In London the bread and patisserie is made in Waterloo and delivered to the shop and restaurant at 6 am every day.

I talked to the enthusiastic manager of the Balthazar Bakery shop, Matt Bell, who filled me in about the rest of the supply. In the basement is a kitchen, which the shop shares with the restaurant. Delicious-looking piles of salads and sandwiches are made for the shop each day and displayed on large dishes at varying heights balancing on upturned log sections along the marble counter. The prices range from £4.25 to £7 depending on the portion size.

Because of the range of ingredients available in the restaurant kitchen, the salad recipes can be inventive and hugely varied. A stack of white asparagus with shaved mozzarella and radish at the back of the display overlooked more glossy salad combinations which included roast sweet potato, radicchio and onions with toasted pumpkin seeds, pasta with fennel and finely chopped red pepper, and giant couscous with aubergine. All enhanced with fresh herbs and carefully flavoured dressings.

The range of sandwiches is fairly small, but each one completely different, celebrating the diverse range of breads.

On the day of my visit, the menu included goats’ cheese, red pepper and the special Lucques olives from the Languedoc on a properly baked ciabatta at £5.50, and a Provençal tuna filling inside potato and onion bread, again for

38 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

£5.50. More traditionally French was smoked salmon on a tartine and Bayonne ham and gruyere inside a demi baguette, both for a fiver. I bought a very generous section of foccacia filled with rare roast beef, and celeriac remoulade on focaccia for £5.50. A long tranche of quiche was also displayed invitingly, ready for easy slicing.

There are two homemade soups to choose from; one is always French onion, and the second which changes daily. On the day I was there it was red pepper, freshly made and served with a thoughtful mini slice of cheese-covered toasted crouton.

There are obvious symbiotic advantages in running a restaurant and a sandwich takeaway side by side. If you are serving roast beef in the restaurant on a Sunday, you can use any left over beef in the sandwiches on a Monday. The celeriac remoulade in the roast beef foccacia is already on the menu in the Balthazar restaurant as an hors-d’oeuvres item with Bayonne ham.

The onion soup gratinée is made for the restaurant every day, and will sell many more times the amount from a soup urn in the shop to take away on a chilly day.

Like Balthazar, the interior is typically Parisian right up to the detail of the Renaissance-style painted glass panels on the ceiling. Matt told me this had been specially commissioned in France and was only installed a nailbiting couple of days before opening.

The elaborate painted images reflect the theatrical nature of the vicinity. This ceiling makes the shop completely special, in the way that many French bakeries/patisseries look: as though they have been there for decades. Balthazar

doesn’t quite have that aged look yet.

The copper soup urns are still gleaming, and the espresso machine is spotless.

Perhaps surprisingly the coffee supplier is not French. Another point of irony is that although coffee is the national drink of France, the best roasters are not there. Monmouth Coffee is the supplier of choice to Balthazar in London. It does just happen to be one of the best in London, but is also conveniently situated in nearby Monmouth Street. The owner of Postcard Teas, Timothy d’Offay, the high priest of London tea blenders, supplies the teas in both the bakery shop in the restaurant.

Besides having a restaurant alongside, there are even more advantages in having your own bakery if you run a take away sandwich operation, and one of the best parts about my job as a restaurant and café consultant is that I get to meet all the people operating these noble enterprises.

One of my latest projects is assisting an iconic operation called Les Trois Garcons in the East End of London to open an antiques cafe in Redchurch Street, Shoreditch. Part of the brief is to find the best supplier for every category.

I contacted the head man at Balthazar Bakery. Yes, he would be delighted to supply their multigrain tin for the perfect croquet monsieur for the café. Nordic-style cardamom-spiced twisted buns? No problem. This flexible whole “can do” approach is important for building up a critical mass of sales to get a wholesale bakery operation into profit.

It’s the same across the rest of the organisation too. The staff are involved and feel ownership of their part of the

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JULIET SHIELD

project, and so pride in the product is obvious. Back at the Bakery shop in Russell Street, I asked one of the staff why they were always smiling. “Because it’s so nice to work here and the things are all beautiful,” she answered cheerily.

Ah me! On my first visit to check out the possibility of writing about Balthazar Bakery for this article, I bought a croissant, and found it not one

of the best. At last I would be able to be somewhat critical about somewhere. On the second visit however, the croissant I ate, standing up at the counter, while drinking my Monmouth cappuccino was perfect.

Paris, you’d better pay attention.

You never know - to complete the journey, Balthazar might come in your direction soon. The band of often

expressionless martinets in Parisian bakeries who ask, in curt tones, “Et avec ca?” after every item you ask for, may suddenly not seem so attractive.

Especially when the quality is as good as this.

Balthazar Restaurant and Bakery 4-6 Russell Street London WC2B 5HZ

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SAL ADS

WOW Micro Leaf launches new concept for professional kitchens WOW Micro Leaf, the living micro leaf brand from VHB, is launching a new concept for chefs and food service.

The new micro leaf concept consists of unique packaging which extends shelf life and provides added value and convenience for chefs.

All of the micro leaves are living which delivers optimum freshness. The new packaging, which is a UK first, temporarily slows the growth of the micro leaves, which extends the shelf life and helps the product to stay fresh and full of flavour for longer, says the company. The micro leaves are grown in a soil free medium, which means they are clean to prepare and cook with in the kitchen.

The product comes in new convenient pull out boxes which can be easily stacked in the fridge to help save space. The low sided punnet is designed to make the leaves easy to snip and use, reducing handling and additional bruising and damage. The boxes are conveniently labelled at the end, making it easier and quicker to identify each variety while in the fridge.

Two Michelin star chef Daniel Clifford, of Midsummer House, Cambridge, visited VHB’s nursery in West Sussex on ‘WOW Wednesday’ (24 April) to mark the occasion. A WOW promotional team delivered product to a selection of chefs in

London, including Claude Bosi Hibiscus, Bruce Poole - The Glasshouse, Paul Gayler - The Lanesborough, Alex Craciun - Pollen Street Social and Braden Charlesworth - Flemings.

Other chefs from around the country were also provided with product to trial.

Daniel Clifford said: “Micro herbs and leaves are a fantastic way to add impact to a plate of food. The key for me when sourcing any ingredient is that it needs to deliver the best possible flavour and to do that it needs to be as fresh as you can get it.

Living micro herbs are ideal because they are living, breathing plants right until you snip them for use in a dish.

You can’t get much fresher than that!

Like many chefs my fridge space is precious and the new packaging makes life a lot easier because you can stack it so easily.”

Grown in VHB’s nursery in West Sussex, the micro leaves are grown in Britain all year round. The range, made up of five products, is available in the new unique box which contains four punnets: • Peashoots • Rocket • Garlic Chive • Red Amaranth • Purple Shiso • A mixed box containing Shiso, Red Amaranth, Rocket and Watercress WOW Micro Leaf is available through Compass Group UK & Ireland.

Nunhems set to promote non-leak tomatoes to sandwich independents Nunhems is gearing up to promote its non-leak Intense tomatoes to independent sandwich bars and cafés around the country. These could benefit from its advantages in the same way that manufacturers such as Raynor Foods have, says the company.

“We are planning to find a wholesaler or distributor to take the Intense tomato, or possibly a pre-

40 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

sliced version, to the independents,” says Erik Bongers, Nunhems Produce Chain Specialist.

“We are certain there will be a big market there, because no-one wants soggy sandwiches and certainly independents don’t want to have any waste.”

The company is also targeting the foodservice side of the industry, where chefs can use the tomato to

make dishes with better results than with a normal tomato.

There is also considerable potential for the company in the supermarket sector with the non-leak tomato targeted as an ‘at home’ cooking and sandwich ingredient, it says.

The plant’s non-leak properties are the result of a cell structure that allows it to retain a significant amount of moisture.

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To advertise call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 May 2013 41

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ENVIRONMENTAL

Seeking the sustainable sandwich -

Pret A Manger’s story How sustainable is your company really? Pret A Manger has been working with the sustainability non-profit making organisation Forum for the Future since 2005 on very practical ways to get some answers

I

t’s all very well understanding that “sustainability” is something your company needs to do something about. But what does it actually mean for your business, where do you start, and how will you know when you get there?

Even once you’ve got your head around the bigger picture, it can still be challenging to work out how it all connects to the daily nitty-gritty of running your business. How do you make the right decisions, given the sheer complexity of some of the issues and long-term trends involved? And how can you prove that sustainable decisions also make commercial sense?

Pret A Manger has been working with sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future since 2005 on very

42 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

practical ways to get to answers for those questions.

Forum has provided expert support and advice to Pret across a range of activity areas over the years, helping the company make sense of sustainability – from staff training, to streamlined lifecycle assessments of food ingredients, to developing and updating the company’s sustainability framework and strategy.

To give a very practical example, in 2007 together we used our Streamlined Lifecycle Assessment tool (SLCA) to assess the sustainability of key food ingredients in Pret sandwiches. As well as providing a structured framework to assess the ingredients in question, the SLCA improved the food team’s understanding of sustainability issues

and impacts. The process helped identify areas of concern across the lifecycle of the ingredients, knowledge gaps and next steps for improvement.

The streamlined nature of the tool means it provides a robust yet rapid assessment – critical given the time pressures any high street retail team is likely to be under.

Most recently, Forum helped Pret revise its sustainability framework and strategy for 2015. This describes different levels of possible performance across the company’s five sustainability focus areas, so that it can assess how it’s doing now, and work out where it wants to get to over time – from “beginner” (eg doing at least enough to keep up with legislation) through to “pioneer”.

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Tea is the world’s most consumed beverage after water. In the UK alone, approximately 130,000 tonnes of tea is consumed per year, 95% of it in tea bags.

At the other end of the value chain, tea is produced in 35 countries around the globe and provides a vital source of employment, often in some of the world’s poorest areas.

Yet the global tea sector faces a host of different future challenges, from climate change, increased demand for energy and water, and competition for land use, to rapidly changing markets for tea.

Phase I of Tea 2030, which we ran in 2011 with the support of Unilever and Finlays, showed that, while there are initiatives already addressing some of these issues, many critical challenges remain to be solved, and achieving a sustainable future for tea will need Pret’s five focus areas are: resources (carbon and water); waste; sustainable sourcing; freshly prepared, good, natural food; and positive contribution to society. The pioneer level of the framework helps Pret imagine and understand what the company would look like if it were operating as a truly sustainable business – it provides a sense of “destination” to work towards that describes what the business would be actually be doing.

The strategy in turn lays out what level of the framework Pret is aiming to reach by 2015, across the five different areas, and for each of the countries it operates in.

This includes specific practical targets to make and measure progress, from reducing energy and water use in stores, to improving animal welfare by working with suppliers, or raising more money for charity and setting up new apprenticeship schemes.

This recognises that different markets are at different stages of their journey and allows each one to make progress while moving towards the same ultimate goals. So for example, Hong Kong or US operations might have different targets to the UK for 2015, given the local context, but in the long run all Pret operations are moving towards the same way of doing business more sustainably.

Becoming a sustainable food business isn’t easy. Firstly, you have to work out what sustainability means

wider collaboration, long-term thinking, innovation and a systems approach.

We're now launching Phase II of Tea 2030, bringing together leading stakeholders from across the tea value chain (from tea production to use to disposal). They are collaborating to: • build a shared understanding across the sector of the critical challenges it must tackle; • create a set of scenarios (descriptions of different possible futures) that explore both certain and uncertain trends affecting the sector's future and help identify risks and opportunities; • develop a set of collaborative innovation platforms and implementation plans, to start addressing key challenges.

for your business: What are the big trends that will impact on how we do business? What do we need to do differently to remain commercially successful in the long term?

Then you need to understand where it is you want to get to: What would my business look like if it were operating sustainably? You need to develop tools and skills to work out how to get from here to there in practice: Where do we start? What decisions should we be making?

And you need to take everyone in and around the business with you, from the shop floor to the boardroom, from investors to customers.

Luckily there are more and more leading businesses out there getting to grips with all this, showing it’s possible and desirable, understanding what works and what the business benefits are.

Pret A Manger, for one, is making steady progress towards its 2015 targets – it’s not easy, but the company knows business as usual isn’t an option in an ever changing world, and the rewards are great in the long run.

Forum for the Future continues to provide support, advice and challenge to Pret, to help the company make progress and answer the tricky questions (eg How might we encourage our customers to recycle more in store, or choose more

nutritious products? How might we work with our commercial landlords to reduce energy and water use in our stores? How might we work with our suppliers to improve the sustainability of our ingredients? and so on).

From practical decision-making through to long-term strategy, we’re working together to understand what the future holds and how to respond in order to be a sustainable business – one that’s commercially successful, giving back to nature and society, and all while focused on serving up great food to customers.

