FoodChain ISSUE 173
l
JUNE 2021
www.foodchainmagazine.com
Finger lickin’ growth Having laid strong foundations for the future of KFC in Austria and Slovakia, Queensway Europe hopes to double its unit count before the end of 2022
The right tools: The food industry can respond to food fraud by utilizing powerful and innovative analytical equipment
Get ready: Advice on procedures and changes for caterers as their venues start to welcome back guests
A new evolution: Virtual kitchens, drone deliveries and robot technology – all are set to enhance the customer experience
Incorporating
FoodChain ISSUE 173 l JUNE 2021
www.foodchainmagazine.com
Incorporating
Finger lickin’ growth
Editor’s Welcome
Having laid strong foundations for the future of KFC in Austria and Slovakia, Queensway Europe hopes to double its unit count before the end of 2022
The right tools: The food industry can respond to food fraud by utilizing powerful and innovative analytical equipment
Get ready: Advice on procedures and changes for caterers as their venues start to welcome back guests
A new evolution: Virtual kitchens, drone deliveries and robot technology – all are set to enhance the customer experience
Chairman Andrew Schofield Managing Director Joe Woolsgrove
Looking delicious
Editor - Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.com Assistant Editor - Will Daynes Staff Writers - Alex McDonald, Danielle Champ Art Editor/Production Manager - Fleur Daniels Art Editor - David Howard Advertising Designer - Rebecca Side Sales Director Alasdair Gamble Operations Director Philip Monument Operations Manager Natalie Griffiths Research Managers Jo-Ann Jeffery Ben Richell, Kieran Shukri Editorial Researchers Adam Blanch, Mark Cowles Jeff Goldenberg, Mark Kafourous Tarjinder Kaur-D’Silva, James Page Wendy Russell, Richard Saunders Advertising Sales Johanna Bailey, Mike Berger, Alex Hartley, Dave King, Theresa McDonald Ibby Mundhir, Sam Surrell Web Sales web@schofieldpublishing.com Subscriptions i.kidd@schofieldpublishing.com
© 2021 Schofield Publishing Ltd Schofield Publishing - Corporate Head Office Cringleford Business Centre, 10 Intwood Road,
H
ello and welcome to the June issue of FoodChain. In this month’s magazine, we are looking at a pretty wide spread of topics - from how the hospitality sector can adjust to the ‘new normal’ as venues start to welcome back guests, to how to avoid explosions caused by dust! I did find it fascinating to read about the dangers of custard powder (see page 24) and was also shocked to read about the levels of food waste generated by the hospitality and food sector (page 4.) Add in maintenance and technology and the variety of subjects we cover is pretty comprehensive – I hope there’s something relevant to your operations in there! We also were fortunate enough to speak to companies that create the most delicious sounding and looking products (as an aside, I am also now starting to revive our Taste Test pages too – more of that next month.) Just a look at Pecan Deluxe Candy Company is sure to get the tastebuds tingling. In our interview with Jay Brigham, President and CEO of Pecan Deluxe, he mentioned a global sales meeting where everyone was tasked to come up with new product ideas. What a challenge and what a great way for everyone involved to get invested into the range. Do you think that approach would work at your business?
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Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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Contents
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE
16
Features Hospitality
4
Food waste
6
Food & beverage sector
10
Get ready Now is a good time to revisit and refresh operational practices and embrace innovation and new ideas, prior to welcoming back customers
Turning to technology Significant improvements must be made operationally to make a dent in food waste in the UK hospitality sector says Danilo Mangano
Better prepared Whatever may come over the next months, the F&B sector will come out the other side stronger and better prepared
News
Restaurant technology
42
14/20
Up-to-date products and announcements from the food and beverage sector
Restaurant technology
16
A new evolution Brody Sweeney discusses how the use of technology in the restaurant industry will continue to enhance the customer experience
Food fraud
18
Food technology
22
Health & safety
24
The right tools The impact of coronavirus and Brexit on the UK food industry and how these phenomena have increased food fraud
Pecan Deluxe Candy Company
54
Maintaining a healthy balance Marcel Koks looks at how the emergence of Industry 4.0 is driving up safety standards in the food and beverage industry
Minimize the risk Organic dusts in food manufacturing plants can be a significant explosion risk and the right control measures must be in place
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Aquascot
30
COVER STORY
36
Queensway Europe
46
The Bread Factory
50
Coastal Beverage Company
58
Casper’s Ice Cream Inc
62
SeeWoo Foods
Pfenning’s Organic Farms www.foodchainmagazine.com 3
Get ready With the reopening of the hospitality sector underway, Hayden Hibbert provides advice on procedures and operational changes to help ease the pressure faced by caterers and enable the safety of staff and customers, as venues start welcoming back guests
A Hayden Hibbert
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number of hospitality establishments continued to operate during lockdown, with takeaway, click-andcollect, drive-through or delivery services, and will have a good infrastructure in place to provide an environment that is safe and Covid compliant as they begin to fully reopen. Other establishments that remained closed may well have used this time to also look at risk assessment and ensure they can meet the new demands once restrictions are lifted. With the relaxing of restrictions and the reopening milestone approaching, now would
be a good time to revisit and refresh operational practices prior to welcoming back customers, to ensure everything runs smoothly. It may also be a chance to embrace innovation and new ideas…
Review staff working practices One of the most critical planning considerations is staff numbers and their ability to cope with a change in procedures. The pandemic forced a number of establishments to trial new operation methods, such as takeaway, click-and-collect, drive-through and delivery services. Decisions need to be made as to whether these will continue, or if pre-lockdown services will be resumed, which can impact on staff numbers. With many permanent closures, there may be an opportunity by way of a pool of talented resource available. As more of your team are brought back into the workplace, it is
Hospitality important that staff have the appropriate training and advice on new working procedures that ensure everyone is aware of Covid-19 compliant practices. If staff are absent due to sickness, it is important to have contingency plans in place to deal with the shortfall. It would be good to undergo a cost analysis of buying in some prepared meals versus cooking in house and looking at batch cooking to ease pressures. Menus could be simplified, with simpler dishes that require reduced labor.
much notice and flexibility as possible, as elements of the supply chain have been under extreme pressure during the pandemic and may still be adjusting. Many foodservice suppliers, still recovering from the initial lockdown, are now carrying out impact assessments, appraising their resource requirements and will need to control costs and optimize distribution. With the possibility of a disruption in supplies of some products, it is important to communicate with suppliers regularly. Give them early indications of volume changes as menus change. Continue to support and extend empathy to suppliers during this challenging trading time, understanding that some flexibility around delivery days and product availability may be required. If you are using a procurement partner, like allmanhall, they will be in constant dialogue with these suppliers and will offer advice about stock-taking devices and other innovations available. Something else a procurement partner can help with is checking if suppliers have Covid compliant practices in place. Even if they do, you can take simple steps like considering buying in cases, to reduce touch points.
Social distancing With the distancing rules still in place, it is necessary to review the flow in a kitchen. Ease the pressure and help with safety by staggering the time of staff arrival and departure and create shift working and a flexible rota system. If limited space, introduce one-way travel, and - of course - make sure there is adequate PPE. Similar distancing rules will apply when it comes to your customers, with arrangements such as clearly marked one-way systems around a restaurant and so forth.
Hygiene Kitchens will already be designed with good hygiene in mind. Now is an opportunity to update cleaning schedules, such as introducing more regular cleaning, concentrating on key touch points. It could be a good idea to look at deep cleaning the whole kitchen area prior to re-opening. Remove unnecessary furnishings and other items from eating and cooking areas which can harbor germs and ensure any staff uniforms are cleaned more frequently. Some equipment may need maintenance after a period of inaction, and others, such as fridges and display counters, a thorough clean prior to restocking.
Food safety and supply chain considerations With restaurants closed for long periods of time, it is important to check that existing stock has not passed the use-by and best before dates. Reordering and restocking will be required, and it will be wise to place orders in advance with as
Opportunity to trial new ideas With many businesses having to reinvent themselves, now is a good time for trialing new ideas and introducing labor saving technology in the kitchen. Consider using a procurement provider who can help implement a software support platform which can lead to significant cost savings. An independent benchmark of the current pricing from existing suppliers, compared like for like with others by an independent procurement supplier can result in savings with very little effort, and is a good exercise in due diligence. Create more seasonal menus, with weekly or even daily menu planning, taking advantage of lower prices for foods in season. Catering-controls platforms will help cost menus and eliminate waste, as well as bringing other technological benefits. Seek advice. There is plenty of information covering all aspects of reopening available from the Government web site https://www.food.gov.uk/ business-guidance/reopening-checklistfor-food-businesses-during-covid-19 D
allmanhall
Hayden Hibbert is Director of Client Relations at allmanhall, an independent, family owned and managed business providing expert food procurement and supply chain management, combined with hands-on catering and nutrition advice. Working in a partnership with its clients, allmanhall’s purpose is to deliver the best food, the best cost savings, and the best support. Utilizing the latest industry-leading technology, procurement expertise and a focus on relationships, both with clients and suppliers, allmanhall has positioned itself as a market leader in the foodservice industry. For further information, please visit: www.allmanhall.co.uk
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Turning to technology Following the release of the UN’s 2021 Food Waste Index Report, Danilo Mangano discusses how technology can help the hospitality industry make progress in eliminating food waste
Danilo Mangano
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T
he UN’s 2021 Food Waste Index Report serves to highlight the impact food waste has on the climate. Among several sobering statistics, it reveals that if food waste were a country, it would have the biggest greenhouse gas emissions in the world after the US and China - around six times more than global aviation
emissions. And, while households do contribute to food waste, the hospitality and food service sector accounts for upwards of 920,000 tons of food waste each year – equivalent to one in six meals served. With consumers becoming increasingly sustainability-conscious and beginning to demand change, significant improvements must be
Food waste
made operationally to make a dent in food waste in the UK hospitality sector. With a lack of meaningful infrastructure in place in the UK to manage food waste, individual companies and hospitality operators must be proactive in making positive long-term changes. What’s more, given that restaurants have been closed to in-person diners for the
last few months, restaurants should welcome any initiatives that are likely to result in lower costs and boosted profits once they are able to reopen this spring. While it may seem obvious, the solution lies in technology. Most restaurants, bars and hotels already use operations platforms to manage guest data, inventory and ordering,
but too few are leveraging the data that these platforms collect to reduce food waste. With this in mind, we look at some simple but important ways in which the industry can use technology to reduce food waste.
Monitor guest data to optimize ordering In the hospitality industry, chefs and
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Food waste managers struggle to accurately plan supply needs because it’s seemingly impossible to predict both the number of covers and what each customer will order. Over-ordering becomes a regular occurrence, as no restaurant wants to be low on supplies in the event that a big crowd walks through the door or books last minute. For example, imagine a restaurant ordinarily sells 15 calamari starters in a typical evening, but one night, more vegan guests are booked in than usual. If only five portions of calamari are ordered, the remaining ten will go to waste, incurring an economic and environmental cost. However, if hospitality operators have a guest experience platform in place that can collect data on guests’ dietary requirements and preferences, in addition to order history, they already have all the information on hand to reduce food waste – they just need to leverage it appropriately. By cross-referencing guests’ previous dietary requirements and ordering habits with upcoming reservations, chefs would be able to tailor their orders according to those they have booked in on any given day. In the example above, if the restaurant knew 15 vegan diners were booked in for a Wednesday dinner service, they could have altered their orders of meat, fish and dairy products accordingly in advance. This would result in a significant reduction in food – and money – wasted. These savings can also apply to dietary preferences, too. Restaurants that have been facilitating their own online ordering, collection and delivery services over the lockdown have access to robust customer data, which can be extremely useful when ordering inventory. For instance, if a diner has ordered a specific chicken dish for delivery over lockdown, chances are they are going to order it again when they can eat at the venue. This helps operators from purchasing ingredients that will later go to waste. It can also enable operators to create memorable experiences for guests by remembering their favorite dishes or making suggestions they know
they’ll enjoy – making the diner feel valued and more likely to rebook in the future.
Track diners’ habits to tailor your food offering By tracking guests’ dining data over time, restaurants can gain greater insight into what their customers like - and what they don’t. For example, suppose a frequent guest mentions to a server that they don’t like coriander. This information can be logged on the guest’s profile on the restaurant’s guest experience platform. The restaurant can then leverage this data to prevent waste by removing coriander from any dishes they order. Another key contributor to food waste in hospitality is the volume of leftovers – this is yet another area in which guest data can be leveraged. Tracking the volume of leftovers per dish can indicate if there are certain dishes that guests rarely finish, suggesting that the portion is too large. Or if some sides are consistently left behind, implying they are generally disliked and should be removed from the plate. Making proactive changes such as these can have a profound effect on food waste, tracking back to an operator’s bottom line with reduced supply costs.
