Business & Industry

Kieran MacSweeney, sales director of Challs International, on James Herriat, Abba and rats What was your first-ever job? Trimming cauliflowers at Bolton market through the winter aged ##. You#;ve got #S words to describe your career to date

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The #;last#; bag of Woolworths pick #;n#; mix, sold on Ebay this February, cost a gob-stopping ##,### [pounds sterling]. But however inflated the price tag for the ###g bag might seem, it was a reminder at

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Are milkshakes the new smoothies? Jodie Farran thinks so. The co-founder of Shaken Udder believes her hip milkshake brand is perfectly positioned to capital ise on the recent slump in the smoothies market, which saw value sales

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It#;s comingto the end of the monsoon season in India. But nothing was going to rain on Booker#;s parade when the wholesaler officially opened its first cash & carry in Mumbai last Saturday. With temperatures approaching ##c

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tuesday lunchtime at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton and a panel of food industry experts has gathered to debate the issue of food security. A stone#;s throw along the beachfront, Gordon Brown is preparing to deliver

A new campaign featuring Darren Gough has been launched to build consumer awareness of Real Yorkshire Wensleydale ahead of an expected PDO designation next year. Brand owner Wensleydale Creamery has enlisted former Yorkshire cricket captain Gough to promote the fact

Danone has added a single pot variant to its Activia portfolio to appeal to younger sufferers of digestive discomfort. The yoghurts come in strawberry, cherry, raspberry and peach and are instore from this month, rsp ##p each or four for

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sainsbury#;s has become the first major multiple to establish a dedicated group of farmers to supply its British cheese. The Sainsbury#;s Cheese Development Group in partnership with Milk Link will use the same model as its

English apple growers hope a large crop this season will boost their chances of replacing imports with home-grown fruit. The English apple season officially began this week with a wide range of national media coverage to stimulate public awareness

Angus Soft Fruits has hit back at claims its #;pesticide-free#; Good Natured soft fruit and salads were grown using the chemicals. Last week, The Ecologist accused the company of allowing its suppliers to use pesticides and permitting pesticides to

Sales of fresh broccoli are falling sharply as shoppers switch to frozen broccoli or other vegetables they find cheaper, tastier or more convenient. Total volume sales of broccoli have fallen by #.#% year-on-year to ## million kgs

Consumers will be urged to switch their food, drink and clothing choices for Fairtrade alternatives during next year#;s Fairtrade Fortnight campaign, organisers have revealed. The Big Swap is being billed as the backbone of the biggest and most heavily

Luxury Swedish food brand Distinctly Scandinavia has won its first UK listing for its hot smoked salmon. The ready-to-eat salmon, smoked using traditional Swedish methods, went into ## Waitrose stores last week [rsp: #.## [pounds sterling] for

New milk contract wins and branded growth continue to boost Dairy Crest#;s fortunes. Milk sales to major retail customers have risen ##% in the past six months compared with the same period last year, the company revealed this week

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The latest series of ITV sitcom Benidorm, which kicked off this week, is being sponsored by Zamaretto flavoured amarettos. Intercontinental Brands, which launched the range in May, said the six-week deal was part of o #m [pounds

Diageo GB is hoping to double off-trade sales for its luxury spirit brands in the next three years to ##m [pounds sterling] by capitalising on the cocktails-at-home trend. A ##-strong team has been created to push

Innis & Gunn has made Rum Cask beer a permanent member of its range. The #.#% abv product (rsp: #.## [pounds sterling] for ##cl) is being listed by Waitrose and Sainsbury#;s, having previously been available only as an

A special edition Absolut vodka Rock pack has been listed in Tesco, Sainsbury#;s and Asda. The pack, which was initially an exclusive in Selfridges, features a bottle clad in a studded leather jacket.

