Almost 6% of global workforce will be cut over next two years, including 12,000 white-collar professionals
Nestlé has said it will cut 16,000 jobs over the next two years as the owner of KitKat and Nescafé attempts to reduce costs and increase sales.
The Swiss-headquartered multinational said the cuts would include 12,000 white-collar professionals and 4,000 in its manufacturing and supply chain, close to 6% of Nestlé’s global workforce.
Continue reading...Supermarket supplier says new pricier range is still cheaper than bill for a night out at a restaurant
British consumers are looking to treat themselves with an alternative to dining out despite a squeeze on household finances, according to the food entrepreneur Charlie Bigham who is launching luxurious ready meals costing up to £29.95.
The supermarket supplier is selling a new five-option range, which includes a venison bourguignon made with wild-caught venison from the Scottish Highlands, in an attempt to snare consumers saving on the cost of a night out.
Continue reading...Proponents say move would strengthen position of farmers in supply chain but critics dismiss it as ‘hotdog populism’
Veggie burgers, tofu steak and cauliflower schnitzel will be off the menu if the European parliament gets its way after a vote on food names.
MEPs voted on Wednesday by 355 in favour to 247 against to reserve names such as “steak”, “burger” and “sausage” exclusively for products derived from meat, a longstanding demand of farm unions.
Continue reading...Beefed-up packaging tax will triple pub chain’s costs from the levy to £2.4m a year, says Tim Martin
The boss of the pub chain Wetherspoon’s has vowed to keep price increases to a “minimum”, after blaming a beefed-up packaging tax and rising energy bills for extra costs.
Tim Martin said the recently introduced “extended producer responsibility” levy on packaging would lead to the company’s costs from the tax tripling from £800,000 to £2.4m a year.
Continue reading...Zaytoun’s olive oil and dates provide a tangible way to help Palestinians, says the business’s managing director
A Palestinian food brand says its UK sales increased by 50% to £3.2m in 2024 as shoppers seek out its olive oil in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Zaytoun, the Arabic word for olive or olive tree, is a social enterprise set up to support the resilience of Palestinian communities through fair trade.
Continue reading...Committee to conclude review of bill by 7 November. This live blog is closed
The UK is preparing to recognise the state of Palestine imminently, after Israel failed to meet conditions that would have postponed the historic step, including a ceasefire in Gaza, Patrick Wintour reports.
YouGov has relased polling today suggesting that Britons are in favour of this by more than two to one, although a large minority of people do not have a view.
Continue reading...Increase of 0.5% in August helped by back-to-school shopping, while food stores also given lift
Back-to-school shopping and warm weather helped to boost retail sales last month, according to the latest official data.
Total retail sales in Great Britain rose 0.5%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, as parents prepared for the new school year and shoppers enjoyed a series of heatwave and the summer’s last bank holiday.
Continue reading...Cheap ultra-processed food behind rise in overweight children, with one in 10 now obese globally, says Unicef
More children around the world are obese than underweight for the first time, according to a UN report that warns ultra-processed junk food is overwhelming childhood diets.
There are 188 million teenagers and school-age children with obesity – one in 10 – Unicef said, affecting health and development and bringing a risk of life-threatening diseases.
Continue reading...Alex Freudmann says ministers need to increase proportion of food eaten in UK that is grown or reared in Britain
Marks & Spencer’s head of food has called on the government to set a legally binding “concrete target” to increase the proportion of food produced at home, as he warned that Britain was becoming “less and less self-sufficient”.
Alex Freudmann, the managing director of the upmarket grocer’s food division, which works with 10,000 British farms, said: “If ministers are committed to domestic food supply, then they need to prove it, and that’s why we’re backing our farmers’ calls for a clear and concrete target to increase the proportion of food eaten in Britain that’s grown or reared in Britain.”
Continue reading...Government to ban sale of energy drinks with more than 150mg of caffeine, citing concerns over obesity and lack of concentration
Under-16s in England will be banned from buying energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster because they fuel obesity, cause sleep problems and leave them unable to concentrate.
Health experts, teaching unions and dentists welcomed the ban and said it would boost children and young people’s health. It fulfils a pledge Labour included in its manifesto for last year’s general election.
Continue reading...Takeshi Niinami bought supplements in the belief that they were legal, says Jim Beam and Laphroaig owner
Takeshi Niinami, one of Japan’s best-known business leaders, has resigned as chief executive of the drinks company Suntory after police raided his home as part of an investigation into suspected illegal supplements.
