October has been a meat, vegetable and “non-dairy “dairy month for me and Miguel. Mid-month, I was the closing speaker at the UK Cucumber Conference. It’s been a torrid time for fresh produce growers: input costs through the roof; excruciatingly…
Many consumers have the very best intentions when it comes to buying food for their families – they want the healthy one and, increasingly, the one that’s better for the environment. But, bless us, we want these good attributes if…
Consumer concerns about protecting and improving their health and the health of the planet are twin trends that have been accelerated during the pandemic and both have a big significance for the food and drink industry. Our food purchases are…
Well, we’ve got through Veganuary and, if you’re to believe all the media hype, the comfortably-off Western world is eschewing meat. January saw a torrent of plant-based meat lookalike products and vegetarian fare flood onto markets in Europe and North…
Big food companies haven’t been cracking open the champagne in recent years – in developed markets, sales have been in free-fall, with fast-growing emerging markets saving the day but, still, the overall sales trend has been ominously downwards, and this…
Have you noticed that the food industry’s “Old Guard” – meat, milk and wheat products – have been taking a good bashing in recent years? Swathes of consumers eschew these nutritional staples because of: perceived food intolerances (e.g. gluten, lactose);…
Phew, it’s the end of January. It can be a tortuous month as one comes to terms with under-achieving on all those rash New Year resolutions made in haste on guilt-laden, leaden early-January days where we promise ourselves to do…
Eating up our vegetables used to be a chore but, now, it’s becoming a lifestyle statement. If we aren’t woofing down courgetti, we’re swigging holier-than-thou kale and spirulina smoothies. So, what’s going on? Two principal things which are inter-linked: we’re…
Red and processed meats had a bad month in October. Mind you, they’ve been taking a bashing for a while and it’s not just on health. Beef and lamb are portrayed as being anti-social for environmental reasons (cattle and sheep…
The redoubtable Director General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, two years ago accused “Big Food, Big Soda and Big Alcohol” of being as evil as “Big Tobacco”. Why so? Well, for “Big Soda” her criticism focused on high sugar content…
Supermarkets in your pocket. 