Another example of the Forum for the Future’s work can be seen in the inset piece on these pages. forumforthefuture.org

www.sandwich.org.uk May 2013 43

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PROFILE THE

SERIOUS

SANDWICH If ever there was a good example of a top sandwich bar in action it’s The Serious Sandwich in Chichester, where a deli background has given owners Trevor and Cindy Webber a taste for top ingredients.

Simon Ambrose went to see some really serious sandwiches

T

rying to interview sandwich bar owners can be a frustrating business for the unprepared journalist. Unless you visit an outlet after closing, which is never ideal, you’re likely to find yourself with an empty chair opposite you for at least some of the time.

Although we arrange our interview times for non-peak hours, your interviewee, of necessity, has to take care of late customers. And the more successful they are, they more interruptions you are likely to have.

So it was that my visit to The Serious Sandwich bar in Chichester brought its fair share of resumed conversations, but all timely opportunities to look around and take in what a fantastic discovery this outlet is.

As far as I’m concerned, and I was happy to share my opinion with owner Trevor Webber, who has been running the business with wife Cindy since 1990, this is one of the few sandwich bars I have been to that really does tick all the right boxes.

Considering the relatively small size of the sandwich bar and its off-the-highstreet secondary location, Chichester can count itself very fortunate to have such a gem in its midst. And with independent shops, in general, under pressure in the town because of a threatened new development, it needs all the help it can get.

There’s more than a hint of deli about the shop. This is partly because the business in its original form was a deli – their first food venture in the town - and Trevor and Cindy obviously

44 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

know their products inside out.

The deli feel also comes from an oval New York neon sign proclaiming its Salt Beef sandwiches. Some of their well-travelled customers, familiar with salt beef sandwiches from the Big Apple, say they’re as good as anything they’ve had over there.

The Reubens, for instance, is a classic Salt Beef with Jarlsberg cheese, pickled dill cucumber, lettuce and Dijon mustard. The other alternative, the Bronx Buster, is served without the cheese and English mustard.

Trevor Webber knows what he’s talking about in terms of authenticity of the product – his first wife was halfJewish and that’s when he got to know and love this delicacy. It’s a big pull for customers, with some coming from towns as far away as Winchester.

But really all the food is top quality, with an artisan/deli feel: a mix of premade sandwiches and panini, made on the premises that morning, as well as daily specials.

“Because of our deli background we buy quality product as a matter of course. We use things like Colston Bassett stilton; we don’t use proscuitto we use parma ham; we always use English farmhouse cheddars,” he says.

“We have never traded on price, it’s always quality and value. Twice a year we go out and buy sample sandwiches, including M&S, and take them apart, and I would certainly back ours against any of theirs. It’s what we set out to do – our bread is baked locally and doesn’t contain any animal fat, our soups are dairy free – it’s not that we’re a health-

based operation, it’s just that we care about what goes into our products.”

So just what are all those boxes ticked by The Serious Sandwich? The fantastic bread he mentions, supplied by a local craft independent baker, (the Village Bakery in Selsey) is a great bonus for customers, and they are able to offer an excellent granary, wholemeal and white.

Meanwhile, baguettes and speciality rolls, as well as panini and croissants, are baked-off on site, providing ondemand freshness and reducing waste

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PROFILE

virtually to zero, as well as providing that essential fresh-bread aroma. Why are there sandwich bars out there still not baking-off – I’ve yet to find a downside?

The majority of their sandwiches are classics, of course, but with interesting twists. Unusually, but befitting the fact that Chichester is near the coast, the most popular sandwich is by far and away the Deep Sea Delight - prawns in Marie Rose Sauce with Avocado.

There’s actually a big seafood range with other lines including Tailspin –

crayfish tails with mixed leaves and lime mayo; Fisherman’s Friend – smoked mackerel mixed with spring onion, horseradish and mayo, with iceberg lettuce; and a recently added Tuna Lo Cal – flakes of tuna with tomato, grated carrot and cucumber.

But chicken, as ever, is big, with lines such as Chicken Licken - chicken, bacon, avocado, lettuce & honey mustard mayonnaise, their second biggest seller, in fact. Then there’s Lemon Lite – chicken in a lemon and black pepper marinade with romaine lettuce; and Sunshine Chicken is chicken with chargrilled peppers and rocket.

Specials are important and clearly marked on a blackboard. They frequently use them as trial lines for the future menu, which is changed ever 18 months, and gives them an opportunity to look at margins and costs. This includes items such as Hot Pork with apple sauce and stuffing.

Not all the specials work out.

Customers invariably don’t like stilton included in anything, or garlic with roast lamb and rosemary, even though

they’re such natural partners. “Our customers kept asking if they could have the lamb without the garlic,” he laughs.

Soups are “huge”. “We don’t use flour as a thickener – we use potato, and there’s nothing added that shouldn’t be there. We thought originally it would such a fag to make them ourselves, but we tried lots of commercial ones and just didn’t like them. So we now have 14 soups of our own that my wife makes on a rotational basis.”

I’m very pleased to see that there’s a big ethical component in their sourcing – their beef and eggs are both free range (the beef comes from a free-range Scottish herd), and the salmon is wild Canadian or Alaskan, avoiding that ‘greasy’ element that spoils farmed salmon.

Trevor says they would even use free-range chicken if they could find a supplier who could source the volumes they need, but that’s proved impossible so far – now there’s an opportunity for someone!

www.sandwich.org.uk May 2013 45

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PROFILE

Another key reason they are able to offer great products at reasonable prices is that they also operate a catering operation from an industrial unit in Chichester. Here Cindy, a passionate ‘foodie,’ roasts the meats, poaches salmon and makes all the fillings and salads, as well as all the home made soups sold in the shop, and supplies customers at weddings, funerals, private parties and so on.

Interestingly, the catering side supplies sandwiches to some of the most important retail supermarket buyers in the UK, as well as one of the biggest sandwich chains. They come to the area to audit local iceberg lettuce growers – the area is reckoned to be the one of the largest iceberg lettuce growing areas in the UK. There are also vast numbers of glasshouses on the old Tangmere Battle of Britain disused airfield, where the Dutch owner grows squash, peppers and such like.

The Webbers have a contract to supply the visiting buyers and they’ve had some glowing feedback, via a third party, that they’ve gone down very well – from people very much in the sandwich business and literally know their onions. We can’t say who!

So how did two people with no apparent food background come to own a sandwich bar? Cindy Webber was formerly a fashion buyer for Harrods and then Burtons, and as a result is “an extremely good negotiator with suppliers” – one of the reasons why they are able to offer quality product at relatively reasonable prices.

Trevor had a furniture fitting business and has been able to turn his skills to

46 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

fitting out the shop. Now there’s a good partner skill set for opening a sandwich bar!

Both had been previously based in London when they decided that they wanted a less stressful life running a deli, and the right site in Chichester came up in 1990.

Neither of them had any commercial food experience, but had some valuable help from consultant Les Hapgood, who “was brilliant.” He came and ran the shop for them for a week so they observe and learn and it proved to be money well spent.

“The deli was a big success, becoming one of the Independent newspaper’s ‘Six of the Best’ at one point. Trevor was on the committee of the Guild of Fine Food Retailers and a judge at the Great Taste Awards. But he became increasingly frustrated at the way independent suppliers with fantastic new products – chutneys and so on – would invariably ‘use’ independent delis to get established, and then desert them to supply supermarket shelves after a three year period. The final straw came when Antonio Carluccio floated his business and stopped supplying them with four metres of dry goods as a result.

“We decided to close the deli and open up The Serious Sandwich in its place, and eventually moved premises to where we are now when the landlord decided to put the rent up to £50,000 pa … and I declined!,” said Trevor.

“This site is great in the summer – we have lots of people sitting inside.

But the weather recently hasn’t done us

much good. It’s down to what I would call core business at the moment, but it will pick up.”

The shop is run with the help of two full time staff. “I get a lot of people through the door who want to work under 16 hours and still claim benefits, so I always advertise it as 18 hours a week now!. We’ve been very lucky with our staff in terms of loyalty but then we do pay above the basic and I think that’s been important.

Portion control is applied rigorously to serving fillings. “It’s a numbers game this – volume times margin, that’s all it is.”

With such a good operation I can’t help wondering if they’ve ever thought of expanding the business with other shops in the area? “I’m 65. We were going to roll it out in 2007 into the market towns such as Winchester and Salisbury, but I don’t know where the time goes? It may be possible, but not by me.”

One of the tricks to running a successful business like this is avoiding waste. Offering both pre-made and made-up options offers the advantage of keeping down queue levels at peak times – but inevitably there’s something left over. “It’s not easy to get it right – obviously experience based on sales history helps a lot, but sometimes we get caught out, particularly when the weather’s bad.”

Unsold sarnies tend to get offered to customers as a two for one before closing time. On the day I called it looked like there was going to be three sandwiches left over. I must admit to being quite tempted to hang around.

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Specialist bakers of traditional quality Bread, Morning Goods and Confectionery products.

We are established suppliers to the manufacturing and catering sectors. Bespoke and niche products are our speciality.

Please contact the bakery on 01226 382877, email sales@fostersbakery.co.uk or visit our website at www.bake-it.com for more information.

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HEALTHY FOCUS

The meaT in The sandwich The recent horsemeat scandal has seen a renewed focus on provenance, quality and assurance of raw materials. In the first of a new series focusing on the ongoing trend towards healthier ingredients, we look at Dawn Farms and its UK arm, TMI Foods

A

s a partner supplier to top global manufacturing sandwich brands and retailers, Dawn Farm Foods is certainly at the forefront in the development of healthier cooked meat ingredients.

The Naas, Co. Kildarebased company is a leading supplier of cooked and fermented meats to the sandwich industry, principally beef, chicken, ham and pork, pepperoni and salami.

And its UK arm TMI Foods in Northampton is a market leader in the supply of specialist cooked bacon and roasted vegetables to customers throughout the UK and Europe.

“Whether a customer wants crispy bacon slices for a signature club sandwich, smoked ham slices for a panini, or chargrilled chicken and chorizo pieces for homestyle wraps, we produce a wide range of sandwich ingredients to meet all tastes,” said Ian Ritchie, UK Sales Director for Dawn Farms and TMI. “At the same time, we recognise the important part we have to play in providing healthier options,” he added.

Dawn Farms’ health and nutrition policy requires all new product to use only natural flavours and colours, fall within the FSA salt targets, minimise the use of allergens where an alternative is available and to be lower in saturated fat.

“Similarly, at TMI we have been reformulating our range of cures to reduce the number of preservatives and levels of salt in our bacon without compromising taste,” said Ian. “Additionally, by sourcing leaner cuts of meat from carefully selected UK and European suppliers and investing in precision curing, we have been able to produce healthier options

48 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

which still deliver distinctive tastes.”

At a time also when the subject of provenance, quality and assurance of raw materials is the burning issue of the moment in the food sector, the companies in the Dawn Farms stable take their responsibilities extremely seriously.

The company has in place its own enhanced proprietary food safety standard called Food Plus which takes a forensic approach to food safety and quality using the latest bio-security, surveillance, microbiological profiling and DNA speciation techniques. It is supported by a number of other accreditations

including BRC ‘A Grade’ and membership of Origin Green and SEDEX – the notfor-profit organisation dedicated to driving improvements in ethical and responsible business practices in global supply chains.

In addition, in the UK TMI Foods has Red Tractor accreditation, an independently-audited food assurance scheme, covering production standards developed by experts on safety, hygiene, animal welfare and the environment among other areas.

“There is no room for complacency in the food sector and partnership and proactive communication is at the heart of all of our activities with our customer portfolio,” said Ian. “Dawn Farms is the industry leader in Europe for fermented meats such as pepperoni, salami and chorizo and TMI Foods has a long-standing reputation for the quality of its cooked bacon. Our Northampton factory is situated at the heart of the UK sandwich and food manufacturing industry, and we cook over 10 million rashers of bacon there every week, enough for 1.6 million sandwiches.”

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HEALTHY FOCUS He added: “A key strength for sandwich manufacturers is the fact that we are a one-stop shop for the most popular sandwich meats from ham to chicken to pepperoni and chorizo. We offer superb product quality and consistency, which is tailored to meet the needs of the sandwich and other convenience food sectors and geared to driving their businesses.”

Both Dawn Farms and TMI Foods complement each other seamlessly, working together to develop innovative products.

Innovations at TMI Foods have included reduced fat and salt products, flavours such as apple wood, hickory and maple, and a new cooked back bacon product which has been exciting the sandwich industry.

