The Times cites new research into the ultra-processed foods that are safe. Dr Federica Amati, a nutritionist who works for gut health brand Zoe, says the Nova foods classification is not doing consumers any favours, as it lumps all UPFs in to the same ‘unhealthy’ banner. With an estimated 60% of UK calories UPFs, Zoe has been developing a new system to identify the processed and UPF foods that can contribute to a healthy diet, using over one million products on its database. You can also read The Grocer’s report on Zoe’s risk-based tool here.
The Telegraph taste tests the £10 chocolate bar so popular that Waitrose will allow you only to buy two at a time. So-called Dubai chocolate has captivated the internet and overwhelmed supermarkets. But does it live up to the hype? The Grocer has reported extensively on the viral internet phenomenon in recent weeks. After Lidl enjoyed huge success with a TikTok Shop stunt, this week the discounter rolled the bars out to stores.
Talking of TikTok Shop, it’s opening in France, Germany and Italy next week, Reuters reports. The e-commerce platform launched in the UK in 2021 and has been a roaring success, but its future in the US is increasingly uncertain unless Chinese owner Byte can find a US buyer.
The media’s coverage of the global trade war is now squarely focused on the impact of US president Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on car manufacturers. But the Financial Times reports US alcohol brands are increasingly caught up in the wider Canada-US tariff dispute. US wine, beer and spirits brands have been removed from shelves in retaliation for Trump’s trade war and threats to annex the country. It’s been simple to achieve wholesale delistings because most liquor stores are run by Canada’s provincial governments, the FT explains, in a piece mostly focused on the impact on smaller US producers.
The Financial Times is also first out the traps with a report on ONS retail figures. Sales rose by 1% in February, thanks to a strong performance from department stores, clothing and household goods shops, exceeding the 0.4% contraction expected by economists. However, supermarket sales volumes fell back following a strong rise in January.
Coffee prices are set to increase by up to 25%, finds a report on Reuters. Roasters such as Lavazza, Illy, Nestlé and Douwe Egberts maker JDE Peet’s are reportedly in talks with European retailers about cost price increases due to a near doubling in arabica coffee prices in the past year, with adverse weather affecting harvests for the past four years. A stand-off between suppliers and supermarket buyers in the Netherlands and Germany has even resulted in some SKUs going missing from shelves, it adds. Arabica prices have increased 109% over the past 12 months and a whopping 145% in the past five years.
Finally, Asda is playing an unusual numbers game and it may not win, consumer journalist Harry Wallop writes in The Times. The article ruminates about Asda’s pricing architecture as outlined by executive chairman Allan Leighton, after he was reportedly exasperated to see some prices, ending in 5, 9 or 0. “That’s not our system. Our system is 6, 7, 8, 2, 3, 4,” said Leighton in an interview with a journalist, explaining that “every single rollback” should be “an irregular price”, to show shoppers that prices had not been rounded up or artificially manipulated.
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