Blogs
Hear, hear!
International Noise Awareness Day, which aims to raise awareness of noise on the welfare and health of people, took place last week on April 29th – which means my recent day out with safety company Arco was well timed. The company was holding a Meet the Experts open day for its customers and members of […]
Food for thought
Women spend two and a half hours a day talking or thinking about food, according to a recent survey commissioned by Nature Valley. Men spend slightly less time doing so, dedicating around two hours a day to food thoughts. As a woman working in the food and drink industry, it’s fair to say that I […]
All natural
The doors have closed on this year’s Natural & Organic Products Europe – Europe’s biggest trade show for natural, organic, fair trade, free-from, vegan, vegetarian and healthy living brands. From 19-20 April, more than 10,000 attendees are thought to have visited the show, which took place at ExCeL, London and featured around 600 exhibitors from […]
Soft drinks resilient in the face of attack
The recently published Britvic Soft Drinks Review reveals that soft drinks increased in value sales by +0.4 per cent to £7.6 billion in 2014 in the UK. Paul Graham, Britvic GB managing director GB, says, “2014 was the year when the grocery and convenience channel ‘held steady’ and showed its true resilience in the face […]
Happy Easter!
It’s April already – Q1 seems to have flown by doesn’t it? – and many are currently enjoying the Easter break; as such, I thought I would make this week’s blog entry a seasonal one. Easter means big business; new research from Mintel has revealed that almost seven in ten (68 per cent) UK consumers […]
Putting on a show
I had been starting to forget what the office looks like following an extremely busy March; so much for show season kicks off in September! In the last few weeks I have attended not one, not two, but three food and drink exhibitions. First up was NutraFormulate, which took place in Birmingham, UK from 17-18 […]
Open for business
With doom and gloom never far from the headlines, I am lucky that my role allows me to see the good as well as the bad. In recent weeks I have been invited to the unveiling of two new food and drink facilities, and it has been a pleasure to be part of such special […]
The demise of the can?
Last week I travelled to Lund, Sweden to visit Tetra Pak and hear all about its Tetra Recart package for the retorted food industry. The Tetra Pak team proposed that metal cans are on their way out, with consumers, retailers and food producers soon to be opting for the more convenient packing solutions promised by […]
Britvic overhaul
I was recently invited to a Britvic Soft Drinks press event, which introduced us to several innovations from the drinks company including new packaging and products across its brands in the UK. Identifying key trends in consumer behaviour, commercial director at Britvic Soft Drinks, Nigel Paine, explained that the dynamics of adult socialising are changing, […]
Causing a stir
The Gulp campaign – which stands for give up loving pop – is a Food Active project funded by the North West Directors of Public Health, which aims to raise awareness of the damaging effects of the consumption of sugary drinks.
Safety first
I was delighted to have been invited by Arco to celebrate its signing of an agreement with AEG Europe to become the official safety equipment partner of The O2 and Up at The O2, the iconic London, UK venue that attracts nine million visitors each year from around the globe. UK safety company Arco distributes […]
Sugar rush
UK food and drink associations have been fighting industry’s corner following the publication of an article by the The BMJ, which suggests that industry funding is swaying expert opinion on nutrition issues. Entitled Sugar: spinning a web of influence, it states, “An investigation by The BMJ has uncovered evidence of the extraordinary extent to which […]
Taking the biscuit
As a serious biscuit fan I was interested to read the findings of a recent survey which looked at the UK’s biscuit consumption preferences and habits. Commissioned by packaging machinery supplier KernPack, there was a theme running through the top three biscuits of choice: chocolate. The Chocolate Hobnob was revealed as the nation’s favourite biscuit, with […]
Arts and crafts
Towards the end of last year, Canadean predicted the top trends for 2015; one of which was from mass produced to personalised. The market researcher predicted that the desire for craft offerings will become increasingly influential, with consumers wanting their products to be produced and manufactured on a smaller scale to ensure quality and to […]