http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/news/ en video@aceville.co.uk Copyright 2013 2013-05-20T11:47:25+00:00 It was comforting to find out this morning that garden gnomes have been allowed back into the Chelsea Garden Show for the first time in 100 yearsGood to know that discrimination of dimensionally-challenged mythical creatures has ended! On a slightly more serious note, we have now had two sunny weekends, and I smelt the unfamiliar smell of barbeques drifting across my garden for the second time this year over the weekend. I really hope that this is the start of a warmer summer – the garden centres and farm shops of the UK need it – and so do our drinks suppliers, although our biscuit and cake suppliers may not agree. Sales of the latter two products are better in colder weather! OK – let’s talk about trade shows. We seem to be being bombarded by companies calling us at present to ask us to exhibit at food and drink trade shows of which there are more and more. These events cost a fortune and we will be doing at least four this year, possibly 5 at a total cost of over £80k, a not insignificant amount of money. We will always do some trade shows, but could some of this money be spent in alternative ways to drive business? If only there was an easy answer to that question! It is clear that a broad approach to marketing spend will be of benefit in this sector, which is still lagging in terms of a 21st century approach. There are still a small % of customers investing in social media and other forms of digital marketing. A few years ago, I was hoping to be able to dispense with our paper catalogue and just produce a digital version. This now looks like a forlorn hope, as some of our customers don’t’ even have a “work” e-mail address still! My 78 year old dad is more advanced. And there is no danger of insulting anyone here as they won’t be reading this! So, back to trade shows – we will probably always have to do some, but should be spending more on digital and less on trade shows as time goes on, BUT there is no substitute for meeting and greeting as long as the punters keep travelling to London or Birmingham to visit these events. In terms of environmental friendliness it is probably greener to gather everyone together in one place rather than all the costs associated with my sales team of 7 travelling through the countryside albeit in their very fuel-efficient vehicles! Any thoughts on all this appreciated. Have a good week. Speciality Bites, 2013-05-20T11:47:25+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/vacant_shops_reach_record_highhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/vacant_shops_reach_record_high#When:10:20:57Z One in eight shops now lay vacant in Britain’s high streets, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)The figure is the highest since July 2011, which is when the organisation began collecting data. The report also highlights the difference between areas – only one in 14 shops are closed in London, but almost one in five shops are boarded up in Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland sees one in ten shops empty, just below the UK average. However, April saw an increase of footfall for retailers, thanks to the slightly warmer weather. Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC, said, "It's a major concern that the vacancy rate has reached a record high, driven by increases in almost every part of the UK, with some regions like the South West seeing a significant leap in empty shop numbers. With high streets topping the agenda for many now, there's a real opportunity here to seize the moment and stem the tide of further closures. Comparatively small steps to tackle deep-rooted issues such as parking, accessibility and rising business costs could make a huge difference to the health of town centres. "At least there's some cheer on offer in the footfall figures, driven by a respectable showing for high streets, but this compares against a very rainy April 2012, when bad weather left a lot of shoppers running for cover. The unsettled weather at the start of the month seems to have created pent-up demand, which brought many of us out to shop when more spring-like weather finally made an appearance. "As we saw in our April sales figures, there are some very tentative signs of conditions improving, but the trading environment remains volatile. Retailers will be hoping that warmer weather and a Bank Holiday boost help May to usher in better news." News, Retail & Industry, 2013-05-20T10:20:57+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/english_wines_win_at_international_showhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/english_wines_win_at_international_show#When:09:54:17Z Four wines have won gold medals at the 2013 International Wine Challenge (IWC)A 2009 Classic Cuvée from Furleigh Estate; Noble Harvest, a 2011 vintage sweet white wine from Denbies in Surrey; a Rosé blend from Nyetimber and Blanc de Blancs from Gusbourne in Kent all won a gold. Another 19 English wines were awarded silver medals. Charles Metcalfe, co-chairman of the IWC, said, “We’re so pleased with the success of our English winemakers. The gold medal winning wines are absolutely stunning. They have been tasted against thousands of contenders so it is a tremendous achievement that will catapult their product to an international audience. The IWC is the most influential wine contest in the world and we are thrilled that our home-grown talent is really shining. “It’s always brilliant to see a few surprise winners in the medals table and great to see these emerging wine regions and some great value wines triumph. The International Wine Challenge is unique. I know of no other wine competition in the world where each medal winner will have been blind tasted a minimum of three separate occasions to ensure consistency and fairness. We want high quality wine to be available to anyone and with our medal system consumers can instantly