Industry News
Catch up on the latest events news here...
Queen of Shops is centre stage at NOPEX
Mary Portas OBE, renowned retail expert, broadcaster, author and activist, will headline at Natural & Organic Products Expo on 14-15 April at ExCeL London.
Known as the 'Queen of Shops', Mary Portas is a highly influential figure in the retail world with decades of experience and a successful track record rebuilding businesses. After transforming Harvey Nichols, Mary founded her retail consultancy, working with some of the biggest names in global retail.
Her series, Mary Queen of Shops, premiered in 2007 and she's presented for BBC and Channel 4 ever since, becoming a trusted advisor for numerous brands – including many exhibitors at Natural & Organic Products Expo.
Mary Portas comments: "Our High Streets lie at the heart of our economy and are the lifelines for our communities, playing a role in people's wellbeing and sense of identity. Although they are experiencing unprecedented challenges the opportunities are huge. I look forward to sharing my insights and to answering your questions in front of this important audience at NOPEX in April."
To register for a free trade ticket, visit www.naturalproducts.co.uk
The best of Ireland's health food retailers celebrate in the 2024 Awards
Eighteen awards in seven categories were handed to Ireland's natural health retailers at the 'Putting Our Best Foot Forward' event in Shannon, County Clare, on January 28th.
The day was focused on networking, panel discussions and sectoral awards, with 40 trade exhibitors and 100 retailer participants representing more than 60 health food shops.
The return of the annual Health Stores Ireland / New Natural Business retailer awards was the centrepiece of the day with retailers picking up prizes under a range of categories, receiving due recognition for their resilience and innovation in challenging times.
Read the full story here...
NOPEX now open for registration
Natural & Organic Products Expo (NOPEX) has opened visitor registration for its 2024 edition, which returns to ExCeL London on 14-15 April.
Since 1997, Natural & Organic Products Europe has been the place where distributors, retailers, wholesalers, importers and exporters meet to source the best natural, organic, planet-based, free-from and sustainable products for their customers. It also provides a world-class keynote programme full of the most important topics, trends, and inspiration for the industry.
In the upcoming edition, Natural & Organic Products Expo (NOPEX) is set to offer a more extensive range of features than in previous years. Anticipate celebrity keynote speakers, a vibrant festival-style atmosphere, the introduction of a VIP and influencer program, along with the addition of two fresh Launchpad Zones.
Read the full story here...
Social enterprise supermarket HISBE in voluntary liquidation
Pioneering alternative supermarket HISBE (How It Should Be) has gone into voluntary liquidation. The retailer, which operated as a social enterprise, closed its two stores in Brighton and Worthing in January as it tried to find ways to secure new funding.
In a February 2 post on Facebook, HISBEFood said:
"It's with great sadness that we announce the very painful decision to declare #HISBE insolvent and take the company into voluntary liquidation.
"Since the final tranche of our recovery funding fell through, we have explored all avenues to raise the investment we need to re-open the stores, but HISBE is carrying too much debt from the last four years for funders to put new money in.
"We were following a strategic turnaround plan and slowly trading our way back, but ultimately could not weather the cumulative impacts of covid, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
"We'd like to respond to the love and concern that customers and supporters have expressed for our people - the staff, suppliers and founders. Firstly, the staff who worked hard to take care of the stores and maintain a friendly community vibe for customers, despite the extra pressures. We are so grateful for their commitment and for supporting their managers, who did their very best to run the stores with stretched resources and tough targets.
"Everyone was made redundant and paid out for their shifts and holiday in Dec/Jan. Their notice pay will be looked after via the proper channels as we go through the administration process.
"Regarding the 135 local/independent HISBE suppliers, many of whom we have 10-year-old relationships with, we built a beautiful and simple business model with them. HISBE customers put £15 million through our tills, and we passed £10 million back into suppliers' pockets. However, sadly but inevitably the closure of HISBE leaves many with unpaid invoices that we were expecting to clear in January. It's creating enormous personal and financial stress for some of them and we are sad and sorry that it has come to this."
HISBE was founded in 2010 by sisters Ruth and Amy Anslow.
Frank discussion at Health Stores UK forum
The first in a new series of Health Store Mastermind Forums took place earlier this month, generating a lively, interactive discussion on a range of retailing issues.
