Euro Food Brands, the official refreshment sponsor of the IFE, launched two products at this year’s show: Barilla, a fine Italian pasta and sauce brand, and Lorina, an all-natural artisanal French soda dubbed the ‘champagne of sodas’
Barilla
Since 1877, four generations of the Barilla family have been making pasta in Parma, Italy, with carefully selected durum wheat, water and an unmatched passion for the fine art of eating well. Italians know the familiar Barilla blue box means high quality, great taste and perfectly al-dente pasta every time.
Today, the company, which is still owned by the Barilla family, is the world’s leading pasta producer, making around one million tonnes a year and exporting to over 100 countries.
Thanks to its long history, strong heritage and fidelity to the highest quality ingredients, its name is now synonymous with Italian gastronomic culture.
Barilla focuses strongly on pasta and pasta sauces, which are the result of the Barilla chefs’ skills and creativity in the kitchen, combining simple, natural ingredients to recreate the most famous and delicious Italian flavours.
Made from traditional recipes, they contain 100% Italian tomatoes and the freshest ingredients, with no preservatives added, to give every pasta meal the most natural and authentic Italian flavour.
In the UK, its distributor Euro Food Brands has just launched 24 lines in Tesco, including pasta sauces, tortellini and whole wheat pasta.
Unusually, in store, the brand is also ‘blocked’ on shelf to offer a complete meal solution, with pasta grouped together with pasta sauces.
Barilla also offers a huge range of pasta for the food service sector, with 5kg catering bags for the classic Barilla pasta, as well as 3kg and 1kg packs of the “Selezione Oro Chef” pasta, which is an even higher quality pasta, especially designed for restaurants to achieve high standard performances when double cooking.
The brand also offers a range of frozen pasta especially for food service, with catering size bags, mono-portions and sauces.
At the IFE, Barilla’s Executive Chef was on hand to demonstrate the Barilla range, which can be used on its own, as well as as the base for a recipe.
Visitors to the Euro Food Brands stand enjoyed:
• Penne Arrabbiata
• Fusilli with Tomato and Basil Sauce
• Tortiglioni with Olives Sauce
• Tortellini Grandi Ricotta & Spinach with Ricotta Sauce
With its low glycaemic index, moderate calorie index and reduced fat content, pasta is one of the basic foods of the Mediterranean diet.
In this dietary model, no food is barred, but giving priority to fruit, vegetables and cereal-based products is advised.
Research from the Barilla Centre for Food and Nutrition has shown that this model is not only good for people’s health, but that it also has a lower ecological footprint than diets rich in meat, cheese and desserts.
Lorina
Lorina is an all-natural, premium French soda that has been hand-crafted since 1895, using three generations of ‘savoir-faire’.
Dubbed the ‘champagne of sodas’, the drink uses pristine water and 100% non-refined beet sugar. It does not use high fructose corn syrup.
The number one lemonade brand in France, it offers a natural alternative to adult soft drinks.
It is available in large sharing bottles which feature its iconic swing top, or smaller bottles to be enjoyed ‘on the go’ (glass 330ml and PET 420ml).
Appealing to the soda’s core audience of adults seeking natural, healthy alternatives, Lorina has developed a ‘zero’ range, which is completely sugar free, instead using the sweetener Sucralose.
New for 2015
Responding to fact that one in five adults in the UK now does not drink alcohol, Lorina has also launched a ‘virgin cocktail’ range, new for 2015.
Virgin cocktails can be enjoyed straight out of the bottle, or used as a mixer for those who do drink alcohol.
illy
Euro Food Brands launched illycaffè, the premium Italian coffee roaster, in the UK over twenty years ago.
Over the decades, the sole distributor for the brand in the UK has nursed the Italian coffee company from fledgling challenger to one of the UK’s most well-known brands, recognisable by its distinctive red and white logo, designed by pop-artist James Rosenquist, its unique coffee cups and renowned 3kg food-service coffee tins.
Today, illy’s UK volumes grow at approximately 16% year-on-year, massively out-performing the rest of the coffee sector.
illy has witnessed growth in both the trade and consumer categories, with customers typically becoming lifelong loyal consumers both at home and on the HoReCa and retail side, buying into the brand, its quality and the lifestyle it symbolises.
Over 6 million cups of illy espresso coffee are enjoyed across the world every day, with illy being available in more than 7,000 of the best restaurants, hotels and cafés in the UK alone.
illy produces a unique blend of espresso coffee, which consists of no less than nine different 100% Arabica coffees, carefully combined to ensure a smooth and consistent coffee every time.
The brand is best known for its classic medium roast, which is available in the iconic silver and red tin.
Responding to increasingly sophisticated consumer demand, illy has also recently grown its range of espresso coffee with additional single origin blends.
Off the back of Monoarabica Guatemala, Ethiopia and Brazil, which launched in 2013, the brand has added Monoarabica India, Colombia, Costa Rica and Idillyum (a rare blend from volcanic soils in El Salvador) to its portfolio, allowing the consumer to single out and try just one of the nine 100% Arabica coffees found in the classic illy blend.
As the leading quality coffee brand, illy’s obsessive pursuit of perfection leads it to photograph each individual bean and subject it to over 120 different quality checks.
