http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/news/ en tom.shingler@aceville.co.uk Copyright 2012 2012-05-21T10:14:52+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_nfu_campaign_highlights_british_farminghttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_nfu_campaign_highlights_british_farming#When:10:14:52Z The National Farmers Union has launched a new PR campaign to spread awareness of British produce and its importance to the future of our economy'Farming Delivers for Britain' was launched on 21st May at an event on the river Thames, with representatives sailing from the Tower Bridge to the House of Commons. The campaign aims to highlight six key areas, including food production, looking after the environment, sustaining economic growth, cleaner energy, new jobs and better animal welfare. Peter Kendall, president for the NFU, said, “I don't want to dwell on the past; today is about celebrating all that farmers and growers deliver to this country and its people every day. “But I do want to acknowledge what a tremendous turn around we have seen, certainly in the past ten years. The NFU has re-stated and, over time, re-established the case for our productive farming industry. No one now seriously doubts the need for this country to have an efficient, productive, environmentally-conscious British farming sector, or the value that it, and we as farmers and growers, can deliver on all fronts,” he added. Jim Paice, minister for food and farming, commented, "Farming is no longer the quaint old industry which has served Britain well in the past – it is doing so much more today. Now farmers are using techniques and technology we couldn’t have dreamed of 50 years ago and in this new rapidly-growing global food market they face huge opportunities to deliver real wealth for our economy. “Government and industry have got to work together to build on the strengths showcased today, to see farming become as efficient and forward-looking as possible so it can meet the huge food production challenge ahead,” he said. News, Environment, Events , 2012-05-21T10:14:52+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/first_ever_scottish_baker_of_the_year_announcedhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/first_ever_scottish_baker_of_the_year_announced#When:09:35:25Z Craft bakery and family owned business Harry Gow’s of Inverness has been crowned Scottish Baker of the Year by TV judge and artisan baker Paul HollywoodThe results were announced at a ceremony hosted by Scottish Bakers, the association that supports and promotes the interests of Scottish Bakers across the country. "We are extremely pleased to be recognised as Scotland's best baker," said Harry Gow. "We have an ethos that we must make everything ourselves from scratch and this, along with our consistently high product quality, has been recognised by the judges. But we could not have come this far in the competition without our dedicated and skilled team of 180. Thank you to all our customers who voted for us." Artisan baker and TV judge Paul Hollywood, who presented Harry Gow's with the award said, "It has given me great pleasure to be involved in this competition. There have been some fantastic entries and all the prizes I have handed out to bakers have been worthy in every way. I wish the ultimate winner Harry Gow well in the coming year as Scotland's premier craft baker and I plan to follow their successes with interest." Chief executive of Scottish Bakers Alan Clarke commented, "It's been a long journey to get to this point starting with 12,500 bakery customers up and down the land voting for their favourite baked goods in March followed by a panel of experts whittling the best down to the very best. We now have a ringing endorsement for our industry and a worthy winner in Harry Gow.” News, Bakery Products , Independent Retail , 2012-05-21T09:35:25+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/lincolnshire_sausage_pgi_status_bid_failshttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/lincolnshire_sausage_pgi_status_bid_fails#When:14:53:33Z The Government has turned down an application to grant protected status to the Lincolnshire sausageDefra claimed that there are already too many variations of the speciality across Britain, as they had been made outside the county for over 20 years. The Lincolnshire Sausage Association has been campaigning for PGI status for more than seven years. If the status was granted, it would mean Lincolnshire sausages would have to be made in the county, with 70% ground or minced pork, packed in natural casings and flavoured with sage. Jim Paice, food and farming minister, said, “British food is outstanding and we're working hard to protect the local heritage of certain foods through PGI status. But with so many variations on the recipe, and 95% of sausages sold under the Lincolnshire Sausage label being made outside the county, the application as it stood could have seriously damaged businesses and jobs. "We remain open to looking at other options which would allow producers in Lincolnshire to highlight the traditional and local nature of their sausages, without potentially damaging the overwhelming majority of manufacturers,” he added. News, Legislation/Politics , 