Food and Drink Industry 6 – 12 Apr: Ft The Jolly Hog, Sealed Air and Phenna Group
- The Jolly Hog is targeting premium at-home dining with a new extra-thick bacon range designed to elevate brunch occasions.
- Sealed Air is preparing to showcase new packaging technologies at Interpack, with a strong focus on automation, sustainability and supply chain performance.
- Phenna Group has strengthened its compliance capabilities through the acquisition of Ventilate Consultancy & Control Limited and Ventilate Grease Control Limited.
The food industry rarely stands still, but the latest developments involving The Jolly Hog, Sealed Air and Phenna Group show just how many fronts the sector is now advancing on at once.
From premium product innovation in the chilled aisle, to more intelligent packaging systems and stronger compliance infrastructure behind the scenes, the direction of travel is clear: food businesses are under pressure to do more than simply produce and sell.
They must also differentiate, streamline and protect.
Taken together, these three developments offer a revealing snapshot of what modern food manufacturing and food production increasingly look like in practice. Product quality still matters, of course, but so too do presentation, process efficiency, regulatory assurance and the ability to meet changing consumer expectations.
The Jolly Hog pushes bacon into more premium territory
British meat brand The Jolly Hog has launched a new range of extra-thick bacon under its Proper Posh line, stepping into what it believes is a category that has seen very little innovation for years.
The new Proper Posh Black Treacle Extra Thick Cut Bacon has been created to bring what the brand describes as restaurant-quality bacon into the home, tapping into the continued rise of the eat-at-home economy.
The range includes both thick-cut back bacon and thick-cut streaky bacon, with both SKUs dry-cured in the company’s signature Black Treacle for a slightly sweet, smoky flavour profile.
That flavour and format combination is central to the positioning. While bacon remains a staple in British households, The Jolly Hog argues that long-standing consumer demand has actually reduced the pressure on brands to rethink the category.
A spokesperson for the business noted that there has been limited innovation in bacon for years, largely because shoppers kept buying it anyway.
A brunch-led strategy rather than another fry-up staple
What sets this launch apart, according to the brand, is not simply the thickness of the cut, but the role the bacon is supposed to play on the plate.
Rather than being treated as a supporting act in a sandwich or a standard fry-up, this new range is being positioned as bacon made specifically for brunch and more premium weekend eating occasions.
The company says it has developed a genuinely thick-cut product that delivers a much meatier bite, something closer to what consumers might expect from a butcher’s shop or a high-quality restaurant rather than a conventional rasher.
The intention is clear: move bacon from familiar routine into something that feels more indulgent and more occasion-led.
In comments accompanying the launch, a co-founder of The Jolly Hog said brunch has become a real weekend ritual for many consumers, and if people are putting together a great plate, the bacon should be the star rather than something hidden between slices of bread.
That idea sits at the heart of the Proper Posh range, which aims to make the at-home brunch experience feel more premium without losing convenience.
Packaging becomes part of the premium message
The Jolly Hog has not limited its innovation to the product itself. The company says the packaging for the launch reflects the more premium nature of the range, arriving in a luxury box designed to stand out on shelf.
That decision is significant. Packaging in the bacon category, the brand argues, has also seen relatively little innovation, making this an obvious moment to bring something more elevated to market.
Furthermore, in premium food, outer presentation increasingly matters as much as the product story, particularly when brands are trying to justify a stronger shelf presence and a more indulgent consumer proposition.
The rollout has already begun, with Extra Thick Cut Back Bacon launching at an RRP of £4 in Sainsbury’s, followed quickly by Tesco and Ocado. Meanwhile, Extra Thick Cut Streaky Bacon is due to land in Waitrose and Ocado on 27 May.
Sealed Air puts packaging performance in the spotlight at Interpack
If The Jolly Hog’s launch shows packaging at the consumer-facing end of the story, Sealed Air is highlighting just how strategic packaging has become deeper within food and retail supply chains.
At Interpack this May, the company is set to showcase a range of packaging technologies designed to improve efficiency, sustainability and product handling across food and retail operations.
Developments from its CRYOVAC and Liquibox ranges will form part of the presentation, with the emphasis firmly on how packaging can support operations far beyond basic product protection.
This is also a notable year for the company, marking the 85th anniversary of the CRYOVAC brand, which will feature prominently within the wider stand presentation.
That anniversary gives the showcase a sense of heritage, but the message itself is forward-looking: packaging is no longer just the final wrap around a product. It is increasingly an active tool in manufacturing, logistics, retail presentation and regulatory performance.
From protective layer to operational asset
A central attraction at Sealed Air’s stand will be a digital “virtual supermarket”, where visitors can explore packaging formats used across everyday products.
The idea is to give a more detailed view of material composition, functional design and environmental considerations, helping visitors understand how packaging choices influence the wider supply chain.
