Research/Insight

Time for tea

27th Feb 2015 - 15:44

According to Teapigs, which offers high quality whole leaf tea in fuso-style bags, loose leaf tea is a must.

Focus on oriental cuisine

11th Feb 2015 - 12:19

Thanks to trends such as street food, the uptake of ethnic cuisine such as Chinese, Thai, Indian and Vietnamese food is growing as it becomes more widely available in appealing and affordable forma

Food for thought

17th Dec 2014 - 11:00

The spotlight on children’s menus has been brighter since last September, when free nutritious meals for infants were rolled out in schools thanks to the government’s new School Food Plan, which ha

Energy saving tops the bill at CESA 2014

30th Oct 2014 - 10:49

Energy saving topped the agenda at the inaugural CESA 2014 Heavy Equipment Forum last month with sustainability and lifetime costs very much to the fore in new product development.

Growing concerns about the danger of too much sugar intake has recently come under the spotlight, with it being attributed to rising obesity levels and other health issues. These concerns have even raised the possibility of a sugar tax on products containing it. In June, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition highlighted the problem of sugar overload and suggested that just 5% of consumers’ energy should be from sugar consumption, with sugary drinks in particular needing tougher regulation and reduced consumption.

Moving feast

2nd Sep 2014 - 11:43

Considering that the British Sandwich Association (BSA) estimates that 3.5 billion sandwiches were sold in the last year, worth a staggering £7.25bn, operators can be assured of good returns if they keep up with the trends to drive sales further. With growing optimism about the economy, taking advantage of new product development, different packaging formats and specific eating occasions is key.

Wake up call

20th Feb 2014 - 13:56

Breakfast is big business for café and grab and go outlets, and many operators are capitalising on the boom with offers and new products. Chains such as Costa Coffee, for example, kicked the year off by promoting its ‘Breakfast Heaven Before Eleven’ offer, which gives its Coffee Club card members the chance to purchase breakfast for £1, while Just Falafel says it spotted a gap in the market for a tasty vegetarian range, so recently introduced a falafel-based breakfast menu for its outlets.

Upping the ante

2nd Jan 2014 - 15:24

Ever since the publication of the Government’s School Food Plan in July, interest in children’s menus has heightened. Coupled with research on children’s menus in UK restaurants that revealed lacklustre options, which hit the headlines, the foodservice sector knows it needs to raise the bar.

It’s all in the mix

14th Nov 2013 - 10:16

From mixing dough to slicing potatoes, a mixer with the right attachments makes short work of many otherwise manually intensive operations in the kitchen.

Spice world

14th Nov 2013 - 10:07

Chicken tikka masala is still a must-have menu item, but there are more adventurous spicier dishes that caterers can tempt diners with, and this is corroborated by market analyst Mintel’s 2012 report suggesting that 32% of ethnic food consumers enjoyed eating spicier food more now.