HortiTrends.com - Fresh Produce

HortiTrends is NOW Horticulture Connected

14 May 2013

UK: Prince Charles' Veg Shop Closes Its Doors

Prince Charles’ farm shop in Gloucestershire has been forced to shut because of the rise of online shopping. The Veg Shed at Close Farm, Shipton Moyne, Tetbury, has closed its doors for the final time after eight years. Customers were told the business would focus on a vegetable box delivery scheme.

13 May 2013

Ireland’s First Food ÉCONOMUSÉE Opens at The Connemara Smokehouse!

Ireland’s first food ÉCONOMUSÉE was opened last 30th April at The Connemara Smokehouse in Aillebrack, Ballyconneely, Co. Galway by the Mayor of Galway, Councillor Tom Welby. An ÉCONOMUSÉE is an artisan business that opens its doors to the public to provide a learning and interpretive experience for visitors.

08 May 2013

Notices - Fruit Distributors Limited

Meeting details: Mespil Hotel, Mespil Road, Dublin 4 on 14th May 2013 at 12noon
Registered address: 19 The Pines, Castleknock, Dublin 5
Last accounts filed: 31/12/2011
CRO number: 176475

Source: HortiTrends News Room

18 April 2013

‘Scandilicious’ Offerings – the Next Big Trend in UK Foodservice?

The trend for all things 'Scandi' in London is becoming ever more apparent on the food scene, with thefoodpeople recently naming Scandinavian cuisine as a 'big trend influencer' in 2013. According to the report, the interest stems from the regions 'modern food scene, techniques and approach as well as indigenous cuisine and culinary techniques'.

10 April 2013

Aldi and Lidl Combined have 12.6% of Grocery Market

Irish consumers are shopping at the German discount supermarkets in greater numbers than ever before, according to research published this morning by a leading retail research company. The supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks up to St Patrick's Day also show Superquinn performing well and growing faster than the market average for the first time in five years.

01 April 2013

Food and Drink Achieving Double-Digit Growth in Asia

Asian markets are very important to Irish food and drink companies as they are growing rapidly – as chief executive of Bord Bia Aidan Cotter notes, exports to the region climbed 26pc in 2012 to reach €467m. "When you consider that overall Irish food and drink exports went up by 2pc to reach over €9bn in 2012, you can imagine how important the growth rates in Asia are," he says.

25 March 2013

Future Leader in Food Processing Commended at Awards Ceremony

The award which recognises excellence in management and leadership within the Food and Drink Processing sector was won by Elaine Willis, Head of Innovation and Business Development at Linden Foods.Presenting Elaine with her award at the Ramada Hotel, Shaw's Bridge, Belfast, Alan Shannon said: "Elaine has achieved remarkable success with Linden Foods over the past six years.

15 March 2013

Fyffes Revenues for 2012 Up Almost 20%

Fyffes has reported revenues of over €1 billion for the first time since its demerger of Total Produce in 2006 on the back of continued organic growth. It said total revenues for 2012 rose by 19.7% to €1.017 billion while diluted earnings per share jumped 45.8% to 8.82 cent from 6.05 cent.

14 March 2013

Revolutionary ‘Smart Label’ Launched for Food Packaging

A Scottish company has launched a new smart label aimed at improving customer confidence in the quality of their food while cutting down on unnecessary waste. Easily incorporated into any film lid, the label is activated when a packet is opened and triggers a timer that changes colour as the food within loses freshness – meaning hungry fridge-raiders can tell straight away if their snack is out of date or not.

04 March 2013

Programme Unveiled for Producer Organisation Information Event

Registrations
11.45am Welcome by UFU Deputy President Barclay Bell. Barclay's enterprises on the farm are cereals, sheep, winter accommodation for dairy heifers and willows. Farm diversification has also played a role on the farm with a cut flower enterprise and two years ago a wind turbine was erected. Barclay is a past member of the UFU Beef and Lamb Committee and Seeds and Cereal Committee, County Down Chairman and a member of the UFU Board. He is also an Associate of the Royal Agricultural Societies, a past YFCU County Chairman and member of YFCU Executive Committee, and a past Chairman of Texel Sheep Breeders Club NI.

