Why food and tech need to better connect

The closure of US meal-kit business Chef'd is symptomatic of the challenges in that fledgling sector but, Victor Martino argues, it is also...

How should SMEs expand overseas?

Export markets can be enticing for small- and medium-sized businesses in the food industry but how best should companies with limited resour...

Guide: Big Meat eyeing alternatives

The rise of plant-based products as an alternative to meat and the arrival of lab-created - or 'clean' - products as a potentially sustainab...

Can cocoa supply meet future demand sustainably?

Ben Cooper looks at food companies' efforts to put their west African cocoa supply chains on a truly sustainable footing....

Hatching new ideas - incubators and accelerators

Our guide to some of the main food sector incubators and accelerators operated by major food manufacturers....

Will Hain Celestial new chief usher in new era?

Finding a successor to Hain Celestial founder and chief executive Irwin Simon could prove tricky in light of the pressure from activist inve...

US ice cream deep-dive, part two – how might the larger players fight back? 10 Jul 18

Part one of just-food's in-depth look at the US ice-cream market, Andy Coyne looked at how a sector dominated by big brands has been hugely disrupted by independent innovators. Now he examines how the category is likely to develop and how the larger players might fight back.

Food industry M&A heats up in June leading to H1 high - data 10 Jul 18

just-food's index of mergers and acquisitions in the international packaged food sector highlights the volume of deals being announced, as company strategists look to M&A to gain an edge on their competition. Here we present numbers for the first six months of 2018.

Snacks giant Pladis sets out stall for rapid growth in North America - interview 4 Jul 18

Dean Best

Pladis, the UK-based, international snacks arm of Turkey's Yildiz Holding, is looking to scale up quickly in North America, a market that accounts for just 6% of sales and where it is doing battle with some major competitors. Dean Best spoke to regional CEO Brian Blanchard to find out more about the plans the McVitie's and Godiva owner has for the market.

"It's taken five years to properly get started" - Nom Noms World Food founder Lisa Sohanpal on UK ethnic-cuisine firm's ambitions - the bitesize interview 27 Jun 18

Dean Best

UK-based ethnic-cuisine business Nom Nom World Foods has had its ups and downs since forming five years ago. Dean Best caught up with founder and CEO Lisa Sohanpal, now based in Toronto, to discuss her plans for growth, including some notable new contracts in North America - but also hear about the challenges that can beset an SME.

Charlie Bigham's CEO Patrick Cairns on how UK ready-meals maker plans to serve up more growth - interview 20 Jun 18

Dean Best

After a decade at Unilever, a stint in charge of UK baby-food firm Plum Baby and seven years leading Wessanen’s UK division, Patrick Cairns has, since March last year, been chief executive of Charlie Bigham’s, the London-based manufacturer of upmarket ready meals. Dean Best met Cairns to discuss his plans for the business.