Offer something new and exciting Clearly, making use of the data you collect from customers can go a long way to reduce food waste, but why not go further by repurposing any surplus food? There are many ways in which restaurants can distribute these leftover dishes and ingredients, while taking advantage of an all-
important opportunity to engage with new and existing customers. In addition to offering delivery over the past few months, many hospitality operators also introduced retail offerings, both digitally and in person, to continue serving their customers. There is no reason why restaurants shouldn’t continue these initiatives into the post-Covid recovery period. It can bring in much-needed extra revenue while making a serious dent in the volume of food waste produced. Aside from the issue of generating revenue, it was heartening to see so many restaurants come together to support those who needed it over the pandemic, from delivering pizzas to hospitals to providing free lunches for school children and discounted meals for emergency workers. Restaurants should be encouraged to continue to help in this way in the future, helping to redistribute otherwise-wasted food while showing support for local communities. Tackling food waste concerns should be a top priority for every restaurant when venues reopen, especially as consumers call for brands to visibly commit to sustainability. If operators own their diners’ data and hold direct relationships with customers, it becomes easy for them to leverage all the data they need to reduce food waste and continue to provide top-tier guest experiences. Restaurants that are proactive in using intelligent, data-driven technology will undoubtedly benefit, as costs associated with wastage fall and consumers increasingly opt for restaurants that prioritize both sustainability and top-tier service. D
SevenRooms
Danilo Mangano is General Manager Europe at SevenRooms. SevenRooms is a fullyintegrated, data-driven guest experience platform that helps hospitality operators unlock the full revenue potential of their data. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, the end-to-end platform enables operators to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences, and, ultimately, bring guests back. The full suite of products includes: reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, review aggregation and marketing automation. For further information, please visit: www.sevenrooms.com
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Better prepared
The pandemic will have a lasting digital legacy on the food and beverage sector. By Heiner von Brachel
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L
ockdown life has inspired a seismic shift within the food and beverage sector, with more consumers than ever shopping online as they favor deliveries over the grocery store; takeaways instead of restaurants. But one need only read reports of the ‘celebratory’ atmosphere that hung in the air as consumers dined alfresco on the cold evening lockdown restrictions lifted to know that this past year will not be the death knell for ‘the physical’ experience. Large swathes of society have been hit hard this past year and any optimistic note must be tempered by this sobering reminder. However, as with any period of rapid change, there is opportunity amidst the uncertainty.
Pre-Covid we were already talking about ‘the fourth industrial revolution’ (the ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices, using modern smart technology) and a period of rapid change akin to industrialization. Well, Covid-19 has only accelerated our hurtling towards this brave new dawn. The future (and increasingly the present) is digital, and for those able to embrace that fact, opportunity abounds. The road to recovery and progress starts here…
Restaurants using technology to make dining more personal Despite that for much of the last year, the UK has been in lockdown
Food & beverage sector
with restaurants, pubs and bars closed, the future of the sector is bright with the industry innovating more in the past year than at almost any time in history. For example, UK consumer’s interest in how to use QR codes rose by 131 per cent over
the year according to new research from Reply. People are not shying away from having to check in to every restaurant, but in fact are embracing what they need to do to return. Interestingly, on average, 35 per cent of Europeans ordered
online food take-out in Q3 of 2020, considerably less than the global figure of 56 per cent. The lower number of food delivery orders in Europe could indicate that European are more comfortable with preparing meals at home. Or it could suggest a cultural difference to the rest of the world, that food and beverage is more than just sustenance, it is also an experience that cannot be replicated at home. In either case, restaurants need to find ways to ensure that consumers return to restaurants and keep coming back. Mass market chains have offered mobile and app-first offers, discounts, ordering and payment functionality for some time. But with Covid-19 forcing an
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open approach to customer service, new tech solutions could offer the way to ensure customer interest is sustained. Already, in China, 92 per cent of restaurants bars and cafes in main cities prefer mobile payments over cash. By seizing this technology, they are giving themselves an extra advantage as by embracing online payments and app use customer data becomes more available. This enable restaurants to provide a hyper-
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personalized experience for every individual who regular uses their services. For example, imagine having your server recommend a special that is specifically chosen for you based on past preferences – just like home cooking, without the cleaning!
Grocers personalize services and improve supply chains This data-based hyper personalization
can also be used in the grocery sector providing a bespoke and unique shopping experience to each customer, such as offering deals based on their usual shopping habits or showing suggestions for alternate brands that they might like to try on their weekly food shop. This is more important than ever as according to the same Reply research, there was an 844 per cent increase in interest in online grocery
Food & beverage sector
One of the main issues that grocery companies faced was that of logistics, with stockpiling and just-in-time supply chains meaning that shortages blighted the shelves of nearly every food shop in the country. Through the improvement of digital logistics in the backend, companies can now have more control over end-to-end customer experiences and ensure that supply chains continue to operate to get people the supplies they need. One of the solutions here is the harnessing of data, whether that is how frequently fresh fruit needs to be restocked or calculating that for example, as so many people have stockpiled toilet paper the supply can be slowed down as demand will fall. Embracing the data available following the rise in online grocery shopping can then contribute to new revenue streams and customer loyalty, allowing food retailers to continue to survive and thrive better than pre-pandemic.
Making the most of publicly available data
deliveries in the UK last year. With leading supermarkets across the UK taking on more staff at the start of the pandemic to deal with online orders, this interest clearly turned into action as customers changed their behaviors in order to stay safe. This greater focus on delivering great customer service online was inevitable in the long term but the pandemic acted as a catalyst to bring it to the top of the agenda ahead of its time.
Any fears that this will be an extensive and expensive solution for retailers to invest can be put aside, as retailers, brands and restaurateurs can benefit from digital tools and data even without building elaborate backend systems. For example, external services such as Google Maps,
Facebook or TripAdvisor contain large amounts of geo-specific data with high information value that can directly contribute to increasing business success. These services can be used to optimize the range of goods available locally, to maximize the effect of instore and geo-marketing campaigns or to identify profitable locations for store openings. The availability of this digital data has increased significantly due to the pandemic. This is partly due to the growing popularity of delivery services and e-commerce platforms, but also to the digitalization of physical customer contacts through online reservation systems, contactless payment or digital menus. These learnings to improve business would not have been possible a year ago, but now with this data companies can achieve a sustainable and competitive advantage. The future of the food and beverage sector is anything but bleak. The technology that has become available and that providers have had to embrace to survive this period, has meant that they are more robust than ever before. Whatever may come over the next months, whether that is more lockdowns, or a steady reopening as planned, the food and beverage sector will come out the other side stronger and better prepared for the digital future. D
Reply
Heiner von Brachel is a Senior Manager Communities of Practice, at Reply. Reply specializes in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media and offers a network of companies working across sectors and technologies including AI, big data, cloud computing, digital media, the Internet of Things, among many others. For further information, please visit: www.reply.com
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IndustryNews Theatre of chocolate Maison Pierre Marcolini has launched its
serving macarons, a Harrods
new counter within iconic department store
bestseller. Like Harrods,
Harrods. The grand new space has been
Maison Pierre Marcolini is
restored and preserved using the finest
committed to offering the
materials to reflect the original Edwardian
highest quality chocolate with
architecture renewed in a sustainable way. The
a commitment to sustainability
Harrods Chocolate Hall has been designed by
and responsible sourcing,
the award-winning David Collins Studio, the
creating its recipes with
same design team behind the wider Harrods
the finest Grand Cru cocoa
Food Hall transformation, to celebrate its 150-
beans with natural and exotic
year history with chocolate.
ingredients such as Iranian
Maison Pierre Marcolini will be showcasing its chocolate collection and the only counter
pistachios, pink peppercorns from Morocco, hazelnuts from Piedmont, and much more.
https://marcolini.com
£140 million investment The Kraft Heinz Company (Kraft Heinz), is
modernizing the manufacturing capabilities
premium products of higher quality with
planning to make a £140 million investment
of the site over the next four years, focused
its new machinery. With this, the site will
in Kitt Green, Europe’s largest food
around three key pillars; bringing Heinz
minimize the use of non-renewable sources,
manufacturing facility located near Wigan,
iconic sauce manufacturing back to the UK
producing items that are fully recyclable and
in the North-West of the UK. This would be
to build additional European capacity, further
ultimately helping to considerably reduce
the biggest Kraft Heinz investment in over
upgrading machinery and driving the plant to
the site’s CO2 footprint, aligning with its
two decades in an existing manufacturing
deliver its ESG commitments.
ESG commitments. To enable employees
site outside of the US and could create up
The investment will also fund updated
to 50 new full-time positions. The proposed
manufacturing equipment and technology,
be providing upskilling opportunities whilst
investment is subject to final US approvals
the first of its kind across the Kraft Heinz
envisaging the creation of up to 50 new full-
from Kraft Heinz later in the year.
network. Kitt Green will become much
time positions.
more of a modern facility producing
www.kraftheinzcompany.com
The investment will be focused on further
to operate this machinery, Kitt Green will
Healthy solution SIG’s unique on-the-go combismile carton
With an output of 24,000 carton packs per
provides consumers with the perfect product
pack has entered the French market for the
hour, SIG’s CFA 1824 filling machine provides
and packaging mix to fit in with their hectic
first time, with the new fruity flavored ranges
the optimum combination of flexibility and
lifestyles, which rely on remaining fit and
for adults and kids from renowned natural
speed, with the option to fill five different
healthy.”
mineral water brand Volvic.
volume sizes: 200ml; 250ml; 300ml; 330ml
www.sig.biz
SIG’s combismile packaging innovation is
and 350ml. Volvic’s new functional water range
the ideal lifestyle packaging option for flavored
will be available in combismile 250ml and
water. Offering the highest level of consumer
330ml carton packs.
convenience and stand out premium feel and
combismile from SIG is the perfect partner
appearance, combismile has been designed
for premium and added-value products and
to meet the needs of modern on-the-go
offers responsible on-the-go consumption.
consumers.
SIG is 100 per cent FSC™-certified which
“This packaging is perfectly adapted to
means all paperboard comes from responsibly
the new consumption habits of the French
managed forests and other controlled sources.
and the move towards more mobile and
combismile is also fully recyclable.
active lifestyles. This innovation is part of
José Matthijsse, President and General
our approach to offer more responsible and
Manager Europe at SIG added: “Our highly
sustainable packaging, with the ambition to
convenient on-the-go combismile carton
eliminate the use of virgin plastic from our
pack is designed to meet the changing
packaging by 2025,” commented Nathalie
demands of busy consumers, to reflect their
Abrahamian-Deudon, Vice-Presidente
unique tastes and personalities. Bringing true
Marketing at Danone Waters France.
innovation to the water sector, combismile
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IndustryNews Environmental innovation INEOS O&P EUROPE is making a significant investment to develop a comprehensive portfolio of circular solutions for the packaging industry, and it has formed a collaboration with LACTEL in yet another major milestone. Advanced recycling technology converts waste plastic back to its basic molecules, which are then used in INEOS production sites to include recycled contents and replace traditional fossilbased raw materials. LACTEL is the first dairy brand, in collaboration with INEOS, to explore a solution for UHT milk bottles produced with circular polyethylene, derived from post-consumer recycled material. “This trial production of 140,000 milk bottles, based on HDPE from advanced recycling technology, is a world first and a major step forward for Lactel towards a circular economy. This new innovative product will be used in the Montauban production plant for an initial production run. At Lactel we are extremely excited to bring this new environmental innovation to our iconic milk bottles,” explains Anne Charles-Pinault - Lactel France General Manager. “INEOS is very pleased to progress this partnership with Lactel,” added Xavi Cros – CEO INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe/South. “Both companies are committed to sustainability and, via advanced recycling, we are able to supply virgin quality polymer from recycled plastic that is ideal for even the most
demanding food contact applications like milk. Another big step in the right
direction.”
