FoodChain Issue 102 June 2015-Spring

FoodChain Issue 102

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JUNE 2015

The business of food and drink

A healthy revolution Leon Restaurants is committed to providing seasonal, naturally good fast food

Industry News Generous but sensible sauce sachets launched

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The value of waste Industrial biotechnology can be applied to food waste to convert problem materials into something we need

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Training courses on food fraud now available New packaging keeps food fresh longer

Avoid the grind

Accurate and timely information on product grade and quantity must be tracked throughout the coffee value chain

FoodChain l

sPrinG issue

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The business of food and drink

A healthy revolution Leon Restaurants is committed to providing seasonal, naturally good fast food

Editor’s Welcome

Industry News Generous but sensible sauce sachets launched

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The value of waste Industrial biotechnology can be applied to food waste to convert problem materials into something we need

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Training courses on food fraud now available New packaging keeps food fresh longer

Avoid the grind

Accurate and timely information on product grade and quantity must be tracked throughout the coffee value chain

Chairman Andrew Schofield Director Mike Tulloch Editor Libbie Hammond Art Editor Advertising Design Fleur Daniels Staff Writers Jo Cooper Andrew Dann Ben Clark Business Development Director David Garner Sales Manager Joe Woolsgrove Sales Rob Wagner Head of Research Philip Monument Editorial Researchers David Brogan Yasmine Sadr Office Manager Advertising Administrator Tracy Chynoweth

A celebration of food and drink

W

elcome to the Spring issue of FoodChain. The magazine takes a look at a wide range of issues for those in food and beverage - from recruitment to food wastage, and from sustainability to coffee. It’s a

varied assortment and I think it reflects the incredible diversity of this dynamic and ever-changing industry.

This is also true of the company success stories shared in this issue. From Leon restaurants, whose founders decided that fast food should also be good food, to Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits – these were created in owner Allie’s kitchen and are now on the shelves of Fortnum & Mason!

From the tastes of the Far East provided by Chadha Oriental Food, to the beautiful eggs of the West Country – this issue of FoodChain should get your taste buds tingling.

Schofield Publishing Cringleford Business Centre, 10 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)1603 274130 Fax: +44 (0)1603 274131 www.foodchain-magazine.com www.schofieldmediagroup.com

libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

© 2015 Schofield Publishing Ltd

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, 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 4

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14 Features Food Waste The value of waste

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IT Ready, steady, cook

While still somewhat regarded as simply trash, food waste can be seen as a valuable resource for the manufacture of fuels, chemicals and materials such as plastics

Food manufacturers have long understood the necessity of accurate planning and scheduling for successful food production

News

Packaging Challenge or opportunity?

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Up-to-date products and announcements from the food and beverage sector

Taste Test

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The FoodChain team sample a selection of new and innovative foods and drinks

Skills & Training Year of change The fresh produce sector is facing a range of challenges in 2015, but recruitment has been flagged as a major issue

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The issue of sustainability in packaging has been addressed through lighter weight, recyclable solutions, and renewable materials, but there is more to do

Special Feature - Logistics 16 Sweet logistics Confectionary supply chains can be complex and need the right logistics partner to ensure products arrive in pristine condition

Special Feature – Coffee Avoid the grind

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Coffee market participants need agricultural commodity trading software that also includes advanced analytics

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52 40 Profiles

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Innovations & developments within some of the world’s finest companies

Leon Restaurants

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Olympia NV

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Bidvest 3663

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Boncolac

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McDonald’s Austria

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Chadha Oriental Foods

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KK Fine Foods

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London Hilton on Park Lane

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London Marriot Grosvenor Square

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Dina Foods

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Sundance Partners

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Geia Food

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The Seafood Pub Company

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Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits

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Brace’s Bakery

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Leon Restaurant’s revolutionary approach to the fast food market should lead to expansion out of the UK and out across the globe

Bidvest 3663 has a strong passion for great food and prides itself on offering customers choice

McDonald’s Austria prides itself on continuous innovation and investment – recent launches include a new App, self service terminals and McDelivery scheme

The ethos behind KK Fine Foods has always been to create food that tastes homemade

The London Marriott Grosvenor Square hotel combines contemporary chic and classic luxury

Raising the standards in fresh juices, Sundance Partners carefully crafts all of its delicious products

Geia main product groups include poultry, fish and seafood, fresh and frozen convenience, grocery, beverages, wines and spirits, and ice cream

Cradoc’s biscuits are marketed as ‘culinary alchemy’ denoting the amount of experimentation that goes into creating each of the products

A focus on quality very much sits at the heart of Belgian dairy company Olympia’s business, and this is evident throughout its supply chain

Boncolac has a long history in the production of premium private and own label frozen desserts and savoury products

Founded over 30 years ago, Chadha Oriental Foods has grown to become a leading importer and supplier of authentic oriental foods

This award-winning hotel has established itself as an iconic landmark of luxury in one of the world’s most visited cities

Dina Foods is a privately owned artisan bakery steeped in the traditions of authentic Mediterranean food

Blackdown Hills West Country Eggs 68 With its brand very much centred around the West Country, Blackdown Hills Eggs has been operating within the UK free-range market since 2003

The Seafood Pub Company is very much a success story born out of a passion for food and drink, and the desire to deliver this to the public

Brace’s Bakery Limited has over recent years, transformed from a small local supplier to a well-respected plant bread manufacturer

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The value of waste Dan Noakes takes a look at creating the bio-economy with industrial biotechnology

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ood waste is applicable to everyone. We all create it and we all have a responsibility to reduce it. Roughly one third of global food production for human consumption is lost or wasted, amounting to 1.3 bn tonnes per year1.

Food waste can be harmful to the environment and human health. If allowed to breakdown in landfill, this can cause methane (a potent green house gas) to be released into the atmosphere. It can also form leachate, which can poison watercourses and drinking aquifers. Meat products also

Dan Noakes

pose a problem, specifically by breaking down into toxic compounds under their own biological activity.

There are many types of food waste, all comprising a variety of chemical compounds, some which can be easily extracted to create value and some which need converting to something else first. Kerbside food waste can comprise many food types. It may include putrescible wastes (tomatoes, meats etc) and also materials that are challenging to biologically breakdown (bananas skins etc.). Catering waste can include anything from plate

Food Waste

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Industrial biotechnology can be applied to food waste for the manufacture of valuable fuels, chemicals and materials such as plastics

scrapings to potato peelings and can be massively variable, however the UK is experiencing commercial success in the collection of used cooking oil from restaurants and its conversion into biodiesel for blending with diesel transport fuel.

Where large quantities of single food types are discarded, such as supermarket supply chains and commercial food manufacture, there is great opportunity for creating significant value through the application of Industrial Biotechnology; biological processes use to make a variety of products, which may directly replace or perform better than the products derived from fossil fuels consumed today.

The technology allows for valuable chemical compounds to be extracted efficiently from foodstuffs. For instance, sugars and acids can be extracted from fruit and vegetables, starch from pastry and valuable proteins can be recovered from meat products. The need to recycle non-renewable phosphorus is also a major concern for future food production.

Industrial biotechnology can be applied to food waste for the manufacture of valuable fuels, chemicals and materials such as plastics. Utilising science and engineering from the biological world to convert problem materials into something that people need, seen as an opportunity for the UK to generate wealth in an emerging sector called the bio-economy.

Currently food waste is either disposed of to landfill or converted to lower value products such as electricity, animal feed or recycled as fertiliser to grow more food. Anaerobic digestion is a rapidly growing market that uses biological processes to convert food waste into useful bio-based products, namely an energy rich methane gas.

Current practices however could be more efficient and a bigger economic win can be achieved. To do this, the best technology fit must come from analysis of the waste composition. A sensible product should be targeted to fit regulatory constraints of the waste feedstock and product market size

must correlate with total waste arisings.

Some wastes can be very mixed (or heterogeneous). In this instance, it may be viable to separate out each component, and a route to valorisation identified for each. If existing markets are to be accessed however, such as commodity chemicals or fuels, then it may be best to convert mixed materials into a single (homogenous) chemical intermediate that can ‘drop-in’ to existing supply chains. Sugar is a good example of this, methane gas is another. Once a waste is homogenous, application of a specific technology can create product functionality, and this will increase its selling price significantly. Contamination in waste however can be a barrier to this and smarter ways of pre-treating wastes are being developed in Industrial Biotechnology.

Characterisation of waste materials is key to applying the correct technology for product manufacture. Most food wastes contain water and this means drying may be necessary if thermal treatments such as incineration, gasification or pyrolysis are used.

However, this may prove to be energy inefficient and very costly so the application of wet processing technologies is often preferred.

Industrial Biotechnology fits into this category as its application can target specific compounds in the waste and either separate these or, convert to higher value products with increased functionality.

Industrial biotechnology may include (1) fermentation, this is the use of micro-organisms which metabolise the carbon in waste liquids and gases and will convert these to fuels, chemicals and materials such as plastics (2) bio-catalysis, this is the use of enzymes to convert starch and carbohydrates into intermediate chemicals such as sugar for use in fermentation or biotransformation, which modifies the chemical structure of one low value compound to form another of much higher value.

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is developing capability in science and engineering to convert biogenic waste materials into added value

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Food Waste products. CPI is involved in a number of collaborative research and development projects focusing on areas ranging from; using bio-catalysis to convert waste from the fisheries industry into a protein rich nutrient feed that has potential for replacing expensive raw materials used in the pharmaceutical industry (Biomega), converting the cellulosic

components in municipal solid waste to added value chemicals (FP7 Waste2Go), manufacturing a valuable additive for use in paints by extracting nano cellulose in root vegetables (Cellucomp), to converting industrial waste glycerol from biodiesel manufacture into algae for the production of road transport fuel (FP7-Intersusal). D

Dan Noakes is a business manager for industrial biotechnology & biorefinery at CPI and is a chartered waste manager. CPI is a UK based Technology Innovation Centre and a founding member of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

CPI supports organisations in the development, scale up and de-risking of processes to fast-track commercial uptake of industrial biotechnology.

CPI provides open-access, scalable industrially representative process facilities from bench to demonstration scale with business development support.

www.uk-cpi.com 1: (Food and Agricultural Organisation of UN ‘Global Food Losses and Food Waste’)

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IndustryNews Top test Hygiena, a global leader in rapid hygiene and food safety testing systems, has been awarded Performance Tested Methods (Certification Number 031501) from the AOAC Research Institute for its MicroSnap Total product. The AOAC validation and certification study included the following: raw and ready-to-eat products of fresh ground beef, fresh raw chicken, raw cow’s milk, pre-packaged iceberg lettuce leaves and fresh cream cake. This novel test is the first to detect and enumerate total aerobic bacteria and give results within a working shift. MicroSnap Total is a

small, simple, low cost detection system that detects down to one to ten bacteria in seven hours, while detecting high numbers in as little as one to two hours.

It is a two-device test platform consisting of both enrichment and detection devices. MicroSnap has a large dynamic range, which means that material, and labour costs of sample preparation and testing are reduced.

Testing in-house is now simple and easy, giving timely results for better management and control with significant cost savings compared to contracting out. www.hygiena.net

A more natural approach Following the huge success of Primrose’s Kitchen in department stores and independent food stores across the UK and in Europe, the ward-winning muesli producer is now stocked in 198 Waitrose stores nationwide. Waitrose will stock Primrose’s Kitchen Raw Vegetable Muesli in both the Raw Carrot & Cinnamon and Raw Beetroot & Ginger flavours.

The step from department stores and independent food stores to a major national supermarket chain has been important to Primrose’s Kitchen, helping more people to learn about a naturopathic diet. Founder Primrose Matheson, has a background in naturopathy and complementary healthy studies and creates products following the naturopathic principles: be natural, eat natural, live natural.

She commented: “I decided to create Primrose’s Kitchen after feeling unenthusiastic about the ‘health foods’ available when looking for something for myself. I decided to invent my own delicious, nutritious and exciting products and they proved quite popular!

To now be launching into Waitrose is an incredible feeling. Healthy foods are not just ‘health foods’ any more, they are becoming mainstream which is what they should have been all along.

People are becoming more aware

and responsible about what they are eating which is an important step in reconnecting ourselves with our bodies and health and being more connected to our planet as a whole.

“We have seen an increase in demand for our products as well as an interest from our customers looking to lead a more natural lifestyle. Waitrose will help us offer an alternative to traditional breakfast mueslis to a wide audience and we’re excited to see what the response will be.”

Primrose’s Kitchen products are not only fantastic as a nutritious breakfast but can act as a great snack or light lunch throughout the day. www.primroseskitchen.com

Countering fraud

The latest MicroSnap Total bacterial testing equipment from Hygiena International Ltd which can generate validated test results within seven hours or a same day working shift

The Institute of Food Safety, Integrity & Protection (TiFSiP), along with PKF Littlejohn LLP and the Food Fraud Group at the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies, have launched a training course designed to help food businesses protect themselves against the threat of food fraud.

The training course was developed in response to the Elliott Review, which identified the need for the food industry to focus on tackling food fraud and food crime to ensure high standards of consumer protection.

The training will be delivered by Accredited Counter Fraud Trainers and academics from the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies. During the course, participants will look at best practice, case studies and governing legislation.

After successfully completing the course participants will be Accredited Counter Fraud Technicians, awarded by the Counter Fraud Professional Accreditation Board (the governmentbacked body responsible for setting training standards in the field of counter fraud work).

In addition to the training, the three organisations are offering other resources to improve food fraud resilience. This includes a free on-line Self-Assessment Fraud Resilience (SAFR) tool and an industry guide for the food sector on fraud. PKF Littlejohn is also offering bespoke professional services, including Business Intelligence services, designed to check the integrity of international supply chains. www.tifsip.org/food_fraud

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Year of change 2015 is going to be tough for the fresh produce sector - with recruitment being one of the major issues it faces

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he next 12 months may be one of the most challenging years ever for the fresh produce industry according specialist recruitment consultancy MorePeople, which has just completed its first-ever ‘Best for Business Barometer’. This polls the opinion of a small number of people at the highest level in fresh produce every six months to determine the current state of the industry.

Key challenges identified include: • Changes to the structure of retailing, driven by changing consumer behaviour • A continuation of the fierce competition on the high street together with a lack of real growth in wages and sales volumes • Issues over recruitment at the senior level, and attracting interest from graduates

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• A resulting continuation of consolidation in the sector Guy Moreton, director and founder of MorePeople said: “What is striking is the degree of consistency from all our panel members, who are leading lights in fresh produce, manufacturing and retailing. They clearly recognise that this is a time of huge changes, both in retailing and across the supply chain. The industry desperately needs to attract and develop talent in senior management positions across commercial, sales and general management who can respond to this dynamic environment, as well as to attract young people in to this challenging and fast paced industry” The panel consisted of a small number of ‘movers and shakers’ in the industry including Frank Robinson, Produce World Group; Mark Newton, Freshtime; Susan Barratt, Nature’s Way;

Mike Attwood, Subway; and Mark Player of Total Produce.

They recognised that continued price deflation and declines in food consumption are creating pressures for retailers. While real wages are not rising, there is increased competition for the pound in the consumers’ pocket, and less of it is being spent on food.

For the retail sector itself the increased competition from the discounters is a well-documented phenomenon. At the same time consumer habits are changing with more people doing more, smaller shops, and this is one of the factors, which is leading to less waste. As a result there is a structural change away from what one respondent described as ‘big box’ stores towards smaller, convenience outlets, and this will drive costs higher for suppliers.

However, it was not all gloom and

Skills & Training

doom. Mark Newton of Freshtime expects to see more growth this year, while Mike Attwood’s main problems revolve around the rate of growth at Subway.

He says: “We expect to double in size over the next five to six years, so challenges are around ensuring we have the ability to produce product for a much bigger estate. Given this growth, I’m confident that suppliers will be keen to work with us.”

When it came to recruitment Mike was an exception to the rule, nearly all the participants said that recruiting the right people was an issue or a major issue for their businesses. Having a recognisable brand name on the high street was seen as a definite help for Subway.

A number identified the fact that the fresh produce industry has an image problem – either because it has a bad image or no image at all.

Frank Robinson of Produce World said: “The industry can be seen as uninteresting and dull, with many people being ambivalent about it. That’s because they don’t know what it has to offer, and, in fact, that it’s dynamic, exciting and fast paced. The supermarkets recognise the value of the category and the importance of having the right people to drive growth and change.”

Mark Newton of Freshtime agreed: “For us recruitment is an issue, but not a major one. Location can be a problem, but it just means we have to work a bit harder to sell ourselves. For the industry as a whole it is a concern.

