June products and suppliers update: Business moves for Nestlé Professional, Focus Group and Bidfood

Savvy Collective backs alcohol-free cider brand

 

Alcohol-free apple cider brand Chance Clean Cider has secured investment from hospitality and events group Savvy Collective to support its expansion across the UK hospitality and live events sectors. The investment follows a growing relationship between Chance founder John Logue and Savvy Collective founder Steven Hesketh, who owns the Chester Townhouse, Hotel Wrexham and business hub Queen’s Square Social in Wrexham.

 

Bidfood’s Caterers Campus reaches user milestone

 

Bidfood’s free e-learning and development platform, Caterers Campus, has surpassed 10,000 users. Caterers Campus launched in 2020 for the care sector during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure learning could continue when face-to-face training was no longer possible. The platform has since expanded across 12 sectors and now features 35 specialist modules covering food safety, cost control, sustainability, leadership and mental wellbeing.

 

Wildfarmed partners with Pure

 

Takeaway restaurant brand Pure has launched a new wrap in partnership with regenerative farming business Wildfarmed. The wrap is made with regenerative wholemeal flour and is a first in the UK market. It will be used in Pure recipes served to its retail, catering and wholesale customers. The launch forms part of a wider partnership between Pure and Wildfarmed, which already supplies the flour used in Pure’s thick-cut multigrain sandwich bread and the regenerative oats used in its overnight oat pots.

 

Unox hosts first Chef’s Table event

 

On 1 June, equipment manufacturer Unox staged its first Chef’s Table event at the Michelin-starred Grace & Savour restaurant in Solihull, which is led by husband-and-wife team David and Anette Taylor. The event saw chefs, operators, dealers and distributors gather to network in the first of what is planned to be a series of Chef’s Tables.

 

Blink supported by Danny Meyer as it partners with Shake Shack

 

Blink, an employee experience platform for frontline workforces, has raised $17m (£12.5m) in funding from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), the growth equity fund affiliated with restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Blink also announced a new global partnership with Shake Shack following a successful integration of its workforce management solutions.

 

Mangrove Global adds Botivo to its UK portfolio

 

Non-alcoholic botanical aperitivo Botivo has joined the Mangrove Global portfolio. Botivo has a bittersweet taste and is handmade at Lannock Farm in Hertfordshire, where each batch takes more than a year to ferment. Botivo is served in 40 Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as being the best-selling non-alcoholic drink in groups such as Bill’s restaurants.

Hobart Service launches online service contract tool

 

Hobart Service has introduced an online service contract purchasing tool to make it easier for smaller chains, pubs and cafés to manage equipment servicing. Customers can purchase Plus and Extra service contracts through the Hobart Service website. The tool is also available to customers with Ecomax by Hobart equipment.

 

Eviivo links up with Mr & Mrs Smith

 

Property management system eviivo has added a channel integration with hotel booking website Mr & Mrs Smith. The integration allows eligible Mr & Mrs Smith properties using eviivo’s Channel Manager and property management platform to synchronise rates and availability in real time, with bookings automatically imported into eviivo. 

 

Fit Cat lager joins Enotria line-up

 

Low-calorie lager brand Fit Cat has signed an exclusive distribution partnership with Enotria, establishing its first national route-to-market agreement in the UK. The partnership will focus on pairing Fit Cat’s branding around health with premium hospitality venues.

 

New British chefwear brand launches

 

Farmer & Cook, founded in mid-Wales, is a new British-made workwear brand for people in farming and hospitality. The brand’s initial collection will focus on premium workwear inspired by traditional British utility garments, and include chef jackets, field jackets and workshop essentials. Farmer & Cook has committed to reinvesting a proportion of future profits into initiatives that support farmers, cooks and British makers.

 

Radisson uses Yipy to modernise brand standards

 

Radisson Hotel Group is deploying Yipy’s Hospitality Standards Management System to modernise how its brand standards are managed, monitored and executed across its global portfolio. Radisson Hotel Group will use Yipy to centralise and streamline brand standards management across its 10 hotel brands, enabling hotels, departments and teams to access the standards relevant to their role, region, property type and operational requirements.

 

Radnor Hills enters the snacking sector

Tom Carne of Canny Snacks (left) and William Watkins of Radnor Hills

 

Soft drinks manufacturer Radnor Hills has taken a step into the snacking sector by backing a new company called Canny Snacks. Through a joint venture between Radnor and Canny Snacks director Tom Carne, the new business has secured the sales, marketing and distribution rights for Burts Snacks. Burts Snacks will remain owned by Europe Snacks, which acquired the brand and its Plymouth production facility in 2023. Canny Snacks will operate as a standalone business and be supported by Radnor’s commercial and operational teams.

 

FEA achieves 10% growth in membership

 

The Foodservice Equipment Association’s (FEA) membership has grown by around 10% over the last year. During the period, the organisation launched initiatives such as the NextGen project, which is designed to encourage young people into the industry; the FEA members’ spotlight zone at HRC, which provided a cost-effective way for companies to exhibit at the UK trade show; and Tabletop Trends Live, a new event for the light equipment and tableware sector. 

 

Champagne Deutz switches UK distributors

 

Maisons Marques et Domaines (MMD UK) will assume UK distribution for Champagne Deutz from 1 July 2026. MMD takes over from Gonzalez Byass UK, which had been importing Champagne Deutz since 2013.

 

Hubbard Systems rolls out free smart refrigeration control

 

Hubbard Systems has introduced Skope-connect smart refrigeration control as standard across Skope Refrigeration products. Skope-connect allows users to monitor and manage functions directly from a smartphone, such as viewing temperature performance, controlling lighting, monitoring door openings, tracking energy consumption and accessing usage data. Skope-connect is available to download for free from app stores.