Suitors for Boots are to begin meeting with the high street chemist’s management this week as owner Walgreens pushes ahead with a planned £7bn sale, despite volatile market conditions. American private equity firms Apollo and Sycamore Partners are among the firms to have submitted non-binding bids for Boots. (The Times £)

Camelot has written to the Gambling Commission in a move that paves the way for a legal challenge to its defeat in the contest for the next National Lottery licence. (The Times £)

The FT writes “It has been a highly lucrative business for Camelot. But the decision partly swung in Allwyn’s favour from its pledge to donate more on average to charity… The customer payout ratio, at 57% in 2020, was below average among the top 10 lotteries.” (The Financial Times £)

The owner of Burger King has said the operator of its 800 stores in Russia has “refused” to close them, despite its demand to suspend trading after the invasion of Ukraine (The Guardian). Restaurant Brands said it had contacted local partner, Alexander Kolobov, to shut the shops amid the war in Ukraine, but “complicated” contracts with overseas partners mean it is unable to “walk away” from these deals (The BBC).

Free-range eggs are set to vanish from supermarket shelves from Monday, after an outbreak of bird flu forced farmers to move all their chickens indoors four months ago (The Telegraph). Eggs sold in shops will have to carry a sticker or label saying they are in fact “barn eggs”, the name given to eggs produced by hens permanently housed indoors (The Guardian).

Food manufacturers have criticised the implementation of a new UK environmental packaging tax, warning it will force them to increase prices for consumers at a risk of fuelling inflation. (The Financial Times £)

The Food and Drink Federation, writing in the FT, say food price rises are an inevitable consequence of the war in Ukraine. “Our members are well aware of the implications that sanctions, trade restrictions and the supply chain disruption that flows from them will cost UK businesses and shoppers. This will translate into food price rises and, possibly, temporary shortages.” (The Financial Times £)

Ukraine war sparks food shortages in Arab nations as wheat prices soar, writes the FT. Grains and vegetable oil from Ukraine and Russia are crucial to national diets across the region. (The Financial Times £)

Britain’s chippies, which have served up a staple of the national diet since the Victorian era, are at the sharp end of the latest crisis engulfing Britain’s hospitality industry, where operators are trying to rebuild battered finances amid an acute shortage of workers (The Times £). The conflict in Ukraine is a long way from the UK but it means prices for the ingredients of one of the nation’s favourite dishes are soaring (The BBC).

For many value dining chains, pressures have been piling up for some time. Commodities such as oils and wheat had already reached their highest prices in a decade last October, on a double whammy of steeper demand from the end of lockdowns and difficulties in production. (The Telegraph)

The first food to be made from meat grown in laboratories is expected to reach British shop shelves in 18 months after a joint venture with the institute that created Dolly the cloned sheep and Aim-listed Agronomics. (The Times £)

Following up The Grocer’s story last week, The Times (£) writes of Skinny Drinks raising £7.5 million via crowdfunding with the aim of floating within 18 months. (The Times £)

Small brewers have expressed alarm at the government’s proposed reform of alcohol duty, and want to know why the mooted tax on cider will be only half the rate on beer. (The Times £)

Some 20 food and drinks groups made the FT’s list of Europe’s fastest growing companies, several of them going the route of direct-to-consumer sales — a common mechanism for consumer start-ups to bypass retailers and expand through an efficient digital marketing operation. (The Financial Times £)

The Times (£) share tips column advises investors to look at Hilton Food Group. “Britain’s chippies, which have served up a staple of the national diet since the Victorian era, are at the sharp end of the latest crisis engulfing Britain’s hospitality industry, where operators are trying to rebuild battered finances amid an acute shortage of workers.” (The Times £)

150-year-old palm oil producer MP Evans will be announcing 2021 results on Tuesday and they are expected to be good with rising sales and profits and a dividend of at least 35p, up from 22p last year. Looking ahead, prospects are even brighter. (The Daily Mail)

Tobacco giant Imperial Brands has emerged as a potential kingmaker in the battle for control of medicinal cannabis firm Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, which is due to hold a shareholder meeting to decide upon the company’s future. (The Daily Mail)

Drinks you can print at home spell the end of the can. Find the ingredients of any beverage you can think of, add water and let a gadget do the rest – can one start-up really rid the world of bottles and cans? (The Times £)

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