December 2004
The Very Best in the North West
As part of our drive to spread the word about the fantastic products that are produced within our businesses, we entered the North West Fine Foods Producer of the Year competition. The competition is open to food producers of all sizes throughout the north west region.
This was our first entry in the competition and you could say we did rather well! In fact, the smoked mackerel from Cumberland Cold Storage was not only voted the best smoked fish in the competition, but the best fish product overall!
Chairing the taste panel, which comprised food writers, chefs and buyers from throughout the country, Edwin Booth, chairman of Booths supermarkets declared the product “exceptionally fine quality fish - very plumptious!
The accolade is not only testament to the hard work of our colleagues at Whitehaven, but also Morrisons with whom the range was developed. Well done to the team!
Production Update
Since our last issue, there have been some significant changes within the facility to keep Cumbrian Seafoods at the leading edge of the industry.
Tesco Initiatives
This period, we have seen the installation of new Skanem labelling machines (see below) and the new Shelf ready packaging for Tesco, along with the second Fuji Flow wrapping machine.
A new racking system has been installed in the warehouse which provides a 500 pallet storage capacity. This is for the introduction of green crates (see Issue 4).
Morrisons/Safeway Initiatives
Following the Safeway roll out, we have already integrated one new depot - Swan Valley. Next month will see the introduction of Stockton depot.
Morrisons Continue at Manic Pace
Store Conversion
The roll-out of the Morrisons stores continues at a phenomenal rate. By the end of 2004, 56 Safeway stores will have been converted into Morrisons stores, and 4 stores a week are being converted going forward into next year. To support the roll-out, 2 new depots - Swan Valley and Stockton - have been opened.
Product Launches
The beginning of last month saw two new shellfish products launched into Morrisons.
King Prawns & Chilli Dip (left) and King Prawns in a Chilli & Coriander Marinade (right) have been successfully received both in-store and at board level.
