Plant-based food producers Upfield has announced that Flora has become a sponsor for the Virgin Money London Marathon once again 11 years on since their last deal.
The buttery spread brand who was a sponsor for the national running event from 1996 to 2009, signed a four-year sponsorship deal that will last until 2023.
Flora will be one of many sponsors set to appear at the 40th race which will be held virtually for the first time ever this weekend (Sunday, 4th October).
Around 45,000 runners are expected to take part nearly six months after the original date was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
To celebrate the partnership, Flora has partnered with three-time London Marathon winner and World Record setter Paula Radcliffe as part of its campaign ‘Get Towns Active’.
Consumers will be inspired to stay happy and healthy via social media, with running tips and nutritious recipes hosted on the https://www.flora.com/en-gb/flora/keep-running.
In the weeks leading up to the marathon, Flora also launched an initiative to boost fundraising efforts for small charities.
The competition, which was hosted on the brand’s Instagram donated £1,000 to a different participant every week to support their charitable cause.
Catherine Lloyd, marketing director of Upfield UK & Ireland: “We’re so excited for Flora to be partnering with the Virgin Money London Marathon once more. So many shoppers remember the brand's iconic association with the race, so we are delighted to be rekindling the partnership until 2023.
“We’re also asking runners to run for their towns by following the campaign on social media at #GetTownsActive.
“Staying happy and healthy is more important than ever this year, so we hope to see shoppers inspired by the campaign and enjoying FLORA margarine, by creating healthy and nutritious recipes at home.”
Flora will be rolling out on-pack messaging in the New Year in support of the London Marathon partnership and activating in-store with retail partners.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has identified 107 breaches of the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010 by Co-op, raising serious concerns about the retailer’s compliance with competition regulations.
The breaches, detailed in an open letter published on Wednesday by the CMA, relate to land agreements that restricted competition by preventing rival supermarkets from opening nearby. The Order was introduced to prevent large grocery retailers from using such agreements to limit consumer choice and stifle market competition.
Following a previous case involving Tesco in 2020, the CMA had instructed all large grocery retailers, including Co-op, to review their compliance with the Order.
The CMA’s investigation into Co-op confirmed that 107 breaches had occurred since the Order came into force, with three still remaining unresolved at the time of the letter’s publication.
Despite the significant number of breaches, the CMA acknowledged that “Co-op has proactively taken steps to address the root causes of these breaches, has cooperated with the CMA to date and is now working with the CMA to take further remedial action to address the breaches identified.”
Additionally, the retailer will now provide annual compliance reports to the CMA to ensure future adherence to the regulations.
However, the CMA expressed strong concerns over the scale of the breaches, stating that they demonstrate “significant failures in compliance for a business of Co-op’s size, resources and standing,” particularly given that the Order has been in force since 2010.
The CMA now expects Co-op to promptly rectify the remaining breaches.
Since it launched its probe in 2020, the regulator has forced Waitrose to re-write anti-competitive land deals, secured agreements from Morrisons and Marks and Spencer to stop using such land agreements, and warned Sainsbury's and Asda over the use of these agreements.
Shocking details of racial and sexual abuse have emerged in retail trade union Usdaw's annual crime survey, which also reports increasing number of shop thefts. The report also shows that violence continues to remain at "double the pre-pandemic levels".
Based on the survey of nearly 10,000 retail staff, Usdaw's report released today (5) shows that shoplifting has nearly doubled since the pandemic and rose by 23 per cent last year.
The survey also found that while the situation has improved since the exceptionally high levels during the pandemic, abuse, threats and assaults remain higher than pre-Covid levels in 2019.
Usdaw’s survey of 9,481 retail staff found that in the last twelve months, most retail workers (77 per cent) experienced verbal abuse, while half (53 per cent) reported to have been threatened by a customer. About one in ten were assaulted.
Some of the incident mentioned in the report highlights the kind of abuse that retail workers have to face at their work place.
The report notes that the leading cause of customer frustration is short-staffing.
Shoplifting increased significantly during 2024, with the police and employers both recording higher levels of incidents, and this is reflected in it being a major flashpoint for abuse of retail staff.
