Own-label (also known as value tier) items have shown strong performance as trading down continues, with these products often being the cheapest items in supermarkets.

Value tier products make up only a small part of red meat and dairy volumes, at 7.7% (Kantar, 52 w/e 06 August) and 2.4% respectively (Nielsen, 52 w/e 12 August 2023). Despite this, value tier volumes have grown massively in both categories, up by 35.6% year-on-year (YoY) for red meat and an impressive 47.9% for dairy over the same period.

Mince was high on the list with sales volumes growing by 179.8% YoY, and milk and cheese value products also performed well, with volumes up by 56.3% and 56.7% respectively (Kantar, 52 w/e 06 August).

Tom Price, AHDB trainee analyst, said this YoY growth is due to consumers looking to cut back on spending as prices continue to rise.

“Price has become more important to consumers, however the data indicates that consumers do not want to fully remove their favourite meat and dairy products from their diet, but instead want to save money by purchasing value tier versions.

“By expanding the number of products on offer in the value tier and making sure this offering is tailored towards staples like mince, sausages and cheese, there is an opportunity to further expand retail sales of red meat and dairy.”

He pointed out not all supermarkets currently have a value tier range on offer, and adopting such products has potential to attract more shoppers.

“Adequately advertising these value tier ranges in supermarkets and communicating their in-store location to consumers will then ensure value tier products can be found easily,” he suggested.

Even when shopping value tier ranges, consumers still care about quality and where their food comes from, Mr Price noted.

“Shopper focus has shifted away from just low prices, and instead towards value for money and product satisfaction.

“Campaigns such as AHDB’s ‘We Eat Balanced’ messaging help to highlight the exceptional taste and quality of British meat and dairy, and will encourage repeat customers in both premium and value ranges,” he concluded.

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Inclusive Farm co-founder Mike Duxbury tells us about his ambitions for a new farm in Scotland.

Mike, who lost his sight at age six, wants to provide the same opportunities to young people in Scotland.

“90% of blind people and 78% of autistic people are unemployed – but it doesn’t have to be like this. We’re seeing first-hand the impact that providing skills, such as animal husbandry, has had on the young people visiting Inclusive Farm.

“Our vision has always been simple: there are disabled people across the United Kingdom, and we plan to develop Inclusive Farms in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“We now have the opportunity to achieve this in Scotland and we want young people to sit in the driving seat. Too often disabled people are told what they need, and we are determined that their voices and needs are met.”

Mike wants to help more young people with diverse needs into farming.

“A golden opportunity” for students with disabilities

Inclusive Farm is seeking like-minded organisations to partner with the project. Dr Jenna Ross OBE, a Scottish environmental scientist, agricultural researcher, STEM ambassador and EDI champion, strongly encourages businesses and industry to support the project.

“Labour is one of the biggest issues plaguing our industry, but there is a demographic that is constantly overlooked.

“A golden opportunity is now available for partners to come forward and help be part of a project which is pioneering an inclusive approach to agriculture.”

Young people are encouraged to register their interest, and businesses interested in partnering the initiative should do so by emailing Mike via: info@inclusivefarm.co.uk.

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NMR carries out milk testing and data collection covering over 50% of dairy cows in the UK, developing technology used to inform farming efficiency and animal welfare, and quantify food provenance.

Milk samples are regularly collected from virtually every dairy farm in Great Britain, positioning the firm as a well-known and respected voice across the dairy sector.

NMR has a long history of working collaboratively with key industry players, including dairy farmers, vets, milk processors, third party suppliers, and major retailers, and will continue to invest in new products and services, notably genomics and GenoCells.

Commenting on the acquisition, AB Agri CEO José Nobre said: “I am delighted that AB Agri has acquired NMR. NMR is a high-quality business which is extremely complementary and additive to our dairy strategy and offering to the dairy industry.