2012-05-18T14:53:33+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/nfu_speaks_out_on_cheap_milk_priceshttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/nfu_speaks_out_on_cheap_milk_prices#When:09:41:25Z The NFU has called on milk processors to stop exploiting dairy farmers following the news that four major companies are to cut farm gate milk pricesIn the past two weeks, Dairy Crest, Robert Wiseman, Arla and Muller have announced cuts to their suppliers of exactly two pence per litre (ppl). The action backs NFU claims that something is fundamentally wrong with the dairy market. NFU dairy board chairman Mansel Raymond said, “Dairy farming is fundamentally a long term exercise. Investment, breeding, skills and a range of other elements allow farmers to improve their businesses to meet market demands, reduce their environmental impact and generally strive to fulfil the requirements of a growing population with dairy at the heart of its diet. “It is therefore catastrophic that short- termism further up the supply chain has led to cuts which mean a typical farmer will lose out on around £20,000 per year. These buyers claim to be building long-term relationships with suppliers and customers and demand specific standards to match. “Yet when an opportunity to cut farmers’ milk prices presents itself, it seems this all means nothing. Milk buyers transferring losses, accrued as a result of their own business strategies, to farmers whose businesses are already struggling is totally unsustainable. “This raft of milk price cuts exposes the fundamental problems in milk contracts. As long as milk processors can get away with this atrocious behaviour, it seems they will do so. “Farmers need and deserve contracts where their basic terms are clear, specifically on price.The status quo where buyers can change the deal and cut prices without consequence is fundamentally wrong and must change,” he says. News, Dairy , 2012-05-16T09:41:25+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_food_labelling_consultation_launchedhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_food_labelling_consultation_launched#When:13:41:58Z The government has begun a consultation with British food manufacturers, large retailers and health experts on how best to label nutritional content in foodThe 12-week consultation aims to encourage all UK businesses to use a uniformed labelling system, making consumers aware of levels of fat, sugar, salt and calories in food. Current formats include the red, amber and green 'traffic light' colour-coded system, as well as guideline daily amounts which offer a percentage of a person's recommended daily intake. Heath secretary Andrew Lansley said, “We want to arrive at a consistent format. At the moment we have a lot of different approaches, but I recognise there are some really big commercial interests here. What I want is for people to be able to buy the same shopping basket, but that basket has to have less saturated fats, fewer sugars and less salt in it. So it is about people changing their behaviour. “Making even small changes to our diet can have a major impact on our health. Cutting our average salt intake by 1.6 grams a day would prevent over 10,000 premature deaths a year,” he added. News, Independent Retail , Legislation/Politics , Supermarket , 2012-05-14T13:41:58+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_network_for_north_west_producershttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_network_for_north_west_producers#When:13:16:53Z A new networking group is giving small food and drink producers an opportunity to share news and tips at monthly social gatheringsBusiness Bites, set up by Lancashire trading standards expert Joanne Scott, hosts events across Lancashire, offering advice and exchanging ideas about producing food and drink on a small scale. Businesswoman and food marketing advisor Claire Thomas has also joined forces with the group to help set up events across the North West region. Ms Scott said, “The networking events have been really well received here in Lancashire. The producers appreciate the opportunity to get together in a social setting to share news and best practice and do business over a drink and a bite to eat. We also invite industry experts who can support these businesses and share their expertise and knowledge.” Ms Thomas added, “We know there isn't anything like this happening in the rest of the North West, so over the coming months we will also be holding events in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Cumbria and Merseyside so that as many of these small businesses as possible can benefit from the meetings.” The next event takes place on Thursday 31st May in Preston. For more information contact Claire Thomas on claire@clairethomas.biz. News, Events , Services , 2012-05-11T13:16:53+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/prime_minister_tells_public_to_buy_britishhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/prime_minister_tells_public_to_buy_british#When:09:57:54Z David Cameron has urged the British public to buy more produce grown in the UKThe Prime Minister warned that too much of the nation's wealth was concentrated in London, during an appearance with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at a tractor factory in Basildon. The