Food from Britain (FFB) has promoted JANE WAKELING to head of client development and appointed KIRSTY GRIEVE as regional food and drinks manager. Ms Wakeling leads the organisation’s consulting and will have responsibility for providing FFB clients with strategic and practical support to ensure they gain maximum benefit from FFB’s international network.

Ms Grieve will continue Ms Wakeling’s previous work to drive FFB’s campaign to promote the UK’s regional food and drinks industry. The programme recently received funding for a further two years, made possible by an additional £2m from DEFRA.

Mexican and regional American food supplier Discovery Foods has appointed ROBERT POWELL as group human resources manager. Mr Powell is based at the group’s Sonora Foods plant in Daventry, Northants, and is responsible for 350 employees across three sites: two Sonora plants in Daventry and the Discovery Foods site in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Food co-packer for brand owners in the consumer goods market Budelpack March is strengthening its sales team with the appointment of JEFF PARRY as national account manager. Mr Parry has already worked with the company as project manager and will be helping customers to define their requirements as well as completing projects on time and

to budget. The Cambridgeshire-based firm handles a wide range of food products, including powders, liquids and confectionery in formats ranging from sachets to stick packs, thermoformed pots, bags, cartons, jars and bottles.

Dickinson & Morrison has appointed LUCY IDDISON as brand manager. She joins from Northern Foods where she was Tesco category manager for the chilled pastry savoury division, managing the own-label and branded portfolio, including Pork Farms.

In her new role, Ms Iddison will concentrate on brand penetration in the multiples and raising awareness of the firm’s Melton Mowbray pork pie products. She will be based at Walkers Charnwood bakery.

Indian food company Patak’s has bolstered its head office team with seven new appointments, from sales to consumer research. Market analysis and forecasting will be handled by category and consumer insight group manager MATT CLARK, while manufacturing will be overseen by group manager GREGG HARRISION, specialising in breads, foods and frozen.

In addition, the company has appointed: BEN ELLIS as market manager for the US; GRAHAM THOMPSON as development manager, food solutions; ISABELLA LOWE as development manager, international markets; EMMA SNEDDON as business development manager, foods; and PETER MCCORMICK as business development executive, frozen and breads.

RTS Flexible Systems, which supplies equipment for product handling, storage and packaging, has appointed ROY FRASER as UK sales manager for bread and bakery.

Vision-guided, fast-picking robots are a key part of RTS’s offering.