Fiona McLelland
NewsKit Kat bucks compliance trend for food advertising
This week, Nestlé's TV ad for Kit Kat with Father Christmas was ruled in breach of the Committee of Advertising Practice advertising code but overall, the food and drink industry had increased compliance with the stricter advertising rules imposed...
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Vion loses second exec from its pork operation
UK and Dutch meat giant Vion Food Group has suffered its second high-profile departure this year. Pork boss Bill Thurston has left to "pursue other career opportunities" in the food industry after three years as managing director of...
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Morrisons expands training programme
Morrisons is to expand its Retail Skills training programme after the first 20,000 staff achieved QCF qualifications.The supermarket claims to have trained the largest ever number of employees on a vocational learning programme at any...
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Can Morrisons keep on wowing the City?
Who'd have predicted Morrisons would be hailed the darling of the City? Yet that is exactly what has happened following a stonking sales uplift over Christmas that left its rivals trailing in its wake. The analysts were fulsome in their...
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Asda tipped to buy Somerfield for £2bn
Asda has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to buy high-street grocery chain Somerfield, The Grocer has learnt. Somerfield hired the bank Citigroup this week after receiving "some unsolicited approaches", according to a source close...
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marks & spencer's new eco-store
This is a retailer, not a green adventure zone," insists Mark Calderwood, store manager at Marks & Spencer's new 'eco-store' store in Glasgow. If that's the case, it's certainly doing a good impression of one. The 70,000 sq ft...
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Ocado's service gives online shoppers a merry Christmas
Ocado provided the best service of all the online grocers over Christmas - and Tesco the worst - according to research carried out exclusively for The Grocer. Mystery shoppers used by eDigital Research placed 36 orders with the major...
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Brits splash out most on keeping clean
Brits spend more money on cleaning homes and clothes than the US or any other country in Europe, with the gap set to widen further in the next few years as the comparative cost of living accelerates. The average adult consumer in the UK...
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Website revamp is designed to reduce transaction times
Ocado is hoping a website redesign will boost sales by speeding up transaction times. The site has been given a complete overhaul by an in-house team over the past nine months. New features, such as an extended favourites section...
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Mars still using rennet in choc bars
At least three of the UK's top-selling chocolate products still contain meat extract - despite a public backlash against Mars UK last year. In May 2007, we revealed Mars had reformulated many of its bestselling lines to include animal...
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Sainsbury’s is set to rip out auto picking
The costly and ill-fated automated ‘picking’ system that was at the heart of Sainsbury’s availability woes until recent years has remained a heavy burden on operating efficiency and looks set to be ripped out altogether. In a week when...
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Asda's distribution staff are risking injury, claims report
Asda distribution workers are at risk of injury due to the higher pick-rate targets introduced by voice-pick technology, according to a report commissioned by the GMB union. The study, carried out by ergonomics consultancy JRP Ergonomics,...
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Peter's to supply pastries to Asda
Peter's Food Service has secured a multimillion-pound-a-year contract with Asda that will create 30 new jobs and result in a £650,000 investment in its South Wales bakery. After 12 months of negotiations with Asda, the company will now...
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Sainsbury's hits out at celebrity ads of rivals
Sainsbury's advertising boss has launched an astonishing attack on the TV campaigns run by the company's rivals. Speaking to Sainsbury's staff magazine, national advertising manager Anna Shirley described the Spice Girls, who featured in...
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Lidl drives fresher feel with 5-a-day
Lidl aims to shed its downmarket image and reposition itself as a purveyor of healthy, fresh food. The German discounter unveiled a 'New Year New You'-themed ad campaign at the start of January. The month-long drive features a new slogan...
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Co-op Group consolidates distribution
The Co-operative Group is set to close two food distribution sites in the north east of England to make way for a new 270,000 sq ft RDC. The £12m site will be built next to the Co-op Group's existing RDC in Birtley, Tyne & Wear, ...
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Evans to succeed Walkers' Campbell
Walkers UK general manager Neil Campbell has been promoted to president of Tropicana USA and will be replaced by Richard Evans, PepsiCo commercial vice-president in the Middle East and Africa. Campbell has been with PepsiCo UK for more...
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Sainsbury's adding weight to property development team
Sainsbury's has strengthened its property management team with the appointment of a second head of property development. The supermarket plans to increase floor space by 10% to more than 19 million sq ft by March 2010 and has...
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Gleason pulls in more Dunnhumby expertise
Nectar loyalty card operator LMG has raided rival Dunnhumby's management cupboard to complete its new Insight & Communications team. Peter Gleason, who joined from Dunnhumby in the summer, has brought in two former colleagues from the...
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Nisa board brings in objective angle
Nisa-Today's has completed an eight-month search for its first independent directors as part of its drive to deliver improved corporate governance for members. The buying group has appointed Ian Black and Mark Pullen to the holdings board...