The FMT Blog
Opinion, analysis and musings from the FMT editorial team and expert guest writers about the food processing and manufacturing sector.
ABP launches fresh plant based brand
ABP has launched its first fresh plant based meat-free brand for distribution in the UK. The new brand is being called Equals and will be available to consumers next week. The company say that Equals is a range of fresh plant based products with both texture and...
Farming Minister George Eustice quits the Government
The Agriculture Minister, George Eustice, has resigned from the government following the Prime Minister’s decision to allow a vote on delaying Brexit. In his resignation letter Eustice said: “If the position of Parliament is now that we will refuse to leave without an...
Food industry holds key to sustainable future says Compass CEO
The food industry, more than any other sector, holds the key to achieving a shared sustainable future, predicted Dominic Blakemore, when delivering The City Food Lecture 2019 on 26th February. The Group Chief Executive of Compass Group outlined the challenges of...
Do school dinners make the grade?
A new competition has been launched to find out what primary school pupils really think of their school dinners. Welsh red meat agency, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) is asking kids across Wales to tell them what they’d like to see dished up on their...
M&S and Ocado confirm joint venture
Following press and media speculation, Marks and Spencer Group Plc (M&S) has announced the creation of a 50/50 joint venture with Ocado Group Plc (Ocado) and states it ‘will transform online grocery shopping for UK consumers’. As suggested by FMT yesterday in our...
Ocado and M&S negotiating joint venture possibility
Marks and Spencer Group PLC has confirmed that it is in discussions with Ocado Group plc regarding a joint venture in the UK retail market, believed to have a potential value of £1.8bn. Shares in both companies jumped following the news, which would give M&S a...
Healthy foods marketing misleading – BBC report
Products that are allegedly high in salt and saturated fats are being marketed as ‘healthy’ by leading supermarkets, according to a new report by BBC Radio 5 Live. BBC researchers visited branches of the top five supermarkets in the UK and, according to BBC, found...
London transport fast food advert ban starts
A ban on fast food advertising across London's entire public transport network has come into force, with posters for food and drink that are allegedly high in fat, salt and sugar being removed. Food posters that will begin to be removed from the underground,...
Kraft Heinz records loss and sees shares plunge
Radical cost cutting by the American food giant Kraft Heinz, known for its ketchup and other food brands, means the business is now facing up to what appears to be a failed strategy for boosting profits. According to analysts, Kraft's strategy on cost cutting worked...
Food tariffs on the agenda for imports – Gove
Speaking during the recent NFU Conference at the ICC Birmingham, Secretary of State at Defra Michael Gove has promised to protect farmers and the food industry from cheap food imports. In her own speech to Conference, NFU President Minette Batters called for the...