McCain Foods, the UK’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, is partnering with Community Shop to open a new social supermarket store in Eastfield, North Yorkshire – the home of McCain GB since 1969.
Community Shop is an award-winning social enterprise, which redistributes surplus food and household products through its network of 11 Community Shops across the country, selling products to local members at deeply discounted prices. Opening its doors this summer, the new Eastfield store will be the first to open in North Yorkshire and will support around 750 people in the local community.
The store will sell high-quality products which are perfectly good to eat or use that have been donated by major retailers, brands and manufacturers. These products have been deemed "surplus" and may have otherwise gone to waste.
Revenue raised in the store will be re-invested back into the local area through the store’s Community Hub, which will offer personal development programmes tailored to the needs of each member. These programmes range from cookery clubs and home budgeting, to interview skills and business courses.
The store will also house a community kitchen, offering low-cost and wholesome hot meals, with children eating free every day. Community Shop Eastfield will operate on a free membership basis and be open to anyone who lives locally, receives welfare support and is motivated to make a positive change to their lives.
Across Community Shop’s existing network, last year alone its stores supported over 28,000 households, with 92 per cent of members saying that their quality of life had improved since joining, and 96 per cent feeling a greater sense of community.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with McCain to open a new Community Shop in Eastfield and are really looking forward to connecting and working closely with our new members in the summer," said Gary Stott, Executive Chairman at Community Shop. "With the ongoing cost of living crisis, the deeply discounted food that is available in our stores is a lifeline for so many people.”
Jillian Moffatt, Regional President GB&I at McCain, added: “We’re proud to be partnering with Community Shop to bring a new store to Eastfield – a place where McCain GB has called home for over 50 years. Given the impact of their current stores, we know that Community Shop Eastfield will provide an invaluable service to the local community and we look forward to supporting it for years to come.”
Copyright Mike Sewell 20226th April 2022.Community Shop Leicester store opening in Stocking Farm, Leicester.
Premier Foods reported robust sales of its host of well-known brands during the Christmas period and is now forecasting that its annual profit will come in at the upper end of analysts’ expectations.
During its third quarter to 28 December, the group saw its total sales grow by 3.1 per cent, driven by branded sales that increased by 4.6 per cent. After recent investments in innovation and promotional pricing, its performance was driven by volume growth, which was 7 per cent for its branded lines.
The group’s Grocery division saw overall sales increase by 2.2 per cent after branded growth of 3.5 per cent offset a 9.3 per cent fall in non-branded.
Premier Foods noted that its premium Ambrosia Deluxe and Bisto Best ranges performed well as consumers traded up over the Christmas period, while its Loyd Grossman cooking sauces delivered sales growth after benefitting from the roll-out of new lines.
The group’s recently acquired brands grew double-digit, helped by new product launches by The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K.
Meanwhile, Premier Foods said that non-branded sales had declined mainly due to the exit of some lower-margin contracts.
The group’s Sweet Treats division reported strong volume-led branded revenue growth of 8.9 per cent , with both its Mr Kipling and Cadbury ranges said to have grown faster than the market. Non-branded Sweet Treats sales were in line with the same period a year ago.
Premier Foods overseas businesses enjoyed another strong quarter, with sales climbing 29 per cent after its brands saw double-digit growth in all target regions.
“We are pleased to report another very good quarter of volume-led branded revenue growth, accompanied by further market share gains, as our branded growth model continues to deliver well for us,” said Chief Executive Alex Whitehouse.
He noted that the business had benefitted from consumers trading up and treating themselves in recent months after cost of living pressures started to ease for some people.
Whitehouse concluded, “Having delivered very good volume led, branded revenue growth in our key third quarter, we’re now guiding trading profit to the upper end of expectations for this financial year.
As we look to the rest of FY24-25 and to the medium term, we expect to deliver further progress as we continue to execute against our five pillar growth strategy.”
The Compleat Food Group, one of the UK’s leading food manufacturers, has achieved a significant milestone in its sustainability journey by removing plastic trays from its pork pie packaging.
The initiative, which spans both branded and own-label products, is set to reduce plastic use by 110 tonnes annually. The group produces an estimated 200 million pork pies annually under its own label and through its portfolio of brands, which include Pork Farms, Wall’s Pastry, and Wrights.
The rollout is part of the company’s aim to reduce its environmental impact while maintaining food quality and safety. Following a substantial investment in automation equipment at its Tottle site, the company implemented a new, innovative trayless packaging process, which eliminates 75 per cent of the plastic previously used in high-volume pork pie packs. This is expected to result in a carbon saving of approximately 430 tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year.