It’s not the sexiest of the industries and good agronomists, in particular, are in short supply.

However, it was in the area of commercial and sales staff, and senior management that most admitted there was a very real problem.

Popular solutions for solving these problems adopted by the different companies represented included graduate recruitment, and training and developing junior staff to fill senior roles. Also two of the companies have started, or were considering starting, apprenticeship schemes.

While there was no clear trend in terms of the way that their businesses had performed over the past 12 months, most were optimistic about next year including, surprisingly, the one retailer interviewed.

Respondents were also asked about their ‘wish list’ for 2015 and this yielded some surprisingly diverse answers including: • An upturn in the market • Good graduates who have a desire and enthusiasm to work in the industry • Consolidation of the grower base • A robust and restructured Tesco • Changes around pricing to ensure that costs such as utilities and minimum wages costs can be passed on • A new government investment that is willing to invest in food security • A joined-up approach between retailers and their suppliers with long-term (five to ten year) commitment Guy added: “I’m sure all of us would like to see these changes come about in 2015.

As a company we have been working with a number of universities, schools and industry organisations to promote the industry, to raise awareness of the great opportunities it offers and to encourage more graduates to come into fresh produce and food manufacturing - so we are doing our best to make sure that at least one of those wishes comes true!” D MorePeople is the leading recruitment and training agency in the ‘fresh’ sector, providing services that cover fresh food, fresh produce, horticulture, and agriculture as well as the garden and leisure industries.

No other agency can equal its breadth of commercial experience across all these sectors.

www.morepeople.co.uk

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Ready,

steady,

Time: the key ingredient in the recipe for successful food manufacturing.

By Jonathan Orme

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s shows like ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ and more recently, ‘The Great British Bake Off’ remind us, when it comes to food, timing is everything. And what’s true for your kitchen is even more so for the food manufacturing industry, where managing multiple ingredients, complex processes, and often a diverse range of products for an increasingly demanding customer base is a daily challenge. Central to it all is the need to ensure that the right quantity of the right materials/ingredients are at the right place to undergo the right processes at the right time. Unlike your kitchen where a mistake might at worst ruin a meal, a mistake for a food manufacturer might not just ruin an entire batch of thousands of products, it might jeopardise a vital business relationship with a customer or supplier.

Food manufacturers have therefore long understood the necessity of accurate planning and scheduling for successful food production and have typically relied on specialist IT solutions to provide assistance in this area.

However, the process of actual food production exists in the context of, and

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Jonathan Orme

cook

relies on, all the other interconnected business processes that sit either side of it. For example, sales orders need to connect fully to purchase orders, demand forecasts, stock control, production planning, warehouse, and delivery. Often the common thread running through all these connections, and the wider link of the supply chain, is the need for complete trust that every process involved is handled in a timely, accurate, and completely transparent way. As competitive pressures increase, the criticality of timeliness becomes even more acute across the entire business.

This is why leading food manufacturers are turning away from loosely connected disparate systems and increasingly putting their trust in fully integrated, state-of-the-art, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. A leading example of this comes from UK author, Exel Computer Systems plc, which this year celebrates 30 years’ of delivering manufacturing IT solutions to manufacturers across all sectors, including food, with customers making products as diverse as cakes, confectionery, cheese, and pickles.

With its origins in the time critical world of planning and scheduling, Exel arguably understands, more than most, the critical time requirements of food manufacturers throughout their entire business, and its EFACS E/8 ERP solution reflects this.

Take Bennett Opie for example. One of the oldest private family owned food companies in the country, Opies has grown from humble origins in 1880 to become the leading manufacturer of quality pickles and preserves enjoyed by families in the UK and across the world.

As such, the £24m turnover company has built an enviable reputation spanning over a century, whilst having to adapt to huge changes in manufacturing and production processes, as well as technology. When the time came to replace its fragmented IT and paperbased systems, it was essential for Opies to invest in an ERP solution that would best meet its current and future business needs while protecting its all important reputation for quality and service.

Paul Fox joined Opies in 1999 and is commercial director. He outlines the main challenges facing Opies and many other food companies. “A food company

IT

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like ours has three main considerations: forecast accuracy, stock control, and production. If the forecast is wrong, you either end up making too little or too much product – in other words, the wrong amount of the wrong product at the wrong time. If your stock control is poor, which in our case is complicated by sourcing products from all over the world, many of which have very narrow windows of availability and which are highly susceptible to disruption, you either end up with surplus stock which is waste, or a shortfall. In the case of the latter, this puts acute time pressure on the manufacturing and production side of the business because failure to get each batch right first time can make the vital difference between meeting customers demand or not. In terms of production as a whole, you need to maximise the efficiency of your product lines to avoid costly downtime due to poor planning, especially where lengthy changeover times are involved.”

Opies recognised that making the best ERP investment involved much more than simply selecting the right system, it would involve building a relationship with a vendor that would

stand the test of time. “We had no interest in sales pitches – we just wanted a company to demonstrate how its solution could help our specific requirements. We knew we would need to develop a long term partnership with a supplier that would help show us the possibilities a modern, integrated ERP system could offer, and how to make best use of these.”

Given Exel’s experience it is no surprise that EFACS was chosen and has been more than able to help Opies overcome these challenges. At the heart of this are the considerable timesavings, which have subsequently been re-invested in business process improvement in every area of the company. Exel’s deep industry knowledge directly contributed to this also, as Fox explains. “We knew we were doing things in various ways that weren’t working properly. Many times our Exel consultant would make suggestions about doing things differently that had a real impact on our overall business approach. This was exactly what we needed and as a result, we ended up with a business in much better shape than when we began, and much better than we expected.” He continues: “We now had complete and utter confidence in our ability to make the

right decision on what to make, and when, for our entire product range for our full 12 month forecast.”

When it comes to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), timeliness once again features in a prominent way with Fox beginning by citing an increase in ‘right first time’, followed by a decrease in inventory; an increase in customer service, and a traceability system that allows a forward and backwards trace to be completed in minutes. His conclusion is one that every food manufacturer would readily understand and aspire to.

“Our stock levels are always right, our production and work flow is always right.

Our system just gets it right, every time – what more do you need?” D Jonathan Orme is sales operations & marketing manager for Exel Computer Systems, a leading UK software author.

The company celebrates 30 years of developing, implementing and supporting business software solutions in 2015, and with hundreds of successful implementations and thousands of users around the world, Exel has a proven track record of working with some of the world’s most well-known organisations.

www.exel.co.uk

This is why leading food manufacturers are turning away from loosely connected disparate systems and increasingly putting their trust in fully integrated, state-of-theart, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems

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TasteTest A taste of Yorkshire Yorkshire’s Finest Foods helps to bring a taste of Yorkshire to the rest of the UK by selling speciality, artisan products made only in Yorkshire by some of the regions finest producers and farmers.

So far, the company has had orders from all over Yorkshire, Lancashire and as far out as Devon and Cornwall. They work with over ten producers, including Yorkshire favourite Henderson’s Relish and rare breed farmers Taste Tradition, whose meat is often sold in Michelin starred restaurants throughout London.

The FoodChain Taste Test Team was lucky enough to try a selection of products all produced in Yorkshire, and what a high quality collection it was! www.yorkshires-finest-foods. co.uk

Cheese and chutney Pucketts Pickles Carrot and cardomom chutney www.puckettspickles.co.uk Shepherd’s Purse Harrogate Blue cheese www.shepherdspurse.co.uk The Swaledale Cheese Company Swaledale Chives and Garlic Cheese www.swaledalecheese.co.uk

Smoked salmon

Bacon and lamb

Oak Smoked Salmon www.staalsmokehouse.co.uk

Rare Breed Smoked Back Bacon Lamb Barnsley Chop www.tastetradition.co.uk

Another generous portion, the Oak Smoked salmon offered flexibility in that it was ready to eat straight from the pack (with a salad for example), or it could be used in fish cakes, fish pie or flaked through pasta. Staal’s website describes it as ‘versatile and scrumptious’ – a statement 100 per cent supported by the Tester. “Totally delicious,” she said. “I served it accompanied by quite a simple salad and some bread, and for such little effort, the meal was just as good as Staal had promised!”

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“Thank goodness for some real bacon,” was the first comment from the team.

No grill tray full of water when cooking this, and no strange white residue either – just beautiful, crispy, bacony goodness. “Proper bacon sandwich material,” said the biggest fan on the Team. “Like bacon should taste and also how it should cook, the quality just shines through on this one.”

Cheese and chutney is a pretty failsafe combination but with these products it was impossible to go wrong.

The Harrogate Blue was described as ‘creamy and very flavoursome, not too strong and perfectly enhanced by the sweetness of the chutney.’

The Swaledale Chives and Garlic was a lovely texture, ‘somewhere between cheddar and edam’ and the garlic and chives were ‘perfectly balanced and not overpowering’. The chutney itself was sweet and tangy, and one tester was particularly enthusiastic: “I’ve never had carrot chutney before and I am now a huge fan – I put it on everything!”

The Barnsley chop was equally celebrated, especially as this cut of meat is not too familiar to the team. ‘This makes a better sized portion of lamb than the usual tiny supermarket chop,’ was one comment. “It cooked well, and resulted in a tender chop with good flavour,” described another Tester.

TasteTest Get the buzz Now launched in the UK, and created as an energy drink that vitalizes the body and nerves, EPIC Energy provides the nutrients and vitamins needed to focus, increase concentration and endurance.

EPIC energy’s smooth flavour & sleek innovative 330ml re-sealable black matte finish can has already attracted a lot of attention and attaining success at international food & beverage events such as Gulf Food, SIAL China Innovation, SIAL Paris Innovation, etc. and successfully gaining access to global markets.

Aiming to change the dynamics of the energy drink market, the most exciting aspect of EPIC energy has been its revolutionary re-sealable packaging, which makes it an ideal on the go drink and encourages responsible consumption in controlled quantities. www.epicenergydrink.com

Totally delicious The resealable can technology was a talking point on this product – it was regarded as very clever and something that should be used on many more cans! The team also appreciated the more sophisticated packaging of EPIC ‘very understated,’ said one reviewer.

The drink inside the can was also widely appreciated. ‘It has a nice fizz, and was fruitier than I expected,’ commented another sampler. ‘I also appreciate the vitamins included in drink,’ said another. ‘I would drink something like this after a workout, to give me some energy without feeling like I am undoing any of my hard work. The fact I can drink what I want and the seal the can back up is an added bonus.’

Mexican magic Mexico might not be the first location that springs to mind when it comes to cheese, but a producer in Peckham is now aiming to change that, by bringing the delights of Mexican cheese to the shores of the UK. Kristen Schnepp is the founder of the Gringa Dairy, an artisan local producer, who is now making four types of cheese, and working with a growing number of UK Mexican chefs, and supplying top restaurants in London.

Kristen launched Gringa Dairy in 2013, and quickly caught attention in the cheese world. In the first year Gringa Dairy was awarded the silver medal win at the 2013 British Cheese Awards for its Queso Oaxaca. 2014 saw Gringa Dairy launch in Wholefoods, shortly followed

by Selfridges Foodhall and late last year Fortnum & Mason. www.gringadairy.com

once the cheeses were eaten they were met with sounds of appreciation and demands for more! The Fresco cheese, which is less salty than feta and less dense than halloumi was the favourite: “I can see this as a very flexible option, for cooking and also for salads and sandwiches,” said one tester. “I love the texture, and the mild flavour,” said another.

“It’s quite addictive, and while it’s simple, I also find it sophisticated - I wouldn’t hesitate to put it on a cheeseboard.”

Keeping up with trends in coffee drinking isn’t easy these days, but thanks to suppliers such as global syrup specialist Monin, baristas can now use the exotic Tonka bean’s vanilla and caramel flavours with minimum effort and expense.

Now available in the UK, Monin has launched a Tonka Bean syrup, which not only works great in coffees and hot chocolates, but can also flavour crème brûlée, soufflés and macaroons, dessert drinks and cocktails.

James Coston, Monin UK brand ambassador, said: “Tonka Bean is similar to vanilla in terms of flavour but with spicy notes as well as hints of caramel, cinnamon and cloves. It’s an on-trend ingredient but it’s expensive and it can also be difficult to obtain consistency of flavour when making it into syrup by hand. Monin’s expert development team has successfully captured this unique taste in a versatile, fragrant syrup that any barista or mixologist can use at a fraction of the cost.” www.monin.com

Given the Editor’s love of a cappuccino, latte or any other coffee concoction of the day, she was quick to volunteer to try the Tonka Bean syrup, and it is now a prized possession on her desk. “I had no idea what to expect a Tonka Bean to taste of, but it comes over as blend of warm caramel and vanilla, which of course goes perfectly in coffee,” she said. “The only trouble is that it’s so deliciously addictive that my coffee consumption levels could get out of hand!”

The Taste Test Team sampled three types of Queso from Gringa Dairy: Queso Fresco - a mild, fresh, crumbling cheese, Queso Chihuahua - a melting cheese, and Queso Oaxaca - a raw milk string cheese much like mozzarella. While the Chihuahua cheese may have caused some amusement with the name,

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Challenge or

opportunity?

Phil Davidson takes a look at the issue of sustainability in packaging

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ne of the most pressing issues facing society today, sustainability is a matter, which has implications for almost every industry. The packaging industry is no exception to this. A recent survey by HAVI Global Solutions revealed that sustainability is considered one of the greatest challenges to companies within the industry. Interestingly, it is also considered to be the greatest area for opportunity. Significant progress has undoubtedly been made in recent years with regard to sustainability.

Lighter weight packaging, recyclable and renewable materials as well as increased consumer awareness have all played a role in reducing waste levels. However, the fact that this issue remains one of the greatest challenges to companies

Phil Davidson

demonstrates the amount of work that is yet to be done. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of this topic area, it is important to assess the developments, which have already been made, in addition to the areas for growth and expansion.

One of the most effective preliminary steps to take in reducing waste levels is to start at the very beginning. In essence, this involves examining what components make up a product. Many of today’s consumer products have been manufactured from recycled products.

A key example of this is aluminium, which is reused to make a wide range of products, from airplane parts to building facades to beverage cans. While it may seem obvious, maximising the use of recyclable components and minimising

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the creation of non-renewable materials is the most effective ways to have immediate impact on the waste stream.

Similarly, lighter weight packaging is a trend, which has taken off in recent years and has the potential to play a vital role in reducing levels of waste within the packaging industry. One of the key drivers for this has been a series of directives from the European Union, ensuring that all member states are committed to minimising the use of packaging in their products. Alongside this, we have seen an increased awareness among consumers of the environmental impact of the goods they purchase. Customers are increasingly likely to opt for goods, which are packaged in a minimalist, environmentally friendly way as they feel this corresponds best with their ethical values.

However, it is important to remember the purpose of the packaging itself.

If goods are packaged incorrectly or spoilt during transit, the waste caused by damaged products can be a larger contributor to the waste stream than the packaging itself. For example, it is estimated that 30 per cent of the world’s food is wasted due to spoilage.

Lighter weight packaging is a further key component of the holistic approach that is required to achieve higher levels of sustainability.

Moreover, intelligent packaging is an area, which has grown significantly in recent years and has been shown to help contribute to lower levels of waste in packaging. A key aspect of this is Time­Temperature Indicators (TTIs), which allow for both manufacturers and consumers to know if a product has been temperature abused. TTIs can be placed within shipping containers or directly onto the products in the form a small self-adhesive label. If the goods experience abusive conditions, the indicator will change colour, highlighting that goods have been spoilt. By offering such speed, precision and clarity, this form of intelligent packaging helps to ensure that fewer products are damaged during transit, consequently reducing levels of waste.

As with any large-scale issue, it is vital to bear in mind the importance of education. There have already been

Most importantly, companies must assess their waste streams at every level, from the selection of raw materials, to the end of life of a product

Packaging significant breakthroughs in this domain. Thanks to local and national government campaigns, consumers are more aware than ever of their carbon footprint and the ways in which they can reduce this. However, many remain unaware of the specific recyclability of product packaging. An innovative way to counter this is through the use of logos, informing the consumer of the precise recycling requirements of a particular product. The logos have been proven not only to inform the customer, but also promote a perception of ‘greenness’ about the brand.

There is no denying that companies have come a long way in recent decades when it comes to managing waste and promoting sustainability.

Dedicated waste bins, EU legislation, and intelligent packaging are just a few examples of the progress that has been made. Most importantly, companies must assess their waste streams at

every level, from the selection of raw materials, to the end of life of a product.

