Food and drink news for the discerning consumer
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
That's Christmas 365: Boost Your Christmas Sales with Free Promotion on ...
That's Christmas 365: Boost Your Christmas Sales with Free Promotion on ...: The festive season is fast approaching, and with it comes one of the busiest times of the year for many businesses. Whether you’re offering...
Busy Families Count On Scentair® To Keep Homes Fresh
And even the smell of morning toast and eggs can last all day.
Its odour-neutralising fragrances do more than mask smells; they break down the VOCs responsible for bad smells and replace them with long-lasting freshness.
These fragrances are ideal for busy areas such as laundry rooms, pet zones, and teen bedrooms, helping to keep your home smelling clean without adding extra work.
“Back-to-school season comes with busy days and messy routines, but your home can still smell fresh,” Stephanie Soittoux, Manager of EMEA Marketing and eCommerce at ScentAir told That's Food and Drink.
“ScentAir's fragrances work quietly in the background to eliminate lingering odours, so even on your most chaotic days, your home feels fresh and put together.”
ScentAir effortlessly freshens your home with fragrance blends that eliminate odours and enhance your everyday experience. Dark Vanilla Pomelo balances sparkling pink grapefruit, creamy coconut, and rich vanilla. Eucalyptus Mint delivers an invigorating burst of peppermint, spearmint, and crisp ozone, while Oudh offers a bold, rich blend of exotic woods and warm musk.
For a timeless floral option, White Tea & Fig combines soft white tea with lily of the valley, fig, and citrus for a clean, welcoming finish.
New routines can also create stress for pets. Emerald Meadows with Pet Calming Complex helps ease anxiety in cats and dogs with calming notes of meadow grass, wild lavender, and soft woods, while neutralising odours in the spaces they love most.
Discover more odour-neutralising fragrances at scentair.com.
New Product Launches Take Centre Stage at Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2025
Nicola Woods, who is the Event Manager for Speciality & Fine Food Fair, told That's Food and Drink: “One of the most exciting aspects of the Fair is seeing the incredible range of new products being introduced to the market.
"For our buyers, discovering something fresh, whether it's a new flavour profile, a pioneering ingredient, or a reimagined classic, is one of the key reasons to attend.
“We're proud to provide a platform for both established brands and start-ups to showcase their latest creations and connect with the retailers, chefs, and hospitality professionals who are always on the lookout for the next big thing.”
This year's event will see East Forest introduce Kenari nuts to the UK for the first time. Sourced from Indonesia's rainforests, the organic and vegan nuts will be showcased in four flavours: Unsalted, Sea Salt, Spicy Salted Caramel and Cocoa Cinnamon.
Positioned as a sustainable superfood, the nuts will be available to sample at the Fair alongside visuals highlighting their provenance and social media activity to engage visitors.
Dublin-based Stillgarden Distillery will present Buí 43 and Glas 55, two new herbal liqueurs inspired by Chartreuse and created with botanicals harvested from its community garden. Both products reflect Stillgarden's focus on sustainable production methods, with flavour profiles designed to appeal to bartenders and discerning consumers.
COCOES will launch its Coconut Blossom Sap Beverages, made directly on the brand's own farm without artificial additives. The drinks will be available in four varieties, Original, Calamansi, Oolong & Citrus Grape, and Twist, each showcasing the natural flavour and subtle sweetness of coconut blossom sap.
Homi Kitchen will be showcasing its newly launched 'Hei Hei' Pepper Sauce from the famous Singapore Black Pepper Crab for the very first time. The Pepper Sauce delivers a bold, fiery kick, balancing a sweet soya sauce base with the aromatics of fresh ginger, garlic and chillies. A distinctive blend of black and Chinese white pepper brings depth and heat, capturing authentic Singaporean flavours in a format that makes them simple to recreate at home.
IVA PLANTS specialises in thoughtfully crafted blends made with carefully sourced herbal and black teas. Each blend is created to deliver a balanced, natural taste, free from artificial flavourings or shortcuts. At Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2025, the brand will unveil its latest launch: Vanilla and Cacao Black Tea. This new blend combines high-quality Ceylon black tea with whole vanilla beans that have been naturally infused over several months, offering a rich and aromatic profile.