Highgrove is launching a chilled baby food range, which it claims will be the freshest on the market. The Owl and The Pussycat range, comprising three savoury and two sweet dishes, is rolling out now to Waitrose and Ocado (rsp

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Chicago Town Takeaway is back on TV with a #.#m [pounds sterling] campaign offering shoppers their money back if the pizza doesn#;t live up to its claims. The ads, airing during The X Factor and Emmerdale

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Traditional breakfasts are back in favour--at the expense of Continental fare. Volume sales in the ###.#m [pounds sterling] traditional breakfast category, which includes crumpets and pancakes, have grown #.#% in the past year, compared with

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mars is kicking off a #m [pounds sterling] campaign for a limited-edition relaunch of Mars Dark. The #;Do it in the dark#; print and online ads begin this month and build up to ## October, when the

Innocent Drinks is making its kids offer a top priority as it strives to restore ailing smoothie sales to growth. The company is next week launching its first TV ad aimed directly at kids as part of an attempt to

Coca-Cola believes that it can add #m [pounds sterling] to its #m [pounds sterling] Glaceau Vitaminwater brand in the next few months as it gets set to launch its bestselling US flavour in the UK this month. The vitamin

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Haagen-Dazs returns to the small screen this month with a saucy TV campaign urging consumers to #;melt together#;. The five-week push, part of a #.#m [pounds sterling] marketing spend, begins with #;Ballet#;, when a couple

Kraft this week embarked on a #.#m [pounds sterling] marketing campaign to support last month#;s Kenco Eco Refill pack format launch. The push includes TV, outdoor and in-store activity.

Nestle is supporting its Matchmakers and My Favourites Quality Street ranges with a #.#m [pounds sterling] marketing push in the run up to Christmas. The campaign will include press, online and on-pack activity.

Red Bull is to take on Coca-Cola#;s Relentless in a bid to seize control of the emerging energy shot market. Red Bull#;s debut in the category underscores the brand#;s move to refocus on its core energy

Morfisons booted Asda out of top spot this week, largely thanks to its bargain salmon fillets, which undercut all of its rivals#; offerings by at least ##p/###g. The retailer offered ## of the cheapest or joint-cheapest items. Promotions

Three retailers boasted strong availability this week, but Asda in Stowmarket landed our top store award thanks to its "super" staff. A staff member insisted on escorting our shopper to the Marmite when she asked for help, rather than just

Many of the most popular cuts of meat are cheaper this year, giving consumers a bargain if they shop the category carefully. Michael Barker reports Price deflation has hit many areas of The Grocer#;s meat, fish and egg basket

Red Bull has finally launched its own energy shot. It#;s about time. An energy drinks category minus the progenitor of liquid stimulation is like a Full English breakfast minus bacon. What is astonishing is the rate at which new

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The volume of announcements from Waitrose HQ in the past few months has left few in doubt about just how ambitious managing director Mark Price#;s plans are. Forget the recession, Waitrose is growing fast and introducing new

Roys of Wroxham has reported a #% drop in pretax profits to #.##[pounds sterling]m on flat sales of ##[pounds sterling]m for the year to ## January. It attributed the fall to its investment in IT.

Scottish wholesaler JW Filshill has increased its pre-tax profits by #% to #[pounds sterling]m, despite a sales growth of just #% to ###[pounds sterling]m. The increased profitability in the year to January #### was brought

Newsagents have vowed to continue their fight for a full investigation of the newspaper and distribution market, despite the OFT#;s announcement last week that it would not refer the sector to the Competition Commission. The National Federation of Newsagents

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Penguins invaded Merseyside schools this week us part of Go Penguins, a Liverpool art project sponsored by Home Bargains. The project is set to launch this winter, with artists decorating the penguins, which will be displayed all over

Convenience and CTN chain Martin McCall has posted a ##.#% drop in fullyear profits following a fine from the OFT. The retailer posted pretax profits of #.#[pounds sterling]m in the year to ## November ####, down

Musgrave Group has closed J&J Haslett#;s ambient distribution centre in Derriaghy, Northern Ireland. Musgrave, which supplies Supervalu and Centra retailers in the province, acquired Mace operator Haslett in ####. Musgrave announced in February this year that the Derriaghy