Ultimately, companies must adopt a truly holistic approach to the issue of sustainability if they are to excel in this domain and seize the area of opportunity it presents. D Phil Davidson is European sustainability manager at HAVI Global Solutions, a professional services company dedicated to helping customers grow smarter by delivering strategic and operational competitive advantage from idea to end-of-life. HAVI helps customers better manage risk, achieve operational excellence and realise their growth strategies while addressing the most demanding, complex challenges across their business value chain.

www.havigs.com

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Sweet

logistics Martin Davidian explains why confectionery companies need flexibility to meet growing international demand

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he UK confectionery industry is growing at an extraordinary rate. The latest UKTI figures show this trend is a direct result of increasing overseas demand, with exports of chocolates, sweets and biscuits recently surpassing £1bn for the first time in history. Chocolate consumption in particular has demonstrated significant growth over the last two decades, with seasonal events, such as Easter, representing the biggest opportunities for chocolate manufacturers across the globe. In 2014, it was even predicted that chocolate Easter eggs were likely to be one of the nation’s top food and drink exports, following an increase in

international sales of more than £5m the previous year. As we move through 2015, we can expect to see continued growth across the sector as the UK’s home-grown confectionery brands use their very ‘Britishness’ to help them tap into the world’s sweet tooth.

The global ‘sugar rush’ British companies are now selling their produces to 150 countries worldwide, delivering homemade products to the very countries with which they are traditionally associated. Contrary to expectation, British firms are now sending wine to France, tea to China and increasingly, chocolate to Switzerland and Belgium. Chocolate

Special Feature - Logistics has definitely set the standard when it comes to chocolate consumption, but this increasingly global appetite for cocoa products means UK businesses are becoming less bound by domestic seasonal occasions, Easter included.

Instead, they might look to attract customers in Mexico ahead of Dia de la Muertos, where chocolate plays a central role in remembering loved ones.

The road to (sweet) success

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Confectionery supply chains can be complex and flexibility is fundamental, particularly during busy seasonal periods

exports from the UK to Switzerland have increased by 160 per cent in the last four years alone. But it’s not just established markets already well known for their chocolate histories and celebrations; emerging economies also represent huge opportunities.

While much of Western Europe and the US have long favoured chocolate as their guilty pleasure, China, for example, has only developed a taste for chocolate in the last decade. Without doubt, Easter

3. Customs regulations The fast pace with which duties and taxes change can make customs clearance challenging to understand – especially in the food and drink industry where each product will have different rules and regulations. Your logistics provider is best placed to have the latest customs information to hand, with specialists who can navigate any hurdles on your behalf, advising on the right solutions and services for your business’ needs.

Logistics has a vital role to play in connecting the UK with lucrative markets. Confectionery supply chains can be complex and flexibility is fundamental, particularly during busy seasonal periods. While shipping perishable items over long distances may seem daunting, the right support from your logistics provider can make a huge difference in providing local knowledge and strategic insight.

With that in mind, we have put together what we see as the biggest exporting challenges facing companies in the confectionery sector when exporting, along with our advice:

4. Choosing the right markets to enter Deciding which countries to export to can be confusing, especially if you are a relatively new business. You may find yourself in the middle of some conflicting advice and opinions, so trust your instinct, do your research but also, always speak to the logistics experts.

Their on-the-ground knowledge and experience will prove invaluable for both short and long-term decision-making, geared at making your business as profitable as possible.

1. Transporting safely and securely The delicate nature of chocolates and sweets means that timely and successful delivery is even more important, but finding a balance between value and speed can be a challenge with items like these.

5. Language barriers Communication is essential at all stages throughout the supply chain, and when shipping overseas language barriers can be difficult to navigate and sometimes slow the process down.

FedEx employs team members globally to provide a presence in 220 markets to ensure brand consistency for its customers across all borders.

2. Meeting and maintaining customer demand Efficiency and speed to market are important in positioning your business as leader of the pack in terms of quick delivery. Quality and presentation of the product on arrival should also be a top priority, as it certainly will be for your customers. You can never quite predict when a product might increase in demand, so be sure to plan accordingly and ensure employees are fully briefed for such an eventuality. Focus on agility and flexibility within your supply chain operations to keep your products in pristine condition, even when sending them over hundreds of miles of land, sea and air.

It’s an exciting time for UK businesses looking to broaden their horizons, particularly in this ever-evolving industry. By adapting logistical methods to support rapid globalisation and offering intelligent solutions, logistics providers can enable the growth of the UK’s booming confectionery sector and UK brands can benefit from a globalised market of opportunities.

Martin Davidian is managing director sales UK and Ireland at FedEx Express.

For further information, visit: www.fedex.com

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Special Feature - Logistics CASE STUDY Owned by true chocolate lovers, Lauden Chocolate believes its creations are an art form and has been producing highend, fine chocolates for over six years.

Founded by a husband and wife team Lauden Chocolate now exports around the world to countries including Russia, China and Japan.

After researching and refining the perfect blend of ingredients to create the ultimate chocolate experience, Lauden Chocolate only uses the highest quality ingredients by blending real fruit and the finest cacao to produce chocolates that not only look spectacular, but taste incredible. As well as capitalising on a unique Valentine’s Day tradition in Japan, where every business owner in the country gifts their employees with chocolates, Lauden Chocolate supplies a variety of premium retailers and Michelin-starred restaurants with its fine chocolates.

Beginning life in the founders’ home kitchen; Lauden Chocolate quickly expanded into a 600 sq ft unit and then a 3000 sq ft unit and now employs six members of staff.

The shipping challenges Chocolates are temperature sensitive and also require delicate handling, which makes transporting them over long distances more challenging. When exporting, Lauden Chocolate packs its chocolates with ice packs, but to avoid melting, the temperature must remain constant throughout the journey. As an artisanal chocolate company with the highest standards, it’s crucial the chocolates arrive at the destination in precisely the same condition as they left. Given that Lauden Chocolate now exports around the world, this is no mean feat.

Why FedEx Express?

Lauden Chocolate delivers to locations both in the UK and abroad, and needs a logistics partner which can deliver its chocolates on time, and with the high quality of customer services associated with luxury brands. An ambitious company, Lauden Chocolate originally approached FedEx due to its worldwide reputation and the range of services it offers.

With its specialist expertise of delivering temperature and time-sensitive products, FedEx now transports Lauden

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Chocolate the world over, including to countries with hot climates. As a company that prides itself on quality, having this level of service is extremely valuable. The FedEx International Priority service is particularly helpful, offering advanced shipment monitoring and personalised notification of critical shipments. Support is available roundthe-clock, giving Lauden Chocolate peace of mind that its products are in safe hands throughout the shipping process.

Stephen Trigg, artisan chocolatier, Lauden Chocolate commented: “As a company with growing international ambitions, having a logistics provider which grants us access to new markets is incredibly valuable. Before working with FedEx, we found it challenging to ensure our chocolates arrived at their destination tasting – and looking – exactly as they should. Lauden Chocolate is a luxury brand and this needs to come across in every interaction we have with the public.

When it comes to logistics providers, FedEx is undoubtedly a world leader. It is not only globally recognisable, but offers a premium service which reflects our core values as well.” D

IndustryNews Looking fresh Semo Packaging has developed Fresh’Closure, a new mono-material solution for the easy opening and closure of food packs.

Current closure solutions for food packaging such as those containing sandwich bread for example, do not always give full satisfaction. Their lack of user friendliness, the time taken to reclose the bag, poor product preservation, broken films and lost ties are just some of the criticisms often levelled against them.

With the current emphasis on avoiding food waste, the preservation of foodstuffs has become a major challenge. A badly closed product is more at risk from humidity, dirt or mould and consequently ends up in the bin more quickly. A badly stored product is also a product that poses a risk to health.

To tackle these packing and preservation problems, Semo Packaging has designed the patented Fresh’Closure film, with its innovative drawstring system.

Partnership bears fruit Building on a successful longstanding working partnership in the development of a range of packaging solutions, a range of high quality fruit compotes and desserts from specialist French manufacturer Lucien Georgelin are now available in handy To-Go snack packs, developed in collaboration with RPC Bebo Bouxwiller.

Meeting increasing consumer demand for on-the-go snacking, the new multilayer 68mm pots are thermoformed in polypropylene and feature an EVOH barrier to give the products a long ambient shelf life. They are foil sealed and the lid incorporates a spoon for easy eating on the move. The transparent packs help to maximise the visual appeal of the fruits while eye-catching labels further enhance on-shelf image and appeal. www.lucien-georgelin.fr www.rpc-group.fr

This new technology offers numerous advantages: better preservation of products and for longer, in addition to easy opening and closure. Even with repetitive use, the product retains its freshness and most of its nutritional properties.

What’s more, Fresh’Closure was designed to be 100 per cent recyclable and reusable. Its production process, which requires less material, also makes it possible to reduce CO2 emissions.

In addition to the environmental benefits, Semo Packaging’s latest innovation has also been designed to be easily recognisable by consumers on the store shelves. If you look at a shelf full of packaged loaves of sandwich bread today, you will see that they are all similar. With the re-closable Fresh’Closure bag, producers now have a great way to stand out from the competition. www.semoflex.com

Saucy sachets Stokes Sauces is launching its ‘generous but sensible’ contemporary sauce sachets to provide food service operators with a range of eight tasty condiments in 32-40g portions, a significant contrast to the standard 10g sachets.

Rick Sheepshanks, managing director of Stokes Sauces, comments: “Our bottles of Stokes ketchup and other condiments are popular with food service outlets, but we spotted a gap in the offering between the good quality sauce in bottles and the uninspiring looking little sachets.

“Whenever I am offered sauce in a pub or fish and chip shop invariably it is the same selection of dull little sachets, so I grab a few knowing I will want more than one. One day this led me to wonder why no one is making tasty sauce in sachets that are big enough to actually give you a sufficient portion; and out of this thought our new ‘generous but sensible’ range was born.

“Our sachets are made at our ‘Stokes Saucery’ in the heart of rural Suffolk, and all with real food ingredients. For example 100g of our ketchup, contains 200g of premium tomatoes, for some people tomatoes are tomatoes – but not for us - ours have been sourced exclusively in Italy from the finest vines.”

Stokes’ new sachets are available in eye-catching packaging in a variety of colourways and feature eight of its most popular sauces and condiments, including Tomato Ketchup, Bloody Mary Ketchup, Real Mayonnaise and Brown Sauce. www.stokessauces.co.uk

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Avoid the

grind

Managing coffee price differentials.

By Michael Schwartz

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offee is one of the most highly traded commodities, second only to oil. It’s a highly volatile commodity and prices are on the up. While the majority of global stock markets have been out of form recently as investors fret over the state of Europe’s fragile economies, coffee has bucked the trend. In October it reached a two-year high, with the price of $2.21 a pound. A year ago, the beans were trading just above $1 a pound.

Part of the reason for this is that in Brazil, the world’s biggest producer, a severe drought has threatened next year’s crop. Prices have been driven higher in the expectation of a shortage.

Blenders have always worked hard to maintain prices and need to keep a careful watch on the origination markets to assess trends that could cause price movements. With increasing volatility, this is becoming harder to do without the right tools in place to support origination and prevent errors.

Michael Schwartz

For compliance and quality reasons, lot identity must also be tracked when coffee is bought, stored, and sold. Coffee companies require traceability from the point of origin to the point of final delivery.

Throughout the coffee value chain, accurate and timely information must be tracked on product grade and quantity as the raw materials are procured, processed, packed, transported, and exported. Coffee companies have complex supply chain requirements for traceability as well as measuring and accounting for grade variances for moisture, screen size, and foreign material. Because of the global nature of the supply chain, these companies must accurately track and optimise complex itineraries. Multiple origins, points of pickup from each origin, modes of transportation, and destinations must be tracked. All while tracking the traceability from as far down the supply chain as is possible across hundreds of unique grades.

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Special Feature - Coffee Coffee companies now require detailed inventory information including quality, cupping results, storage location, certification details, bag size, and crop year alongside claim settlement functionality based on weight, quality, and supplier

The price a coffee producer can get is dependent upon the product’s unique characteristics in the way of flavour and quality. However, coffee is frequently treated as a homogeneous product, where its price is set based on its futures contract.

The difference in price between the value coffee trades for on the exchange and the price that coffee is locally available – the price differential – is impacted by the origin as well as the global demand and supply levels for the particular coffee. For coffee traders, this presents a significant challenge: they need to know the average differentials at which they have bought and sold their product so they can make fast trading decisions. To accomplish this, they require real-time information on their positions and average price differentials.

Protecting their margins is of utmost importance for traders, and particularly for coffee traders, where margins are razor thin. Even with the most effective

hedging strategies, the business can lose money if coffee traders do not closely monitor the weights and quality of their traded product.

When moving coffee, weight losses can occur both naturally and deliberately by the shipper and these shipments need to be tracked accurately to ensure the product stays within contract tolerance. It is typical for more than half of coffee shipments to end up in weight claim settlements.

Likewise, the quality or grade of the product must also be effectively tracked to prevent losses to the business when the shipped quality of the sample does not meet the contracted quality.

Accurate data is key.

To maximise profits, traders need to track inventory cycle days as they want to minimise the amount of time coffee stays in inventory — each additional inventory day adds additional storage costs. They need to focus particularly on inventories that are stuck for the longest period of time so that they can make decisions that will move these along faster.

Managing price volatility To manage commodity risk and support business decision-making, too many commodity companies are using older technology, even spreadsheets, and out-dated, incomplete data. Coffee companies need the right tools to effectively manage the following business challenges: price volatility, continually changing positions and price exposures, and a lack of real-time information in their origin to destination supply chains.

Today’s coffee markets are tougher than they have ever been. Prices across commodities continue to be extremely volatile. As prices change, coffee companies need to see exactly how this affects their operating margins so they can take appropriate actions.

Smell the coffee It is no longer sufficient for coffee companies to rely on first-generation commodity management software that provides only monitoring and reporting of historical data: coffee market participants need agricultural commodity trading software that also includes advanced analytics and realtime decision support tools to track positions and price differentials.

Transparency across the supply chain is key so that instead of vital information being squirreled away in individual spreadsheets or siloed systems, it is brought together in a single, central system to enhance decision-making.

With the latest end-to-end systems in place, companies can ensure visibility from farm to cup.

Coffee companies now require detailed inventory information including quality, cupping results, storage location, certification details, bag size, and crop year alongside claim settlement functionality based on weight, quality, and supplier. As freight is one of the largest contributors to costs, insights to help companies make the most profitable shipping decisions (FOB, CIF, CNF) are also a necessity.

It’s time to ditch the old-fashioned methods and join the modern era. Smart commodity management solutions have developed to meet the needs of today’s commodity companies for advanced analytics and decision support. D Michael Schwartz is marketing director at Eka. Eka is the global leader in providing smart commodity management software solutions.

Eka’s analytics-driven, end-to-end commodity management platform enables companies to efficiently and profitably meet the challenges of complex and volatile markets.

For further information visit: www.ekaplus.com

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A healthy

revolution Leon Restaurants looks set to revolutionise the fast food industry with the simple aim to provide ‘good food that does good’ with an intelligent naturally fast growth strategy

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n 2004 Allegra McEvedy, Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent opened their first Leon restaurant on Carnaby Street in London specialising in seasonal, naturally good fast food. Over the last 11 years the company has grown to 21 sites with a focus on high profile locations and plans to open a further 12 in the next year. The vision for the business came to John and Henry when they were working as business consultants and were becoming increasingly fed up with the cold sandwiches and greasy, sugary motorway fast food. “It occurred to us that there is nothing in the word ‘fast’ nor in the word ‘food’ that meant that fast food had to be bad food,” John Vincent, co-founder and CEO, explains, “so we set about to rescue and re-invent fast food.”

Its values are simple: to make it easy for people to get food which not only tastes good but does good, not just for the consumer but throughout the complete supply chain.

The restaurant operates seasonally with four different menus throughout the year, plus a core

Leon Restaurants menu of fast food classics such as its Fish Finger Wrap, Original Superfood Salad and Chargrilled Chicken Burger.

On a daily level the company offers breakfast, all day, snack and children’s menus offering healthier alternatives to the fast food usual of burgers and breakfast muffins as well as range of original recipes from salads and rice boxes to breakfast egg pots and wraps.