His resignation from the owner of the Jim Beam whisky brand has sent shockwaves through Japan’s corporate world, with Suntory executives attempting to reassure investors and consumers at a hastily arranged news conference.
Continue reading...Company, which owns brands including KitKat, replaces Laurent Freixe with Philipp Navratil
Nestlé has dismissed its chief executive, Laurent Freixe, after an investigation into an “undisclosed romantic relationship” with a subordinate that was found to have breached its code of business conduct.
The Swiss-headquartered multinational, which owns consumer goods brands including KitKat chocolate, Häagen-Dazs ice-cream and Nespresso coffee capsules, named Philipp Navratil as his replacement.
Continue reading...Millennial childhood staples such as Walkers and Nik Naks introduce new flavours amid pressure for brands to stay relevant
Nostalgia for the 1990s might have reached its peak with Oasis back on tour this summer, but several of Britain’s best-known brands are also trying to make a comeback, reinventing themselves with new flavours, packaging or names.
Walkers, Nik Naks and Bacardi Breezer are among some of the brands that are adapting to try to stand out in the food and drink market.
Continue reading...Group in Kilteely pooled savings to buy bar and licence and ‘everybody brought something to the table’
A century ago, the County Limerick village of Kilteely had seven pubs but one by one they shut. This year, it braced to lose the last.
The economic and social trends that have shuttered family-run pubs across Ireland appear remorseless, leaving many communities with nowhere to meet, have a drink and share stories.
Continue reading...Jobs expected to go if competition watchdog approves takeover by Associated British Foods
The owner of Kingsmill has agreed to buy its rival Hovis in a deal worth an estimated £75m that could create the UK’s biggest bread brand if the competition regulator approves it, but also put jobs at risk.
The deal comes after decades of decline in the popularity of the packaged sliced loaf, with Hovis, owned by the private equity company Endless, and its rival Kingsmill – part of Associated British Foods (ABF) – struggling to get out of the red for some years.
Continue reading...Study finds Wiltshire ham products sold by retailers such as Tesco and M&S contain highest level of nitrites
Ham and bacon sold by supermarkets including Tesco, and Marks and Spencer still contain cancer-causing chemicals almost 10 years after the World Health Organization warned about the dangers of their use in processed meats.
Wiltshire ham is the product with the highest concentrations of nitrites, according to analysis that compared it to cooked ham and unsmoked bacon.
Continue reading...BRC says food prices rose by 4% in July from 2024, while CBI blames economic uncertainty for people not spending
Britain’s largest retailers struggled to entice shoppers back to the high street in July as the rising cost of meat and butter drove up food prices, adding to the pressure on household finances.
According to the latest snapshot from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) food prices rose by 4% in July from a year earlier, up from 3.7% in June and above the three-month average of 3.5%.
Continue reading...Sunday’s England v Spain match set to be most-watched women’s football match in UK history, benefiting food, drink and hospitality industries
The climax of the exhilarating women’s Euros, as the Lionesses attempt to atone for their loss to Spain at the World Cup, is poised to be the most-watched women’s football match in UK history with the tournament providing a more than £800m boost to supermarkets, pubs and retailers.
With Sunday’s showdown aired on both ITV and the BBC, and their respective streaming services, TV industry executives expect that, with the help of a family-friendly 5pm kick-off time, viewing will eclipse the 14.8 million peak audience when England lost 1-0 to Spain in Sydney two years ago, if the match is close.
Continue reading...Shoppers flock to stores in June for food, drink and merchandise, and also go on short breaks
Sunny summer weather and a packed schedule of events including Wimbledon, concerts by Oasis and Beyoncé, and international cricket and football sent shoppers flocking to retailers and supermarkets last month.
Retail sales volumes in Great Britain rose by 0.9% in June, bouncing back from a sharp fall in May, although slightly below analyst consensus forecasts of a 1.2% month-on-month increase.
Continue reading...Police found 57 people allegedly held in fetid conditions in case known as ‘grape harvest of shame’
Three employees of a firm that provided workers to pick grapes for champagne has gone on trial for human trafficking, in one of the biggest labour scandals to hit France’s exclusive sparkling wine industry.
The employees of the firm supplying grape pickers for the champagne harvest in 2023 were charged with human trafficking and exploiting seasonal workers, submitting vulnerable people to undignified housing conditions, and employing foreign nationals without authorisation. The firm itself was also on trial for moral responsibility in the case.
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