Manchester, UK: Asset Alliance Group has appointed Andrew Morley as commercial director in its Commercial Vehicle Division.
Morley joins the company from Petit Forestier, the refrigerated commercial vehicle hire business, where he held the same position.
Speaking about his move, Morley says: “The strength of the Asset Alliance Group brand, its comprehensive range of financial offers, and its best-in-class fleet management and compliance capabilities were a huge draw.
“I look forward to bringing my skills and experience to bear to ensure the business continues to innovate and set the pace in the commercial vehicle sector.”
Morley’s extensive experience includes 14 years as group sales director at Prohire, where he was instrumental in developing their electric vehicle proposition. He has also held the role of sales and marketing director at Schmitz Cargobull UK & Ireland.
Working alongside Paul Wright, sales director at Asset Alliance Group, Morley is tasked with driving the business’s contract hire, leasing, and rental activity to new heights as it continues to broaden its alternative fuels offer. He will report to group managing director Michael Bycroft.
The maqui berries market in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is expected to grow due to a rising preference for healthy food consumption.
The maqui market is expected to grow from US$ 11.44 million in 2022 to US$ 26.93 million by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% from 2022 to 2030.
The increase of maqui berries in food and beverage in North America has led to a rise in demand, according to a press release by Business Market Insights, people are rapidly replacing “sugar-dense, and junk food with nutritionally rich, natural, and clean products.”
According to the report, manufacturers of functional food and beverages are gravitating towards natural fruit and vegetable extracts and botanicals to increase the nutritional value of products.
In the findings, the report shows that the berry is in high demand across the nutraceuticals sector in North America, and manufacturers of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements include maqui berries and its extracts as one of the active ingredients in their products due to the berry’s associated health benefits.
Some benefits of the maqui berry are neutralizing free radical activities, boosting immunity, and strengthening bones and joints.
Some of the companies profiled in the North America Maqui Berries Market Report are Abbott Blackstone Co, CK Ingredients Inc, Ferreiro & Co Inc, HP Ingredients Corp, Jeeva Organic Pvt Ltd, Nature’s Power Nutraceuticals Corp, and Rainforest Supply LLC.
“In our Press Release on 8 August, we mentioned how US consumer spending data did not support the notion of a sudden US spending boom, and that the spike in Transpacific volumes in May and June 2024 was likely driven by a front-loading of imports,” stated Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.
Recent June 2024 US inventory data from the US Census Bureau further supports this view. The data reveals that US retailers have been steadily increasing their inventories, suggesting that the growth in container imports was primarily used to build up inventories rather than reflecting a surge in consumer spending.
Figure 1 illustrates the inventory levels across three categories defined by the US Census Bureau: Manufacturers, Retailers, and Wholesalers. Retailers, in particular, have been continuously growing their inventories, with a notable acceleration recently.
When compared to the long-term trend that began in 2009 (excluding a temporary drop during the pandemic), the recent months show an upward deviation—approximately US$18 billion more than what would be expected based on the trend.
Additionally, the inventories-to-sales (I/S) ratio indicates that the growth in retailers’ inventories is outpacing actual sales. This ratio has been increasing since late 2022 and is now nearing that of wholesalers.
While this inventory buildup isn’t necessarily a cause for concern, it could be attributed to importers front-loading cargo due to fears of a potential strike at US East Coast ports later this year. Another possibility is that importers are preparing for possible new tariffs, as trade relations with China are expected to be a focal point in the upcoming US presidential election.
“Irrespective of the reasons, if history over the past five years is any guide to go by, we are poised for a significant inventory increase over the last months of 2024,” commented Alan Murphy, CEO, of Sea-Intelligence.
The Scottish producer of premium, cultured butters has issued a call out for bakers to put their skills to the test to compete for the title of Scotland’s Best Croissant.
The competition is open to all – from home-based microbakers to professional pâtissiers – who plough their trade in Scotland, but especially those who take bakery to the next level. From the classic butter croissant to the pan au chocolate or even pushing the boundaries of flavor, form and presentation, croissants offers a beautiful canvas for bakers to reinvent the classic pastry.
Pic: GettyImages/Galiyah Assan
Infusing the dough with matcha, yuzu, miso or spices like cardamom, za’atar or garam masala; while natural colorants like beetroot powder, activated charcoal or turmeric to ramp up the visual appeal. Creative toppings – think nuts, granola or cocoa nibs – add texture and a rosewater or orange blossom glaze will add another nuance of taste. Think size: mini croissants offer a bite-sized snack while giant croissants can be a showstopping centerpiece. How about a tower of mini croissants, similar to a croquembouche?