Costcutter chairman Colin Graves has fanned the flames of his company#;s row with buying group Nisa-Today#;s by blaming it for a dip in Costcutter#;s profits. Graves said a #.#% slump in pre-tax profits to

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spar retailers in the southwest will be rolling back their prices to ####s levels under a new promotion launching next month. Appleby Westward plans to reduce the prices of five core lines to the levels they were when

As Nature Intended, the organic supermarket chain founded by Iceland boss Malcolm Walker#; s daughter, has closed its store in Hale near Manchester due to lack of demand from northern customers. "It wasn#;t successful and it wasn#;t worth

Robert Wiseman Dairies has predicted above-expectation profits and turnover for the first half of the year on the back of ##% milk volume growth. For more on these stories see www.thegrocer.co.uk

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has reported a ##.#% increase in half-year pre-tax profits to ##.#[pounds sterling]m on sales up ##.#% to ###.#[pounds sterling]m. Like-for-likes rose ##.#%.

Scottish & Newcastle UK will formally change its name to Heineken UK from ## November. S&N became part of Heineken Group in April ####.

Poundland has launched a new range of own-label bagged confectionery under the brand Sweet Heaven! The ##-line range--which includes dolly mixture, marshmallows and mint humbugs--has already been trialled in selected stores and is expected to be

Rural Ireland is in danger of becoming a retail wasteland because of the growing number of shop closures, according to the chief executive of the Convenience Stores#; and Newsagents#; Association (CSNA), Vincent Jennings. He told a parliamentary committee in Dublin

The Co-operative Group has made its first podcast to spread the word about its portfolio of businesses. A podcast will be available to download from the society#;s website every three months, to coincide with the publishing of its

The Co-operative Group is set to speed up the integration of The Co-operative branded products into Somerfield stores as it launches its festive range. Christmas products would hit stores over the next few weeks, a spokeswoman said, with

Marks & Spencer would have to make further margin sacrifices on food in an effort to boost sales, Sir Stuart Rose admitted this week as he revealed another set of poor trading figures. A #% cut in food prices over the

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A massive counterfeit vodka plant capable of producing two million litres of vodka per year has been shut down following a HM Revenue and Customs raid in which ##,### litres of fake spirits were seized. A total

Rampant alcoholism in Russia has prompted government plans to curb the sale of alcoholic drinks. Minimum wholesale and retail pricing is set to be introduced, as well as tighter limits on the hours when alcohol can be sold. Other plans

Carrefour is under pressure from its biggest investors to sell operations in China and Brazil. Colony Capital and billionaire Bernard Arnault are pushing Carrefour chief executive Lars Olofsson to sell the businesses, which have lost almost ##% of their market

Booker has set out its store to open up to ## cash & caries in India. At the opening of its first depot in the country, in Mumbai, Dr Rajat Baisya, chief adviser to Booker India, said the potential for the

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Independents and symbol groups#; share of the takehome confectionery market is little more than a quarter of the level last year, new data from TNS shows. Both groups traditionally overtrade in confectionery but in the past year this

Asda is facing the wrath of of rivals and suppliers alike after slashing the price of bananas to their lowest point for ## years and sparking a "pointless" price war. The supermarket has gradually cut the price of loose bananas

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One in five shoppers admit to eating food in a supermarket before they#;ve bought it, new research has found. In a survey of #,### people, TNS Omnibus found the proportion of #;grazers#; was even higher among

Aldi has experienced phenomenal growth in the recession, but exclusive Nielsen figures reveal its growth has slowed to as little as #.#%. Year-on-year the numbers still look good with sales growing at ##% in the ## months

So Sainsbury#;s has given in to Diageo over its Pimm#;s-alike Pitchers drink. It looks like good news for absentminded consumers #;duped#; into picking up the own-label version of their favourite summertime elixir. And a victory for

Asda selling bananas for ##p/kg (see P#)? At least it#;s using alcohol sales to subsidise the cost of fresh produce rather than the other way round, as is often the case. But as the meaning of value is

