Read what’s happening in the convenience & independent retail space. Who are the latest innovators & winners in this marginalised retail sector?
New natural ingredients brand, The Frank Food Company, claims to be revolutionising health food with the launch of its free-from Frank Bar. According to the company, the bar has been created for grab-and-go convenience, forecourt, supermarket, foodservice and sports retail
Spar UK is revamping its own brand cider range with a new taste and redesigned packaging, in a move to boost sales in the fast-growing cider category. The modern and fresh new design is set to help the range stand
Payzone, one of the UK’s largest independent network of in-store payment processing terminals, and Ecebs, the UK’s leading smart transport technology company, have teamed up to offer smart transport tickets in local outlets. The project will see the installation
Spar UK has kicked off its first World Beer Festival in stores, building on the success of previous wine and cider promotional events in its stores. The promotion sees a host of key World Beer brands available at competitive prices
Europe’s leading multi-material packaging manufacturer, LINPAC Packaging, says it is set to take advantage of the growing popularity and demand for chilled retail prepared and convenience foods by launching a complete new range of products for the sector. The launch
Spar UK is launching a new ‘Exclusives’ wine range designed to fill the gap between own label and branded wine. The range includes two Spanish wine ranges, Modesta and Sola, and two Italian wine ranges, Perlezza and Terra Ricca; comprising
Spar claims it is helping its retailers boost sales with a heavy focus on in-store events – kicking off with its £1 value campaign running this month (February 2013). With shoppers’ budgets especially tight going into 2013, the promotion running
The Co-operative Food claims it will become the first retailer in the UK to switch all own brand bunches of standard roses and single stem roses to Fairtrade today (11 February 2013). As part of The Co-operative’s ongoing commitment to Fairtrade, and
Logistics firm, UPS, is launching its own version of a click and collect service in the UK called Access Point. Access Point is claimed to offer an alternative to home delivery and enables consumers purchasing goods over the internet to
The Spar Lancashire School Games, a leading UK sporting event for children, kicked-off at The Breck primary school, Poulton le Fylde on 4 February 2013. The Lancashire Lion; school games organiser, Lee Cadwallader; Rachel Wood from Lancashire Sport; Fiona Addison and
The Co-operative Group has today (Monday 28 January 2013) launched a new savings scheme trust, becoming the first retailer to protect customers paying into a saving stamps scheme. The trust, which claims to set a new benchmark in consumer protection
Spar International is expanding throughout the Middle East in a new co-operative venture with Abu Dhabi Co-operative Society (ADCOOPS). The plans were unveiled to coincide with the opening of the first Spar compact hypermarket in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Co-operative Food is celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight (25 February to 10 March 2013 inclusive) with deals on its extensive ethical range. This year, the Fairtrade Foundation is encouraging shoppers nationwide to ‘go further for Fairtrade’ to help growers and workers
The Co-operative Food is launching a selection of slow-cooked meat products into its frozen range. In stores from 20 March 2013, the new lines will provide shoppers with slow-cooked products that can be quickly and conveniently cooked from frozen in
Spar claims to be leading the way in innovation in the symbol group sector by being among the first to include Amazon lockers in stores to allow customers to retrieve their Amazon.co.uk parcels at their local Spar store. The lockers are located
Spar is introducing two California wines to its award-winning, own brand wine range. The Chardonnay and Zinfandel Reserve wines from California will tap the huge trend for wines from the USA in convenience stores, and offer customers greater choice at
CJ Lang, the Spar wholesaler for Scotland, reports it has seen huge success with the launch of its Coffee Club loyalty scheme in June 2012. Stores are reported to have seen an increase of up to 24% in the past
The Co-operative Food is launching a permanent £10.00 Dine In Meal Deal offer in 2013 to rival pricey takeaways or meals out. The deal, which is claimed to be perfect for couples, will launch on 2 January 2013 in selected stores, and will
Worcestershire Spar retailer Burns and Co claims it has reaped the rewards of sending its staff on an active selling training course, provided by AF Blakemore’s training provider, the Guild Academy. When the award winning Guild Academy announced it would
CollectPlus, the parcel delivery and collection service, has reached a new milestone with the delivery of its 10 millionth parcel since its foundation in 2009. In its half year figures, CollectPlus reported sales growth of 170% to £3.7m, with parcel
Spar UK is launching revamping its own label household range and adding four new products to help retailers grow sales and widen the category to cater for customer demand. The four new lines are Spar Antibacterial Spray, Spar Non Bio Washing Powder,
Merseyrail, the regional rail operator on Merseyside, is piloting a new format of its combined ticket office and convenience store, Mtogo, at Liverpool Central Station. The new Mtogo store was designed and implemented by retail and branding agency M Worldwide.
Threeways Garage, an Abergele, Conwy, petrol station has converted its convenience store from Lifestyle to Spar. The Threeways site, which houses a 24-hour Shell forecourt and HGV lane, 40-seat café, car wash centre, a number of vehicle franchises and a motorhome business,
Unilever has been named Supreme Supplier of the Year in The Co-operative Retail Trading Group (CRTG) awards. The retailer’s annual Supplier Awards recognise companies that have made a significant contribution to the success of CRTG in the past 12 months. Sponsored by
Spar UK is investing in its Christmas 2012 own label range to help retailers tap into the huge sales opportunities the festive season provides. This year’s limited edition Christmas range will offer five limited edition delicious sweet snacks: Iced Santa
