29 May 2025 • The Takeaway

The Takeaway - May 2025

Welcome to the May edition of The Takeaway! With the late May Bank Holiday now in the rear-view mirror we’re headed straight for Summer. But though that means a change in dining habits and hospitality trends, we’re still some weeks away from those long hot days. Let’s distract ourselves will the month’s biggest food industry stories whilst we wait…

Pub chain fined following 9-year old’s severe allergic reaction

After an investigation by Hertfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team, a nationwide chain of pubs were ordered to pay over £25,000 after serving sausages containing wheat to a child with a known Cereals containing Gluten allergy - a food safety offence. And we thought it timely to share what Caterers should know about this common allergen...

Read the whole story here.

Wholesale carries highest debt burden of any UK industry, findings show

Better Wholesaling reports that the retail and wholesale industry carries the highest debt burden of any sector at £2.7bn. This comes from a Swoop Funding report, based on data from over 50,000 UK businesses, with debt broken down by region, sector, business age, and gender.

Read the whole story here.

French fast food joint with ‘best’ burgers in Paris is coming to UK

Usually it’s the American burger chains dominating the headlines and the market, but the latest addition to the UK’s culinary landscape comes from the home of fine dining just across the channel - France. According to Metro, Dumbo, a smash burger joint with 4 locations in Paris is now headed to Shoreditch…

Read the whole story here.

The new UK-EU trade deal: Reasons for optimism in the F&B sector

Alex Forwood, partner in the corporate team and member of Birketts’ Food and Beverages Sector Group at Birketts LLP explains why the food and beverage sector may begin to feel the pressure ease following the UK-EU trade deal in Food Manufacture magazine...

Read the whole story here.

Retail sales jump in April as sunny weather boosts food shopping

And finally, some good news - as per The Independent, the Office for National Statistics have said overall retail sales volumes rose by 1.2% in April. By comparison, there was only a 0.1% rise in March, which was revised down from a previous estimate of 0.4% for the month.

Read the whole story here.

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