New Labelling Guidelines to Cut Food Waste

As reported by the Guardian, according to Wrap (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) 5.3m tonnes of still-edible food is thrown away each year in the UK alone, costing the average family £680 a year – or more than £50 a month. It appears that confusing food labelling in supermarkets may be partly to blame for a huge waste of edible products. Contrary to a more direct and clearer labelling policy in countries like Italy and France, the UK food labels used to include ‘sell by’, ‘display until’, ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ ultimately making it all very confusing for shoppers. The newly enforced government guidelines rule that packaging should only carry ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates, while ‘sell by’ and ‘display until’ labels are removed from supermarket packaging to avoid confusion that ultimately results in good edible food being thrown away for no reason.

A New Mid-Priced Healthy Food Range for Waitrose

It’s the largest sub-brand product launch for Waitrose since the successful ‘Essential’ range launch in 2009. In an attempt to steal further market share from its rivals, at the end of the month a 270-strong range of healthy, nutritionally balanced products will arrive on the shelves. The new Love Life range has been introduced to meet demand from Waitrose customers looking to boost whole-food ingredients and avoid saturated fats in their diets.

BIM Turkey – a Winning Hard Discount Model

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A quick stroll through the aisles of a BIM supermarket will take you to the unpretentious world of a ‘no frill’ hard discount. Very close to the Aldi model, here there is no trace of fancy imported delicatessen, most of the produce is made in Turkey and presented stock piled in carton boxes.

Migros Turkey – a Nicely Appointed Retail Concept

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Visiting Migros supermarket in Istanbul last week, I was impressed by an appealing visual merchandise and pleasant shopping experience. If compared with other retailers in the region Migros possibly wins the prize for the best offering of imported foods (though it is still very minimal compared for example with some Asian supermarkets). It is strategically located in the suburbs to cater for the growing middle-class. Here are some pics for you.

Aldi gains ground with latest artificial colourings ban

Headquartered in Germany, Aldi positions itself as a ‘no frills’ discount supermarket chain with a global presence from Europe to the US to Australia. Whilst shopping at Aldi’s isn’t much of an exciting visual experience (as you see in the picture products are left in boxes or often pallets parked along the aisles), its reputation has grown for good value for money when it comes to staples like food, beverages and household items. In Australia, polls have recently shown Aldi gain grounds against the local distribution giants like Woolwoorths and Coles when it comes to customer satisfaction. No doubt that with its latest announcement of total artificial colourings ban from its entire food product range, Aldi has scored another point against its competitors. You have to consider that the discount chain’s product offering is mainly home branded, except for a few other mainstream brands, therefore they have complete control over almost every SKU. The move towards healthier eating options is primarily targeted to parents and family associations, in a country where children’s eating habits are very much on the public opinion’s agenda.

a walk through… Park ‘n Shop Hong Kong

In my many travels, I’m always on the lookout for local supermarkets’ product offering. Since mid last year, Hong Kong Park ‘n Shop is stocking Conad‘s Sapori & Dintorni fine foods range and we’ve just started with the Conad’s Organic range. For those of you not familiar with the two supermarkets, Park ‘n Shop operates over 230 stores in Hong Kong and has grown to become one of the most important players in the region, whilst Conad is currently Italy’s second largest supermarket chain. During my latest visit to Hong Kong, I’ve taken a few shots of Park ‘n Shop shelves offering. Here’s a selection for you:

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from farmer to supermarket shelf in a combined effort to boost local agriculture

As recently reported by just-food, Migros, Switzerland’s largest retailer, has launched a private-label range made entirely from ingredients sourced domestically. The packaging sees the year 1291, the Swiss Confederation birthday, in bold letters together with the line’s name Connaisseur Suisse. The line launches with nine products: five varieties of pasta, two mustards, mayonnaise and corn flour all marketed under the ‘all the authenticity of Switzerland‘ motto.

Migros has worked with Swiss farmers co-operative IP-Suisse on the launch, with durum wheat used in the new pasta products coming from the co-op. IP-Suisse manager Fritz Rothen said the launch of the line came through the “collaboration” of the co-op, Migros and Jowa, one of the retailer’s production subsidiaries.

Apparently it was these very players who in 2007 initiated the farming of durum wheat on a commercial-scale in Switzerland, which was unheard of before this date. Today there are some fifty farmers of IP-Suisse that have joined in to farm durum wheat.

I think this is a sustainable and profitable supermarket approach that directly translates into ‘giving back’ to local economies and communities.