Novus Recruitment

Novus Recruitment Securing talent for the - 30 years experience in the UK's largest manufacturing sector

Food Inflation Down!Food inflation continues to ease. Prices for food and non alcoholic drinks rose by 1.7% in the year ...
07/08/2026

Food Inflation Down!

Food inflation continues to ease. Prices for food and non alcoholic drinks rose by 1.7% in the year to June, down from 2.2% the month before. On a monthly basis, prices actually fell slightly.

Some categories are still seeing increases. Fish, preserved fruit and confectionery among them, but 16 categories saw prices drop, including pizza, butter and flour.

The wider picture is interesting. Since the energy crisis, manufacturers have changed how they manage risk, fixing energy and ingredient costs much further ahead. That means input cost movements take longer to show up on shelf prices, and we’re seeing fewer sharp spikes as a result.

The FDF will publish its next forecast in early September, but for now the trend is steady: pressures easing, volatility reducing, and a sector that’s adapted quickly after a turbulent few years.

Little Moons has launched a £2m marketing campaign to strengthen its position in frozen snacking, expanding its ‘A Littl...
06/08/2026

Little Moons has launched a £2m marketing campaign to strengthen its position in frozen snacking, expanding its ‘A Little…’ platform across TikTok, creator partnerships, podcasts and out of home. The brand expects around 50 million impressions from TikTok alone, working with creators like Ayame, Mason Blake and Shelen.

The campaign runs until 24 August and focuses on those small, everyday snacking moments. It follows the launch of Mini Moons, a smaller, bite-sized format that’s already become the biggest contributor to value growth in the Mochi & Bites category. With UK snacking forecast to hit £32.4bn by 2029, it’s a category that’s only getting more competitive.

Waitrose is planning a wave of new ‘neighbourhood’ stores as it looks to strengthen its position against M&S in key subu...
05/08/2026

Waitrose is planning a wave of new ‘neighbourhood’ stores as it looks to strengthen its position against M&S in key suburban and commuter locations. These sites sit between a full supermarket and a Little Waitrose, typically around 7,000 sq ft with space for roughly 6,500 products and around 50 parking spaces.

The format puts more emphasis on fresh food, larger bakeries and cooking ingredients, and Waitrose is now searching nationwide for “right size, right location” sites. Around 20 branches already operate in a similar way, with the latest opening in Chelmer Village Retail Park, creating 39 jobs and offering a curated range including its premium No.1 collection.

A sign of how the big grocers are reshaping their estates to meet changing shopping habits.

Greggs sales and profits soarGreggs has reported a strong first half of the year, with sales up 7.2% to £1.1bn and pre t...
04/08/2026

Greggs sales and profits soar

Greggs has reported a strong first half of the year, with sales up 7.2% to £1.1bn and pre tax profits rising to £76m. The launch of its ‘bake at home’ frozen range in Tesco has helped, alongside continued menu innovation, including iced matcha lattes and new salads, which kept demand steady during the recent heatwaves.

The business opened 34 new shops in the first half and expects 100–110 net new openings across 2026, including trials of its Greggs Express format. Inflation for the period sat at 2.2%, with Greggs saying it will continue to focus on protecting value for customers through the rest of the year.

Great example of how quickly Greggs adapts to changing consumer habits, and how central simple, practical innovation has become to its growth.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Waitrose have joined more than 100 organisations in calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham ...
03/08/2026

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Waitrose have joined more than 100 organisations in calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce a Good Food Bill to strengthen the UK’s food security. Co op, Booths, Danone, Greencore, Samworth Brothers and Bidfood are also backing the campaign.

Together, the retailers supporting the letter represent over 64% of the UK grocery market. The message is clear: the next major disruption to Britain’s food supply isn’t a matter of if, but when. Geopolitical instability, extreme weather and rising farming costs are putting increasing pressure on the system.

The coalition is urging government to treat food security with the same strategic importance as energy and defence, creating a legally binding framework that covers supply, public health and the resilience of the wider food system.

A reminder of how interconnected the sector is, and how vital long term planning has become.

Through the Food and Drink Federation’s Action on Fibre campaign, brands have delivered 2 billion portions of fibre sinc...
03/08/2026

Through the Food and Drink Federation’s Action on Fibre campaign, brands have delivered 2 billion portions of fibre since 2021, driven by recipe reformulation and smarter NPD across the category.

In 2025 alone, members launched 100 new higher fibre products, adding another 130 million portions to the nation’s diet. In total, more than 500 products have been updated or introduced since the campaign began.

It’s a great example of how innovation, investment and collaboration across UK food and drink can shift consumer behaviour in a meaningful way.

Applications are currently open for Bake Off: The Professionals (closing 18th September), while applications for the mai...
01/08/2026

Applications are currently open for Bake Off: The Professionals (closing 18th September), while applications for the main amateur series of The Great British Bake Off open annually via Channel 4 Take Part.

Who can apply:

• Professional teams of two featuring a Team Captain and a Team Mate (pastry chefs, chocolatiers, or pâtissiers).
• Deadline: Friday, September 18, 2026.
• Filming dates: Expected between late January and mid-March 2027.

How to apply:
• Submit applications through the official Bake Off: The Professionals website.

Carlsberg’s World Cup boost — but not the full pictureCarlsberg has been the standout performer in the beer category dur...
31/07/2026

Carlsberg’s World Cup boost — but not the full picture

Carlsberg has been the standout performer in the beer category during the World Cup, with strong runs from England, France, Switzerland and Norway helping to lift sales across several of its core European markets. Morgan Stanley even called the brewer the tournament’s “positive surprise”.

But the uplift hasn’t been as big as expected. The bank has trimmed its forecast for the World Cup’s impact on global beer volumes from 24bps to 17bps, pointing to early exits for Brazil, Germany and Colombia — plus weaker performance in the US.

It’s a reminder of how heavily beer volumes are tied to a handful of major markets. Even with multiple European teams progressing, smaller beer nations simply couldn’t offset the lost scale from the big hitters.

Growing food 0.7 miles underground. The UK’s newest vertical farming milestone.The University of Sheffield has launched ...
30/07/2026

Growing food 0.7 miles underground. The UK’s newest vertical farming milestone.

The University of Sheffield has launched what’s now the world’s deepest vertical farm, 0.7 miles underground in a North Yorkshire mine. It’s an interesting step for sustainable food production, using stable underground temperatures to grow crops without the huge energy bills that challenge many vertical farming models.

Early trials are already producing lettuce and pak choi, with the next phase exploring higher value halophytic crops like samphire, sea fennel and quinoa. If the model works, the team believes thousands of disused mines could be repurposed for affordable, low energy food production.

A good example of how UK research, agri-tech and socially-driven producers like Farm Urban are testing new ways to make controlled-environment agriculture commercially viable.

“Made In Scotland From Girders”IRN-BRU is dialling up its brand presence this summer, investing £8m to build on the mome...
29/07/2026

“Made In Scotland From Girders”

IRN-BRU is dialling up its brand presence this summer, investing £8m to build on the momentum from last year’s packaging refresh. The iconic “Made in Scotland from Girders” campaign returns across TV, VOD, social and OOH, backed by nationwide sampling with 850,000 cans hitting the streets.

AG Barr is also marking IRN-BRU’s 125th anniversary with consumer and wholesale promotions, and the brand continues to outperform the wider carbonates category. In Scotland, IRN-BRU accounts for one in every two flavoured fizzy drink cans sold — a reminder of just how strong its cultural and commercial footprint is.

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