“We have supported dairy farmers for more than 30 years with nutrition and specialty feed products, and more recently with data and technology platforms which deliver insights that create continuous improvement in agricultural supply chains,” he added.

NMR finance director, Mark Frankcom, said the acquisition is an important milestone for the business and it will not affect how the company deals with its customers, partners, or suppliers, with business continuing as usual.

He commented: “I am delighted that AB Agri has acquired NMR. AB Agri’s status within the UK agricultural sector and expertise in the dairy industry will provide a significant benefit to NMR’s customers.

“As the UK dairy supply chain continues its drive to carbon neutrality, NMR’s work with GenoCells and milk data, and our pivotal role in payment testing, will contribute important information to aid in this transition.

“The backing of AB Agri will accelerate and de-risk NMR’s ability to deliver its strategic objectives, streamlining industry processes by creating a holistic business that can provide end-to-end data and analysis to ensure the long-term sustainability, efficiency and profitability of UK dairy.”

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The company reported a total net revenue of $102.1 million for the three months to the end of June, down by 30.5% compared to the same period last year. The declining trend has continued from the first quarter of 2023, when profits were down 15.7% year-on-year.

Shares of the company also fell by nearly 12% and are currently worth $15 each, well below its initial $25 price.

In its most recent financial report, the company said its sales had been affected by ‘softer demand in the plant-based meat category, high inflation, rising interest rates, and ongoing concerns about the likelihood of a recession’.

Beyond Meat president and CEO Ethan Brown believes sales have also been impacted by increased concern from consumers over the health benefits of plant-based products.

“This change in perception is not without encouragement from interest groups who have succeeded in seeding doubt and fear around the ingredients and process used to create our and other plant-based meats,” he told investors in an earnings call.

In response, the company is ramping up its marketing strategy to highlight the health credentials of its plant-based products and change perceptions around the manufacturing process, which some consumers deem excessive.

Beyond Meat, which makes plant-based burgers, sausages and nuggets, has also been experimenting with price cuts to incentivise more shoppers to buy into its offering by lowering the price point of its core products to match their animal protein equivalents.

While the company reported lower materials and logistics costs this quarter, it said these were offset by higher manufacturing costs as the energy crisis continues. To make up for rapidly falling sales figures, the firm had cut almost a fifth of its workforce (nearly 200 jobs) last year, saving around $39m (£30.6m) in operating costs.

Other vegan food companies have encountered similar challenges and have had to let staff go in the past year, with Leeds-based supplier Meatless Farm stopping trading altogether and sausage producer Heck reducing its vegan range.

Earlier this year, popular smoothie brand innocent Drinks has also announced it was cancelling its vegan range of coconut, almond and hazelnut-flavoured drinks due to a continued lack of interest from customers.

Similar trends have been reported in the US plant-based meat sector, with major supplier Impossible Foods revealing plans to cut a fifth of its workforce at the start of this year, after slashing nearly 50 jobs in November 2022 as part of a restructuring exercise under new CEO Peter McGuinness.

Despite missing financial targets in the first half of 2023, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown is expecting a steady return to year-on-year growth in the third and fourth quarters as the company moves to reduce its cash consumption and increase gross margins.

Annual revenue is now forecast to be in the range of $360m to $380m, down from previous estimates as high as $415m.

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Mr Spiering has worked for CLAAS for the past 22 years and is originally from Eastern Westphalia in Germany. After completing a degree in Business Administration, he took on various specialist and management roles in the areas of controlling, sales and finance in Germany and abroad.

In June 2015, he became CFO of CLAAS UK in Saxham, Suffolk, and from 2017 he was also CFO of CLAAS France and responsible for the Western Europe region in the sales and service business unit. Since July 2020, he has successfully managed the Middle Europe region as senior vice president.

Commenting on the appointment, Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, chairwoman of the supervisory board at CLAAS, said: “We are delighted that with Thomas Spiering we have gained an experienced manager for this important role on the group executive board.

