Topic “UK” — Exporter Magazine

UK soft drinks producers have been accused of being “blatantly misleading”, in the way they market their products to children and their parents, according to a report by FoodManufacturer.co.uk. Food and drink industry survey participants are cautiously optimistic about 2011, with just over 63% of the respondents bullish about market conditions for the sector. More than 40 executives from Britain’s biggest companies, including Alliance Boots, Virgin, Shell and Barclays are accompanying British ministers in the hope of leveraging high-level political backing to increase their presence in China. Representatives of the UK dairy industry have called on politicians to take tougher legislative action to stamp out misleading origin labelling, according to FoodProduction Daily.com. UK consumers have lost their taste for beer in the third quarter as supermarket sales slump more than 10%, according to BeverageDaily.com. Seasonal and chocolate box sales are projected to increase by 12.9% between 2010 and 2015, growing to an estimated GBP4.1 billion (NZD$8.65 billion) by 2015, according to Confectionery News, citing a Mintel report. UK sales of gluten and wheat free products soared 18% to GBP108.3 million (NZD$231 million) in the year to July 11, 2010, according to FoodManufacturer.co.uk, citing data from Kantar Worldpanel.