Where possible the menu also includes a variety of allergen free, vegetarian and vegan options. Sites in Bankside, Ludgate and Spitalfields also offer a sit down, table served dinner menu. Much of the food is inspired by the founders’ Mediterranean roots where the food is naturally flavoursome and healthy, but the company is also keen to draw on classic British favourites to offer a diverse range of healthy food. This year’s spring menu, which launched on 16th March, includes lamb and rhubarb

Koresh and a lamb kofte kebab. To prove that this type of food can be delivered on a fast food platform, the restaurants remain true to the traditional fast food set up. John explains: “The restaurants use the traditional fast food model, of flying down a chute on the passé. It’s fast and it’s convenient, and it’s served to you in a sunny environment by fun, positive people.”

Intelligent growth So far this model has proven successful.

In 2005 with its first restaurant a year old, Leon was awarded the ‘Best New Restaurant in the UK’ by Observer Food Monthly, and the company won a ‘Good Egg’ award in 2008. However, perhaps one of the company’s greatest achievements to date was winning the flagship site at Heathrow Terminal Two in 2014 after competing against 40 other operators for the location. Leon is the only fast food brand available at the site. “To get a site that ten

years ago would have been occupied by a traditional fast food player like McDonald’s or Burger King was a really big step,” John expresses. “When we launched Leon, we wanted to challenge the fast food industry. It feels like people are ready for the challenge now.”

Response to the restaurants is positive, the company regularly receives requests to open up in other major UK cities but it approaches growth intelligently: “We want to grow fast, but safely. Naturally fast growth.” In the next year it plans to open up a further 12 restaurants with its 22nd site opening on the 22nd March on Kingsway, in Holborn.

Leon Restaurant’s commitment to doing good is not limited to how healthy its food is; it also focuses heavily on being a socially responsible and sustainable company. The company works very closely with its suppliers and where possible will use locally sourced ingredients and has been recognised by the RSPCA for the care it takes in sourcing. It was a founding member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association

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Leon Restaurants

set up in 2010, which commits to helping restaurants become sustainable when sourcing ingredients, engaging with communities and managing impact on the environment. A full breakdown of the company’s sustainable activities can be found on its website, and includes managing the whole food chain wherever possible down to how supplies are delivered to the sites and how fresh

left overs can be used to charitable cause.

2012 saw the company set up the Leon Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at making it easier for everyone to eat good food through a number of initiatives with communities, including schools and hospitals.

Leon Restaurants is a passionate and motivated organisation, focused on good food and promoting positive wellbeing.

As a company it has high aspirations to be in every major city in the world but its approach allows its growth to happen safely and naturally. John sees the company as the future of fast food and plans to have restaurants opened across the country in five years time; he also hopes to have expanded outside of the UK to America. It is a fast growing company with big hopes, but its revolutionary approach to the fast food market makes these hopes seem realistic and the future for Leon restaurants looks positive. D

www.leonrestaurants.co.uk

Puro Coffee Puro coffee was served on the first day of Leon when Carnaby Street opened. Since then over 12,100 acres of rainforest have been saved with the contribution of coffee sold in Leon stores. A great coffee needs a great machine, technicians on hand seven days a week to ensure it operates to an optimum level and highly trained baristas. Puro continues to provide all this to Leon and their super motivated and talented team does the rest.

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Source to sauce Bidvest 3663 is one of the UK’s leading foodservice providers, supplying to chefs and caterers throughout the foodservice industry

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perating from four support centres and 21 depots Bidvest 3663 employs staff throughout the UK. “Within our business we have a strong passion for great food and pride ourselves on offering customers choice,” says Andy Kemp, group sales director.

That level of choice consists of both an award winning own brand range of 850 products, as well as over 12,000 products from the best foodservice brands. “Our ‘best of both’ approach is about offering customers a choice

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of excellent own brand and recognised branded products to suit their individual needs.

“By working with high quality suppliers, we can offer customers consistent quality products, which meet our strict QA and CSR policies and products that consumers are guaranteed to recognise and trust.

As a business, we have championed brands as long as we have existed, and the depth, breadth and strength of our relationships with branded suppliers, large and small, means that we have a fantastic resource of innovation, creativity and expertise to draw from,” he continues. A great value is placed on making customers’ lives easier, and through acquisitions and forming partnerships over the years, the business has created a specialist drinks division, as well as a catering equipment specialism. From disposables and packaging, cleaning, housekeeping and kitchen essentials, to tableware, beers, wine and spirits, customers benefit from a full scope of services.

Bidvest 3663 often launches innovative ideas to meet consumer demand in the industry, for example,

Bidvest 3663

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nd s, ners a 3 ck art 6 36 Sna ck P a KP t Sn

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*AC Nielsen MAT 03.01.15 **AC Nielsen Total Impulse 52 wks to 29.03.14 †600 nat rep sample, adult snackers Dec 14 TNS

PERFECT PUB

KP Snacks - No.1 Snack Partner Trade partners of 3663 for ridged crisps, premium crisps and nuts McCoy’s - The UK’s No.1 ridge crisps* KP Nuts - The UK’s No.1 nuts brand** Hula Hoops - The UK’s No.1 fun snack brand† O’Donnells - Gluten free premium crisps Pom-bear - Great taste and gluten free

Grow your snack sales with...

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5561 3663 Perfect Pub A4 ad.indd 1

24/03/2015 09:27

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Bidvest 3663

Employing a food development team, consisting of time served industry chefs, the business works closely with its own suppliers sharing industry knowledge and insight, to ensure the products offered are relevant

the new ‘gluten-free made simple guide’, which will help customers tap into the £100m worth of ‘free-from’ business every year. “Additionally to this, the Beans & Steam coffee concept that we exclusively offer will help customers really drive their coffee offering, a market expected to grow to £16.5bn turnover by 2019.

We have also increased our ranges of other sustainable and ethical products such as Red Tractor, Fairtrade, MSC accredited and British,” Andy points out. “We have a real passion for food that is further evident through our own brand ethos, quality standards and processes. Ten per cent of our

own brand range is endorsed by Craft Guild of Chefs, and products are benchmarked against products in the market to ensure it is of the highest quality. Unless products are of an equal or better quality than competitors’ match, they don’t get into our range,” he adds.

Food development Bidvest 3663 maintains very strict product and supplier assessment processes with a focus on quality.

Highlighting that stringent regime, Andy details the process for two of its unassuming, basic products: “Our own brand baked beans are sourced from

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09:27

haricot beans, carefully selected in the US, tripled graded before shipping, transported sustainably, exactly filling 20 foot containers. At the factory they are checked again and graded specifically to meet our recipe, and checked again post-blanching before they are added to a sauce content of 53 per cent.

Delivered to customers in large 3.12kg cans ensures value and sustainability for foodservice caterers. Secondly, our 3663 own brand Red Tractor Cheddar cheese is made from milk sourced from family run rural farms in Northern Ireland. We use only milk from Red Tractor herds, which ensures there is a premium paid to farmers. Once the milk goes into maturation stores, it is then graded according to our specifications from six weeks on, and for taste and flavour profile, with the maturation process going to 24 months and beyond.”

Employing a food development team, consisting of time served industry

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3663 own brand white cheddar cheese

Heinz Foodservice Helping 3663 customers to make the experience.

Creating fantastic summer eating experiences for guests is all about serving really memorable dishes. That’s why this summer Heinz Foodservice is helping 3663 customers create delicious summer dishes that are perfect for all casual dining menus, BBQs and outdoor eating occasions. What’s more, it can present menu classics like Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Mayonnaise in quality branded caddies, ideal for passing everyone’s favourite sauces from table to table.

Bidvest 3663 chefs, the business works closely with its own suppliers sharing industry knowledge and insight, to ensure the products offered are relevant. The recent launch of a new initiative called ‘New4You’, promotes four new products each month, which the business believes are the best new products for customers to try. Furthermore, it has in place dedicated teams able to offer YAZOO YAZOO is the leading flavoured milk brand in the UK and is delighted to work with 3663, supplying educational, leisure and catering operations around the country. YAZOO is available in a range of pack sizes, the 475ml perfect for on the go and 200ml ideal for lunchboxes. The recipe is school approved and the new 300ml bottles meet new government regulations. The new YAZOO Yogurt Smoothies are 100 per cent free from artificial flavours, colours and sweeteners.

advice and support on key industry issues, such as the Food Information Regulations, The School Food Plan, Sustainability and Health and Wellness.

Through its Advice Centre, Bidvest 3663 provides support to customers through detailed knowledge of speciality products, cooking instructions and as well as nutritional information, which is specific to their businesses.

Understanding emerging trends on the high street ensures that it remains at the cutting edge of food industry developments. Commenting, Andy says: “Our insights team works with various leading research consultancies to gather industry insight and trends, which we then interpret to make relevant for, and to inspire our various customers. We also carry out our own research with customers to understand their own needs, what’s important to them when they buy, and what service excellence means to them. It is so

A food development chef developing fish recipes

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important that customers can rely on their foodservice provider to keep on top of customer insight.”

Efficient service In March 2014 the company opened a 91,000-sqft depot in Bicester, for the purpose of providing a more efficient service for customers. The majority of products can be stocked directly on-site, giving local customers access to a wide range of supplies, coupled with a voice-picking system that will improve accuracy of deliveries. “It will also reduce carbon emissions from the site with motion-sensor lighting, vehicle telematics and increased capacity vehicles. In November, we also opened a new site in Chepstow and moved our Swansea depot to a newly refurbished site nearby, to meet the increased demand across Wales and the South West. This is our first site to have solar panels on the roof, which

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deliver electricity to the depot and fast close warehouse doors to maintain temperature control. This is balanced across their overall infrastructure network which is both national and local, ensuring both the capacity to support customer growth, and also enough depots to offer a service that is local to customers giving them the best service levels and flexibility, whilst reducing the roadmiles needed to deliver food to customers.

“Providing a sustainable service and making it easier for our customers to be more environmentally friendly is important to us. Our award winning bio-diesel scheme has been running for over seven years and has generated carbon savings in excess of 30,000 tonnes,” points out Andy. Such success has been down to a collaborative approach with customers and specialist fuel producers, allowing the business to collect waste cooking oil from customers

Gluten free pulled beef from the new ‘Gluten free made simple’ guide

Bidvest 3663 A Trio Berry Amore gluten free dessert

and convert it into bio-diesel for use in its delivery fleet, as he announces: “We’ve also invested in a new Fleet of Euro6 engines that come with some great advances in technology, which cut fuel emissions to record lows.”

Supplier support

Red Bull Red Bull continues to drive strong growth year on year giving wiiings to 3663 and the Energy Drinks category.

3663 has a clear vision on how to grow the business and deliver results driving profit and incremental soft drinks volume. Red Bull continues to be a market leader, giving its consumers wiiings and revitalising body and mind.

As its clients are faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of the changing market, support from suppliers is essential as is innovation and inspiration to differentiate their offers.

“As well as developing their menus, we recommend that foodservice outlets should invest in their digital marketing and technology, as well as their physical environment. For us it is about providing a choice of products which meet customers’ individual needs, providing flexible ordering, recipe ideas and inspiration online or over the phone or value added services including insights, recipe ideas and benefits through the

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Professional Pastry Chefs tell us they prefer Tate & Lyle Caster and Icing Sugar*

www.sugarandsyrup.com * Based on research carried out by MMR Research Worldwide for Tate & Lyle Sugars in April 2014, out of 202 UK-based Pastry Chefs interviewed, 30 used www.foodchain-magazine.com 68% Tate & Lyle’s Caster and Icing sugars for baking.

PURE

. CONSISTENT . QUALITY

Y

Bidvest 3663 Safari loyalty scheme, all in addition to competitive pricing and monthly promotions,” says Andy.

The out of home food market is expected to continue to grow in value in 2015, following good growth in 2014, largely attributed to increased spending confidence among consumers, rising employment and increased disposable

Tate & Lyle Offering a wide range of high quality sugars and syrups, Tate & Lyle is a favourite in professional kitchens. Supplying foodservice operators with white, icing and brown cane sugars, ideal for creating great tasting desserts, cakes and pastries; the portfolio is available in a range of formats. From 500g through to 25kg, there is a format for every need and a product for a wide selection of sweet recipes.

Tate & Lyle’s brown cane sugars are rich in colour, texture and flavour, enhancing desserts or even sauces and glazes. The suppliers’ range of white baking sugars is expertly crafted for consistent results time after time. The fine white caster sugars are perfect for baking delicate items, whilst the golden caster sugar has added caramel notes. Lyle’s Golden has a unique place in professional kitchens.

From flapjacks to treacle puddings so many recipes depend on its unrivalled flavour and moistness.

income in households. However, as the industry grows, challenges are raised, including meeting far reaching changes in legislation, which has impacted caterers. Bidvest 3663 works across the foodservice industry, supplying various businesses from small independents to national accounts, including five star hotels, restaurants, contract caterers and pubs right through to schools, care homes, hospitals, universities and even the Ministry of Justice. “Competition is a key challenge in foodservice and the ‘new’ post-recession consumer is often discount driven, therefore it is far tougher for establishments to differentiate themselves on factors other than price and to encourage customer loyalty,” explains Andy.

Highlighting the opportunity for

increasingly dynamic foodservice market, as Andy explains: “We aim to get closer to our customers, ultimately helping them to grow. We are focused on delivering service excellence, great food and added value, as well as delivering great value for customers in the form of competitive prices and promotions.” With the aim to demonstrate its passion for food to customers; the business has trained 18 members of the sales team to be ‘food champions’ on top of their sales responsibilities. Concluding, Andy adds: “Each food champion has a background in the food industry, trained in key insights, trends and new products, which they then showcase with their local teams so that they, in turn, can inspire their customers with

outlets to provide innovation and creativity on their menus provides significant opportunity for the business and its customers to excel within an

new ideas, recipes and innovation that can help them differentiate and refresh their menus.” D

www.3663.co.uk

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A tasty success McDonald’s Austria continues to prove that regular innovation and an understanding of its customers can go a long way towards the development and success of its brand

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B

eing one of the most recognisable brands in the world, McDonald’s is a familiar sight in over 100 countries, and that is no less true in Austria where the company has opened 194 branches since its first restaurant was opened on Vienna’s Schwarzenbergplatz in 1977. Last year, these restaurants made 562 million euros in sales to 158 million customers, provided work for 9500 employees, including 100 newly created jobs, and invested 150 million euros into continued development for the company in Austria. McDonald’s Austria’s main innovative focus has been about the customer experience by remodelling the stores for a simpler and more efficient service, and introducing a new ordering app and setting up a new delivery

service around Vienna. As well as this it continues to develop its menu and remains committed to its corporate social responsibility.

The remodelling of all restaurants across Austria has been underway for the last six years and has been run alongside the opening of new stores.

Since Food Chain last featured the company three years ago, it has opened a further 15 branches and plans to open a further three by the end of this year, the first of which will be in the town of Traun in Upper Austria. The remodelling itself consists of a new kitchen and service concept where the customer can order and pay via the QuickMac app, self order terminal or cashier desk and then collect their order at a separate counter. A further development, one that the company is keen to promote,

McDonald’s Austria

Self order terminal

is that “every burger is made ‘fresh for you’ on demand”, according to Andreas Schmidlechner, MD of McDonald’s Austria.

The App, QuickMac, is a significant aspect of McDonald’s current development plan. As customers are becoming increasingly connected through their smartphones, it is an important step to integrate this into the service offered in-store at restaurants.

McDonald’s Austria is one of the first countries in the world to develop and launch this service to its customers.

It allows the customer to order and pay via their phone to be collected at either McDrive or in-store thus reducing waiting times and offering a better customer experience. This app as been in place for over a year and has proven to be very successful. For those

customers without the app they still have the choice once in store to order via a self-service terminal, or with a cashier, with the goal to providing a more efficient service.

Another area where McDonald’s Austria is using technology to enhance the customer experience is through its online McDelivery scheme that launched in summer 2014 across 23 stores in Vienna. Despite the service still being in its youth, Andreas emphasises that “feedback is very positive as people appreciate our fast service and the quality of our products” and went on to explain that the company is currently considering offering the service in other urban areas throughout Austria.

What is clear is that McDonald’s Austria is using its knowledge and experience of the Austrian market to

deliver a continually developing and adaptive service to its customers.

