Star performers: “Our food-to-go is really big now. Just in the last 12 months, it has grown massively and we do a lot more hot food, like pasties, that people can grab and go. The ready-to-eat category is becoming a lot bigger for our sector.” The new range is aimed at the sharing market, an area that McCoy’s hasn’t previously focused on, but Riddle insists the move has been closely thought out in line with changing trends. The crisps giant confirmed the activity was linked to an upcoming launch, but declined to comment further. I've been told by Cinabar that this month is "Dry January" for some. Don't worry, you may have noticed this hasn't affected my usual boozy Saturday blogs, but I thought I'd write about this non-alcoholic sparkling wine called 'The Bees Knees' to help those that are looking for the taste of wine, but without the dizziness that can come with it. I'm not much of a white wine drinker per se, but I have the odd glass with a white meat roast now and then. She says: “The sun is shining and everything is going really well in the store. At this time of year we bring lots of new products into the store for the spring and summer season

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) After sponsoring Premier League Darts and advertising the brand as ‘Man Crisps’, it was apparent that McCoy’s had begun to alienate a fair share of the consumer market.It appeals to a whole new audience and sends out a very different signal on brand position,” said Riddle. Cadbury Darkmilk chocolate has been out for a few weeks but seems to have alluded me, and I have tried many shops looking for it in the West Midlands. Please note although similar in name to Dairly Milk, Darkmilk is a whole new product. I was popping into WH Smiths after a lovely day off work and a shopping trip to have a final browse at books when I spotted this new bar, Cadbury Darkmilk - Roasted Almond, on the counter. Obviously Darkmilk is doing well if they have already released a new flavour variant in the range. Well it is January, it is Blue Monday, but it is also my birthday. I am having a treat then and having a few luxuries today. One of the things I’m enjoying is this new Whittard Limited Edition Blueberry Cheesecake Hot Chocolate, this is the other new flavour from Whittard and NLi10 wrote about the Raspberry Ripple yesterday. The front of the tub on this one states as blue as a berry, so I was expecting something quite fun in colour!

But what of the c-store retailers who might be nervous about dedicating valuable shelf space to a new product like Muchos?But McCoy’s widened ambition hasn’t stopped there, and the firm has just announced its ‘biggest-ever’ NPD in the shape of Mexican-themed Muchos crisps. Just like our bewildering Brexit, it's been purposefully difficult to understand, pitching almost exactly two halves of the country against each other with no clear end of what will happen if we leave or if we don't, why we should leave and why we shouldn't. It does make me wonder if all of the Government drank far two much of this beer at a party sometime ago and started to see pink elephants flying around their heads, whilst the Fantasia them tune was pumped into their ears… and they never stopped seeing them after that or hearing the music, because they simply haven't a clue what's going on either! Muchos disappeared from supermarkets last month, having been touted as the “biggest-ever” launch from McCoy’s in 2019.

The brand said the launch taps into the growing popularity of Mexican food, with Mexican being the fourth largest takeaway cuisine in the UK and a 71% growth in Mexican restaurants in 2017. McCoy’s machinery spend involved bringing in patented technology, never seen before in Europe, that binds two separate crisp halves together to create an extra crunchy product. The Bees Knees is produced by North South Wines and bottled in Germany, using non-alcoholic fermented grape juice and infused with green tea. It's marketed with floral aromas and a refreshing acidity. It is lower in sugar at about half the calories of a regular bubbly white wine. It is gluten free and vegan friendly. It sounds a bit too good to be true if you like your white wine sparkling. The trouble is, I don't… However, I'm always willing to try something different in some strange hope that the alcohol in sparkling white wine ruins the taste for me somehow and not the fizz itself! When we do something like this, it has to be behind a trend that is popular, but one that we think will sustain and endure,” he said. Claire Cooper, marketing manager at McCoy’s comments; “McCoy’s Muchos has already seen phenomenal growth and we’re confident this new investment will drive further appetite for this fantastic product. The creative features the iconic ‘When Flavour Calls’ strapline which has become synonymous with full-on flavour. We’re excited to promote bold flavours and continue to drive sales of McCoy’s Muchos in 2020.”Through our supplier United Wholesale, we can also get some of the Co-op own-label products into the store so that is another extra area for us to look at and something that makes us stand out from the competition. We want to make the most of the Easter holidays this month, especially as it falls so late in the season. You have to try and get all the seasonal products and new lines into the store first becausethat gets customers excited about your offering. This Hopped Cider rings a bell. I thought I'd written about this cider before. Cinabar informed me that was a different hopped cider. I know I write a lot of beer blogs, and a few cider blogs, but hopped cider seems quite rare to me. Hops added to cider is more of a taste thing, perhaps, rather than a necessary preservative. However, saying that if hops were just a preservative for beer and not a taste thing, I guess there would only be one type of hops used in beer… Anyway, cider lasts quite a long time without hops, so I guess it's a taste thing here. So the idea of Darkmilk is a new chocolate from Cadbury that is a half way into being a dark chocolate (like Bournville) and half way to being a milk chocolate (like Dairy Milk). As a big fan of nuts and chocolate I felt this bar of Cadbury Darkmilk Roasted Almond was an ideal place to try out this new bar chocolate.

We always strive to be a good community store and we are fortunate to have the support of local people. Together as a team, we have built the store’s sales up over the last year and it has really paid off for us.”

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