Anne Bruce The Big Food Group is to target international supermarkets and distributors with its Iceland, Booker and Woodward foodservice brands in a new focus on export. It has just become a fast-track member of Food From Britain, and will be exhibiting at a trade show for the first time when it visits Sial in Paris in October. Big Food Group operating companies have been supplying overseas customers piecemeal for the past seven years, but are "becoming more pro-active" following the recent strategic review. Big Food Group wants to ramp up its overseas operations with listings for branded products in stores of medium sized retail chains outside the UK. Iceland export manager Alistair Cooke said: "We are keen to expand the Iceland brand abroad, not through shops but by exporting products to overseas supermarket groups, shops and distributors. The Iceland brand is very strong, it can stand up to any other frozen brand on offer in the same store." Booker and Iceland have historically targeted Iceland brands and the Booker Chef's Larder catering range at the ex-pat community in countries that include Spain and the Falkland Islands. Iceland also supplies frozen products to a number of stores in the Middle East, and Channel Islands food group Le Riche. All customers collect their orders from the UK. Cooke said: "Le Riche is our biggest export client, but we are not listed in all its stores. We want to get into all stores of a medium sized international chain. "We are not looking at hypermarkets, they would be too big for us." BFG brands include Iceland own label, Booker's Happy Shopper, Tuck Shop and Booker Chef's Larder and the Malt House Vintners wine brand. Cooke said Booker's Happy Shopper brand was not generally suitable for export as products are usually pricemarked in sterling. {{NEWS }}

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