Part of the McDonald’s Corporation’s strategy is to deliver locally-relevant restaurant experiences to customers and be an integral part of the communities it serves and this is evident in McDonald’s Austria’s operations. A big part of this is the way the company is developing its menu to engage in its social responsibility strategy within Austria. All food development for McDonald’s Austria is subject to market research and tasting, and is carried out in-house to ensure new items are developed in line with its own standards. New to the menu is the Grand Royal burger, described by Andreas as: “A next-level burger with top, high quality ingredients which will be on the menu all year round alongside one or two changing variations.” What is

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McDonald’s Austria OSI Food Solutions Austria GmbH & Co KG OSI Food Solutions Austria GmbH & Co KG is offering a broad product range consisting of meat products for McDonald’s Austria as well as for other divisions of the McDonald’s Group in Europe. The production and distribution programme includes the product groups ‘Beef’ (e.g., Hamburger and Hamburger Royal) and ‘Chicken’ (e.g., Chicken Patty Value and Chicken Patty Premiere). In 2014, OSI Food Solutions Austria GmbH & Co KG delivered approximately 21,000 tons to McDonald’s, thereof 8300 tons to the Austrian market. The first production of hamburger started in 1977 in Linz, and the location in Enns was established in 1990.

OSI Food Solutions Austria GmbH & Co KG is focusing on the production of high quality and innovative products and is supporting constant new product development – for example, the new Grand Royal Burger with 100 per cent meat from the Austrian Alpenregion.

significant about the burger is that it only uses 100 percent Austrian beef. Andreas explains that the company makes “regional commitment for the Grand Royal and use ‘Alpenrind’”. Alpenrind is a type of beef that can only come from three agricultural regions in Austria, therefore customers can be assured that they are eating locally sourced meat and McDonald’s Austria can make a significant economic contribution to the local farmers.

Local sourcing

The Kogler family from Upper Austria, one of McDonald’s Austria’s M-Cattle farmers

bösch bösch air-conditioning equipment offers cost-effective operation. When designing a unit bösch doesn‘t just look at the capital investment costs. This is because the operating costs exceed the pure cost of purchase within just a few years. Designing an appropriate solution for the McDonald’s Restaurants in Austria the bösch integrated air-conditioning units were born. bösch integrated air-conditioning units are supplied fully wired and operational, with heating, cooling and I&C technology. Even when the solutions are virtually the same, we are capable of accommodating even the slightest modifications. This is your guarantee for low operation costs and a perfect and healthy airquality for your customers and employees.

Working with Austrian farmers is something the company is especially proud of, currently working with 40,000 of the 200,000 farmers in the country. It buys most of its ingredients from these farmers including beef, potatoes, eggs, milk, flour and salad, and it ensures that most of these products are decorated with the AMA quality seal. Ten years ago the company set up a special quality assurance programme for all beef farmers; called M-Cattle the programme currently has 11,000 farmers signed up and serves to indicate McDonald’s commitment to responsibility. In a society where customers are becoming increasingly aware of business’ role in society it is crucial that McDonald’s can engage responsibly. Not only is it providing quality, safe produce to its customers but is operating within the national interest to use locally sourced ingredients.

McDonald’s Austria as a company represents the values of the McDonald’s corporation. The strategy to cater to the needs of the local customer base is critical for a global brand to survive

in over 100 countries and McDonald’s Austria is proving that this understanding of its customers is key to continual growth.

It isn’t just a steady commitment to opening new stores around the country that has provided the company with its success but its commitment to providing a quality customer experience, keeping up-to-date with technological trends and maintaining its social responsibility. As a brand the success and world leading position of McDonald’s is irrefutable, but the company in Austria remains aware that this position is only maintainable through continued investment and innovation. When asked about where he saw the company in five years time, Andreas answered, “still being the number one burger in town”, and as long as the company maintains its current performance it looks set to achieve this. D

www.mcdonalds.at

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Global eating In every single dish it creates, KK Fine Foods adds its most important ingredient…passion

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K

K is a passionate, fast moving business built on family values and integrity with a forward thinking corporate focus. Established in 1987 in the kitchen of its founder and CEO Leyla Edwards it now employs in excess of 250 people, priding itself on a commitment to foodservice, retail and catering sectors. “The ethos of the company is that we create food that you would make at home, that has always been a key passion,” says Samir Edwards, managing director.

As a UK award-winning supplier of frozen food and ready meals to pubs and wholesalers, the business has

Samir Edwards

become a recognised manufacturer of high quality meat, fish and vegetarian meal solutions. “We began operating as an artisan style business, making everything by hand, with good, rustic, chunky looking vegetables and a real home cooked taste, and we continue to maintain that within what we do.

There has been a lot of focus in terms of product process and how we develop products, aiming at recreating a big kitchen, rather than looking at it as mass production. This is key to the business, we are all about food and focus our energy on making sure that we can produce the best quality products,” explains Samir.

KK Fine Foods

‘

For us, it is all about relationships and delivering what you say you are going to deliver.

As a family owned business, there is a lot more passion, a lot more energy, and ultimately care and attention

The unbroken record of growth since the business began highlights the company’s commitment to quality.

“Developing and delivering a fantastic product ensures we are used time and again by our core customer base,” adds Samir. Working with many of the major food service brands in the market today, KK employs a dedicated team of account managers and development chefs, allowing the organisation to remain ahead of the game in product development and innovation, working in line with its desire to not simply be a manufacturer, but a passionate creator.

That essence of creation is still

very much an obvious element to the business today, as Samir points out: “Innovation is key, and even with commoditised products it is still important to innovate and take to the next level, both with ingredients used, and the cooking process.” One of its most popular dishes remains its lasagne, with recipes to suit all types, and its commitment to producing a fully baked Al Forno product in both individual and multi-portion format, giving a traditional finish. “We pride ourselves on this product, which has grown to become our biggest category range, for which we use some of the finest Italian ingredients.

“If you rest on your laurels, you are very quickly going to get over taken, and that has led us to introducing some unique processes into our business, including our sous vide capability, which is very innovative in the market place,” he continues. The technique, which has been the secret of great chefs worldwide for decades, involves cooking food in vacuumsealed pouches submerged in a water bath held at a precisely controlled temperature.

This method eliminates guesswork and allows its customers to cook foods with incomparable taste and texture: steak perfectly cooked edge-to-edge, juicy tender chicken breasts, and ribs with the meat literally falling off the bone.

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KK Fine Foods

“We put a lot of energy into how we launch products, using a large process team to achieve results as a menu driven business. We need to be very much focused on that element of the job with the ambition to take an idea from the kitchen to produce a quality end result,” points out Samir.

The process behind food development begins with the new product development team, creating dishes with the aid of market research to determine current trends. By undertaking a great deal of investigation before developing a brief with a client, KK is able to be much more proactive on developments, as he continues: “Twelve months ago there was no demand for Korean curry, but through remaining at the forefront and predicting the development we have been right on the money in terms of the timing of the product, and the feedback has been that it’s been one of the best products available.”

Having just completed a £4.5 million extension to the main factory with new production lines, the business is able to vastly improve its capacity and efficiency as using the additional capacity to cater for the growth that the business is seeing with its current client base. “It’s one of the best manufacturing sites in the country, which has been built to a very high spec.

“Along with that we have also made significant investment in personnel, employing a number of key people to take us forward as the business continues to grow,” explains Samir.

Developing strong and long lasting

relationships that work to support the company’s growth is important from many aspects, particularly so with the innovative aspect of product development. Concluding, Samir highlights: “For us, it is all about relationships and delivering what you say you are going to deliver. As a family

owned business, there is a lot more passion, a lot more energy, and ultimately care and attention. Building upon our experience within the food business, our aim is that clients look to us to develop solutions, and that we are always their first point of call for every brief.” D

www.kkfinefoods.co.uk

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London luxury

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square continues to build on the results of its now well-established Michelin Starred Gordon Ramsay restaurant

M Media wall

Lobster, Tiger Prawn & Salmon dumpling

maze chefs

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arriott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide hospitality company with a heritage that can be traced to a root beer franchise, first opened in Washington DC in 1927 by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott. The introduction of food to the menu was the first step in what would become an ongoing expansion of the company, which today continues to benefit from family leadership. With over 4100 lodging properties in 72 countries and territories around the world, including 60 operating in the UK and Ireland, the business reports annual revenues of $13 billion.

A well-crafted blend of contemporary chic with classic luxury, the five-star London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square is located in fashionable Mayfair, just seconds from Park Lane and Oxford Street, boasting one of the best addresses in London. In 2009 the hotel was the beneficiary of a multi million pound refurbishment programme, which transformed the premises from a grand establishment to an ultra-luxurious property. The project included the creation of 45 executive rooms and suites (12 with a private garden); 92 standard deluxe and superior bedrooms; an exclusive Club Lounge and an award winning cocktail bar – The Luggage Room.

The hotel’s major refurbishment was

The Luggage Room undertaken under the watchful eye of United Designers who took all aspects of the hotel forward to the modern day with sensitivity and style in a bold design statement for a branded hotel group.

Originally built as a stately townhouse, and inspired by the grand residences of Mayfair, London Marriott Grosvenor Square fuses contemporary chic with classic luxury, offering guests today unique features such as fireplaces, fourposter beds, rose gardens and oak floors.

The hotel also maximised the building’s footprint by housing new meeting rooms, Club Lounge, gymnasium and cloakrooms in a disused basement car park. A new striking double-entranced marble staircase now leads down from the lobby to this reclaimed space.

As a result of this innovative approach, London Marriott Grosvenor Square has some of the largest pillar free meeting space in London: The Westminster Ballroom can accommodate up to 1000 guests for a reception or 900 for a meeting, offering 765 square metres of uninterrupted space, which can be divided into three sections for the ultimate flexibility.

London Marriott Grosvenor Square Located on one of London’s most historic squares, guests are able to discover the Capital and the prominent Mayfair district, whilst experiencing the polished accommodation combination of traditional elegance with modern comfort. In an ideal setting for blending work and play, the hotel’s historic past as a grand townhouse now welcomes guests with five-star luxuries designed amongst a variety of spacious rooms. In keeping with the elegant accommodation offer, the choice of restaurants completes the well-rounded offer.

The two restaurants, maze and maze Grill sit alongside each other within the hotel. Michelin starred maze serves French food with Asian influences in tasting-sized dishes, whilst maze Grill takes its inspiration from the informal

Bone in Rib-eye Both restaurants are part of the Gordon Ramsay Group portfolio, which consists of more than 25 restaurants globally, including seven Michelin stars.

Available for breakfast, lunch and dinner, maze Grill takes its inspiration from the informal style of Manhattan steakhouses.

The menu features an exquisite selection of different breeds and cuts of beef cooked over coal, alongside a number

style of New York’s grill restaurants.

The award-winning menu at maze combines French and Asian cuisine for an innovative tasting experience, whilst the sushi bar offers the freshest selection of sushi and sashimi, which guests can choose to order individually or as part of the sushi tasting menu. The cocktail bar also takes centre stage, serving up a wealth of classics with a twist – from salt foam margaritas to cherry wood smoked Manhattans and Cosmopolitans with yuzu. maze also offers private dining options, the Hampton and Somerton Rooms, which seat up to 40 guests each, and the Dalby Room seats ten.

Inside the restaurant, choose to dine at maze View with unobstructed views into the kitchen, seating up to 12. Or for an extra special dining experience, book the Kitchen Table in the heart of the busy kitchen, offering behind the scenes action for up to six guests.

of other grilled meat and fish dishes. In addition to delivering the very best in grill and steaks, the restaurant draws inspiration from its sister restaurant

and offers a selection of fresh sushi and sashimi. Presented with a warm New York welcome, expert advice on the wide range of breeds and cuts ensures customers are satisfied with their meal.

The beef on the menu includes Aberdeen Angus, dry aged 28 days, Dedham Vale dry aged 31 days; USDA Prime dry aged 32 days; and Wagyu ‘9th grade’ wet aged 49 days - allowing diners to specify their preference and enjoy a meal cooked to their exact tastes.

The finished result of the multi-million pound investment is a hotel that offers guests striking accommodation paired with restaurant and menu selections that provides a truly unique experience. As the hotel celebrates its 30th anniversary, the building moves under new management, inspiring future change and development, which it hopes will lead to another three decades of exciting and fulfilling times ahead. D www.marriottgrosvenorsquare.com

Guest Room

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Shake the tree

With over a decade of experience, Sundance Partners LLP is dedicated to supplying the city of London with a new standard in luxury, fresh juices

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F

rom its state-of-the-art factory in London’s New Covent Garden, Sundance Partners is proud to provide its clients with delicious, refreshing and 100 per cent natural fruit juices. Its products are carefully crafted with premium ingredients that are selected from trusted suppliers in a journey that began over ten years ago, as head of business development Estefania Arrocet explains: “Sundance was founded by two partners who had identified a niche in the market for fresh juice for the catering industry.

They discovered a really good apple juice from a local farmer in the UK and believed in that product enough to take it to London, where there was a lot of room in the market for exceedingly high-quality fresh juices for the hotel industries and restaurants.”

Following the success for the new business venture the company soon began to develop its own juices and recipes. In 2006 Sundance Partners moved to its current New Covent Garden location where it continues to produce fresh juices, processing some 50 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables per week.

Today all of the juices provided by

Sundance Partners are fully produced in-house and the company’s range has evolved from a single apple juice to a tantalising array of premiere juices and fruit purees. “We mainly produce the typical breakfast juices such as orange, pink grapefruit, pineapple or cranberry as well as lemon and lime juices for kitchens. We work closely with the bar industry too and supply more specialised juices such as red pepper, ginger or bergamot juice and a wide range of fruit purees for cocktail development,” Estefania elaborates.

“We also have a line of exotic juices, which encompasses everything you can imagine from banana and pink guava to lychee with berries and mint.”

The range of juices offered by the company is tailored to meet the varying and demanding trends of London’s busy hotel, restaurant and bar industries and as such, Sundance Partners works in close co-operation with its suppliers and clients to ensure that it delivers the right recipes that embody the highest quality.

“The juices themselves are developed in response to what the sector wants,” Estefania says. “Clients call us and say that they would like vegetable juices for example, because customers are demanding them, or they will request a particular tropical juice to match the style of cuisine that they are serving. We have a production team that takes care to ensure that the quantities of the fruit in the juice are correct to make it great and once we are happy with it we send it top chefs, bar staff and mixologists to get their feedback. Therefore our recipes really come from the trends of the capital’s food industry and specifically the leaders of these trends.”

As Sundance Partners continues to establish itself as a leading brand in the delivery of high-quality juices, the company is already looking at new avenues to enable it to capture a wider section of the market as well as new products matching the latest developments in the fresh juice industry, such as the growing demand for coldpressed juices.

Through the application of intense pressure during the final processing phase, cold-pressing inactivates pathogens that would otherwise harm

Sundance Partners the juice meaning that it is possible to ship juice that remains safe, fresh and tastes excellent for weeks instead of a few days. Sundance Partners has taken an interest in the cold-press technique and through the acquisition of coldpress machines the business is currently readying itself to bring its leading knowhow to this emerging market sector.

“Cold-press is very interesting and is certainly an important trend within the market. However, the process does have its complications, because it is still a very expensive product,” Estefania explains. “We will introduce cold-press at a suitable price point soon but there are several areas to consider beforehand, however this is certainly something exciting that we are working on.”

In conjunction with its on-going

reach through the introduction of a

development of exciting new juices and movement into new manufacturing techniques, Sundance Partners is also planning to diversify its market

home delivery service powered by a new ecommerce venture in the near future, as Estefania reveals: “Sundance Partners presently delivers to around

400 clients on a daily basis, these are businesses such as hotels, bars and restaurants so we already has the logistical knowhow to deliver to whoever we want to. Therefore we think that it makes sense to make home deliveries and plan to have ecommerce and home delivery operational in the next year or so.”

As the capital’s demand for cuttingedge cuisine continues to soar, Sundance Partners is on hand to deliver the right juice at the best possible quality for clients old and new, as Estefania concludes: “We find that in the hotel industry for example, that there is still a lot of concentrated orange juice around - even in high quality hotels. What we are trying to say is that in London concentrated juice is not really acceptable, especially with the current trends within the food and beverage industry. Standards are very high at present and we want to be the company that produces highest quality juices.” D

www.sundancepartners.com

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Innovation and

success

Scandinavian food solutions leader Geia Food provides a one-stop-shop for both suppliers and customers, and is experiencing strong growth in the current market

G

eia Food came into existence on the 1st of January 2014 following the merger of Danish companies A Frost, established in 1997, and Mortensen Food, 2003, forming one of Scandinavia’s leading food suppliers.

Based in Aalborg, Denmark, the company also has one more office in Denmark (Skælskør – Sealand) plus offices in Sweden and Finland from which it is able to serve the entire market. In the merger, both companies were able to bring a wealth of experience and long lasting relationships within the industry to create the leading company it is today. Discussing the move, CEO Claus Ravnsbo says: “The two companies have basically had the same business model being a solutions provider towards the Scandinavian retailers, bringing value to the customers by offering innovative products and concepts at a competitive price. It has been a perfect match.”

