Pasty Tax - The Crust of the Matter

You will have been unable to avoid the recent furore over the humble pasty. No-one could have predicted that a disagreement over tax on the favourite Cornish bake would grace the front of every national newspaper and trend, inevitably, on Twitter as #pastytax.

What's in The Patent Box?

Good news for businesses involved in the development, manufacture and exploitation of patents announced in the UK budget 2012, but what actually is the "Patent Box"?

The Olympic Opportunity

It was announced this week that Cornish company Deli Farm Charcuterie has secured two Olympic Games contracts to supply its air dried charcuterie to athletes and visitors. This clearly demonstrates the continuing scope for regional businesses to benefit from supply opportunities offered by the games.

The Secret Ingredient

The "Lea and Perrins" recipe has been kept secret for over 160 years. Originally developed by chemists Mr Lea and Mr Perrins, they passed the knowledge onto their sons who in turn passed the recipe on to a select few. David Thompson at Michelmores looks at the advantages of keeping commercially sensitive information, including recipes and product specifications, secret.

How to assess the risk of supplier failure and what to do if it happens

Exeter based food importer and distributor Avilton Foods has been in the press recently after entering administration in September. It is reported that the business owes more than £200,000 to Fresh Retail Ventures, which is part of the Jamie Oliver group. As an unsecured creditor, it is unlikely that Fresh Retail Ventures will recover these monies from Avilton. This case highlights the importance of protecting your business against creditors or suppliers in financial difficulty.

Alternative Routes to Market

In our last article Moving into the International Market, David Thompson looked at reaching new markets through agency or distributorship arrangements. We now consider some alternative routes to the international market.

Moving into the International Market

Snack manufacturers Burts Chips and Tyrrells are seemingly both having great success selling their products in the international market and are continuing to expand overseas. David Thompson looks at how other companies can address the niceties of making a leap into the international market.

New Food Labelling Regulations

The European Parliament has reached a final agreement to introduce new food labelling regulations (FLR) to consolidate and extend existing EU laws on food and nutrition labelling. Once implemented, the FLR will have direct effect in the UK.