Food & Drink Manufacturers News, June 1st.
June 1, 2018
The food & drink manufacturing industry is amongst the very biggest in the world – for obvious reasons.
With over 7.6 billion people on earth, there’s a near unending demand for both food and drink, a demand which is happily met by manufacturers both large and small. Here in the UK, the food and drink industry generates over £100bn for the economy every single year, supporting over 400,000 jobs across England and spreading British values of quality and affordability across the globe.
At Dehum, we’re proud to support the industry both at home and abroad with our industry-leading range of food and drink dehumidification and drying solutions. Our models are currently in use across a significant number of British and international brands like Kellog’s and Coca-Cola.
To help you keep up with the industry we regularly round up the latest news from across the sector. Here’s what you need to know, as of June 1st, 2018.
Revolutionary Meat-Free Burger Heading to the UK
A new vegan burger designed to cook, taste and even ‘bleed’ just like meat is heading to the UK thanks to a partnership between The Authentic Food Company (TAFC) and American brand Beyond Meat.
The ‘Beyond Burger’ contains more protein than a traditional beef burger but is made entirely from plants and contains no GM organisms, soy or gluten, making it a compelling option for meat eaters and vegans alike. TAFC hope to capitalise on a growing trend amongst UK consumers, with 6.55% of us eating less meat than a year ago.
The burgers have proven to be a remarkable success in the US, where their incredibly meat-like taste and texture has won countless fans and led to launches in burger chains like Bareburger, Epic Burger, and BurgerFi, alongside a launch in TGI Fridays. The product is currently in more than 25,000 grocery stores across the US, although no distribution plans in the UK have been announced.
Nothern Irish snack brand Tayto has completed the purchase of fellow NI-based brand Pop Notch for an undisclosed sum and transferred all assets to Devon-based popcorn manufacturer Portlebay Popcorn’s production premises.
Paul Allen, chief executive of Tayto said: “We are currently going through a phase of planned growth in the company and this acquisition of a bundle of assets from Pop Notch is one of several purchases for us. As we already own a popcorn business, this was a natural fit.
We are constantly looking at ways to expand and to secure the group’s long-term future. The past few years have brought a lot of uncertainty and some challenges to the market, so being adaptable and able to develop through a variety of channels is essential for the sustainability of our business.”
Cawston Press Accelerate Expansion Plans
Soft drink manufacturer Cawston Press is planning on expanding their overseas presence following a successful funding round totalling £1m, reached through existing shareholders, members of the Cawston Press Team and a select number of unnamed food & drink investors.
“Our team is made up of people who want to make better quality soft drinks the norm not the niche,” said Managing Director Steve Kearns.
“When we initially considered undertaking a full external fundraising round, we quickly realised that there was sufficient appetite from within our own ‘Cawston Crowd’ of founder shareholders, the management team and close industry contacts to raise the necessary money ourselves.”
Cawston intends to use the money to fund a push into the French market, marketing their first EU expansion following moves into the Australian and US markets.