Indonesian expansion
After an independent certification process, initiated several months ago,
Nestlé is investing $220 million in a new beverage factory in
Lactel’s Montauban plant has been successfully RSB certified this April
Indonesia, and has started its construction in Bandaraya in
2021. The milk bottles produced in this way are compliant with food safety
Batang, Central Java. The new factory that will be built on 20
regulations and are fully recyclable. www.ineos.com
hectares of land, will produce BEAR BRAND liquid milk and ready-to-drink beverages MILO and NESCAFÉ to fulfil the growing demand for its products. The new factory will provide about 200 new job opportunities and open a new business opportunity for the community for dairy development. On the same occasion, PT Nestlé Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding with the regional government of Batang, aimed to develop a partnership with prospective dairy farmers and farmer groups to develop dairy farming and fresh milk raw materials for the new factory. “Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, we are optimistic about the growth opportunities in Indonesia, and our decision to invest for the new factory and capacity expansion of our existing factories is a demonstration of our long-term commitment to invest in Indonesia, with primary focus to create more employment, to utilize local raw materials as much as possible, and to produce quality and nutritious food and beverages products that are safe and tasty for our consumers, and to contribute to the development of Indonesian economy,” said Ganesan Ampalavanar, President Director of PT Nestlé Indonesia. www.nestle.co.id
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A new evolution Covid-19 revolutionizes technology in the restaurant industry. By Brody Sweeney
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Restaurant technology
C
ovid-19 has affected every facet of life, and the restaurant industry has been no exception to that. With the impacts on the restaurant industry including closures for extended periods of time, restaurant owners have had to change and adapt to this new normal, and this has included incorporating new technologies into their business models to ensure survival. This has given rise to creativity and innovation within the industry about the different ways technology can be added to the business, including here at Camile Thai Kitchen. Many restaurants pivoted during the first lockdown to offering takeaway and delivery services for the first time. For many, this posed a new challenge apart from changing the traditional dine-in business model restaurants began using technology as an integral aspect of the business, making the jump to producing food for home delivery for the first time. This experience has proven the importance of technology and how it empowers a thriving and successful hospitality industry. Some of the new technologies we have deployed over Covid include:
industry, and we are happy to be part of that story.
Drone delivery
Looking forward in 2021, we’re collaborating with a kitchen robotics team to automate many of our operations. We aim to continue to be ahead of the curve within the restaurant industry, which is why our strategy is so focused on technology. Automation within the restaurant industry will be extremely important moving forward, as many businesses begin to adopt technological changes. By partnering with kitchen robotics engineers to automate operations, we hope to process more orders faster, growing our guests as well as our business. Automation will also free up employees to focus on more pressing tasks including day to day operations and customer-facing work. Camile guests are the core of our business, and we are continually striving to make the experience better for them. The use of technology in the restaurant industry will continue to enhance the customer experience, save money and speed up service. We are committed to playing our part in this evolution. D
Drone delivery allows for us to reach a larger geographic swath of customers, and allows those customers to receive their orders in record time. The Camile Thai Kitchen takeaway chain has been one of the restaurants taking part in the Oranmore trial in Co. Galway, West of Ireland, operating from a food truck parked outside the Tesco superstore. We see drone deliveries as a welcome new way of cutting down on the delivery costs that are placing a heavy burden on restaurants. Camile Thai charges customers a £2.99 delivery fee, but delivery by car or bike actually costs the company somewhere between £5.50 and £6. Then there are the high charges that restaurants pay to delivery companies like Deliveroo and Just Eat, around 30 per cent of an order. Camile Thai has its own fleet of delivery drivers in places like Dublin to try to lower its dependency on the fast food delivery aggregators, but drones could be another alternative as two drones could do the work of several drivers. If drone deliveries were to become widely available, we can calculate that about 70 per cent of Camile Thai deliveries could be done that way. It won’t be suitable for all deliveries — such as to busy urban streets or office blocks. Drones are ideally suited for suburbia, where people have gardens or driveways where deliveries can be dropped. The future of drone delivery is definitely revolutionizing the food
Virtual kitchens At the end of May 2020, Camile Thai launched a lower-cost franchise model which targets venues such as hotels, pubs and restaurants that have been forced to close due to lockdown measures, but which have professional cooking facilities that could be converted into Camile ‘cloud kitchens’ for home delivery. Proven to be very effective for our business, it’s a restaurant-model with no storefront, no tables and chairs - no internal seating at all. An abundance of existing restaurants and QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) chains are now venturing into cloud kitchens because of its operational efficiency and low start-up costs, which will continue to play a massive role in the food industry. Through this innovative new franchise programme - hotel, restaurant and pub owners can maximize their
kitchen space and bring new options to market, increasing revenue almost immediately with easy-to-prepare menu designed for delivery.
Bringing robotics to restaurant kitchens
Brody Sweeney
Camile Thai
Brody Sweeney is Founder and CEO of Camile Thai. With more than 35 outlets across Ireland and the UK, Camile is committed to empowering its guests through healthy dining experiences. The company’s strategy is tech-centric with investments in drone delivery, kitchen robotics and cloud kitchens and is creating a new premium delivery dining sector based on health, sustainability and speed. Camile also strives to empower consumers to make sustainable delivery choices and was the first in Europe to introduce 100 per cent compostable delivery packing. Investors include Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, Andy McCue and Brian Caulfield. For further information, please visit: www.camile.co.uk
www.foodchainmagazine.com 17
The right tools
Are Covid-19 and Brexit increasing the risk of food fraud asks Mike Seed
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he effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be felt across the world, and the UK food industry is no exception. Throw Brexit into the mix, and you’ve got an even more serious threat on your hands. As such, the UK food industry must maintain its investments in proven systems of quality control and product testing in order to guard itself against these threats. Business must take proactive measures to address the growing influx of fake, adulterated and fraudulent food products that have been flooding the market, as criminals take advantage of the widespread disruptions caused by the worldwide pandemic and the regulatory uncertainty that has followed the UK’s departure from the EU. Here, Elementar investigates the impact of coronavius and Brexit on the UK food industry, and explains how the food industry can take up arms against this growing problem.
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How has Covid-19 impacted the rise in food fraud? National lockdowns have disrupted regular business processes, meaning that quality checks may not be taking place across the supply chain as expected. At the same time, budget-conscious consumers may be becoming less discerning about where they source their food, giving fraudsters another leg up. The impact on the industry’s ongoing fight against food fraud has been undeniably serious, and has been recognized by various industry bodies. Over the last 12 months, organizations including Lloyd’s Register, the Food Authenticity Network Advisory Board and Food Standards Scotland have all raised concerns that the pandemic is greatly increasing the risk of food fraud. Last summer, Interpol and Europol co-ordinated Operation Opson IX, during which more than $40 million of potentially dangerous fake food and drink shipments were seized, with 19
organized crime groups disrupted and 407 individuals arrested. The items seized included cheese that tested positive for E.coli bacteria, meat from illegally slaughtered animals and 6,500 liters of expired drinks. Of particular concern was the fact that many of the activities uncovered demonstrate that Covid-19 is providing ideal conditions for these criminals to operate. For instance: • Seizures of expired food items, or food where the expiry dates had been altered, were significantly higher than during previous operations • A shipment of seafood was being smuggled by being falsely declared as personal protective equipment A study by the Food Authenticity Network (FAN) and Mérieux Nutrisciences established that the conditions created by the pandemic have increased food fraud vulnerability. However, there was insufficient evidence to suggest that there have been dramatic increases in specific Covid-19-related food fraud incidents. It is likely that the true
Food fraud impact of Covid-19 will not be known until the full worldwide resumption of regulatory surveillance.
How Brexit has worsened the food fraud issue For businesses in the UK, the food fraud threat could now be compounded by the fallout of Brexit. A newspaper investigation in August 2020 revealed that funding for the National Crime Unit has risen from £420,739 since its creation in 2015-16 to more than £5.7 million in 2020-21, in large part due to a need to prepare against “any risks or opportunities presented by the UK’s exit from the EU”. Despite Brexit coming into effect at the start of the year, concerns have persisted that the UK’s break from established Europe-wide systems of food standards regulation and quality control could create uncertainties that might be exploited by fraudsters. The FSA, FSS and Defra are currently reviewing legislation to ensure it will remain effective in the UK. With a grace period applying until 30th September 2022 in regard to UK obligations and the enforcement of the new rules due to only begin on 1st October 2022, there is still much left uncertain in relation to how the UK will handle food regulation.
out subpar ingredients and keep their customers safe. Stable isotope analysis is one of the most powerful methods available to the food industry for combating food fraud in all its forms. By analyzing the unique chemical signature or fingerprint of each food product, labs can gain important insights into their origins, properties and production methods, making it much easier to identify evidence of fraud and adulteration. These methods can be used to identify whether meats and fruit juices are really from their stated place of origin, or to find evidence of illegal additives and chemicals in products such as honey and wine. Such techniques can also be used to assess a product’s specific quality, such as protein or fiber content.
What can the food industry do? At the moment, the food industry is facing unprecedented challenges thanks to all of the disruptions to business processes and forward planning, so it isn’t surprising that food suppliers are finding it harder to detect examples of fraud and maintain their quality control standards; however, it is crucial to their future success that they solve this problem. Companies must ensure their approach to quality assessment and analysis of food products remains robust throughout their supply chain. This can be achieved, at least in part, by making sure that their quality control laboratories are equipped with the technology needed to root
With so many modern stable isotope analyzers being designed to offer efficient, automated performance, it is vital that food analysis laboratories make sure they have the right equipment in place to carry out this essential work as smoothly as possible. At a time when other parts of the supply chain are facing such disruption, labs can play a major role in overcoming the current challenges, simply by equipping themselves to deliver timely, accurate results. The current spate of food fraud and adulteration will be a difficult one to combat, given the exceptional circumstances facing the industry. However, by getting equipped with the right analytical tools and aids, the industry can ensure it is responding swiftly and efficiently to the threat. D
Elementar
Mike Seed is Sales and Product Manager at Elementar UK, the UK division of Elementar, a multinational manufacturer of elemental analyzers and isotope ratio mass spectrometers used for analysis of non-metallic elements. Its applications and machinery are used for ground-breaking studies and research by scientists in the chemical, forensic, agricultural, materials and environmental sectors. For further information, please visit: www.elementar.com/en-gb/
www.foodchainmagazine.com 19
IndustryNews Portfolio additions Ingredion EMEA has expanded its portfolio
starches serve a variety of support
of clean label texturizers, with four new
functionality - cold-dishing, preventing
NOVATION® Lumina instant cold water
excessive flow, adjusting batter and
swelling (CWS) starches – the NOVATION®
sauce viscosities, as well as allowing
Lumina 340, 650, 4600 and 5600. The new
for the suspension of particulates.
functional native CWS starches provide instant
The launch consists of four types of
viscosity, where required, with a focus on
cold water swelling starches, to meet
savory and bakery filling applications. They
varying requirements. NOVATION®
will enable manufacturers to create recipes
Lumina 340 combines a light-coloring
with a cleaner label and more recognizable
and neutral flavor with excellent cold
ingredients that consumers trust.
storage and freeze/thaw stability with
Ingredion’s proprietary LuminaTM technology enables manufacturers to create delicate food
a high process tolerance. NOVATION® Lumina 650 combines a light-
applications, that require mild flavors and
coloring and neutral flavor with excellent cold
colors. The new NOVATION® Lumina CWS
storage and freeze/thaw stability with a low
functionality of NOVATION® Lumina 4600 with a
NOVATION® LUMINA 5600 combines the
starches can also provide superior texture,
to medium process tolerance and improved
coarse granularity, perfectly suitable for instant and
when compared with drum-dried starches.
dispersion. NOVATION® Lumina 4600 is a
‘add hot water’ applications, that tend to lump and
The portfolio of starches is suitable for use in
functional, clean label, waxy maize starch
also where a slower hydration is required, such
mayonnaise, dressings, sauces and dips, pizza
with medium process tolerance. It provides
as mixing in low temperatures or processes that
toppings, ready meal cold dishing, instant
viscosity without heating and glossiness, and
have challenges of mixing and dispersion, such as
desserts, bakery creams and fruit fillings.
a clean flavor and color profile in sensitive and
sauces, gravies and powder mixes.
In ready meals in particular, these instant
high starch dosage applications.
www.ingredion.com
Protective packaging and sustainable solutions from DS Smith The Covid-19 pandemic propelled the growth
advent calendars were secure enough to
of e-commerce – with 83% of Brits planning
avoid being damaged in transit. Similarly, to
start or stop with packaging and DS Smith
to continue to shop online at the same level
enhance the protection of its glass bottles,
continually works with its customers to ensure
or more after the pandemic. Now, more than
online wine retailer Laithwaite’s worked with
they have scalable packaging solutions that
ever, British businesses need to adapt their
DS Smith to design packaging that would
are suited to a circular economy, that help
e-commerce model to meet the ongoing
offer protection from the jolts and impacts of
them to get online quickly and ensure that
demand for home deliveries.
the courier delivery network.
their products arrive in pristine condition at the
But there are up to 50 touchpoints in
Indeed, as e-commerce rises in popularity,
a typical product journey to withstand
sustainable packaging is a topic which
and good quality packaging makes all the
continues to remain front of mind - 85% of
difference – whether it falls off the back
consumers want to buy products which use
of a lorry or is dropped in error, packaging
‘as little packaging as possible’ and those
solutions need to achieve the highest
brands and retailers who place importance
standards of protection.
on sustainable packaging now, will reap the
That’s why Brewery company BrewDog enlisted the support of DS Smith to ensure 1.5 million cans of beer in its beloved Christmas
rewards in the future. Premium mixers brand London Essence co. took this on board, offering a range of products to consumers online in the most sustainable way possible. DS Smith collaborated with the company to develop a bespoke e-commerce packaging range that was designed in line with its Circular Design Principles, including; a limit to additional materials being used in the packaging, and keeping packaging materials in circular use.