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Claus Ravnsbo

Geia serves the market across its main product groups: poultry, fish and seafood, fresh and frozen convenience, grocery, beverages, wines and spirits, and ice cream. Operating as a supplier Claus explains: “We have no production.

Both companies represent best-in-class suppliers in the Scandinavian market.”

Most significantly however, the company markets itself as a solutions provider, offering expertise in all areas in order to bring a product from conception to market. Geia’s experience and position at the forefront of the Scandinavian market enables it to deploy first class market insight and innovation to bring the right products on to the market at the right price. Its wealth of supplier relationships and expertise in packaging design and logistics, mean that it is able to source, market and distribute these products in the best possible way.

Ultimately, the company’s standing with both suppliers and customers means that it is able to bring innovative and

‘

Geia Food

As far as the future is concerned, Geia Food is clear it wants to continue offering the leading service it already provides

valued products to the market at the right times, at the right price and in the most effective way.

“At Geia Food we fully understand the dynamics of the retail trade and strive to be a solution provider for purchasing departments,” expresses Claus. “Based on our close co-operation with all major Scandinavian retailers and taking into account our broad product portfolio we can provide our customers with a one-stop-shopping solution. We have dedicated key account management in place with a local presence and the customer in clear focus, coupled with a strong logistical platform with day-to-day deliveries all over Scandinavia. We are taking care of the whole process from idea to shop launch.”

In Geia’s strategy to bring the best-in-class products to Scandinavia it has successfully managed to cast its net further afield than the local area. Particularly, within the grocery segment the company is committed

to bringing world foods to the home market, with a strong speciality being Italian sourced ingredients such as olives, pasta, oil and pesto amongst other delicacies. Amongst this Italian offering sit three company developed brands. Pasta di Maria is Geia’s fresh pasta range produced and sourced from a family-owned company near Milan.

Alongside the core wheat flour pasta, the company also offers wholemeal pasta. Complementing this fresh offering is the Lorenzo brand which provides traditional, white, wholemeal and organic dried pasta produced in Northern Italy’s wheat valley, and Cucina brings a range of Italian oils and ingredients to the market.

Innovative ranges Its convenience segment also looks to the global market to bring innovations into the Scandinavian market as well.

“Our Nice’n Easy range of frozen Thai and Indian ready meals is a beautiful

product concept,” highlights Claus. “All products are produced in Thailand, without taste enhancers and with a genuine taste profile. The head chefs of the famous Rang Mahal restaurant in Bangkok develop the recipes. In all of Scandinavia we sell millions of dishes per year – we have a 40ft container coming into Europe every other day all year round.”

Outlining Geia’s other brands, it has developed Freezy Monsters, a range of ice-lollies marketed to children and containing no artificial colours or additives; Finest Seafood, an offering of the best quality smoked and frozen seafood; Victor’s and Julius Duck, which bring fresh and frozen duck and poultry to the table all year round; and One Energy Drink.

The range of brands not only illustrates its sourcing expertise, but also the in-depth understanding of the market demands and marketing quality.

Running parallel to its brand and product portfolio is the service Geia Food offers and the responsibility it acts within.

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The company lays out a three-point responsibility strategy, which includes the way it deals with both the people it works with and the food that it handles.

Firstly it promises to act in good taste to its staff, customers, suppliers and wider community, making sure it is honest and responsible. Secondly, is its approach to food waste with a vow not to let any of its food go to waste. Upon approach of expiration dates food is taken from the warehouse and given to the Danish food bank, a not-for-profit organisation that delivers food supplies to charities across the country. Finally, the company adheres to food safety, operating within quality standards to meet all declarations and food handling regulations in all regions.

The merger between the two original companies in 2014 sets out the company’s strategy as one that sees acquisition as a significant opportunity, however, it is clear that organic growth is

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also a key part of this expansion strategy.

“The market is always challenging,” notes Claus. “However, we have kept to our strategy and by it increased our sales in Denmark and the rest of the Scandinavian countries. In February 2014 we established the office in Helsinki and since then we have seen a tripling of our business in the

Finnish market. The new office in Sweden also means that we are closer to our main Swedish customers and can service them much better in terms of close key account management.

With our new team in place we are very confident that our business in Sweden will grow rapidly over the coming years.”

This organic growth very much defines future potential opportunities, Claus continues: “We have positioned ourselves as having one point of entry to the Scandinavian markets for our suppliers and

Geia Food therefore it is obvious that an office in Norway will be relevant at some point in the future. Today we service the Norwegian market from Denmark.”

As far as the future is concerned, Geia Food is clear it wants to continue offering the leading service it already provides.

In a recent press release Claus positively forecasted the Finish business to further double over the next couple of years, and expects a similar result in Sweden over the next three. “In the short term we want to keep focusing on increasing sales throughout our complete portfolio, and continue offering our suppliers a unique point of entry into the Scandinavian market,” he concludes. “In the longer term it is about understanding our customers more and bringing them value in every step we take.”

With a turnover of around 988 million DKK generated from 55 employees, it is clear that Geia Food does hold a competitive position within the

Scandinavian market. The success can be attributed towards the relationships it has established with both suppliers and customers combined with the detailed and comprehensive knowledge the company has of the market in which it operates. By continuing to

stay tuned into the customer’s needs and market demands, Geia Food will be able to develop and deliver the best value innovations to the market, and therefore secure its future as it continues to expand across the region.D

www.geiafood.com

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A culinary

delight

Passion is the driving force behind family biscuit producer Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits as it establishes itself in the ever popular and trending fine food market 52 www.foodchain-magazine.com

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ounded in 2010 after months of experimentation with flavours and textures, mother and daughter Allie and Ella Thomas are now experiencing extraordinary growth with Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits. Producing savoury biscuits to be eaten with ‘deli counter deliciousness’, the company is bringing something new to the market and hitting trends. After three years of hard work from kitchen table to an approved converted garage in their back garden, the company partnered with established biscuit distributor Arden’s and is well on its way to a successful future.

Talking to FoodChain, Allie and Ella explain what makes Cradoc’s biscuits different: “The thing that sets us apart from anyone else is that we make our biscuits with a very high vegetable content. We’re not quite like other biscuits because we have developed the process to include/ mashed up vegetables, which no one else does,” says Allie.

“We’ve gone for quirky flavour combinations and we’re really pushing on the trends, really looking at what people like to eat now,” adds Ella. “We absolutely love food, so it’s important for us to create something delicious, and

‘

Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits

We approach our ingredients not simply as cooks or bakers, but as people who love to experiment with food and who can’t help but do things differently

Allie and Ella Thomas

then try to get that out for our customers as well.”

The biscuits are marketed by Cradoc’s as ‘culinary alchemy’ denoting the amount of experimentation that goes into creating the biscuits. “We are very passionate about our food,” expresses Allie, “and that reflects in the product.

Although we’ve only got six lines out, we’ve got 36 recipes.” From this comes an attention to matching flavours with particular foods, in particular artisan cheeses. As Ella explains: “We really have tailored these crackers to suit particular cheeses. For instance, we make a cracker called Pear and Earl

Grey Tea, which is fantastic with goat’s cheese. We’ve put in a couple of bags of blitzed up pears, so there is about 30 per cent fresh ingredients per box, and then brewed a teapot of Earl Grey. The sweetness of the pear with the tea and the cheese is a perfect combination.”

However, as Allie continues, the biscuits will go with a range of things such as charcuterie, fruit and vegetables, and they actively encourage their customers to continue experimenting. Other flavours produced are a vegan, fat free celery and spinach cracker, which Allie informs goes really well with hummus and salsa; beetroot and garlic; leek and Caerphilly; walnut and Perl Las cheese and chilli, garlic and ginger. With a love of superfoods, ingredients such as turmeric, beetroot and spinach are prominent throughout the range.

The company’s main market is gourmet, high-end food halls and delis, and it is to these independent customers that it attributes its current success: “The independent delis have supported us from day one and we have a really good relationship with pretty much all of them,” highlights Ella. The company has also established strong relationships with British distributors such as Cotswold Fayre, Hider Foods and Castell Howell.

“These are brilliant people,” notes Allie.

“When you start a business with a good idea, the best thing in the world is to have the right wholesalers to take your product to market. The secret to life as a producer is listening to what the customer wants and responding in the best way.”

It is a secret that appears to have paid off as well, with the company now supplying biscuits to 177 Waitrose stores across the country. To cope with this increase in demand the duo set out to find a suitable partner to facilitate the company’s expansion plans, and in September last year it moved its production to Arden’s Fine Food’s stateof-the-art, part solar-powered bakery in Coventry. Allie notes: “We worked phenomenally hard to get through Christmas, but during that time not only did Arden’s produce the rush – which was massive – but also implemented systems to achieve BRC, which we were awarded in Grade A in April 2015. They recognised our passion and how much we had put into it, but also the quality of everything we do.”

In terms of the future, Allie and Ella are very enthusiastic but remain clear about what they need to do. “There are a lot of opportunities in exports, catching new trends across Europe, but also still in the UK,” highlights Ella. “It feels like we need

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TasteTest FoodChain Product Review The Taste Test Team were very impressed with Cradoc’s crackers, with the beetroot and garlic flavour variety coming out on top. These were heaped with praise, and unanimously described as ‘delicious’. The appearance and texture of the crackers was also a talking point, with their thinness and crunch making the ideal foil to both soft and harder cheeses.

The variety of flavours available also scored highly. “These would look so lovely with a cheeseboard,” concluded one tester, referring to the beetroot and garlic variety. “They’re not only lovely to look at but they really enhance the flavour of the cheese.”

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Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits

Allison Murray Design Allison Murray runs a successful solo brand design agency from the Cotswolds, creating and revitalising brands. She has unrivalled branding experience from running some of London’s foremost design agencies. Past clients include Cadbury’s, United Biscuits, Coca Cola, Marks & Spencer’s and Sainsbury’s.

Allison worked closely with Allie Thomas to invent the identity of Cradocs, which was inspired by Allie’s artistic nature, her creative flair for baking with natural ingredients and Welsh background. The magical nature of the brand runs through the identity and summarised in ‘The Alchemy of Cradocs’.

to get more products out, we haven’t reached everybody in the UK. Hopefully Waitrose will give us a good boost in terms of this, but we also now have the time to really get behind the existing products and market the brand to get it out there.” The company would also like to improve its supply chain, something that it hasn’t had a chance to do up until now, moving from British wholesalers straight to British producers.

What is obvious is that the mother and daughter company will continue doing what they do with the same level of passion and enjoyment. “We approach our ingredients not simply

as cooks or bakers, but as people who love to experiment with food and who can’t help but do things differently,” concludes Allie. Whilst they have plans to take part in food shows across the country, including the BBC Good Food market, they remain loyal to their roots and still use the local Brecon farmer’s market to trial new products and engage with customers. With a unique product and a commitment to quality, the passion contained within the company looks set to continue and so does the success it has so far enjoyed. D

www.cradocssavoury biscuits.co.uk

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A

generous serving

S

Belgian dairy company Olympia has established a strong reputation in the European market, and now looks further afield for its high quality products 56 www.foodchain-magazine.com

ince taking over a small dairy facility in 1946, the Van Impe family have transformed the Belgian company into a key player in the European dairy industry.

Unable to compete with the large retail chains on price, the company focuses its attention on quality and continuous development with business partners to ensure its success. Serving the retail, industrial and professional trades across Europe and emerging Asian markets, Olympia primarily produces fresh and UHT milk and cream products, desserts, rice puddings and ice cream bases.

“Olympia is focused on two business divisions, in which it is a specialist,” explains joint MD Luc Van Impe. “We have the UHT cream side, in which we produce from one litre to over a thousand litres and export all over the world. On the other side is our division

of desserts and fillings, which mainly goes to retail and the professional food market. One of our main strengths is that we can develop products with our partners according to what they want from us.”

In terms of its industrial offerings Olympia has a successful range of fivekilogram butter blocks and skimmed milk concentrates. “We sell a lot of these concentrates to the Danone group in Belgium, who we have a joint venture with, and also some customers in Spain, Italy and Greece who want the quality of our skimmed milk concentrate to be used in their yoghurt and cheese production,” highlights Luc. Alongside this it also works with food service suppliers to produce desserts, fillings, fresh creams and milk, and develops new recipes as part of this.

Developed around five years ago is the company’s liquid UHT ice cream mix. With initial success in Olympia’s home markets, including popularity in Italy and the IKEA chain, the company was keen to expand the product. “We started thinking we needed to produce more and with different flavours,” notes Luc. “A few years ago we acquired a factory in Holland that was producing over a million kilograms a year, and we have integrated this with our own production line in Herfelingen so that now we are developing and producing over a dozen different recipes to be exported throughout Europe.”

Market conditions for Olympia are positive despite a number of challenges.

“It’s a bit uncertain,” says Luc, “but a lot of traders are quite optimistic for the third and fourth quarters of this year, and we’re hoping that more countries like China will come back into the market and start buying new products.

I think the rate of the euro against the dollar is very helpful at the moment, its getting lower day by day and this is good for European export. We believe prices will rise a bit in Q3 and 4, but for the moment until the end of June it will be very difficult to pay good prices to our farmers.”

The industry also faces a number of challenges in the form of competition.

“We have to deal with big retailers who have a lot of purchasing power,”

Olympia NV he continues. “It is important for us therefore, to have a strategy to offer products that are unique and are specialist so that we can protect ourselves from larger competition. We cannot necessarily compete on price, so we have to make a difference with our quality.”

This focus on quality very much sits at the heart of Olympia’s business, and is evident throughout its supply chain.

The company is IFS and ISO 9001 certified, as well as operating under HACCP principles and detailed tracking and tracing to ensure the best quality products are produced. On top of this are the strong relationships the company has established with its suppliers as Luc outlines: “We directly source from our own farmers. With most of them we

production and help them achieve the quality we need.” In conjunction with this it also looks for long-term contracts within the wider market to source the best quality creams.

Over recent years the company has been very active in developing new products but as it looks ahead at the next year Luc is keen to shift its focus

have relationships older than 25 years, so we are quite confident with them.

This is a very important source for us and we work with them to develop their

towards optimising the production lines.

For example, on two of its current lines the company will be expanding from two shifts to three in order to make better

use of the lines and keep up with demand.

In the longer term expansion becomes a key part of the strategic vision: “I think that in Belgium with our desserts we have the market share that we want,” concludes Luc. “It will be very difficult to grow this further. So we are now looking over the border into the Netherlands, which is already successful, and France.

For all UHT products we will be looking at China and other regions in the Far and Middle East, because we have some good strategic positions in Europe already, and think it is important to develop this all over the world.” Twenty five per cent of Olympia’s business is in export, and with less than five per cent exported to the Far East Luc views it as a significant opportunity. To achieve it Olympia is already developing products with a Japanese company, and is a regular participant at food exhibitions across Europe and Dubai. D

www.olympiadairy.be

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Delicate

delights

Applying passion to its products, Boncolac delivers palate pleasing fine foods to a continually growing industry

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oncolac Ltd is the UK subsidiary of Boncolac SA in France, which in turn is part of the milk giant Sodiaal Group, a business managing a turn over of approximately five billion euros annually. Boncolac, with a long history in the production of premium private and own label frozen desserts and savoury products, is a leader in its segment in Europe and exports to more than 25 countries in almost every continent.

At the beginning of 2015 the Group acquired Fromages de France Ltd, an independent UK based importer of Boncolac’s products, effectively establishing Bonolac Ltd within the country. “The acquisition came as a result of a long and fruitful collaboration between Boncolac SA and FDF during the past 12 years,” explains Zakaria Elrhzari, UK sales manager, continuing: “We have always shown great interest in the UK market and were keen to progress from the solid base that FDF has built during its years of operations.

When the opportunity presented itself we embraced it, in line with our strategy to fully integrate the UK market and grow our operation in what we see as a

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challenging but yet rewarding market.”

Whilst the move is in its early stages and any conclusions would be deemed as premature, there is an air of confidence and optimism about the venture, reflecting the close relations held with FDF for the last few years.

“This venture will provide proximity by bringing our products and services even closer to the clients we have been working with. It will provide increased convenience and will also permit us to control all aspects of the local operation thus provide a higher standard of service,” highlights Zakaria. Through an open and clear view on the local market, the company will be able to occupy grounds as a point of contact to any potential clients to facilitate access to its premium products.

