Shoppers a-dough Asda's Affordable Viral Cake Shop Donuts

Social media users are raving about Asda’s affordable Cake Shop donuts, with users tagging friends and family members, sharing their excitement online. 

With a baker's dozen (13!) of utterly delicious flavours to choose from, prices start at just £1.20 for one or shoppers can mix and match, cheaper than the high-street leading donut shop.

Available in selected stores and rolling out to more, so please watch out for them.

Since the donut displays arrived in selected Asda stores, with more stores landing them later in the month, the donuts have taken centre stage on social media with countless likes, comments, shares and users tagging their friends and family members in excitement. Others have been highlighting just affordable they are, too!

Flavours include Birthday Cake Filled Donut, Rocky Road Filled Donut and Jaffa Chocolate Filled Donut and cost just £1.20 for one or mix and match any 3 for £2.50 or 6 for £4.50, the deal is a no-brainer for any true donut lovers. Social media users have been saying: “looks good and much cheaper than a Krispy Kreme,” and others saying they look nicer than the leading donut shops offering too.

Others said: “omg doughnut heaven 🍩” whilst another exclaimed: “Wow, these donuts sound like a game changer!... And at these prices, how could anyone resist a box of six? Count me in! 🍩” Others said: “Gonna be our new obsession,” “Doughnut queens unite” and “i need to try them all!”

Shoppers can’t wait to try them , with countless users tagging their friends across social media posts: “look at this! 😍 need to try them xx” and asking loved ones: “can we go to Asa plz xx”

What’s more, social media users have taken to celebrating special occasions like birthdays and weddings with donuts rather than 'ordinary' cakes. Some are even saying the Cake Shop donuts would be perfect to use for donut walls at parties.

Even more social media love for the scrummy donuts can be found here - https://www.shooglebox.com/shared-stack/Eb71MEz9FqmKpihRCnTJ/stack/1EqQAf408bd9L0xj37AN/floated

Available in selected Asda stores now, further rollouts soon. DO-NUT miss out on these!

That's Christmas: It'll be a very Merry Christmas as Asda to reward ...

That's Christmas: It'll be a very Merry Christmas as Asda to reward ...: There's good news for Asda shoppers, because Asda has announced it's introduced a new feature to its popular Asda Rewards loyalty ap...

SHORE celebrates awards

SHORE the Scottish Seaweed Company proudly announces not one but two awards at this year’s Great Taste awards, the largest and most trusted food & drink accreditation scheme in the entire UK. 

Widely regarded as the UK’s most reputable food and drink scheme, The Great Taste Awards are a highly regarded benchmark for fine food and drink, one that's dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of the food world. So it's with considerable pride that SHORE has been honoured with a total of three stars at this year’s awards.

The company’s accolades include a much coveted two-star award for their newly launched Chilli Ramen Broth, and a one-star rating for their already popular Peking Duck Seaweed Chips.

Joining the ranks of the company’s previous Great Taste winner, Sweet Sriracha Seaweed Chips, these awards further solidify SHORE’s continuous commitment to turning sustainable, local Scottish seaweed into better-for-you products that never compromise on taste. Ever!

The team are especially proud of their newly launched Chilli Ramen Broth, an innovative, plant-based Asian-themed liquid Broth crafted from all-natural ingredients, including their very own Scottish seaweed. 

It offers a healthier, more convenient way to enjoy a high-quality ramen experience at home. The judges were effusive in their praise, stating: “This is umami in a glass. An enticing, wholesome aromatic broth – umami, salty and chilli, all well balanced. A light and fresh instant ramen.”

This success marks the second triumph for their new Ramen Broths, with the Miso Ramen winning Gold at the Free From Food Awards earlier in the year.

“We're really delighted by this double win at the Great Taste Awards,” said Keith Paterson, head of SHORE. “It's a great endorsement of the quality of the SHORE products we offer, and all the hard work from the team that has gone into creating them.”

SHORE’s Ramen Broths can be found in independent stores up and down the country and online at Amazon. Their Peking Duck Seaweed Chips can also be purchased in hundreds independent stores across the country as well as selected Coops in Scotland, Holland & Barrett and Booths nationwide.

https://www.shoreseaweed.com

Top Tasting Food and Drink Products from the South East Revealed for Great Taste 2023!

