WE'RE PLEASED TO BRING YOU JUST SOME OF THE MAJOR FOOD & DRINK RETAIL AND SUPPLY STORIES RECENTLY COVERED BY THE GROCER.
Student launches Christmas wonky veg box to support vulnerable
The Earth & Wheat box will include large potatoes, parsnips, red cabbage, carrots, broccoli, leeks, onions, garlic, herbs and brussels sprouts. Read more>>
Welsh businesses to get £460m in rates support from government
The Welsh government is also providing over £140m of rates relief for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses. Read more>>
Waitrose range shrinks 5% in 2022
The supermarket has made cuts to nearly every category between the end of November 2021 and end of November 2022. Read more>>
Coeliac group urges suppliers to back its labelling scheme ‘lifeline’
Coeliac UK revealed new research showing 76% of shoppers on gluten-free diets wanted products to be labelled with its Crossed Grain trademark. Read more>>
Toast Ale secures £2m to continue food waste fight
Social enterprise brewery Toast Ale has raised more than £2m to grow the positive impact of its business, with investors including Heineken and former Unilever boss Paul Polman. Read more>>
Junk food ad ban delayed until after next general election
Health campaigners accuse government of a “complete betrayal” after start date is put back to October 2025. Read more>>
Bumboo smashes £400k crowd target to grow bamboo toilet paper brand
Eco toilet paper challenger Bumboo has cleaned up a £400k crowdfunding round, valuing the startup at £5m. Read more>>
The Good Food Programme recruits cohort of healthier challenger brands
The incubator scheme aims to help 10 progressive food and drink startups to develop healthier products. Read more>>
‘Worst to come’ from food sector’s myriad crises, says 2 Sisters boss
The sector was facing an ’existential threat to its future if we have another year like this’, warned CEO Ronald Kers. Read more>>
Only half of apple packs in major UK supermarkets are British, new data reveals
The data found that only one supermarket – Iceland – was selling 100% British packs in October and early November. Read more>>
Capreolus Fine Foods merges with Deli Farm Charcuterie
Production of the Deli Farm range will move to Capreolus’s site in west Dorset, where the team will continue to make products using Cornish meat. Read more>>
Some farmers and producers making less than 1% profit, research claims
A study by food and farming charity Sustain reveals often ‘negligible’ profit in supplying the mults. Read more>>
Coroner calls for ‘robust’ allergen labelling to avoid more deaths
The report follows an inquiry into the death of Celia Marsh, who died from a reaction to dairy after eating a flatbread from Pret a Manger. Read more>>
Fruit & veg in ‘crisis’ amid ‘endemic’ low returns to growers
Many apple growers were facing cuts in payments by retailers, despite massive input cost inflation, said British Apples & Pears. Read more>>
Brexit and Covid spark 100,000-tonne increase in food waste
The UK’s exit from the EU is cited, along with disruption to the supply chain caused by the impact of the pandemic, as key factors in a spike in waste in 2021. Read more>>