This matters because the packaging conversation has moved on. Food businesses are no longer only asking whether a product is protected in transit. They are also asking whether the format reduces waste, improves machine efficiency, helps products present better at retail, supports compliance, and aligns with ever-evolving sustainability expectations.
Live demonstrations will also play a key role, including the CRYOVAC VPP 3002 FlexPrep system, a vertical form-fill-seal machine developed for liquid and pumpable foods.
The machine is positioned as a high-speed solution for manufacturers looking for greater automation and more consistent output, both of which remain major priorities as processors seek to improve reliability while managing cost pressures.
Meeting the priorities of processors, retailers and foodservice
Sealed Air’s showcase has been structured around the needs of food processors, retailers and foodservice operators, with solutions aimed at maintaining product quality, improving shelf presentation and supporting the realities of day-to-day operations.
Across each of those areas, the themes are familiar but increasingly urgent: waste reduction, regulatory compliance, production efficiency and adapting to sustainability demands. These are no longer side issues. They are central to how packaging decisions are made and how suppliers position themselves within the market.
What Sealed Air is presenting, then, is not just a portfolio update. It is a statement about the growing strategic weight of packaging within the food industry.
Phenna Group strengthens the compliance backbone of commercial kitchens
Away from product launches and packaging systems, Phenna Group has made a move that speaks to another critical side of the food industry: compliance infrastructure.
The Nottingham-based business has acquired Ventilate Consultancy & Control Limited and Ventilate Grease Control Limited, both UK-based specialists, in a deal that strengthens Phenna’s capabilities in kitchen ventilation compliance and fats, oils and grease (FOG) management.
The two businesses will be integrated into Phenna’s Certification and Compliance Division, where they will operate alongside ECAS. The strategy is designed to align service offerings, broaden customer access and expand the group’s reach in sectors where technical compliance is increasingly important.
This is not a minor administrative development. Commercial kitchens, foodservice spaces and food-related facilities face growing scrutiny around ventilation standards, safety requirements and grease control.
As regulations tighten and expectations around building performance rise, specialist compliance capability becomes a serious commercial asset.
A strategic acquisition with wider industry implications
Ventilate’s Managing Director said that since the business was established, its focus has been on delivering reliable and technically robust compliance solutions for clients.
Partnering with Phenna Group, they said, creates an opportunity to further develop services, collaborate with complementary businesses and continue supporting clients as their requirements evolve.
From Phenna’s side, the Divisional Managing Director for Certification and Compliance described Ventilate as a strong strategic fit, adding that the alignment with ECAS creates immediate opportunities to expand service offerings, strengthen technical capability and deliver greater value across both infrastructure and real estate sectors.
Phenna Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom, operates across global testing, inspection, certification and compliance (TICC) markets and supports a range of safety-critical industries.
The acquisition of Ventilate marks the group’s eighth deal of 2026, underlining both the pace of its expansion and the importance it places on technical compliance-led growth.
What this means for food manufacturing and food production
These developments matter because they reflect the wider pressures and opportunities shaping food manufacturing and food production today.
For manufacturers, The Jolly Hog’s launch shows that even mature categories such as bacon still offer room for value creation when brands rethink format, flavour and usage occasion.
Innovation does not always have to mean reinventing the entire category; sometimes it means making a familiar product feel more premium, more purposeful and more aligned with how people now eat at home.
Sealed Air’s Interpack showcase reinforces the idea that packaging has become deeply embedded in production strategy. Smarter materials, stronger automation and better-designed systems can help manufacturers reduce waste, improve consistency, meet compliance requirements and respond to retailer and consumer pressure for more sustainable solutions.
Meanwhile, Phenna Group’s acquisition activity highlights the fact that food production is not just about what comes off the line. It is also about the safety, compliance and operational integrity of the environments in which food is prepared, processed and handled.
Better ventilation compliance and FOG management can help reduce risk, support legal obligations and improve long-term operational resilience.
In short, the food sector is being shaped by three linked forces: product differentiation, packaging intelligence and compliance strength. Businesses that invest in all three are likely to be better placed as the industry becomes more demanding and more competitive.
Conclusion
The latest moves from The Jolly Hog, Sealed Air and Phenna Group each speak to a different corner of the food industry, but the bigger message is shared.
Premiumisation is pushing familiar products into new territory. Packaging is becoming smarter, faster and more strategically important. Compliance is moving ever closer to the centre of operational decision-making.
Whether it is a thicker rasher aimed at the brunch table, a packaging system designed to improve production flow, or an acquisition that tightens control over safety-critical kitchen environments, each story points to the same conclusion: the modern food industry is no longer driven by product alone. It is being shaped by the full chain around it, from creation and presentation to protection and compliance.
News Credits:
The Jolly Hog looks to shake-up bacon innovation
Phenna expands compliance services with Ventilate deal
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