trust the quality of the product, whatever the price.” News, Drinks, 2013-05-20T09:54:17+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/cheese_shop_enjoys_online_successhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/cheese_shop_enjoys_online_success#When:12:32:00Z A cheese shop in the Peak District has boosted sales thanks to an online shop run by the local tourism boardThe Old Cheese Shop, in Hartington, is selling its cheese in conjunction with Visit Peak District and Derbyshire as part of an initiative to highlight, promote and drive online traffic to Peak District produce. Claire Millner, co-owner of the Old Cheese Shop, told the Derbyshire Times, “It's a real success. A third of our hits now come from the Visit Peak District and Derbyshire e-shop, and it's only recently gone live!” David James, chief executive of Visit Peak District and Derbyshire, added, “It's excellent news that our new 'Inspired by the Peak' portal has had such a positive impact for the Old Cheese Shop within weeks of its launch. Their experience has shown that it has great potential to give tourism-related businesses an all year round platform to sell their goods and services to a huge audience via our website, which attracts more than three million visits a year. “I hope it will encourage more people to book space and give visitors a true flavour of the area – putting them in touch with everything from quality food and drink to special experiences.” Dr Peter Dewhurst, a strategic director at the University of Derby, which helped to set up the website, commented, “The e-shop turns people's computers into a shop window for the Peak District. Top local producers can now tap into a worldwide web of potential customers. I hope it will also boost tourism, as visitors old and new can now quite literally get a taste of the Peak sent directly to their homes.” News, Cheese and Deli Counter, 2013-05-16T12:32:00+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_blends_from_shropshire_spice_cohttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_blends_from_shropshire_spice_co#When:12:31:56Z The Shropshire Spice Company has just launched a new range of blends, designed to deliver flavour without the fuss of combining your own spicesThe 'World Blend' range includes African inspired Swahili Curry, a Goan inspired Xaccutti Curry, a Classic Italian Herb blend and a traditional Chicken and Beef Casserole. They can be added to meat or chicken then mixed with water, coconut milk or tinned tomatoes. Fiona Mulroy, co-owner of The Shropshire Spice Company, said, “I love cooking and would miss it if I totally relied on ready meals, but equally wanted to source my own meat and prepare a meal while still being around for homework duty, and enjoy time with the children at the end of the day. “We're a small outfit that specialises in quality storecupboard ingredients, which are staples but as near to homemade as we can make them. They're all natural and there's nothing in there that you wouldn't put in yourself – for example, our thickening agent is just household flour. “A lot of people want to know exactly what they're eating these days, but most of us just don't have the time to make everything from scratch. These spice blends take out all the hard work without skimping on quality.” Each package is merchandised in shelf-ready packaging in units of ten. News, Ambient & Retail Ready, 2013-05-15T12:31:56+00:00 Well, we have already had a glimpse of summer as I write this, but unfortunately it was a little too short-livedBut the smell of barbeques was in the air in my neighbourhood! It doesn’t take much for the British public to go alfresco! Have you noticed what the supermarkets do as soon there is a hto spell? They merchandise all the barbeque-related products together which encourages consumers to increase their basket spend. Independent retailers should do the same – and as quickly. Let’s look at what sells well should the British summer be kind to us this year. Party food always sells better in hotter months than cold (apart from Christmas), so snacking products, crisps of all shapes and sizes, canapé-type products. One line that is selling particularly well for us this year is the Xochitl (pronounced so-cheel) tortilla crisps which come from Texas. The huge bags have great shelf presence and are great for parties. Of course, eating salty products helps develop a thirst for drinks, and there are no other products in the market, whose sales vary so dramatically depending on the weather. After a good weekend our sales of adult soft drinks can be 50% higher than they would have been after a dull weekend, so ensure you hold plenty of stock just in case. Elderflower based drinks remain our most successful sellers, but something different try Belvoir’s Summer Punch. Finally, talking about summer food, wouldn’t be complete without enthusing about grilling and barbeque sauces, together with rubs and marinades. Personally I tend to steer away from stocking too many products with “BBQ” in the name as these will really only sell during the hot days. Better to go with “grilling” type products that consumers will also use indoors. Wild Appetite make some superb products in New Zealand including a barbeque sauce, but for something different try the Melanesian Mango Sauce – divine on chicken or fish. Party on – outside (hopefully!) Speciality Bites, 2013-05-15T12:31:39+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/bewleys_acquires_grumpy_mule_coffee_brandhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/bewleys_acquires_grumpy_mule_coffee_brand#When:12:26:07Z An established fresh coffee company has taken over Bolling Coffee, the coffee roaster behind Grumpy MuleBewley's, the market leader in fresh coffee foodservice and retail sector in Ireland, has bought the Yorkshire-based coffee roaster to develop both the brand and the business. It also has a strong UK market presence supplying 1,500 outlets and a famous coffee house in Dublin. This