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10/05/2021 10:24
Maintaining a healthy balance B
Marcel Koks looks at how the emergence of Maintenance 4.0 is raising the standard, and driving up safety standards across the food and beverage industry
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oth the pandemic and Brexit have aggravated the challenges faced by food and beverage manufacturers, with consumer demand fluctuating, supply bottlenecks in certain areas and rising costs all converging to create a perfect storm. Safety recalls in particular, continue to represent one of the biggest challenges facing manufacturers, proving both costly and risky. A report launched in 2019 indicated that food safety recalls were on the rise. But rather than pointing to a dip
in standards, reasons cited typically centered around new labelling requirements, improved capacity for identifying anomalies, and growth in the ‘free from’ sector which is particularly vulnerable to cross contamination issues. And of course, Covid has since brought with it a renewed focus on the contamination risk from people and pathogens within the production plant. In a world where food safety is paramount, and brand reputation king, even one safety recall is too many. And when it comes to addressing this
Food technology problem, asset management and maintenance remains, for many, an area which holds huge potential for improvement.
involving the risk of metal contaminants in products. Typically, this kind of recall is synonymous with machines failing and a theoretical risk that batches have been compromised. The problem is that machine insights are often collected at the end of the day, rather than in real-time, resulting in a lag which quickly translates into a bottleneck and reputational and logistical risk. And when it comes to potential contamination from Covid or indeed viruses or bacteria, increased automation inevitably results in a need for fewer people on the shop floor, reducing that risk, but equally, can help through collating data from temperature scanners and image recognition. These insights can help to provide data on those operatives displaying signs of infection, and provide an opportunity to reduce this risk. In parallel, predictive maintenance software can identify the right cleaning intervals to minimize contamination risk, but avoid unnecessary cleaning which could impact a machine’s lifespan. Through collating insights in real time to be able to foresee malfunctions, rather than at the end of the day once the damage has been done, manufacturers can truly spot anomalies before they become big, debilitating problems. Essentially, all of the sensors in the world can’t help to deliver value, drive performance or reduce risk if they are unconnected and the resulting data sits dormant.
Maximizing automation, minimizing risk It’s no secret that the key to addressing these challenges resides in digital transformation. Many plants still use manual, spreadsheet-centric processes to support their equipment maintenance programs, which is hugely risky as it leaves food companies vulnerable to errors, exposed to unnecessary downtime and costs, and potentially lengthy compliance processes. In addition, the resources required to support such a model would clearly hold more value if deployed elsewhere. The level of automation associated with food production facilities varies immensely but one thing is clear. The more limited the automation, the greater the risk from human error, which can result in downtime, safety risk and waste. High levels of automation, machine learning and intelligence through adopting a predictive, or prescriptive, approach to asset management and maintenance, can reduce this risk substantially, minimizing recalls and maximizing reputation and profits.
The big data challenge Sensors on all machines and production lines can help to provide the realtime data necessary to deliver on this, providing an opportunity to map live data with historical and third party information and make informed decisions quickly. The level of granularity of insight which can be obtained using sensors is hugely valuable. For example, on certain machines, vibrations can be monitored to detect the extent to which bearings are morphing from round to oval shapes, thus impacting the reliability of the piece of equipment and predicting the point at which it will fail. But the end goal is far greater than merely improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) across the production line. For example, it’s not uncommon to hear about recalls
Maintenance 4.0 Maintenance 4.0 addresses this disparity through capturing sensor readings in a ‘data lake’ repository,
applying algorithms and analytics to understand precisely why assets wobble or fail, and identifying how to correct the problem, all in a live environment. Crucially this approach leverages these insights to advise maintenance personnel on the actions to take to avoid asset malfunction. This move from reactive maintenance, which is considered the easiest approach but often the most expensive one in the long term, to a condition-based, predictive strategy is a crucial shift in the quest to raise standards and expand market share. This ability to identify, and resolve issues in real time ensures the smooth running of the food production plant and reduces the risk of waste, contamination and downtime.
A converged model Digital transformation is undoubtedly seeing the convergence of IT, operations and business to scope out models which are predictive rather than reactive, and minimize the risk of recalls substantially. So much more than OEE, which was typically the end goal in earlier maintenance solutions, in-depth insights and analysis stand to refine reliability and performance, and ultimately, raise safety standards and demonstrate best practice across the food industry. Given the shifts taking place across the food sector in the wake of the pandemic, few can afford to gamble on their reputations and profit margins. Forward thinking food companies are waking up to the prospect of a Maintenance 4.0 approach in their quest to protect both the customers they serve, and their brand reputations. D
Infor
Marcel Koks is Industry & Solution Strategy Director, Food & Beverage at Infor, a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry. Providing mission-critical enterprise applications to 67,000 customers in more than 175 countries, Infor software is designed to deliver more value and less risk, with more sustainable operational advantages. It empowers its 17,000 employees to leverage their deep industry expertise and use datadriven insights to create, learn and adapt quickly to solve emerging business and industry challenges. Infor is committed to providing customers with modern tools to transform their business and accelerate their own path to innovation. For further information, please visit: www.infor.com
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Minimize
the risk
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Health & safety
Mike Fletcher discusses the prevention of fires and explosions (control of risk) due to organic dusts in food manufacturing plants
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hen we think of dust it is often more in terms of cleaning or inhalation in the work environment. What we don’t think so much about is the explosive risk associated with dust. In the UK, explosions due to organic dust are fortunately rare in the food manufacturing industry, but nonetheless they are a threat with the capacity to cause substantial damage and fatalities. Products like flour, custard powder, instant coffee, sugar, cocoa, dried milk and chilli powder if released into the air as a dust, have the potential to cause an explosion when exposed to an ignition source. In 1981, a dust explosion occurred at the General Foods factory in Banbury, when a custard powder dust cloud was ignited by electrical equipment. Nine people were injured and there was substantial structural damage. All plant-based material has the potential to produce combustible dusts. For a fire to occur three conditions known as the Fire Triangle - are required: air or oxygen, a source of ignition and a suitable fuel. For an explosion to occur two further conditions are needed - are the dispersion of the dust into a dense cloud and the confinement of this dust cloud in a vessel or building. This is known as the Explosion Pentagon. As experts in the field of health and safety, we have recently produced a significant piece of guidance for the Agricultural Industries Confederation, AIC, on the control of risks in the manufacture of animal feed. These general principals are also relevant to food manufacturing. When the fuel is in the form of large particles, e.g. whole grain, or a heap of dust, the rate of combustion will be slow and will be limited by the rate at which air is supplied to the fire. The result is smoldering or low intensity fire. The hot gases, smoke, that are released, disperse gently. If fine dust is raised into the air to form a dense dust cloud, the flame can spread through this cloud extremely quickly giving rise to the rapid production of hot gases and a rise in pressure, i.e.an explosion. The explosivity of the dust will depend on the concentration of the dust in the air, the size of the dust particles and the moisture content.
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Health & safety The initial dust explosion, often referred to as the primary dust explosion, is often quite small, but this initial explosion can generate a series of larger and very violent secondary explosions. Dust lying on the floor, on top of pieces of plant, building structures etc. can all provide sources of dust for a secondary explosion. Just 1kg of dust sufficiently well dispersed can give rise to an explosive cloud of up to 20m3 and a dust layer of only 2mm thickness over an extensive area is sufficient to give rise to a risk of secondary explosions in most circumstances. The only solution to the risk of secondary dust explosions is to ensure that the plant is kept sufficiently clean on all levels. Under UK law, where there is potential for dust related explosions, companies must adhere to the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR). These place duties on employers to protect people from risk from fires, explosions and similar events in the workplace. For food manufacturing companies, this should be reasonably straightforward and if broken down into stages and followed in a logical manner will ensure that the plant is compliant and safe to operate. 1. Identify the dangerous substances 2. Analysis of the plant and processes 3. Determine the combustible atmosphere of each stage of the process under multiple conditions 4. If it is considered that a combustible atmosphere would or could exist, the interior part of that piece of plant is classified as containing a potentially combustible atmosphere 5. Once a location is classified, all equipment used within it needs to be suitable for that zone. This is known as ATEX rated equipment 6. Identify potential ignition sources and determine likelihood of explosion 7. Eliminate any ignition sources where at all possible 8. Determine the actions required to prevent injury to personnel
The original three fire factors - air, fuel, heat source (plus the two extra factors for explosions - dispersion of dust and confinement of dust) all need to be present to support fire and explosions. So, the exclusion of any of these will prevent fire or explosion occurring or will extinguish it. In practical terms then, there is the need to exclude the fuel, i.e. the dust or the source of heat, since air will certainly be present.
The main ignition sources that need to be eliminated where feasible are: •
Sparks created by metal striking metal or metal striking other hard materials e.g. flint • Mechanical friction (bearing failure, belts miss tracking and rubbing on plant) • Hot work, such as angle grinding or welding • Fires • Static electricity • Smoking/matches/vaping • Unsuitable/overloaded/faulty electrical equipment • Vehicles If during the DSEAR assessment process it is determined that there is likely to be a combustible cloud of dust and an ignition source present - it is usually difficult to control all ignition sources, then a decision has to be made on how this risk should be controlled.
Generally, controls fall into three categories: Explosion mitigation involves designing the plant in such a way as to allow an explosion to occur but without creating a hazard to personnel by allowing the excess pressure and flame to vent to a safe area. Explosion containment involves designing plant and equipment to be strong enough to withstand the results of an explosion within it without failing. Explosion suppression involves a system which detects the early signs of an explosion and extinguishes it by the injection of an inert material. The fact that a potential explosive atmosphere is determined does not affect ATEX certification but does require the manufacturer to put in place explosion protection measures. We advise using the services of a reputable Health & Safety Consultancy such as SML that can provide a bespoke assessment with recommendations for compliance, and identification of all the potential danger points. We have carried out fire and explosion risk assessments for many food manufacturers and it’s worth pointing out that it is not just an adherence to DSEAR that is crucial. It is also an understanding of the potential threats and outcomes and the implementation of the correct regular procedures to minimize risk on a daily basis. D
The DSEAR Regulations are aimed solely at preventing injury to personnel, they are not concerned with reducing damage to plant and equipment. Accordingly, there are minimum standards of operation and design which must be implemented, so far as is reasonably practicable, to prevent injury to personnel. There are however a series of extra measures which go above and beyond the minimum legal requirement and as a result, reduce the risk of damage to plant and equipment and interruptions to production. The implementation of these extra measures becomes an economic decision for the operator in question and will be of some interest to the operator’s insurance company. Safety Management Limited (SML)
Mike Fletcher is MD of Safety Management Limited (SML). SML is one of the UK’s leading health and safety management consultants, working with clients across a wide range of sectors to ensure their safety standards go beyond compliance with even the strictest legislation, thereby safeguarding their people, their customers and vitally, the reputation of their business. For further information, please visit: www.safety-management.co.uk
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Finger lickin’ growth
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Queensway Europe Ben Lowe
Queensway Europe, part of the multinational hospitality operater Queensway, is set to grow its network of KFC restaurants across Austria and Slovakia in 2021
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ith a portfolio of hotels, restaurants, coffee houses and commercial and residential properties to its name, Queensway is a family business on a mission to create meaningful, memorable hospitality experiences. Boasting 900 employees across 45 locations, the company operates some of the world’s greatest brands, including Starbucks, ibis Styles, The Sloane Club, and Point A Hotels. “Queensway is a London-based family company with business interests in quite a few countries,” affirms Queensway Europe Managing Director Ben Lowe. “The great part about the organization is that, even though we are a sizeable operation, Queensway still feels like a family business. “Today, we are run in line with the same core values that the company was founded upon: Work Together, Have Fun, Be Kind, and Challenge Everything. Whether you are standing in a Starbucks in Manchester or a hotel in London, you will always be able to feel the distinct ethos and personality of this business.”
