Matt has been with KP Snacks for 10 years, most recently as Trading Director across multiple channels. He replaces Andy Riddle who is leaving the business for a new role.

Mark Thorpe, KP Snacks CEO, said: “I am delighted at Matt’s appointment to Sales Director. Matt has a wealth of industry knowledge and a proven track record.

“Under his leadership, we will maintain the momentum we’ve built over recent years around our fantastic brands and deliver our ambitious growth plans. I would also like to thank Andy for his contribution to KP and wish him every success in his new role.”

Matt Collins, Sales Director KP Snacks said: “It’s a privilege to lead our talented and experienced, customer-centric sales team. I look forward to further strengthening our customer partnerships, putting our trade partners truly at the heart of our business to continue to deliver sustainable, profitable category growth.”

The post KP Snacks appoints new sales director first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Established some 77 years ago, The Heatherlea is a mainstay of Bangor’s Main Street, proving itself to be a tried and tested destination spot for the discerning baked goods consumer.

Owners Paul and Patricia Getty came on board in 1990, full of “youthful enthusiasm and energy” and have expanded the business to the widely-known brand that it is today, with a café and deli and wholesale arm now part of the core structure of what The Heatherlea offers, as well as the critical and essential skills of its 40 staff.

“Our business is led by our people and our shared passion to bring great bread and pastries to our loyal and expanding customer base,” Paul told NR.

“We have a café and deli on our first site in Main Street and we feel that this enables us to showcase our produce and let our customers see our range displayed in the optimum environment.

“It further allows us to manifest that warm homely feeling that we would like customers to have when they eat our products. Whether they buy directly from us or from one of our local retailers who kindly stock Heatherlea goods, we hope this all leads to a unique Heatherlea taste.”

They opened the café and deli in 1990, with Paul describing them as a “fantastic addition” to the traditional Home Bakery at their Main Street site.

“It is great to welcome so many regular customers daily and we have seen a resurgence of visitors post-covid, particularly ex-pats who love to stock up on soda bread, potato bread and wheaten loaves to take home.”

The wholesale arm of the business is another means for bringing the taste of Heatherlea home and has grown steadily over the last 20 years, with independent stores and major local retailers who share their passion to bring local food to local people, all stocking their beloved products.

“We have a great range with our soda bread, pancakes and sausage rolls being favourites, closely followed by sourdoughs and our ever-popular traybakes, such as Rocky Roads and fruit slices, along with Viennese fingers, snowballs and almond cheesecakes.

“We are always looking for new ideas and the retail environment is a great test for products which can potentially move into our wholesale business.

“New ideas are plentiful with Pinterest and Facebook great resources although when we are on holiday we are always looking for local bakeries to see what they are doing.

“We are also lucky enough to have been left a number of handwritten recipe books by our predecessors, which are fantastic reference points.”

Inevitably, over the past 12 months The Heatherlea has contended with rising business costs, increases in ingredients prices and energy bills while trying to maintain a pricing structure suitable for their customers facing the same cost-of-living battles; Paul added their biggest challenge is staying on top of costs.

“We have switched most of our energy suppliers in the past year and continually follow international pricing of raw ingredient materials and try and bring pressure to bear on our suppliers, especially when we see international prices falling in certain categories and this not being reflected in what we can buy locally.

“There is a balance between what we can charge for a product and what expectations a consumer has,” added Paul.

“Unfortunately, ingredients and energy have both led to price rises and there are some lines which can no longer be cost effectively produced. We do feel that ingredient producers are not always aware of the impact of some of their price rises and how challenged many consumers are currently.”

Rising to these challenges however, is key for businesses, engaging with their customers and building lasting relationships with them.

“We use social media and special occasions such as Mother’s Day, Pancake Tuesday and St Patrick’s Day as opportunities to offer unique product purchases, which we believe help us create regular customers especially when they visit in store and see our range of baked goods.