Requiring prior authorisation of cross-border property investments constitutes a restriction on the free movement of capital, ruled the EU Court of Justice, on # October. The ruling came in response to questions submitted for preliminary ruling by the Council

Staff When a lift truck#;s cargo is both fragile and extremely awkward, only the best stability technology will do. At the California Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates facility, state-of-the art lift trucks help operators move massive barrels of

Staff A new partnership helps Ontario-based company develop the brains for its brawn. Edson Packaging Machinery Limited replaces traditional mechanical components with off-the-shelf mechatronic modules. Its modular approach requires the kind of innovative electrical solutions it has

Staff A successful business can carry out rapid change that, ideally, leads to rapid growth. Good equipment shouldn#;t make change expensive or wasteful. After installing a series of modular conveyor segments, Illinois#;s North American Lighting made the best

Staff Smooth and synchronized teamwork is the best way for a worker and his lift truck to maximize productivity. The traditional vehicle-based, order-picking process can include unproductive steps. By converting ordinary lift trucks into automatic guided vehicles (AGVs

Staff Automated delivery cycle frees up laborers for other tasks, improves efficiency. At Western Container, smart carts take care of repetitive tasks so employees don#;t have to. After a brief setup, the carts move product, organize materials and even

Staff Digital voice prompts and indicator lights increase accuracy and productivity. United Natural Foods wanted to minimize mis-picks at its new distribution center in Sarasota, Fla. By fitting its pick line with voice prompt technology and light indicators, the

Staff Company fabricates foam on-demand to reduce costs and increase product safety. Handling, packaging and shipping fragile products can be a drain on efficiency and throughput. By installing an on-demand foam cushion fabricator, Ghent Manufacturing not only freed

Staff The School Box maintains approximately ##,### active and ##,### total SKUs, with about ##% of its school supply business coming from stores and ##% from catalogs and the Internet. As the company grew, it strained its inventory

Staff When your car breaks down, you hope for a speedy repair. That requires fast availability of replacement parts. For O#;Reilly Auto parts retailer, inventory management technology has enabled the company to rapidly respond to customer needs while reducing

Staff When a cold storage company outfits freezers with hardware, profits heat up. When companies upgrade technology, they rarely think about how the equipment will perform year after year in sub-zero temperatures. But when United States Cold Storage deployed

Staff In economic hard times, many companies look to outsource. For a company specializing in outsourced packaging services, this can mean rapid growth. For Alta Resources, a provider of outsourced services, an automated shipping and tracking application allowed the company

Staff With ## distribution centers serving more than #,### auto parts stores, Carquest executives thought a smooth implementation of a new warehouse management system (WMS) would be unlikely. However, a phased introduction of a flexible and intelligent automation system

Staff With manufacturing and distribution facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and China, Black & Decker Hardware and Home Improvement manages offshore and on-shore supply chains--often resulting in long lead times. New software enhanced communication between products coming

Staff A retailer is able to upgrade hardware and software in just one weekend. Aging support software can limit development and old hardware can lead to crashes and data loss. However, the prospect of replacing central technology can be equally

Staff Modest addition enables dramatic efficiencies in parts painting process. Prior to adding ##,### square feet to its manufacturing facility, Sweco#;s parts painting process was woefully inefficient. Material waste, awkward handling techniques and long wait times combined to

Staff Latches secure trailers to docks to prevent unexpected separation. In anticipation of aggressive retail growth, DeMoulas/Market Basket wanted to ensure safety at its Tewksbury, Mass., distribution center. By installing hook-style vehicle restraints at each bay, the supermarket

Staff Home entertainment manufacturer manages massive fleet at large scale plant. An all-new facility can be a make or break opportunity to design an effective materials handling system. Cinram International implemented a ###-lift truck fleet in its new

Byline: Warren Brown Washington Post cars columnist Warren Brown was online Friday, October #, at ## a.m. ET to discuss the auto industry and offer purchase advice to readers. Brown has covered the cars industry for The Washington Post