The possibilities are endless and The Edinburgh Butter Company is urging bakers to pull out all the stops.
The secret ingredient behind Scotland’s finest viennoiserie
The sole requirement is that their croissants must be crafted using the company’s sheet butter, which has been specially formulated for pastry lamination. This technique is used to make croissants, puff pastry and other laminated doughs as it ensures consistent layers and an exceptional end product. Pastry butter is also known as dry butter has a higher fat and lower water content than normal butter. The drier texture of the butter means it retains its form yet is malleable when being folded for viennoiserie.
Each entrant will receive 2x1kg of Edinburgh Butter Company unsalted butter sheets in early October to make their creations.
Sisters Hilary Sinclair and Chloe Black
“We feel our cultured butter has long been the secret ingredient behind Scotland’s finest viennoiserie,” said Chloe Black, director of The Edinburgh Butter Company.
“After hearing from our talented network of bakers, we realized there was a strong desire for a competition that truly celebrates the craftsmanship of croissant-making.
“We saw an opportunity to create an event that focuses on the quality of individual creations, ensuring that every bakery in Scotland has a fair chance to shine. This competition is our way of honoring their passion and dedication.”
Are you ready to be judged?
Judging will take place at The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh on October 28. Entrants will be required to present six croissants to the panel of judges, which comprises some of the UK’s leading pastry chefs, including Ross Sneddon, executive pastry chef at The Balmoral Hotel.
Other judges include Darcie Maher, owner of Lannan Bakery; Kayleigh Turner, head pastry chef at the two Michelin-starred The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Perthshire; John Whaite, winner of The Great British Bake Off and owner of Ruff Puff; and food and travel writer and blogger Milly Kenny-Ryder (thoroughlymodernmilly.com) who has been named in the Top 10 Food & Travel influencers by The Evening Standard. Chloe Black rounds off the jury.
Judging criteria will focus on appearance (uniformity, color and shape), pastry development and lamination skills, texture and taste.
Sponsored by The Balmoral Hotel, Rackmaster Limited, Baking & Catering Equipment, Mark Murphy and Tipo Restaurant, the winner will receive a trophy and a meal for two at Tipo, which is fast gaining a reputation as a standard spot in Edinburg’s dining scene. Then there’s the praise, acclaim and recognition that comes with winning: from making the news to social media highlights and even driving footfall into your bakery.
Second Prize is a £150 voucher for Rackmaster bakery equipment, while the third placed will receive an Edinburgh Butter Company goodie bag.
Judging will take place between 10:30am and 12 noon on Monday, October 28, followed by a prizegiving ceremony, refreshments and networking opportunities.
Contestants must register on Scotland’sBestCroissant by Friday, October 4 to secure their spot.
The Edinburgh Butter Company was founded in 2018 by the Black family to produce cultured butter using traditional methods and locally-sourced ingredients. British cream is cultured into a thick, silky crème fraîche and then slow-churned in small batches to create butters with rich flavor and a smooth texture. The family’s goal was to create a product that would stand out for its exceptional taste and craftsmanship, appealing to both professional chefs and home bakers alike.
The Singapore-headquartered coffee chain achieved 21% revenue growth, increased gross profit by 49% and opened 39 net new stores during the period
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf operates 1,186 outlets across 25 markets globally | Photo credit: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Filipino foodservice group Jollibee Food Corp (JFC) has highlighted The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) as a standout performer in its second quarter after posting group sales of ₱67.2bn ($1.2bn).
CBTL achieved 21% revenue growth in the three months ending 30 June 2024 to reach ₱5.2bn ($93.7m), with like-for-like sales increasing 25.6%. The coffee chain’s revenue for the first six months of 2024 stands at ₱9.9bn ($175m) – 14% higher than the same period last year.
Additionally, CBTL’s gross profit during the second quarter grew 49% year-on-year to ₱1.1bn ($20.1m) while EBITDA increased 100% to ₱896m ($15.8m).
JFC opened 39 net new CBTL stores during the second quarter, primarily in the Philippines and Kuwait where it operates 191 and 84 stores respectively. The coffee chain’s global presence now comprises 1,186 outlets across 25 markets in East Asia, the Americas, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
In a press release, Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said the company’s coffee and tea business ‘improved sequentially and year-on-year’ in what was an ‘excellent second quarter performance’ for the group.
