Long reads – Page 337
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Analysis & Features
Big products, fewer deals as promos face Royal squeeze
Easter’s hot weather and the Royal Wedding impinged on promotional space in April, but the savings offered have been better.
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Analysis & FeaturesRetail royalty
Mary ‘Queen of Shops’ Portas has big news – soon she’ll be striding down Downing Street to dish out some of her trademark no-nonsense advice. And Tesco had better watch out.
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Analysis & FeaturesAcid Test: Panda Blueberry Liquorice
The company hopes the combination of liquorice and blueberries will tap into consumer demand for healthier snacks and superfoods.
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Analysis & Features
Prices up 3% as promotions keep inflation costs in check
This week’s GPI shows that, thanks to record levels of promotions, food price inflation is less dramatic than was feared.
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Analysis & FeaturesEFSA’s health claim rejections aren’t just baffling consumers
Some 80% of food and drink health claims have now been turned down by the European Food Safety Authority. Why, asks Hannah Stodell
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Analysis & FeaturesAcid Test: Tails Espresso Martini
The do-it-yourself format of Tails and the higher alcohol content (18% abv) will help it stand out among its bigger-brand rivals
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InterviewsAllied force: an interview with Mark Fairweather
Soaring costs and deep supermarket promotions – it’s tough being a baker today. But, with a little help from a couple from Solihull, Allied Bakeries is succeeding where others aren’t, as CEO Mark Fairweather tells Rob Brown
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Analysis & FeaturesThe mults to blame for £14bn waste mountain? Bogof!
The cost of throwing away good food and drink reached a staggering £13.7bn last year, according to the Local Government Association. It lays the blame squarely at the door of the bogof, which it claims is a cunning ploy to divert waste out of retail operations and into the home. Is there any truth in its argument? Helen Gilbert reports
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Analysis & Features
Sainsbury’s quietly takes the lead in promo activity
While Price Guarantees continue to be the focus of the big two, Sainsbury’s has gradually stepped up promotions.
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Analysis & FeaturesAcid Test: Hollows Superior Alcoholic Ginger Beer
Hollows Superior Alcoholic Ginger Beer describes itself as the ‘thoroughbred’ option in the growing alcoholic ginger beer category.
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Analysis & FeaturesAsda’s baby brand grows up
Brands beware. Retailers are looking to steal your customers with revamped own-label lines. Rob Brown meets the team behind Asda’s Little Angels baby range to find out how fresh design and grand ambitions are converting shoppers to own label
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Analysis & FeaturesRubbish publicity for mults as police swoop on bin diver
News that a bin diver faces trial has not just thrust the spotlight on freeganism, but also the amount of food the mults chuck out, says James Halliwell
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Analysis & Features
Snacks are biting back with a crunch on British pockets
Price hikes on raw materials mean shoppers may soon have to pay more for their snacking habits. Mintec’s Robert Miles reports
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Analysis & FeaturesToday’s tomorrow: why the Nisa demerger plan makes sense
The consultation is underway, but leading players already accept the undeniable logic of Today’s Group splitting from Nisa, as Beth Phillips reports
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Analysis & FeaturesThe Grocer Suppliers of the Year 2011: And the winners are...
With consumer spending power declining while cost prices rise, it takes a very special performance to win the approval of the leading grocery retail buyers. Nic Paton salutes the 39 winning suppliers in our 2011 survey
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Analysis & FeaturesLocal shops for local people
The Big Society may be David Cameron’s big idea but in the grocery sector communities have been pulling together for years for the benefit of the greater good, as Judy Sharp discovers
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Analysis & FeaturesAcid Test: Seabrook Goodbye Salt, Hello Flavour Tommy Ketchup
Seabrook positioned the range as the first on the market that was full of flavour despite reduced salt content
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Analysis & Features
Promo Dynamic: Cracking Easter egg offers hit shelves earlier than ever
Brands are doing their best to make the shopping seasons longer, while bogof is making its mark – especially at Tesco. Vince Bamford reports
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Analysis & Features
Party is over, but what’s the damage to Tesco from Double the Difference?
As consumers fume amid a press furore, was Double the Difference just embarrassing for Tesco or does it reveal deeper problems?
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Analysis & FeaturesCould DIY cigarettes prove a £2bn market in the making?
Is Imperial Tobacco fighting the illicit trade in tobacco with Make Your Own cigarettes, as it claims, or has it spotted a nice little earner, asks Vince Bamford