The FMT Blog
Opinion, analysis and musings from the FMT editorial team and expert guest writers about the food processing and manufacturing sector.
Nicola Sturgeon publishes Scotland’s Brexit impact report
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has published a paper on Brexit’s impact, estimating that Scotland’s economy would lose £12.7 billion a year in a hard Brexit scenario. The paper calculates the potential result of a hard Brexit on the economy, with analysis...
Irish food sector in eighth consecutive year of growth
The value of food and drink exports in Ireland increased by 13% to €12.6 billion in 2017, boosted by increased output in key sectors, including the dairy sector, seafood, pigmeat, sheepmeat and live animals. According to Bord Bia’s Export Performance and Prospects...
Theresa May launches 25-year Environmental Plan
Prime Minister Theresa May has announced the 25 Year Environmental Plan, outlining steps to eliminate plastic waste by the end of 2042. In order to achieve this, the Government will extend the 5p carrier bag charge to all retailers in England, while also working with...
Multiple retailers boosted by strong Christmas sales
Grocery sales helped UK supermarkets report one of their busiest Christmas period, which saw shoppers splash out record amounts of cash. Lidl As previously reported, Lidl UK was the fastest growing supermarket over the Christmas period, according to Kantar Worldpanel,...
Queen Margaret University to join Food & Drink Federation Scotland
Queen Margaret University (QMU) has become the first higher education partner to join industry trade body Food and Drink Federation Scotland (FDFS). The move is said to represent a “major step in realising the University’s ambitions as a centre of innovation and...
Women in Meat Industry Awards launched by Meat Management
A brand new Awards initiative recognising the immense contribution to the success of the meat industry made by women has been launched by Food Management Today's sister magazine, Meat Management. The Women in Meat Industry Awards will highlight seven categories and...
Christmas spending reaches £1 billion more than last year
The average household shrugged off economic worries to spend a record £1,054 on groceries over the three months including the Christmas period. According to the latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks to 31st December 2017, a record...
Feeling trendy: which foods will consumers be buying in 2018?
FMT hears from a supermarket, a grocery researcher and an ingredients supplier to discover the key food trends industry is predicting for 2018. According to Waitrose: Indian street food Say ‘namaste’ to tapas-style Indian street food. Forget heavy sauces and chicken...
Waitrose launches new Good Health label
Waitrose has launched a new label which will be featured on hundreds of food products to make it easier for customers to identify nutritious food. The Good Health label shows on many of the supermarket’s own-brand products, from fresh produce, to store cupboard...
Colman’s site to close in Norwich after 160 years of operation
Unilever has announced that it is closing its Colman’s mustard facility in Norwich next year. The company has decided to move its mustard production to Burton on Trent, and some to Germany, with a new facility opening in Norwich for milling mustard seeds, co-run with...