Also new for 2025, Ruffingtons will present a line of patisserie-style dog treats, hand-decorated and packaged as luxury gifts. Designed to celebrate the bond between pets and families, the range is free from artificial additives and crafted as edible works of art.
The Start-Up Village will once again shine a spotlight on emerging talents. CHERICO will introduce chicory-based hot drinks as a natural, low-caffeine alternative to coffee. dffrnt will showcase its small-batch kombucha, double-fermented for a dry and complex finish.
Honest Umami will highlight a new range of MSG-based seasonings aimed at shifting perceptions around umami flavour, and Kwikish will demonstrate how its Jollof Paste simplifies the process of cooking African dishes at home, offering convenience without sacrificing authenticity.
Highlighting regional stars
This year's edition of the Fair will have a new, in-depth focus on connecting independent retailers from around the UK with producers from their region.
The Regional Producer Showcase will enable retailers to shop local and connect with quality artisan brands to delight their customers.
Additionally, the Fair's new Village Square area, a bustling hub of networking and live demos at the heart of the event, will see Speciality Food Magazine hosting a number of regional product tastings, featuring brands including Welsh brand Radnor Preserves, award winning Northern Irish yoghurt brand Clandeboye Yoghurt, and Essence Foods, which makes a number of chutneys and preserves on its farm in rural Norfolk.
With such a strong line-up of new launches, regional stars and challenger brands, Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2025 promises to deliver fresh inspiration for retailers, wholesalers, chefs and hospitality operators seeking products that will capture the imagination of customers.
Speciality & Fine Food Fair takes place on 9-10 September 2025 at Olympia. To find out more and register to attend, visit www.specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk.
Hot Weather Brings Earliest Harvest Ever at Three Choirs Vineyards
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| Image courtesy Three Choirs Vineyard |
This will not come as a surprise to Three Choirs Vineyards' winemaker Martin Fowke who is overseeing the start of the harvest this week – picking has started earlier this year than he has ever experienced in over 35 years of winemaking.
Work started on 26th August to bring in the first batch of grapes, Siegerrebe.
This year the fully ripe grapes, with high sugars and low acids, will make some very interesting wine. The vineyard grows several different varieties which ripen at different times.
A team of 16 will handpick two to three acres a day on average throughout the harvest.
According to Martin, “The weather this season is well documented, with high temperatures and levels of sunlight that we have not seen before. The earliest we have started picking prior to this year was 2018, when we started to harvest on 31st August. We have started work five days earlier this year – the earliest harvest in the vineyard’s history.
“We expect to continue to harvest approximately two weeks earlier than normal. Sugars are high across the board and acids are dropping slowly which is precisely what we want to see at this stage.
“This year we have managed to keep the grapes clean throughout the season and so we are not under pressure to pick before we have optimum analysis. This is a very different situation to last year.
“The yield also looks good. So we will have a fairly full winery by the time we reach the end of harvest”.
Three Choirs Vineyards currently produces around 200,000 bottles of award-winning wine a year. Best sellers include Classic Cuvee, Coleridge Hill, Rose and Bacchus.
Jeremy Clarkson has recently selected Three Choirs Vineyards Rose wine for his new pub The Farmer’s Dog, and demand for Three Choirs’ wines in general continues to grow.
For more information about English winemaking at Three Choirs Vineyards visit www.three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk
That's Christmas 365: When Should You Start Making Your Christmas Pudding?
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Nourished Brings Innovative, Science-Backed Nutritional Gummies to Ocado Customers
The new partnership marks another milestone for the innovative wellness company, following successful retail listings earlier this year with Boots and Holland & Barrett.
The Ocado range features four expertly formulated nutrient stacks, each designed to address key areas of health and wellbeing:
Nourished Collagen+ Gut – A powerful blend of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics, clinically shown to promote gut balance, help maintain healthy cholesterol levels, and support immune function.
Nourished Collagen+ Agility – Expertly formulated to support joint flexibility, cognitive clarity, and skin vitality in one convenient dose.
Revive+ Nutrient Stack – Designed to combat fatigue, boost vitality, and provide sustained energy throughout the day.
Nourished Collagen+ Hair, Skin & Nails – A popular product designed to enhance the health skin, hair, and nails using a mix of scientifically supported nutrients.
