< PreviousWetherspoon investing £200m to expand & enhance pub estate J D Wetherspoon is investing more than £200 million into its pub estate over the next four years in a move that is expected to create 10,000 new jobs. The company, which currently operates almost 900 pubs and almost 60 hotels across the UK and Ireland, will focus predominantly on small and medium-sized towns, though it will also invest in larger towns and cities including London, Dublin and Glasgow. The strategic investment will be used to develop new pubs and hotels as well as enlarging its existing portfolio. “We are looking forward to opening many more new pubs as well as investing in existing pubs over the next four years,” said Wetherspoon founder and Chairman, Tim Martin. “We are especially pleased that a large proportion of the investment will be in smaller towns and cities which have seen a decline in investment in recent years. The fact that we will be creating approximately 10,000 jobs is great news too.” on line 10 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net Avara Foods invests £6.5m in production site Avara Foods has invested £6.5 million to install new technology and bolster production capacity at its Hereford site. The investment has been made throughout 2019 as part of a wider investment programme at the site intended to increase efficiency and Previous invests has established the site – which now processes 100,000 chickens per week – as one of the most advanced food manufacturing facilities in the UK. The latest developments will complete later this year, “Improving our operating infrastructure, increasing productivity and raising pay will improve efficiency, retain our valued colleagues and help make sure we are a sustainable business for the long term,” said Richard Walden, Site Manager at Avara Foods, Hereford. First bulk wine from India delivered to UK The first ever shipment of bulk wine from India to the UK took place in December 2019 thanks to a joint venture between Kingsland Drinks and Indian wine producer Soul Tree. Building on an eight-year success for the brand in the on-trade, Soul Tree and Kingsland Drinks are set to launch a duo of wines which will be available to the on-trade from early-December, developed to meet the house wine price point on Indian Comprising of Soul Tree Red and Soul Tree White, the pair of wines are designed to drink alongside Indian food and join the brand’s existing varietal-led Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon. The new wines will be bottled, packed and distributed from Kingsland Drinks full-service site in Irlam, Greater Manchester. Tyson to develop beef processing plant in Kazakhstan Tyson Foods is expanding the reach of its beef operations overseas after investing in the construction of a new beef processing plant in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world by geographic area and has an established beef industry which serves the domestic population with exports to the region. Once constructed, the processing plant will have an anticipated harvest capacity of 2,000 head per day. The plant is part of an agreement reached between Tyson Foods’ beef and pork subsidiary with the Republic of Kazakhstan and private holding company Kusto Group – which as an existing beef- focussed subsidiary in the country. The agreement is part of a broader initiative by the Kazakhstan government to expand and modernize agriculture, beginning with meat production. Fazer doubles oat milling capacity with €30m investment Fazer Group is investing € 30 million in its oat milling business in a move that doubles the capability at its Finnish and Swedish facilities. The investment comes amid growing global demand for oats and helps enable Fazer to reach its ambitions of becoming “the leading plant-based player in Northern Europe”. “Fazer is aiming to grow in Northern Europe and beyond,” said President and CEO, Christoph Vitzthum. “The superfood oats are booming worldwide and Fazer will leverage its knowledge in oats further.” The investment will be equally divided between the mills in Lahti, Finland and Lidköping in Sweden. Fazer will build two new mills, doubling its current oat milling capacity. Once the expansions have been finalised, Fazer said it will be “number one in oats in the Nordic countries and one of the leading players in Europe”. In April 2019, construction began on the company’s xylitol production facility making xylitol from oat hulls. © Shutterstock/AVM Images © Shutterstock/Anton Mislawsky © Shutterstock/Vladislav Noseek © Shutterstock/alpinrage 04-11.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 11:49 Page 7Kerry launches plant-based protein for waters, juices & energy drinks Kerry has launched a new plant-based protein ingredient for use in low-pH beverage applications including waters, juices and energy drinks. Currently, only a few protein solutions exist in the marketplace for use in low-pH beverage applications. The main sources used in waters, juices and energy drinks are derived either from animals or soy. As a result, these protein sources have been unable to address the rising consumer demand for natural, plant-based, allergen-free and sustainable foods and beverages. This is the gap Kerry identified and sought to bridge with this new product launch. ProDiem Refresh was developed specifically for low-pH beverages such as waters, juices and energy drinks, and succeeds in