Through long-term partnerships, illy buys green coffee directly from the world’s best producers of the highest quality Arabica. All across Brazil, Central America, India and Africa the company provides growers with know-how and technology, and offers above-market prices.
It is for this reason that in 2011 illy became the world’s first company to earn the Responsible Supply Chain Process certification from DNV (Det Norske Veritias), one of the world’s foremost, independent industrial process arbiters. The certification attests to the sustainable practices of illy’s supply chain and, in particular, to the quality of illy’s relationships with its suppliers.
Similarly, for two consecutive years (2013 and 2014) it has been recognised by the Ethisphere Institute, an independent centre of research promoting best practices in corporate ethics and governance – as a ‘World’s Most Ethical Company’.
Over the years, illy has been responsible for a huge number of ground-breaking developments in the coffee market place.
Not least of all, its revolutionary method of preserving illy’s essential aromas and taste; its natural pressurisation technology, patented throughout the world and exclusive to illy results in a coffee that stays fresher longer than under any other packaging method.
“I believe the consumer is looking for more today than ever before and illy has these extra qualities, these USPs. It has a fantastic history, and is still owned by the same family today”, Stephen Barlow, Managing Director of Euro Food Brands, explains.
“But I believe the reason for illy’s success overall – in both the food service and retail categories – is that, at its core, its history is backed up with quality over and over again”, Barlow adds.
Jules Destrooper
In 1886, Belgian spice trader, Jules Destrooper, established the bakery that still bears his name today.
In developing his first sweet biscuit, the Almond Thin, Destrooper insisted on the very best ingredients, including cream-rich summer butter, soft sun-ripened almonds and a spice blend whose recipe remains a family secret.
Today, Jules’ great-grandson, Peter Destrooper, runs the business, which is still based in the tiny town of Lo in West Flanders.
The difference is that biscuiterie Jules Destrooper now bakes over 2,500,000 biscuits a day for delivery worldwide.
In the UK, the range is stocked across all major multiples and includes Butter Crisps, Almond Thins, Chocolate Crocante, Chocolate Delight, Chocolate Thins and Almond Florentines – available in 75g and 100g packs to meet a variety of consumption occasions.
Jules Destrooper biscuits pair perfectly with all manner of unexpected flavours. Try pairing a Jules Destrooper Butter Crisp with a variety of sweet or savoury toppings, from cream cheese and smoked salmon to mascarpone and summer berries to get started – or team one of its Almond Thins with Parma ham and mozzarella.
Hershey’s and Reese’s
Iconic American chocolate brands Reese’s and Hershey’s enjoyed significant distribution increases in the UK last year and, for the fourth year running, exceeded 40% growth across both value and volume, outperforming many of the established confectionery brands.
Reese’s diverse portfolio of products appeals to its loyal consumers and includes singles, multipacks, sharing, seasonal, baking, ice cream and, most recently, spreads.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups remain the most popular product for Euro Food Brands – the UK’s only official importer and distributor of Reese’s and Hershey’s, however, the biggest area of growth has been driven through Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis pouches and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups multipacks.
In addition to Reese’s – America’s bestselling chocolate – Euro Food Brands also imports and distributes four Europe-specific Hershey’s chocolate bars with Cookies ‘n’ Creme and Cookies ‘n’ Chocolate responsible for driving incremental sales.
Additionally, sales of Hershey’s have been bolstered by the introduction in 2014 of snack size ‘pillow’ bags, multipacks, drops and larger bars to compliment current consumer trends, as well as the UK’s current love affair with Americana.
Jack Link’s
Jack Link’s is the world’s best-selling, authentic American meat snack brand and, distributor Euro Food Brands has doubled its sales year-on-year.
Sales can be attributed to increased distribution, improving consumer education and a 2014 national sampling campaign reaching 100,000 people.
The snack will also be handed out to 40,000 Virgin Marathon runners this year, capturing the brand’s spirit of adventure.
Additionally, on-pack promotions and digital and social media campaigns will reinforce the brand’s position as a delicious high protein meat snack.
Meat snacking is continuing to grow in popularity in the UK as consumers are looking for healthier snack alternatives. As a convenient and easy to eat bar that’s naturally high in protein and low in fat (Jerky: max. 5% / Snack Bars: max. 13%), Jack Link’s provides a solution.
All this combined means that frequency of purchase for Jack Link’s is higher than ever, and it represents a wise choice for retailers, with high unit sales values and high cash margins while taking up a relatively small amount of space.
Moreover, research shows that once consumers try Jack Link’s they are converted into brand advocates and continue to buy into the brand.
Jack Link’s’ Beef Jerky is made using solid cuts of the best-quality 100% rump beef making the products stand-out from the competitive set. The meat is sliced thinly and seasoned with a unique blend of spices and then cooked and dried slowly to deliver a consistently great taste.
The range comprises of Beef Jerky in 25g & resealable 75g bags and Beef Snack in 25g bars.
Flavours for the Beef Jerky include Original, Sweet & Hot, Peppered and Teriyaki and flavours for the Beef Snack include Original and Peppered.
Tel: 01604 821200
Email: sales@eurofoodbrands.co.uk
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