“We are indeed aiming to both strengthen our presence in the retail world whilst commencing collaborations within the food service industry. We have a strong portfolio of products that can add great value to our potential clients and we have recently started what we consider to be a fantastic collaboration with 3663 who have listed a good range of our delicious tarts in a collaboration

Boncolac points out: “At the heart of our range is the classic Tarte au Citron, with a flavour profile quite different from that on the continent. In fact all our fruit tartes are firm favourites, particularly the Apple tartes, which use fresh apples, peeled and cored just prior to bake.”

Constantly researching new trends and ideas in the UK market, the company has laid witness to a market that embraces change and innovation.

As Boncolac and its management

look towards an exciting future, Zakaria concludes: “We use all the classic tools such as market data, attending trade fairs, watching fine dining cookery programmes and of course eating out, to ensure our products are well placed to serves changing trends and growing demand. We see Boncolac in the next five years as one of the major premium suppliers of frozen desserts and savoury solutions to both retail and food service industry.” D

www.boncolac.fr

that looks very promising,” points out Zakaria. Furthermore, the company is in discussions with other potential clients, regarding contracts that will come to fruition in the near future. At the heart of its strategy are products that are oriented towards the food service industry and the businesses long involvement in the field around the globe has permitted it to innovate and pioneer in catering solutions that have satisfied the most demanding chefs and buyers.

Today the company continues to work on developing products that perform but also provide a variety of choice.

“Innovation is at the heart of what we do, and at Boncolac, we believe that developing new products is vital to staying ahead. However we also believe that innovation should not be to the detriment of quality, as for us they go hand-in-hand. Our teams are constantly developing and researching new products and looking to set new trends with the aim of creating authentic products with carefully selected ingredients,” explains Zakaria.

Operating across different regions of the world, the norms of taste vary somewhat, and as a result, some of the products have been adjusted to suit the local palate. Commenting Zakaria highlights: “This is part of our proximity and R&D work to achieve a customer-oriented product. A product that will perform is essential but also one that will be at its peak of perceived quality in this particular market. This of course happens with the help of local buyers and product developers from our multiple collaborations.” With such a broad range available, to describe the products would eat into the dinner hour, but mentioning one success, he

The Basque region, where Boncolac’s main dessert factory (Bonloc) is located

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A taste of the East

Chadha Oriental Foods has already earned success and a strong reputation in the UK’s ethnic market, and the company is now eyeing the mainstream market as an exciting opportunity to provide further success for some of the Far East’s leading brands

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ounded over 30 years ago, Chadha Oriental Foods has grown to become a leading importer and supplier of authentic oriental foods to the UK’s retail, wholesale, food service and industrial markets. The company is part of the Jamaican Grace Kennedy Group (active in the Caribbean, US, UK and West Africa), and one of three companies operating under the subsidiary, Grace Foods UK. Its sister companies are Enco Products, founded in 1933 and now one of the UK’s leading Afro-Caribbean food and drink suppliers, and Funnybones Food Services, which has served the UK catering industry with ‘TexMex’ ingredients since 1994.

“We focus on representing leading brands from the Far East and supplying

the UK markets with authentic products and brands,” explains buying director, Faizal Fulat. “In terms of our core customer base, we traditionally serve the Chinese oriental market.” Leading oriental retailers, wholesalers and cash & carries such as Wing Yip, Loon Fung and Hoo Hing are present on Chadha’s client list, which covers the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Faizal also notes the recent growth in ‘mainstream’ popularity: “With supermarkets in the UK now recognising that more ethnic customers are using their stores for their weekly shop, the last five years has seen oriental foods doing very well in this area. Indeed many have created ‘world food’ sections which offer authentic brands to these new consumers. Of course this also

Chadha Oriental Foods

means that non-ethnic consumers walking the aisles are being exposed to such products, and many have a acquired a liking for them.”

The strengths of Chadha in the UK are threefold: reputation, portfolio and service. The company has built up a first-class reputation over its 30-year presence in the market. “Our customers have high expectations from us and this has supported our growth,” adds Faizal.

The second strength lies in the quality of brands present in the company’s portfolio. Chadha has partnered with some of the most well known brands in the Far East, including Yeo’s from Singapore and Malaysia, Nissin – the world’s largest noodle manufacturer, Healthy Boy - Thailand’s leading seasoning sauce brand, IndoMie, Koh-

Kae and Foco, to name but a few.

Chadha’s success has been built upon strong supplier relationships - some standing for over 20 years.

“They’re not just ‘buy and supply’ relationships - our suppliers are our partners,” emphasises Faizal. “They put their faith in us to market and distribute their product effectively in the UK market.”

The third strength securing the company’s competitive position in the market is the service Chadha delivers. “For truly effective sales and distribution throughout the UK and Ireland, customer service has to be at the forefront of business. We provide our customers with a top portfolio of brands and products at competitive prices, and a level of customer service to match,”

highlights Faizal.

These strengths put Chadha in a favourable position to expand its customer base into an increasingly competitive mainstream market. “As we see it,” he continues, “consumers are now becoming more ‘au fait’ with ethnic foods. They’re looking for provenance and quality, and we believe our brands will meet these aspirations.”

Outside of retail, Chadha is also active within the UK’s food service market although, as Faizal explains, the company does not attempt to compete with its own customers. “We ensure that the products are made available to all of our regional wholesalers and cash & carry customers.

Then - utilising our food service database, which includes over 4000 restaurants and takeaways throughout the country - we

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FoodChain The business of food and drink

To advertise in FoodChain magazine please contact: Sales Manager Joe Woolsgrove jwoolsgrove@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Rob Wagner rwagner@schofieldpublishing.co.uk T: +44 (0)1603 274130 | F: +44 (0)1603 274131 www.foodchain-magazine.com

62 www.foodchain-magazine.com

Chadha Oriental Foods DSV DSV began working with the Grace Foods UK Ltd. in 2010, as one of several logistics companies proving import and export services to the various group brands.

Competitive solutions and consistent performance have enabled DSV to now become the sole logistics provider, with an exclusive three year contract to supply air and ocean services to cover the import of products from the Caribbean, Asia, Mexico and the USA.

conduct an active marketing campaign through direct mail and newspaper features. We make sure that chefs and buyers are familiar with the products, and conduct various promotional activities encouraging them to visit the wholesalers. This strategy has really worked well for us.”

Looking forward, Faizal sees a wealth of opportunity in both ethnic and mainstream markets. “Markets are becoming more competitive and this is

only going to continue,” he says. “However I think - with a successful formula that focuses on our brands, expertise and strengths - we are excellently placed to ensure that our customers are served as they require, and that our brands are well supported.”

As for Chadha’s longer-term strategy, Faizal concludes: “Quite simply, it is to grow.” D

www.chadhaorientalfoods. co.uk

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Star

studded

Standing as a flagship for the Hilton brand, London Hilton on Park Lane offers world-class food set in a range of stylish settings across five separate bars and restaurants

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ive star hotel, London Hilton on Park Lane has stood prominently in London’s Mayfair district for over 40 years, over looking Hyde Park. Rising to 28 floors, the hotel’s 453 rooms and 56 suites offer views out over the city taking in many of London’s famous landmarks including Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and Battersea Power Station. With five bars and restaurants, and a clientele from bankers to royalty and A-list celebrities to everyday tourists, the award-winning hotel has established itself as an iconic landmark of luxury in one of the world’s most visited cities.

At the heart of the hotel’s offerings

are its dining venues. Ranging from Trader Vics, an exotic Tiki franchise and home to the Mai Tai cocktail, to Galvin at Windows, the hotel’s famous Michelinstarred restaurant, a variety of tastes are catered for. Sitting on the 28th floor of the hotel and boasting 360-degree panoramic views of the city below, Galvin at Windows has secured a strong position on London’s competitive cuisine landscape. The restaurant has achieved a Michelin star consistently since 2009 and, along with individual members of staff, has been subject to a number of excellence awards over the years. Run by head chef, Joo Won, the restaurant serves seasonal French haute cuisine, and is complemented by its luxury cocktail bar.

Global franchise, Trader Vics, has been a part of the hotel since it opened in 1963. Home of the original Mai Tai cocktail, the Tiki inspired restaurant offers a range of hand crafted cocktails and a menu that fuses Chinese dishes with contemporary continental cuisine.

Overlooked by traditional Tiki carvings, guests can enjoy live music every night whilst sampling the tropical offerings the restaurant serves.

Recipient of Tripadvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for two years running is the hotel’s Podium restaurant and bar, which offers a more relaxed and informal setting for lunch, dinner and afternoon team. Surrounded by a modern and stylish atmosphere, guests can enjoy contemporary, seasonal British cuisine prepared by executive chef, Anthony Marshall. The restaurant is home to the world-famous chocolate afternoon tea, ‘Confessions of a Chocoholic’, which allows its customers to indulge in a variety of scones, cake and fancies all accompanied by chocolate and served on a chocolate plate.

Heading down to the lobby level of the hotel, the CC Bar is one of London’s most elegant champagne bars. Under a vine-inspired ceiling, guests are served exclusive Cuvee Diamant champagne, a range of Pommery champagne and signature champagne cocktails and premium spirits. Extending the hotel’s premium bar portfolio is its exclusive nightclub, Whisky Mist at Zeta.

Renowned worldwide for its super-

London Hilton on Park Lane premium whiskies and opulent décor, the club markets itself as London’s favourite night spot, and is a regular for celebrities and royalty alike. The club is currently undergoing a period of regeneration with a redecoration scheduled in the near future.

Demonstrating the hotel’s catering ability is its Grand Ballroom. With the potential to host up to 1250 guests at a time, the venue is one of London’s largest hotel ballrooms, and regularly serves banquets to such numbers right across the year. Decoration, set up and

Frankonia Bakery Frankonia Bakery offers a wonderful range of bespoke, artisan bread and pastry products to a 5 star clientele in London and across the UK. Frankonia’s customers, such as The Hilton Park Lane appreciates Frankonia’s tailor made service and utilise their product development department to give them breads that are different from mainstream products. Frankonia Bakery is proud to work alongside Anthony Marshall and his team to provide them with the products they need.

food menus are all tailored to the client’s need within the ballroom, ensuring successful and efficiently managed high profile events for any occasion.

Complementing the hotel’s catering facilities are eight meeting rooms for up to 50 guests, well suited for corporate and private events.

Standing testament to the hotel’s outstanding range of dining offerings and facilities is a host of awards and honours. London Hilton on Park Lane was the official headquarter hotel for the International Olympic Committee during the London 2012 Games. It was awarded the Best Awards Venue in 2013 at the ConferenceVenue and Supplier Awards, and has received the Tripadvisor certificate of excellence in 2013 as well. Its business hospitality has also been recognised on a number of occasions being named favourite hotel visited on business in the overseas category by Condé Nast Traveller India

Reader’s in 2012, UK’s Best Business Hotel for the 5th time in 2011 by Business Traveller Magazine and England’s leading business hotel by World Travel Awards Europe in 2009.

Commitment to premium hospitality and luxury settings puts London Hilton on Park Lane on the city’s map for hotel and dining experiences. With a range of world-class cuisine offerings the hotel is well positioned to achieve a future full of the same awards it has been successful enough to achieve in the past. Continuous dedication to keeping its facilities fresh and contemporary is also key to maintaining this success, and the regeneration of Whisky Mist at Zeta illustrates the hotel’s possession of this. As a flagship for the Hilton brand across the world, the hotel on Park Lane represents an attitude entrenched in offering premium quality food and services, on a well managed and efficient level. D

www.parklanehilton.com

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Pleasing the

palate T

Established in 1993 by three brothers, Dina Foods is a privately owned artisan bakery steeped in the traditions of authentic Mediterranean food, on which it continues to build on its successes

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argeting the market through its three departments; bakery, confectionary and savoury the business today employs 180 staff. “In 2009 our business was focused mainly on the development and supply of products to the retail sector, with 85 per cent of our £3 million turnover coming through that channel. Over the past five years we have turned Dina Foods into a £10 million business, where only 30 per cent is within retail and 70 per cent is now from a unique approach within food service,” highlights sales director Vincent Decamps.

Dina Foods main craft comes in the form of new product development (NPD) for a range of customers that include chains such as Benugo, and other major multiples, wholesalers, foodservice, airways and coffee bars throughout the UK. “We also currently trade in 12 European and Scandinavian countries and have become the number one choice for our speciality - bread, and a carrier for the food service industry and food-togo sector,” says Vincent, who also benefits from a 25-year career within the food service industry.

With 81 NPDs established on a weekly basis, each one is specifically chosen to address a market. “We are working closely with leaders of individual segments with the aim of creating a dynamic that is easily capable of recognising ‘the next big thing’, as well as identifying with our customers on multiple assignments to deliver a product that will be rightfully appreciated by the consumer. Through this method we have developed a business that is outside of the commodity box, and holds real added value. Our concepts are very clear, no additives, no colouring, and added product value, particularly with high protein, high fibre, low salt products that fit within the healthy eating sector. As an example, we are not just producing bread for general consumption – we are producing a loaf that meets the special needs of the healthy eating market.

Dina Foods “Our latest Paninette Range flat bread, which was developed over a two-year period, is a food wrap that is becoming one of the biggest products wanted on the market. As far as I’m concerned there is nothing equal in the market in terms of the bread we sell, and we are at the forefront of inspiration to the sandwich solution for people on the move,” explains Vincent. Up until now, baguettes and wraps have been dominated by one bread type. In developing the Paninette, the company has taken a radical step in offering an alternative flexible flat bread , with flavour, aroma, but most importantly a bread with ‘soul’. “Our main target is the consumer, and ensuring they have the best experience is always at the forefront whilst we are developing or manufacturing our food today,” he adds.

One of the biggest general commodities within the food market is the pita, having become a product demanded in huge volume. Having studied how the consumer most often uses the bread, Dina Foods applied its creative touch to the recipe adding flavours and appeal, and ultimately value to the product. “This is something we do with nearly every product, and that approach entices the consumer to leave behind the normal products, replacing them for what is a better eating experience. Five years ago the business was on the verge of being in financial trouble, but we saw an opportunity to turn things around.

Through investment in new equipment we were able to push forward with NDP, and through innovation create a niche market, and niche products within that sector,” says Vincent.

Whilst most flat breads in the market are high in salt, through investment in equipment, and the baking process the company has been able to further

position itself as the only company of its type in the market able to provide a flat bread low in salt. Commenting, Vincent points out: “We are very passionate about healthy foods, and the educational channel. The only way you can create a good customer base is to first start with children, and once they like your brand and eating healthily they will embrace your band forever.” Baklava is another product that the business was responsible for transforming into a more mainstream solution. Historically its availability was limited to the deli or local bakery, but through launching it on different platform, in various packaging that fits the retail market, the

product is now strong in 16 countries and is becoming one of the biggest winning products within the company. “It is purely about developing a concept where consumer expectation is met, and not about how much money we can make.

“We have a massive edge on the market in the sense of we have created a place where we have much less competition, working with some of the biggest passionate customers to develop unique products for their own catalogue. As we look ahead, we see the next 12 months as opportunity to develop new products aimed at the health sector, including reduced salt and higher fibre options.

This is a key and growing area in the market that is not very well looked after.

We anticipate that as we continue to develop that niche we can improve our current growth rate of 24 per cent year-onyear and double the size of our business,” he concludes. D

www.dinafoods.com

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Best of the West W

Blackdown Hills West Country Eggs delivers fresh quality free-range eggs, with a strong commitment to the local area and consumer demands 68 www.foodchain-magazine.com

ith its brand very much centred around the West Country, family owned Blackdown Hills Eggs has been operating within the UK free-range market since 2003 after the Cottey family decided to exit the dairy and beef industry. Taking advantage of the increasing consumer popularity of free-range eggs, the company decided to open its own packing centre in 2012 and since then has established itself as a strong supplier of free-range eggs to the retail, wholesale and foodservice industries in southwest England.

Outlining the current market conditions, general manager, Nigel Williams, explains: “Free-range eggs are very popular at the moment, and because of this the big retailers are dropping the prices to attract customers into stores. However, there is a lot of growth in the market with the retailers being very aggressive with the products, so it’s a very competitive market.” As a result of these market pressures, the company has to make sure its products exceed on quality and meet expectations to remain competitive.

One of the ways it does this, Nigel continues, is to focus on the branding.

“The fact that we’re a local business and that all our eggs are West Country eggs is a particular strength for us. We very much base the business on that. They’re good quality, West Country eggs, which is very much supported by consumers wanting to know where their food comes from.”