At Dawn Farms, which last year won the Irish Food and Drink “Exporter of the Year” Award at the Export Industry Awards in Dublin, great importance is attached to tracking and predicting consumer trends in the market place and the company is constantly looking at new ideas for customers.

Its new product development service operates from a state-of-theart Science and Innovation Centre in Naas, where a 20strong team of technologists and meat science experts work in partnership with customers to develop pioneering products. It has branded its in-house stagegate product development process now called NECTAR, which stands for Need, Explore, Create, Test, Action, and Review.

The facility in Naas is recognised as one of the most modern meat technology operations of any cooked meat factory in the European Union and over 80% of output is

Key elements include: ■ On-going salt reduction programme in line with FSA targets with over 11.5t of salt removed from products sold to the market place to date ■ Site is now free from all artificial flavours ■ Artificial colours and flavours removed from our ‘own product range’ in 2012 ■ Target is for site to be free from all artificial flavours and colours by end 2013 ■ No products contain added hydrogenated fats ■ Nut-free facility ■ Allergenic ingredient reduction programme on site Currently targeting gluten and lactose ■ Exploratory studies on the addition of health beneficial ingredients and a move to kitchen cupboard ingredients. exported to more than 30 countries worldwide. It is a major producer of pepperoni, which is ready to eat and ideal as either a sandwich filling or pizza topping. A significant range of products are available in individually quick frozen format for portion control

and easy handling, all poultry products are ready to eat, and the range of slow cooked hams deliver a flavour and texture popular with sandwich manufacturers.

“The lean chargrilled chicken strips in the Dawn Farms Foodservice range are

naturally low in saturated fat. We also have a meatball in the pipeline which contains no added gluten in the recipe – as this is a trend we have seen growing quite quickly in the UK market in the past two years,” said Ian. Given the fast-moving nature of the sandwich and convenience market, Dawn Farms has a team dedicated to monitoring the latest trends. “We’ve successfully interpreted these to develop many new products lately,” said Ian. “For example, diced and mini chorizo, pulled ham hock and street food-style crushed meatballs. All of these products are ideal for hot and cold sandwich, pasta pot or snack pizza applications. They taste great and have been very successful in generating consumer interest in our customers’ products.

The company is also a member of Origin Green, a voluntary sustainability development programme which commits members to doing business in a way that is good for its customers, community and the environment. Origin Green is the world’s first countrywide sustainability programme and is led by Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board. At its heart is a sustainability charter against which participants will be independently audited for their progress against the objectives set.

“We were delighted when we were originally selected as a pilot company for Origin Green,” said Ian. “As a member, we have committed to proactively meet the challenges of reducing our energy and water usage, managing our carbon footprint and waste, and developing our staff and community programmes.” http://www.dawnfarms.ie/

www.sandwich.org.uk May 2013 49

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EGGS

80% of consumers are concerned about egg quality in sandwiches and quiches NEW research has revealed that 80% of consumers are concerned about the quality of eggs used in products such as quiche, mayonnaise or egg sandwiches sold at retail or in foodservice outlets.

More than 75% of consumers also said it is important to them that the eggs used are British, yet around 1/3 of eggs used in manufactured products are imported.

The research, conducted prior to the horsemeat

scandal, also showed that more than one third would be willing to pay a premium for eggs produced to high standards of food safety.

And more than 80% of consumers say that they would like to see the British Lion mark on products containing egg, with three quarters saying that they would be more likely to buy a product carrying the logo.

When considering individual products,

Supplying Ingredients to the Sandwich and Salad Industry Fresh Chilled Eggs and Bacon Delivered Nationwide in Pallet Quantities Boiled eggs, liquid egg, egg powders, omelettes and scrambled eggs Naturally smoked, sweet-cured, cooked, streaky bacon rashers in hygienic MAP trays.

Low salt options available.

Tel. 01568 610270 Fax. 01568 610934 Email. info@henrysonfoods.co.uk www.henrysonfoods.co.uk

50 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

consumers show most concern over products such as egg sandwiches, quiches and mayonnaise and want the eggs that are used to be British, despite a surprisingly high proportion of imported eggs being used in the products.

In the research conducted in December 2012, more than 80% of shoppers recognised the British Lion mark, more than double the awareness for the Red Tractor and four times that of Freedom Food, with consumers understanding that the Lion mark means safe British food, produced to the highest standards.

Ian Jones, Chairman of British Lion egg processors, commented: “With the media and consumer focus firmly on the food industry at present, and the safety and quality of ingredients under extreme scrutiny, there is a need for retailers, manufacturers and caterers to reassure consumers about the quality and safety assurance of their ingredients and give consumers what they are clearly demanding.

“The research confirms that it is about time that retailers, caterers and manufacturers woke up to the responsible sourcing of eggs and egg products. At a minimum it ensures food safety but the research also shows that it will help to satisfy overwhelming consumer demand for the use of quality, British and

safe eggs and egg products in the food that they purchase at retail or when eating out. “With doubts continuing to surround the quality and safety of imported egg products, and a growing mistrust of foreign ingredients, not to mention the continued production of noncompliant egg elsewhere in the EU, the use of British Lion egg products within products and meals, and on packaging and menus, where suitable, is an easy way to reassure consumers, guarantee responsible sourcing and highlight the quality of food products.”

The research was conducted by OnePol among 1500 UK adults who have bought eggs within last three months and egg products within the last month - 29.01.13 – 04.02.13 *Kantar Omnibus, 1500 principle shoppers, October 2012

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EGGS

Source hard-boiled eggs from British suppliers, says Just Egg Just Egg celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, as the company gears up for further diversification for its hard-boiled eggs, and the resulting eggshell waste!

JUST Egg, a UK supplier of hard-boiled eggs and Egg mayonnaise to the sandwich trade, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. It might not sound a lot in the overall scheme of things, but in today’s tough marketplace it’s a massive achievement.

The fact of the matter is that the saturated foodservice market has been increasingly flooded with hard-boiled eggs sourced from certain European Countries – some of it illegally, if unknowingly sourced, from European egg suppliers, looking to offload cut-price product from outlawed battery farms.

Since January 2012, EU egg producers have had to supply eggs that come from enriched colony cages. As shelled hard-boiled eggs are obviously more difficult to trace in terms of origin, particularly when converted to egg powder or liquid egg,

the market has been difficult to monitor.

Just Egg imports fully traceable raw eggs from Europe and the UK and boils them at its purposebuilt boiling plant in east Leicester. 70% of its product is free range, a reflection of changing tastes in the marketplace.

The net result of oversupply has been that prices have dropped dramatically, says managing director Pankaj Pancholi. “And certainly the sky-high wheat prices haven’t helped either.

We are being undermined by people buying in illegally produced eggs – often unknowingly, and we feel British manufacturers are losing out. We feel sandwich producers should start to favour UK manufacturers.”

As a result, Just Egg has been increasingly diversifying. In particular, it has been successful at

Pankaj Pancholi, Just Egg managing director

supplying supermarkets with its packs of two hard-boiled eggs, and it will be launching a single egg pack this year. It also supplies the foodservice market with the retail egg packs as well.

Meanwhile, it looks as if a solution may have been found to the problem of thousands of tonnes of

eggshell going into landfill every year. An exciting new development last year saw Leicester University discover a way to make a new kind of decomposable and recyclable bioplastic from the thin wrappers found in eggshells.

The research team, led by Professor Andy Abbott, professor of physical chemistry and head of the Chemistry Department at the University of Leicester developed the bioplastic from extracted eggshell proteins called glycosaminoglycans.

Just Egg is now considering launching a pilot plant at the end of this year to start converting egg shells into the valuable powder.

Another potential use under consideration might be as a gardening product, aimed at keeping slugs away from tender plants.

Egg with an edible shell launched by scientists SCIENTISTS have invented an egg with an edible shell.

While identical to a regular hen’s egg, boiling water activates a chemical process in the shell to render it palatable for the human digestive system.

The products was launched on supermarket shelves for Easter Monday in special packs to mark the biggest holiday weekend of the year.

The product was developed by scientists at the British Egg Industry Council after research showed people

52 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

could not be bothered to peel eggs.

A team spent four years developing the product from farmyard to supermarket shelf. The breakthrough came after tests showed that hens consuming a diet rich in a soluble form of calcium produced eggs capable of shell texture transformation. The ration given to hens was then refined over a period of six months to guarantee the transformation occurs at boiling point. Emerging research has shown that egg shells contain

important nutrients – much like the outer of vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. But this is the first time that scientists have been able to transform a previously indigestible food into something palatable.

Andrew Joret, Chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said: “This is a significant step for the UK egg industry. It elevates the humble egg from a traditional staple to the absolute latest in fast food, without compromising on its natural qualities and nutritional benefits.”

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COMMENT

Handling the Hot Potato Sandwich manufacturer Raynor Foods’ marketing manager Tanya Everest-Ring looks back at the impact of the horsemeat scandal. Confirming its 100% product quality and provenance has meant an increased workload, but on the plus side, it has enabled the company to evaluate the robustness of its suppliers’ systems in a non-audit situation

Y

ou know how it is. There’s a big news event and the jokes start flying immediately: What do you put on a supermarket burger? £5 each way. I don’t eat burgers, they give me the trots. I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping this horsemeat scandal won’t go on furlong…

Who can forget the outcry in January this year when the Food Standards Agency published the results of tests on beefburgers and ready meals, revealing that many of them contained horsemeat?

Certainly nobody working the food industry will – the scandal affected every producer and manufacturer supplying or using beef products, and it wasn’t a joking matter.

Here at Raynors, we have a number of products that contain beef in different forms. including roast beef which we slice ourselves, slow-roasted pulled beef, pastrami, burgers and even corned beef.

When the scandal broke, we knew that our customers were likely to ask us about our beef, so our Food Technologist immediately contacted the suppliers of these ingredients to get further confirmation on the specification and their supply chain.

With all the publicity on the news, we knew that our customers might potentially be concerned and would want reassurance that the beef in our sandwiches contained only cow. A statement was issued by Heather Raynor (Sales Director) and Tom Hollands (Technical Manger) confirming that our beef was UK sourced and 100% beef.

The Food Standards Agency had advised public institutions on the steps they should take regarding the ‘authenticity sampling’ programme that they had organised in response to the scandal. This required a full traceability exercise for every meat product supplied, showing every processor, handler, and farmer involved in involved in producing it.

54 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

The FSA requirements also demanded that any beef products that had steps in the chain that were outside of the UK be tested, demonstrating the absence of horse DNA in the product.

As such public sector customers all sent in requests for this information.

Our supplier approval and monitoring process is extremely strict, demanding that any supplier must be able to achieve full supply chain traceability on any of our ingredients, which meant that it was a simple matter to get the supply chain information to our public sector customers. Those UK suppliers were also able to send us DNA test information, even though it was not requested by the public institutions.

This confirmed the 100% beef status of our ingredients, as UK suppliers were as eager to prove to us the quality and provenance of their products, as we were to reassure our customers.

For those ingredients (essentially corned beef) which had South American supply chain steps, getting the DNA testing took a little longer. The Raynors’ obsession with prioritising quality and flavour before cost probably benefitted us in this instance. We don’t like processed meats as a rule, and where we do have it in the range, we are extremely fussy that it is the best quality we can find.

Our ‘no compromises’ technical department had confirmed before we started buying corned beef that the traceability systems were fully in place for this supplier, and although they were slower than our UK suppliers to get all the steps in the chain confirmed and the DNA results in, their systems were robust and we were able to supply this confirmation to our customers very promptly.

Our certification body, STS advised us that the FSA’s main area of concern was for processed meats, so any products such as meatballs, burgers and sausages containing beef also went through the same supply chain confirmation and DNA testing as the non-UK sourced beef did.

This exercise turned out to be very useful for us as it enabled us to evaluate the robustness of our suppliers’ systems in a non-audit situation, and we were able to help one supplier with suggestions for further improvements to their processes.

Technical Manager Tom Hollands didn’t win the BSA’s Technical Excellence Award for no reason – he’s very good at creating failsafe systems for food safety and traceability and is always looking for ways to simplify systems to make it easier to access information.

So, the horsemeat scandal kept us and our suppliers extra busy for a while confirming product quality and provenance and took corned beef off hospital menus for a couple of weeks until DNA results came through.

The ongoing effect on customers has been interesting. Roast beef has become slightly less popular less popular in our Deli Creations range as some customers simply said ‘swap it for chicken’ to avoid the issue altogether, but our burger sales don’t appear to have been affected at all, despite burgers and mince being the original focus of the scandal!

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NEW PRODUCTS

Snowbird rides out horsemeat scandal COMMINUTED meat suppliers able to comfortably ride out the horsemeat scandal have proved few and far between but one such business is Snowbird foods.

