After the heat of last week, things have cooled down a bit for the country, but not for the pressure felt by Asda. The supermarket is to cut 150 jobs across its head office. All functions at Asda House in Leeds are affected, including a number of senior buyer roles. It is the latest round of jobs cuts as Asda tries to stay on top of soaring debt interest costs, mounting losses – which hit nearly £1bn last year – and a market share in freefall.
Another supermarket trying to find its way through a turnaround is Morrisons and, it admits, it may have gone too far with its cost-cutting. In a win for the retail traditionalists, it is replacing some of the Market Street meat and fish counters that were stripped out of stores last year. It makes sense: removing them was unpopular with customers and got rid of one of its key points of difference.
And then there’s Co-op. Its revolving door continues to spin and once again it’s the commercial team bearing the brunt. “It’s really worrying the whole of commercial [seems to] have all gone at once,” says Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of shopper marketing agency Savvy. We’ve been speaking to those involved to work out what has happened – and what Co-op is doing about it.
Regen ag’s credibility test
In the same week that thousands of farmers, retailers and food businesses descended on Groundswell, regenerative agriculture faced a widening credibility gap between corporate regen claims and on-farm reality, while concerns over greenwashing sparked debate over whether the sustainable farming movement is losing sight of its grassroots origins.
Despite this, the sector’s momentum shows little sign of slowing: new data suggests almost half of British farmers now use regenerative practices, while pioneer of the nature-first approach Wildfarmed has unveiled a new Food & Nature Resilience Fund to help accelerate the transition. These stories paint a picture of a movement going mainstream, once the industry irons out what ‘regenerative’ really means.
Groundswell might have attracted the great and good of the agri-food world, but plenty more has been afoot in the world of fresh. Data from British Apples & Pears revealed retailers had bought the biggest volume of apples from British producers for five years – and that Tesco was outbuying them all. But BAP executive chair Ali Capper pointed out that, when it came to support relative to retailer size, Aldi and Lidl were in a league of their own.
Speaking of the German discounters, The Grocer revealed Aldi led the pack on a reduction of strawberry prices as the heatwave led to a flush of produce. The mult reduced the price of its budget Everyday Essentials Wonky Strawberries (227g) to £1.19 on 3 June, a 13.8% year-on-year reduction. Other retailers promptly followed suit, with Tesco’s Rosedene Farms, Just Essentials by Asda, Morrisons Savers and Lidl’s Class II strawberries all price-matching Aldi.
Functional is everywhere
You aren’t imagining it, functional NPD really is everywhere right now. According to new survey data from Mintel, nearly one in four (23.8%) of new launches globally last year featured some kind of functional claim, up from less than one in five (17.1%) in 2022. Energy, muscle and weight management, immune, digestive and bone health were the most common claims referenced in NPD launches, while claims linked to energy, gut health and the brain and nervous system were the fastest growing.
In alcohol, the biggest success story of our recent Britain’s Biggest Alcohol Brands report is back in the headlines again, this time for less positive reasons. BuzzBallz appears to have quietly swapped out tequila for vodka in its flagship margarita cocktail. Whether shoppers currently buying Buzzballz by the bucketload are likely to care is another matter…
Meanwhile, the truth many of us suspected has finally been confirmed: BrewDog is unmanageable. That’s one possible reading of the news that CEO James Taylor has left the business, and won’t be replaced following its sale to Tilray Brands in March. The Scottish brewer’s new owner claims that with BrewDog sitting under the remit of its international president Rajnish Ohri, a full-time CEO is no longer required.
We also reported from the Wirral, where Unilever’s new personal and household care site is using the latest robotic tech on a massive scale to ‘future-proof’ the business. The numbers are huge: a £150m investment, a new 10,000 sq ft distribution centre and 30-metre high cranes stacking pallets.
And in one final piece of supplier news, Hain Celestial’s attempts to sell its UK and international division moved towards a conclusion as the last three remaining bidders kicked off the final round of an auction. It represents yet more portfolio shuffling by the industry’s biggest food suppliers as multinationals with diversified assets figure out how to reshape their portfolios to better fit in with current consumer demand and trends.
Levy to the rescue?
The UK’s NEET crisis is deepening, with almost one million 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training. Into this steps the new Growth & Skills Levy, replacing an Apprenticeship Levy that trade bodies called “broken” and Stuart Machin dubbed “maddening.” The reforms bring real improvements – shorter apprenticeships, faster fund spending, entry-level foundation routes – but industry’s welcome remains cautious. Critics warn the changes amount to rebranding rather than reform and there is a real risk that flexibility simply means cheaper training for existing staff. The true test isn’t easier admin for employers – it’s whether the levy actually opens doors.
And as we head into the weekend, London will be awash with colour as an estimated 1.5 million people gather for London Pride. Over the past decade or two, this would have been the cue for fmcg brands to push out limited-edition launches, marketing campaigns and a slew of social media pronouncements, all of them festooned with the famed rainbow flag. But in recent years, such displays of support have become more subdued. We explored why fmcg giants are stepping back from Pride.
As always, this is just a snapshot of the brilliant journalism we’ve worked on this week. And as ever, we’d love to hear what you think. Drop me a line at sarah.vizard@thegrocer.co.uk to share any thoughts or feedback. And have a great weekend.
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