Thousands of artisan food and drink producers from around the world discovered if any of their products have achieved a distinguished 1-, 2- or 3-star from Great Taste - the world's largest food and drink accreditation scheme based entirely on taste.

Across 89 judging days in Dorset and London, a group of over 500 judges conducted comprehensive blind taste tests on 14,195 entries which were submitted from a staggering 109 different countries. Each producer will also receive invaluable feedback on their submissions from an array of food experts.

Products from the South East have won not one, but an impressive 745 awards. 548 x 1-stars, 182 x 2-stars and an impressive x 15 3-stars have been scooped including the following:

Great Taste 3-star – Chestnut Smoked Coppa from Tempus Foods(only 1.8% of entries received a 3-star – “extraordinarily tasty food & drink”)

Great Taste 2-star – AmaZing Zari single variety apple juice from Charrington Fruit Farms (only 11% of entries received a 2-star – “above and beyond delicious”)

Great Taste 1-star – Sliced smoked duck breast from The Weald Smokery (28.8% of entries received a 1-star – “food & drink that delivers fantastic flavour”)

said John Farrand, MD at the Guild of Fine Food: “A huge congratulations to the producers from the South East who have been warded  Great Taste stars for 2023 with their outstanding food and drink.

“Every year, we welcome new and established producers making fantastic products around the world and this year has been no exception. The breadth and quality of food and drink has been outstanding, and we wish everyone who entered huge success and hope they find the feedback from our expert judging panel beneficial as they continue in their onward journey.”

Visit – https://gff.co.uk/  

M&S announces massive Newcastle store transformation with £13 million investment in North East

Today, M&S announced a £13 million investment in its North East stores for the coming year, with confirmation the interior of the retailer’s Northumberland Street store will be transformed in a top-to-bottom, multi-million pound redesign, offering Newcastle city centre shoppers the very best of M&S with a fresh-market style Foodhall and a new, refreshed Clothing, Home & Beauty department.

Works at the M&S Newcastle store, which has been a fixture of the city’s high street since it first opened its doors way back in 1932, will begin later this month. The redesign will be undertaken in stages so the store will be able to remain trading, serving customer as normal throughout, with the new Foodhall expected to be fully finished later this year. Improvements to the Clothing, Home & Beauty department will follow and be completed by early next year, 2024.

The news follows the announcement the retailer is set to open a brand-new, bigger M&S store at the Galleries Retail Park in Washington. The exciting new store will offer customers a bigger and better range of M&S products than ever before, with the retailer relocating from its existing Simply Food store into a 47,000 sq ft space with a new Clothing, Home & Beauty department and a bigger M&S Foodhall, almost double the size of the current store.

Construction work is already happening to bring together three previously separate units on the Galleries Retail Park to create the special new space. 

Ahead of the relocation, the existing M&S Simply Food store in Washington will stay open as normal until the new story is ready, expected to be next spring, 2024. There will be chances for all colleagues working in the current store to transfer to the new M&S Washington Galleries or other local M&S stores and M&S confirms the new store will create extra new jobs for the local community when it opens in 2024.

The £13 million announcement follows investment in the North East by M&S last year to update its store in Newcastle’s Silverlink Shopping Park and the M&S Foodhall in Gosforth.

M&S has 21 owned stores throughout the North East, spanning the region from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Teesside, supporting over 2,100 jobs in local communities, plus an additional 6 M&S stores in hospitals and travel settings including rail and fuel stations. 

This latest round of investment will enable M&S to reach even more customers in the North East, delivering the very best of M&S with the latest store designs and new in-store technology.

Helen Cowie, who is the Regional Manager for the North East at M&S, said: “M&S has been a part of local communities across the North East for well in excess 100 years, and throughout that time we’ve always been innovating to keep delivering an excellent shopping experience for our customers, be it the opening of one of our first ever Penny Bazaars in Newcastle’s famous Grainger Market in 1895, or launching our first ever shopping centre site in the country at the Metro Centre back in 1986.  

“We’re proud to have been trading from our store on Northumberland Street since 1932. Over the years we’ve undertaken plenty of refurbishments and extensions to make sure the store keeps delivering for local customers and today’s investment – as well as our plans for an exciting new store at Washington Galleries – shows that we’re as committed as ever to offering shoppers in the North East the very best of M&S.”