Exemplifying this, the company is a regular recipient of the Taste of the West award, a locally recognised mark of excellence. “It’s a good stamp of quality for people in the West Country,” notes Nigel.

The site at Buckland St Mary in Somerset is well set up to support the growing demand for free-range eggs in the

Blackdown Hills West Country Eggs region. The packing centre is a bespoke, state-of-the-art facility with a modern MOBA grading machine, which ensures every egg meets the exacting standards demanded by both the company itself and the wider industry. With the ability to grade and pack up to a million eggs a day, the company prides itself from getting eggs from the farm, packed and delivered within a day making sure exceptional freshness is served to the consumer. All eggs are also marked according to maintaining 100 per cent traceability right back to the individual hen shed.

The farm itself is home to 30,000 of its own hens, and additional demand is filled by a number of contracts set up with other local producers. The farm works closely with the Farming and

are things you can do with eggs to premiumise them. However, the core of the business will always be our quality free-range egg offering.”

To supplement this plan, the company’s long-term strategy is simple: “The strategic vision is to get more producers working with us, that’s always going to be where the growth comes from,” Nigel says. “You can only grow as fast as you’ve got eggs coming in, so one of our main aims is to encourage

more producers to work with Blackdown Hills eggs.” With a brand centring around the local area and a strong commitment to quality and freshness the company is in a strong position to secure its future, Nigel concludes by expressing his ultimate aim for the company: “The brand is built around the West Country, and we would like to be known as the preferred ‘West Country Free Range egg packer’.” D

www.blackdownhillseggs. co.uk

Wildlife Advisory Group to deliver the best living conditions to its birds giving them spacious roaming areas with tree shelter, a healthy diet and the greatest freedom. All of which lead the company to being RSPCA, Freedom Foods and BRC accredited. Enhancing the company’s commitment to responsibility is its approach to sustainability, running a number of initiatives to protect the surrounding environment. Planting over 6000 trees not only improves the hen’s living conditions, but also provides chipping to power the biomass boiler that generates power to the packing operations. All hen sheds have solar panels attached to roof generating power to the shed themselves, and rainwater harvesting supplies water to be used across the farm in a range of ways.

Standing testament not only to the quality provided by Blackdown Hills but also its ability to supply demand is its relationship with supermarket, Aldi.

“We supply a large volume to Aldi in the southwest with their free-range eggs, so it’s an extremely important contract for us,” says Nigel, and it is this presence within the major retail market, which the company hopes to explore in the future.

“We want to increase our penetration into the retail sector,” he continues. “We’re in the discount sector at the moment, but we’d also like to expand on that by entering into the multiple and convenience markets. We also see a niche opportunity in golden yolk and organic eggs – there

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a e

The Seafood Pub Company

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Still in its infancy, the Seafood Pub Company is already taking on major competitors with its commitment to offering quality food at unrivalled value

ounder and managing director of the Seafood Pub Company, Joycelyn Neve’s vision is simple: “To put the produce that I’ve grown up with around me from my dad’s business in front of people, in a relaxed, informal environment.” Realising this vision in 2010, over the last five years Joycelyn has built the Seafood Pub Company up to an award-winning group currently spreading across seven sites around the northwest.

“Seafood and pubs are my two favourite things, so bringing them together was an easy concept to come up with,” she says. The Neve family’s fishing roots go back generations and Joycelyn’s father has established a strong reputation and level of experience in sourcing and supplying the best quality produce. Still in its infancy, the company has proven itself on the national stage and remains true to its core values of quality and value for money.

“Our supplier connections are a huge strength for the business,” explains Joycelyn. “My family’s background is all in fishing and seafood, and we’ve got a lot of family friends in the catering supply industry outside of seafood. Our competition can’t come close to us with what we offer – we’re able to give people good value for money and the wow-factor in terms

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‘

To now be able to bolt the strong reputation we’ve built for food and drink with premium accommodation is changing the shape of the business

The Seafood Pub Company of quality.” This focus on value for money is complemented by a robust and reactive attitude to the market conditions. “In the midweek and at lunch times people are going out more frequently but are spending less,” Joycelyn highlights. “At the weekend, however, its still very strong. So the versatility of our offers is really important so that people can choose to use us throughout the week and not spend too much money with ten pound lunch offers, or they can come at the weekend

when we’ve got some high end specials and top end wines and champagnes.

Having a good versatile range of offers means that we’re always busy.”

Aside from the solid public facing side of the business, is the internal team. “I know that internally it is the people that make a business, and the people here are very passionate about it,” continues Joycelyn. Completing the executive team alongside Joycelyn is Andrew McLean, executive chairman, and Antony Shirley, executive chef. Founder of the Devonshire Pub Company, Andrew brings a wealth of acquisition experience, which stands the company in good stead as it continues its successful expansion strategy. Antony has amassed a bank of knowledge and experience in developing menus and setting up restaurants across the country and is now responsible for the Seafood Pub Company’s star dishes.

With seven restaurants currently set up, the company has a view to open 12 new sites over the coming years. “We have a number of areas that we want to get into, and we have people looking constantly

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for sites,” outlines Joycelyn. “The area’s we’ve got highlighted are North Yorkshire, the Lake District, Cheshire and Merseyside. Predominantly we are looking for pockets of either affluent residential or premium destination

sites.” The premium sites are central to the Seafood Pub Company’s up-market offering. One of the company’s highest profile sites, the Assheton Arms, is a grade-two listed building situated in the Lancashire village of Downham. “It’s an

absolutely unspoilt village, and probably one of the most beautiful places in the UK,” says Joycelyn. “The company’s ethos of offering an informal service with food that is quality and a bit different still remains, but making sure the sites have all got different personalities, and allowing them to do what’s right for that particular area and building is really important. Once those combinations are right, the sites really fly.”

This combination is the key to the business’s changing shape. Joycelyn Bleep UK PLC Bleep UK PLC is an award winning designer and manufacturer of Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems for the hospitality industry. We have over 30 years experience providing bespoke, innovative, flexible and reliable EPOS solutions.

Last year we were crowned Technology Vendor of the year for the second time at The Retail Systems Awards. We pride ourselves on our continuing product development always looking for the next unique product. We are proud to supply the Seafood Pub Company with our award winning systems, particularly our brand new loyalty application which we launched with them in early 2015.

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The Seafood Pub Company demonstrates her awareness of the current market and how the company is reacting to it. “Food tourism is becoming a big thing as its becoming more and more peoples’ hobby to stay away. We’ve recently added bedrooms to three of our sites, and we’re revisiting another two sites to add bedrooms on, including The Fenwick near Lancaster. Food tourism is the side of the business that we’re really developing now, so rather than just marketing to a radius of an hour and half’s drive from each site, we are now marketing to the whole of the UK, and situating the pubs in premium destination sites is essential to this. To now be able to bolt the strong reputation we’ve built for food and drink with premium accommodation is changing the shape of the business.”

and was awarded five stars by the AA for its accommodation. Bearing in mind its accommodation was only opened in April 2015, this is a big achievement. “It’s really good to be on their radar,” notes Joycelyn, “and to have an inspection within a month of opening our rooms comes off the back of winning the awards that we do.” Of note the company has been the recipient of Restaurant Magazine’s ‘R200 Pub Company of the Year 2014’ and the Publican’s best food offer, amongst many others. “We are still the new kid on the block going up against some much larger companies that have been trading for ten to 15 years already,” she continues.

“Even to be nominated against some these prestigious companies is great, but to win as well is quite humbling. For the team it’s great because we all work very hard and

It is a shift in focus that is already having a positive impact on the company. The Assheton Arms, for instance, has gained its first rosette

it shows that we’re doing a good job, and it also puts us on a platform to get noticed by the public.”

Despite this success Joycelyn strays

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FoodChain The business of food and drink

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The Seafood Pub Company Marstons Available throughout The Seafood Pub Company’s bars, Wainwright golden ale has a distinctive hoppy aroma and a subtle citrussy flavour. It is the perfect complement to delicate and fragrant dishes – particularly fish. So for a refreshing change from red or white, why not ask for Golden and enjoy a glass of the UK’s best-selling Golden cask ale.

Premier LPG There is always an exciting project going on with the Seafood Pub Company and we are proud to have played our role by providing gas solutions at several premises over the last couple of years.

clear of complacency. “It’s easy to get distracted by the here and now,” she says. “So making sure we know what is next is really important, because if you’re passionate about what you do its easy to get totally engrossed in it. Now that we’ve got to the size that we are at, we have a really good central team with a strong skill set and we all enjoy working with each other. As we’ve grown we’ve been able to get staff to focus on

what they’re good at rather than just a couple of people trying to do everything.

This means that we now have the capacity to carry on growing at the speed that we are.” Looking ahead at this growth, over the next year the focus is very much on extending its accommodation offering as this is working in the current market, particularly in the locations it has chosen to situate itself.

Ultimately the strategy for the Seafood Pub Company is illustrative of what it has done to achieve the rapid success it has. “Our vision is to carry on doing what we’re doing,” concludes Joycelyn.

“That’s not just opening new sites – it’s not in my nature to just have everything doing well. I always look at things to see what more we can do to be better. It’s about continually looking at the sites to make sure that we can offer the best.”

The Seafood Pub Company is very much a success story born out of a passion for food and drink, and the desire to deliver this to the public. The drive comes from a team of experienced and focused people who don’t take their success for granted, but use it to see where they can take the company next. As such, the future looks positive for the company as it continues to deliver high quality food at good value, in a relaxed yet premium atmosphere. D

www.seafoodpubcompany. com

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Baked to perfection Brace’s Bakery is a brand leading business that produces a wide range of bread, sold to retailers, the food service and sandwich manufacturers

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he first bakery in the UK to receive the British Retail Consortium (BRC) accreditation for excellent standards in bread manufacturing, Brace’s Bakery supplies products to all of the major retailers including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons, as well as smaller independent stores in south and mid Wales and the south/south west of England. This takes the Brace’s brand into over 3000 stores and enables the company to achieve a turnover of around £40 million.

Brace’s Bakery produces an extensive product range, which is broken down into three segments: Bread, Classic and Fruited. Brace’s is committed to delivering the finest and freshest quality products and aims to deliver product to store within four to 12 hours of baking.

Within the Bread range, Brace’s offers a selection of loaves, including what it describes as ‘family’ bread – traditional medium or thick slice white or brown loaves. It also includes innovative ideas such as the XXX thick cut for a proper doorstep, and a half white, half wholemeal loaf for the best of both worlds. Dark wholemeal and malted grain options are also available, as is oatmeal.

The Classic range features white, wholemeal and malted grain variants – the white loaf is described as ‘floured open top, one piece sliced white bread with diagonal splitting’.

Finally, the Fruited range from Brace’s includes Welsh cakes in both fruit and jam varieties. Welsh cakes are traditionally made from a sweet mix, baked on a hotplate until golden brown and then sprinkled with sugar, delicious with a cup of tea. Welsh cakes have been a teatime favourite in Wales for centuries, eaten regularly in farmhouses and cottages alike, and leftovers given to the miners in their

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Brace’s Bakery

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Brace’s Bakery ‘tocyn’ – lunchbox. The range also features a sliced fruited loaf, which has the appearance of a golden brownfruited cake and a light texture and soft mouthfeel, characteristic of a fruit loaf.

Ideal for toasting, Brace’s suggest it is ideal for a weekend treat.

All of these products are manufactured in South Wales, and the company remains family-owned, having been established in 1902 by founder George Brace. Now run by the fourth generation of the Brace family, the business operates three bakeries: a state-of-the-art bread plant bakery at Pen-y-fan producing

6000 loaves per hour, Croespenmaen bakery producing bread, fruit loaves and Welsh cakes and also a third bakery at Rogerstone, Newport.

This latter site was purchased in 2011 and it not only increased Brace’s production capacity but also perfectly illustrates the importance of continued investment to the organisation. Company profits are put back into the business to ensure high standards are maintained, and the Brace family believes that investment, in tandem with its approach to its employees and their training, are the cornerstones of its success.

The company employs over 350 people, who all benefit from the family’s ability to work as a very close unit, and their dedication to creating a good work/life balance. Decision-making is based upon experience and detail and furthermore, the Brace family actively encourages a caring, compassionate and fun environment in which staff can work.

Retaining good staff is extremely important to Brace’s and to this end the company is accredited with ‘Investors in People’ certification. Brace’s also invests heavily in training programmes, regularly giving staff the opportunity to develop their potential and achieve recognised qualifications.

When Brace’s Bakery expanded its workforce at the Rogerstone site in July 2014, the new recruits were impressed with not only the modern, automated systems employed on the factory floor, but also the friendly and welcoming atmosphere within the business.

These new recruits work with Mark and Jonathan Brace (MD and Director respectively) as well as their father, chairman Colin Brace, who at 94 years old still visits the office daily, and takes an active role in the business. Colin was honoured with the OBE in 2013, in recognition of his services to the baking industry and to the community in Wales.

He has been involved in the bakery since he was a young child and took over the running of the bakery from his father in the 1970’s when he had the vision to invest in larger premises and evolve the product range, targeting the major retailers.

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Brace’s Bakery Colin was delighted to receive his award and said: “I accept this award on behalf of my grandfather who started the business. I have worked with so many good people and am proud of the loyal workforce and team work we still have at Brace’s.”

Colin is keen to support the local community and has created a ‘Bread for the Community’ fund that supports clubs and organisations with funding and donations for inspiring young teams, including local football and rugby clubs who proudly show the Brace’s brand name on their kits. Colin is also actively involved in the local community as a member of Blackwood Rotary and offers his time and support for their projects and campaigns.

Sponsoring individual sports

son of David Llewellin (British Rally Champion).

Brace’s historic Ford Escort RS1800 also appears in many rallies in Wales’ forestry stages, driven by Jonathan Brace, and as recently as early May 2015, the company-supported Cardiff Cohesion Community Cup 2015 was won by a team of South Wales Police members and ex-professional footballers.

After the final whistle Scott Richardson, sales director at Brace’s Bread, said: “What a game! Brace’s Bread is extremely proud to have supported this worthwhile community initiative. As a business, we fully support community projects and want to encourage other local companies to do so too. Congratulations to the winning

and employment. Brace’s Primary School Visitor colleagues attend primary schools and give an informative and fun presentation on ‘how we bake’.

It is clear that at the heart of Brace’s Bakery is a compassion for people and a dedication to support not only employees but also extend this out into the wider community and indeed, out across Wales.

Therefore it is no surprise to learn that the company also cares about the planet and adheres to a strict Environmental Management Policy (EMP). The business recognises the need to reduce the adverse environmental impacts, which are generated through its manufacturing activities, and through the development and implementation of its Environment Management System it has identified areas for improvement and therefore

personalities is also part of this approach, and currently Brace’s Bread sponsors Olympic skeet shooter & Clubman rally driver Ben Llewellin,

team.”

The company also works closely with schools, within Brace’s distribution area, to bridge the gap between education

reduced its influence on the environment.

Brace’s Bakery is fully committed to ensure that it complies with all relevant legislation and other requirements, as

Bakels Bakels is an industry leading bakery ingredients specialist, working in partnership with Brace’s to serve the UK industrial bakery sector. With over 100 years in the industry, Bakels continues to invest in people and manufacturing capabilities to provide bespoke solutions for Brace’s in a highly competitive and challenging sector. The Bakels Baking Centre, coupled with a first class, field based technical support team makes Bakels the complete partner in service and innovation.

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Brace’s Bakery well as manage energy consumption to minimise the direct emission of greenhouse gases.

The organisation also ensures that its waste and recycling streams are managed appropriately and accordingly prevent pollution occurring as a result of its activities.

Green concerns are also considered when sourcing raw materials, and also during the manufacturing process, which also brings efficiency gains, as only the minimum raw materials and resources necessary are used.

What also sets Brace’s apart is its dedication to reviewing this EMP every year, in order to continuously improve its environmental performance. The company also sets challenging yet realistic objectives and targets each year, so that it remains both relevant and effective. The data gathered by such reviews will then be used to set challenging yet achievable targets for

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future improvement, and the company is keen to promote awareness of its environmental issues together with its annual environmental objectives and targets, in order to demonstrate its successes in this area.

Brace’s Bakery Limited has, over recent years, transformed from a

small local supplier to a well-respected plant bread manufacturer. The company continues to go from strength to strength, winning a host of new contracts, continually reviewing its product range and steadily expanding into the south of England. D

www.bracesbakery.co.uk

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FoodChain The business of food and drink

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