“Our move to trayless packaging for pork pies is a prime example of how innovation and investment can drive meaningful sustainability improvements. While the automation required careful consideration of speed and efficiency, the result is a significant reduction in plastic use without compromising on product quality or freshness,” David Moore, head of ESG at The Compleat Food Group, said.
“This marks a huge step forward in our efforts to reduce plastic packaging across our portfolio, supporting our wider purpose to make food to feel good, taste good and do good.”
In addition to the trayless packaging initiative, The Compleat Food Group is driving innovation in flexible films, a material that remains a key challenge for the food industry due to the lack of collection and recycling infrastructure. The group is transitioning to mono-material films for specific product packaging, such as chorizo. These films can be recycled through supermarket collection points and are expected to be kerbside recyclable from 2027.
A signatory of WRAP’s UK Plastics Pact, The Compleat Food Group said it is committed to addressing the challenges of packaging by removing unnecessary materials, increasing the use of recycled content, and improving recyclability. The company uses over 4,000 tonnes of plastic annually and has a clear strategy to reduce this figure through targeted innovations, while maintaining product quality and freshness.
The company’s broader ESG goals include exploring new packaging solutions, trialling recyclable alternatives, and embedding sustainability across its operations. Recent achievements include replacing rPET plastic trays with recyclable paper-based board in its Squeaky Bean range, cutting plastic use in that range by 82 per cent.
Businesses are facing a sharp rise of "140 per cent" in property costs due to the government's decision to cut relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector from 75 per cent to 40 per cent, property consultancy Colliers has warned.
The government’s decision to reduce business rates relief from 75 per cent to 40 per cent will see thousands of shops, restaurants, pubs, gyms, and nightclubs grappling with bills surging by over 140 per cent from the beginning of April.
This significant increase is expected to place further strain on an already pressured high street.
John Webber, head of business rates at Colliers, cautioned that the reforms could exacerbate challenges for retailers.
“The Labour government’s business rates policies will soon put even further pressure on the high street as bills for the new rating year start to drop through the letterbox next month.
“Labour said if it came into power it would save the high street. This slashing of reliefs will sadly do just the opposite as we’ll sadly see when the bills drop through the letterbox in the month ahead," The Times quoted Webber as saying.
The Conservative government introduced the retail, hospitality and leisure relief scheme in November 2022 to cushion the sector from high rates bills.
It provided eligible properties with 75 per cent business rates relief up to a cap of £110,000 per business. Rachel Reeves announced in October that this would be reduced to 40 per cent.
Colliers has calculated that this will mean that retailers benefiting from the relief will find their business rates bills increasing in April on average from £3,751 a year to £9,003.
Restaurants will face a rise on average from £5,563 to £13,351 a year. The rates bill for the average pub will also go up from £4,017 to £9,642 a year.
The business rates system, forecast to raise £26 billion in England this year, is a property tax charged on most commercial properties, including shops, offices, warehouses and factories.
Labour’s manifesto pledged to replace the business rates system by raising the “same revenue but in a fairer way” to “level the playing field” between the high street and huge online companies and to tackle the scourge of empty properties.
A Treasury spokesman said, “Without our action, business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure would have ended completely in April this year.
"Instead, we are protecting one in three business properties from paying business rates, extending 40 per cent relief for 250,000 properties in retail, hospitality and leisure and introducing a new permanently lower business rate in 2026, while more than half of employers will either see a cut or no change in their National Insurance bills.”
Edmonton city council is discussing what it would take to ban knives from being sold in convenience stores, state recent reports.
A key issue during the community and public services committee held on Monday (20) was wading through the potential legal ramifications of defining what a knife is and whether some businesses owners may try to find loopholes to be able to sell knives.
The bylaw amendments would not apply to the sale of "basic cutlery."
"I'd be interested in sort of redefining the definition of knife, rather than defining basic cutlery," said Coun. Jo-Anne Wright during Monday's meeting.
Council previously voted to create a new convenience store business licence category, but implementing the changes can only happen when a licence is up for renewal. Full implementation of the bylaw could take years.
Amendments to the bylaw were heard in Monday's meeting.
The bylaw also sets out new $2,000 fines if knives are sold at a convenience store.
The working definition of knife put forward as an amendment is "a tool composed of at least one blade fastened to a handle, where the blade may be fixed to the handle, or may open through a deployment mechanism, including automatically by gravity or centrifugal force or by hand pressure applied to any part of the tool."
"To me, it's very cut and dry when you look at the definition of knife, and so I wonder if we're also overthinking this a little bit," Coun. Erin Rutherford said during the meeting.
"We knew that it was problematic and challenging in and of itself, both coming up with a definition of convenience store and coming up with a definition of knife."