The supplier of fully cooked and frozen sausages and meatballs, plus ingredients for pizza toppings, sandwiches, wraps and ready meals, emerged unscathed as other companies, many of them significantly larger than the North London based processor, contributed to the loss of confidence in the industry by having to report the finding of horsemeat in products.

Thorough checks by the £12m. plus turnover London company confirmed that none of its products had been

contaminated by horsemeat and Snowbird attributed this to its long term procurement plan.

It is the company’s policy to buy British, predominately from Red Tractor approved sources and three years ago, after extensive research, it further extended its commitment to traceability and consistency for its flagship range by exclusively buying from a single source of outdoor reared pigs of a specified breed specially chosen because it produced top quality meat and the ideal quantity of fat to make the perfect sausage.

Pork is Snowbird’s primary raw material although the company also handles growing quantities of beef, lamb,

Loyalty Card Printing Services WHETHER you own a cafe or a sandwich bar or a coffee shop, loyalty stamp cards are a proven way to lure your customers towards your business and encourage repeat sales.

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CustomerLoyaltyCards .co.uk have devised a simple way to order printed loyalty cards. They

have a range of templates that can be edited online to suit your requirements.

They also offer a print service where they can print your supplied artwork. What better way to attract customers and build your brand image than with bright, eyecatching customer loyalty cards.

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chicken and turkey which it ensures all are drawn from reputable sources in Britain.

Tel. 020 8805 9222. www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk

House of Candy HOUSE of Candy, a rapidly growing supplier of confectionery and snacks for the UK market, has been working with film specialists National Flexible to develop the packaging for a new range of bagged sweets.

The two companies worked together to develop a generic range of printed laminate films suitable for packing the sweets on highspeed automated bagging machinery.

Containing up to 50g of product, the film bags are low-cost, high quality and high clarity, with printing and origination costs kept to a minimum thanks to some clever work by National Flexible’s print team.

The House of Candy brand is available through

retail outlets, wholesalers and cash & carries nationwide. Having outgrown their factory, they have had to expand into larger premises and invested in new machinery to keep pace with the growing demand for their products.

National Flexible operates from a state-of-theart facility servicing its customers with flexible packaging in the food, confectionery, bakery, snack, contract packing and pharmaceutical industries.

Tel: 01274 685566 www.nationalflexible.co.uk

‘Exquisite’ Work By NXL Design CULINARE Exquisite Foods have teamed up with packaging specialists NXL Design in commissioning a branded range of sandwich packaging designs for their new product range.

The result is an elegant pack, which incorporates the Culinare brand logo prominently on the pack and makes each product variation instantly recognisable for the consumer.

The generic design allows itself to be used across the entire range, which

56 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

includes multiple SKU’s in a number of pack formats. Standardising the appearance across all of the packs enabled Culinare to reduce their costs and streamlined the whole process for them.

Working in conjunction with flexible packaging providers National Flexible, NXL were able to oversee the creative and technical aspects of the project in unison, significantly increasing their customers’ speed to market.

“Our market research identified that

many end-consumers want to be able to choose what they buy very quickly as an ‘on-the-go’ purchase, but also seek reassurance about the quality and freshness of the product they are going to be eating,” said NXL’s Phil Parkinson.

Tel: NXL Design on 01274 685566.

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Mayonnaise, Dressings and Sauces Sublime...

Piquant manufacture a range of quality mayonnaise, dips, dressing and sauces from our BRC accredited production facility in the West Midlands. We supply many standard products as well as being able to work on bespoke development using our in house NPD facility. If you are looking for unusually high quality products, from a company with a real interest in your business then look no further, you have found us!

www.piquant.co.uk To see our complete range of products visit our website or give us a call to discuss any of your requirements.

Tel: 01922 711116

To advertise call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 May 2013 57

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PACKAGING

New plant-based cup lid from Tri-Star TRI-STAR Packaging has launched a plant-based cup lid for hot drinks that can be composted by consumers at home. ‘Sustainable’ hot cup lids are generally made of plastic and have to be composted industrially.

Tri-Star’s lid is manufactured from a sugar cane pulp known as Bagasse, a natural and renewable material that helps prevent widespread destruction of forests and reduce the high levels of toxic waste produced by the plastics manufacturing process.

Tri-Star’s home-compostable cup lid is capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 100°C without distorting, going soft or popping off.

It is refrigerator and freezer-safe as well as microwave-proof, making it useful for holding soup products that require heating in the home.

The lid is designed to fit most 12oz, 16oz and 20oz hot drinks cups. Its beige colour accentuates its natural provenance and provides distinctive

cues that will resonate with the huge numbers of consumers concerned about sustainability issues. The lid looks particularly stylish used on ripple cups – or any other cup that has a natural look, perhaps featuring browns and greens, says the company.

Kevin Curran, managing director of Tri-Star, said: “This new homecompostable cup lid for hot drinks is truly ground-breaking. Our aim is always to offer our customers the latest and best innovations, and this lid is the

perfect addition to our range.

“Companies using our new lid will be able to highlight their green credentials to their customers and show they are a business that cares about the environment. This will play well with modern consumers, who are very engaged with ecological issues, helping to drive loyalty and sales.

Adding this new home-compostable lid to your hot drinks packaging inventory is a small step that could have a huge impact on both the planet and your profits.”

“Since the lid is made from naturally grown sugar cane, it is easily converted by nature into simple, stable compounds that are absorbed back into the ecosystem. This process takes only a few months with normal composting and introduces no toxins into the environment. If your company cares about sustainability, then this new lid really is a nobrainer.”

Remmerco adds tamper-resistant SureStrip to its culinary container products Remmerco, Sabert’s UK master distributor, has added SureStrip, a tamperresistant feature, to its culinary container products, designed to enhance the safety and security of packaged food, whilst reducing costs.

The system offers elegant fresh-food packaging designs and peace of mind by adding protection from tampering. The security seal is built into each leakresistant, pop-tight lid. This patent-pending feature eliminates the need for sealing equipment, shrink bands, heat tunnels, energy and labour costs.

The SureStrip feature is a unique design that has been added to Remmerco’s line of square bowls. In addition to delivering square bowls with great aesthetic appeal, it now provides additional peace of mind, says the company.

“The tamper-resistant design is built right into the lid,” says Richard Remmer, managing director. “Once you place your food into one of the SureStrip containers, you snap on the lid to secure it. When consumers want to open the package, all they

58 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

have to do is pull off the strip that’s built into the edge of the lid, just as you would a shrink band, and open it right up.”

The tamper-resistant square bowls from Sabert are available in five sizes in crystal clear PET. The feature

is said to be ideal for any food delivery system concerned with the safety of its food, relevant to supermarkets, convenience stores, food packers and processors or any merchandising environment where customers handle packaged food.

Another innovation from the Sabert Corporation is the stylish Mini bowl. With sharp clean lines and a clear lid, this is said to be ideal for individual portions of salad and desserts. Designed to be shelf friendly, it is available in two sizes with a single lid to fit both sizes. They can also be heat sealed, but the uniquely designed lid (patented) provides for excellent stackability, it adds.

“These bowls provide optimum visibility with superb clarity and are an enhancement to the huge range of bowls supplied by Remmerco and Sabert.”

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To advertise call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 May 2013 59

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AROUND THE TRADE

Glendale Foods wins distribution deal with German Salami Company GLENDALE Foods of Manchester has secured an exclusive agreement to distribute specialist cooked and smoked continental sausages from the German Salami Company.

This adds to Glendale’s in-house capacity for producing cooked and raw English sausages in a variety of flavours and sizes from chipolatas to jumbo 4’s, extending the ingredient options for foodservice customers and ready meal manufacturers.

With continental varieties like salami, pepperoni, chorizo, kabanos, frankfurters and garlic sausage, supplied either fresh or frozen, this range extension is targeted at sandwich, wraps and pizza manufacturers, pasta dishes and ready meals.

The specific method of production means there are no artificial colours or flavours, as well as lower fat and salt content, in line with current nutritional guidelines, and all products can be made bespoke to the customer requirements.

Although perhaps best known for its retail lines, Glendale has produced high quality meal components for many years, recently increasing its capacity for

cooked and frozen product to 1.5 tonnes per hour.

Its pre-cooked components like meatballs, meat strips, burgers, grillsteaks, marinated chicken pieces, stuffing balls and baked dumplings can be found in pre-packed sandwiches and ciabatta, ready meals in major supermarkets, pizza chains,

coffee houses, retailer restaurants, and airline catering and canned meals, as well as other foodservice enterprises.

Unlike the fermentation manufacturing process used for the majority of imported salamis and similar products, German Salami sausages are smoked and cooked on a fully

automated line in a specific process that involves heating beyond 75°C, thereby reducing the bacteria count and ensuring food safety.

This method also allows for a reduced fat content of just 16% and a lower salt level of 1.5%, compared to the regular 4.0%. The use of prime quality pork and beef blended with authentic herbs and spices, then filled into genuine German casings, makes for an extremely flavourful range of continental sausages, made to traditional recipes, says the company.

There are also skinless versions for convenient use in many foodservice and ready meal applications.

Products can be supplied

by Glendale sliced or diced, as well as in coins and logs, in modified atmosphere packaging, either fresh with a minimum shelf life of 28 days or individually quick frozen for extended freezer storage. Orders are delivered direct on pallets, in single or multiple varieties. In addition to traditional flavours, there are special Irish whiskey, parmesan-crusted, peppered, apple and chilli salamis, for adding a distinctive note to pizzas and pasta dishes, salads and sandwiches.

New ‘free-from’ snack launched by Frank Food Co NATURAL ingredients specialist The Frank Food Company is launching its new Frank Bar, a‘Free From’ snack, created for ‘grab-andgo’ convenience, forecourt, supermarket, foodservice and sports retail customers.

It is anticipated to take a share of the £2 billion take-home snack market, which is growing 8.3% year

60 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

on year.

The bar is made from 100% natural ingredients. Its recipe incorporates gluten-free oats, dates, plums, natural fruit and dark organic chocolate.

Richard Wilson, MD at the Frank Food Company, said: “The Frank Bar aims to revolutionise a bland and insatiable health food market.

Consumers care about health, but they also want a snack bar that tastes good, has natural unadulterated ingredients and which fills them up.”

Frank is available in five flavours: Double Chocolate, Strawberry & Chocolate, Blueberry & Chocolate, Oat & Chocolate and Orange & Chocolate.

S&SN_145_May13_p58-65_Layout 1 02/05/2013 13:25 Page 61

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Please see website for full deatails or call 0844 7011 976 For your free, no obligation appraisal, call us today on: 0844

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To advertise call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 May 2013 61

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AROUND THE TRADE Mr Crumb launches a new bespoke service

Pipers Crisps starts delivery service within the M25 PIPERS Crisps has begun its own delivery service in London and the surrounding area.

The Lincolnshire-based crisp maker has already been making its own deliveries to customers within a 130 mile radius of their base since the business began in 2004. This service is now being extended to their discerning retailers within the M25 region, including sandwich bars, delicatessens, pubs, farm shops, food halls, garden centres, hotels, museums and stadiums.

Alex Albone, managing director of Pipers Crisps, explains: “We know from experience that our local customers are delighted with the personal service they

receive. They have the same, regular member of our staff for each delivery and build an important rapport with them.

It’s not just about ‘service with a smile’ it’s also about practical issues such as timing deliveries to suit our customers, helping to place the stock where they want it and advising them about merchandising and POS equipment. Our customers benefit from our presence on the ground by putting a face to a name, and we gain important direct feedback from the personal interaction,” he adds.

Customers outside Pipers’ delivery areas will still continue to receive a courier service - this can be a next-day service if requested.

Atlantic Foods launches new mini desserts for the out of home sector ATLANTIC Foods has made two further additions to its Go On! range of mini desserts with the launch of a Triple Chocolate Cookie and a Dark Chocolate Cookie.

The Triple Chocolate Cookie is a combination of milk, dark and white chocolate, whilst the Dark Chocolate Cookie contains chunks of dark chocolate chips. When baked both cookies have a crunchy outer and soft, melt-in-the-mouth centre.

The two new products - supplied

62 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

in cases of 240 x 40g - are part of the Go On! ‘Hot Selection’ targeted as a standalone dessert, a coffee-time indulgence, or part of a sharing platter.

“Desserts are one of the great missed opportunities in the out of home sector, but with the help of the new Go On! range from Atlantic Foods you can capitalise on this massive opportunity with a selection of desserts that is as wide as it is versatile,” adds the company.

IRISH food manufacturer ‘Mr Crumb’ is launching a new bespoke service in response to identifying a widening gap in the food ingredients and manufacturing industry.

