Asda has told suppliers it is putting the development of new products on the back-burner as US owner Walmart looks to slash costs and considers a stock market float (The Daily Mail).

Lion Capital is lining up a sale of sports nutrition company Grenade, which city sources say was valued at £72m in 2017 and has grown rapidly since. Lion Capital bought a majority stake just over two years ago from Grovepoint Capital and Alan and Juliet Barratt, Grenade’s co-founders (The Telegraph).

Downing Street has defended prime minister Boris Johnson’s claims that Melton Mowbray pork pies are a British export success that face restrictions in the US. Johnson said they were shipped to Thailand and Iceland but barred from the US because of “some sort of food and drug administration restriction”. Samworth Brothers, which produces about 80% of the pies under the Walker & Son brand, said it had previously shipped a “tiny amount” of the pies to Singapore and this had stopped at least two years ago.

The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association said the pies were not exported to Iceland or Thailand (Financial Times £). Matthew O’Callaghan, who chairs the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, said the only Iceland where Melton Mowbray pork pies were available were Iceland the food retailer (BBC).

British florists have warned that border disruption after a no-deal Brexit risks jeopardising winter weddings. Delays of even a few hours after Britain leaves the European Union could have “devastating” consequences for flower sellers (The Times £).

Industry groups have slammed “confused” government advice on how firms can trade with the European Union after a no-deal Brexit. London and Brussels were forced to clarify information for businesses that export to the Continent (The Times £). US president Donald Trump will ensure no deal will mean “many compromises for Britain” (The Guardian). “Concessions on food standards, data protection, taxes on tech giants…EU membership was never like this”. The Independent says the British government has promised not to skimp on food standards after leaving the EU – but in the land of chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef, a post Brexit trade deal still offers “tantalising possibilities”. Meanwhile, Trump has warned of tariffs on French wine in retaliation to France’s planned tax on large multinational tech firms City A.M.

The British Retail Consortium along with nine other trade bodies have complained in a letter to the Treasury select committee that the recent ministerial reshuffle has risked delaying urgent business rate reform (The Times £).

Campaigners have called for open fridges in supermarkets to be banned because they waste too much energy and release “super-greenhouse gases”. Almost 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for a ban but the government has said it will not ban open fridges (The Times £).

Big brands are turning to big data to rekindle growth. They are using companies such as Black Swan, which hoovers up data from multiple sources and analyse it to determine what consumers want using artificial intelligence. PepsiCo, Danone and McDonald’s are among its clients (Financial Times £).

JAB Holdings, the investment firm behind Dr Pepper and Pret A Manger, aims to raise up to $8bn from investors to make more acquisitions (Financial Times £).

Fonterra, the New Zealand dairy giant, is saddled with huge debts after expanding into overseas markets. The Financial Times (£) says the souring of its fortunes marks a dramatic fall from grace that has called its strategy and structure into question.

UK farmers are struggling to hire foreign workers for harvest. Alarm bells have rung over the UK’s proposal to end free movement of European Union nationals – so crucial for helping to bring in crops – in a no-deal Brexit (Financial Times £).

Marston’s chief executive Ralph Findlay says the government must cut tax on beer to save British pubs. The Daily Mail says beer duty is expected to be hiked when new chancellor Sajid Javid delivers his pre-Brexit Budget in October.

French bakery chain Paul has started stockpiling food from France in case of a no-deal Brexit. Its baguettes are made from flour milled for it in France. Paul is also known for its croissants, cakes and brioches (The Daily Mail).

The government has increased the pot of cash available to struggling high streets from £675m to £1bn. Another 50 towns have been added to the initial 50 shortlisted to receive cash from the fund (The Guardian). The money could be used for schemes such as improving transport links or converting empty shops into homes or offices (Sky News).

KFC is working with Beyond Meat on a one-day trial of plant-based nuggets. A successful pilot could see plant-based chicken nuggets and wings appearing on its US menu. The product is called Beyond Fried Chicken and comes with the tagline “a Kentucky fried miracle” (The Guardian).

A plan by Nestlé to take 1.1m gallons of water a day from the crystal blue water of Ginnie Springs that line Florida’s Santa Fe River has sparked outcry. The company has spent millions of dollars this year buying and upgrading a water bottling plant at nearby High Springs in anticipation of permission (The Guardian).

Spain has suffered a drop in beer sales on the back of the weak pound, which has pushed many beer-swilling Brits to cheaper destinations, such as Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. Tourists form the UK and elsewhere drink about a quarter of the beer consumed in Spain each year. Mahou-San Miguel Group has noticed weaker sales, particularly in the Canary and Balearic Islands. The collapse of German budget airline Germania and cheaper competition around the Mediterranean have also had an impact (Bloomberg).

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