Brand resurgence A major milestone in Queensway’s history arrived in 2005, when the company became a franchisee for KFC outlets in Austria and Slovakia. Aided by its hospitality sector experience and expertise, Queensway now operates 12 KFC restaurants across the two countries: seven in Austria and five in Slovakia. The company expects to open a further eight new sites in the region before the end of 2021. “At this moment in time, we have three sites in various stages of construction,” Ben says. “It is a challenging time for sourcing materials and equipment, but we’re still hoping to get those outlets up and running by the end of the year.
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“KFC is a remarkable brand with a strong heritage and it has really experienced a resurgence over the course of the last five to ten years. We’ve been helping to grow the brand around the world and I think consumers are falling back in love with it. The business model is working well for franchisees, and Queensway’s experience, coupled with KFC’s popularity, really helps to differentiate us from the competition.” Working within the parameters of Austria and Slovakia, Queensway takes a multi-faceted approach to identifying and selecting trade zones that interest, engage and excite its customers. Though traditional demographic data and spending patterns play a role in this process, Ben explains that they are
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not the only factors the company takes into account. “Customer generators like hospitals, universities and government buildings are examples of factors we consider when finding new KFC locations,” Ben reveals. “It’s also good to be close to complementary retail sites that attract high volumes of people, and that is why you can sometimes find us in, or adjacent to, parking lots for big-box stores.
Transformation journey “As drive-thru restaurants grow in popularity, our understanding of traffic count and the associated ease of access into a specific site become more important,” Ben adds. “Traffic count helps us identify thoroughfares that we
‘
Queensway Europe
I often refer to us as a people business more than a food business, but I guess the two go hand in hand. We have got some brilliant people at this company who have helped steer us through the pandemic and a lot of credit must go to frontline employees in our restaurants
willingness to adapt to the changing needs of its customers. “Especially since the outbreak of the pandemic, people are choosing convenience and we are at the forefront of that,” Ben declares. “We have been on a pretty rapid journey of transformation considering that, before the first Covid lockdown, we only had one drive-thru, we weren’t
running delivery, and we didn’t have any online channels open. Over the last 15 months, we have managed to get delivery into every one of our restaurants and customers can now order online or on a mobile app. “We have recently added another drive-thru restaurant and will have a further three open by the end of the calendar year,” Ben points out. “We’ve
might want to be located on, and then when we have a location in place, it also helps with revenue forecasting.” The rise in prominence of Queensway Europe’s drive-thru KFC restaurants has been accelerated over the last 12 months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the early days of the crisis, the company was forced to close all but one of its Austria and Slovakia locations – the one remaining restaurant being a drive-thru. However, by the summer of 2020, Queensway Europe had reopened all its KFC sites and, ultimately, the business achieved a record year of revenue and profitability. Resilient in the face of such a destructive chapter in world history, Queensway Europe’s success was largely the result of its flexibility and
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Queensway Europe also been rolling out electronic kiosks in a lot of our restaurants, which allow customers to skip queues and get their order more quickly. “In the next few months, a curbside pick-up option will be added to a number of our outlets. We just want to give the customer as much choice as possible and leave it to them to determine the easiest way to access the brand. Easy beats better in some circumstances and our proliferation of access channels is about making it as easy as possible for the customer to order in a way they most prefer.”
Training & development Delivery and online ordering will continue to drive growth for Queensway’s KFC outlets, but Ben, who argues that Queensway has always been a people-focused business above all else, believes that the company’s workforce will have an equally important role in the firm’s future. “I often refer to us as a people business more than a food business, but I guess the two go hand in hand,” Ben asserts. “We have got some brilliant people at this company who have helped steer us through the pandemic and a lot of credit must go to frontline employees in our restaurants. “As we exit the worst of the Covid crisis, the market is changing fast. There is a big push on hiring in the hospitality industry at the moment, so brands will be forced to make an effort to stand out as a great employer. At Queensway, we are unique in that we get a lot of young people passing through the organization and we can offer them a lot of training. There aren’t many businesses in the world where you can be a manager in your early 20s, running a team of up to 50 people, for a world-famous brand, with your restaurant turning over a million euros a year. We’ll certainly be leaning into more of that training and development in the future.” Having laid strong foundations for the future of KFC in Austria and Slovakia, Queensway Europe now hopes to continue its growth trajectory by doubling its unit count before the end of 2022. As modern, multi-
channel service combines with a focus on people – both customers and employees – the organization is confident that it can take advantage of the countless opportunities that lie ahead for KFC restaurants in Austria, Slovakia, and beyond. “We have a market map of Austria and Slovakia, and we easily see
potential for over 100 KFCs in those countries,” Ben states. “The only question is, how quickly can we achieve that goal? We probably won’t get there in three to five years, but that is our ambition and so we hope to get our hands on more fantastic sites for this great brand.” D www.queensway.com
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Proving success
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The Bread Factory Dean Arbel - Managing Director
As leading artisan bakery, The Bread Factory, approaches 30 years since its founding, it is still as dedicated as ever to producing the best in sourdough, traditional breads, Viennoiserie and cakes
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itting three decades in business is an accomplishment for any company, and The Bread Factory is now just two short years’ away from this milestone achievement. Having survived the ups and downs of economic boom and bust and numerous challenges along throughout the years, The Bread Factory stands in mid 2021, stronger, more sophisticated and as focused as ever on making and supplying only the finest products available. FoodChain last reported in on its activities in December 2017, and in 2021 we were fortunate to catch up with Dean Arbel, Managing Director, to get an update on what is involved in the company’s strategy to ‘make bread better’. “Over the past three years we have been busy activating our strategy to make sourdough bread more accessible for everyday consumption so that everyone can enjoy healthy and delicious bread,” he began. “Work has included developing a tighter portfolio and challenging our ways of working across our fantastic bakery and new product development (NPD) teams, led by Head of Product Catriona Watt-Smith and Creative Director Roy Levy. Together the teams have been combining the traditional principles of baking and leading scientific insights, to continuously improve our award-winning sourdoughs. Our key focus here has been around the fermentation process to optimize taste, health benefits and making our sourdough stay fresher
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for longer without using any other ingredients – just flour, water and sea salt. “We have also invested in technology to improve our customer service from new ordering processes, to a new EPOD handheld system for our delivery drivers,” he continued. “Our aim is to deliver outstanding products, consistently, on time and in full to the chefs we serve and through our grocery channel. “As a result, The Bread Factory has been doing incredibly well. Our grocery channel has grown dramatically since 2018 with both our GAIL’s and Bertinet Bakery retail sourdough brands going into Waitrose and Ocado as consumer demand for clean simple and natural foods increases. We believe we are well prepared for the bounce back of the food service industry and hope to see this part of our business grow back.”
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Bread heads Returning to the revelation that the team is working on making ‘bread better’, Dean expanded on the work that the NPD department has been putting in over the last 24 months. “We’ve been baking sourdoughs for over 25 years, so we have an abundance of knowledge and experience in what makes great bread. We felt it was time to put our best bread heads together to combine the traditional principles of baking with scientific insights around fermentation to take our sourdoughs to the next level,” he said. “When making sourdough, correct fermentation is key for both flavor and to unlocking the health benefits that are so abundant in the starter culture and flours we use. We reassessed each step in the process to ensure the fermentation is at its peak throughout and that the sourdough we are making is the best possible. Our
starters are fed more regularly and with a larger diversity of wheat types than before so they are bubbly, live and full of gut-friendly bacteria. The breads are proved in a much warmer environment to ensure a more complete fermentation, which allows the body to absorb more of the natural minerals present in the grains. We’ve also turned our attention to using more ancient grains like Spelt and Durum because of the health benefits they carry. Over the past three years we have more than doubled our NPD team to add capabilities to keep innovating with an aim to launch new products six times a year with seasonality.” He also revealed some new introductions planned for 2021, which include sourdough bagels, and an ancient grains sourdough called ‘Generations’. These mouthwatering improvements to the bread range have been made in conjunction with additions to The
‘
The Bread Factory
We will continue to bake the best pastries, cakes, and sourdoughs for even more of the London food scene, as well as penetrating deeper into our grocery customers as demand for great bread keeps increasing. We hope to keep focusing on the learning and growth of our leaders and bakers as their capability is key to our success
traditional methods and new technology are combined to ensure that breads stay fresh and delicious for longer. “We now bake out of our sourdough bread bakery, our cake and viennoiserie bakery and our gluten free bakery,” noted Dean.
People development
Bread Factory’s cake selection, with arrivals launched as recently as 12th May. “The new line-up includes twists on old favorites – such as the Carrot, Cinnamon and Spelt tin cake, as well as some new on-trend innovations like White Chocolate and Tahini or Chocolate and Beetroot. This range has been developed to showcase visual aesthetics, color and flavor in baking,” Dean explained. Committed to using time-honored artisan methods, with no compromise on quality, in Dean’s words ‘the main technology is the hands of our bakers’. However, that’s not to say the business doesn’t fully embrace sophisticated solutions where required (as also evidenced earlier in the new ordering and EPOD system Dean mentioned). In 2018, The Bread Factory opened a new bakery – a 24,000 sqf state-ofthe-art-facility in which it makes many of its sourdoughs, and where both
While always prioritizing hygiene, these sites were, of course, carefully monitored during the lockdown period, when The Bread Factory, like the rest of the UK, had to adjust its processes to deal with Covid-19. “We bought appropriate PPE, and ensured masks were worn in the bakeries,” said Dean. “We also reduced travelling between bakeries, and wherever possible our teams worked from home. We implemented different teams that wouldn’t meet each other and undertake regular Covid flow tests for our people.” This approach symbolizes the overall care and attention that
The Bread Factory dedicates to its staff and the high regard in which it holds the people that develop, bake, pack or deliver its bread. “There are so many pieces in the chain that gets the ingredients through to our customers and it often amazes us how we do this with such success every day. We are so incredibly grateful for the skills and hard work of all the people that make that happen,” Dean accentuated. “We have five core values: People, Innovation, Quality, Passion and Service. We held workshops in 2020 that joined everyone from bakers and office staff, to operations and drivers, together, to understand what is important to us at The Bread Factory. “These were key for team building and left teams with a deeper understanding as to what’s at our core and meeting people they wouldn’t usually. We have also launched our annual leadership program called ‘Shaping Leaders’ – a one year course
DS Smith DS Smith supplies direct food contact packaging to The Bread Factory Working closely together for over a decade, DS Smith has a strong long-standing relationship with artisan bakery, The Bread Factory, supporting it with essential food packaging to fulfil orders for its supermarket, catering, and restaurant customers. This includes supplying the specialist business with millions of recyclable boxes each year; providing the right sustainable packaging and materials. These are certified for different types of food contact, ensuring hygiene and food contact standards are met to the highest degree for the utmost safety of consumers. Concurrently, The Bread Factory has been working to meet increased demand due to the pandemic, and DS Smith has been a supportive partner in navigating the new landscape. At the most challenging times, both companies worked together to ensure a positive outcome, such as fulfilling demand during the panic buying phases at supermarkets prior to national lockdowns. Going forward, The Bread Factory is making significant steps to expand its vegan offering to customers, a move which DS Smith hopes to support with growth in supply in the near future.
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The Bread Factory for 44 of our leaders where we focus on their own development and tools for them to grow their people. We are really nothing without our people and therefore have a responsibility to take care of them and ensure they keep growing in knowledge and as individuals.”
