News on Food Trends from United Kingdom

Smashburger restaurant chain makes its way to the United Kingdom, with 35 restaurants expected to open.

Permira announces today that a company backed by Permira Europe III has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Iglo Foods Holdings Limited (“Iglo Group”, or the “Group”), Europe’s largest frozen food business, to Nomad Holdings Limited (“Nomad”) for €2.6 billion.

BrandOpus, a strategic design agency specialising in brands, has worked with McCain Foods (GB) , the best selling frozen potato brand in the United Kingdom, to create a new range of Fries designed to appeal to an adult audience.

The Heinz 'Aunt Bessie' potato factory in Norfolk that was scheduled to close this April, will be sold to potato company Albert Bartlett.

Late last week, the Potato Council published its annual GB Potatoes Market Intelligence report, wrapping up all key information about the GB potato market in order to inform decision-making and provide answers for common questions about the industry.

The UK food industry has seen a surge in the sales of organic foods according to an annual report by the Soil Association.

Building on the growing success of its collaboration over the past two years, Potato Council and Horticultural Development Company (HDC) brought the largest collaborative UK stand yet to this year’s Fruit Logistica event in Berlin.

To combat tumbling potato consumption, NFU Scotland has urged the industry’s statutory levy body to consider shifting its funding emphasis from research and development to more promotion.

While most of the UK’s largest supermarkets reported stronger than expected food sales over the festive period, their ongoing and brutal price war is pushing many food suppliers and smaller high street grocers to the brink, warns business recovery specialists Begbies Traynor.

'Potato Council' will become 'AHDB Potatoes' later this year as the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) operating divisions will be rebranded to create a simplified family of levy-payer facing brands under the AHDB name.

Tayto Group Ltd has recalled a batch of ‘Tayto Snack Attack 10+5 (Bikers, Rollers and Chips) multipack’ because it contains milk, soya and wheat which are not mentioned on the outer wrapper.

If you are a supplier to the chip shop trade or foodservice sector with quality potatoes for chipping, then it makes sense for you to get behind Chip Week 2015!

Produce World Group has purchased the roots division of Fenmarc Produce, based at Swinderby, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, McCain Foodservice has launched a new website, providing caterers with an online experience that is tailored to their own unique business requirements.

Cuban visitors were given a focused tour encompassing Scottish Government’s SASA’s plant health facilities, a seed potato micro-propagation facility, and visited a leading Scottish seed grower and exporter.

Unilever and IOI Loders Croklaan have signed a global partnership designed to drive efficiency, increase capacity and quality of specialty oils and fats as well as commodity oils.

Now there will be even more reasons to purchase the sharing bags as KETTLE® Chips runs its first ever on pack promotion on the core 150g range (United Kingdom).

The dates have been set for the famous UK Potato Week 2014; running from 6-12 October the campaign will celebrate the humble potato and encourage mums to ‘trade-up’ from generic whites to named varieties.