Does Dave Lewis know?
Sir, With regard to the 11 February edition (which was excellent, I might note): innovation from Cauli Rice (p11), Premier Foods’ Cadbury Choc Tarts (p48) and Heinz’s toddler biscuit lines (p46), coupled with the challenges Arla’s struggling Anchor Cheddar faces (p51), and, of course, the potential new vaping rules and regulations (Focus on e-cigs, p55) all made for a thoroughly enjoyable weekly Grocer read. That said, the biggest surprise came from the Power List 2017 announcing Jamie Oliver as Tesco CEO! Bingo!
Matthew Leggett, group category director, JCDecaux UK
The editor responds: Well spotted! Some placeholder copy slipped through into the final edit. There was also a rogue XX in our Power List writeup about Darren Blackhurst, which should have specified he spent five years at Asda.
Shelf price visibility
Sir, Meeting current and new in-store service demands within a challenging omnichannel retail economic environment is putting a squeeze on the store associate and their role within the store (‘Tesco orders promotion checks after damning BBC probe,’ thegrocer.co.uk, 13 February). It’s vital that head office can have visibility of the management of promotional labels down to store level, having visibility of compliance and knowing the activity is actually being actioned in all stores.
Technology can extend the capability of the significant investment in retail systems to make sure consumers can buy what they want, when they want, at the price promised.
Gareth Thomas, retail manager, Zetes
Konjac is not rice
Sir: You report that according to Nielsen ‘Cauli Rice was the fastest growing UK rice brand in 2016’. The point is that Cauli Rice is not rice. It does not look like rice, it does not taste like rice and it is misrepresenting to say that it is rice: it is cauliflower sold in an innovative way. I should think it is certainly the fastest growing cauliflower brand in the UK, admittedly in a small field. I know we live in a post-truth world, but it should not be acceptable to market this and products such as Barenaked rice (ie konjac) and Slim Rice (also konjac) as rice when they are not and taste nothing like it. Imagine the outcry if a manufacturer chose to call their low fat spread ‘butter’ on the basis that it was designed to be a replacement for it?
Alex Waugh, Rice Association
The box is the future
Sir, While shopping for groceries we are constantly deciding which complementary ingredients might just create a winner combination. But this is a brewing cocktail of decision fatigue and ego depletion. Some say online is the cure. I’m not so sure. Now we have a million items crammed on a five-inch iPhone screen. What we need is simplification and efficiency. The recipe box market offers a remedy and a more waste-efficient solution. Both reasons justify The Grocer’s forecast of high growth in this new sector.
Aniel Dhanjal, founder and CEO, SooChef
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