Continuous improvement Further training has also been embraced by Catriona Watt-Smith and Roy Levy, proving that at The Bread Factory, there is room for growth and improvement at every level. “Catriona and Roy have been investing more of their time in understanding the science behind the sourdough world. We have a weekly learning and development session with external consultants to improve our knowledge on that front. We have also led a bakery course for our top bakers with University of Birmingham to improve further the skills of our top guys. The programme took more than a year and was very successful,” added Dean. From Dean’s insights into the business, it is clear that The Bread Factory has traversed the difficulties of 2020 thanks to forward planning and sticking to its strategy of continuous improvement. This approach also proved useful when preparing for Brexit, and an added bonus it found from sourcing flour in the UK instead of France means it has helped it address the green agenda, too. “Our flour is now predominantly UK grown and milled - keeping our environmental footprint down is incredibly important to us. We source our flour mainly from Shipton Mills and Wright’s, both within a couple of hours from our bakery,” said Dean. Three years have passed since The Bread Factory was last in the pages of FoodChain, and it is clear that the company has maintained and built upon the ambition and drive that was previously reported. The business shows no signs of slowing down, and
of the London food scene, as well as penetrating deeper into our grocery customers as demand for great bread keeps increasing,” he stated. “We hope to keep focusing on the learning and growth of our leaders and bakers as their capability is key to our success. Furthermore, we want to
keep educating our customers on the benefits of sourdough and why choosing better quality is better for us.” If it is possible to make its ‘breads better’ then the talented team at The Bread Factory are definitely ideally placed to achieve this delicious sounding mission. D www.breadltd.co.uk
as Dean concluded, the future focus remains on quality and innovation ‘to lead the way on sourdough’. “We will continue to bake the best pastries, cakes, and sourdoughs for even more
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No need to sugar-coat Pecan Deluxe Candy Company is dedicated to speedy delivery without being frugal on its quality
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Pecan Deluxe Candy Company
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ay back in 1950, JC Brigham started with an ice cream business selling his own ice cream flavors, inclusions, toppings, and a passion for sweet treats. A favorite of these products was the pecan crisp, a buttered toffee piece covered in nuts that gave way to the name Pecan Deluxe Candy Company. Since then, the company has been satisfying the cravings of sweet teeth across the US, UK and, as of 2014, Thailand. Now, in its third generation as a family-owned business Jay Brigham, President and CEO of Pecan Deluxe, tells us about his journey with the company and how it has sustained its success in the food ingredient manufacturing business. “When I left college and joined Pecan Deluxe full time, my entire family officed together in rooms situated atop the factory. My sister and I sat in an area with my grandmother, my mom was in one area, and then my dad has his own office. The factory was small and needed upgrades back then, so my dad decided in 1993 to build a facility from the ground up. Though we have had many expansions and upgrades, this facility is still the US headquarters that we work from today. We opened this facility with around 70,000 square feet and we’ve we expanded throughout the years to become about 190,000 square feet facility with office space, freezer, warehouse, production, research and development and quality assurance all under one roof. In the mid-90’s we had the opportunity to purchase a factory in England first, and then expanded with a joint-venture into Thailand. Though we have experienced growth into new geographic markets and by diversifying our portfolio we still place as much emphasis on quality as my grandad did,” Jay shares. The business’ reputation has become a trusted staple for some of the largest players in the food and beverage industry expanding their offerings from just ice creams to restaurants, bakeries, premium snacking, cereal manufacturers, foodservice and more. Although
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the company prides itself on being a toppings and inclusions specialist, much of its success is owed to ensuring that innovation, flexibility, and creativity are also key ingredients that keep it ahead of the competition. “We have a couple of innovative pieces that people get very excited about. We do a popping candy for example that we coat in different colors, so it doesn’t pop until it hits your mouth. We also have a big market with yogurt companies where they put compartments
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on one side of their products and then fill those with our offerings, these could be chocolate covered pretzels or popping candies for a kid’s line,” says Jay. He adds that in the last global sales meeting everyone was challenged to come up with new products that will keep Pecan Deluxe at the cutting edge of the industry. This was when the idea of the Popping Boba was introduced, which, according to Jay, is not currently being produced commercially in the
US, making it an exciting new venture that Pecan Deluxe can add to its current capabilities. Another key driver of product innovation is of course the client. The company is proud to partner with its customers to make their ideas and visions a reality. “Our clients will come to us with an idea of what they’re looking for and our culinary, marketing and R&D teams will get together to brainstorm with them. Other times, our culinary,
Pecan Deluxe Candy Company marketing and R&D teams come up with concepts based on market data and insights that we present to our customers. Either way, once a new product is agreed upon and formulated, we will send samples to our customers so they can let us know if formulation adjustments are needed. Our leading proficiencies are our flexibility and speed to market. If we don’t have the ingredient, we will source it, and once we have something the customer likes, we will go to production,” he tells us.
Sweet success About flexibility, this came in handy when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the company to adjust its usual business conduct. “Thankfully we were labeled by the government as essential. We had people in the office, and our research and development was put on a rotation, with people keeping six feet away from each other, coming in at different times. I think our biggest change was having to do team meetings and ideations virtually. However, our production team did a phenomenal job at keeping our products going despite the pandemic. We put temperature checks on the doors, and we worked out a one-way system across all three of our facilities. Again, because we do a lot of custommade products, no matter what the circumstances are, if our customers want something special, we are here to make it a reality,” he continues. When one considers the stress imposed by the uncertainties of the pandemic, it comes as no surprise that Pecan Deluxe experienced an increase in sales during a time when people were required to stay at home. “Customers that we sell to did well during the pandemic, especially drive-through restaurants and grocery companies, so it was a blessing in disguise to be in the food industry during something like that,” Jay shares. Pecan Deluxe is also committed to lending a hand to charities and nonprofit organizations that hold a soft spot to many of the employees working
with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Additionally, we also support A Gift of Dignity, an orphanage in Mexico, we work with Brother Bills, a clinic and grocery store that helps folks in the West Dallas area, as well as Wesley Rankin Community Center who are dedicated to helping a whole host of underprivileged folks from children up to seniors, so it is really a diverse and broad range of different programs that we are really proud to support because of the great work they’re doing,” says Jay. Brigham predicts a strong future for Pecan Deluxe as it continues servicing customers internationally and continues to uncover new markets and opportunities in the United States. “I see big things,” he says. “By having such a good team around me, I am confident we will continue to experience great growth. We believe our sweetest successes are yet to come.” D www.pecandeluxe.com
within the business. “Quite a few people have been affected by cancer and it has been something that has been near and dear to my family and we wanted to support that through a partnership
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Thirst
things first irst A distributor for major suppliers like Molson Coors, Heineken, and Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Coastal Beverage Company has found great success in valuing people and relationships above all else
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mainstay on the East Coast of the United States for more than 60 years, Coastal Beverage Company (CBC) is responsible for the distribution of some of the nation’s favorite beverages. From Corolla to Calabash and east of Interstate 95, the North Carolina-
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based firm serves 38 counties across 85 delivery routes and benefits from relationships with more than 35 of the USA’s best beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverage suppliers. “At CBC, we are brand builders, not brand collectors,” declares Vice President of Sales & Marketing Frank Hurst.
Coastal Beverage Company Tuney Nunnelee, CEO and Chairman of the Board, and Tee Nunnelee, President
“We have a very strong portfolio and we always keep our eyes open for new opportunities with new supplier partners. In this business, if you don’t have good brands and good supplier partners, your products won’t sell; that’s why we aim to build strong, lasting connections with some of the best suppliers around.”
A partner for major breweries, including Molson Coors, Constellation, Yuengling, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and New Belgium, to name a few, CBC has grown substantially during the last decade. In a market that was previously dominated by brewery giants such as Anheuser-Bush, Miller and Coors, a
renaissance of innovation, largely driven by relatively new suppliers such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade, New Belgium and a host of smaller craft suppliers, has completely changed the landscape of the adult beverage category. CBC’s ability to recognize this change and willingness to invest behind new segments, has allowed the firm to take advantage by partnering with some of the most visionary and innovative suppliers in the industry. “Over the last five years, many of our great supplier partners have entered into the seltzer side of the business and we have partnered up with a couple of innovative new brands like White Claw,” explains company President Tee Nunnelee. “Seltzer wasn’t even a category five years ago, but now it is one of the more dominant sub-sectors in the whole industry. “I have to give a lot of credit to all the distributors around the country who have made the investments necessary to encourage continued innovation in the beverage sector,” Tee continues. “I am also proud of the way we are always able to adapt. Without our ability to pivot and adjust and make these brands work, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are.” A recipient of multiple industry performance awards, most recently Mike’s Hard Lemonade’s Distributor of the Year Award in 2019, CBC’s enduring appeal is driven by its ability to build and maintain strong, meaningful relationships. This was again highlighted in January when local North Carolina brewery NoDa decided to partner with CBC. “NoDa
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is one of the fastest growing craft breweries in North Carolina and any distributor would be proud to include them in their portfolio. We’re honored and humbled NoDa chose Coastal to represent their distribution needs in eastern NC,” said Tee. “Any time we reach out to a potential supplier partner, or they reach out to us looking for a wholesaler, we do our due diligence on both sides,” Frank reveals. “We want to understand their culture. Does it fit with the ethos the Nunnelees have developed at CBC over the last 60 years? Is it a brand that will bring value to our portfolio? Can we give that new supplier the attention and the effort that their brand deserves? It’s a very
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elaborate, in-depth process. “At the end of the day, this is a relationships business, so once a supplier partner is on board with us, we work hard to ensure we both achieve our goals. We meet regularly with partners, focusing on collaborative conversations and business plans because it’s vital that we know what’s working and what’s not working. There is a lot of mutual respect and we are constantly giving and receiving honest feedback.”
Employee-first CBC’s approach to relationshipbuilding is a reflection of the culture Tee, and his father and grandfather before him, have been able to
establish at the business. CBC values team members as its greatest asset, and consequently, continues to empower and invest in them. “We have an employee-first culture at CBC - I’m not sure how you run a successful business without one!” Tee asserts. “We are constantly searching for ways to improve our employees’ work/life balance. Four years ago, the company embarked on a massive restructuring touching the delivery and warehousing functions of our business. The result led to a four-day work week for delivery and warehouse team members. Any time you can gain efficiency and productivity while improving work/life balance for your team members, that is a win and that is what we accomplished,” said Tee. “Similarly,” Tee adds, “we recently built a new warehouse in our Wilmington market and every decision involved how it could improve the quality of the work day for our team members. “We now have a basketball court, a tennis court, a gym and a comfortable break room with a relaxed environment. Our entire focus around making these investments was to ensure our team members felt appreciated and supported. Great brands can only take our business so far. We need a motivated and appreciated work force to get us where we want to go and hopefully our new facility will help us in accomplishing that.” As a direct result of CBC’s employeefirst ethos, the company possesses a commendable retention rate and a large collection of long-tenured employees. With the company growing, Audrey Robbins-Bledsoe, Vice President of Human Resources, and her team, have helped supplement CBC’s headcount expansion to fit the needs of the business. “We recently made the strategic decision to significantly increase headcount in our sales and merchandising departments, but as always, we have been very careful to hire only great people who understand and fit into our culture,” she remarks. “In return, we care about our employees and want them to succeed. The sky is the limit for anyone who is willing to put in the hard work.”
Coastal Beverage Company Coastal culture An active presence in forging the company’s destiny, CBC’s leadership team is used to rolling up their sleeves and working hard to improve the business from the ground up. No matter what the future brings, the company’s dedication to its customers, supplier partners, employees and local communities will remain a central tenet of how it operates. “We take pride in this business being a force for good,” Tee explains. “Our company has a long history of giving back to the communities where our team members live. It is another part of
our company’s culture that was spirited by my grandfather and continues to this day. Whether it be raising money for a community library or supporting the Wounded Warrior Project, we’re honored to be a part of supporting charities that will positively impact the communities we service. We are currently involved in a campaign to raise money for the North Carolina Marine & Estuary Foundation. For every case of White Claw and Pacifico sold in the month of June, we plan to give back $0.20. We hope this will lead to a $30,000 gift to help the advancement of the foundation. It’s just another way for us to give back to the
MHC Truck Leasing “For many years, we used to own our trucks and we performed our own maintenance, but have since grown to leasing our equipment and MHC Leasing has been nothing but great to have as a partner. Everything from scheduled maintenance to roadside assistance has been executed with the professionalism you would expect from a company of this caliber. In the delivery business, there is no time to slow down and MHC Truck Leasing ensures we keep moving and our product makes it to the finish line without any delays.” Robert L. Conkins Jr., Fleet Manager, Coastal Beverage Co. Inc.
communities we serve.” Over the next decade, CBC hopes to continue growing, while maintaining its position as a distributor-of-choice across North Carolina. With a finger perpetually on the pulse of the market as part of its search for new opportunities, acquisitions and innovations, the company hopes to transform the sector with its refreshing approach and “Coastal State of Mind.” “Our success, and the success of our partners, over the past 60 years has been facilitated by our strong Coastal culture and our ability to find good people who can drive home that particular message,” Tee states. “It’s been a very successful formula thus far and I think it will stay that way well into the future. From our perspective, we’ll just keep doing what we are doing, managing our position in the market and preparing ourselves for the next challenge.” D www.coastal-bev.com
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Game of cones Home of popular brands like FatBoy, Jolly Llama and Churn Baby, Casper’s Ice Cream continues to launch some of the USA’s most innovative frozen treats 50 www.foodchainmagazine.com
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shed, a ten-gallon milk can, and fresh milk and cream from his family’s farm – that was all it took for Casper Merrill to create his first frozen confection and, in turn, to kickstart a legacy. The inaugural product, an ice-cream nut sundae on a stick, proved so popular at a local 4th of July celebration that Casper soon expanded his home-grown operation, adding the first FatBoy Ice Cream Sandwiches to its offering. In the 96 years that followed, the original ingredients and recipe for Casper’s Ice Cream products have changed very little. The company’s footprint, production capabilities, and product range, however, continue to develop and expand. “Casper’s Ice Cream was officially founded in 1925, when it started manufacturing on a major scale in a facility in Logan, Utah,” says Keith Lawes, the company’s Vice President and Corporate Secretary.
