Business & Industry

Name: Roy Hanley Job title: Production director Company name: Ginsters Sales ###m [pounds sterling] at rsp HQ: Callington Employees: ### [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What#;s it like to work for your company? Ginsters (a division of Samworth Bros) is a private

Britain#;s biggest union, Unite, has come under fire as it ups the ante in its attack on food and drink manufacturers. Unite was set to ballot members for strike action at Carlsberg UK following a dispute over job losses

There have been big changes in advertising budgets in the cakes and biscuits category--both up and down. And the money that is being spent is almost exclusively destined for TV. United Biscuits concentrated its activity on certain brands at

There were some big increases in promotional activity over the past year. Fox#;s upped its focus on promotions, with in-store activity linked to its Vinnie the Panda TV ads. The strategy has paid off. It is growing significantly

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Never ones to be killjoys, the FSA suggests on the Eat Well website that people should swap their cake or biscuit treat for a currant bun or molt loaf with low-fat spread. Delicious. The healthy advice was

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Sarah Jessica Parker tucked into a cupcake in Sex & The City in ####, the show#;s followers were not watching the outfits for once. "That scene helped to launch the cupcake on to the world stage," says

The biscuit market has grown #.#% in value in the latest year and now is worth more than #.#bn [pounds sterling]. Growth has been driven by an increase in prices and to a lesser extent shoppers have purchased

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Money may be tight, but at least the crunch of biscuits can be heard. People are still happily keeping a little bit of what they fancy on the shopping list when it comes to cakes and biscuits. And

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The conventional way to raise capital is to sign up for a bank loan, win financial backing from a venture capitalist or tap up wealthy family members. Not to be hit in the face with a wiffle ball

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Enco Products range of the very best Caribbean products includes best-selling Encona Sauces and Nurishment, the leading nutritionally enriched milk drink, plus the Dunn#;s River and Grace ranges of seasonings, sauces and marinades. Shoppers can

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Home baking is on the up, and to help retailers maximise the opportunity Dr Oetker, a leading brand in finishings (ingredients & decorations) and cake mixes, is offering ## readers the chance to win more than ## [pounds sterling

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the festive party season approaches yet again, retailers must ensure they stock a good choice of dishwashing products. Fairy Platinum is a dual-action liquid top that combines Fairy#;s advanced All in # cleaning power with

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kingsmill has extended its family-focused portfolio and launched the perfect solution for smaller households--Kingsmill Little Big Loaf--the only specially baked loaf on the market with full-size slices! Kingsmill has taken consumer favourites--Kingsmill Great

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Walkers Nonsuch Toffees, England#;s finest speciality toffeemaker, is offering ## readers the chance to win a case of its traditional pick #;n#; mix toffees. The range of ## varieties includes two nut varieties (Walkers is the only

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Market leader Heinz is helping the nation#;s sauce fans create delicious, low-cost meals through its new www. lovesauces.co.uk website, where visitors can be inspired by delicious recipes and tasty tips from the nation#;s

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Typhoo is offering five lucky winners the chance to boost sales this autumn with ### [pounds sterling] worth of promotional packs of Typhoo tea. Typhoo, with the help of Sir Geoff Hurst, recently kicked off a new campaign

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Premier Foods, the UK#;s number one food manufacturer, is launching a new range of convenient-sized ###g Hartley#;s jam that will drive fruitful sales for the brand. The distinct tastes and ###g format using Hartley#;s

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Primula has brought a taste of the Orient to its delicious range of ambient dips with its new Thai Sweet Chilli Dip. Joining five other flavours including creamy sour cream & chive, spring onion, roasted garlic, nacho cheese and

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To celebrate the relaunch of the Spar own-label range of products, Spar is giving away to three retailers a hamper full of ## [pounds sterling]-worth of Spar-brand products, with a top prize of a selection

Scottish & Newcastle will review the packaging and marketing of its Newcastle Brown Ale when it moves production away from Tyneside next year. The drinks supplier announced this week that it would relocate production of the beer from its ##-year