resolving the issues customers care most about, all while ensuring a low-pH drink offering that offers an environmentally friendly protein source. Chobani diversifies offering with oat-based products US Greek yoghurt brand, Chobani, has diversified its offering by launching a range of oat-based drinks and cultured oat blends. Chobani Oat drinks are made from organic oats and have been released in four flavours: plain, vanilla, chocolate and plain extra creamy. Included in this new line-up is the Chobani Oat Drink Barista Blend which has been specifically designed to behave like steamed whole milk in coffee and tea. The company’s batch-fermented Oat Blend, meanwhile, comes in four flavours – vanilla, strawberry, blueberry pomegranate and peach mandarin – and also includes a variety with textures including almond crumble and granola. Of course, the company’s main offering remains animal lactose, stating the “platform isn’t meant to be a replacement for dairy”. With that in mind, the company is also launching four new dairy-based coffee creamers: caramel, sweet cream, hazelnut and vanilla. Positioned between the two, is the new Greek Yoghurt with Oatmeal. on the shelf BLC introduces plant-based fats for meat analogues Dutch oil and fat producer, Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC), has entered the veggie burger category with the launch of a range of plant-based fats designed to mimic meat fats in vegan products. The company’s palm and shea-based fat systems possess the “unique” melting profiles and can be applied as crucial fat ingredients to meatless burgers. According to BLC, both solutions deliver “more bite, a juicy mouthfeel, and full flavour”, whilst also offering no oil leakage or excessive smoking on a cooking surface. “Fat, especially derived from beef, is the key contributor to flavour. We succeeded in recreating this sensory experience with high quality plant-based fats,” said Feike Swennenhuis, Marketing Director for BLC Europe. Arla taps maternal nutrition trend with latest launch Arla Foods Ingredients is taking advantage of increasing demand for maternal nutrition food and drink products with the launch of a new ‘Smart Mama’ concept. The launch has seen the development of two new drink and bar protypes which both contain the ingredient Lacprodan MFGM-10 – a whey protein concentrate featuring the benefits of milk fat globule membranes (MFGMs). The Smart Mama prototypes are available now, offering manufacturers the opportunity to launch a premium functional product into the rapidly growing market for maternal nutrition food and drink products. “Our Smart Mama drink and Smart Mama bar concepts are convenient, offer a great taste and provide Lacprodan MFGM-10, which has documented benefits for brain development when applied in early- life nutrition products,” said Anne Staudt Kvistgaard, Arla Foods Ingredients’ Senior Manager of Early Life Nutrition. The Smart Mama drink is low-fat, offers a source of protein and calcium, and contains high levels of folic acid, which helps prevent neural tube birth defects, Arla said. Food & Drink International 11 www.fdiforum.net Gluten-free wrap launched for foodservice market Central Foods, a UK-based frozen food distributor, has launched a gluten-free wrap for the foodservice market. The KaterBake wrap is part of an expanding range of free-from foodservice products supplied by the company. As well as being gluten-free, it is suitable also suitable for vegans. “The demand for gluten-free food continues to grow and we are really pleased to offer this product to our food service customers to help them cater for an increasing number of consumers who have dietary requirements,” said MD Gordon Lauder. “Wraps are a key ingredient of many of today’s popular food trends, such as street- food-style dining and grab-and-go, and the KaterBake gluten-free plain wrap will help to ensure that all customers are able to enjoy eating wraps, regardless of any dietary needs.” The wrap has been developed to overcome persistent issues of splitting during preparation which, Lauder notes, had been a challenge in the past with gluten-free wraps. © Shutterstock/Samo Trebizan 04-11.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 11:49 Page 812 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:35 Page 1Food & Drink International 13 www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT © Shutterstock /sok1985 With the Tokyo Olympics on the horizon, fresh worries over foods from the Fukushima prefecture are undermining Japan’s efforts to boost exports. O n Friday 11 March 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant disaster become the most severe nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster twenty-five years before. It began with a 6.6 magnitude earthquake that resulted in a fourteen-metre-high tsunami that swept over the plant’s seawall and flooded its lower grounds. This subsequent loss-of-coolant accident led to three nuclear meltdowns, three hydrogen explosions, the release of radioactive contamination in three units and promoted a mass evacuation of over 150,000 people. To date, the Japanese government has reported only one cancer death attributed to radiation exposure and tests have frequently shown that food from the area and surrounding regions are safe for consumption. Almost a decade later, Japan is hosting the summer Olympics for the second time in fifty-five years