The FMT Blog
Opinion, analysis and musings from the FMT editorial team and expert guest writers about the food processing and manufacturing sector.
Food and drink exports worth £22 billion
With food and drink exports reaching £22 billion in 2017, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has warned that any failure to secure continued access to trade deals could have “serious implications”. Unveiling its latest export statistics, FDF highlighted that the UK...
KFC facing gravy shortage following chicken crisis
KFC’s UK restaurants are now experiencing gravy supply issues, despite the majority of them having now reopened following a major chicken supply shortage over the past few weeks. KFC has confirmed that 97% of its restaurants in the UK are now open, but are...
Bakkavor unveils strong financial performance
Provider of fresh prepared food, Bakkavor Group, has enjoyed a 5.4% increase in like-for-like revenue, at £1,800.3 million, in a “historic year” marked by its public listing. Adjusted profit before tax was also up by 13.2% to £84.8 million for the 52-week period...
Mr Kipling distribution site to close
XPO Logistics has put proposals forward to close the Rugby site distributing Mr Kipling cakes, which it took over from Premier Foods last year. XPO has entered into a consultation period with employees, the trade union and elected representatives to finalise the...
National Farmers’ Union president to put food at heart of Brexit
Newly elected president of The National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Minette Batters, has called on the Government to put British food and agriculture on the global map, ahead of further Brexit negotiations. During her first official speech, Batters highlighted that “now is...
Frozen food industry sets sights on £10 billion sales
Frozen food sales in the UK are “getting closer” to £10 billion, having reached the milestone of £6 billion worth of retail sales, according to the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF). Speaking at BFFF’s annual conference, chief executive John Hyman said he expected...
Arla adapts to protein prices decline
Arla Foods amba has decreased its conventional milk price by 2.16 pence for the manufacturing litre, citing the long-term decline in the value of protein since the start of 2017. A few days after the dairy company reported growing retail and foodservice revenue, its...
One in three people ‘happy to eat cultured meat’
Almost a third of consumers in the UK and USA have reportedly stated they would be happy to eat so-called ‘cultured meat’, indicating potential for companies operating in the industry. A report, commissioned by Ingredient Communications, has revealed that 29% of UK...
Iceland, Quorn and Burger King mock KFC for chicken shortage
Food manufacturers, retailers and restaurant chains have taken to Twitter to ‘poke fun’ at KFC amid a chicken supply crisis that forced the company to temporarily close 750 of its outlets. Satirising the chicken shortages – which came about following KFC’s decision to...
Arla Foods reports increasing revenues
Arla Foods has unveiled growing retail and foodservice revenue in its Group 2017 results, while pledging to continue to further build the UK’s dairy industry. Arla’s brands delivered the “greatest” revenue growth in 2017, including Lurpak growing by 9%, Anchor by 16%...