When noise annoys, Aldi is here to help

Aldi is trialling sensory-friendly shopping hours in selected stores. From next week until the end of October, almost 100 stores across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire will offer a quieter shopping experiences every Tuesday between 6pm and 8.30pm.

If this proves to be a success with customers, the scheme will be rolled out to all Aldi’s UK stores, with changes including stopping tannoy announcements, quieter till scan sounds, and signposting the dedicated times to all customers.

Vicky Metcalf, who is Diversity and Inclusion Director at Aldi UK, said: “Our new sensory-friendly shopping hours aim to help those who prefer a quieter shopping experience or struggle with noisy environments.

“We are committed to ensuring we are as accessible and inclusive as possible, this is both for shoppers and colleagues, and we look forward to receiving customer feedback on this trial to help inform our approach on a national level.”

Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket also recognises the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower to help support customers and colleagues with non-visible disabilities.

Colleagues at Aldi have also undergone training around hidden disabilities and the Sunflower symbol, so they can offer additional assistance to those who may require it.

People who suffer from conditions such as tinnitus, or who are on the Autistic Spectrum, could well benefit from quieter times in supermarkets. Hopefully the trial will prove a success. 

www.aldi.co.uk 

Great Taste Scotland

Thousands of artisan food and drink producers from around the world are discovering if any of their products achieved a distinguished 1-,2- or 3-star from Great Taste - the world's largest food and drink accreditation scheme entirely on taste.

Across 89 judging days in Dorset and London, a group of over 500 judges conducted comprehensive blind taste tests on 14,195 entries submitted from a staggering 109 different countries. Each producer will also receive invaluable feedback on their submissions from an array of food experts.

Scottish products have won not one, but an impressive 388 awards. 277 x 1-stars, 99 x 2-stars and 12 x 3-stars have been scooped including the following:

Great Taste 3-star – Hot Smoked Trout by East Neuk Kilnhouse (only 1.8% of entries received a 3-star – “extraordinarily tasty food & drink”)

Great Taste 2-star – Drinks Biscuits: Lancashire Cheese & Spring Onion by The Drinks Bakery (only 11% of entries received a 2-star – “above and beyond delicious”)

Great Taste 1-star – Honeyberry Jam by Jack & Jills Jam(28.8% of entries received a 1-star – “food & drink that delivers fantastic flavour”)

John Farrand, MD at the Guild of Fine Food said: “We offer an absolutely huge congratulations to the Scottish producers who were awarded Great Taste stars for 2023 with their outstanding food and drink.

“Every year, we welcome new and established producers making fantastic products around the world and this year has been no exception. The breadth and quality of food and drink has been outstanding, and we wish everyone who entered huge success and hope they find the feedback from our expert judging panel beneficial as they continue in their onward journey.”

Tesco reveals hot new trend for cooking adventurous global meals at home

Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, has revealed sales of ingredients and meal kits for a range of global cuisines have been consistently rising over the last year, as customers look for alternatives to takeaways and learn to cook their own versions at home.

Ingredients to make familiar favourites like Indian curry are top of the charts, increasing by 33%, with items to cook a Chinese meal second, up by 32%. However it should also be noted that pan-Asian products to help make Korean, Japanese or Thai meals are also up by 15%. And Caribbean meal kits and ingredients are also high up in the charts, up 14% over the last year.

The demand for global ingredients as part of the cooking-at-home trend has been so strong Tesco has has taken the decision to extend its range of World Foods in by 35% to satisfy customer demand. The grocer has also introduced World Foods displays in 8% more stores.

To help customers looking to cook at home find great value, Tesco has launched its largest ever promotion for the category, with nearly 2,000 products offered at a 20% discount for customers with a Clubcard until August 8.

Shoppers have been stocking up on basmati rice for Indian cooking, plus record sales of Tesco chapatti flour, as customers make their own versions of the flatbread that's popular with curry.

The trend for pan-Asian cooking at home has been fuelled by increasing sales of spice pastes used to make authentic Thai cuisine, like Thai green curries, pad thai noodles and massaman curries.