in what should be a boon for its economy and food sector. The 2020 Games also offered the nation the opportunity to demonstrate to the world its recovery efforts of the prefecture since 2011. However, persisting concerns and fresh worries over radiation in and around the disaster zone and the wider Fukushima prefecture could dampen the impact. Fukushima is hosting the baseball and softball 14 Á 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:35 Page 214 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT games and will also serve as the starting location of the domestic leg of the Olympic torch relay beginning in March. But back in August 2019, South Korea expressed concerns over the safety of food grown in Fukushima being served to athletes in the Olympic Village. At the time, the country revealed it was considering making its own arrangements to feed its athletes with committee officials drawing up plans to open a separate cafeteria exclusively for South Korean athletes. Sports authorities also requested that international groups be permitted to monitor radiation levels during the games. At the time, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it would double the frequency of testing any food products with a history of being returned in the past five years after trace amounts of radiation were detected. This came at a time when tensions between the two nations were at a decades-long high after court rulings ordered Japanese companies to compensate Koreans who were forced to work in factories and mines before and during the Second World War, back when the Korean peninsula was a Japanese colony. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this continuing dispute has affected trade and cultural exchanges and led to a dip in tourism figures, as well as heightening concerns over food from Fukushima. Along with China, South Korea is one of the biggest holdouts when it comes to produce from eastern Japan as other nations around the world continue to ease restrictions. In November, for example, the European Union lifted requirements for radiation inspection certificates for all food items from Iwate, Tochigi and Chiba prefectures and for fishery products – as well as a wide range of other food items from Miyagi, Ibaraki and Gunma prefectures. During the same month, Singapore announced it was lifting its suspension on imports from food from Fukushima. Except for some items, China blocks food from ten prefectures in eastern Japan, while South Korea still suspends imports of fishery products from eight prefectures and vegetables from fourteen prefectures in Eastern Japan. According to the prefectural government, all food items produced in Fukushima undergo repeat inspections to ensure their safety. However, less than six months after South Korea first expressed its concerns, Greenpeace revealed it had detected radiation € 200m pledged to promote EU agri-food in 2020 € 200.9 million is being allocated by the European Commission in 2020 to fund promotion activities for EU agri-food products domestically and overseas. In 2020, more than half of the budget ( € 118m) will go towards campaigns pursuing markets outside the EU with high-growth potential – such as Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico and the US. Eligible sectors include dairy and cheese, table olives & olive oil and wines. The selected campaigns are expected to enhance the competitiveness and consumption of EU agri-food products, raise their profile and increase their market share in these targeted countries. Campaigns will also inform EU and global consumers of the various EU quality schemes and labels such as geographical indications or organic products. The calls for proposals for the upcoming 2020 campaigns will be published in January 2020. © Shutterstock /Goskova Tatiana 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:35 Page 3Food & Drink International 15 www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT hotspots near the starting point of the torch relay. Although Japan’s Environmental Ministry said the area was generally safe, it did say it was in discussions with local communities to review the region ahead of the official opening of the 2020 Games in July. Findings from Greenpeace were relayed to the government and a report is expected sometime in 2020 though, as of writing, no date has been revealed. The Japanese government has ambitious plans in place to increase exports of agriculture, forestry and fisheries products around the globe. A growth strategy aimed to reach exports of £9.1 billion in 2019 but this aim has been difficult to achieve for all the reasons outlined previously, among others. As well as continuing to plead its case around the world, work with environmental groups and continue with its own efforts, the country will also establish an organisation in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry to serve as a control tower for the promotion of food exports beginning April 2020, just months before the official start of the Tokyo Olympics. Whether or not Japan will be able to win gold and convince the world of the safety of food produce from Fukushima remains to be seen. China lifts ban on US poultry China has recently agreed to lift its near five-year ban on the imports of US poultry in a move that could lead to more than $1 billion in sales to the US per year. US poultry had been banned in China since the