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Halewood International#;s plans for Crabbie#;s Alcoholic Ginger Beer are no laughing matter, despite its TV sponsorship of the British Comedy Awards. The company is pumping #m [pounds sterling] into a #### marketing push that includes a

Pernod Ricard has unveiled plans to boost the appeal of Jameson whiskey among young men, aided by the introduction of a smaller bottle size. The Irish whiskey brand has recorded #.#% growth to #.#m [pounds sterling] this year

Chocolate manufacturer Ferrero has struck a five-year deal to source ##% of its palm oil direct from New Britain Palm Oil, a sustainable producer in Papua New Guinea.

The success of Innocent#;s Veg Pots is catching. Alan Rosenthal, former buyer for Spanish food supplier Brindisa, has created Stewed!--a range of chilled exotic premium stews. The four-strong range of Stewed! products (rsp: #.## [pounds sterling

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] US pomegranate juicer POM Wonderful is introducing a range of mini bottles to the UK. The ###ml bottles are half the size of POM Wonderful#;s ###ml line and--at #.## [pounds sterling]--are #.## [pounds

Bottlegreen is aiming to more than double its sales to ##m [pounds sterling] by #### through venturing into the impulse channel and gaining listings with Asda. The adult soft drinks company#;s sales grew ##% to #.#m [pounds sterling

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Free-from specialist Hale & Hearty Foods has secured listings for eight new gluten-flee lines in Waitrose and Ocado. The wholegrain products, which include breakfast cereals and cake mixes (rsp: #.## [pounds sterling] to #.## [pounds

Hancacks has teamed up with Beech#;s to create a range of boxed chocolates bearing messages such as #;happy birthday#; and #;thank you#; on pack.

McCain is extending its frozen potato offer with Homebakes--potato slices in Creamy Cheese and Creamy Garlic sauces (rsp: #.## [pounds sterling])--and a seasonal Sage & Onion variant of Wedges (rsp: #.## [pounds sterling]).

A new jam by Duerr#;s made from English-grown strawberries aims to plug a gap for a "good value" offering. Its English Strawberry Conserve (rsp: #.## [pounds sterling]) is made with three different strawberry types traditionally grown for

Pity the sweet-toothed British construction worker and all fans of builders#; tea--as hikes in the commodity prices of tea and sugar are expected to hit once again. The UK drinks more tea than any other nation--approximately #

Rubbing salt in our wounds." That#;s how one source describes the FSA#;s latest poster campaign, which depicts salt spilling out of cereals, bread, ketchup and pasta sauce. The industry has known since June that the FSA was going

B&M Retail is set for major expansion after unveiling ambitious plans to open ## new stores next year. The discount retailer, which trades as B&M Bargains, has more than ### stores across the north of England, Wales and

DCS Europe has claimed September was its best-ever month, with sales topping ##.#m [pounds sterling]. Its previous best monthly performance was ##.#m [pounds sterling] in April this year.

Independent retailer Jonathan James has promised his new store in Littleport, which is due to open early next year, will focus on "all a local family-owned store is good at". The forecourt store will be the first to be

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Costco Wholesale Corporation, the US parent of Costco UK, has posted an #% drop in sales in its international division in the year to ## August. Costco#;s international division includes the UK, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico and

Frozen food home delivery retailer Eismann UK has launched into meals on wheels with a new venture, Country Home Foods. The company is similar to Eismann UK, which delivers frozen ready meals ordered through a catalogue or the website and

Petty Wood, which handles distribution to independent retailers for brands including Duchy Originals and Sada#;, has had its trade credit insurance withdrawn by Atradius. The move by the UK#;s second-largest credit insurer means suppliers to the company are

Booker has reported a #.#% increase in half-year retail sales, reversing the #.#% drop recorded a year ago. Group sales rose #.#% to #.#bn [pounds sterling] in the ## weeks to ## September, helped by

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The introduction of a code of practice for the Irish grocery sector would result in retailers sourcing more stock overseas, according to the Republic#;s largest independent retail group. The warning has been sounded by the Musgrave group

The managing director of George at Asda is taking on the high street this Christmas with more knitwear and coats designed to be given as gifts. Anthony Thompson, previously of M&S, said the fabric quality had been improved since

Condom-to-footcare manufacturer SSL International, which makes Durex and Scholl, has reported half-year sales up ##% to ###m [pounds sterling].

