Weekly Digest #3

18.08.2025

👋 Welcome to the Forks & Founders Weekly Bite-Sized Digest a.k.a The Fork’s Lens

Every week, we’re serving up a 2-minute read for F&B enthusiasts building at the intersection of food, drink & hustle.

Expect:
🍴 Sharp insights from startup operators & food makers
📊 Bite-sized industry trends
🛠️ Tools & tips to grow smarter
🔥 Events & tastings worth showing up for

This is for you if you're building a food brand, launching a product, or just hungry for what’s next!

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Let’s build bold things. Now, let’s dig in. 🍽️

📨 The Forks Lens: Weekly #03

Plates, Pop-ups, Prebiotics 🍽️

🍴 What’s Up?

This week, the UK food scene is buzzing with innovation, health-focused shifts, and quirky trends. From M&S overtaking Co-op to Wingstop expanding, and even the influence of weight-loss medications on our eating habits, here’s your bite-sized guide to the latest in food.

📰 UK Spotlight

• M&S overtakes Co-op in food and drink sales
  Marks & Spencer has surpassed Co-op to become the UK’s seventh-largest grocer in food and drink sales. M&S achieved a 5.1% market share, compared to Co-op’s 4.7%, marking a significant shift. Sales at M&S grew by 11.5%, while Co-op remained flat.

• Hunter & Gather secures £1 million to fuel growth
  UK health-food brand Hunter & Gather has raised £1 million from existing shareholders and angel investors. The funding will support new product launches, strengthen retail presence, and expand distribution with Tesco and Ocado.

• Walkers reduces salt, making its crisps non-HFSS
  Walkers has cut salt levels by around 47% across popular flavours such as Salt & Vinegar and Prawn Cocktail, bringing them under the non-HFSS category. The company maintains that taste remains classic while meeting UK health guidelines.

• Wingstop opens fifth UK location in Leeds
  The US chicken chain Wingstop has opened its fifth UK location in Leeds at The Springs retail park, seating 77 diners and creating around 50 jobs. A limited-edition Mango Habanero milkshake accompanies this expansion.
  

• UK dairy farms warn of labour crisis
  A survey shows 84% of UK dairy farms struggle to recruit staff, threatening milk production and farm sustainability. Some farms are reducing herd sizes or relying on temporary workers.
  

• Iceland expands Amazon Grocery partnership
  Iceland is widening its partnership with Amazon Grocery, offering more frozen and chilled products online to capture convenience-driven consumers and boost incremental sales.

• Pop-up Kitchens on Lime Bikes
  Larder is turning heads in East London, a fold out kitchen strapped to a Lime e bike, built for spontaneous communal cooking events. Part pop up stage, part social project, it is supported by food brands like Bold Bean Co and designed to transform ordinary streets into shared dining rooms. It is a fresh reminder that food entrepreneurship is not always about new products, it is about reimagining where and how we gather to eat.

• Blueberries: From Niche to National Staple
  Once niche, blueberries are now in over half of UK fridges. Annual consumption has jumped to 53,000 tonnes, with British farms like Hall Hunter supplying 43% of the demand. A clear sign that local, health-conscious choices are here to stay.
  

• Lidl reclaims title as UK’s cheapest supermarket
  In July’s price comparison by Which?, Lidl overtook Aldi to become the UK’s cheapest supermarket, ending Aldi’s nearly two-year reign. The findings were based on a basket of 67 items, showing Lidl offered the lowest overall price.
  

• Kerb invests in street food growth
  Street food operator Kerb is defying the economic downturn with a £2.5 million investment in a new sports-bar and events venue at Spitalfields Market in London. This follows its £8 million Berlin venture and continues its mission to support small food entrepreneurs with profitable, scalable platforms.

• BrewDog Cuts Back
  Nearly 2,000 UK pubs have dropped BrewDog beers as the company closes 10 bars. After a £59 million loss in 2023, BrewDog is consolidating to focus on sustainability.

🆕 Product Launches

• Pepsi launches Prebiotic Cola following Poppi acquisition
  PepsiCo is introducing a prebiotic cola in the US, building on its recent acquisition of the functional beverage brand Poppi. The drink combines the classic taste of cola with prebiotic fibre, aimed at supporting digestive health and gut wellness. PepsiCo is positioning this launch to appeal to health-conscious millennials and Gen Z consumers, capitalising on the growing trend of beverages that provide both flavour and functional benefits. The new cola will initially roll out in select US markets with plans to expand nationwide later this year.
  

• Meat is back at Eleven Madison Park
  New York’s Eleven Madison Park, which famously switched to an entirely plant-based menu in 2021, is now reintroducing meat. This move is symbolic because it reflects a reconciliation between fine-dining innovation and customer expectations—showing that even high-concept, sustainability-driven restaurants recognise the enduring demand for classic dishes while still maintaining creativity in presentation and sourcing.

💡 Weekly Spotlight

• Appetite Disruption: The GLP-1 Effect on What We Eat
  Blockbuster weight-loss medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy are not just trimming waistlines—they are quietly rewriting what people buy and eat. A Cornell–Numerator study shows that US households with a GLP-1 user spend up to 8.6% less on food, often skipping snacks, alcohol, and comfort foods in favour of lighter, nutrient-dense choices. These medications curb appetite by slowing digestion and changing taste preferences, resulting in roughly 25% fewer daily calories. The effect is shrinking sales of ultra-processed, high-calorie foods while leaving produce, yoghurt, and protein bars relatively untouched. For the food industry, this trend is more than a passing fad: companies that pivot quickly to smaller-portion, whole-food, high-protein products could thrive, while those that ignore it risk being left behind.

📰 Did You Hear?

• Tesco AI sandwich prank
  A photo of a “Tesco Finest Dubai Chocolate Labubu Angel Hair Sandwich” went viral online. Featuring green-and-pink filling and toy Labubu figures, Tesco confirmed it was fictional. The creator admitted it was an AI-generated prank, highlighting how fake product images are increasingly realistic.
  
  Moral of the story: If your sandwich is staring back at you, it’s probably not lunch.

💭 The Fork & The Flame

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf

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About Forks & Founders
We believe bold food brands deserve bold support. That’s why we’ve built a collective of seasoned foodies, retail rebels, creative storytellers, and numbers nerds—people who’ve been in the kitchen, the boardroom, and the shop floor. We jump in where you need us most, helping you turn big ideas into bites people can’t stop talking about. Because building a food brand isn’t just business—it’s passion, flavour, and a little bit of chaos. We’re here to make sure it’s the good kind.