“Technology allows us to monitor and develop our customer experience allowing us to have the correct amount of goods on shelf at the right time throughout the day and throughout the week.

“We are also able to manage our wholesale operation with the use of handheld portable devices which are cloud-based and all integrated into an agile back office platform.”

The Heatherlea beat off its competition at the 2023 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, winning the title of Bakery of the Year for an impressive fourth time, a true testament to the longevity and success of the Bangor bakery, and the dedication and commitment of its team of 40.

“We are absolutely delighted to have won NR Bakery of the Year for the fourth time,” said Paul. “It is a strong endorsement of the effort put in by all at The Heatherlea over many years, indeed we have some staff who have remained with us since 1990 and worked in the business previous to us.

“We would like to thank every one of our staff and customers for their support in the past years and trust this will continue for many more years. We would also like to thank NR for the continued interest and support in the craft baking sector.”

TO READ THE FULL HEATHERLEA BAKERY FEATURE IN THE FEBRUARY-MARCH ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

The post The Heatherlea – a baking institution first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Westminster MPs had their first debate on the Tobacco & Vapes Bill on Tuesday 16^th April, with it passing by 383 votes to 67 in the Commons.

Several conservative MPs voted against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Bill, however it is still expected to become law.

Alliance MP Stephen Farry was the only Northern Ireland MP to vote in favour of the ban.

The controversial bill also aims to restrict vape flavours, packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops.

Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann has previously confirmed that NI will be included in the Bill, subject to approval by the Assembly. He said he fully supported the UK Government’s plans to create a smokefree generation and to tackle youth vaping.

Speaking in the Chamber, DUP MP Sammy Wilson voiced his concerns about how the law would be implemented and concerns about retailers.

The debate came as a Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) survey has revealed that 80% of those surveyed had bought illegal tobacco in the previous year.

The survey, carried out between October and December 2023, questioned 12,000 smokers on their attitudes, awareness and understanding of illegal tobacco. The results also showed that nearly three quarters of respondents have seen an illegal 20-pack of cigarettes priced between £3 and £6 (compared to the mean average RRP of £15.26 for a legal packet).

Despite government attempts to curb the problem, the illegal tobacco market is growing. While the number of adult smokers in the UK has decreased by 30% (to 12% of the UK population) since the TMA commissioned its first ‘Anti-Illicit Trade Survey’ in 2014, the number of respondents who claim to purchase non-UK duty paid tobacco has reached a new high point of 80%, with one in five smokers only buying ‘branded’ tobacco, even though all legal tobacco has been sold in plain packaging in the UK since 2016 – eight years ago.

Almost two thirds of survey respondents claimed repeated hikes in tobacco taxes couple with the cost-of-living pressures meant they have changed their tobacco spending habits, up from 39% in 2022.

Retailers have raised concerns about the Bill, citing the increase in sales of illicit tobacco and vapes.

Rupert Lewis, Director of the TMA said that the illegal tobacco market in the UK has now reached an inflection point.

“In previous years, the TMA Anti-Illicit Trade Survey has painted a picture of a stubbornly resilient illegal tobacco trade, which in spite of overall smoking rates downtrending year-on-year, has remained resistant to decline,” said Mr Lewis.

“I believe that there will be profound and far-reaching repercussions for consumers, retailers, law enforcement agencies and communities across the UK if a phased generational ban becomes law. In time, it will push the entire UK tobacco market underground, and I urge the government to reflect hard on the consequences of this policy decision and the lasting impact that it will have on the UK.”

The post DUP MPs vote against Tobacco & Vapes Bill first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Introduced in March this year, the Bill wants to create the UK’s first ‘smokefree’ generation, making it illegal for those born since 2009 (children turning 15 this year) to be sold cigarettes.

The controversial bill also aims to restrict vape flavours, packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops.

Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann has previously confirmed that NI will be included in the Bill, subject to approval by the Assembly. He said he fully supported the UK Government’s plans to create a smokefree generation and to tackle youth vaping.