Around 30 retailers took part in the first of the informal 'drop in' Zoom sessions, co-hosted by Health Stores UK and Cheryl Thallon, owner of Viridian Nutrition and Daventry-based Sheaf Street Health Store.
Designed to be a friendly meeting place, where stores help each other solve tricky business issues and share opportunities and inspiration, the first Forum covered a wide range of issues that "keep retailers up at night" – from running costs to out of date stock, cash flow to business insurance. Talking through these challenges enabled the group to share tips, practical advice and specialist knowledge with each other.
Look out for dates of future Health Store Mastermind Forums on the Health Stores UK website (www.healthstores.uk). The sessions are free to Health Store UK members and £15 for non-members (redeemable against membership if a store joins within 90 days).
Source: Natural Newsdesk
Save £115 on staff training
The Health Food Institute is offering a massive reduction on its courses in a bid to raise standards in the retail sector.
Diploma Part One is on offer at the special price of £80 – a saving of £115 – with Diploma Part Two at half price until the end of December.
All retailers who enrol a member of staff on an HFI course will continue to be included in the HFI's Sample Box Scheme and will receive a selection of product samples four times a year.
In its 44-year history, the HFI has delivered high quality training for health food retailers and their staff but a difficult trading period has led to a drop-off in the number of students seeking higher professional standards.
Enrol now at healthfoodinstitute.org/courses while the offer is on the table.
Inflationary pain
UK inflation fell in October as energy prices and food inflation eased, with headline inflation dropping to 4.7% from 6.3%. But although food and non-alcoholic drinks dropped a percentage point compared with September, the annual inflation rate for food stands at 10.1%. The rate has declined every month since March.
When the going gets tough...
According to Small Business Britain's SME barometer survey, a third of owners think running a business has become harder in the last year but 70% say the challenges of the past three years have made them more resilient. Half see rising costs as their biggest challenge in the next six months and 57% have been hampered by cashflow challenges. See what a cross section of health food independents are thinking, here.
Shoplifting and abuse
A surge in retail crime has been negatively impacting independent shops across sectors and locations over the past 12 months.
The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) surveyed its members to grasp a snapshot of how stores have been hit by the crimewave.
The survey showed that 40% of shop owners or staff had experienced verbal abuse, while 6.5% had come up against physical harm from customers in the past year. Of those physically abused, 82% decided to not report it to police, while those that did said it didn't lead to prosecution (18%).
The results also showed that 70% of those who had experienced verbal abuse said it has got worse in the last 12 months compared to the previous year, while 50% of those who suffered physical abuse said it had worsened.
Police, retailers and Government representatives have jointly set out further measures to tackle the rise in shoplifting, catch more prolific offenders and keep retail workers safe.
The plan includes a police commitment to prioritise urgently attending the scene of shoplifting instances involving violence against a shop worker, where security guards have detained an offender or where attendance is needed to secure evidence.
In 2014, a new law said anyone charged with the theft of items under £200 did not need to attend court. Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the party would ditch the £200 rule on shoplifting to clamp down on crime.
Ultra-processed food ‘should be labelled addictive'
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) can be as addictive as nicotine or alcohol, according to researchers writing in the BMJ.
Their wide-ranging analysis of studies from 36 different countries shows that UPF addiction appeared to occur in 14% of adults and 12% of children.
"Refined carbohydrates or fats evoke similar levels of extracellular dopamine in the brain striatum to those seen with addictive substances such as nicotine and alcohol," they said.
Their scathing report called for UPFs to be labelled as "addictive substances".
Many UPFs contain an equal combination of sugar and fat, a ratio rarely found in natural whole foods. This sends a happy message to the brain and keeps them coming back for more, giving rise to the term "Comfort Food".
The researchers gave the example of an apple, salmon and a chocolate bar. The apple has a carbohydrate to fat ratio of 1:0, while the salmon has a ratio of 0:1. The chocolate bar, however, has a carbohydrate to fat ratio of 1:1, which appears to increase a food's addictive potential.
Degrading the physical structure of foods through industrial processes can also make them more addictive as they are lower in fibre and sugars and fats are delivered more quickly to the gut, sending a different message to the brain.
Read more news in our latest issue here...