Casper’s Ice Cream Inc
are non-GMO, dairy-free and gluten-free. In fact, in February 2020, we launched the world’s first dairy-free, gluten-free ice cream cones and sandwiches. They’ve turned out to be a real winner. Lots of families have reached out to tell us how excited they are for their kids to be able to enjoy an ice cream cone like the other kids because, previously, their allergies had prevented that from happening.” As the company’s pioneering new product launches suggest, Casper’s benefits from a highly creative R&D team, which, along with an executive committee
“We were there until the late 1970s, after which we moved back out to the family farm and built our second manufacturing site. That facility continues to operate, but after reaching capacity in 2015 we built our current facility right next door. That move brought a lot of modernization and enabled us to produce a wide range of ice cream novelties and bulk items, mainly in the extrusion and high-end novelty market.” In 2021, nearly a century after it was launched, Casper’s is widely recognized as one of the USA’s leading ice cream and frozen food manufacturers. The company’s modern offering is built around three core brands: FatBoy, Jolly Llama and Churn Baby. Keith explains more:
“FatBoy is our cornerstone brand and boasts our most widely known products,” he states. “Primarily, that means your everyday, higher butterfat, higher quality ice cream sandwiches, cones, half gallons and stick items. For FatBoy, we always make sure we stay within that designation of ice cream, and not frozen dairy dessert, by having higher butterfat content. “Churn Baby is our boutique ice cream line,” Keith continues. “It includes a range of ice cream sandwiches with a twist, including a caramel cashew ice cream between two shortbread cookies. We also have 8oz Churn Baby cups, and those are unique in that it’s a cup of ice cream with a cookie deposited on top. There’s no other company with a product like that. “Finally, Jolly Llama is our ‘good for you’ brand, in which all our products
and the company’s sales force, collaborate on ideas for new flavors, ingredients, and concepts. Feedback from customers and suppliers also plays a key role in the development process as the business searches for solutions that could fill existing gaps in the market. “We come up with new products and then run them by focus groups to try and nail down the best ideas. Through a process of elimination, we can make sure these items are feasible options that really fit within the parameters of our brands,” Keith remarks. “We will soon release our newest innovation, which is a build-your-own brownie sundae product, consisting of a cooked brownie, a pack of ice cream and various pre-measured toppings - all in the same box. People have built new habits during the Covid-19 pandemic and restaurant quality desserts you can make at home are becoming increasingly popular.” To support its ever-broadening product range, Casper’s commits ongoing investment towards its production facilities, and thanks to newly-introduced high-speed equipment, the company can now manufacture four times the volume of product than it could do previously. Intelligent technology is one area of focus across the industry at present, and as a result, Casper’s is turning its attention to automation. “We recently started adding automation to the line,” Keith confirms. “That’s not because we’ve reduced the
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Casper’s Ice Cream Inc number of people in the business, but a wider labor shortage in the industry means that automation is now a necessity in order to keep us up and running. Although we have waste water projects, solar developments, and a freezer capacity expansion in the works, automation is our main focus as it is vital from both a financial and efficiency perspective.” As Keith intimates, a Utah labor shortage means that Casper’s currently has over 50 open positions that the business has, as yet, been unable to fill. With the company forced to compete for employees against fellow organizations in the Cache Valley, Keith believes that the firm’s strong company culture helps differentiate it as a preferred employer to prospective staff.
‘This isn’t the right product for you. Let’s get you an item that works.’ It’s a real partnership approach that looks to drive value for both parties.” As we head towards another summer, Casper’s much-loved frozen creations will, once again, be enjoyed from coast to coast in the United States. Alongside its efforts to stay ahead of demand for its products in 2021, the company also hopes to launch a number of new dessert items and prepare its team for further growth in 2022, 2023 and beyond. “We have been growing at a phenomenal rate over the last decade,” Keith asserts. “We are always looking forward, setting goals, and finding out what pieces we need to have in place for success. It’s all about staying ahead
“Without our employees, we wouldn’t be here; they are easily the most important asset we have,” Keith declares. “The labor crunch means we have to perform in a way that encourages our people to tell their friends and family to come and work at Casper’s because it’s an awesome organization that looks after its staff. “We pride ourselves on always taking the side of the employee at Casper’s, and we offer a range of team building initiatives, such as employee lunches every month, where management cooks and serves our people. Additionally, we like to go out and perform community projects with our workforce to really drive home that family feel. It gets harder as you grow, but we are always trying to maintain the atmosphere of a small, tight-knit family business. We know our employees - you are not just a number here, you are a friend.” Family owned to this day, Casper’s people-centric culture transfers to the company’s customers. Owing largely to an in-built flexibility rarely found in manufacturing firms of its size, Casper’s always meets the needs of its clients as
of the game. “As a business that manufactures branded and private label products, we’d really like to focus on producing more of our own products and continue growing our mix of innovative brands. Right now, we are looking at making some changes to our items, including tweaks to our stick products and nut sundaes, as well as minor size adjustments to optimize production. “We take our cues from the market,” Keith maintains. “We do our research and ensure we are doing everything we can to be more relevant for both the consumer and the buyer.” D www.caspersicecream.com quickly and personally as possible. “We are always looking at our items and trying to ensure we make things as easy as possible for our buyers,” Keith points out. “Rationalization is important because buyers have a limited amount of shelf space, so when we bring items to them, we are keen to make sure those products are successful. If a product isn’t selling, we are the first ones to go back to a buyer and say,
Wanship Transportation Wanship Transportation has been honored to partner with Casper Ice Cream in a local business partnership, for over a decade. As the leader in less than truckload, second day deliveries, Wanship takes pride in transporting Casper’s Ice Cream to all points west coast. Wanship and Casper have aligned missions: Make our employees and customers happy by serving our communities and providing a high-quality product. Both Utah based companies focus on personal attention to service and strive to achieve the highest customer service excellence. Wanship provided the beautiful wrap for Casper’s Fat Boy Ice Cream trailer. The trailer has been seen in many local Utah parades over the years. Wanship drivers pulling the Fat Boy trailer, Wanship office staff following along, handing out ice cream to the locals. Wanship is proud to participate in Casper’s Ice Cream’s supply chain. We look forward to a continued, mutually beneficial relationship.
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Go fish!
Specializing in responsibly sourced seafood processed in the Scottish Highlands, Aquascot is an employee-owned business with its sights set on a sustainable future
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Aquascot
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ocated deep in the Scottish Highlands, Aquascot is one of the UK’s leading specialists in salmon and trout processing. Since 1987, the company - and its diverse range of seafood products - has been an integral part of its local community, and a firm favorite of consumers around the UK. From fillets of Atlantic salmon to seasoned burgers and kebabs, the company’s offering includes both raw ingredients and valueadded products, like Thai Salmon Fishcakes and Salmon En Croute. Fully traceable and sustainably sourced, Aquascot seafood is popular with the firm’s sole retailer partner – Waitrose. Dedicated partners for almost 30 years, Aquascot and Waitrose have enjoyed an exclusive and mutually beneficial relationship built around sustainability, innovation, and trust since 1993. According to Managing Director John Housego, the arrangement continues to benefit both parties. “Waitrose is a values-based business and so are we,” John declares. “The level of dedication and trust between us means we can have real conversations on both sides. If one of us has a problem, we can share it with the other party and they will provide a solution. “We live in a very commercial, competitive environment. Waitrose has expectations of us as a long-term partner and we have similar expectations of them. It is a very mature relationship.” Operating from two sites in Alness, Scotland - the same town in which the company was founded - Aquascot has grown into a £50 million organization, whilst remaining true to its founding values and beliefs. For example, the firm has played an instrumental role in helping Waitrose become associated with positive, sustainable, aquaculture practices. “We are not just a supplier of seafood to Waitrose; we are knowledge custodians of aquaculture for the supermarket,” John says. “Waitrose has lofty environmental and sustainability goals not only in relation to fish, but also in terms of carbon, food waste, plastics, and energy. We keep Waitrose well-informed and directed from an aquaculture perspective, while also helping it meet its CSR objectives through our own food waste, landfill and recycling initiatives.”
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Perhaps the only milestone in Aquascot’s history more significant than the initiation of its partnership with Waitrose arrived in 2008, when the firm embarked on a journey to become an employee-owned business. Almost a decade later, in 2016, Aquascot finalized the ownership process and became one of Scotland’s largest 100 per cent employee-owned organizations. “We’re relatively unique in the marketplace because, although we compete against some huge multinational firms, employee ownership means we retain a highly-respected independent aspect to our business,” John states. “We are not bound by absent shareholders and therefore don’t have to stretch ourselves or do things we don’t want to do. Our goal is the same as when the
As John suggests, employee ownership benefits Aquascot in a number of ways, but the flexibility and responsiveness it lent the business during the Covid-19 pandemic was invaluable. Decisions concerning PPE and social distancing that may have taken hierarchical corporations weeks
business was launched: to be a bedrock of the local community; a great place to work that delivers food of exceptional quality.”
to enact were resolved within hours at Aquascot in early 2020, meaning people stayed safe and production continued unhindered.
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“We let our teams get on with what they needed to do,” explains Andy Wilson, Head of Sales & Marketing at Aquascot. “Everyone in our team knows that Aquascot is their business, so they responded appropriately to the pandemic in order to take care of it. “We have a Partnership Council where partners have a voice and that allowed us to understand people’s needs and find solutions instantaneously. There were no long lags, we got feedback straight away, and things moved very quickly around PPE, social distancing, and shift patterns. Our adaptation was rapid.” Aquascot’s ownership structure, and the speed with which the firm reacted to Covid-19, enabled it to achieve a record-setting year in 2021, despite the challenges the company faced. Working closely with its partners to facilitate a shift in consumer buying patterns, a large chunk of Aquascot sales moved to Waitrose’s online platform, with 20 per cent of the company’s total revenue now derived from digital channels. A sharp increase in demand for Aquascot in 2020 meant the company had to upgrade both its Fyrish processing site and its Riverside value-added facility. As well as rearranging both locations to ensure they were fully Covid-19 safe, the firm invested heavily to keep its equipment at the market’s leading edge. “Key improvements last year included upgrading splitting equipment from Marel, which enhanced quality, yield,
Aquascot and throughput, and proved vital in meeting the increased demand,” Andy reports. “Capacity was also boosted by a modern packaging machine from Packaging Automation, alongside burger and kebab machines to support our barbeque offering, flow pack wrappers, and various innovations from Ishida.” Not wholly focused on the production side of the business, Aquascot has also commenced an overhaul of its IT infrastructure. Having established a roadmap to help take the company’s IT systems forward over the next two to three years, John is now overseeing Aquascot’s transition from a largely paper-based business to a more digitally friendly organization. “We’ve introduced paperless quality assessments on the shop floor thanks to our QPulse System, which is being deployed as we speak for improved efficiency, accuracy and data collection,” John reveals. “Now we are in the process of deploying a new MES (Manufacturing Execution System) in our Fyrish plant, and that will roll over into our Riverside plant once the first stage is complete.” In search of industry-leading innovation, quality and reliability, Aquascot continues to add people with a technical mindset to its workforce. The aim? A future that will see improvements in the company’s process engineering, sustainability practices and environmental credentials.
Of course, Aquascot’s number one priority going forward will be to retain, and grow, its partnership with Waitrose, which remains the firm’s number one customer. Beyond that, John, Andy and the company’s Leadership Team hope to further develop Aquascot’s reputation across the UK as an employee-owned business providing nourishing and delicious fish from passionate people in the Scottish Highlands.
