Last week in industry news, Sainsbury’s unveiled its new city convenience store format, called “On The Go.” Waitrose & Partners reported a resurgence in consumer appetite for bread, while also launching a ready-made vegan pancake line from Squeaky Bean. UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcomed the sharing of China’s digital agriculture plan on its e-agriculture platform, as industry ramps up its efforts to curb the coronavirus (COVID-19). Meanwhile, PB Leiner inaugurated a new collagen peptides line.

In brief: International developments
FAO welcomed the sharing of China’s digital agriculture plan on its e-agriculture platform. This contribution comes on the heels of the latest Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), wher agriculture ministers of 71 nations welcomed the advancement of creating an International Digital Council for Food and Agriculture. China’s Development Plan for Digital Agriculture and Rural Areas (2019 to 2025) has been made available on FAOs e-agriculture website, in English and Chinese.

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Food and Beverage Innovation Forum 2020 (FBIF2020), originally scheduled on April 15 to 17 at Hangzhou International Expo Center, China, may be postponed. At present, its organizers are actively communicating and coordinating with venue owners, sponsors and other parties. If the delay is /confirm/ied, the organizers will announce the latest progress of FBIF2020 through FBIF WeChat subscription account, WeChat groups, the official website and other channels.

In brief: Business development
UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is unveiling its new city convenience store format, dubbed “On The Go,” combining convenient shopping with a dine-in range of freshly prepared foods. A range of digital services have been implemented under this concept, featuring cashier-free shopping using the SmartShop mobile app and the option of rapid exit checkouts. Products from counters have been incorporated into the “grab and go” station at the front of the store, while hot meals and baked goods are available in a special dining area. Sainsbury’s Mansion House store in London’s Square Mile is the retailer’s first On The Go store. Nine more will open across Edinburgh, Bristol, Glasgow and London over the coming months, further testing the format in city centers.

British grocery chain Waitrose & Partners has reported a resurgence in sales of bread, while noting a particular consumer appetite for sourdough. Searches for sourdough have increased by 65 percent in January, compared to last year on the chain’s website, while sales of the bread have risen by over 30 percent over the last three years. Speciality loaves, such as those made with linseed, mixed grains and seeds are filling shoppers baskets too, with sales up 22 percent over the last three months. online shoppers are also seeking out an assortment of other breads, with searches for white loaves on Waitrose’s website, up 20 percent and unsliced loaf searches by 450 percent versus the previous year. Even the classic sliced loaf is proving popular once again, with a 14 percent increase in customer searches.

Canadian dairy processor Agropur Cooperative held its 81st Annual General Meeting on February 12. It posted sales of CA$7.3 billion (US$5.5 billion), a 10.2 percent increase from the previous year. Consolidated EBITDA increased 3.3 percent to CA$365.4 million (US$275.6 million). Agropur reported an improved bottom line in 2019, with thanks in part to higher sales volumes and more favorable market conditions. The recovery in cheese and whey prices and the commissioning of a new plant in Lake Norden, South Dakota, Canada, contributed to the increase. In Canada, the Cooperative was directly impacted by the highly competitive market environment and additional cheese imports under the Canada-EU Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Manna Tree Partners, a US-based asset manager that invests growth capital in companies that produce, process and distribute healthy food, has made a US$15 million minority investment in Verde Farms, a provider of 100 percent grass-fed, 100 percent pasture-raised, organic beef for retail, club, and foodservice customers.

In brief: Product launches
PB Leiner (part of Tessenderlo Group) inaugurated a new collagen peptides line today at its site in Santa Fe (Argentina). The added production facility will allow for expanded production volume of Solugel collagen peptides. “Global demand for collagen peptides is on the rise, on account of its nutritious benefits. Our Solugel supports skin, bone and joint health, and is an ideal protein source to support weight management diets and even patient recovery. This local investment will enable a global supply in the markets we serve,” states Wim Poot, Executive Vice President of PB Leiner.

Bioiberica Animal Nutrition launched Palbio 50 RD for poultry farming in Peru. This product is marketed as a source of high-quality protein, obtained using enzymatic hydrolysis and later dried from the fluid bed of porcine intestinal mucosa. Palbio 50 RD has demonstrated a reduction of intestinal fermentation, water consumption, injuries on the sole of the feet, the mortality rate in broiler chickens (1 to 2 percent) and the weight of the non-meaty parts of the chicken. The product has also shown an improved quality of bed and increased weight of meat in the slaughterhouse, the number of hens in production, egg weight and proportion of eggs.

Waitrose & Partners exclusively launched first-to-market, ready-made vegan pancakes from Squeaky Bean. With veganism at an all time high, searches for vegan pancakes in January on the company’s website were reported as up by 1,385 percent, compared to January last year. The new soy-based brand has also proven very popular with online shoppers with searches for Squeaky Bean up over 90 percent.

AB Enzymes Brazil was granted Brazilian Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification in areas of security and compliance. Érica Nakaharada, Regional Supply Chain Manager, AB Enzymes Brazil, notes, “This achievement is important for us as it will make importing of enzymes from AB Enzymes Germany to us in South America far more efficient with streamlined processes. It will reduce the bureaucratization of customs clearance and, therefore, reduce lead times.” Typically, the lead times for importing goods have gone from three to ten days.