“He knows CLAAS like no other and, thanks to his various roles in Germany and abroad, he is ideally equipped for his new management task. We thank him for the excellent work he has done so far and wish him a good start and much success in his new role.”

Mr Spiering will be reporting directly to CLAAS CEO Jan-Hendrik Mohr and working closely with executive board members CFO Henner Böttcher, Dr Martin von Hoyningen-Huene (BUs Tractors & Forage, Technology & Systems Division) and Christian Radons (BU Sales & Service).

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The retailer, which claims to be British agriculture’s single biggest direct customer with 499 supermarkets and around 1,100 convenience stores spread across the country, is pushing ahead with plans to increase sustainability in its supply chain by harnessing innovative data fusion technology.

Through the Downforce Technologies platform, Morrisons can model the soil carbon and biodiversity trends across its five “Blueprint Farms”, aiding the company’s quest to increase the level of carbon stored in soil (soil organic carbon) at scale to achieve net zero.

Using the platform will equip the supermarket chain with the insights needed to optimise sustainable farming practices across the ecologically-diverse sites, as well as to measure their impact on soil health and carbon sequestration.

“Reaching Net Zero is an ambitious goal and one we need to deliver by working to improve soils, biodiversity and landscapes,” said Morrisons technical and sustainability director Sophie Throup.

“By working alongside our farmers and experts like Downforce Technologies, we can help support the farmers supplying us on this important journey.”

Through working with Downforce Technologies, Morrisons has gained access to a high-resolution view of the carbon profile of each site, in Northamptonshire, Wales, Cumbria, Scotland and Yorkshire.

Since each farm is unique in terms of land use (including arable land and livestock), local weather patterns and soil types, these insights will be pivotal to identifying and optimising sustainable farming practices that work for each site. This data can inform and monitor strategies like changing tilling practices, adopting crop rotations, or promoting agroforestry.

Historically, measuring and monitoring soil health has been a real challenge, with traditional methods such as soil sampling proving expensive, laborious and often inaccurate.

In contrast, Downforce Technologies uses data fusion and machine learning technology to accurately quantify changes in soil carbon every 10 days, over the past six years at 10m resolution, as well as biodiversity and habitat change over several decades.

Commenting on the collaboration, Downforce Technologies CEO Josephine Wapakabulo said: “To achieve its Net Zero ambition, Morrisons needs insight over the past, present and future of soil carbon and biodiversity of its farms, and Downforce Technologies delivers this in a fast and scalable way.

“The platform models how close each farm is to achieving Net Zero and provides Morrisons and its partners with the data needed to instigate and maintain sustainable approaches to land management.”

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NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy said the move represents a “significant concern” for Scottish beef producers and processors, as any consolidation in meat processing risks depriving the market of healthy competition. He stressed the future of the live ring is critical for ensuring primary producers get paid a fair price and must be secured throughout Scotland.

At the same time, the industry body welcomed ABP’s commitment to maintain Scottish processing and packaging sites operational and expressed relief that Scotbeef will remain open for business in Inverurie, Annan and East Kilbride.

“These sites play a crucial role in adding value to farm businesses, as well as supporting local communities through jobs, and protecting our standards and provenance,” Mr Kennedy said.

“It is imperative that investment continues to focus on local multi-species abattoirs to maintain Scottish production of our iconic red meat sector,” he concluded.

Commenting on the news, National Beef Association CEO Neil Shand the primary concern was for the Bridge of Allan facility in Stirlingshire to remain operational, as the plant processes 1,800 cattle a week and is therefore a vital source of income for many local farm businesses.

“From our perspective, the most important thing is that Scottbeef’s production and processing capacity at Bridge of Allan and Queenslei has been protected, because that is fundamentally more important to the Scottish and the GB beef industry than anything else at this time,” Mr Shand told Farmers Guide.

However, he added that concerns remain over the industry ending up in fewer hands and future developments will have to be monitored “very carefully”.

