The Grocer – 20 July 2019

buying & supplying grocery

34 | The Grocer | 20 July 2019 Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Premier Foods has

launched a Bisto range

in a microwaveable pot –

hailing it as a first-of-its-

kind format for the gravy

category.

Available in regular

and 25% less salt variants

(rsp: £2.49/4x100g), Bisto

Microwave Ready Gravy

Pots provided “a sim-

ple solution to shoppers

seeking greater conveni-

ence” said Premier.

The NPD from the UK’s

leading gravy brand is

available now in Asda,

and will land in other

grocers later this year.

Bisto’s new pots come in

regular and 25% less salt

Premier adds

microwaveable

Bisto pot duo

Its kombucha-based soft

drinks come in two variants

Willy’s, the gut health

brand from Tyrrells

founder Will Chase, is set

to roll out its contribu-

tion to the virtuous booze

trend: a duo of fermented

soft drinks.

Ginger Kombucha

Beer and Hop & Hemp

Kombucha Beer are

about to land in Waitrose

and other grocers in a

can format, following a

limited trial.

The probiotic drinks

are 0% abv and low in

sugar, with between 2.5g

and 3.9g per 100ml.

At no more than

60 calories per 330ml

Gut health brand Willy’s to roll

out booze-alternative drinks

serving, they were a

healthier substitute for

the many “sugary and

syrup-laced” options

in the alcohol alterna-

tives space, said Chase.

“If you’re not drinking

alcohol, you might as

well drink something

good for you.”

The duo contains no

added sugar, while the

Ginger variant is made

with real ginger root,

and the Hop & Hemp

drink is made with hops

and hemp grown on

Chase’s farm in Ledbury

on the Herefordshire/

Gloucestershire border.

The drinks’ aim was

to tap the “huge” and

“fascinating” no-alcohol

market, Chase added.

They would also benefit

from growing demand

for kombucha drinks –

which were “not going to

be just a fad”.

Vegan mayo, orange
tonic water and a kefir
smoothie are among the
finalists in this year’s
The Grocer New Product
Awards – our celebration
of grocery innovation.
The full short-
list is online now at

Shortlist revealed

for Grocer NPAs 2019

thegrocernewproducta-

wards.co.uk, covering

categories from adult

soft drinks and babyfood

to sports nutrition and

yoghurt.

It comes after a rigor-

ous two-part judging pro-

cess that began early this

year with consumer test-

ing. That was followed by

scrutiny from panels of

industry experts.

The winners and run-

ners-up from 147 items

across 32 categories will

be announced at a lav-

ish lunch on 4 October

at London Marriott Hotel

Grosvenor Square.

Jackson’s cuts palm oil

from lineup of loaves

Yorkshire’s Champion: reformulated ‘again and again’

Daniel Selwood
Jackson’s Yorkshire’s
Champion Bread has
removed palm oil from its
entire range of wrapped
loaves – which it claims
is a first for a mainstream
bakery brand.
The result of about a
year’s work, the refor-
mulated offer is rolling
out this week to Waitrose
without any ingredients
replacing the sustainable
palm oil previously used.
Jackson’s had simply
“reformulated the recipe
again and again until
we were happy we had
exactly the same prod-
uct without the need
for palm” said the Hull-
based business.
While other breads
were already available
without palm oil, they
were “specialist items

like sourdough and glu-

ten-free” said Jackson’s,

which produces a port-

folio of sliced bloomers.

Palm oil was popular

with makers of mass-pro-

duced bread as it helped

“to stabilise the dough”

and “produce a more

consistent loaf in terms

of texture, with superior

quality and freshness”.

UK bakery’s big-

gest names – includ-

ing Warburtons, Hovis,

Kingsmill and Roberts –

still use palm oil, which

is relatively inexpensive

and practical due to its

high melting point.

Producing bread with-

out palm oil was “not an

easy thing to do” said

Jackson’s, though the

process had not incurred

additional expenses for

the WJFG-owned brand.

As a result, its rsps have

not changed.

The move came as

grocery suppliers were

“increasingly alert to the

impact unsustainable

palm oil can have on the

environment” it added.

“While many brands

back sustainably sourced

options, campaigners

continue to highlight the

devastation caused by

unsustainable palm.”

Often criticised for the

impact its production has

on rainforests, palm oil is

the most consumed veg-

etable oil on the planet.

Around 70 million tonnes

were produced glob-

ally in 2018, according

to commodities consul-

tancy LMC International.

HERE TO STAY

Kombucha drinks are not going to be just a fad – Will

Chase, founder, Willy’s