21 February 2013

2012 Goods Exports Hit Highest Level Since 2002

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, recently welcomed the latest goods trade figures published by the Central Statistics Office, which showed that goods exports in 2012 increased on 2011 levels to hit €92billion, the highest figure since 2002. In parallel, latest available figures show that services exports for the first nine months of 2012 are up over 11% on the equivalent period in 2011, meaning that the annual overall increase in exports for 2012 is likely to be significant.

10 May 2013

Irish Retail Fresh Produce Market in Growth - Mike Neary

According to Kantar Worldpanel the total Irish retail grocery market was valued at €8.9bn to the year ending March 2013. This is a modest growth of 0.2% on the previous year. In the same period the volume purchased has remained static. Fresh produce makes up 14% of the total grocery market which includes the categories Potatoes, Vegetables and Fruit.

29 April 2013

United Kingdom Warns about Costa Rican Watermelons with Salmonella

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) has issued an alert for the presence of Salmonella in watermelons from Costa Rica. The notification was made by the United Kingdom because the watermelons that entered the country via Ireland had been distributed in British supermarkets; local authorities estimate that they were also distributed in other countries.

Source: FreshPlaza - United Kingdom Warns about Costa Rican Watermelons with Salmonella

16 April 2013

Dublin Office Fruit Delivery Service from Fruit of the Coombe

Dublin-based business, Fruit of the Coombe, is delighted to launch its fresh fruit, prepared fruit platters and fruit smoothie service to offices and workplaces in Dublin city. With their new website, Fruit of the Coombe is Ireland's leading fresh fruit delivery service, helping all kinds of businesses offer their employees a healthier alternative to traditional canteen snacks.

05 April 2013

Farm Business Data 2013

'Farm Business Data 2013' will be a valuable source of information for farmers, their professional advisors, those undertaking formal training in agriculture or anyone who requires planning and budgetary data relating to farming in Northern Ireland. The role of 'Farm Business Data' is to provide a comprehensive and authoritative source of physical and financial information that is tailored to farm planning needs in Northern Ireland.

UK Potato Planting Lags behind Due to Bad Weather

The prolonged Winter conditions in Great Britain are taking their toll on the efforts to get potatoes in the ground according to information from the Potato Council. The total GB plantings up to 22 March are estimated at 3,000ha, compared with 15,000ha in 2012 and 16,000ha in 2011. In the East of the country ground conditions were too wet and cold for most growers to make a start on planting but there had been some progress on light sandy soils in East Anglia mainly into freshly ploughed and cultivated land.

15 March 2013

Bord Bia Plans Irish Food Promotions Around the World

As the world prepares to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and all things Irish this weekend, Bord Bia is planning to promote the range and quality of Irish food and drink to a global audience with a series of marketing and promotional activities. From Moscow to Shanghai, through its network of international offices, Bord Bia has scheduled a number of events aimed at consumers, retailers, trade and foodservice operators.

14 March 2013

SuperValu to Create 300 Jobs in Ongoing Expansion

By Geoff Percival

SuperValu is aiming to create 300 jobs this year, as part of an ongoing expansion drive. It came as queues of people turned out to bid for one of 100 jobs made available in the unemployment-stricken South-East. SuperValu's move, which will push job creation levels at the wider Musgrave Group to 700 posts this year, comes on the back of a strong performance in 2012, which saw the business increase sales by 5%.

12 March 2013

Ideas in Food 2013

A recent report by the Hartman Group -"Ideas in Food 2013"-highlights some key trends that retailers & foodservice operators should watch out for.

Weight management, energy & satiety are closely aligned with protein intake. As breakfast becomes more than a quick intake of carbohydrates consumers will look more towards eggs (particularly free range), dairy and protein preparations in convenient formats for their first meal of the day.

Sunday Business Post: Garlic Importer's Sentence Cut to Two Years

A businessman sentenced to six years in prison for evading import duty on garlic has had his sentence cut to two years on appeal. Rathcoole resident Paul Begley was initially given the longest sentence ever handed down for such an offence.

20 February 2013

‘More to Mushrooms’ Campaign Boosting Sales in the UK

The 3 year More to Mushrooms Mushroom promotion is ongoing in the UK market, and recent market figures show that it has led to strong growth in the retail mushroom market. The campaign, cofounded by the EU and the mushroom industries in the UK and Ireland, uses magazine and online advertising, as well as PR and education to target female shoppers in the under 45 age group.