beginning of 2015 following an avian flu outbreak in December 2014. The ban then remained in place until now despite the US being officially cleared from the outbreak since 2017. As China continues to grapple with a death of meat protein following the swine fever epidemic, the nation is turning towards other sources which is good news for US poultry producers. “Reopening China to US poultry will create new export opportunities for our poultry farmers and support thousands of workers employed by the US poultry industry,” said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. © Shutterstock /gowithstock © Shutterstock /David Tadevosian 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:35 Page 416 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net CARTONING AND SLEEVING © Shutterstock /wavebreakmedia C artons and sleeves are vital within packaging, to help products make an impact on consumers and stand out on store shelves, whilst also protecting goods and providing the detailed dietary, nutritional, ingredient and traceability information that is desired by consumers and required by increasingly stringent regulations. A key trend across packaging that permeates into cartoning and sleeving is sustainability, resulting from increasingly conscientious consumers and initiatives like the Circular Economy Package and the Single Use Plastics Directive. Indeed over half of consumers highlight environmental sustainability as important to their purchasing decisions and forty-one per cent seek out recyclable packaging. Sustainability has created new opportunities and markets for cartons and sleeves, as environmentally-friendly alternatives to plastics and polystyrene. carton have become desirable due to their renewable qualities and natural look as one of the most environmentally sustainable and cost- effective packaging formats on the market. Additionally, life cycle assessments indicate that cartons offer a better environmental performance for a variety of products including UHT milk, soft drinks and long-life food. With a significant portion of cartons standing at around seventy-five per cent renewable, more work is currently being done to improve their sustainability. Developing aseptic cartons made fully of renewable plant materials is where challenges have mainly laid due to the difficulties in replacing a required aluminium layer. Companies have come together to see cartons become fully recyclable. At the end of 2018, Tetra Park and Veolia joined forces to address the challenge of recycling one-hundred per cent of the components used to make carton packages for food and drink. The challenge here is the multi-material composition of cartons, containing cardboard, which is of course highly recyclable, plastic and aluminium. While Sustainable , informative In response to consumer demand, the cartons and sleeves of today are becoming more environmentally-friendly, informative and increasingly digital. 16-17.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:37 Page 1Food & Drink International 17 www.fdiforum.net CARTONING AND SLEEVING the cardboard is made into pulp employed for paper towel and toilet paper, the other aspects of the packaging often end up in landfill or are sent for incineration, despite holding properties that could be utilised in better recycling. The plastics and aluminium compound residue is flexible, rot proof and waterproof and could be transformed into raw material to be used by the plastics industry for crates, pallets and furniture. Responsible sourcing of these elements when used in cartoning is also important, and companies are looking out for materials certified by bodies such as The Forest Stewardship Council, The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, and the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative. For some time, a problem for beverage cartons has been a lack of facilities prepared to recycle them, due to the packaging containing multiple layers that are difficult to separate and recycle. Fortunately, an increasing number of specialised recycling plants and commitments by local authorities is addressing this, improving recycle rates. Illustrating a commitment to carton recycling and reflecting efforts globally, in the UK ninety per cent of authorities now collect the packaging for recycling, sixty per cent of these from the house, this is in comparison twenty per cent before June 2007. To appeal to the environmentally conscious consumer, many companies have now developed one-hundred per cent bio-based cartons with polyethylene from biomass - including from residues like tall oil from Nordic forests. Arla, a Scandinavian dairy producer, is using renewable wood- based bioplastic for paperboard milk, cooking and yoghurt cartons which will allow them to be recycled alongside cardboard. This more responsible plastic source is to replace the fossil- based thin plastic films required inside cartons for shelf life and product safety. Meanwhile where sleeves are concerned there are a number of existing options using recycled and biodegradable material and lighter cardboard. While the sustainability of packaging is important to consumers, the way it is presented remains a pivotal factor in purchasing decisions. Consumers desire a strong opening experience, and are easily turned off by low quality imagery, difficult to read text and unattractive designs - they now expect inviting artwork, informative