pair visited the factory to discuss the financial crisis and talk to workers about austerity measures, emphasising that manufacturing and agriculture was very important to the British economy. The Prime Minister said, “If we want a healthy farming industry, what we've got to recognise is that it really depends on us as consumers going into shops and supermarkets wanting to buy quality British products. Of course we've got the Common Agricultural Policy, and of course there are the schemes and grants to help farming. “But in the end, if you want healthy farming, you want consumers saying British meat is the best, British food is the best, I want to demand the best and I want to go out to buy the best. That would be good for British agriculture,” he added. News, Legislation/Politics , 2012-05-09T09:57:54+00:00 It really does seem that we are all heading into this summer in a much more positive frame of mind than last yearAll the farm shop, deli and food hall retailers I talked to in the first quarter of 2012 had a much better start to the year than last year, and many said it was the best since 2009. So spirits are high heading into the summer! So what can we do in our stores to maximise sales during this busy summer period? To say the obvious first, it is a big British Year and many producers are making special products to cash in on the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics - yes they will be the ones with the Union Flag all over them! Most definitely a bank of products like this will make an eye-catching display, and certainly most speciality retailers should do this, and why not put up some Union Flag bunting as well and draw attention to all the British cheese and meat that you sell. Indeed some retailers started this in January! I would issue one word of caution though; if these displays are up from Easter to when the Paralympics ends in September then they will lose their impact and customers will stop seeing them. For maximum impact do the British displays in bursts. It may be best to make a big splash for the Jubilee week (1st week of June) and then again at the end of July for the Olympics through August. (Just a quick word of warning here that retailers and suppliers near Olympic events may have to overcome logistical barriers to supply during the games - worth checking out) Whilst there is no doubt that this is the year to focus on British products more than any other nation, and many of you rightly do this all year anyway, there is also the opportunity in the summer to bring other nations food into focus. The (hopefully) Mediterranean weather that occasionally graces these shores in May-August is an ideal opportunity to have a focus on Mediterranean cheeses, olives, snacks etc. Particularly one nation e.g. Greece, Spain or Italy at a time might have an impact on the weekend impulse shoppers especially if there was a different focus each week for ,say, four weeks. Clearly all these kind of displays require some degree of planning, but there are some friendly ambient and chilled wholesalers out there who can offer you several ranges of diverse products with minimal effort on your behalf! Just a quick aside on social media - many retailers are now on Twitter and are seeing the benefits of driving customers into their shops when there are new products available. Why not offer some incentive for those coming into your shop and mentioning a key word they would only know about through Twitter. People will re-tweet and bring even more customers in - and so on! That is the positive power of social media. It goes without saying that any kinds of special event or display should be tweeted about until you are blue in the face! Talking of colours, whilst many of us make a huge effort to make our shops look festive during the run-up to Christmas, how many of us make the same effort for the summer months. Bright or pastel colours or indeed any big displays of summer colours let our customers know we are aware what season it is and we are not just selling the same products as we were back in February. This leads me back to three favourite words of mine - merchandise, merchandise, merchandise! Buy big, make large displays and make your products look successful and striking! Most suppliers and wholesalers will offer special prices for pallet quantities of product which not only make those particular products look striking, but also, because there is a large volume of product, positively reinforce in the customer’s mind that those products are very popular. Combined with offering them some kind of deal all helps to develop a talking point within the store. Also the good producers will come in and do tastings alongside the displays - just ask. Go on, be brave and buy big! Clearly the time to make the most of these big summer selling opportunities is when the sun comes out! It is well worth looking at the mid-term weather forecast to plan ahead. This is what the supermarkets do, and then, surprise, surprise as soon as the heat wave starts, their aisles are full of barbeque products and there are pallets of charcoal outside the front door. This isn’t ordered on the day the hot weather starts - it is planned for! Most suppliers can respond within 4-5 days so that is all you need to be ahead of the weather. Talking