Apple To Expand To India

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said the company would open its first physical stores in India in 2021 and a online outlet later this year. Apple had to seek special approval from the Indian government to open a store without a local partner. The announcement was made at the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Apple's move into India, the second largest smartphone market in the world, has been expected for some time, but the announcement of a date was new. In 2018 India changed the laws that prevented foreign brands from opening single-brand stores in the country. Apple sells its products through third-party stores in India at the moment. But its sales lag competitors Samsung and Huawei. With demand for Apple products slowing in China - even before the outbreak of Coronavirus - the firm is hoping it can spur growth in other developing markets like India.

Apple India

Heinz Boopz

Heinz has unveiled its latest snack and meal concept in a can - Boopz - with baked beans and spaghetti hoops in the same container. As the nation celebrates National Toast Day the bean and tomato sauce giant has launched a poll on whether it should launch the concept into shops. Taking to Twitter a Heinz spokesman said: “We are giving the great British public the chance to vote on bringing one of its craziest mash-up combinations ever to life.” It comes after Heinz mashed up mayonnaise and ketchup to create Saucy Sauce and it comes on the same day McDonalds launched a triple cheeseburger in 60 restaurants.While more than 12,000 people instantly voted on Twitter many are not happy - branding the idea 'wrong', asking 'why would you do that' and saying 'this is why the aliens won't talk to us'. Others say they want Boopz in their life and have also called for 'cheesy beans'. It currently has 88,000 votes with over 55% going against the idea.
Boopz

Nandos Employees Protest

Staff at the chicken chain Nando's claim they sometimes have to clean its restaurants without pay. Thousands of people have signed an online petition calling on Nando's to review its cleaning and pay policies. "The managers would clock us out early and not adjust for late stays. If we complained, we were simply told we should have worked faster," people commenting on the petition claimed Current and former Nando's employees at multiple restaurants told the BBC they had to scrub cookers and disinfect toilets after being clocked out. One claimed the same mops were used in toilets and kitchens while another said they handled chicken without gloves. Nando's said it was its policy to pay employees properly and it upholds the highest cleaning standard. Most of its branches do not employ dedicated cleaners - which Nando's described as standard across the food service industry.

Nandos Complain

Greggs x Stormzy

He had the first UK No 1 of the decade and was named best male artist at the Brit awards this week. But now Stormzy may have clinched the ultimate accolade: an unlimited supply of Greggs vegan sausage rolls. The high-street bakery chain revealed a “next-level VIP” service for its celebrity fans, with Stormzy being the first member. The rapper said he had “peaked” when he unwrapped the VIP card, which allows him to order Greggs whenever and wherever he wants. He shared a video of him unboxing the gift on Twitter while en route to the airport for the European leg of his world tour. While Greggs has refused to disclose much about the special service, it said the membership to the private club was strictly invite-on.

Greggs Black Card

Not Very Wowsome

Nestle has axed its range of chocolate that used a new low-sugar technique, less than two years after it was launched. The Swiss food giant said demand for its Milkybar Wowsomes had been "underwhelming". The bars used what Nestle described as "hollow" sugar crystals to cut the amount of sugar by almost a third. Confectionery makers have come under pressure from health authorities to cut the amount of sugar in their products. Some industry experts had seen the discovery as a breakthrough that would help Nestle take a leading position in a growing market for low-sugar products. Last year, reduced sugar versions of Mars and Snickers were launched by Mars Wrigley UK, while Mondelez ­followed suit with low-sugar Cadbury Dairy Milk. Nestle said it is now working on new sugar reduction technology that it aims to introduce next year. The announcement highlights a major issue facing the world's big processed food producers. While governments and many consumers have called for lower-sugar products, most people have yet to warm to less sweet alternatives.

Wowsome

Lucozade Revive

Lucozade is set to take on Tenzing and other ‘natural energy’ brands with a duo of Lucozade Revive drinks. The drinks – which come in lemon & lime and orange & passionfruit flavours – were “designed to combat some of the barriers perceived when it comes to buying into the energy category”, said the brand (rsp: £1.25 PMP-£1.49/380ml). They contain no artificial flavours and are billed as a souce of vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12.  They are sweetened with a mixture of stevia and sugar, with the drinks containing 4.3g sugar per 100ml. Conversely Lucozade Sport and Original contain aspartame. “We know some shoppers don’t buy into the broader energy category for different reasons – some are put off by the taste of some brands, others are worried about health, and some simply don’t like the brand positioning of some drinks,” said Lucozade head of marketing Zoe Trimble. The NPD “reflects the switch we are seeing as shoppers are looking more and more for an ‘everyday’ lift that carries credible wellness credentials”, she added.
Lucozade Revive