JFC’s bubble tea chain Milksha achieved 7% like-for-like sales growth during the quarter, while Vietnamese coffee chain Highlands Coffee saw like-for-like sales fall 3% – an improvement on its 9% first quarter decline.
In March 2024, JFC outlined plans to further scale its branded coffee chain businesses as part of plans to open 750 new stores across its quick-service brand portfolio in 2024.
In August 2024, JFC completed a deal to take a 70% stake in fast-growing South Korean coffee chain Compose Coffee for $238m. The deal for the 2,500-store business is expected to add 2% to JFC’s 2024 revenues and 12% to its annual EBITDA this year, as well as increase its global store footprint by 34%.
Founded in 1978, Manila-based JFC achieved 15% year-on-year revenue growth in 2023 to reach ₱244bn ($4.4bn). Alongside its eponymous Jollibee fast-food chain, the group also operates fast-casual brands Chowking, Mang Inasal, Greenwich Pizza, Smashburger, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Yonghe King, Red Ribbon, Tortazo, Tim Ho Wan and Yoshinoya.
The Jodeco Road exit in McDonough, Ga., looks like any other growing thoroughfare off a major interstate, peppered with gas stations, a Starbucks, a Costco, a high school, new homes, and more. It now also features a massive and unique Chick-fil-A restaurant visible from blocks away, complete with extensive wayfinding features at the entrance that could rival a small theme park, and four clearly marked lanes flowing under and beside a raised kitchen.
This isChick-fil-A’s first elevated drive-thru restaurant, located about a half hour south of metro Atlanta off Interstate 75, and it will open Thursday. The prototype features four drive-thru lanes – two designated for traditional drive-thru customers and two for mobile-order-ahead customers, including delivery drivers. It also features an elevated kitchen that transports food to team members below via a “meal transport system.”
The restaurant was intentionally designed to meet high demand; the kitchen is twice as big as a standard Chick-fil-A kitchen and the food transport system allows a meal to be delivered to a team member every six seconds. As such, the restaurant – one of two test prototypes for the company – is expected to deliver at least twice the amount of volume as a traditional restaurant, according to executive director of design Jonathan Reed.
“We believe it can do 2.5-to-3x the volume of a normal Chick-fil-A. That’s the expectation,” he said during an interview at the restaurant this week. “This is a great area; the demand is here. We built this restaurant with a lot of horsepower. Match that design with a local owner/operator, we think magic’s going to happen.”
For those keeping score at home, 2.5-to-3 times the volume of a normal Chick-fil-A is a lot of volume. The company’s average unit volumes last year reached a record $9.3 million – an 8.1% increase over the previous record, $8.67 million, reached in 2022.
Beyond volumes
In addition to producing higher volumes, the restaurant was also designed to create a better employee and customer experiences. The elevated kitchen and fulfilment areas below them are window-heavy, for instance, so there is no shortage of natural light in these workspaces. There is also a sizable lounge area for workers.
“We want to keep [employees] excited, engaged. We know team member engagement is a predictor of customer satisfaction. You can do the math. You can see it,” Reed said. “So, we’re intentional with our design and had team member input with the design.”
It’s the customer experience, however, that remains the North Star for the company. Reed said the drive-thru channel coupled with digital channels make up a majority of Chick-fil-A’s sales. Mobile-thru (mobile order ahead) is also growing, with about 400 restaurants now online and about 600 expected to have the feature by the end of this year.
“We are relentlessly chasing our customer experience. We want customers to feel like they’ve had the best experience, exceed meeting their needs, and this is just what we do on a daily basis. We look at what their needs are, especially in this sales channel and this purchase occasion of speed and convenience, but never losing sight of the hospitality that is core to Chick-fil-A,” he said. “When they show up, we want them to feel that same hospitality whether they ordered from the app or face-to-face.”
Despite the drive-thru-only model, every meal is delivered to customers by a team member versus handed to guests out of a window, for instance. The parking lot is designed for employees only, with the exception of customers who may need to use the restroom located in the corner of the lot. The location is situated just off a major interstate, after all. There are also dedicated pull-aside lanes if a customer needs to follow up with an employee about their order.
