The boss of Unilever has defended the consumer goods giant’s focus on sustainability and the environment, arguing that it is a commercial decision that has the backing of shareholders (The Times £). Alan Jope told a panel at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos: “Investors have exhorted us to continue putting sustainability at the heart of our business model for hard commercial purposes. Unilever is not an NGO. We’re a commercial organisation.”
Almost a quarter of British households are struggling to make ends meet as grocery prices increase at the fastest pace in 13 years, research shows (The Times £).
Nine in 10 people say they are worried about the rising price of groceries, according to the market research group Kantar, putting the issue in second place behind concerns about energy bills as the cost of living crisis hits families hard (The Guardian).
The cost of a family fry-up with toast, eggs, sausages, bacon and beans has risen 40p since last year, research from Kantar suggests (BBC News).
Cranswick has called for government action to save the pig industry after feed price rises added to labour shortages to place farmers under “unsustainable strain” (The Financial Times £).
Adam Couch, chief executive of Cranswick, said the industry was under “severe and unsustainable strain” from “the rapid escalation in feed costs, together with other inflationary pressures and the well-publicised shortage of skilled butchers, resulting directly from the government’s post-Brexit immigration policy” (The Times £).
Ian King writes for Sky News that “pork specialist Cranswick demands government saves industry’s bacon”. “There is clearly growing anger among pig producers over the government’s response to its big list of headwinds - all contributing to the cost of living crisis.”
The UK will on Wednesday introduce legislation to accelerate the genetic engineering of crops in England — to the delight of plant scientists and dismay of some environmental campaigners and organic farming bodies (The Financial Times £).
Farmers are threatening to reduce bread production by planting less crops for milling wheat and more for animal feed, which is spiralling in cost (The Telegraph).
Food-to-go retailers are passing on price rises to customers, pushing up the cost of a cheap lunch just as commuters start to return to offices in greater numbers, writes The Financial Times (£) as it reports on results from Greencore, SSP Group and Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group.
London-listed SSP and The Restaurant Group each updated investors on Tuesday on their plans to tackle soaring costs as the war in Ukraine exacerbates a rise in food, commodity and energy prices (The Mail).
The owner of Wagamama, Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito expects food and drink inflation to reach as much as 10% this year, double the rate predicted just two months ago, as the war in Ukraine disrupts supply chains (The Guardian).
The new chief executive of SSP Group declared that the transport caterer was seeing a significant rebound in trade after the impact of Omicron and predicted a full recovery in leisure travel (The Times £).
Gorillas plans to lay off 300 people, cutting its administrative staff numbers in half, as the German grocery delivery app shifts its focus from rapid expansion to turning a profit (The Times £).
A British manufacturer has pledged to send two million tins of baby formula to the United States as officials scramble to increase stocks rapidly amid a nationwide shortage (The Times £). Kendal Nutricare, owner of the Kendamil brand, is the first international producers to receive fast-track approval from American regulators attempting to replenish shelves.
Cumbria-based Kendamil, the baby milk brand the Royal Family used to wean Prince Louis of Cambridge, will take part in President Joe Biden’s Operation Fly Formula initiative to ease the crisis, shipping 100 truckloads of product to the US in the next six months (The Mail).
As many as four million American households will be able to get food, groceries and supplies from Walmart delivered by flying, remote-controlled drones by the end of the year, according to the retail chain (The Guardian).
Household energy bills will increase by another £800 in October as the price cap rises, the regulator has said (The Times £).
Ofgem is on course to raise the cap on household energy bills to about £2,800 in October, the regulator’s chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, has told MPs (The Guardian).
No comments yet