fine food news spring 2014

FINE FOOD NEWS
RH AMAR • Famous For Fine Foods
Nothing to
report
Spring 2014
Look no further for your
BBQ products
As the barbecue season gets under way, we
wish to remind our customers of the many
products we can offer which are appropriate
for this season.
Henry Amar,
Chairman,
writes:
I used to know a rather eccentric
gentleman who was fond of dining in
top restaurants. At the end of his meal
he would approach the head waiter,
arm outstretched and fist clenched.
Sensing that he was about to receive a
handsome tip, the head waiter would
come forward, bowing and murmuring
– but what he received was not the
crisp bank note he had anticipated. It
was a boiled sweet.
Not much of a reward for service, you
may think. But in this day and age all
of us in business know that service is
something our customers are entitled
to take for granted. In previous issues
of Fine Food News, I have written
about the challenges we face at RH
Amar ensuring high service levels,
when we sell over 1,200 products, from
23 countries, and from as far away
as Australia. I have also mentioned
that every night, each Director in our
business receives an e-mail report
detailing any line that has been short
delivered to any customer that day,
with an indication as to when we shall
be back in stock. In recent weeks, it
has been hugely satisfying that the
evening e-mail consisted of just one
line which simply read: “No shortages
to report today”.
(continued on P2)
BBQ sauces: Budweiser’s range of
barbecue sauces are ideal for meat-based
burgers which represent 49% of food eaten
from the barbecue*. As well as the basic
barbecue sauce, other varieties are Smoked,
Honey, and Steak sauces.
Sausages: Meica’s authentic German sausages can be heated up on the
barbecue at the last minute and served either on their own or in a hot dog roll.
The range includes Frankfurters, Bockwurst, Trueman’s American-Style Hot
Dogs, and, for the children, Mini-Winis.
Mustard: Bornier’s authentic French mustard makes a perfect accompaniment
to the Meica sausages!
Gherkins: The Kühne brand won two Gold Stars at the 2013 Great Taste
Awards, and typically sees an 80% increase in sales** over the barbecue
season.
Salad dressings: Sales of Cardini and Mary Berry & Daughter increase by as
much as 50%** over the summer months. The Mary Berry range includes Salad
Dressing, Caesar, French Herb, and Light. The Cardini range includes Original
Caesar, Caesar Light, Ranch, and the new Red Jalapeno Caesar (see P4). They
can also be used as dips or toppings for baked potatoes.
Ethnic sauces: Consumers seek new and interesting ways to flavour their
barbecued food. Kikkoman’s 2014 TV campaign highlighted its soy sauce
– currently growing at 13.2% (AC Nielsen) – as the all-round seasoning and
flavour enhancer. The brand’s Teriyaki sauce is a tasty, healthy and versatile
marinade for barbecued meats and fish steaks. Geeta’s Premium Mango and
Lime & Chilli Indian chutneys provide hotter
flavours to accompany barbecued meat or fish.
Their top-down squeeze format is the perfect “no
mess” and “no glass” solution for the barbecue
occasion.
* Mintel BBQ Foods report 2010
** RH Amar sales data
Cooks&Co
lorries
Cooks&Co has sponsored two
new lorries that reflect the brand’s
refreshed identify, featuring some
of the brand’s most popular lines Roasted Red Peppers, 100% Pure
Rapeseed Oil, Green Chillies, Black
Cherries, Dried Porcini Mushrooms
and Red Peppers stuffed with Feta
Cheese.
The new vehicles are co-funded by
Lenham’s hauliers and have reduced
CO2 emissions.
2
PRODUC
Fine Food News
Spring 2014
(continued from P1)
Nothing to
report
Achieving excellent service levels
for our customers is something
RH Amar regards as an obligation,
and we do not expect thanks
for doing something which is so
fundamental to our business. But
recently, at two meetings (and I
don’t attend many these days)
the customers began by thanking
RH Amar for outstanding service
levels. It delighted me so much to
hear these comments that I didn’t
even notice I wasn’t offered a
boiled sweet !
