Food and Drink Suppliers

Supplier news

Morrisons launches personalised loyalty card rewards for customers’ favourite brands

The My Points Boosters scheme is being trialled in the latest phase of the relaunch of its More Card programme

Waitrose recalls olives over possible glass risk

The olives are unsafe to eat and should be returned for a refund

Dragons’ Den-backed Alf Turner sausages back in the mults

The Hampshire-based butcher brand has secured listings for two sausage lines

Defra unveils multimillion-pound River Wye clean-up action plan

The river has been blighted by agricultural pollution in recent years

Heck back in profit after range reset

The brand reported an operating profit of £239k last year following a switch to more profitable SKUs

Fiddes Payne to cut 20 jobs after losing Jamie Oliver contract

The Grocer understands that more than 20 roles are being lost out of a total workforce of about 50 staff

Ella’s Kitchen loses share as cost-conscious families turn to own label

Ella’s Kitchen has seen its market share eroded as parents switched to cheaper own-label babyfood amid price sensitivity in the category

SimplyCook defies category woes to make first-ever profit

The company called 2023 a “watershed” year and said in its newly filed accounts that it moved into the black thanks to a “right-sized” plan, with lower marketing investment and disciplined cost management

Over half of government seafood catch limits unsustainable, data shows

For 2024, of the 79 baseline total allowable catches negotiated, only 36 are in line with ICES advice

Fearne & Rosie set for growth push with two senior hires

Fearne & Rosie has appointed its first-ever finance director and sales director to help the fast-growing challenger brand get its range of healthier jams into more supermarkets

Bako expands into Northern Ireland with acquisition of Finlay’s Food

Founded in 1976 and based in Craigavon, Finlay’s manufactures and supplies ingredients to the bakery and general food industry

‘Tinder for sourcing’ supplier marketplace secures funding boost

Berlin-based Torg said it would use the cash injection to expand its supplier database and build more time-saving tools for buyers

Tiba Tempeh launches tempeh mince and pack redesign

The Tempeh Mince is the first of its kind and the brand claims is the only plant-based mince to contain 100% natural and organic ingredients

Marleybones wins backing from JamJar and Active Partners

The fresh dogfood startup has raised almost £1m in seed funding as the business aims to expand its retail distribution following recent wins

Re:Nourish wins six-figure backing to support expansion

The challenger brand will use the expansion loan to increase its manufacturing capability and back sales and marketing initiatives

Egg industry has ‘serious concerns’ over Scottish cage ban

The Scottish government last week announced a new consultation on outlawing the use of cages to house hens involved in egg production

Primula launches limited edition Cheddar & Chorizo variant

The new product begins with the ‘comforting familiarity of creamy cheddar cheese, followed by a delightful burst of chorizo’

Tofoo Co weighing up strategic options as sales boom

Investment bankers at Piper Sandler are in the early stages of a process to weigh up interest in the fast-growing tofu brand, according to City sources

Co-op ditches Thai coconut milk supplier over monkey labour concerns

Co-op’s own-label coconut milk is now sourced from Sri Lanka

Furr Boost secures Dragons’ Den investment for dog smoothie brand

The business secured £50k from Touker Suleyman in return for a 30% stake

Up to 10 execs depart Pilgrim’s Europe in wake of £4.2bn restructure

The JBS-owned businesses are in the process of an integration under the Pilgrim’s Europe banner

Yazoo launches £6m push for Thick n’ Creamy line

The brand’s biggest-ever ATL investment will run until 1 July

Who Gives a Crap on a roll with rapid UK growth

Sustainable paper products challenger Who Gives a Crap is racking up rapid growth thanks to a loyal DTC customer base and expanding distribution in retail

UK Organic formed to spearhead revival of sector

The move has been prompted by the ‘urgent need for a fresh approach’ for the organic sector

NFU calls for halt to proposed seasonal worker cost changes

The union said it feared the new rules could have a financially damaging impact on farming and growing businesses

Flora launches Plant Cream to retailers for first time

The previously professional product is now available in Asda in a double cream format

Nice Rice secures six-figure investment to build sustainable rice category

Nice Rice has closed a six-figure investment round to help with its mission to champion environmentally friendly products and grow the sustainable rice category in the UK

Heck unveils sub-brand targeting younger shoppers

The sausage brand has expanded with a new proposition, called What The Heck!

Cranswick petfood brand Vitalin launches first TV ad

The ad push represents a seven-figure investment in the brand by Cranswick, which also includes a packaging revamp

Yeo Valley launches protein-rich Greek recipe snacking yoghurts

The snacking yoghurts will launch in three fruit flavours: Lemon, Peach & Raspberry and Strawberry & Passion fruit

New agri-adjudicator ‘may let retailers off hook’

A policy expert who proposed the creation of the Groceries Code Adjudicator said the government should have expanded the remit of the GCA instead

Tesco and M&S catch heat for failing to disclose cocoa supply chains data

The annual Chocolate Scoreboard ranks cocoa buyers on issues such as child labour, deforestation and supply chain transparency

Village Bakery set to command £160m price tag as PE owner explores exit

Village Bakery is seeking new owners, with its private equity backer having tasked bankers with running an auction for the premium private-label bread maker

Shicken wins further multimillion backing from Matthew Glover’s Veg Capital

The brand will use the £4m cash injection to scale up manufacturing capacity and ‘realise the global potential of its restaurant-quality range’

Hovis turnaround picks up under new management team

Hovis has made big strides in its turnaround as significant price hikes helped boost revenues and profitability

Little Moons hires Graze boss Joanna Allen as new CEO

Ice cream challenger Little Moons has appointed industry heavyweight Joanna Allen as its new CEO to fill the vacant position left by the surprise exit of Mike Hedges last month, The Grocer can reveal

Accrol subject of £130m takeover bid as Navigator sets sights on UK toilet tissue

Portugal’s Navigator, a paper and pulp group listed on the Lisbon Stock Exchange, offered 38p a share to buy the Blackburn-headquartered business that counts all the UK’s major supermarkets and discounters as customers

Freshways swoops to rescue bread wholesaler Coultons from collapse

Freshways has swooped to rescue bread wholesaler Coultons from administration in a deal that solidifies the acquisitive dairy group’s position in the bread market

Lactalis launches Président extra creamy brie to Ocado

The brand said the mild and creamy cheese was “highly versatile” but had “special melting properties and extra depth” which made it best enjoyed hot

Müller Yogurt & Desserts launches large Frijj cartons

Shoppers will be able to purchase 950ml cartons of Müller Frijj in fudge brownie and strawberry flavours

analysis & features

How British are the supermarkets and what’s behind their marketing claims?

Much has been made of online ‘buy British’ sections, but farmers aren’t impressed. A consultation is looking to make claims clearer

What will change under regulated dairy contracts?

New rules and the creation of an Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator are set to shake up producer-processor relationships

opinion