Booths Revamps International Foods Range to Deliver on Flavour and Uncompromising Quality
Family owned Northern retailer Booths have introduced over 175 new products into their International foods range, favouring unique and authentic dishes from brands big on flavour and uncompromising on quality. Booths’ new range has grown by 10% and sees the introduction of Lebanese, Korean and Malaysian cuisines alongside the expansion of existing ranges such as Japanese, Italian, Indian and Mexican.
Buyer Haris Deane says, “Booths is renowned for supporting emerging brands and we’re committed to sourcing the very best products on the market. We look for exceptional products made by people who truly care about quality, taste and flavour. We stock some great tasting, award-winning products many of which have a story to tell.
“Our new range incorporates everyday favourites from well-known brands to authentic handmade artisan foods, as well as ingredients used by top chefs from around the world. We’re proud to work with our suppliers and are delighted to offer our customers the very best of what’s available.’’
New additions to the range include Nowt Poncy, the Lancashire business led by food entrepreneurs Julian and Karen Abel. Both in their 50s, united by a love of simple good food, the ex-head teacher and engineer started making healthy high quality sauces packed with flavour but with reduced salt, sugar and preservatives that typify bottled sauces.
“We want to show the customers that they don’t need to spend loads of time cooking healthy meals – we like to capture the flavours of far-off places at home, but without nasty preservatives and with nutritious healthy ingredients. Booths is a great fit for our brand and it’s an honour to be given the opportunity to show that low sugar, low fat products can taste absolutely amazing’’ explains Julian.
Malaysian food is predicted to be one of the hottest food trends of 2019. Mak Tok, Malay for Grandmother, is the brain child of Sheffield University student William Chew.
With the rest of his family back in Malaysia, Will missed his mother’s food so he started making his own chilli pastes. “I was missing my mum’s cooking when I was a student. It’s difficult to find authentic Malaysian flavours here in England so I thought why not try and make my own?” Taking inspiration from his mother’s home cooking, Will created a range of chilli pastes that can be used as a base to creating flavoursome Malaysian curries at home.
He soon found his friends were beating a path to his door to sample his fiery pastes. It was his brother, Shang, who first suggested he should think about setting up a business. “I’ve always been really passionate about food and cooking and he was telling me how much people loved my chilli paste so why not turn it into a business. I thought about it and realised there was a gap in the market, and Mak Tok was born.” Booths is the first major listing for this university inspired start-up set for big things.
Holy Cow is a multiple Great Taste Award winning sauce business that sponsors a free school meal in India for every unit sold in the UK. The inspiration behind Holy Cow is Mum Kiran Bhandari. Kiran has taught Indian cooking for years and her simple home-cooked recipes had students begging her for to bottle her unique flavours. Holy Cow was born and the products are developed in home kitchens with layers of flavour and a kick of heat. Faithful to their Indian roots, Holy Cow has proudly sponsored over 187,000 school meals in India, helping to keep students in school and fed nutritious food.
The School of Wok is an award winning cookery school who have launched “cooking lessons in a box” which are kits aimed to bring flair and demystify oriental cooking into home kitchens. Developed by Saturday Kitchen “celebrity chef” Jeremy Pang, the kits include Bao Buns, Black Bean stir fry, Sichuan and Sweet and Sour stir fry kits.
Garofalo has been making pasta in Gragnano, the birth place of pasta in Italy, for over 200 years and is the only dry pasta variety to be recognised by the European Commission as IGP. A pasta awarded IGP status must use the highest quality of ingredients specifically from within Gragnano, including the water which must come from local aquifers, to guarantee an authentic and traditional taste and texture.