Enforcement of the law remains a considerable issue for retail staff, particularly alcohol sales and other age-restricted products. A key argument for a protection of retail workers law is that legislators passing laws should offer suitable protection for those who are enforcing them, states the report.
Harassment is relatively low among the whole sample, but the survey found that racial harassment among all non-white workers is 48 per cent and is slightly higher at 52 per cent for non-white women. One-third of women under 27 suffered sexism.
The report mentions some of the comments shop workers shared when responding to Usdaw’s survey.
"Homophobic comments, threats to hurt me because I refused a sale, mocking me when asked for ID. I was once held up at knifepoint. Often told to f**k off," stated one worker.
“Sworn at regularly, particularly by young customers when asked for ID for cigarettes and energy drinks. Had bottles of medicine thrown at me.”
"Daily personal insults. Swearing because I can’t sell them alcohol because they’re drunk. One squared up to me and threatened me with physical violence," states the report citing a statement from a retail staff.
Commenting on the survey's findings, Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary, says that no-one should feel afraid to go to work, but our evidence shows that too many retail workers are.
"It is shocking that over three-quarters of our members working in retail are being abused, threatened and assaulted for simply doing their job and serving the community. They provide an essential service and deserve our respect and the protection of the law.
"Our members have reported that they are often faced with hardened career criminals and we know that retail workers are much more likely to be abused by those who are stealing to sell goods on.
"Theft from shops and armed robbery were triggers for 66 per cent of these incidents. Violence and abuse are not an acceptable part of the job and much more needs to be done to protect shop workers. So, we are delighted that the Government has listened and last week introduced the Crime and Policing Bill in to the House of Commons, with measures to address these significant issues.
“We now look forward to a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law; ending the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals; and funding for more uniformed officer patrols in shopping areas, along with Respect Orders for offenders.
"We will review the details for the provisions and look forward to engaging with the Government as the Bill goes through Parliament, with the first debate and vote due to take place on Monday.
“Scotland has had a protection of shop workers law in place since 2021, after Labour’s Daniel Johnson MSP promoted the legislation, and it has already been used in around 10,000 incidents. The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed to introduce similar measures in due course.
"After many years of campaigning alongside retail employers, it really now feels like governments are listening and taking action to give all retail workers across the UK the protections and respect they deserve.”
These findings follow similar trends to recent reports from British Retail Consortium, which found significant increases in violence and abuse against shop workers alongside much higher levels of shoplifting, which are costing the industry £4 billion in lost stock and security measures.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, stated that Usdaw’s findings are another appalling reminder of what so many people working in our industry can face.
"No one should go to work fearing for their safety, and yet our most recent crime survey showed incidents of violence and abuse soaring to record levels. A confrontation may be over in minutes, but for many victims, their families and colleagues, the physical and emotional impact can last a lifetime.
"We owe it to the three million hardworking people working in retail to bring the epidemic of crime to heel, and we look forward to seeing the crucial legislation to protect retail workers enacted as soon as possible.”
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has on Wednesday issued best practice industry guidance on providing allergen information to consumers with food hypersensitivities, encouraging information on food allergens to be available in writing in the out of home sector.
The guidance applies to food businesses providing non-prepacked or ‘loose’ food in person or via online sales. It aims to support food businesses when providing information on the 14 food allergens to their customers, whilst helping to keep consumers safe.
The update follows a consultation on the guidance, as well as FSA research and engagement with consumers and food businesses to better understand how food businesses could improve written information for consumers with food hypersensitivities.
“We are still encouraging consumers to tell food business staff about any food allergies or intolerances, but we are now setting an expectation that businesses should provide written allergen information and encourage a conversation with their customers,” Katie Pettifer, FSA chief executive, said.
“By following the guidance, businesses can promote consumer confidence in their food businesses by ensuring consumers can understand the allergen information and ensure they don’t feel excluded from experiencing our vibrant food culture.”
The updated guidance includes:
Written allergen information should always be available for non-prepacked food alongside a conversation between servers and customers about their allergen requirements
examples of how to provide written allergen information
free tools to support businesses with implementation, such as allergy icons, an allergen matrix and a new allergy poster which food businesses can download and use on their own assets (e.g. menus and websites)
This updated guidance applies to businesses operating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Unitas Wholesale members will now share more than £2 million in incremental revenue in return for their participation in the group’s central promotions, publications and events.
