March products and suppliers update: Business moves for Callebaut, Stampede and Lockhart

Callebaut introduces online chocolate skills training

 

Chocolate brand Callebaut has launched an online training platform for chefs. The Callebaut Chocolate Academy gives chefs the flexibility to learn chocolate skills at their own pace, with up to four hours of on-demand video tutorials, led by chefs Ramon Morató and Romain Dufour, on techniques, theory and recipes. Courses include Chocolate Basics, Bonbon Masterclass, the Architecture of Entremets the Art of Viennoiserie, and Biscuits Unlocked.

 

Simply Lunch partners with Flawsome! Drinks

 

Sandwich supplier Simply Lunch is bringing several of Flawsome! Drinks’ ‘wonky’ fruit juices into its range for food-to-go operators. The drinks brand, which uses surplus fruit to create cold-pressed juice drinks, will be launching three Wonky Fruit Water Cartons (apple and blackcurrant; sweet and sour apple; and mango, apple and orange) and three Lightly Sparkling Juice Cans (apple and sour cherry; apple and strawberry; and sweet and sour apple) into Simply Lunch’s offerings.

 

Stampede boosts customer retention

 

Guest engagement technology provider Stampede has worked with Starfish Loves Coffee to increase bookings and enhance its marketing and customer engagement. The London brunch venue wanted to develop an outreach campaign with a time-sensitive, 50%-off promotion for guests who booked within a four-hour window of receiving the marketing campaign. Stampede’s Marketing Workflows module automated the mailout, sent qualifying guests their 50%-off voucher and tagged those guests into a new segment for future targeted campaigns, raising customer retention to 90%. 

 

Fells bolsters Italian wine portfolio

 

South Tyrol-based Tenuta Pfitscher has joined Fells’ growing Italian portfolio. Tenuta Pfitscher is a family-run Alpine winery that was created in 1861. Fells will be responsible for exclusive distribution of Tenuta Pfitscher wines in the UK, excluding Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands.

 

ESS Defence replaces beef with Lean & Wild venison

 

Venison supplier Lean & Wild has partnered with foodservice provider ESS Defence to introduce venison sourced from the MOD estate into its menus. New dishes include a venison double smash burger (with 59% lower emissions than the beef equivalent), venison burrito (a 54% emissions reduction) and venison sausage Lyonnaise (a 36% reduction), as well as venison-based versions of classics including lasagne, chilli con carne, madras and cottage pie. Following customer and client tasting sessions across its estate, venison will now replace all beef on ESS’s menus.

 

CleanCo drives further into on-trade

 

Alcohol-free spirits brand CleanCo has appointed Cask Liquid Marketing as its UK on-trade partner. The partnership will prioritise cocktail menu placements, bartender engagement and stronger back-bar visibility as demand for alcohol-free cocktails continues to grow. CleanCo is listed in more than 1,200 UK venues, with groups including Buzzworks and the Evolv Collection, and has tripled its on-trade footprint since 2024.

 

Damm becomes Portman Group member

 

Damm UK has joined alcohol industry self-regulator the Portman Group, bringing the social responsibility body’s membership to 22 companies. Damm is best known for its Estrella Damm lager, which it has been brewing since 1876. Some of its beers and lagers will now be brewed in Bedford at the recently launched Damm Eagle Brewery.

 

Lockhart kicks off innovation event series

 

Lockhart Catering Equipment welcomed 35 attendees to its London Innovation Centre for the first in a series of events to showcase the latest in kitchen functionality, tabletop innovation and progressive culinary techniques. Guests were given a tour of the showroom with insights into industry trends driving Lockhart’s latest product developments, followed by a cooking demo courtesy of Rational. Mixologist Kat McQueen demonstrated the new Ariane porcelain barware collection, which she helped to create, then attendees also sat down to a three-course meal at 74 Charlotte Street by chef Ben Murphy.

 

Pip Organic becomes a B Corp

 

Kids’ fruit drinks and snacking brand Pip Organic has become a Certified B Corporation (B Corp). The brand, co-founded by husband-and-wife duo Patrick and Karen O’Flaherty, joins more than 2,500 businesses who have achieved B Corp status across the UK. Companies verified by B Lab must meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability, scoring at least 80 points or higher against these criteria as part of the B Impact Assessment.

 

Hotel suite guest experience consultancy launched

 

Suzie Sturge has established Mirror & Grace, a hotel suite guest experience consultancy, after repeatedly experiencing hotel rooms where the mirrors and lighting made it difficult to apply make-up. Mirror & Grace reviews a selection of a hotel’s key suites and luxury rooms to assess how mirrors, lighting and dressing spaces are arranged. Hotels that meet the criteria may display the Mirror & Grace Seal, which can be shown on hotel websites, booking platforms and within suites.

 

Sunrise Beverages invests in the ICA

 

Sunrise Beverages, which owns a portfolio of independent beer brands, has invested £25,000 to refurbish a bar area in the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), over a two-year partnership. The bar at the arts institute will be managed in partnership with Bistroteque and stock two Sunrise brands on draft, EFES and Hepcat draft, as well as packaged beers from the wider portfolio.

 

Pilot Beer teams up with Scoop Restaurant Group for pale ale

 

Michelin Guide-listed Glasgow restaurant Sebb’s has collaborated with Leith brewer Pilot Beer to create Sebb’s Pale Ale, a hazy, hop-forward pale ale launching across Scoop Restaurant Group venues including Sebb’s, Ka Pao, Margo and Ox and Finch. The new house beer has been developed through joint tastings by Pilot Beer and Sebb’s and is designed to pair with bold, spice-led dishes and smoky grilled food.