Tesco#;s iPhone application has finally gone live after overcoming a technical fault, enabling shoppers to locate the nearest branch and find products in store. Tesco.com head of R&D Nick Lansley claimed on his blog that more than

Retailers have failed in their battle to stop the tobacco display ban becoming law, as MPs waved through the controversial Heakh Bill this week. In its third reading in the House of Commons, MPs passed the Bill, which contains proposals

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is Hannah, Estonia#;s biggest pop star, who is to tour the UK to promote Estonian food and drink. Through pop music, Hannah will spread the word about products such as black bread and jellied meats while

The humble Corn Flake is undergoing space-age laser treatment in an outlandish move by Kellogg#;s to help combat cereal fakery by own-label rivals. The cereal giant, which makes ## million boxes of Corn Flakes every year in

Tesco is clearing the storerooms of some of its Extra stores to use as bank branches. The retailer has started storing back stock on the shop floor on its top shelves and is planning to use the free space in

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Coca-Cola is fighting efforts by UK supermarkets to sponsor the London Olympics in ####. The soft drinks giant, which has sponsored the Olympics since ####, is believed to be worried that if supermarkets are permitted to sponsor

NGOs, retailers and manufacturers have joined forces to tackle obesity with a $##m (##.#m [pounds sterling]) fund. The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation aims to reduce obesity in children aged six to ## by promoting healthy eating messages. United Supermarkets

Coles is campaigning to have opening hours extended in western Australia where existing laws mean supermarkets have to close at #pm. Four years ago the idea of extended trading hours was voted down in a referendum but Coles says an

Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $##m (#.#m [pounds sterling]) to settle a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of ##,### current and former workers in Iowa aver allegations they were forced to skip breaks or work off

Members of a Women#;s Institute have promised to pose naked if Bristol City Council rejects Tesco#;s plans for a new store next month. Tesco is proposing to open a ##,### sq ft superstore at the Bristol City

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Branded suppliers are fuming at Sainsbury#;s "heavy-handed" new store sampling tests used in its Switch and Save campaign. Last month, the retailer took the own label versus brand war to the next level when it launched

"The times they are a-changin#;," declared The Cooperative Group CEO Peter Marks this week as he picked up The Grocer Cup for Outstanding Business Achievement--just a day after unveiling record half-year sales and profits. Marks beat off

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tesco is taking on M&S with the launch of its latest premium meal range. The Finest Restaurant Collection bit shelves this week, comprising a choice of ## prepared main courses and nine desserts for two. The main

Fine food suppliers are gearing up for a surge in demand this Christmas as Delia Smith#;s new Festive Season book hit shelves this week. In a return to the celebrity cook#;s roots, Delia#;s Happy Christmas champions ##

An over-reliance on price promotions is damaging brands, according to an Institute of Sales Promotion study, which has found more than half of all promotional spend is now spent on cutting prices and offering deals such as bogofs. Suppliers

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GO#, the frozen food range fronted by David Beckham, recorded sales of just ### [pounds sterling] in September, but the football superstar has promised to keep the faith as a series of disasters beset the brand. The range

IBM rolled out new Tivoli Asset Management features that include broader support for software license management and discovery and identification of services for the z/OS platform. The Tivoli software is designed helps companies find and manage software inventory, as

APA has signed Luke Barats and Joe Bereta, far right, for representation. They are best known for their comedic viral videos, which have garnered more than ### million views online, and made them one of YouTube#;s most subscribed and

Las Vegas lounge singer and former "Full House" thesp Brian Evans has sold his comicbook series "Horrorscope" to Zenescope Entertainment. Zenescope, headed by Ralph Tedesco, is a growing Philadelphia-based indic comicbook and graphic novel publisher of titles including "Grimm

