Much-loved Newbury Lane postmaster, Kewal Singh, is retiring after being at the heart of his Oldbury community for 44 years.
The popular postmaster is known to have gone above and beyond for the people of Oldbury as he really cares about the community that he serves, and he is very kind-hearted. Whenever his family has a birthday or there is a special occasion, he treats his customers to samosas or fruit.
Postmaster, Kewal Singh, said, “Sometimes when a small child came into the shop with an adult, I would give them a would give them a free lollipop. It was a small gesture, but the big smile from the child, would make me so happy. There is a little lad who every time he comes in, he stands in the doorway and he salutes me, which makes me smile. My customers remember the celebrations that we have had over the years. It’s good to give back to the community.”
Times have greatly changed since Kewal, who was born in India, decided to move to the UK in 1967. Despite being very well educated, and having been a teacher in India, he struggled to find work. The devout Sikh decided to remove his turban and cut his hair to increase his job prospects. Kewal who is a trustee of the Sikh temple, decided four years ago that it was time to wear a turban again and to grow a beard. He joked with customers that his wife would no longer buy him shaving gear.
When Kewal first work in the UK, it was low paid and others were given promotion opportunities above him. So Kewal decided to take on his own business. In 1980 he became Postmaster for Newbury Lane. People who already worked at the branch, who handed in their notices as they did not want to work for an Indian person. Customers were reticent too, but he asked customers to give him six months to prove themselves.
Kewal said, “It was tricky at the start, but we won people over with our hard work, the service that we provided and we gained their trust. We like to help people. We have always gone above and beyond for our community. I’m going to carry on working on an ad hoc basis in the Post Office and shop, so that I have more time to relax, but I will miss my customers otherwise. I’m not one for sitting around. I have a philosophy that every moment of your breath should be used wisely.
“I came to the UK with £2.50 in my pocket and I set myself a goal of being able to find myself a home and to be able to work to provide for my family in the UK and family back in India. It was a real struggle at first, but then it all started to go right when I bought the Post Office and we made a real success of it, doubling the size of the premises, by taking on the empty shop next door for a convenience store.
“We went from being leaseholders to freeholders, and until recently we also had a business in Birmingham city centre. It shows what can be achieve when you are hard-working, determined and make sacrifices – we had to go without holidays as we had businesses to run and family to support. Manjeet and I will now have time to enjoy holidays.
“We are delighted that my Grandson, who was born in the flat above the shop, is now taking over the business.”
Post Office Area Manager, Nik Priestley, said, “Kewal is a first class postmaster and he and Manjeet are very popular with their customers. I want to sincerely thank them for their long and loyal and committed service to this community for 44 years. I hope that I still get to enjoy chats with them when I come into see their Grandson in his new role as postmaster – he has been trained well.”
Müller Yogurt & Desserts said it is converting its iconic Corner yogurt pots from white to clear plastic, as the business works to halve the environmental impact of its packaging by 2030.
The majority of Müller Corner and Müller Bliss Corner yogurt pots have already converted, with the remaining volume taking place by the end of 2024.
The introduction of fully recyclable clear pots facilitates the retention of the material for reuse again within the food sector.
As the business targets a ‘closed loop system’, by converting almost 50 per cent of Müller’s branded yogurts to clear PET, the move could boost the availability of rPET in the UK by over 3,000 tonnes per annum, further reducing industry requirements for ‘virgin’ plastic.
“The foods we eat can have a major impact on our planet and the people in it. As one of the most chosen FMCG brands in Great Britain, we have the scale to deliver meaningful change towards a circular economy,” Richard Williams, chief executive at Müller Yogurt & Desserts, said.
“By making this change, the industry could benefit from increased availability of rPET, while reducing the demand for additional virgin plastic.”
Müller UK & Ireland targets on average 30 per cent recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2025, and the business has also confirmed that it is aiming to add recycled content into its clear corner yogurt pots by the end of 2025.
With Müller Corner seeing 11 per cent value growth year on year, and 78 per cent of shoppers preferring a clear Müller Corner pot to a white pot, the move is expected to drive further category growth.
The move follows the launch of Müller’s redesigned branded yogurt and desserts packaging, created to make it more distinctive, cohesive and easy to find and buy.
Müller has also recently completed a project to switch all of its coloured milk bottle caps to clear, increasing the availability of rHDPE (Recycled High Density Polyethylene) on the market by 1560 tonnes.
Molson Coors Beverage Company on Thursday announced that it is taking a majority ownership stake in Zoa, the better-for-you energy brand co-founded by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Dany Garcia, Dave Rienzi and John Shulman.
Molson Coors said taking a majority stake will allow it to lead the entirety of Zoa’s marketing, retail and direct-to-consumer sales and development. The deal represents one piece of Molson Coors’ strategic ambition to expand its total beverage portfolio.
Molson Coors and Zoa first struck a partnership when the brand launched in 2021, and Molson Coors increased its stake in Zoa last September while also assuming a presence on Zoa’s board of directors.
“We’re building a winning portfolio that offers consumers choices across a wide range of occasions, and non-alc is a key part of that strategy,” said Molson Coors chief commercial officer Michelle St. Jacques.
“Zoa opens the door for us to participate in more parts of the day and incremental opportunities beyond our core business. We’ve built a strong foundation with Zoa over the past three years and we see a ton of opportunity for this brand to achieve its next stage of growth and scale.”
Zoa boasts a repeat purchase rate of 50 per cent and attracts new consumers to the energy category, with 30 per cent of Zoa buyers new to this space. The brand’s direct-to-consumer business is also a significant driver of sales and consumer visibility, including the brand’s position as a top 10 energy drink brand on Amazon.