Increased consolidation within the food industry is creating huge, highly automated behemoths with slow response times, it says, resulting in a gap for a company able to offer a quick turnaround.

Mr Crumb, it says, employs 70 highly skilled staff at its 35,000 BRC “A” grade facility, and is able to offer manufacturers and retailers small batch, hand-made, quick turnaround products in response to consumer demand. 10% of the company’s staff already work in NPD on projects for various international retailers.

The company manufactures a range of ingredients including fresh breadcrumbs, stuffing, toppings, flavoured butters and sauces, that can be used in a wide range of meat, poultry, fish and nonmeat ready meals, as well as party food and hand-held snacks.

The company can assist retailers or manufacturers by delivering small batches of a range of bespoke own label or branded products. All will use highest quality Irish sourced ingredients and can be supplied chilled or frozen.

Says MD Jason Coyle: “Recently we have produced a range of hand held frozen snacks for a German food chain, and an infused cranberry based stuffing for a major UK supermarket.

“A retailer can approach us on a Friday with a concept and by the following week we can have our test kitchen developing it. From concept to shelf can be as short as 4 weeks. It’s this flexibility and customer focus that is setting us apart.”

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To advertise call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 May 2013 63

S&SN_145_May13_p58-65_Layout 1 02/05/2013 13:25 Page 64

PACKAGING

Ginsters’ new packs focus on taste and satisfaction GINSTERS has undertaken a comprehensive redesign of its packaging. The pack designs mark a huge step forward for the brand, says the company, as it adopts a less structured and more natural look and feel, positioning the product as the ‘hero’ of the pack itself.

The new packs retain key elements, including the Ginsters logo, but reduce the amount of solid black onpack, replacing it with large, attractive photography of freshly baked product. Each sector within the range is also shot on a different background to help decision making at fixture, with product names called out in an exclusive Ginsters font and clean white lettering.

The packs also feature icons highlighting Ginsters’ British sourcing message– “more important than ever before as UK consumers become more focused on where the meat they are eating is sourced from”.

Back of pack is also getting a makeover and will now have more of a scrapbook feel with nutritional content, heating instructions and company contact details.

To leverage the pack redesign and build in-store visibility, all current point of sale material will be updated and new stainless steel chillers will be incorporated within the Ginsters merchandising solution.

At the same time the Consumer website has been

given a makeover to reflect the new identity, and a trade website launched last month, providing retailers with a one-stop shop for savoury category advice and also access to point of sale material to help boost instore sales.

Andy Valentine, Head of Brand Marketing for Ginsters, comments: “Ginsters is a trusted and

much-loved British brand and the redesign will help keep us ahead of the game, giving us a platform to really push the brand this year and beyond. We feel the new look really dials up our ‘Taste & Satisfaction’ cues’ and will be a genuine step change in the way we present ourselves to our customers and consumers alike.”

Seda UK partners with Bewley’s in eco initiative SEDA UK is supplying Bewley’s, Ireland’s market leading coffee and tea company, with compostable cups for its Beeco coffee brand.

South Wales based Seda developed the new cups for Bewley’s from its Naturelly Seda range, with the 12oz double wall insulated product offering a real alternative to conventional paper cups.

The compostable cups are coated with a bio-based material and feature Bewley’s Beeco own design and logo. Following rigorous testing by Vinçotte, an independent inspection and certification body, they have been guaranteed as biodegradable in an industrial composting unit.

Bewley’s, which dates back almost 180 years and is regarded as a highly ethical firm, pioneered the introduction of Fairtrade

coffee into Ireland in 1996 and now works closely with coffee growers in Central and South America.

This includes the Peruvian farmers who are part of the CEPICAFE cooperative, which is involved in a reforestation sustainability project and forms the basis of Bewley’s Beeco programme. The use

64 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

of Seda’s compostable cups underlines the company’s ethos in driving environmentally favourable projects.

Both companies worked closely together over a period of three months to ensure that the cups met Bewley’s requirements for a successful launch.

Carol Geary, marketing

manager at Bewley’s said: “There has been growing interest amongst coffee operators for ‘greener’ solutions that help to decrease the waste and energy costs associated with doing business. Our Beeco programme was developed to tap into this trend.

“When we were conceptualising the programme we knew we would need compostable ancillaries to complement the use of the energy saving equipment and ethically sourced coffee. There are a whole host of factors that food and beverage companies need to consider when introducing compostable materials into their branded portfolio.

Prior to the launch of Beeco, Seda worked with us to ensure that their compostable cup met our rigorous quality and branding standards.”

S&SN_145_May13_p58-65_Layout 1 02/05/2013 13:25 Page 65

some of our displays for Cafés and Bakeries

Call 0800 688 9085 or visit us at www.dwdisplay.com

SOUP: THE NEW SANDWICH?

Soup is increasingly perceived as a healthy alternative to the more traditional sandwich lunch – people are recognising the value of soup as a main meal on the move and as a good way of boosting their ‘five a day’, according to new research.

The Solo Cup Europe Soup Report 2013 provides valuable market insight and advice for ‘to go’ operators.

For example, the findings reveal an almost equal split between a preference for smooth and chunky soups so you should cater for both preferences otherwise your soup menu will only appeal to half of your potential customers!

The Solo Cup Europe HD range of containers is ideally suited to soup service and comes in a range of convenient sizes from 832oz and in both white and stock print. You can use them with a vented paper lid for soups and other hot foods, or for an economical choice, try our translucent plastic polypropylene lids For your copy of the Soup Report and samples of the HD range, call 01480 459413 or email Leighton.Jones@soloeurope.co.uk or go to www.solocupeurope.co.uk

Tower Close • St. Peters Industrial Park • Huntingdon Cambridgeshire • United Kingdom PE29 7BZ Tel: +44(0) 1480 459413

To advertise call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 May 2013 65

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ALLERGEN L ABELLING

A matter of

life and death New EU legislation on allergy information means that sandwich bars and cafes have to include allergy information for customers by the end of 2014, but the run-up to that is more of a confused picture, as Vita Whitaker, a founder of Food Allergy Management Europe (FAME) Ltd, explains

S

andwich and cafes providing a food offer face a somewhat confused situation when it comes to providing allergy information currently.

With information provided unclear following recent legislation, and each EU Country being free to provide guidance and advice to businesses as they choose to interpret it, there’s potential for mass confusion and negativity amongst caterers.

Some may admit defeat before attempting to comply or, worse still, choose to ignore the regulation altogether.

Under the new legislation, the main challenge to catering businesses is how they provide allergy information for open foods, without packaging, and foods sold loose (such as from a deli counter), or sold prepacked for direct sale (such as bread or cakes in a bakery or sandwiches from a sandwich bar).

Recent discussions with the FSA, Allergy UK and The Anaphylaxis Campaign, have all confirmed that it is down to the individual catering outlet as to whether they take a proactive role regarding

how they integrate food allergens into their business or not … until it is enforced at year end 2014.

With caterers ultimately responsible for allergic reaction incidents as a result of this legislation, there’s good reason for getting in touch with companies such as FAME - Food Allergy Management Europe (FAME) Ltd, (see the inset panel for details) which offers on-line training and bespoke

66 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

packages, to take out the complexity.

The background to all this EU deliberation over many years is globalisation, changes in eating habits and the food industry, which have all contributed to the availability and variety of a wide range of foods. As a consequence, the allergic population is a growing minority, with the risk posed to them increasing as they are exposed to more food allergens, something

that’s not always pointed out by catering establishments.

Meanwhile, more people are being diagnosed with food allergies. In fact, latest information predicts that by 2050, 50% of the population will have an allergy; and at the same time more people are eating out.

Social changes such as the increase of two family incomes, working longer hours, and after school activities for children, has increased the use of restaurants, cafés, snack bars, as has the demand for special meals to cater for those with allergies.

This has generated a proportionate need for food businesses to be fully informed about food allergies and the potential for allergy related risks occurring in their business; particularly in view of the fact that a large proportion of allergy-related deaths are caused by food eaten away from home and most cases involve a deliberate ingredient and poor communication. Allergic consumers do need to be proactive – but they also need help from catering

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ALLERGEN L ABELLING establishments to make informed decisions.

These trends made up the background for the European Union Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, which was finally published on 22 November 2011. After several years of intensive consultation and negotiation, it came into force 20 days later on 13 December, and catering businesses were allowed a transition period of three years to adapt to most requirements, with a nutrition declaration becoming mandatory after five years.

At this stage, the regulation does not include the implementation decisions for each European country; discussions with DEFRA and Food Standards Agency (FSA) on how the regulation will be implemented are still continuing.

Even so, the new directive

will hugely affect the “mass caterer” i.e. establishments such as restaurants, pubs, cafes, not excluding a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall, staff canteens, school dining rooms, hospitals – in other words, all catering enterprises in which their business is to prepare open food ready for final consumption by the public consumer.

The regulation, which builds on previous directives in place, reflects the seriousness of allergen control by incorporating allergen labelling and information for those supplying freshly prepared, and cooked food, which is served unpackaged ‘open food’ to use the jargon.

For example, casein (cheese products) must have a reference to milk and tofu has to reference soya.

Whilst the onus remains with open foods, many caterers also provide pre-

packed foods. Here, the food allergen labelling provisions for pre-packed foods are broadly similar to the legislation already in existence, but there are new requirements regarding the presentation of this information.

The fourteen allergenic ingredients stated in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 have to be declared in the ingredients list, and under the new Regulation this information now has to be emphasized (for example, in capital letters, bold) and must make reference to the allergenic food as set out in Annex II of the Regulation.

The legislation states that these fourteen food allergens must be declared whenever they are used, at any level, open food, pre-packed foods, and including alcoholic drinks.

(EU) No. 1169/2011,

Chapter V, ‘Voluntary Food Information’ Article 36, 3. (a), states that ingredient information will be voluntarily provided when asked for. Annex II, lists 14 allergens (Appendix 22) and the bi-products of each and adds that: “…information on the possible and unintentional presence in food of substances or products causing allergies or intolerances must be made known…”

The legislation requires that catering businesses can provide allergy information to customers upon request but again, its ‘flexible’ on how information should be provided to them.

Some people in the Commission think this information could be put on menus, whilst others prefer mandatory available, meaning available if consumers ask for it.

www.sandwich.org.uk May 2013 67

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STOP PRESS

Sainsbury’s launch ‘street food’ wraps range SAINSBURY’S has launched a range of on-the-go lunch time options, inspired by the growing demand for street food in the UK. It includes foods from around the world, “giving customers the choice of global flavours in a convenient bite.”

Paul Morgan, Sandwiches and Sushi Buyer at Sainsbury’s said: “Street food is on-trend at the moment; however this exciting, on-the-go type of cuisine has been around for hundreds of years. The new street food range offers all the vibrant flavours you’d expect while being convenient for busy people who are short on time."

The new additions include a standard sized Jamaican Jerk Chicken wrap cut in two, or a single burrito Style Street wrap available in the following varieties: • Indian Prawn – A slightly sweet, spiced dhal combined with king prawns, crunchy vegetables and hot tomato and chilli sauce on a tortilla wrap

• Moroccan Chicken – Succulent British chicken breast paired with a rich harissa dressing, chickpeas, apricots, crunchy vegetables on a tortilla wrap • Singapore Noodle – wrap combining thin rich noodles, curry powder, pork, prawns, spring onions and coriander in a tortilla wrap Other products include Flatbreads such as Ras el hanout chicken with tabbouleh, Keralan Spiced Vegetable and Chilli Cheese & Bean. Meanwhile, the Street Salads include flavour combinations of South Indian Chicken & Vindaloo Chickpeas, Pad Thai King Prawn & Chicken, and Falafels with Herby Tabbouleh.

The by Sainsbury’s street food range comes in pink, vibrant packaging, aiming

to “appeal to customers looking for an exciting, fresh and innovative lunch time option.” Prices range from £2.80 - £3.50.

The full by Sainsbury’s street food range includes • Indian Prawn Street Wrap • Singapore Noodle Street Wrap • Moroccan Chicken Street Wrap • Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wrap • Keralan Spiced Vegetable Flatbread • Chilli cheese and bean Flatbread • Ras El Hanout Chicken Flatbread • Pad Thai King Prawn and Chicken Street Salad • South Indian Chicken & Vindaloo Chickpeas Street Salad • Falafels with Herby Tabbouleh Street Salad

Sandwich bar owners hit by Nottingham tram line work Waitrose BLT comes top in Good Housekeeping survey Waitrose’s BLT has triumphed in a Good Housekeeping survey of 50 sandwiches.

Judges scoured 11 high street shops and supermarkets to sample their take on the nation’s five favourite fillings and analyse their nutritional data.