“Our destiny is very much in our own hands,” John asserts. “It’s a great position to be in. The more we work as a team and pull together in the same direction, the better we will be. “As a respected employee-owned business, we want to keep fostering skills and increasing development opportunities for those within our team. We’ll also carry on working with associations like People Matters to develop leaders of the future. “At present, we partner with FusionFSM in the food service arena, Scottish Development International for export opportunities, and, most importantly, Waitrose. We may introduce new customers in the coming years, but if we do, it would have to complement Waitrose. It is a supermarket chain with ambitious plans - ethically, as well as commercially - so we are very optimistic about our future with them.” D www.aquascot.com
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The ingredients for success
Food importer, cash and carry store operator and online retailer, SeeWoo Foods, is making sure that authentic, Pan Asian ingredients are available for customers across the UK and beyond 58 www.foodchainmagazine.com
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he origins of SeeWood Foods can be traced back to 1975, when it began supplying Pan Asian ingredients to the Chinese catering trade in London’s Chinatown. From its humble shophouse beginnings in Lisle Street, coupled with a small consolidation warehouse in Wembley that became the central hub of its operations, it didn’t take long before the brand became synonymous for its authentic, high-quality food import and distribution service. Moving 46 years on from its
foundation and we find Emily Tse as CEO of a business that has evolved and transformed itself over the decades. She gave FoodChain some more background on how the growth came about. “The business flourished a at time when many of the first-generation Chinese were emigrating to the UK to set up restaurant and takeaway businesses,” she explained. “Off the success of our original Chinatown store, the business began to expand rapidly, moving to a much larger distribution warehouse in Park Royal and opening
SeeWoo Foods occurred last year, as in 2020, having outgrown its existing premises, it moved its headquarters to a 60,000 sq ft central distribution warehouse in Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. “This state-of-the-art facility is energy efficient, and built for modern day distributors, which has improved our warehouse operations considerably,” revealed Emily. “The additional benefits of our new location included a large saving on our transport and fuel costs as we are located on one of the major arterial routes that links the North and South, as well as being much closer to Felixstowe where our imports arrive.” However, the timing of this move coincided with the first lockdown in the UK, and as Emily highlighted, this did bring its challenges. “It set us back
two successful cash and carry sites in Greenwich, London and later in Glasgow, Scotland.” To this day, SeeWoo Foods continues to operate out of these two sites. However, the Chinatown store is under new management after a Group demerger in 2017. In fact, Emily stepped into the family business after her father passed away two years ago, and describing herself as a female entrepreneur, she is aiming to bring some of her own knowledge and experience to refresh SeeWoo
Foods’ offering. She continued with some further details about its current operations. “Each of our cash and carry stores in both Greenwich and Glasgow cater for trade and retail customers and our no-membership policy means anyone is able to purchase high-quality goods from us without any restrictions,” she said. “Both sites provide free customer parking and our staff are multi-lingual, offering a much friendlier shopping experience for all.” One of the biggest developments that SeeWoo Foods has experienced
three months and operationally it was a nightmare,” she admitted. “But we have a strong team and great partnerships, such as our banking partners HSBC who supported us all the way, and in some ways the slower pace gave the business an opportunity to get settled in. “Biggleswade is one of our finest achievements, and moving to this location has elevated the brand. The site’s vantage point and the sophisticated facility coupled with our high caliber neighbors has given our longest standing members of staff a sense of pride.” This latter point was important to Emily, as she stated that its team of employees are SeeWoo Foods’ greatest asset, and therefore the move to Bigglewade represented far more than just a new site. “We are proud of everything it signifies, which we see as a modern SeeWoo that still holds traditional values at heart. The move was a huge achievement during the first lockdown and we are now able to offer a full trade counter service to our clients that live locally, opening up a new pool of customers,” she confirmed. Delving deeper into what is available from SeeWoo Foods and Emily reveals that cash and carry is really just the tip of the iceberg. “Our business started off being a supplier to trade customers, and over the years we opened our two sites in Greenwich and Glasgow where we were able to cater to retail customers,” she stated. “In both our cash and
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carries, we have a fresh meat and seafood counter, and offer authentic, seasonal exotic fruit and vegetables. We also have a large selection of ambient goods, offering both retail and trade sizing and frozen items such as dim sum, buns, seafood and vegetables. We offer a free delivery for foodservice customers with a minimum spend and rely on our small, but very efficient inhouse transport team to co-ordinate the logistics,” she added. “We are also working with a selection of overseas vegan suppliers and are looking to introduce a plant based range for Pan Asian cooking, serving both retail and trade customers alike. The technology behind manufacturing these products is fascinating and we are pleased to be part of this global movement. “Keeping abreast of consumer trends is something I am really interested in and as a business, this is key for us,” Emily continued. “We are always on the lookout for new food trends and are working hard to update our retail ranges so they appeal to a broader and much younger audience.” This ambition to make sure the business remains a leader in its industry and the willingness to make bold moves where it sees an opportunity came to the fore in recent times, when the company adapted to the needs of the market and set up its online retail store, SeeWoo Express.
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“This idea was already in our plans, but the pandemic fast forwarded this service,” Emily explained. “SeeWoo Express allows retail customers to get Pan-Asian ingredients delivered straight to their doorstep – this helped a lot of customers who were self-isolating and were unable to visit our stores. “The website sells both fresh and ambient products that have been carefully selected by our experienced teams and from previous sales. In addition to this, the products are constantly monitored so our customers will always have new products to look forward to. “We are also partnering up with a zero emissions logistic carrier to provide same-day deliveries enabling customers to receive their orders faster, and this service will be piloted for selected postcodes in Glasgow.” Given that SeeWoo Foods now has
various avenues from where clients can source products, a streamlined and efficient supply chain is more important than ever. “Having nearly five decades in the business, SeeWoo Foods has secured enviable partnerships with our overseas suppliers but what we are most proud of is how we have established a robust, end-to-end supply chain for our customers,” Emily divulged. “We look at maintaining and building relationships with our suppliers that are based on trust. Our suppliers play an integral part in helping us import products to the UK, enabling us to provide a wide range of products to sell in our stores. “One of our key suppliers is Pearl River Bridge, they are a leading brand of Soy Sauce in China, and we are proud to be their sole distributor in the UK. Our strong relationship means we have been able to supply high quality sauces and products to our customers. “I regard our robust end-to-end supply chain solution as one of our unique selling points, as it is not something that every one of our competitors can offer,” she emphasized. “We help many overseas hospitality businesses realize their vision of setting up in the UK, from importing goods, to warehousing and final distribution under one roof and we have worked with many big brands already.” 2020 was a tremendously difficult year for the hospitality sector and had ramifications for the entire food and beverage industry, but Emily describes 2021 as having ‘a new energy coming through as we emerge from the pandemic’. “It was a massive feat to survive and we are looking forward to our opening party at Biggleswade
Suntraco Food Industries Sdn Bhd Suntraco Food Industries is one of Malaysia’s most popular manufacturers of cooking pastes and sauces, delivering meals across the globe through its four brands: Tean’s Gourmet, DeliMas, Gimson and Gardens. The business has been working with See Woo since the early 1990s and has created a long and valuable relationship with the business, with See Woo providing a supportive role for Suntraco’s range of Malaysian curries. Suntraco’s Malaysian curries have established themselves in the UK market due to the influx of Asian students, and they have also gained in popularity with British consumers. Be it in mouth-watering curries, hearty soups or on savoury grilled meats – Suntraco’s sauces and cooking pastes conveniently add zest, flavour and brightness to arrays of dishes. Suntraco seeks to broaden its Southeast Asian local market and invites partnerships with accomplished food brands looking to outsource their production. It welcomes collaborations with distributors and retail chains with synergies to further grow the business. Suntraco Food Industries is certified and operates in accordance with HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points) and ISO 22000:2018 systems. All products are also accredited the Halal certification from JAKIM, Malaysia.
SeeWoo Foods - celebrating our staff, all our valued customers and suppliers that have supported us over the last 24 months - cementing the next chapter of our journey,” she said. “As a small aside, we have also recently been invited to become an official sponsor of the Royal British Legion’s Centenary Cookbook, released in May 2021. We regard this as a real honor for SeeWoo Foods.” Looking further ahead, and past the difficulties caused by coronavirus, and Emily and the SeeWoo Foods team have formulated some ambitious plans, as she revealed. “On the horizon, we are looking to reduce our carbon footprint both in store by upgrading our refrigeration and chillers to more energy efficient technology, working with our overseas suppliers to look for plastic alternative packaging and certainly to reduce our food miles now Brexit is done. “With Covid causing such restriction with global supply chains, we also plan
to become more self sufficient. The UK has plenty of fresh local produce and who knows, we could be manufacturing our own products in the years ahead! “With more British National Overseas passport holders heading to our shores, we will see fresh talent in the marketplace,” she concluded. “This is an exciting opportunity for a serial entrepreneur such as myself, as the
possibilities to grow our brand in other areas are endless. SeeWoo Foods is already synonymous for its quality and service and will continue to prosper as we regenerate and modernize for the coming years. These are very exciting times for us as we embark on the next chapter. We are excited for the future and what it has in store for us.” D www.seewoo.co.uk
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A family farming for its community At Pfenning’s Organic Farms, there is nothing more vital than the people who participate in its farming ecosystem and the Pfenning family are passionate about looking after each member
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ou can find the Pfenning’s farm burrowed in the curve of the Nith River just outside New Hamburg, Ontario, where the German family lead sustainable agriculture with the mantra of ‘local first’. This belief encourages their active support of both their own farmers and local neighbors; from the people who make up the teams in the fields, packing lines, warehouse and office, to the people who choose the produce for their tables, because the people working with Pfenning’s Organic Farms are the cornerstone of the business’s success. The Pfenning family name has been intertwined with farming since the late 1600s, back when everyone farmed organically because chemicals had not yet been introduced into the industry. According to Jenn Pfenning, Co-Owner and Director of Human Resources of
Pfenning’s Organic Farms, when these changes became more available to farmers, Adam Pfenning and his son Wilhelm had embraced modern farming techniques. However, by 1950 Wilhelm had realized that the chemicals being used were having an adverse effect on his health and the nutritional value of the crops he was growing. In his attempts to transition back to more natural farming methods, his life took an unexpected turn. “In 1978, the German government expropriated the Pfenning family farm to build a highway bridge,” explains Jenn. Unable to find farmland to replace the fields that were expropriated, Wilhelm and his partner Barnhild decided to uproot the family to greener pastures in Canada. “By 1985 their reignited passion to move back to organic farming fueled Wilhelm to join other farmers, academics, and
Pfenning’s Organic Farms
food system advocates to form the first organic certification body in North America, the Organic Crop Improvement Association,” she continues.
Range of produce Today the farm is managed by Wilhelm’s children, Wolfgang and Ekkehard, who, even after Wilhelm’s passing in 2011, continue to practice their father’s wisdom and experience to sustain the success of their family name. “The business now operates as a full service organic produce distributor and farm,” Jenn elaborates. “Specializing in root crops, Pfenning’s Organic Farms grows beets, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips and many more smaller acreage roots, with carrots being a signature item. Added to the basket are leafy greens and other cooking vegetables such as leeks, broccoli and cauliflower.”
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Pfenning’s Organic Farms Pfenning’s works closely with other local growers on whatever it does not grow in its own fields to continue Wilhelm’s ‘local first’ legacy. This also allows the farm to offer local tomatoes, melons, peppers, squash and much more, rounding out its selection. When the local season ends, it brings in fresh produce from farms in California and Mexico. A particular favorite is Lakeside Organic Gardens, which is based in California where there is a more temperate climate suitable for year-round harvests.
It comes as no surprise that the farming industry is subject to an array of changing circumstances – unpredictable weather or seasonal disruptions for example – which means that the Pfenning’s are experienced in tackling hardships that are out of their control. Although 2020 was understandably a difficult year for their business, the family were determined to put the wellbeing of their staff at the top of their priorities. The farms in Ontario rely heavily on
migrant labor, which proved to be exceptionally challenging when Covid-19 swept into the area in the early months of 2020, affecting the majority of their workforce. However, Jenn Pfenning notes that everyone worked diligently to avoid exposure risks and the farm was very fortunate to have been spared the outbreak: “While we took every precaution we could reasonably imagine, it would be foolhardy and arrogant to believe that we were entirely responsible for this fortunate outcome. Being in a rural area with lower overall infection rates certainly contributed to that as well,” she further explains.
Exciting outlook The unprecedented consequences of the pandemic have also made the company especially conscious of the state of each of its member’s mental health. To help alleviate some stresses, it is hoping to provide a mobile vaccination clinic on the farm as a convenient access for workers in order to avoid unnecessary travel. There are also other developments within the company which make for an exciting outlook. Currently, conversations around ambitions for the next generation are underway. While the present ownership and management is perhaps a decade or so away from retirement, the business hopes that engaging in early dialogue will build toward a smooth and positive transition. Jenn also adds that it is exploring crop diversification and plans to introduce strawberries into its list of home-grown crops. Hard work has always been vital to the success of Pfenning’s Organic Farms and its values resonate with people who have strong beliefs in labor rights, environmental sustainability and ethical business practices. This is how the business has come to be based on serving and building its community, both within its immediate neighborhood and those considered to be part of its extended family: the sellers and buyers of its produce. “Pfenning’s clear authenticity in the farming industry makes it easy to share our enthusiasm and excitement because we are truly inspired by the idea of growing food that feeds our community,” Jenn concludes. D www.pfenningsfarms.ca
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