It’s time for Certo
The soft fruit season is nearly upon us – which means now is
the perfect time for retailers to stock up on the essential jammaking ingredient, Certo.
The period from May to September accounts for more than
70% of annual sales of the liquid pectin*. Last summer’s fine
weather helped ensure a bumper year for Certo, with like-forlike sales up 40%**.
The setting agent – which boasts
a loyal customer base – is
easy to use, reliable and
helps retain the fruit’s full
flavour and
colour.
* Average of monthly
sales 2011-2013
inclusive (Certo and
RH Amar)
** Certo 2012 and
RH Amar 2013
Red bow tie for Budweiser
sauces
Understanding
olive oil
Budweiser will soon be launching new-look labels for their barbecue sauces. The
addition of the red bow tie increases shelf stand out and closely affiliates the sauce
with the beer. The label also highlights the all-natural brewing process credentials,
drawing further synergies with the beer label.
Olive Oil World, a Europe-wide initiative
to promote the benefits of olive oil,
The product descriptions on the labels have been enhanced to be more descriptive
of the taste. For example, “Smoked BBQ Sauce” will become “Sweet and Smokey
Barbecue Sauce”.
This label re-launch, along with Budweiser beer’s sponsorship of the World Cup,
promises to make this summer one to remember for the brand.
hosted an olive oil tasting evening at
London’s Home House on April 8th.
The evening was aimed at club
members who are food enthusiasts,
and also at leading food media writers.
It was apparent that the Gaea brand
proved to be a firm favourite among the
attendees.
Michael North, the host for the evening,
is one of the world’s leading authorities
on the finest seasonal fresh extra
virgin olive oils. He has appeared on
numerous TV shows, including Market
Kitchen, Ready Steady Cook and
Dragon’s Den.
CT NEWS
Fine Food News
Spring 2014
More impact for Mother
Earth
Gaea, the leading
brand of Greek
specialities – olive oil,
olives, meze and Greek
sauces – has recently
undergone a brand
refresh. To reinforce
its vision of being
recognised as the
leading authority in top
quality Greek products,
Gaea has given the
brand a contemporary,
premium feel whilst still
retaining its core values.
“Gaea” – meaning “Mother Earth” in
the history of creation according to
ancient Greek mythology - is a symbol
of fertility and the goodness of the
earth, and she is still symbolised within
the Gaea logo. The range of products
now has a uniform look and feel so that
it has great standout and recognition
on shelf.
The olive oil range has been extended
to include single estate and regional
oils that are unique to Greece and offer
a real point of difference to Italian and
other Mediterranean olive oils.
The olives all have a distinctive look
and clear definition of flavour and
variant, whilst the tapenades have
been re-named “Spreads”, with clear
imagery to make it much easier for
consumers to understand their usage.
New press campaign for
Cirio
Cirio’s 2014 press campaign
is due to launch in April and
will run through to the autumn.
Aiming to develop awareness
and increase exposure of the
brand amongst consumers
interested in food and cookery,
Cirio will be targeting key
“foodie” titles, newspaper
magazines, the slimming press
and retailer magazines. They
will also be running activity
on selected websites to drive
consumers to Cirio’s own
website in order to educate them
about the quality and range of
Cirio products available.
The advert, new for 2014, will further emphasise the Italian heritage of the brand.
Learning
abroad
Rob Amar, Managing
Director, writes:
One habit I have
inherited from
my father is
that no holiday
is complete
without a
couple of local
store visits,
family gladly (or
possibly grudgingly) in tow.
I have just returned from my annual
fix of spring heat in the Middle
East, and took the opportunity
of a rare rainy day to visit some
of Muscat’s retail outlets. From
the likes of Carrefour and LuLu
Hypermarket, to smaller local
stores, there are three things that
always stand out for me.