The debate comes as a Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) survey has revealed that 80% of those surveyed had bought illegal tobacco in the previous year.

The survey, carried out between October and December 2023, questioned 12,000 smokers on their attitudes, awareness and understanding of illegal tobacco. The results also showed that nearly three quarters of respondents have seen an illegal 20-pack of cigarettes priced between £3 and £6 (compared to the mean average RRP of £15.26 for a legal packet).

TOBACCO SPENDING HABITS

Despite government attempts to curb the problem, the illegal tobacco market is growing. While the number of adult smokers in the UK has decreased by 30% (to 12% of the UK population) since the TMA commissioned its first ‘Anti-Illicit Trade Survey’ in 2014, the number of respondents who claim to purchase non-UK duty paid tobacco has reached a new high point of 80%, with one in five smokers only buying ‘branded’ tobacco, even though all legal tobacco has been sold in plain packaging in the UK since 2016 – eight years ago.

Almost two thirds of survey respondents claimed repeated hikes in tobacco taxes couple with the cost-of-living pressures meant they have changed their tobacco spending habits, up from 39% in 2022.

Strikingly, the survey also found that every UK region had seen an increase in the purchase of illegal tobacco since 2019, with the exception of the South East of England, where there has been no change.

Under the proposed Tobacco & Vapes Bill, Trading Standards officers’ powers would be strengthened with on-the-spot fines of £100 to uphold new laws and clamp down on underage sales of tobacco and vaping products.

Some Conservative MPs have said they will not support the Bill, however it is anticipated it will likely pass as Labour does support it.

‘FAR-REACHING REPERCUSSIONS’

Many retailers have raised concerns about the Bill, citing the increase in sales of illicit tobacco and vapes.

The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) said a ban on disposable vapes would only fuel illicit sales, with National President Muntazir Dipoti stating that banning disposable vapes would “not help people give up smoking and vaping” and would “fuel the illicit market”.

Rupert Lewis, Director of the TMA said that the illegal tobacco market in the UK has now reached an inflection point.

“In previous years, the TMA Anti-Illicit Trade Survey has painted a picture of a stubbornly resilient illegal tobacco trade, which in spite of overall smoking rates downtrending year-on-year, has remained resistant to decline,” said Mr Lewis.

“I believe that there will be profound and far-reaching repercussions for consumers, retailers, law enforcement agencies and communities across the UK if a phased generational ban becomes law. In time, it will push the entire UK tobacco market underground, and I urge the government to reflect hard on the consequences of this policy decision and the lasting impact that it will have on the UK.”

The post Tobacco & Vapes Bill faces first MPs debate in Westminster first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Ice cream remains an incredibly popular purchase for Northern Ireland consumers, indeed 91.4% of households here purchased ice cream up to week ending 18^th February 2024 (Kantar), only marginally down on 93% in 2022.

Widely considered a tasty treat, ice cream has only grown in popularity as it becomes increasingly used in desserts. First invented in China almost 4000 years ago, vanilla remains the most popular flavour, although with hundreds of flavours now available, there really is something for everyone.

Such is the demand for top-quality, delicious local ice cream (on average ice cream has been bought 15.5 times across 2024, Kantar), that it has become a key industry in the province with several producers making their mark.

Big Night In occasions are as important as ever, providing retailers an opportunity to drive their sales at a time when consumers are still feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, so treats at home are a key driver.

Research conducted by Haagen-Dazs revealed that one in three shoppers were hosting a big night in occasion on a weekly basis, and 60% of consumers were planning to choose ice cream for a movie night at home.

One of the top five most impulsive categories, luxury ice cream can provide great sales in-store, so visibility is key for freezers, maximising space with year-round growth drivers.

With exciting NPD in ice cream, retailers and consumers alike can be guaranteed a cool few months ahead.

CHECK OUT THE FULL ICE CREAM FEATURE IN THE FEBRUARY-MARCH ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

The post Freeze! Time to get the chill factor ahead of summer first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.