Waitrose’s generous filling, containing plenty of bacon, good amount of fibre and low calorie and salt count, impressed the panel.

The magazine’s consumer director Caroline Bloor said: “We all know that the

healthiest sandwiches are rarely the tastiest and the tastiest are often far from healthy, but you can achieve a balance. Waitrose has delivered this – as well as being reasonably priced.”

Bradford-based supermarket Morrisons beat its rivals in the egg mayonnaise category while the Co-operative ruled the roost when it came to chicken and bacon butties.

Boots picked up the prize for the best cheese sandwich while the M&S Count On Us range had the winning ham salad.

68 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

A couple who run a Nottingham sandwich shop have calculated that they’re out of pocket by £6,000 because of work on the new tram lines.

Mick and Angela Roebuck say they used to have dozens of customers in the Bridge Sandwich Bar on the Victoria Embankment, between noon and 2pm each day.

But since the embankment was closed to through traffic in November this has fallen, with an average of just four customers a day in their busiest times.

Even after the closure at Wilford Toll Bridge island was lifted in

February – allowing cars to pass along the embankment - business has not picked up.

Mr Roebuck told the Nottingham Post he believes many drivers think the road is still closed because there are several closure signs and fences still in place.

Mr Roebuck said: "It's hit us very hard. So far we have had to put about £6,000 of our savings in to keep the business going.

Tram operators Nottingham Express Transit and contractors Taylor Woodrow Alstom have pledged to keep disruption to a minimum during the work.

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NEWS

Technical Group Meeting

New Insurance Panel Set up

THE date of the next Technical Group meeting has been changed to 10th July 2013 to avoid a clash with the AGM. The meeting will be taking place at Bel UK at Sevenoaks in Kent.

THE Association is setting up a panel of insurers who are able to provide suitable cover for sandwich businesses. In the past the Association has had affinity schemes with insurers but has found that this does not necessarily give the members the best benefits. By having a panel of insurers competing for the

Sammies Sell Out THIS year’s dinner when the Sammies, the British Sandwich Industry Awards, are announced, has completely sold out.

This is the first time the event has hit the maximum capacity of the venue.

The dinner takes place at the Lancaster Hotel,

Annual General Meeting London on May 16 during British Sandwich Week.

BSA Raises Concerns over EC Charging Proposals THE Association has raised concerns over proposals from the EC that in future inspection services – such as EHO’s and Trading Standards – should charge for visits on a full cost recovery basis. Although the scheme proposes exemptions for

business, it is hoped this will result in better support for the members.

To access the service, members simply input their requirements on-line and the information is automatically sent to all the insurers on the panel who will then respond directly to members.

The service should go live this month (May) at www.sandwich.org.uk.

micro-businesses (those with less than 10 employees), the Association believes the proposals will add significant costs to food businesses and could also undermine the trust relationship between these businesses and authorities.

THE BSA’s Annual General Meeting will take place at the Dickens Inn, St Katherine’s Dock, London on Wednesday 12th June.

The meeting is due to start at 11am and will include a members conference and

lunch. Full details are being circulated to members.

Elections for the Management Committee for 2013/14 will be taking place in May with the results announced at the AGM.

Extending British Sandwich Week THE Association is talking to members about extending its marketing role with a view to encouraging greater frequency of purchases by consumers. A panel of members is currently meeting to discuss how this might be achieved through a rolling marketing campaign.

S&SN_145_May13_p70-71_Layout 1 02/05/2013 13:27 Page 71

To advertise call Paul Steer on 01291 636342 May 2013 71

S&SN_145_May13_p72-80_Layout 1 02/05/2013 13:29 Page 72

BSA MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 2013 The following are elected members of the Management Committee of the British Sandwich Association:

PICTURE COURTESY OF FRIDAYS

BSA Committee

ChAIrMAN Andrew Sherick (Marks & Spencer) VICE-ChAIrMAN David Jones (SSP) ThE COMMITTEE Felicity Aylward (BP) – Ex-Chair Andy Valentine (Ginsters) – van sales Paul Morgan (Sainsbury’s) – multiple retailer Yseult Caroff-Richeux (Waitrose) – multiple retailer Ben Smeal (Food Partners) – producer Andrew Pocock (Impress Sandwiches) producer Sally Gabbitas (Tri-Star) – supplier Camilla Deane (Bel UK) – supplier

Upholding quality standards in sandwich making and retailing Our aims As the voice of the British Sandwich industry,

Georg Buhrkohl (Subway) – sandwich bar chain

the primary aims of the British Sandwich

Anita Kinsey (Pret a Manger) – sandwich bar chain

Association are:

Graeme Matthews (Rachel’s of Windsor) – independent sandwich bar Kevin Mayes (The Real Sandwich Company) – independent sandwich bar Andrew Hesketh (Greggs) – retail baker Joe Street (Fine Lady) – baker

▲ To safeguard the integrity of the sandwich industry by setting minimum standards for sandwich making. ▲ To encourage excellence and innovation in sandwich making. ▲ To provide a source of information for the industry. ▲ To promote the consumption of sandwiches. ▲ To provide a collective voice for all those involved in the making, distribution and retailing of sandwiches and to represent the views of the industry.

The

SECrETArIAT JIM WInSHIP - Director

72 March 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

BRITISH www.sandwich.org.uk

SANDWICH ASSOCIATION

S&SN_145_May13_p72-80_Layout 1 02/05/2013 13:29 Page 73

BSA Manufacturers & Distributors Contact: Mr Alan Wright FOOd PArTNErS IMPrESS SANdwIChES Tel: 01484 304 401 kILMArNOCk LTd Tel: 01902 783666 (The Good Food Company) Fax: 01484 304 402 Rowallan Business Park, Fax: 01902 781141 Units 4-5a, Horton Road simon.shaw@slcatering.co.uk Southcraig Avenue, info@freshwayIndustrial Estate, Horton www.slcatering.com Kilmarnock, foods.co.uk Road, West Drayton SOLwAy FOOdS LTd KA3 6BQ Middlesex, UB7 8JL GINSTErS LTd 3 Godwin Road, Contact: Sheila Young Contact: Andrew Pocock 83 Tavistock Rd, Earlstrees Ind. Estate, Tel: 08450 549948 Tel: 01895 440123 Callington Cornwall Corby, sales@foodpartners.co.uk Fax: 01895 441123 PL17 7XG Northants www.foodpartnersgroup.co.uk Contact: Danielle Coleman andrew@impress-sandwiches.com NN17 4DS FOOd PArTNErS LTd Tel: 01579 386 200 Contact: Richard Simpson www.impress-sandwiches.com (LONdON) Fax: 01579 386 240 Tel: 01536 464 400 MELTON FOOdS Lords House, danielle.colman@ginsters.co.uk Fax: 01536 409 050 3 Samworth Way, 665 North Circular Rd, richard.simpson@northernfoods.com GrEENCOrE Leicester Road, Melton London www.solway.com SANdwIChES BrAdGATE BAkEry NW2 7AX Mowbray, TASTIES OF PArk rOyAL Beaumont Leys, Contact: Olatunde Leicestershire LE13 1GA Leicester, LE4 1WX ChESTEr LTd Willen Field Rd, Ray-Odekeye Contact: Clare Rowlands Contact: Clare Keers Prince William Avenue, Park Royal, Tel: 0208 208 6120 Tel: 01664 484400 Tel: 0116 2361100 Sandycroft, London NW10 7AQ Fax: 0208 830 7137 Fax: 01664 484401 Fax: 0116 2361101 Flintshire, olatunde.ray-odekeye@foodpartners.co.uk Contact: Clare Rees clare.rowlands@meltonfoods.co.uk clare.keers@bradgate-bakery.co.uk CH5 2QZ Tel: 0208 956 6000 www.foodpartnersgroup.co.u Contact: Richard Brown ON A rOLL sourcedm.com Fax: 0208 956 6060 BuCkINGhAM SANdwICh COMPANy Tel: 01244 533 888 clare.rees@greencore.com FOOdS LTd Fax: 01244 533 404 Unit 2 Easter Park, Barton www.greencore.com Wimblington Drive, enquiries@tasties.co.uk Redmoor, Road, GrEENCOrE FOOd PArTNErS LTd www.tasties.co.uk Milton Keynes MK6 4AH Riverside Park Industrial SANdwIChES – (MIddLESBrOuGh) Contact: Mark Keating Estate, ThE SANdwICh MANTON wOOd 13-15 Drake Court, Tel: 01908 838900 FACTOry Middlesbrough TS2 1RY Manton Wood Riverside Business Park, Fax: 01908 838920 Carlyon Rd Ind. Est, Contact: James Stoddart Enterprise Zone, Middlesbrough mark_keating@buckfoods.co.uk Atherstone, Tel: 01642 707090 Retford Road, TS2 1RS www.buckinghamfoods.co.uk Warwickshire Fax: 01642 243858 Manton, Contact: Sarah Winter CV9 1LQ BuCkINGhAM jstoddart@onarollsandwich.co.uk Worksop, Notts, Tel: 01642 230316 Contact: Gill Pendergrast FOOdS LTd www.onarollsandwich.co.uk S80 2RS Fax: 01642 230093 Magnus, Ninian Way, Tel: 01827 719 100 freddie.spence@foodpartners.co.uk Contact: rAyNOr FOOdS Tame Valley Industrial Fax: 01827 719 101 www.foodpartnersgroup.co.uk Andrew Wilcox-Jones Farrow Road, Widford Estate, gill.pendergrast@tsfl.co.uk Tel: 01909 512600 FrEShwAyS (kErry Industrial Estate, Chelmsford, Tamworth, Staffordshire www.thesandwichfactory.ltd.uk Fax: 01909 512708 FOOdS) B77 5BY Essex CM1 3TH www.greencore.com IDA Industrial Park, Contact: Sue Facer Contact: Heather Raynor Poppintree, Finglas, GrEENCOrE Tel: 01827 252629 Tel: 01245 353249 Dublin, Ireland www.buckinghamfoods.co.uk SANdwIChES – ThE SOhO Fax: 01245 347889 Contact: Thomas Kiely BrOMLEy

By BOw SANdwICh COMPANy FOOd PArTNErS sales@sandwiches.uk.net Tel: 00353 18648000 Prologis Park, Unit 414b Union Walk, hEAThrOw LTd www.sandwiches.uk.net Fax: 00353 18644033 Twelvetrees Crescent, Hackney, Galleymead Road, S&L CATErING www.freshways.ie London E3 3JG London E2 8HP Colnbrook, Units N and P, Shaw Tel: 0207 536 8000 Contact: Daniel Silverston FrEShwAy ChILLEd Slough SL3 0EN Business Park, Silver Fax: 0207 536 0790 Tel: 0203 058 1245 FOOdS Contact: Elie Haddad Street, Huddersfield, Contact: Richard Esau Fax: 0207 789 1166 Stafford Court, Stafford Tel: 08450 549948 HD5 9AE richard.esau@greencore.com dan@sohosandwich.co.uk Road, Wolverhampton sales@foodpartners.co.uk www.foodpartnersgroup.co.uk WV10 7EL www.sohosandwich.co.uk www.greencore.com Contact: Simon Shaw ANChOr CATErING LIMITEd Kent Office: Unit 2, Wotton Trading Estate, Wotton Road Ashford, TN23 6LL London Office: Global House, 21 Lombard Road SW19 3TZ Contact: Mark Leigh Tel: 01233 665533 Fax: 01233 665588 Mobile: 07966 664 408 mail@anchorcatering.co.uk www.anchorcatering.co.uk