The collaboration was inspired through Nourished Founder & CEO Melissa Snover’s involvement with Buy Women Built (BWB) – a community dedicated to championing female entrepreneurship and brands founded by women in the UK.
Last year, Ocado Retail partnered with BWB to launch a dedicated aisle for female-founded brands, opening up opportunities for female founders to showcase their inspiring and innovative products on a more inclusive marketplace.
"I’m incredibly proud to see Nourished launching with Ocado and joining the Buy Women Built aisle," Melissa Snover, Founder and CEO of Nourished told That's Food and Drink.
She went on to say: "This partnership not only helps us reach more people with our personalised, science-backed nutrition, but also shines a light on the power of female-founded innovation in the UK. Together with Ocado, we are making wellness more accessible, sustainable, and inclusive for everyone."
Nourished’s sustainably packaged, vegetarian, and sugar-free gummies are freshly made in the company’s cutting-edge hybrid facility in Birmingham using proprietary 3D printing technology. Each nutrient stack is formulated with clinically backed ingredients and manufactured on-demand to ensure maximum efficacy and absorption.
With this new listing, Ocado customers can now access Nourished’s convenient, great-tasting nutrition solutions as part of their regular grocery shop.
https://www.ocado.com/search?q=Nourished%20stacks
Nourished is a brand revolutionising personal wellness by utilising its patented 3D printing technology to create personalised 7-layer nutrient gummy stacks. These stacks are designed specifically for an individual’s health and lifestyle needs.
Each is a scientifically formulated blend of high-impact nutrients, vitamins, and superfoods, freshly made-to-order for maximum efficacy and optimal absorption. In addition to personalised stacks, Nourished also offers a range of targeted products within its Life Stack and Collagen ranges. Nourished is part of Rem3dy Health Ltd, founded by Melissa.
That's Christmas 365: Opies. Perfect for Christmas
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New Research Reveals Why ADHD Impacts Nutrition. And How Nuts Can Help
The research illustrates the challenges people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) face when it comes to diet and eating habits, with nine in 10 admitting to struggling with impulsive eating.
"Skipping meals can be attributed to ADHD’s core symptoms of impulsivity, inattention and executive function differences, which all hinder self-regulation and awareness of internal hunger signals,” explains leading ADHD nutritional therapist Sarah Osborne, founder of So Nutrition.
She told That's Food and Drink: “Similarly, for neurodivergent individuals, impulsive or emotional eating often goes beyond food itself and can relate to brain chemistry and biochemical balance, as well as being a response to emotions such as stress, frustration and feeling overwhelmed.”
The independent research, conducted with 500 UK adults who have ADHD, attests to the extent of the challenges and has been used in a new report for the healthcare community to provide support and guidance when working with neurodivergent people.
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| Sarah Osborne |
ADHD affects around 3.5% of adults and 5% of children in the UK. The study comes at a time when over half a million people are on waiting lists for diagnosis, according to NHS data released in May this year.
In addition, the research revealed that:
Nearly all (96%) acknowledged they can forget to eat as a result of being hyper focused on other tasks, with 43% saying this happens often
Nearly eight in 10 (78%) say they are highly sensitive to certain textures, tastes and smells. Tomatoes, mushrooms and bananas are some of the foods mentioned most
More than nine in 10 (91%) find it difficult to plan or prepare meals
With specialisms in nutrigenomics, ADHD and impulsive eating, So Nutrition has worked with hundreds of neurodivergent people dealing with a wide range of dietary challenges. Led by award-winning nutritionist Sarah Osborne, the practice fosters kindness and self-compassion to enhance nutritional goals.
Here are So Nutrition’s top tips to supporting an ADHD-friendly diet:
1. Add more into your diet, don't take away
People often associate diets with restrictive eating but adding more into your diet is usually the best approach to finding better balance. Neurodivgent people are likely to keep eating the same foods, so introducing more variety and having easy-to-follow recipes can make food fun. You can liven up staple dishes and snacks with simple steps. For example, try adding Brazil nuts to your fruit smoothie for a selenium and zinc boost.
