Asda has joined Tesco, its biggest rival, in facing the prospect of strike action ahead of the key Christmas trading season as the GMB said it was launching a consultative ballot over the supermarket chain’s decision not to give distribution staff a “meaningful” pay offer. (Sky News) 

Kellogg has said it is permanently replacing 1,400 workers who have been on strike since October, a decision that comes as the majority of its cereal plant workforce rejected a deal that would have provided 3% raises. (The Guardian) 

Restaurant workers at Harrods say they have won a 25% increase in pay, with some chefs now earning more than £12.50 an hour – averting a threatened strike during Christmas week. (The Guardian) 

Tesco risks Christmas chaos as it takes on the unions, writes The Telegraph. While products with a longer shelf life such as Christmas puddings and mince pies hit stores weeks ago, deliveries of fresh produce including turkey and vegetables would be the most affected. (The Telegraph) 

The price of a Christmas dinner has risen by more than 3pc as food inflation hits its highest level this year, pushing up the cost of turkey and brussels sprouts (The Telegraph). The price of a Christmas dinner is more than 3% higher than last year, led by an increase in the price of frozen turkey, traditional puddings and sprouts (The Guardian). Christmas dinner is set to cost more this year with the price of staples such as turkey, Brussels sprouts and Christmas pudding all higher, according to analyst firm Kantar (The BBC). Grocery price inflation rose to 3.2% in November, the highest rate since June 2020 - and stripping out figures from the early months of the pandemic, it has not been higher since the start of 2018 (Sky News). 

Supermarket Booths saw business boom during the pandemic as shuttered restaurants forced customers to cook at home. (The Daily Mail) 

The family who own Booths supermarket, the upmarket grocer, received a dividend last year after a decision to keep business rates relief helped it stay in the black and it was given a boost by a surge in food sales. (The Times £) 

Losses from developing e-cigarette and tobacco heating brands are set to peak this year at British American Tobacco, putting the company’s new products on course to turn a profit by 2025 (The Times £). British American Tobacco has lured more new customers to take up its e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and oral nicotine products in the first three quarters of the year than in the whole of 2020 (The Daily Mail). 

Coffee prices on futures markets have rallied to a 10-year high, with companies and traders dashing to lock in supplies as they contend with shipping bottlenecks and a late-year rise in demand. (The Financial Times £) 

The chief executive of the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has dismissed the suggestion beer is losing ground to spirits, saying “it’s about time for people to get the right story” about its popularity. (The Financial Times £) 

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