Company leaders promise a “smooth transition”

The sale of the two Scotbeef sites is expected to complete by the end of July 2023, after which the facilities will become part of ABP’s UK meat division that also includes an existing processing facility in Perth, Scotland.

It is speculated the decision to sell was made due to the company losing its Aldi beef supply contract to ABP earlier this year, which accounted for approximately 75% of Scotbeef’s total beef production.

The change of ownership was described by Scotbeef CEO Robbie Galloway as “the right move for our staff and producer suppliers, and also for Scottish agriculture as it secures the ongoing viability of these slaughtering and packing facilities in Scotland”.

Mr Galloway was quoted by the media as saying: “Like Scotbeef, ABP is a family-run business and we have been working closely with them to ensure a smooth transition. We are appreciative of the support and help we have received from the Goodman family and their ABP colleagues, as we have gone through this process. We wish them well for the future with this acquisition.”

ABP chief executive Frank Stephenson said the company is looking forward to working with the Scotbeef team to “ensure a smooth and seamless transition” for suppliers, employees and customers alike.

“It will be very much business as usual with a commitment to building on Scotbeef’s well-established tradition and reputation for high quality Scottish red meat products,” he confirmed.

Employing over 13,000 colleagues across four divisions, ABP Food Group is one of the largest European meat processors supplying fresh and frozen meat products to retailers and food service providers in the UK and worldwide.

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L-R: Adam North, area sales manager, Crossroads Truck & Bus Ltd, Simon Telfer, Branston HR & logistics director, Lindsey Burrows, driver trainer at Branston and Mark Williams, transport supervisor.

Transportation poses a huge environmental challenge to food suppliers because of the need to collect the fresh produce from growers, bring it to packing sites then deliver it to customers as rapidly as possible.

Following two years of research, Branston has set out to trial Volvo’s FM Electric 4×2 truck as part of its fleet for one week, with the aim of exploring the truck’s mileage capabilities, charging practicalities and driving performance. The vehicle will be used to support both distribution centre deliveries and farm pick-ups.

Simon Telfer, HR and logistics director at Branston, said: “A key part of our transport strategy is ensuring Branston’s transport not only works for us now but in the future. As a business we have ambitious goals to reach net zero and we’re passionate about delivering this for the transport section.

“Having researched the most viable alternative fuel options, we feel electric powered is the most practical for our needs. We approached Crossroads Truck and Bus Ltd back in 2021 and started working together to bring this trial to fruition.”

The vehicle, which was delivered from Sweden, has the capacity to travel up to 300km with a single charge of its latest generation three battery. The truck comes with the same features and comfort found in the traditional model and takes 2.5 hours to reach full charge when using maximum wattage input.

Branston is one of the first businesses in the UK to trial this cutting-edge technology from Volvo in a bid to uncover the potential of electric-powered vehicles in transportation.

Mr Telfer is confident that by 2035, battery technology will have advanced to the point where drivers will be able to make a return journey to any location without needing to recharge, which he said is crucial to the long-term integration of EV for Branston.

“This trial will allow us to understand any challenges, such as the charging and cost, and what improvements we’ll need to make to transition our fleet within our timeframe. We know the vehicles aren’t where we need them to be to transition our full fleet yet but the purpose of undertaking the trial is to see how it drives and how it impacts our operations,” he added.

The trial will see the Branston team use the vehicle across three different shift patterns to gain a good understanding of which tasks it is most suited for. Driver trainer Lindsey Burrows will be overseeing the transport team to ensure the truck is being utilised as efficiently as possible.

“EV is the future and the sooner we can get on board with seeing what options are out there, the better. It’s an exciting time to be working in transportation as so much change is happening,” she said.

“I’ll be supporting the team in ensuring their training is up to date and they’re comfortable with handling the vehicles, including the charging of them, which will be new to everyone.”

Adam North, area sales manager for Crossroads, the truck dealer for Volvo, is excited to be working with Branston in a move towards attaining a greener and more sustainable transport solution.

