March - British Baker

Tesco takes own-brand cookie dough

Dublin firm Kooky Dough has signed a deal with Tesco to supply a range of own-brand cookie dough mixes.

Firecracker panini wins Caffè Ritazza a prize

Caffè Ritazza has won the Bel UK Café Food Award at the Café Society Awards 2011, for its Firecracker Chicken and Chorizo Panini Melt.

Dawn Foods poised to acquire Unifine

Dawn Foods looks set to acquire Unifine Food & Bake Ingredients, following the announcement in December that Unifine’s parent company Royal Cosun was investigating its potential sale.

Suppliers step up to meet palm oil challenge

Two major ingredients suppliers are leading the charge towards using sustainable palm oil.

Mintel reports good retail rise for cakes

Sales of cakes and cake bars have enjoyed significant growth, according to the latest data from Mintel, with seven out of 10 consumers purchasing them on a regular basis.

Napier Brown hit by sugar regime, while Renshaw thrives

The Real Good Food Company (RGFC) saw total sales down 7% as its sugar business experienced the “toughest ever” financial year. Meanwhile growth in its bakery ingredients division Renshaw, beat its highest expectations.

AMT in £1m transaction to expand coffee sites

AMT Coffee aims to take on bigger rivals by growing all of its three formats after signing a £1m finance-raising deal with Close Leasing.

Ginsters trials food-to-go shop format

Savouries giant Ginsters has opened its first-ever retail outlet at Manchester’s Victoria railway station.

CASH targets stricter salt reduction for 2014

In the wake of the publication of the government’s Responsibility Deal, which outlined food manufacturers’ commitments to reducing salt levels in bread, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) is pressing for even more stringent salt reduction targets for 2014.

Lomond takes on cakes as it aims for higher sales

Glasgow food distribution firm Lomond Fine Foods is launching a cake-making venture in a bid to increase its sales.

Fiona Cairns and McVitie’s tasked with royal cake baking

Fiona Cairns and McVitie’s Cake Company have been tasked with making cakes fit for royalty at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Wheat grower to benefit from Prince’s fund

Traditional wheat grower Heritage Harvest hopes a cash boost from Prince Charles will help spread the word about unusual varieties.

Bread and cakes drive Finsbury

Finsbury Food Group has announced rising sales for the six months to 1 January 2011, driven by a return to growth of its Cake division, and a strong performance in Bread and Free From.

Redundancies as Fords goes into liquidation

Fords Bakery in Prestonpans has been placed into liquidation, with 35 staff made redundant, and around 25 set to move to its parent company.

Mouthing off

"Stop. Collaborate and listen; Ice is back with a brand new invention; rap while you wrap so gimme a handclap; what we're gonna make is called the squareish wrap; spread some pesto and add some tomato, a lotta mozzarella and a little bit of basil"

Wedding wings

Thinly-stretched royal wedding bandwagon product of the week goes to Toastabags, for its 'Toast the Royal Couple' toaster sleeves, used for making less-than-regal toasties. No, the image of Wills and Kate does not burn on to the bread. It's just a picture on a bag.

Cakewatch update

This is the woman police are searching for in connection with the nation's first recorded case of cupcake rage. The customer in question allegedly went berserk in Cardiff cupcakery Sugarswirlz when it ran out of her favourite 'Sweet Tooth Fairy' cupcakes, smashing up the shop and assaulting staff. The net is closing.

Have your cake and wear it

Here's a wedding dress that twists an age-old epithet to coin a new one: "A moment on the hips, a nightime on the lips".

Stealth and welfare

The residents of the fictitious mono-cultural town of ITV's Midsomer Murders may not like it, but the days of unadulterated whiteness are over.

NPD drives fresh soft drinks surge

With today's consumer ever-more pressed for time, the need to be able to find everything in one place has never been greater. So bakery retailers need to stock the right soft drinks to offer consumers with their lunchtime sandwich or afternoon hot savoury.

