Next Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage to feature more than 211,000 words of content: The next Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage will feature more than 211,000 words of content when it is released to Premium subscribers on Friday (17 November). The database now features 789 companies, and this month’s edition includes 34 new additions and 83 updated entries. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, will have their most recent results reported as well as broader information around Ebitda, plans and trading style available. The database merges Companies House information, interviews and other public information to provide an easy to reference and exhaustive guide to the sector. Meanwhile, for the first time, Propel group editor Mark Wingett has chosen the best videos from the Propel conferences in 2023, picking out a selection of talks and interviews that resonated with delegates from across the breadth of the hospitality sector. The 12 videos will be made available to Propel’s Premium subscribers at 9am on Friday, 24 November. Premium subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the New Openings Database; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Premium subscribers are also being given exclusive access to the recording and slides to Propel Multi-Club Conferences. They also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Mark Wingett.

Cake Box sees lfl revenues and profits increase in first half, driven by new store openings: Cake Box, the specialist retailer of fresh cream cakes, saw its like for like revenues and profits increase in the first half of its financial year. Revenue was up to £18m in the half year ended 30 September 2023 from £16.8m in the half year to 30 September 2022. Pre-tax profit was up from £2m to £2.4 while Ebitda rose from £2.8m to £3.1m. This was driven by increased volumes from 20 stores opened in the prior year and nine new stores opened in the six months to 30 September 2023. Chief executive Sukh Chamdal said: “We have performed well in the first half of the year, generating strong growth across key financial metrics and making further progress on our strategy. We achieved double digit increases in profits, cash and dividends, as raw material and input costs stabilised, and we started to benefit from the recent investments we have made in the business to drive growth. As outlined in our recent Capital Markets event, our new website has increased online sales and improved customer experience and loyalty, while brand awareness continues to increase as a result of the success of our marketing campaigns (including national radio) and multi-channel expansion. Our franchise proposition remains attractive with nine new franchise stores opening over the period and a strong pipeline of future openings. We continue to engage with property consultants to identify target growth areas, which will help us reach our 400-store target over the medium term. We are also excited to launch our new Cake Box identity in the second half of the year, which will broaden the appeal of our brand to new customers and demographics, amplifying the opportunity for new store openings. While we are mindful of the ongoing macro-economic uncertainty, customer demand remains robust, demonstrating Cake Box's enduring appeal. We enter the second half with momentum and are on track to deliver full year performance in line with market expectations. The board remains confident in the company’s long-term prospects, underpinned by our ambitious growth strategy, the attractiveness of the brand and focused investment programme.”

Time Out hires new CFO: Time Out Group, the global media and hospitality business, has hired Matthew Pritchard as its new chief financial officer. Pritchard has over 25 years of experience of value creation in retail and FMCG, in both private equity and listed environments, including strategic review and funding of growth strategies. From 2014 to 2023, he was chief financial officer of Hotel Chocolat. Prior to this, he worked in senior finance roles with several blue-chip retail organisations including Asda, Somerfield Stores and WHSmith. Pritchard qualified as a certified accountant in 1998.

Calls for clearer labelling as more than a third of sweet food and drink sold in UK coffee shops exceed daily sugar limit: More than a third of sweet food and drink sold in Britain’s coffee shops exceed the daily sugar limit, new analysis shows. Some combinations even contain five times more than the 30g recommendation. Action on Sugar, which carried out the audit, slammed the “scandalous” lack of nutrition information available at point of purchase and urged the government to introduce new levies cracking down on excessive sugar content, reports The Daily Mail. The analysis looked at more than 700 sweet treats and drinks sold at nine chains, including Costa, Caffe Nero, Greggs and Soho Coffee Company. Coffee Republic, which has 12 branches in England, featured twice in the top five sweetest food products, with its salted caramel fudge cake at 83g per serving and big carrot cake, recording 62g. Soho Coffee Co’s sticky toffee muffin was also one of the worst offenders (62g). A strawberry and banana smoothie combined with a pain au raisin at Puccino’s, meanwhile, logged a score of 130g of sugar, the equivalent of 33 teaspoons. NHS guidance sets the maximum daily intake at 30g of free sugars a day, or 210g per week. The NHS sugar limits only apply to free sugars — those added to products — rather than those found naturally in milk, fruit and vegetables. Businesses with 250 or more employees in England, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, are required to display the calorie information of non-prepacked food and soft drinks. More than half would have been marked red – or high in total sugars – if nutrition information was fully transparent, Action on Sugar said. Just one item surveyed, a Greggs all butter croissant, was found to be low in sugar. Action on Sugar suggested levies to target products with high sugar content. Zoe Davies, nutritionist at Action on Sugar, said: “It’s incredible how easy it is to unknowingly consume 39 teaspoons of sugar and over 1,300 calories with a simple drink and cake purchase — all of which is highly unnecessary to taste great. What's more, it’s unacceptable that consumers are often left in the dark as product information about sugar content is not displayed at the point of sale and online PDF documents are unavailable or difficult to find and understand. This is why clearer labelling should be a must, so people know exactly what they are buying.”

Nando’s doubling up on loyalty points this week: Nando’s is giving customers a chance to get double points this week. Until Saturday, 18 November, the business is giving guests the chance to get double the loyalty points when they spend £7 or more each day. The loyalty scheme runs all year round, and typically the restaurant gives customers one ‘chilli’ loyalty point each time they spend £7 or more. These can be traded in for rewards, which can later be cashed in to get free food, reports The Daily Mail. New customers will bag a bonus chilli when they sign up, which means they only need to place one more order during the promotion period to bank a reward. Once guests start collecting, the rewards are categorised into three colours: green, orange and red. With green rewards, (three chillies) customers can get a free quarter chicken, three wings or a starter. With orange rewards, awarded after six chillies, customers can get a free half chicken, a single burger, pitta or wrap. The biggest reward is six chillies, or a red reward, where customers can get a free whole chicken, a meal with regular sides or a salad or bowl. The promotion comes after the chain made a major change to its sauce offerings. Until now, customers have had to grab a bottle of their favourite sauce and take it to their table. But some locations are now offering a sauce pump, meaning customers can fill up a small tub of sauce to add to their chicken. They currently have the new pumps in the Waterloo, Battersea Power Station, Cheshunt Retail Park and Greenford restaurants. It is believed that Nando’s has plans to introduce the sauce pumps to more stores in the future.

Gym Group appoints new NED: The Gym Group, operator of circa 230 gyms across the UK, has announced that, after seven years’ service, Emma Woods, senior independent non-executive director, will be stepping down as a director on 31 December. In line with the board’s succession planning, Elaine O’Donnell will replace her in the role, while Wais Shaifta will take on the role of chair of the Remuneration Committee. John Treharne, chair of The Gym Group, said: “I’d like to thank Emma for her years of service on our board. With a keen interest in health and fitness, she has made a significant contribution to many areas of our business, notably in brand and marketing, and has been particularly instrumental in the recent CEO recruitment process. Now that is complete, we wish her all the very best as she moves on to focus on her other commitments.”