Tesco customers have been experimenting more with meal kits to make themselves delicious treats like Donburi rice bowls or Yakisoba noodles from Japan, and Bibimbap, which is a delicious Korean rice dish.

Tesco has been offering inspiration to encourage its customers to continue experimenting with new global dishes, with in-aisle displays in recent months featuring Middle Eastern, Latin American, Japanese & Korean foods. The current theme highlights Caribbean food and features products from celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott.

Abigail Wilkinson, who is the Tesco Category Buying Manager for cooking ingredients and global cuisine, said: “We've seen a significant trend for customers looking to save money by cooking for themselves, rather than eating out as much as before. And they are being more adventurous in the kind of meals they are cooking at home.

“Shoppers are buying more ingredients or kits to make popular classics such as curry or Chinese stir fry, but we’ve also seen them branching out into cuisines such as Japanese, Thai or Korean. We are trying to expand our offering to meet this demand and to inspire home cooks with new ingredients and kits to help them to feel confident in making something new and delicious.”

www.tesco.com

Tesco unveils fresh mince ‘pillow packs’ that uses less plastic

Tesco Customers picking up fresh mince in some Tesco stores will notice a big change in how it’s packaged. Instead of the traditional tray/top wrap pack, shoppers will see two lines of mince in new ‘pillow packs’.

The supermarket is testing  the new packaging which uses an incredible 70% less plastic, on two products: 500g Tesco Beef Lean Steak Mince 5% fat (£3.49) and Tesco Beef Mince 500g 20% fat (£2.49). If customers like the new pillow packs, Tesco will roll them out to more stores and across more products, too.

Pillow packs are the opposite to vacuum packs. The slightly inflated ‘pillow’ keeps the mince in perfect condition and prevents it being compressed at all.

While the new packs still contain the same amount of mince as the older packs, the packaging is smaller in size, meaning fewer lorries are needed to transport them, and stores can fit more on shelves, increasing availability, too.

The new packaging is recyclable. Customers can put it into the front of store recycling units with their other soft plastic.

Dom Morrey, who is the Tesco Commercial Director for Fresh, said: “As well as looking for great value when they are shopping, customers want to see less plastic packaging on the products they buy. Pillow packs are a win-win: they keep the mince in perfect condition, whilst also requiring much less plastic. 

“Removing or reducing unnecessary plastic is a vital way we at Tesco can reduce environmental impact. We're proud of what we've been able to do so far, but we'll continue to look for ways to do more."

Tesco’s 4Rs packaging strategy aims to remove plastic where it can, reduce where it can't, reuse more and recycle what's left. To date, Tesco has removed around 2.2 billion pieces of plastic from its UK business, including: 

200+ million bags from Tesco.com deliveries

100+ million extra lids from products such as wipes, creams, yogurts and desserts

50 million pieces of plastic wrapping from cans of branded beers and ciders

www.tesco.com

Top Tasting Food and Drink Products from Wales Revealed for Great Taste 2023!

The land of my Fathers, Wales, has done extremely well in the Great Taste Awards. 

Thousands of artisan food and drink producers from around the world discover if their products achieved a distinguished 1-,2- or 3-star from Great Taste - the world's largest food and drink accreditation scheme based entirely on taste.

Across 89 judging days in Dorset and London, a group of over 500 judges conducted comprehensive blind taste tests on 14,195 entries which were submitted from a staggering 109 different countries. Each producer will also receive invaluable feedback on their submissions from an array of food experts.

Welsh products have won not one, but an impressive 242 awards. 151 x 1-stars, 77 x 2-stars and 14 x 3-starshave been scooped including the following:

Great Taste 3-star – Smoked Chicken Breast by Black Mountains Smokery (only 1.8% of entries received a 3-star – “extraordinarily tasty food & drink”)

Great Taste 2-star – Dragon Welsh Salted Butter by South Caernarfon Creameries (only 11% of entries received a 2-star – “above and beyond delicious”)

Great Taste 1-star – Plum Caramel and Pistachio praline by Brecon Chocolates (28.8% of entries received a 1-star – “food & drink that delivers fantastic flavour”)

John Farrand, managing director at the Guild of Fine Food comments: “A huge congratulations to the Welsh producers who have been awarded  Great Taste stars for 2023 with their outstanding food and drink.

