All British Baker articles in January 2006 – Page 3
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News
Greggs ‘controlling costs’
RetaiL baker Greggs complained of rising energy costs as it reported flat like-for-like sales performance over the Christmas trading period, in a statement last week.Group MD Sir Michael Darrington said the group’s like-for-like sales in the second half, the 28 weeks to December 31, 2005, increased by 3%. Under-lying like-for-like ...
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News
Harvestime saga continues
HARVESTIME (2005) administrators are still in negotiations over the future of its bakeries, particularly the site in Walsall, which is still trading.Joint administrator John Kelly of Begbies Traynor told British Baker he was still exploring the options, with interested parties. These are understood to include a deal with management, which ...
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NewsConsumers look for seasonal indulgence
Puratos (Buckingham, Bucks) recently ran a series of focus groups, looking at what consumers want and expect from their local baker this Easter, and found significant demand exists for simple goods that deliver a more indulgent eating experience. “According to the consumers we spoke to, there is a strong desire ...
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News
HGCA conference
The Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) will look at opportunities for suppliers in the foodservice and retail sectors at a conference in London on February 9. Entitled ‘Where to Harvest – Foodservice or Retail?’, it will be held at The British Library Conference Centre. Presentations will cover how foodservice is ...
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News
Celebrate the start of spring
Easter is a time for celebration and food is as pivotal to today’s Easter celebrations as those of centuries ago, according to David Astles, trade marketing manager of BakeMark UK (Merseyside). He says that bakers are well placed to reap the rewards from offering luxury simnel cakes, hot cross buns ...
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Cut the calories, keep the taste
Anthony Alan (Barnsley, Yorkshire) has developed WeightWatchers muffins to provide a lower-fat, lower-calorie option for those looking for an Easter treat. Available in double chocolate chip, blueberry and lemon and sultana varieties, the muffins are packed in fours or individuals, with mini muffins available in 12- and triple-pack options.
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NewsManaging buy-outs
It may surprise some directors to discover how much money they can borrow. Most financial backers expect directors to put up personal funds amounting to no more than six months’ to a year’s salary.In 2004, 698 management teams bought their own companies, borrowing £20.5bn to do so, with a third ...
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News
Making fruity breads is an Exakt science, says supplier
Various fruit breads and sweet doughs can be created with Zeelandia’s (Billericay, Essex) Exakt Zest powder, says the company. From hot cross buns to more artisanal products, bakers need only add flour, yeast and water. The mix will hold a fruit weight of up to 40% of flour weight. Supplied ...
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Cuisine de France in brand push
Bake-off supplier Cuisine de France is to air a new regional TV commercial to raise awareness of its in-store bakery offer.The campaign will run in Scotland and the south-west from mid-February to mid-March. It uses a 30-second advertisement and a 10-second advertisement, where a girl is pictured going into a ...
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News
Concentrate for better buns
GB Ingredients (Felixstowe, Suffolk) says its Energie Spiced Bun Concentrate is ideal for busy bakers, offering all the enrichment and spices needed to produce hot cross buns and fruited morning goods. The company’s product group manager, Marie Parnell, says that bakers can add their own spices and other ingredients to ...
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NewsBakery designs pretzel for Pope
A GERMAN bakery has patented a Pope Benedict pretzel, in honour of the new head of the Catholic Church, the Bavarian Pope Benedict XVI. The special pretzel was invented by the Regensburg-based master baker, Georg Schindler and manufactured by German bakery company Backaldrin International.
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News
Gulf opportunity beckons to UK bakers and confectioners
A RECENT report published by Food from Britain (FFB), the market development consultancy for British food and drink companies, suggests there are significant opportunities for UK bakery and confectionery producers in the Gulf States.These countries not only contain large numbers of ex-patriates and tourists, but their high concentration in ...
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NewsCross and bake well, says Bakels
Bakels (Bicester, Oxon) supplies a range of products for every stage of hot cross bun production, including mixes, glazes and the crosses themselves.With the addition of bun spice, Baktem Blue paste can be used to change a plain, fruited bun into a hot cross bun. It is designed to suit ...
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NewsBread back in focus as Bakemark restructures
BakeMark UK emphasised its commitment to bread ingredients this week as it announced a restructure, following a six-month strategic review.The ingredients company will now focus on five core product areas – bread ingredients, cookies, cake mixes, value-added doughnuts and soft icings, MD Marco Bertacca told British Baker. Other divisions of ...
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News
McDougalls Doughnut & Bun Mix
Since not all bakers have time to make hot cross buns from scratch, RHM Foodservice (Reading) offers the McDougalls Doughnut & Bun Mix.The mix requires the addition of water, currants, mixed peel and mixed spice. It can then be shaped into rounds and a cross piped on top, before baking ...
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News
UK bread ranks among cheapest
SUPERMARKET bread in London was again among the cheapest in the world, latest half-yearly figures from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) suggest.The data, supplied exclusively to British Baker, shows a standard kilo of bread costs 58p in a supermarket in Lon-don. That makes London the 15th cheapest city for supermarket ...
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NewsThe American Way
Upmarket American bakery brand La Brea – a big hit in the US, with its rustic-style flavours and textures steeped in Europe’s baking traditions – is now making waves in (and to) the UK. Frozen and ferried across the Atlantic to the UK from New Jersey, La Brea Bakery could ...
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News
Administrators move in at M Firkin bakery chain
Administrators hope to make a quick sale of Mid-lands independent bakery chain M Firkin, after being called in to the family company last week.The 136-year-old firm, which is the UK’s sixth-largest bakery chain with 53 shops, called in administrator BDO Stoy Hayward on January 10, saying sales had been hit ...
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Ambitious Rich Products makes £1m investment
Rich Products says it has invested £1m at its bakeries, including the former David Powell bakery in Fareham, as part of a plan to become the UK’s leading supplier of premium baked goods.Rich has relocated the bread bakery and refurbished all the ovens at the Fareham bakery, acquired from David ...