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mark and Christine Holder are melding their literary and talent management company Holder Management into Zero Gravity Management, the Los Angeles-based lit management company formed in #### by Eric Williams. Mark Holder said joining forces with Williams

Roadside Attractions has acquired "The Good Guy" and plans to release the comedy-drama in March. "The Good Guy," written and directed by Julio DePietro, stars Alexis Bledel, Scott Porter, Anna Chlumsky and Bryan Greenberg. The film, which premiered at

The Apple rumor mill was working overtime this week, with leaked information about Apple preparing to add an FM radio functionality to the iPhone and iPod Touch via a software update. The app is rumored to provide the same functionality

Finland has taken the first step toward mandating that every residence be able to connect to a ### Mbps broadband service by defining broadband Internet access as a legal right. Beginning July ####, broadband service providers must offer every residence

Raytheon, the Waltham-based technology giant, has been awarded a $#.# million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop self-healing integrated circuits. Raytheon#;s "HEALICS" technology incorporates self-healing into a complex system-on

Teledata Networks, a global provider of multiservice access solutions for NGNs (next-generation networks), has won a $## million deal to provide a major Central Asian telecommunications company with the new BroadAccess-####E systems to advance their existing infrastructure towards

FastTrack Communications, a provider of voice and data network services, has selected Fujitsu FLASHWAVE platforms, professional services, and hosted software to create a next-generation DWDM network. The network will be used for private line services, data, and backhaul for

Trans-Atlantic submarine transport cable provider Hibernia Atlantic announced that it has been added by Internap Network Services Corporation to its diverse network of backbone providers. The decision by Internap was designed to further enhance its already robust connectivity between

DS#, a global supplier of high-speed powerline communications technology, confirmed its plan to launch its G.hn-compliant DSS#### chipset next year. At a recent meeting, the International Telecommunications Union#;s Standardization Sector (ITU-T) gave final approval to

On September ##th, China the United Kingdom (UK) and Switzerland jointly launched a project with an investment of US$#.## million to study the impact of climate change on China and help China better handle climate change. The project

China#;s solar photovoltaic (PV) industry has been expanding rapidly over recent years. But the industry has suffered from overheated investment and overcapacity for lack of a government-led planning and low entry requirement. The Ministry of Industry and Information

EPDM price dropped with fluctuation in H# #### Due to the global financial crisis, the demand for EPDM (ethylene-propylene non-conjugated diene rubber) was slack and its price also fell rapidly in the second half of ####. China issued

Stable growth of output The output of epichlorohydrin in China reached ### ### tons in ####, an increase of #.#% over ####. Application is however quite limited. It is mainly used in the epoxy resin sector, and the consumption

On September ##th, #### BASF and Sinopec Corp. began the construction for the expansion of their joint venture, BASF-YPC Co., Ltd. (BYC), in Nanjing, eastern China. BASF and Sinopec plan to jointly invest approximately US$#.# billion in

INEOS Phenol confirmed on September #rd that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China have re-approved its planned investment for a ### ### t/a phenol facility in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province. The request for re-approval was

GT Solar International, Inc., a global provider of specialized production equipment, process technology and turnkey manufacturing services for the solar power industry, formally opened its new Asia Headquarters in Shanghai, eastern China this September. GT Solar#;s new facility makes

Shikefeng Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.(Shikefeng), China#;s core slow-release fertilizer maker based in Linyi of Shandong province, plans to newly build a slow-release fertilizer plant in Leibo county, Liangshan, Sichuan province. The proposed plant is expected to

Guangzhou Lonkey Industrial Co., Ltd.(Lonkey, SZ: ######) has entered an accord with Guangdong Pengjin Industrial Co., Ltd concerning forming a joint venture for modified starch production. Lonkey released on September #th. The ##:## jv between Guangdong Pengjin and

Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd. (TRI) and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (SEI) have agreed to form a joint venture, which manufactures and sells anti-vibration rubber and air springs for rolling stock, in cooperation with KTK Group Co., Ltd. in Jiangsu