The More for More incentive, revealed by managing director John Kinney, at the Unitas Wholesale connect25 trade show in Liverpool, will help drive engagement, execution and compliance in supplier partnership activities.
It will reward members who can demonstrate a higher level of engagement in schemes including the URP promotions programme, the retailer support portal Plan for Profit, customer-facing promotional materials and the buying group’s flagship trade show and conference.
“Our mission is to be a fitter, fairer and faster organisation, delivering incremental revenue for our members, and return on investment for suppliers,” Kinney told the members at the trade show.
“We have made great progress on being fitter – increasing the revenue returned to members by 17 per cent in the last year, and 35 per cent over the last five years, and we have helped members reduce their overheads by £3m through our Unitas Procurement scheme.
“We are also faster - increasing members cash flow through more efficient financial systems, reducing the days taken to process payments.
“Now we need to be fairer – ensuring that those members who contribute most to the group get the most out of it. This is why we are putting aside more than £2m in additional rewards for those who actively engage, and incentivise others to do the same.”
More for More offers members the opportunity to more than recoup their annual membership fee from the additional revenue stream. This approach will help members navigate a challenging trading environment while demonstrating to suppliers that their investments generate strong returns, securing long-term investment in Unitas Wholesale.
Details of the criteria for accessing the income will be shared with members.
Unitas interim chair Dr Jason Wouhra OBE, CEO of Lioncroft Wholesale, welcomed the launch of More for More, saying, “Offering embers a greater financial incentive to actively participate in Unitas’ central schemes will appeal to wholesalers’ entrepreneurial instincts and will ensure those who put the most into the group will be rewarded proportionately.
“It will also incentivise members to drive compliance in joint ventures with our suppliers, which we know is the key to building mutually beneficial relationships. This new model will help to drive the right behaviours and will be vital to unlocking future investment and sustainable growth for members individually and for the group as a whole.”
Kinney added, “We believe our members should receive 100 per cent of supplier terms investment, as these funds are intended to support your business to grow their brands.
"This transparent approach strengthens supplier trust and will maximise their investment in promoting their brands, which in turn assures future investment.”
Unitas Wholesale members are its sole shareholders, with no external parties or directors profiting from the group, with no remit for the Central Office to build excessive profits.
Unlike other buying groups, Unitas Wholesale does not retain any of the supplier terms revenue it negotiates for members.
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Birmingham Convenience Store License Revoked Over Illegal Sales
A convenience store in Orpington has been shot down after the store was found selling illegal tobacco and fake vapes at the premises, making a first ever such case in the borough.
According to information released by Bromley Council on Monday (3), Avah Market, in High Street, Orpington, has been ordered to close following a long investigation into the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes at the premises, which also included the tobacco being stored in vehicles nearby.
The closure order is the first ever such order in the borough following Bromley Magistrate Court approval.
A council spokesperson said, “We will not tolerate the illegal sale of tobacco and vapes, with the related health concerns well documented as well.
"The Trading Standards action to close this store in Orpington follows detailed investigation to both stop the sales and to gather the required action to take this legal action and we are grateful to the police for their support as well. Whilst it is the first time we have closed a shop in this way, it may not be the last time and others are warned that we will take action to prevent the sale of illegal tobacco or vapes, including to stop under age sales as well.”
The news followed Trading Standards Officers finding and seizing 140 packs of illegal tobacco that were concealed and also 245 illicit vapes, in action taken before the court hearing.
The tobacco is at least of non-standardised packaging, and the individual vapes claim thousands of puffs meaning the tank size will far exceed the legal limit of 2ml. The health warning shown on the majority of vapes seized is also non-compliant.
Meanwhile, Bradford has emerged as one of the hotbeds of illicit tobacco sales after a undercover test purchasingconducted by Japan Tobacco International (JTI) found illegal products at all the 50 test purchases.
In a report released on Monday (3), all 50 stores visited in Bradford found to be selling counterfeit and contraband tobacco products, as well as disposable vapes whose puff-count related to a capacity well above the 2ml limit.
In one of the premises, a trap door was used in one shop to keep the illegal products hidden until requested. In another location, illegal tobacco items were stored in the boot of a car outside and only retrieved when a customer asked to purchase.