Inside the giant kitchen is that “transport system,” in which kitchen employees place the order on a tray and send it down to the frontline employees on the first floor via a conveyor. The equipment “came off the shelf,” but with tweaks made to fit the operating model of Chick-fil-A, Reed said.
There is no hard timeline on how long Chick-fil-A will test this prototype before making follow up decisions, including additional such prototypes. Reed said the company will look at traditional key performance indicators such as speed of service, overall satisfaction, accuracy, taste, etc. There will also be team member surveys.
“We are a business of seconds and inches,” Reed said. “We believe if we can meet customer demand, if we get the right feedback from team members, the equipment is doing the things it’s supposed to do, the food transport system is doing the thing it’s supposed to do – if all those things line up, the financial metrics at the end, this will be a good return.”
In the meantime, Reed is looking forward to gaining some new learnings from the prototype; for example, could some of these features translate elsewhere in the system? Could this restaurant open more opportunities for collaboration between functions like operations and marketing? Will this meet or exceed customers’ changing demands?
“People’s time is a commodity. The fact that they show up with their money, give us their time, give us their hard-earned resources, we never want to take that for granted,” Reed said.
Local owner/operator
The elevated drive-thru concept is locally owned and operated by Brett Lewis, who has served as an owner-operator in the system since 2019 in Dalton, Ga. With this new restaurant, however, he returns to his hometown – the restaurant is 4 miles from where he grew up. Lewis expects to employ approximately 150 full- and part-time employees at the new location.
Lewis’ entire career has been with Chick-fil-A. He started working at a local restaurant after high school while also serving part-time at headquarters, and he is a graduate of the Chick-fil-A Leadership Development Program. Notably, Lewis’ mom, Melanie Farmer, worked at Chick-fil-A headquarters for more than 30 years.
“Local ownership, remarkable experiences, meaningful brand,” Reed said. “When those three things intersect, we win in the marketplace.”
On July 11, 2024, the food packaging component of the 4th phase of Jamaica’s single-use plastics ban went into effect. From that date, “plastic food containers” could no longer be imported into Jamaica. The regulation defines a plastic food container as “a food container, manufactured for single use, made in whole or in part of polyethylene [PE], polypropylene [PP] or polylactic acid [PLA] and does not include any lid associated with that container.” The regulation also includes single-use drinking straws made of PE or PP and any type of packaging “made in whole or in part of expanded polystyrene foam.”
According to the Jamaica Observer, “[t]his ban, however, excludes related transparent plastic lids until environmentally friendly alternatives become available. Additionally, existing stock imported before this date will be exempt.”
The enforcement date was extended by one month to give stakeholders more time to prepare. Restaurants and other food service providers can use up existing stock until January 9, 2025.
The ban has been under discussion in Jamaica for many years (FPF reported).
High food costs have become major talking points in the upcoming presidential election, with both sides citing different reasons for rising grocery store prices over the past four years. Economists say a number of factors have been at play, depending on the type of food.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for president, vowed last week to limit food inflation with a federal ban on food price gouging. Her proposal would give the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general new authority to investigate and penalize companies that violate the ban.
On the other side, former president Donald Trump has worked to connect inflation and high food prices to the Biden-Harris administration’s economic policy.
Food and agriculture economists say the supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in inflation, especially with processed food products like bread, crackers and cookies that are in the supply chain longer and are susceptible to upstream challenges. But fuel and labor costs as well as the spike in commodity prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have also played a role.
“It’s hard to find a product that hasn’t experienced a significant increase in price at some point over the past four years,” said David Ortega, a food economics professor at Michigan State University.
It’s well known that the pandemic had a significant impact on agricultural productivity, from the ability to harvest crops to the functionality of beef and pork processing plants, said Ricky Volpe, a professor of agribusiness at CalPoly and former economist with USDA.
During the pandemic, there were also coordination issues with transportation and storage, with global ports eventually becoming overwhelmed by imports and exports. This resulted in longer wait times, all while grocery demand had skyrocketed as consumers paused eating out at restaurants, Volpe told Agri-Pulse.
Since 2020, the price of corn, soybeans and wheat have been elevated, which contributes to inflation through the raw commodity cost, said Scott Irwin, agricultural marketing professor at University of Illinois. This only represents a portion of the total price, however, and only equates to a limited impact on overall food costs.
The main sources for the increases consumers see at the store are associated with the cost of processing, distributing and marketing food products, Irwin said. These have increased due to higher gasoline and diesel prices and labor costs.