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc. and Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corp. will jointly build an ## ### t/a polycarbonate (PC) resin production facility in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in China. Construction of the plant is scheduled to be commenced in

Germany-based Evonik Industries AG and Taipei, Taiwan-based Cristal Material Corporation have formed a new joint venture to manufacture high-quality glass lenses for next-generation LEDs, which will be marketed under the Savosil(TM) brand. Evonik announced on

To address the global financial crisis, the Chinese government has promulgated a series of adjustment and stimulation programs for ten major industries. The petrochemical industry, one of those ten, is one of the pillars of Chinese economy. The adjustment and

Hispanic households spend an average of $### on fresh vegetables and $### on fresh fruit annually, compared to $### and $###, respectively, for White households. [FOOD/BEVERAGES, EMERGING MAJORITIES] (Geoscape; phone: ###-###-####)

Carphone Warehouse this week said things are looking up and that it had added ##,### net new broadband subscribers in the recent quarter. However, it is getting ##,### fewer broadband subscribers from its acquisition of Tiscali UK than

Linkin Park#;s nonprofit Music Relief has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to fund and build an environmentally friendly home for a family in need. The organizations have launched an online campaign (www.MusicforRelief.org/Habitat) and features videos from

UK broadcaster Channel # is putting entire programs on YouTube, giving both a significant improvement to their digital footprint. Channel # will make its #OD catch-up service fully available on YouTube#;s UK site, along with archives of older

The social music network Mog has signed deals with all four major labels and a handful of indie aggregators to launch an unlimited on-demand streaming service for $# per month, with a US Turkey day launch on November ##

- Will Regulate for Net Neutrality and Competitive Shopping New FCC chairman Julius Genachowski appears to see clearly that the broadband world will increasingly be mobile and is promising increased spectrum to meet the demand. The surging demand is best exemplified

It#;s consumer buying that lifted PC sales worldwide in the third quarter, according Gartner and IDC. They said consumer purchases of low-cost portables such as netbooks led the charge in a stronger-than-expected back-to-school buying

Labels and artists both enjoyed a bigger paycheck from those making royalty payments last year, a little compensation for the ever-falling digital music sales. According to industry research from Music & Copyright, global performance rights payments increased by ##%, reaching

Europe#;s association of cablecos, Cable Europe, says it estimates its members will have ##.# million broadband subscribers by year-end. There are ## million cable TV subscribers in Europe. Cable Europe president Manuel Kohnstamm made the announcement to

This Week in Content Deals Companies Details Spotify, Telia European ad-supported music streaming service Spotify signed an agreement with Swedish telephone company Telia to provide a premium service billed as a monthly fee on a subscriber#;s mobile phone

Increased purchases by consumers helped Intel achieve ##% year-on-year growth in its Atom netbook processor and associated chipsets for the third quarter. Total quarterly revenue for the company was $#.# billion, down #% compared to the year

- Alleges Volpi#;s Misconduct #;Infected#; the Proposed Deal The eBay-Skype saga continued this week when Joltid, the company owned by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, filed suit in a Delaware court. The suit asks that the VC

Indian company Surana Telecom and Power Ltd. stated in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has received in-principal clearance for demerging its solar assets in order to consolidate with group firm Surana Ventures Ltd. Surana Ventures

Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani strongly refuted the recent claims of revenue under-reporting made by an audit company, also accusing media and his business rivals of hatching a conspiracy against his company. He also spoke about the correlation of

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) conveyed to the government of Ethiopia that it is interested in managing the networks and operations of Ethiopian Telecommunications (ETC). Frustrated by the fierce competition on its home turf, BSNL believes that such moves would

Indian DTH operator Sun Direct announced that it is aiming to reach the # million-user mark by the end of March ####, an increase of #.# million from its existing user base of #.# million. Sun Direct

BSNL and MTNL, both of India, might stay away from joining the Indo-Malaysian consortium being formed to acquire ## percent of Zain Telecom of Kuwait. The decision came after a formal investigation by one of the state-run companies