of charcoal I am always surprised how few farm shops and garden centres make the most of this opportunity in the summer. It is certainly worth having a few pallets stashed away you can bring out when the sun shines - there is no shelf-life and it won’t deteriorate, so why not? Of course, the school summer holidays may well bring hordes of children into your shop accompanied by their parents, who are desperate to find things to do during the five or so weeks of school holidays when they aren’t actually away on holiday. Ensure there are activities for children to do (for the larger stores) or products suitable for children’s picnics (everyone) - why not make the most of pester power, as well as educating families to eat more healthily. These families are also likely to come to your own café for a meal or afternoon tea. Ensure that there are products plugged in the café that are available for sale in the shop and let them know! Cross-selling is king - and we could all do more of it! A special mention at this point for ice cream - everyone know the large profit margins in selling ice cream cones - Duncan Bannatyne didn’t get where he is today without ice-cream! Don’t leave all the profits to the ice-cream man. Is it worth employing the services of a student to set up a market stall outside your shop selling ice-creams to passers-by who may not necessarily step inside your shop. Even in an out-of-town farm shop it may well be worth setting up a stall in the car park selling ice-cream or even strawberries, asparagus etc… Some of these ideas may not work for you, but it is worth thinking creatively and doing something different. Successful businesses are usually those that have had the most failures as they are not frightened to try new ideas. Not all will work, but some will and could make a profound difference to your bottom lines this summer - and I am not talking bikinis! Whatever you do, have fun, and ensure your team enjoy themselves at work. It is well-proven that customers spend more when the workers are happy and have fun at work. So make sure they are smiling even when the sun isn’t shining and have a great summer. Speciality Bites, 2012-05-08T15:11:34+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/wet_weather_damages_asparagus_crophttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/wet_weather_damages_asparagus_crop#When:13:20:32Z British farmers and farm shop owners are experiencing an asparagus shortage after the wettest April on recordThe wet weather has meant that the British Asparagus Festival due to be scheduled this weekend will be cancelled. The incessant rain and floods has caused Worcestershire's quirky festival to be called off. The organiser of the event, Angela Tidmarsh, comments, “We were expecting asparagus to be scarce due to the unseasonally good weather at the start of the year followed by the recent deluge. However, this week’s flooding means that the asparagus crop is almost completely dormant. “What’s more, the venue for the festival has been under several inches of water when the River Avon burst its banks. “It’s ironic as the British Asparagus Festival was started as a way of helping the area recover after the severe floods of 2007. “That said, we plan to continue to celebrate asparagus throughout May and hope that the crop will be available for the famous auction at the Fleece at Bretforton on 27th May. At this rate, it will be selling at record prices,” she says. News, Fresh Food , 2012-05-03T13:20:32+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/fantastic_response_to_portas_pilots_offerhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/fantastic_response_to_portas_pilots_offer#When:16:25:27Z The Government has received 371 bids from towns across the UK wanting to become one of 12 pilot areas for a Mary Portas schemeThe successful bids will receive a share of a £1.2 million grant to help save their high streets and gain backing from the Local Government Minister and Mary Portas herself. Grant Schapps, Minister for Local Government , said, "I am delighted by the enthusiastic and energetic response from towns up and down the country, as they have used Mary Portas' review as a real catalyst for change to secure the future of their high streets. "High streets have faced stiff challenges from internet shopping and out-of-town centres, yet there is still a clear desire from communities to see them survive. We have received a fantastic 371 bids to become one of the first 12 Portas pilots. "That's why, as part of our Portas Plus response to Mary's review, I've launched a second round of this competition to find a further 12 pilot areas. I now look forward to watching the YouTube videos and seeing how communities have come together for myself," he added. Mary Portas commented, “The significant work, creative energy and coming together of communities across the country that is evident in films they have made has confirmed my belief that the British public really care about their high streets. I promise to give as much back. We will work to recreate and redefine the British high street and town centre, making them places local communities are proud of.” The results of the competition will be announced in May. News, Independent Retail , Legislation/Politics , 2012-05-02T16:25:27+00:00