Some of these issues, such as truck transportation and labor, already existed, and were simply heightened by the pandemic, Volpe said. These two issues, along with unpredictable weather, are the main reasons Volpe believes food prices are still high despite a reprieve in inflation.
“We can’t pin those problems on COVID,” Volpe said. “We already had them and we still do.”
Upstream costs, like increased energy and trucking rates and labor shortages, eventually filter down to retailers, even if that’s not apparent to consumers. Volpe said retailers are aware their vendors are dealing with these persistent upstream challenges in the supply chain.
“Those go a long way towards sort of demotivating retailers from actually lowering prices when they’re dealing with these persistent input costs that are sort of unpredictable and always sort of nipping at their heels,” Volpe said.
Retailers also have to factor in the high costs associated with changing prices, like printing new tags and marketing tools.
The pandemic is not the sole global event at play with food prices. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine pushed commodity prices up, as some countries placed export bans on certain goods. Additionally, the increased crude oil price exacerbated transportation issues.
While some of those impacts have cooled, it takes time for changes to fully work through the supply chain to the retail level, said MSU’s Ortega.
Climate change and extreme weather over the last several years have also affected the food supply, which in turn alters food prices at the grocery store, Ortega said. For example, extreme drought out west in 2022 impacted leafy green, specialty crop and beef production.
During this period, Ortega said it became more costly for beef producers to keep their animals and livestock, so they sold a portion of their herd at the time. This caused beef prices to decrease slightly in 2022, but those are now rising again because many producers got rid of the breeding stock needed to grow future beef supply.
The egg market also took a hit starting in 2022 and 2023 due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, Ortega said. The impacts of the flu were compounded by higher feed costs, which also affected the price of chicken and turkey.
Consumer reaction and purchasing have also influenced the food price ecosystem. When pandemic-era stay-at-home orders took effect, some restaurants and the food service sector experienced major challenges and may have shut down quickly. Ortega said that the abruptness led to supply chain pressures.
Additionally, consumers started to spend more on food at grocery stores and restaurants starting in 2022 after households accumulated savings during the pandemic due to the shutdowns and government stimulus checks, Ortega said.
“You have these supply shocks, you have increasing consumer spending on the demand side, and so prices have nowhere to go but up,” Ortega said.
As prices went up in 2022 and early 2023, shoppers began changing their buying habits, substituting food items or going to different stores because of price differences, said Steve Markenson, vice president of research at FMI-The Food Industry Association, which represents major food retailers such as Kroger, Albertsons and Walmart.
Some shoppers have also started considering different factors in selecting food items, Markenson said. Rather than just looking at the prices of a store, consumers may consider the shopping experience, ease of access, or the sustainability and quality of a product. Consumers have also gravitated more toward premium, private products.
Barring another major geopolitical event or shock to the food system, food price increases are expected to be on par with pre-pandemic level inflation. USDA predicts food at-home prices will increase by 1% in 2024 and by 0.7% in 2025, according to its latest report.
Fortunately for consumers, wages are beginning to catch up with the price increases Americans have seen over the last several years, Ortega said.
Economists said price gouging is not the primary driver of high food prices, and action taken to address it could have unintended consequences for producers and consumers.
“I appreciate the focus on ensuring that consumers have access to an affordable food supply,” Ortega said. “But focusing on price gouging and using price controls is not an effective policy to achieve that.”
Pushing prices below the market equilibrium can increase demand, but make it more difficult to maintain supply. It can also lead to a decrease in product quality if producers have to cut corners to meet demand, Ortega said.
Irwin said that if price gouging is defined as taking advantage of supply disruptions to charge excessive prices, there is little evidence of that actually happening.
“I grew up with the Nixon era price controls in general, including on food, and it didn’t work then, were widely considered to be a disastrous policy by a Republican administration,” Irwin said. “I don’t see why you would expect anything different today.”
Developing a food or beverage product is deceptively hard. Anyone can whip up a batch of say, BBQ sauce or cookies in their home kitchen, but commercializing them takes a lot of time, nuance, and consideration. I’m joined today by Jamie Valenti-Jordan, founder of Catapult Consulting to discuss the new product development process for CPG brands.
Startup to Scale is a podcast by Foodbevy, an online community to connect emerging food, beverage, and CPG founders to great resources and partners to grow their business. Visit us at Foodbevy.com to learn about becoming a member or an industry partner today.