“Every year, we welcome new and established producers making fantastic products around the world and this year has been no exception. The breadth and quality of food and drink has been outstanding, and we wish everyone who entered huge success and hope they find the feedback from our expert judging panel beneficial as they continue in their onward journey.”

So, what, exactly, is Great Taste? 

Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind-tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it can't be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.

New for this year and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Great Taste, the Guild of Fine Food offered 50 micro producers the chance to put one new product in front of its expert panel of Great Taste judges for free.

The bursary was aimed at micro producers who have never entered Great Taste before or have a new product, which has never been entered before. The bursary panel, which consisted of Adrian Boswell, buyer at Selfridges, industry commentator and food entrepreneur Mallika Basu, and PR & marketing expert AJ Sharp, selected the 50 most eligible entries.

2023 saw 21 products entered through the bursary scheme win a Great Taste award including Karobi's Ghee from Karobi's (3-star), New Alt from Antur Brew Co. (3-star), Shoogle Junniperous Scottish Navy Strength Gin from Shoogle Spirits (2-star) and Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi from The Ferm (1-star).

Food & Drink Wales is the headline sponsor of Great Taste 2023. Great Taste Golden Fork trophy sponsors include: Andrew Ingredients, Bord Bia, Food & Drink Wales, Invest NI, Italian Trade Agency, Maltby & Greek, Mevalco, Partridges, Scotland Food and Drink, ShireFoods, and Speciality and Fine Food Fair. Great Taste is supported by Henderson Group, Horgans, and Peter Green Chilled.   

The Great Taste 2023 judging panel:

“When I come across a product with the iconic black and gold Great Taste logo, I see it as a badge of honour and feel compelled to purchase it. Having knowledge of the effort required to attain such a rating and the exceptional flavour that accompanies it, I am confident the product will not disappoint.” said a regular of the Great Taste judging panel.

The distinguished judging panel consisting of over 500 food & drink experts, included chefs, critics, recipe developers, buyers, journalists, retailers, broadcasters, and reputable industry professionals. The Great Taste 2023 judging line-up included senior buyers and coordinators from Selfridges, Whole Foods Market, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Waitrose and Westmorland Family. MasterChef 2022 winner Eddie Scott, olive oil sommelier and author Irini Tzortzoglou, food writer and owner of Violet Cakes Claire Ptak, chef and co-founder of Island Social Club Marie Mitchell, chef turned farmer Julius Roberts, pastry chef and author Ravneet Gill, restaurateur and producer Amy Poon from Poon's, baker and author Kitty Tait - the youngest and newest judge to join this year. Finally, broadcasters and journalists Andy Clarke and Juliet Sear (ITV), Felicity Cloake (The Guardian), Xanthe Clay (Telegraph) and Joanna Blythman were involved this year, among many others. 

What next?

These Great Taste award-winners can now proudly display the iconic black and gold Great Taste logo as a badge of honour on their award-winning products. The logo states whether the product was awarded 1-, 2- or 3- stars and that it was awarded in 2023, so make sure to look out for them in your local stockist!

Past winners have stated that displaying a Great Taste sticker has increased sales by as much as 50%, as consumers from around the world are enthused to taste the best food and drink products available each year.

Great Taste Golden Fork ceremony 

The excitement of Great Taste 2023 doesn't stop there, for the highest scoring winners it's just the beginning. All 3-star winning products were tasted and judged again by the knowledgeable judging panel to crown the Golden Fork trophy winners and the 2023 Supreme Champion – the highest accolade of all.

The Golden Fork ceremony celebrates the best of the best from producers around the world, awarding them with a Golden Fork trophy. Further Golden Fork trophies are given for various categories, including the Guild of Fine Food Lifetime Achievement award, the Great Taste Startisan of the Year award and Nigel Barden's Heritage Award.

All will be announced at the Great Taste Golden Fork Ceremony on Monday 11 September 2023 at the Battersea Arts Centre (this is a special, trade event only).

For the full list of this year's winners and where to buy them, head to www.greattasteawards.co.uk from 2pm today where you will also find a wide range of the award-winning products available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retail outlets across the country.

Keep up to date on socials: @guildoffinefood #ISpyGreatTaste

As my Welsh relatives would say: "da iawn!"