Coronavirus Impacts Economy

A large number of China's factories remain closed today even as millions of people return to work after the Lunar New Year holiday was extended due to the coronavirus. The shutdowns are having a major impact on the world's second largest economy and global supply chains. Some big car makers now face the threat of a shortage of parts. There are also concerns about supplies of Apple products as the disruptions continue.Electronics giant Foxconn, maker of the Apple iPhone, is taking the unusual step of switching part of its production to making surgical masks. The outbreak has seen demand for masks soar and caused a shortage of supplies around the world. Foxconn aims to produce two million masks a day by the end of the month. Burberry has said the coronavirus is having a devastating effect on the luxury goods market, as wealthy Chinese consumers stay away from shops and travel restrictions curb overseas shopping spree. The British company closed 24 of its 64 stores in mainland China and those that remained open were operating with reduced hours because shopper numbers had plunged 80%.

Coronavirus

IKEA Close UK Store

Ikea has announced the closure of its Coventry store - the first big UK outlet the company has ever shut. On Tuesday, the Swedish firm announced it was closing the £35m city centre store after years of "consistent losses" and fewer than expected visitors. But it rejected suggestions there were wider problems with its brand. It said it faced local rather than national issues and suggested the store's seven levels had never proved cost-effective and had also adversely impacted on the customer experience. It added there was a local preference for shopping at retail parks, rather than the city centre. Ikea - which has 22 UK stores - also stated it was committed to UK growth. But it did concede it was contending with the lure of online shopping. They are fans of the physical shopping experience and do not fancy e-commerce. Ikea's website, they said, meant having to pay for the firm's "really expensive" delivery.

IKEA Closure

KFC Pizza Mash Up

Following last year’s mash up between the two fast-food powerhouses that bought us The Gravy Supreme, KFC and Pizza Hut have joined forces once again. This year, the result of that partnership is The Popcorn Chicken Pizza. Made using Pizza Hut’s Classic Crust base with a Colonel Sander’s special gravy twist, the pizza is topped with mozzarella cheese, corn and, of course, KFC’s popcorn chicken. The high-street takeaway hybrid is only available in a Large size (perfect justification for getting the bigger size – ‘but I had to!’) and if you’re keen to try the KFC pizza, you need to be quick. The one-off special will only run until Sunday 16 February – so that’s less than two weeks to try (and ‘try’ again) the popcorn chicken pizza.You can’t get the popcorn chicken pizza in person at Pizza Hut or KFC branches though; it can only be purchased through Pizza Hut’s website.

KFC Pizza

Tea Sales Go Cold

PG Tips could be sold by its owner Unilever as consumers go cold on traditional black tea and switch to herbal brews. The consumer goods giant has announced a strategic review of its global tea business, with brands including Lipton, Brooke Bond and Lyons. Unilever said the division, the biggest tea business in the world, had expanded into premium, fruit and herbal markets in recent years. "However, sales of traditional black tea, the largest segment of the category, have been in decline in developed markets for several years due to changing consumer preferences," the company said. Despite changes in consumer tastes, black tea remains the dominant part of its tea business, selling in 60 countries and generating €3bn (£2.5bn) in annual sales.

PG Tips Sale

Seaweed Success

A Whitley Bay business selling products made from seaweed is expanding across the UK as people embrace a more plant-based diet. Seaweed & Co., founded by marine biologist Dr Craig Rose, sells a range of culinary oils infused with seaweed and seaweed nutritional supplements in Holland and Barrett and Sainsbury’s stores nationwide. Craig, 40, who founded Seaweed & Co. thanks to a £25,000 Virgin StartUp Loan, supplied food and nutrition manufacturers with a range of seaweed products before launching his own consumer-facing brand, Doctor Seaweed’s Weed and Wonderful, last year.
Seaweed & Co

Fuels Off The Pages

The Guardian has become the first major global news organisation to institute an outright ban on taking money from companies that extract fossil fuels. In a bid to reduce their carbon footprint, confront greenwashing and increase their focus on the climate crisis, the Guardian this week announced it will no longer run ads from fossil fuel extractors alongside any of its content in print or online. The move will come into immediate effect, and follows the announcement in October last year that they intend to reduce our net emissions to zero by 2030.

Fuel Ban