Indian telecommunications service provider Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd. (TTML) announced that it is planning to raise about $### million from both domestic and overseas markets via bonds and shares. The company sought the approval of stakeholders for the planned move

Indian telecom operator Reliance Communications#; tower division, Reliance Infratel, which filed for its IPO with SEBI, has revealed in its filing that as many as ## of its group entities have accumulated losses of $###.## million for FY ####

Indian fiber-optic company Aksh OptiFiber announced that it has obtained clearance from its board to raise about $## million in funds using the preferential route. The Indian firm is planning to use the funds for expanding its VoIP (voice

Value-added service (VAS) provider ValueFirst Messaging announced that it has bought Cellnext Solutions. ValueFirst CEO Vish Bajaj said that the firm has been into the VAS enterprise space for the past six years. He also said that Cellnext looks

Indian mobile service provider Bharti Airtel and South African telecom firm MTN have called off their talks when the discussions between the two firms ended on September ##. The alliance would have led to the creation of the third-biggest

Indian state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is planning to introduce its initial public offer (IPO) by ####. Chairman Kuldeep Goyal said that the firm may unveil its IPO next year. The telecom service provider is also

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), the fastest-growing telecom operator in the country, said that it inked a "Passive Infrastructure Sharing Masters Services Agreement with state-run operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)." The deal is valid for around ## years

Shyam Sistema Teleservices#; MTS launched a new offering for its users in Tamil Nadu and Kerala for the Diwali festival. The new plan allows people to make MTS-to-MTS local calls free for one year and just # paise

Indian state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) plans to outsource the maintenance/management of its cable and tower networks for posing effective competition with private players. Reports suggest that the telecom operator plans to outsource over ##

One member of the popular India Broadband Forum states that all broadband users of BSNL services are likely to be migrated to new plans having Fair Usage Policy applied on them. The reports indicates that plans are already being migrated

Indian DTH (direct-to-home) operator Reliance BIG TV said that it has added another eight channels over its platform in order to cater to a wider audience across the country. The new channels are Makkal TV, Jaya Plus, Mega

Vodafone has become the most admired cellular services brand online in the Indian market, according to a new survey. Tata Indicom came next, followed by competitor Aircel. A new pan-India survey from consultancy company Drizzlin Media suggests that Reliance

Indian telecom operator Tata DoCoMo had ventured into the northern part of India by commencing its services in Haryana. Tata DoCoMo#;s MD, Anil Sardana, commemorated the launch. Tata DoCoMo#;s new venture will encompass ### towns/cities and nearly

India#;s biggest mobile operator, Bharti Airtel, launched two new calling cards in the U.S. for users who make phone calls to India. The initial scheme provides Bharti users with #### minutes of calls and costs $##.## and

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to come up with a new policy wherein it would consider an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) policy along with both #G and #G spectrum. An official with the DoT said that the

In a development that may perturb operators that were devising plans to provide broadband wireless access (BWA) over WiMAX, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has said that it plans to auction the spectrum for the services. The DoT said that

The Indian government has announced that only current CDMA service providers will be permitted to submit bids for EVDO spectrum. This is unlike the GSM segment, where even non-UASL firms are permitted to bid for spectrum. The note issued

The Department of Telecom (DoT) issued a notice to all telecom operators for disclosing details relating to the selection of foreign nationals in important posts in the respective organizations. This move forms part of the yearly security clearance procedure. The

Live streaming video service Ustream, which was endorsed by Facebook as its preferred live video service, has reached roughly # million total viewers and streamed more than # million hours of content. Ustream is available only to celebrities, musicians and

DevelopIQ announced last weekend that the #Digital Music Store for BlackBerry is now available. The store will offer DRM-free MP#s at both ### kbps and ### kbps, offering downloads over both #G and Wi-Fi networks. Most songs cost

The reasons for Vevo, the coming music video site from YouTube and some of the major labels, to exist just keep growing. For Web video this year, the King of Pop was still king, scoring eight of the top ##