The matter of knives being readily sold in convenience stores was brought into the spotlight last April after community members from the central neighbourhood of Alberta Avenue came forward with their safety concerns about how easy it was to purchase one.
Edmonton police seized 79 prohibited weapons and illicit tobacco from a central Edmonton convenience store in December, according to a news release on Monday.
On Dec. 17, 2024, EPS' Community Safety Teams, previously known as Healthy Streets Operations Centre, executed a search warrant at a convenience store located at 97th Street and 107th Avenue that was known to be selling prohibited knives and contraband cigarettes.
There were 71 prohibited knives seized, which included a variety of butterfly and spring-assisted knives.
In addition, eight prohibited brass knuckles with spring-assisted knives concealed within, known as "trench knives" were found.
With just 70 days left to go until the government’s new Simpler Recycling reforms are implemented, most businesses are not prepared for the changes in the rule, claims a leading business waste management service.
Although the UK's overall recycling rate has seen a significant rise, reaching 44 per cent in 2015 compared to just 17 per cent in 2008, progress has plateaued in recent years, with indications that the rate may now be declining.
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) new initiative Simpler Recycling reform aims to simplify recycling processes, reduce landfill waste, and tackle illegal waste activities, creating a more sustainable and environmentally conscious society through improved recycling efforts.
According to the Simpler Recycling reform mandate released by DEFRA, by 31 March 2025, businesses and relevant non-domestic premises in England will need to arrange for the collection of the core recyclable waste streams, with the exception of garden waste (glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, and food waste).
The new Simpler Recycling rules affect any business with 10 or more full-time employees. The rules apply to businesses regardless of how many employees are on-site at once.
For example, if you have two locations with five full-time employees at each, you must still comply with the Simpler Recycling regulations, as you’ll have 10 employees in total.
Businesses that fit under this category must arrange separate collections of food waste, paper and cardboard (can be combined), and other dry recycling (glass, plastic, and metals, which can be combined).
It means businesses can no longer throw any of these materials away with general waste.
Micro-firms (businesses with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees) will be temporarily exempt from this requirement. They will have until 31 March 2027 to arrange for recycling of core recyclable waste streams.
The new default requirement for most households and workplaces will be four waste containers (including bags, bins or stackable boxes) for:
residual (non-recyclable) waste
food waste (mixed with garden waste if appropriate)
paper and card
all other dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal and glass)
This is the government’s maximum default requirement and is not expected to increase in the future. However, councils and other waste collectors will still have the flexibility to make the best choices to suit local need, DEFRA states.
Using commercial waste collection services and licensed waste carriers should ensure compliance with the new plans.
Businesses can use separate bins for each recycling stream or use dry mixed recycling bins to combine plastic and metals for ease (such as food packaging). Paper and card must be collected separately from other dry recyclables.
What can businesses do to transition and keep costs low?
Business Waste sent out communications to over 15,000 customers to make them aware of Defra's new Simpler Recycling reforms and response data suggests only 1 per cent are aware of the new laws.
Mark Hall, waste management expert at Business Waste, shares his thoughts, “It’s a big win for the environment and it aligns well with the government’s sustainability goals.
"We’re geared up to help businesses comply with these regulations, ensuring a smoother transition to greener waste management practices.
"It’s important to implement any changes your business needs in plenty of time. This way you’ll be able to spot and fix any teething issues as they arise, and before the rules are enforced.
"A great place to start is to conduct a waste audit to understand how much waste your business produces, what types of waste you generate, and what bins and collections you need. Business Waste offers a free waste management audit that can help.
"Following on from this, you can then look to create a waste management plan that will help ensure your business manages its commercial waste safely, appropriately, and efficiently.
"All staff must understand the new laws and what changes are being made in the business to follow these. Educate staff about the waste you generate and its impact on the environment, so they understand the reasons behind the changes.
"Set clear guidance to follow and provide instructions or labelling that helps staff segregate and dispose of waste correctly.
"Reducing waste is cheaper and better for the environment than removing it. Look for ways your business could reduce its waste at the source. Rethink packaging, switch from single-use products to reusable options, or evaluate your inventory management.
"A waste broker can help you understand your waste needs, arrange any collection and disposal services, and work with their suppliers to find you the best price.
"Using a waste broker should ensure you meet all the requirements of Simpler Recycling and removes a lot of the admin and time spent arranging waste collection.
"Business Waste can also help companies with their transition to the new rules by providing millions of free bins to customers. There are no delivery fees or hire charges, you only pay for the collection costs.
"Any business using our services can access a wide range of free bins to separate their waste."