The British Sandwich Quality Promise

The

BRITISH

SANDWICH

The sandwich manufacturers and distributors listed below support The British ASSOCIATION Sandwich Association Code of Practice as The Minimum Standard for Sandwich Making and are subject to regular independent audits. Copies of BSA Audits are available, on request,to buyers (subject to agreement of manufacturers) by calling us on 01291 636338

www.sandwich.org.uk March 2013 73

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BSA Suppliers Index 2 SISTErS FOOd GrOuP ByOTrOL TEChNOLOGy LTd. CP FOOdS FrESh-PAk ChILLEd Avon House, Hartlebury Trading Vanguard House Leechmere Industrial Estate, FOOdS Estate, Hartlebury, Worcestershire 21/22 Kernan Drive, Keckwick Lane, Toll Bar Road, Sunderland, DY10 4JB Daresbury WA4 4AB Tyne & Wear SR2 9TE Loughborough, Contact: Fernando Torronteguy Ciontact: Gary Hilton Contact: Bill Anderson GIErLINGEr hOLdING Leicestershire Tel: 01299 253131 Tel: 01925 742000 Tel: 0191 521 3323 GBMh LE11 5JT Fax: 07834 529473 Fax: 01925 742029 Dosza Gyorg, UT123, Tamasi Fax: 0191 521 0652 Contact: Matthew Clarke fernandot@cpfoods.co.uk ghilton@byotrol.com 7090, Hungary bill.anderson@2sfg.com Tel: 01509 233327 dAILy BrEAd Tel: 01386 421708/07515 422454 www.byotrol.com www.2sistersfoodgroup.com Fax: 01509 224568 Unit 23, Britannia Estate, ns@gierlinger-holding.com matthew.clarke@fresh-pak.co.uk ALS FOOd & Leagrave Road, Luton LU3 1RJ Contact: Nigel Spragg www.fresh-pak.co.uk PhArMACEuTICAL Contact: Sales GrOTE COMPANy Tappers Building (0207 498 0494) FrETwELL dOwNING Wrexham Technology Park, Sands Mill, Huddersfield Road Tel: 01582 401177 hOSPITALITy CATErErS ChOICE LTd Wrexham LL13 7YP Mirfield, West Yorkshire Fax: 01582 453557 1st Floor, Unit 1 Hawke Street Parkdale House, 1 Longbow Business Park, Hawke Street, Close, Pennine Business Park munch@dailybread.ltd.uk WF14 9DQ Contact: Paul Jones Sheffield S9 2SU Bradley, Huddersfield HD2 1GQ www.dailybread.ltd.uk Contact: Nigel Richards Tel: 01978 362243 Contact: Sarah Booth Contact: Andrew Pond Tel: 01924 499776 Fax: 01978 362255 dEIGhTON Tel 01484 532666 Tel: 01142 816060 Fax: 01924 499731 MANuFACTurING (uk) sales@intl.grotecompany.com Fax 01484 532700 Fax: 07802 465976 nigel.richards@alsglobal.com LTd www.grotecompany.com sarah@catererschoice.co.uk andrew.pond@fdhospitality.com Gibson Street, Leeds Road, ArLA FOOdS uk www.catererschoice.co.uk hAzELdENE FOOdS LTd www.fdhospitality.com Bradford, West Yorkshire 4 Savannah Way, Leeds Valley Walthew House Lane BD3 9TR Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire Martland Park, Contact: Andy Hamilton LS10 1AB Wigan WN5 0LB Tel: 01274 668771 Contact: Dawn Reid Contact: Claire Gregory Fax: 01274 665214 Tel: 0845 600 6688 FOOd NETwOrk LTd Tel: 01942 219910 sales@deightonmanufacturing.co.uk ChEESE CELLAr Fax: 01454 252300 Keepers Cottage, Fax: 01942 219940 www.deightonmanufacturing.co.uk 44-54 Stewarts Road customerrelations@arlafoods.com Chrishall Grange, London SW8 4DF www.hazeldene.co.uk www.arlafoods.co.uk Heydon, Royston, dISCOVEry FOOdS LTd. Contact: Tina Alemao claire.gregory@hazeldene.co.uk SG8 7NT Nimbus House, Tel: 0207 8196045 Contact: Peter McDermott Maidstone Road, Milton JIFFy TruCkS LTd Fax: 0207 8196027 Tel: 01763 837 000 Keynes, Buckinghamshire 26 Jubilee Way, Shipley Tina.alemao@cheesecellar.co.u Fax: 01763 838 280 MK10 0BD West Yorkshire BD18 1QG k peter@food-network.com Contact: Rob Barzda www.cheesecellar.co.uk Tel: 01274 596000 www.food-network.com Tel: 01908 933000 BEACON FOOdS Accreditation body: BSA Contact: John Kennerly FOOdSErVICE CENTrE Fax: 01908 933074 Unit 3-4, ChILTErN BAkErIES LTd john@jiffytrucks.co.uk Cheddar Business Park, rbarzda@discoveryfoods.co.uk Beacon Enterprise Park, Southam Road, Banbury, www.jiffytrucks.co.uk Wedmore Road, www.discoveryfoods.co.uk Warren Road, Brecon Oxfordshire OX16 2RE Cheddar, Somerset JOhN wEST FOOdS LTd LD3 8BT Contact: Claire Marshall BS27 3EB No. 1 Mann Island, Liverpool, Contact: Lynne Skyrme Tel: 01295 227600 Contact: James Simpson Fax: 01295 271430 Merseyside L3 1BP Tel: 01874 622577 Tel: 01934 745600 claire.marshall@flbltd.co.uk Contact: Paul Kent Fax: 01874 622123 Fax: 01934 745631 lynne@beaconfoods.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA Tel: 0151 243 6200 james@thefscgroup.com ENGLISh PrOVENdEr CJ’S SPECIALIST www.beaconfoods.co.uk Fax: 0151 236 7502 www.foodservicecentre.co.uk CO. LTd VEhICLES LTd paul.kent@mwbrands.com BEL uk LTd FrEShCuT FOOdS LTd Buckner Croke Way, Moat Farm, Chelmsford Suite 1, 2nd Floor 14-16 Lilac Grove, JOSEPh hELEr LTd Road, Old Rawreth, Essex New Greenham Park, 160 London Road, Beeston, Nottingham Laurels Farm, Hatherton, SS11 8SJ Thatcham, Berks, RG19 6HA, NG9 1PA Sevenoaks, Kent Contact: Chris Lynch Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 7PE Contact: David Barker Contact: Sales TN13 1BT Tel: 01268 733422 Tel: 01635 528800 Contact: John Chattel Tel: 01159 227 222 Contact: Camilla Deane chris.cjs@live.co.uk Fax: 01635 528855 Tel: 01270 841500 Fax: 01159 227 255 www.sandwich-van.co.uk Tel: 0333 900 2020 david.barker@englishprovender.com Fax: 01270 841381 sales@freshcut.biz Fax: 01732 467596 www.englishprovender.com johnc@joseph-heler.co.uk www.freshcutfoods.co.uk cdeane@groupe-bel.com BRC Grade A www.joseph-heler.co.uk FrIdAyS www.bel-foodservice.co.uk FIrST MILk – Chequer Tree Farm, kOOkABurrA Accreditation body: ISO FOOdSErVICE Benenden Rd, Cranbrook, COLPAC LTd 3 Armstrong Road, N.E.Ind.Est, BuNzL CATErING Cirrus House, Glasgow Airport Kent TN17 3PN Enterprise Way, Maulden Road, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5AE SuPPLIES Contact: Pat Dunne Flitwick, Bedfordshire MK45 5BW Business Park, Marchburn Contact: Samantha Henderson Epsom Chase, 1 Hook Road, Drive, Paisley PA3 2SJ Tel: 01580 710200 Contact: Rebecca Beattie Tel: 0191 518 4000 Epsom, Surrey KT19 8TY Contact: Lisa Connie Fax: 01580 713512 Tel: 01525 712261 Fax: 0191 518 4226 Contact: Steve Dring Tel: 01383 610114 pd@fridays.co.uk Fax: 01525 718205 shenderson@kookaburra-uk.com Tel: 01372 734293 lisaconnie@firstmilk.co.uk www.fridays.co.uk rebecca.beattie@colpac.co.uk steve.dring@bunzl.co.uk www.colpac.co.uk www.firstmilk.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA www.kookaburra-uk.com

74 March 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

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BSA Suppliers Index PIrOTO LABELLING LTd. 9 Pondwood Close, Moulton Park Industrial Estate, Northampton NN3 6RT Contact: Lisa Hyland LEAThAMS LTd Tel: 01604 646600 227-255 Ilderton Road, Fax: 01604 492 090 London, SE15 1NS Contact: Des Hillier l.hyland@piroto-labelling.com Tel: 0207 635 4000 www.piroto-labelling.com Fax: 0207 635 4017 des.hillier@leathams.co.uk www.leathams.co.uk

MArTIN MAThEw & CO. LTd 50A St Andrews Street, Hertford SG14 1JA Contact : Malcolm Smith Tel: 01992 641641 Fax: 01992 210177/210178 malcolmsmith@martinmathew.co.uk

www.martinmathew.co.uk

PLANETE PAIN 2A des Belles Ouvrieres, 25410, Saint Vit, France Contact: Sharon Jones Tel: 07528 844633 sharonjones@planetepain.com www.planetepain.com PLANGLOw LTd King’s House, Bond Street, Bristol BS1 3AE Contact: Rachael Sawtell Tel: 0117 317 8600 Fax: 0117 317 8639 info@planglow.com www.planglow.com

SOuThErN SALAdS LIMITEd Units 1 & 2 Cannon Bridge Cannon Lane, Tonbridge, Kent TN1 9RP Contact: Mr Ray Boakes Tel: 01732 362444 Fax: 01732 361919 ray@southernsalads.co.uk www.southernsalads.com SOuThOVEr FOOd COMPANy LIMITEd Unit 4, Grange Industrial Estate, Albion Street, Southwick,Brighton BN42 4EN Contact: Niall Singers Tel: 01273 596830 Fax: 01273 596 839 niall@southoverfoods.com www.southoverfoods.com

TMI FOOdS Lodge Way, Lodge Farm Ind. Est, Northampton NN5 7US

wESTBrIdGE FOOdS Contact: Ian Ritchie Polonia House, Enigma Tel: 01604 583421 Commercial Centre, Fax: 01604 587392 Sandy’s Road, Malvern, info@tmifoods.co.uk Worcestershire WR14 1JJ www.tmifoods.co.uk Contact: Lana Accreditation body: BSA Parakhomomikene TOTAL FOOdSErVICE Tel: 01684 581800 SOLuTIONS LTd. Fax: 01684 893917 Ribble Valley Enterprise Park, enquiries@westbridgefoods.com North Road, www.westbridgefoods.com Barrow, Clitheroe BB7 9QZ Tel: 01254 828 330 Fax: 01254 823996

zwANENBErG FOOd

sales@totalfoodservice.co.uk

uk LTd

www.totalfoodservice.co.uk

TrI-STAr PACkAGING ST NEOTS PACkAGING LTd. SuPPLIES LTd 7 Howard Road, St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 8ET Tri-Star House, Unit 4, The Contact: Rikki Collis Arena,, Mollison Avenue, Tel: 01480 476161 Enfield, Middlesex EN3 7NL Fax: 01480 471989 Contact: Kevin Curran rikki@stneotspack.co.uk Tel: 0208 4439100 www.fastfoodpackaging.com

MISSION FOOdS EurOPE LTd 5th Floor West, The Mille, 1000 Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex rANk hOVIS TW8 9HH Fax: 0208 4439101 TEChNOMIC INC. Contact: Sarah Murphy The Lord Rank Centre, Knowledge Center Tel: 0208 380 1100 info@tri-star.co.uk Lincoln Road, Fax: 02476 676560 300 S Riverside Plaza, Suite High Wycombe www.tri-star.co.uk team@missionfoodservice.co.uk HP12 3QS 1200, Chicago, Illinois www.missionfoodservice.co.uk IL 60606 Contact: Sara Reid Contact: Patrick Noone PArrIPAk FOOd LTd. Tel: 0870 728 1111 Empire Way, Gretna, sara.reid@premierfoods.co.uk Tel: +01 205 991 1234 Fax: +01 205 980 3770 DG16 5BN www.rankhovis.com Contact: Liam Byrne pnoone@technomic.com Tel: 01461 337 239 Web: www.technomic.com Fax: 01461 338436 ThE CONTACT GrILL liam.byrne@parripak.co.uk uNIVErSAL MEATS (uk) LTd COMPANy www.ancient-recipes.co.uk Hall Place, Sevenoaks, Regus House, 400 Thames SAM BrOwNE FOOdS PETTIGrEwS Valley Park Drive, Kent TN15 OLG Kelleythorpe, Ind.Estate, Pinnaclehill, Kelso, Reading, Berkshire Contact: Alan Burke Driffield, East Roxboroughshire RG6 1PT Tel: 01732 760760 Yorkshire, Scotland TD5 8DW Contact: Clive England Contact: Peter Brookes YO25 9DJ. Fax: 01732 760780 Tel: 01189 653535 Tel: 01573 224 234 Contact: Phillipa Kendrick info@universalmeats.com Fax: 01189 694366 Fax: 01573 223 717 Tel: 01377 241238 c.england@contactgrillcompany.co.uk www.universalmeats.com sales@pettigrews.com Fax: 01377 241271 ThE INGrEdIENTS www.pettigrews.com VANESSA hOSPITALITy pkendrick@sambrownefoods.co.uk FACTOry PIquANT LTd www.sambrownefoods.co.uk SErVICES LTd. Unit 2-3 Hamilton Road Willenhall Lane, Bloxwich, Vanessa Hospitality Services SNOwBIrd FOOdS LTd Ind Estate, Walsall, W.Midlands Wharf Road, Ponders End, Ltd. Unit 14C Juno Enterprise, 160 Hamilton Road, WS3 2XN Enfield, Middlesex EN3 4TD London SE27 9SF Juno Way, South Bermondsey, Contact: Julie Smith Contact: Roy Anderson Tel: 0208 670 6701 Tel: 01922 711116 London SE14 5RW Tel: 0208 805 9222 Fax: 0208 670 9676 Fax: 01922 473240 Contact: Adeleke Adedoja Fax: 0208 804 9303 Contact: Tim Marcuson salesinfo@piquant.co.uk Tel: 07939 966419 roy.anderson@vionfood.com tim@theingredientsfactory.com www.piquant.co.uk www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk www.theingredientsfactory.com adeleke@alaleke.com Accreditation body: BSA

SUPPLIERS

These suppliers are members of The British Sandwich Association and subject to its rules, codes of conduct and accreditation. While the Association cannot guarantee the products supplied by those listed, it does make every effort to ensure that the companies are reputable and offer quality products and services.

