RPC Bites #17

Welcome to RPC Bites. Our aim in the next 2 minutes is to provide you with a flavour of some key legal, regulatory and commercial developments in the Food & Drink sector over the last fortnight… with the occasional bit of industry gossip thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!

Access the full edition of RPC Bites here

Government announces further restrictions on restaurants and bars

On 22 September 2020 Boris Johnson addressed the House of Commons, announcing the latest measures that the UK Government is taking in an effort to slow the UK's second wave of COVID-19. The Prime Minister suggested that the latest restrictions could remain in place for 6 months. Read more

UK signs free trade agreement with Japan

As reported in Edition 15 of RPC Bites, negotiations between Japan and the UK stalled in August when UK negotiators requested greater tariff-free access for British cheeses. However, negotiations were able to move past this topic and, on 11 September, Trade Secretary Liz Truss agreed a deal 'in principle'. Read more

ASA rules against Beer52 on misleading claims

On 16 September 2020 the ASA upheld a complaint against Beer 52, finding than an offer on its website had breached the CAP Code, as it was considered to be a misleading claim. Beer52 is a monthly subscription service which also sells individual beers and multipacks of beers on a non-subscription basis. Read more

Waitrose weighs up opportunity presented by recipe boxes

In Issue 16 of RPC Bites we considered the fact that Waitrose and Ocado's partnership had come to an end. Industry sources have since reported that Waitrose is in discussions to acquire Mindful Chef, a business which delivers nutritionist-approved recipes, with dairy and gluten-free ingredients. Read more

Tesco brings in the drones

Tesco has announced that it will begin a drone delivery trial in Ireland, through a partnership with Manna - a licensed drone operator. Initially the trial will focus on delivering one or two ingredients per customer and will aim to deliver within 30 minutes of an order. Read more

CCCS Concludes Investigation Into Online Food Delivery And Virtual Kitchen Sectors in Singapore

Singapore's competition regulator, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), has concluded its investigation into the online food delivery and virtual kitchen sectors in Singapore. The CCCS was looking at refusal by three of the main online food delivery providers in Singapore (Deliveroo, Foodpanda and GrabFood) to supply online food delivery services to F&B operators using Smart City Kitchens' virtual kitchens. Read more