He said: “The relationship between Crossroads Truck and Bus and Branston has been strong for over 20 years, not only does Branston understand how Volvo operates, but like us, they share the same view that compromise and investment is required to achieve our aligned net zero targets and the only way to achieve this is working together.”

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The research was carried out by AHDB’s Retail & Consumer Insight team in collaboration with The Smithfield Collective to gain a better understanding of consumer attitude towards vegetarian and vegan products that are designed to compete with meat.

The findings indicate shopping bays where meat and meat-free products are displayed together has the potential to mislead shoppers, with 52% saying they sometimes find these aisles confusing to navigate.

The survey also found that products from unfamiliar plant-based brands, or historically meat brands that look very realistic, are the most likely to be unclear at first glance.

Since shoppers’ motives are very different for buying meat and meat-free products, 60% of respondents agreed plant-based products should be displayed in a different place to meat products.

There was also a consensus between consumers that meat-free products are trying replicate meat, with 69% agreeing plant-based products try to describe themselves in a way that sounds like meat.

Moreover, half of respondents agreed that manufacturers should abstain from using words like ‘steak’ or ‘bacon’ on meat-free product packaging, while 47% said words like ‘sausage’ and ‘burger’ should also be eliminated.

The research found that shoppers are fond of meat packaging with 70% likeability on average across the three meat packs tested, which was much higher than with meat-free packs. In addition, 75% of shoppers said the amount of detail on meat labels is about right, as opposed to only 66% for plant-based packages.

Grace Randall, AHDB retail insight manager, said: “This research is helping provide retailers and processors with evidence to protect and grow red meat sales.

“The findings give the industry the evidence needed to challenge retailers or government that meat and meat-free products shouldn’t be displayed together. AHDB will use these findings for further research in to how best to optimise meat packaging.”

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ESG is a farmer-owned cooperative with their main offices based in Cupar, Fife. The collective of 15 growers produces vegetable crops including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, carrots, onions, and asparagus.

The members’ farms are based in Fife, Angus, Perthshire, Kincardinshire and the Scottish Borders, producing over 6,000 acres of Scottish brassicas on Scotland’s fertile east coast.

Meanwhile, RKD is the UK’s leading Brussels sprout grower and packer, with one of the most sophisticated and high-output grading, packing and storage facilities in Europe. In addition to Brussels sprouts, RKD also grow and pack swede and leeks at their state-of-the-art facilities in Berwickshire.

Both organisations are key UK producers for their respective cropping, and have independently grown their businesses over recent years by forming and strengthening key relationships and providing their customers with excellent service and high-quality fresh produce.

The merger, managed by Scottish law firm Thorntons, will bring growing opportunities for both businesses, as well as for farmers in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders, Lothians, Fife, Angus, Kincardineshire and Perthshire through the not-for-profit farmers’ cooperative. It also complements the winter cropping of RKD to the summer cropping portfolio of ESG, creating a sustainable, year-round producer.

Andrew Faichney, managing director of ESG, commented: “This merger is very unique within Scotland and combines two firms with a longstanding history of high-quality produce. With a collective turnover approaching £50m, this merger provides stability and security for our membership and will provide an additional range of products and value to our customer base.

“This is a very exciting development not just for the ESG and RKD stakeholders, but the entire fresh produce farming industry here in Scotland.”

In addition to the merger, the two enterprises have established Pease Bay Farms to grow brassica crops across more than 1000 acres of prime agricultural land, with the farm joining ESG as a full member of the producer organisation.

Alistair Lang, lead partner in the Ventures and Innovation Team at Thorntons, who handled the merger deal, said: “Agriculture is a vital contributing sector to the Scottish economy and effective and strategic partnerships are key component to its ongoing success.

“With both ESG and RKD achieving great things, facilitating the merger and creation of Pease Bay Farms can only be positive for the industry.”

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