Firstly, the breadth of range – for
a country with a growing but
still small expat population, the
number of imported and western
brands is quite amazing. Secondly,
the prices – while some imported
brands are eye-wateringly
expensive, others seem good
value given the often complex
supply chain, and anything
produced in the region is cheap
by western standards. Thirdly,
the in-store displays – I don’t
expect UK supermarkets to display
open sacks of spices and 3-foot
pyramids of fresh dates any time
soon, but some of the presentation
really brings the food to life.
Of course, some things are
different. For example, for most of
Muscat, there is no “high street”.
The nearest hypermarket or
shopping mall fills that void, albeit
they are dotted throughout the city
rather than on the outskirts.
And some things are years behind
what we’re used to in the UK. At
the long checkout queues, I can
see expat eyes longing for the
comfort of home delivery or even
click-and-collect.
These store visits may not be top
of the holiday agenda, but they do
provide an interesting comparison
with our own UK retail market,
and offer the chance to learn
something new from places you
would not always expect.
3
RANGE EXTENSION
Fine Food News
Spring 2014
4
Cardini raises the temperature
Cardini’s launch this summer of a unique Red Jalapeño Caesar Salad Dressing gives an exciting South
American twist to arguably one of the most popular salad dressings in the world. It delivers the full flavours of
Cardini’s much-loved traditional Caesar dressing, but with an added heat and kick from the red jalapeños.
The dressing delivers powerfully on taste, and is strongly aligned to the nation’s increasing appetite for hotter
flavours. Moreover, with this summer’s Brazilian Football World Cup set to put South American cuisine firmly
on the map, Cardini anticipates that this will further fuel the new dressing’s appeal.
The Cardini brand celebrates its 90th anniversary in July.
D&A bolsters oils and spices range
RH Amar has increased the number of infused oils
and spice grinders available from family-owned
Italian company Drogheria & Alimentari.
New to the oils range is a Lemon Infused Oil,
allowing consumers to give plenty of flavour to their
meal by simply pouring a few drops directly onto
their dish.
Additions to the existing line-up of grinders are three seasonings: Mediterranean Salt, Lemon & Salt, and Green
Peppercorns. The innovative range, bottled in attractive glass jars with a built-in grinder, is completed by four further mills
for Nutmeg, Oregano, Pasta Seasoning, and BBQ Steakhouse.
COMPANY NEWS
RH Amar is organic!
New recruit
Markus Endt, Senior Technical
Manager, writes:
We have appointed
Sylvain Hotolean
as our Technical
Systems Manager.
Sylvain joined at the
end of March, having
previously worked for
Worldwide Foods as
Technical Manager,
and Kallo Foods
as Food Technologist. He has extensive
knowledge in quality and food safety
systems used by ambient and ready-toeat food product manufacturers.
In October 2013, it became a legal
requirement that all facilities handling and
trading in organic products be registered
with an organic certification authority such
as the Soil Association. All such traders
would therefore have to apply for the EU
Organic Wholesaling License.
However with RH Amar, it was not so
simple! Since we re-pack organic product
from Ella’s Kitchen, and also import
organic product from outside EU (Queens
Vanilla Essence and Bean Paste from
Australia), we had to apply for both the
Organic Processing & Packing License as
well as the EU Wholesaling License.
Following the training of Operations and
Warehouse staff aimed at increasing
their awareness and understanding of
organic principles and the new procedures
introduced, we underwent an assessment
by the Soil Association in March. Our site
was accredited with the Organic License
for both the EU Import and Producers &
Packing.
Sharing Sage
experience
RH Amar’s computer system, X3 – supplied
by Safe Software – went live three years
ago. Sage asked us to host an event for
prospective customers so that they could
hear about the process of selecting a
software provider, the challenges we faced,
the implementation of the new system, and
post-“go-live” support. The event was held
in April with 17 potential Sage customers
attending.
Turnpike Way, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 3TF, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1494 530200 Fax: +44 (0) 1494 472076
Email: [email protected] Website: www.rhamar.com