and clear text and well thought out layouts. For many products sleeves have been a real saviour in making them appear more attractive, especially for products, primarily perishables, required to be placed in see- though packaging by law. In this instance water resistant paper sleeves are a necessity to express branding and all crucial information. Sleeves of course must be of a high quality to ensure they don’t become soggy or break apart. Finishing techniques, like matt or glossy, appealing graphics and vibrant colour schemes are common on the sleeves you will see on store shelves to entice consumers. One key area for sleeves has of course been in the continuously expanding ready meal sector - on trays, tubs and pots - where the sleeve is what truly sells the product beneath. A different form of sleeve that has grown dramatically in popularity over the last decade is the shrink sleeve, which offers aesthetically pleasing 360- degree labelling and decoration on complex curves, making it a top choice for beverage producers. Able to cover the entirety of a product, the sleeve makes a real impact on the eye and is highly visible on shelves. Shrink sleeves are being used for new product launches and in rebrands and represent one of the quickest emerging segments in labelling. Additionally, by covering a container from top to bottom, they prevent product tampering and make it instantly recognisable when this does occur. While sustainability concerns grow, it is essential that brands using shrink sleeves make sure they can be easily separated and recovered to be reused. Indeed, there are eco-friendly sustainable shrink sleeve films that can be used to market products that are safer for the environment. The connectivity of packaging is another primary concern within cartoning and sleeving. Many brands are experimenting with intelligent, digital cartons with QR codes and near field communication that enhance the experience of packaging and present additional space in which to present information about products on where and how they have been made, feeding into the increasing consumer tendency to base purchasing decisions on personal values. Consumers want information to be easily accessible, and packs with added connectivity, from say a unique digital identifier can enrich this experience. Augmented reality is one area in which sleeving and cartoning have entered, creating unique, memorable and even fun packaging experiences. If a product is to sell in today’s environment, the carton it is contained in or sleeve it is surrounded by must be secure, sustainable, informative, convenient and attractive. © Shutterstock /Kuznetsov Dmitriy 16-17.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:37 Page 218 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING V isualising the food supply chain is done so with a series of links between the disparate but interconnected parts of production. On a macro scale, these links are fulfilled by conveying systems which move ingredients and finished products from one part of production to another. In larger factories, these systems move in raw ingredients and, hours later, move out the finished product for delivery. Despite this critical role, conveyors can often be forgotten about when manufacturers contemplate their automation strategy. When it comes to assessing conveyer options, flexibility, robustness and safety are all crucial criteria. System integrators have access to a vast array of options – from gravity rollers, to belt conveyers and heavy-duty palletisers. Additionally, conveyers can be customised for any automation format, such as horizontal, bucket, vertical, Moving on Conveying systems are designed to meet a variety of production needs across the supply chain, so selecting the right one is crucial for manufacturers, as Food and Drink International explores. © Shutterstock /Budimir Jevtic 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:39 Page 1Food & Drink International 19 www.fdiforum.net CONVEYING swan neck and carousels. Unlike other areas of the production line, conveying offers room for significant customisation, allowing manufacturers and producers to install highly tailored solutions designed to fit their specifications. Before any purchasing decision, however, manufacturers must first understand the variety of conveying systems on the market and find the one best suited to their needs. Stainless steel flat conveyors, for example, are a popular choice in the food industry, but can also be offered as inclined conveyors, bringing product from one level to another. Elsewhere, there’s spiral conveyors which effectively prove and cool product in confined spaces, whilst slat & mesh conveyors are the go-to Stainless steel conveyor systems Stand alone units or fully integrated Robotic and end of line equipment Bespoke engineering capabilities Turnkey and standalone solutions Integration and project management Service support and upgrades Partnered with Lita Palletising Systems for over 30 years www.kensal.com sales@kensal.com | tel: +44 (0) 1 582 425 777 Kensal Handling Systems Ltd, Kensal House, President Way, Luton, LU2 9NR Embracing the latest technology, Kensal consistently delivers improved line efficiency for customers, whilst reducing operating costs. Handling a Better Solution © Shutterstock /Vladimir Demin 20 Á 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 08:39 Page 2Next >