As Zoa enters its next phase, Johnson will remain a visible face of the brand through the ‘Big Dwayne Energy’ campaign, social media amplification and more.
“Since day one, Molson Coors has shared our passion for Zoa Energy, and as a partner, they’ve been pivotal to bringing new consumers into the energy space with Zoa and keeping them coming back,” said Johnson.
“Zoa is all about crafting drinks that help our loyal and growing consumers show up as their best selves every day, and Molson Coors’ commitment to the brand will give it an enormous amount of firepower in the next phase of growth.”
Londoners are expected to spend an average of £352 on ingredients for Christmas lunch, festive snacks and nibbles, and all their drinks (both alcoholic and not) for the festive period, forecasts a new survey.
According to the survey of 2,000 Brits conducted by Very, Londoners are planning on spending more than £930 in preparation for Christmas this year, more than any other region in the country. The biggest spend Londoners will make is on food, expected to spend an average of £352 on ingredients for Christmas lunch, festive snacks and nibbles, and all their drinks (both alcoholic and not) for the festive period.
Those living in Greater London are also expected to spend around £306 on Christmas decorations for both inside and outside their homes, including a Christmas tree, door wreaths, and table decorations and centre pieces. Other expenses include board games (£72), Christmas crackers and party favours (£66) and tableware for serving guests (£72).
Following London in the big spender stakes are Northern Ireland and those in the North East. Christmas planning in Northern Ireland is expected to cost £800 on average, while in the North East, spend will average £768 across food, decorations and party supplies.
Those living in Yorkshire & the Humber are expected to spend the least on Christmas prep this year, an average of £562 in total. This includes an average spend of £157 on Christmas decorations, £261 on festive food and drinks, and £143 on things like craft supplies and tableware, reveals the survey.
Insights show that more than a third (39 per cent) of Brits plan to host some sort of Christmas event for friends and family, whether that be Christmas day lunch, a Christmas Eve cocktail party, or a Boxing Day buffet.
Those aged 25-34 are the most likely to host a Christmas event this year, with 56 per cent saying they are already planning for their event, followed by those aged 16-24 (47 per cent) and 35-44s (43 per cent), while over 55s are the least likely to host this year (30 per cent).
But while hosting might sound like a nice offer, it also seems to come with certain worries. Eight of the top 10 Christmas conundrums experienced by Brits centre around food – whether it’s balancing cooking times (28 per cent), cooking Christmas lunch (25 per cent), getting the perfect crisp on their roast potatoes (23 per cent), or simply not having enough food to feed everyone (23 per cent).
Huge amounts of counterfeit and illicit vapes, cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco cigarettes worth over £1.6million were seized in Lancashire late last month.
In one of the biggest Trading Standards seizures in Hyndburn to date, around 100,000 packs of illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco, and hundreds of illegal non-regulation vapes, with a combined retail value of over £1.6million, were seized on 30 October in a joint operation with HMRC and Lancashire Constabulary from an empty trade premises next to a shop in Oswaldtwistle.
Counterfeit brands included Richmond, Benson and Hedges, and Lambert and Butler, as well as less familiar brands such as Manchester & Sovereign. Packaging used to manufacture counterfeit cigarettes was also seized.
Less than a week later, a sniffer dog has hunted down thousands of hidden illegal vapes and cigarettes as part of a crackdown at shops across Preston, in which the Lancashire County Council’s Trading Standards team joined forces with HMRC and tobacco detection dog, Sky, a working cocker spaniel from Wagtail UK, whose canines are trained to sniff out hidden compartments of tobacco, vapes and money.
She sniffed out illicit goods at all seven city centre premises that they visited and even indicated that there was tobacco behind a false wall, which officers broke open to find the goods inside.
Stashes of cannabis, together with illegal prescription drugs and antibiotics were also seized. Hiding places included hidden compartments and in backyards, while one trader threw suitcases full of tobacco on the roof to try to evade detection.
A total of 1,642 packs of illegal tobacco and 651 non-compliant vapes were seized during the operation on 25 October with five of the businesses in the New Hall Lane and Friargate areas.
Investigations are now ongoing, the council added.
“Our Trading Standards team go above and beyond in their pursuit of illegal vapes and cigarettes, with unbelievable outcomes,” Cllr Michael Green, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Lancashire County Council said.
"Hiring sniffer dog Sky, who did a very thorough job, was a fantastic way of protecting residents from unsafe goods from unscrupulous traders. With the help of partners such as Wagtail UK, HMRC and the police, we can tackle rogue traders and find hidden illicit goods.”
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has on Wednesday announced the closure of its investigation into Unilever's environmental claims, noting the progress made by both Unilever and the broader fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector in ensuring transparent green marketing.
The decision comes after the CMA observed positive changes in Unilever’s product claims and the wider impact of its Green Claims Code, which has encouraged businesses to accurately promote their environmental credentials.
“Given these points, and the ongoing impact of the CMA’s work, the CMA has decided as a matter of administrative priority to close this investigation,” the regulator said, adding that it has not taken a view on Unilever’s compliance with consumer law.
The investigation into Unilever, launched in December 2023, sought to examine whether the company's environmental marketing met consumer protection laws. The CMA at the time said they are concerned that Unilever may be overstating how green certain products are through the use of vague and broad claims, unclear statements around recyclability, and ‘natural’ looking images and logos.
The CMA commenced a review of environmental claims in the FMCG sector in January 2023, examining a wide range of products which are essential items used by people on a daily basis and repurchased regularly, such as food and drink, cleaning products, toiletries, and personal care items.