2. Embrace convenience food
Many people with ADHD find meal planning and cooking somewhat challenging, due to cognitive differences associated with executive functions, or put simply because their brain works in a different way. If that’s the case, don’t make life hard for yourself. There are plenty ways to use convenience foods within a balanced diet. Tinned mackerel or sardines on toast are packed with vitamins, minerals, calcium and healthy fats, or try adding some tinned black beans into your soup or salad to give it a protein boost.
3. Keep hydrated
Most people don't drink enough water and if you're hyper-focused on a task (a common trait with ADHD) it’s very easy to forget. Set yourself reminders – that’s a good message for everybody as being properly hydrated can make a huge difference to how you feel and help reduce hunger cravings. Keep a jug or a two-litre bottle of water where it’s visible, as cues will help form new habits.
4. Be kind
New habits take time. Whether you’re supporting family or friends or trying to change your own eating behaviours, it’s important be kind. For adults and children with ADHD, the noise and distractions surrounding food can be overwhelming. Combined with a tendency towards impulsive behaviours and the need to find sameness and safety, this means relationships with food can quickly become complicated. Take small steps towards change – over time they can make a huge difference.
5. Make food your friend
ADHD brains tend towards an all-or-nothing approach which can often lead to challenges with food. If that sounds familiar, making food your friend can help you find that middle ground, so you can enjoy what you eat and find better balance. Keep jars of nuts and seeds handy to help with snacking and add a few new items into your cupboard week by week, so you can start to try more meal plans without stressing yourself out.
To find out more about So Nutrition or for easy-to-follow recipe books including
100 ADHD-friendly Recipes visit https://adhdandnutrition.co.uk
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Surviving the Stomach Bug: Your Sofa-Side Survival Kit
We’ve all had that dreaded 24–48 hours when life comes to a screeching halt thanks to the bug. You know the one – dashing to the loo, feeling decidedly green around the gills, and wondering if you’ll ever fancy food again.
Not glamorous, not fun, but thankfully short-lived.
So, while you’re curled up on the sofa in your comfiest pyjamas, here’s a light-hearted guide to what to sip, nibble, and pick up from the chemist to help you get back on your feet.
Sip, Don’t Guzzle
When your stomach’s in revolt, big drinks can feel like a bad idea. The trick is little and often.
Water – plain, boring, but the hero of the hour.
Rehydration sachets – Dioralyte or similar. Yes, they taste faintly of salty squash, but they work wonders.
Weak squash or watered-down juice – a gentle nudge of flavour without overwhelming your tummy.
Herbal teas – peppermint to soothe, ginger to settle. Think of it as a mini spa treatment… for your stomach.
The Return of Food (Slowly Does It)
When the thought of food doesn’t make you cringe, start with bland and gentle.
Dry toast or crackers – the ultimate comfort “non-food”.
Bananas – soft, easy, and packed with potassium.
Plain rice or pasta – filling without drama.
Clear soups or broths – warming, hydrating, and kind on the tummy.
Tip: Think nursery food, not spicy curry night.
What to Avoid (a.k.a. Don’t Do This to Yourself)
Greasy fry-ups – not your friend right now.
Dairy – milk and cheese can wait.
Alcohol & caffeine – that post-bug coffee or pint will taste better when you’re properly recovered.
Fizzy drinks – unless you enjoy feeling like a shaken-up bottle of cola.
Chemist Shelf Saviours
Sometimes a little over-the-counter backup is all you need:
Rehydration salts – boring but brilliant.
Paracetamol – for aches and fever.
Loperamide (Imodium) – useful if you have to leave the house, though usually it’s best to let nature take its course.
Antacids – for those “why is my stomach so gurgly?” moments.
Rest is Best
The only thing left to do? Rest, nap, and binge-watch something guilt-free. Keep a blanket handy, stay hydrated, and don’t even think about cooking for anyone else until you’re properly better (no one wants to share those germs!).
Most of us bounce back within a couple of days, and by then you’ll be more than ready for a proper meal again.
Bottom line: ride it out with fluids, bland bites, and rest. Before you know it, you’ll be swapping soup for Sunday roast again.
Incidentally the inspiration for this blogpost came when I was binge watching some Star Trek: Next Generation DVDs having fallen victim to the dreaded bug myself earlier in the day! I also managed to buy a couple of Original Series DVDs, too.
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