Tiny treats at Starbucks

Starbucks has launched a Petites range of bakery products this spring. It includes cake pops - small cake balls, dipped in chocolate, on a lollipop stick - in almond, rocky road and sparkle varieties; red velvet, and chocolate whoopie pies, a salted caramel pecan bar, and a raspberry white chocolate cake.

Sweet ideas for royal day

Delice de France has developed a range of products to capitalise on the upcoming Royal Wedding.

Brownies are all white

CSM (UK) has added a White Fudge Brownie Mix to its Craigmillar American range of cake mixes. The mix only needs the addition of water and oil and can be used to create 'white brownies' or variations such as pecan, or orange marmalade.

All wrapped up

Linpac Packaging has launched a new packaging range specifically for the bakery sector. The LINbake range offers packaging solutions for cakes, biscuits, bread, gateaux and much more.

Scones score sales leads

Scone manufacturer Haywood and Padgett has launched a new premium scone range targeted at the foodservice sector.

Bridor adds French touch

Bridor has been working with French baker Frédéric Lalos to develop three artisan breads, unveiled at the show. Le Pain de Partage Blé Grand Arôme, is a tear-and-share bread in a 300g format, made using a natural yeast and wheat flour to add softness and avoid acidity, while a durum wheat flour finishes the product. Le Pain Cerealier stoneground flour, in a 450g format contains a grain mix of sesame, brown flax, yellow flax, sunflower and wheat, and uses a house stoneground flour yeast. Le Pain Pochon buckwheat flour, also available in a 450g format is made with a mixed buckwheat yeast, featuring Camp Remy flour. Its four corner folds are shaped by hand.

Gluten-free cheesecakes

Dessert manufacturer Aulds was promoting a range of new gluten-free products at IFE.

Délifrance display

Délifrance unveiled several of its 36 new lines at this year's IFE, including a selection of cupcakes orange & cinnamon and raspberry & chocolate; and a chocolate & coconut whirlwind.

Pastry pull

Belgian pastry manufacturer Pidy displayed a whole selection of new products at the IFE exhibition at ExCeL, London last week.

Report

UK food and non-alcoholic drink exports have grown for six years in succession, passing the £10bn mark for the first time in 2010. Cereals and bakery exports pushed through the £2bn mark, up 8.1% on 2009 to £2,079.2m.

Edible nut pricing

Almonds:

The weather during the critical "bloom" in California will determine the short- to medium-term direction on pricing. Last year's crop was the largest on record, so it is likely to be smaller this year.

Reporting in United, we stand...

There is increasing mainstream media interest in baking, helped by programmes such as the Great British Bake-off and the Great British Food Revival, with Michel Roux Jr arguing the case for bread. This has begun to generate more coverage for the debate about how bread is made.

In Short

Boost for Greggs

Karl Flanagan was elected president

of the London and South Eastern Region of the National Association of Master Bakers, at the recent AGM, which took place at Bakers' Hall. Flanagan comes from a bakery family and has three shops in Essex under the name Home Made Bakery. A former student of the National Bakery School, he is pictured with his wife Stella (left) and Julia Valbret, wife of outgoing president Laurent Valbret.

In Short

Asda cupcake deal

In Short

Belgian into UK

Sainsbury's displayed a giant gingerbread man

at its Newport store last week, in order to raise money for Red Nose Day. Claiming to be the largest creation of its type in the UK, the gingerbread man a replica of the supermarket's Mr Red Nose Gingerbread biscuit stood at 15ft tall, 9ft wide and weighed 440 pounds. Food artist Prudence Stait and a specialist team took over a month to create the giant biscuit, made using 36 sheets of gingerbread, fixed together with a gingerbread-coloured chocolate paste.

Industry man passes on

It is with great sadness that Dawn Foods announced that Fred Gascoyne passed away suddenly on Wednesday 9 March.

Bakery apprenticeships see new scheme revamp

A revamped bakery apprenticeship pathway is in the pipeline, as part of an overhaul of apprenticeships offered in the food and drink industry, with a £2.2m funding pot available to cover the full costs of training.