(Puredrive Fine Foods/ Taste Original) 36ACauseway Road, Earlstrees Industrial Estate, Corby, Northamptonshire, NN17 4DU Contact: Martin Burdekin Tel: 01536 463000 Fax: 01536 463085 martinb@puredrive.co.uk LINkEd ASSOCIATION LOCAL AuThOrITy CATErING ASSOCIATIONS LACA Administration Bourne House, Horsell Park,Woking, Surrey GU21 4LY Tel: 01483766777 Fax: 01483751991 admin@laca.co.uk CONSuLTANT INTErNATIONAL MASTEr ChEF & AuThOr Tom Bridge 21 Blackhorse Avenue, Blackrod Village, Bolton BL6 5HE Tel: 01204 695450 or 07889 111256 www.cookerydetective.com www.piesocietybook.co.uk

The

BRITISH

SANDWICH ASSOCIATION

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BSA Product Index Canned Meat Food wraps Pettigrews AdVISOry & EquIPMENT & VEhICLES Total Foodservice Ltd. Tri-Star Packaging Supplies CONSuLTANCy SErVICES Southover Food Company Ltd. Buttering Machinery Ltd. The English Provender Co Chicken Factory Deighton Manufacturing The Ingredients Factory 2 Sisters Food Group Grote Company Plastic Grote Company Total Foodservice Ltd. CP Foods Planete Pain Tri-Star Packaging Supplies Contact Grills Kookaburra The Foodservice Centre Ltd. Relishes The Contact Grill Company Leathams Beacon Foods Food Safety Sandwich Packs Conveyors Sam Browne Foods ALS Food & Pharmaceutical Leathams Colpac Ltd. Deighton Manufacturing Southover Food Company Ltd. Parripak Foods Intertek Stoke St Neots Packaging Ltd. Grote Company TMI Foods Pettigrews Tri-Star Packaging Supplies Food Industry Universal Meats Cutting Equipment Southover Food Company Ltd Ltd. Technomic Inc. Westbridge Foods Ltd. Grote Company The Cheese Cellar Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd PASTA Market Research The English Provender Co Mobile Catering Vehicles Caterers Choice Technomic Inc. Continental CJ’s Specialist Vehicles Ltd. The Ingredients Factory Food Network Leathams Retail Jiffy Trucks Ltd. Total Foodservice Ltd. Freshcut Foods Ltd Southover Food Company Ltd. Fretwell Downing Hospitality Labelling Systems & Barcoding Pickles Leathams The Foodservice Centre Duck Planglow Ltd. Food Network Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. 2 Sisters Food Group BAkEry PrOduCTS Leathams Southover Food Company Ltd Sandwich Making Machinery CP Foods Parripak Foods Morning Goods Deighton Manufacturing Food Network Pettigrews Chiltern Bakeries Grote Company Sam Browne Foods SANdwICh FILLINGS Southover Food Company Ltd Universal Meats Patisserie (rEAdy PrEPArEd) FISh PrOduCTS The English Provender Co Westbridge Foods Ltd. Chiltern Bakeries Fresh Fillings Anchovies The Ingredients Factory Total Foodservice Ltd Ham 2 Sisters Food Group Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Total Foodservice Ltd. Food Network Viennoiserie Beacon Foods Prawns Salsa Leathams Planete Pain Freshcut Foods Ltd CP Foods Beacon Foods Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Tortilla & Wraps Southover Food Company Ltd. Southover Food Company Ltd. Discovery Foods Fridays Discovery Foods Salmon Lamb Southover Food Company Ltd. Mission Foods drESSINGS, SAuCES ANd Caterers Choice Sam Browne Foods The Cheese Cellar MAyONNAISE BrEAd & rOLLS Food Network Marinated Meats Frozen Fillings Dips John West Foods Ltd Fresh Food Network 2 Sisters Food Group Beacon Foods Leathams Chiltern Bakeries Kookaburra Beacon Foods Discovery Foods Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. Total Foodservice Ltd. Meatballs First Milk – Foodservice Southover Food Company Ltd. SOuPS Speciality Food Network Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Leathams Sardines Discovery Foods Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd. The English Provender Co Southover Food Company Ltd Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. Mission Foods The Ingredients Factory Pork Planete Pain VEGETABLES & hErBS Tuna Food Network Mayonnaise Total Foodservice Ltd. Caterers Choice Canned Vegetables Leathams Caterers Choice Food Network Bread Making Ingredients Food Network Sam Browne Foods First Milk – Foodservice John West Foods Ltd. Beacon Foods Total Foodservice Ltd. Southover Food Company Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. Rank Hovis TMI Foods Chargrilled Vegetables Fridays Southover Food Company Ltd. The Cheese Cellar Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd Beacon Foods Piquant Universal Meats Total Foodservice Ltd. Sausages Food Network The Cheese Cellar FruIT Food Network Freshcut Foods Ltd. BuTTEr & SPrEAdS The English Provender Co Fridays Leathams Canned Fruit Total Foodservice Ltd. Butter Leathams Total Foodservice Ltd. Herbs & Spices Southover Food Company Ltd. Mustards Snowbird Foods Beacon Foods General Spreads Southover Food Company Ltd. Southover Food Company Discovery Foods Beacon Foods Arla Foods UK Total Foodservice Ltd. Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd Total Foodservice Ltd. Food Network The Cheese Cellar Sauces & Ketchups Turkey Southern Salads Jalapenos Spreads (olive) 2 Sisters Food Group Beacon Foods The Ingredients Factory Beacon Foods Leathams Kookaburra Caterers Choice Discovery Foods Guacamole Leathams Discovery Foods ChEESE & dAIry Food Network Discovery Foods Sam Browne Foods Piquant PrOduCTS Leathams Southover Food Company SALAd Southover Food Company Ltd. Cheese Westbridge Foods Ltd. Freshcut Foods Ltd. Pineapple The English Provender Co Arla Foods UK Hazeldene Foods Beacon Foods The Ingredients Factory LABELS Bel UK Ltd. Food Network Total Foodservice Ltd. Bunzl Catering Supplies Southern Salads Ltd. Caterers Choice Ltd. Caterers Choice Piroto Labelling Ltd. Salad (prepared) First Milk – Foodservice drINkS Freshcut Foods Ltd Freshcut Foods Ltd Planglow Ltd. Joseph Heler Ltd. Southover Food Company Ltd Martin Mathew & Co Milk Leathams OILS Southern Salads Ltd. First Milk – Foodservice Southover Food Company Ltd. MEALS Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Sundried Tomatoes Juices The Cheese Cellar Total Foodservice Ltd. Ready Prepared Beacon Foods Caterers Choice Total Foodservice Ltd. Vanessa Hospitality Services Ltd. OrGANIC PrOduCTS Leathams Plc Leathams Sour Cream Beacon Foods Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. MEAT PrOduCTS Southover Food Company Ltd. Discovery Food Fridays Total Foodservice Ltd. Sweetcorn Bacon First Milk – Foodservice Leathams Beacon Foods Food Network Southover Food Company Ltd. EGGS & EGG PrOduCTS CLEANING MATErIALS Caterers Choice Gierlinger GbmH The English Provender Co Ltd. Bunzl Catering Supplies Eggs (hard boiled) Food Network Leathams Byotrol Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods PACkAGING Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. TMI Foods Total Foodservice Ltd. Fridays Universal Meats Cardboard Beef Southover Food Company Ltd. ChuTNEyS & rELIShES Colpac Ltd. Tomatoes Food Network St Neots Packaging Ltd. Egg Products Beacon Foods Leathams Chutneys Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Caterers Choice Sam Browne Foods Beacon Foods Disposable Fridays Southover Food Company Ltd. Food Network Bunzl Catering Supplies Food Network Leathams Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Universal Meats Leathams Colpac Ltd. Parripak Foods Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd Southover Food Company Ltd. St Neots Packaging Ltd. Southern Salads Ltd.

76 May 2013 SANDWICH & SNACK NEWS

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International Sandwich Manufacturers

NOrdIC LuNCh AB Box 5924 Majorstua 0308 Oslo, Norway Tel: 0047 23 33 44 34 Fax: 0047 23 33 44 34 k.brandmo@nordiclunch.com Contact: Kjetil Brand

ALIMENTOS dAILy FrESh S.A. Avendia El Parque 423 El Quillay 573 Pasque Industrial Valle Grande, Lampa, Santiago, Chile Tel: 56-2-4119100 Fax: 56-2-4119101 Contact: Javier Urruticoechea Email: jurruticoechea@dailyfresh.cl BELL AG SIGMA BAkErIES Rupperswilerstrasse 5 PO Box 56567 5503 Schafisheim 3308 Limassol, Cyprus Switzerland Contact: Georgios Georgiou Tel: 0041 62 885 95 55 Tel: +357 25 878678 Tel: 0041 62 885 95 66 Fax: +357 25 346131 baenzigerm@bell.ch info@sigmabakeries.com www.bell.ch www.sigmabakeries.com Contact: Markus Banziger SNACk SuPPOrT FrES CO SrLA Am Schwimmbad 5, SOCIO uNICO Via Don Bosco N.2 67722 Winnweiler, Germany 43029 Traversetolo, Contact: Karin Halm Parma, Italy Tel: 0049 6302 9819780 Tel: 0039 0521 842 611 Fax: 0049 6302 98197822 Fax: 0039 0521 844 141 info@superweck.de Contact: Alessandro Bettini Accreditation body: BSA, IFS

SuBwAy Chaston House, Mill Court, Hinton Way, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire CB22 5LD Contact: Frederick De Luca Tel: 01223 550820 www.subway.co.uk

Product Listing BAkEry INSErTS Sigma Bakeries Ltd BrEAd Sigma Bakeries Ltd FACTOry dESIGN Alimentos Daily Fresh OrGANIC PrOduCTS Sigma Bakeries Ltd SANdwIChES Fres Co Nordic Lunch AB Subway Snack Support SANdwICh FILLINGS (prepared) Sigma Bakeries Ltd SPECIALITy BrEAdS Sigma Bakeries Ltd

New Member Origins Piroto was established in London in the early 1970’s as a price-marking label manufacturer. 2003 marked a new era in the history of the company, as it was acquired by the then, Sales Manager, Leigh Mann, who has been with the company since 1989.

Markets Our major markets are food processing, food retailing, non-food manufacturing, raw meat and fish processing, specialist pharmaceutical manufacturing, distribution, leisure and travel, garment manufacturing and distribution. Based in the UK, and operating in niche and developing markets, our products are used in an ever-increasing number of countries and industries across the globe.

Products We have an extensive bespoke product range of labels, tags, tray cards and tickets. Much of what we manufacture has been developed in answer to our customers’ requirements.

People ‘Team Piroto’ consists of over 35 employees, bringing skills and experience from many relevant industries, including adhesive tape manufacturing, wall paper printing, carton manufacturing, food retailing, distribution, computer hardware manufacturing, label applicator manufacturing and engineering.

Working under the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement, known to Piroto as C.I., we constantly strive to each fulfil our part in delivering the best possible service, ensuring great Customer communication as well as consultative solution selling.

Service Piroto’s dedicated team understands the importance of reliable service which

stands us out from the crowd. We aspire to deliver on time, in full, every time, ensuring delivery dates are always met.

Each area is serviced and supported by a dedicated Regional Sales Manager and in-house Sales Co-ordinator, working together to build relationships and to provide a first class service to our Customers, whilst developing and offering the best possible solution.

Quality At Piroto we aim to get it right, first time every time, so that our Customers don’t have to count the cost of quality. If an issue does occur the Piroto Team will work together to overcome any effect it has on our Customer.

www.sandwich.org.uk March 2013 77

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