is the second British acquisition for the company in 18 months, after it bought Darlington's Coffee in 2011. Ian Balmforth, managing director of Bolling, said, “Bolling and Bewley’s have very similar approaches to the marketplace with a commitment to sourcing the highest quality sustainable coffees from coffee producers while focusing on excellence at every point of customer contact through our customer care teams. Combining the two companies provides a very exciting opportunity for Bolling to grow further given that Bewley’s has already established a presence in London. “Bewley’s direct sourcing is an example of best-practice in the industry, and they think that we also work on it in the right way. We have talked for a long time about going ‘beyond Fairtrade’ and ‘beyond Rainforest’, and the way Bewley’s works and the way we work joins up a lot of very good dots in good direct-sourcing practice. We all see sustainable, traceable, ethical sourcing as the future of the industry.” Jim Corbett, managing director for Bewley's, added, “Bolling has a well deserved reputation as one of the UK’s foremost coffee companies with skilled management, great customers and strong growth prospects. We are very pleased to have this opportunity to work with the Bolling team to open a new chapter in the company’s future. Bolling brings us UK nationwide sales and service capability, a UK roasting facility and considerable further expertise for our customers and the wider UK coffee market. Bewley’s will support Bolling’s further growth with significant ongoing investment in production capability, sales and marketing”. News, Drinks, 2013-05-14T12:26:07+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_bid_for_changes_to_stilton_pdohttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/new_bid_for_changes_to_stilton_pdo#When:09:38:30Z The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is looking at public opinion on whether the PDO-restrictions on Stilton should be amendedCurrently, Stilton can only be produced in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, but there has always been a dispute over whether the cheese originated in Cambridgeshire. An application from The Original Cheese Company asks for the Parish of Stilton in Cambridgeshire to be added as an area where Stilton can be produced. A statement from the company said, “As a result of recent research made possible by technological advancement in online resources and libraries such as Google Books etc., which allows the unprecedented search of rare and esoteric historical publications, it has now been recognized that Stilton cheese first originated in the Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire) village of that name, around the beginning of the 18th century. The cheese continued to be commercially produced there until at least the latter [part of the] 18th century, by which time the major production area for the cheese had largely shifted to the East Midlands.” A Defra spokesperson added, “This consultation has been launched after we received applications from businesses wanting to change to the Stilton product specification. This is an opportunity for all interested parties to now have their say on how this cheese is classified in the future.” However, many industry experts refute the claims that Stilton was manufactured in the village of the same name and say it was merely sold there, which is how it got its name. News, Cheese and Deli Counter, 2013-05-13T09:38:30+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/royal_visit_for_colston_bassett_dairyhttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/royal_visit_for_colston_bassett_dairy#When:09:36:19Z A Nottinghamshire-based cheesemaker has been visited by HRH The Princess Royal to mark its centenaryColston Bassett Dairy produces Blue Stilton and Shropshire Blue. Dairy manager Billy Kevan showed the Princess around the dairy to see cheesemaking take place and outlined how the flavour profiles of the cheese developed during maturation to make Colston Bassett Stilton. She then unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit. Mr Kevan said, “It was a fantastic honour and privilege to be able to show our Dairy to HRH The Princess Royal. A Royal visit has market this, our one hundredth year, as a truly special and memorable year in the history of Colston Bassett Dairy. “To have a member of the Royal family visiting our dairy in the little village of Colston Bassett in Nottinghamshire, was important not just to the dairy but to the whole village. We really appreciate her taking the time to show so much interest in what we do.” News, Cheese and Deli Counter, 2013-05-13T09:36:19+00:00 http://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/prince_charles_farm_shop_closes_after_eight_yearshttp://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/content/news/prince_charles_farm_shop_closes_after_eight_years#When:09:21:46Z A farm shop set up by Prince Charles has been forced to shut due to lack of footfall and the rise of internet shoppingThe Veg Shed, in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, is to cease trading and focus on a vegetable box delivery scheme instead, although the late spring has meant this has been put on hold until summer. The shop sold locally-grown organic produce, including some from Duchy Organic's farm. Three part-time jobs were lost when it closed. The shop became well known for selling 'wonky' fruit and veg, which is normally rejected by the supermarkets. A spokeswoman for Clarence House, Prince Charles' official London residence, said, “In response to consumer trends and a preference for shopping remotely, the decision has been to close the Veg Shed but to continue with the box scheme to satisfy the local demand for seasonal organic produce. “It is a real shame, but the farming industry has struggled in recent years and, as a farmer, the Prince is not immune.” Photo by David Hughes News, Fresh & Farming, 2013-05-13T09:21:46+00:00