✨AN UPDATE ON OUR PORTFOLIO✨ As we move further into 2024, we thought it was worth giving an update on our current portfolio! We're busy continuing to diversify our range to bring more high quality, added value products to our current and future customers. Along with our long standing agave products (Syrup and Inulin), we're now importing from Sri Lanka, with a great range of Oleoresins, Spices and Coconut MCT Oil. Additionally, through ongoing relationships built up with Peter's network, we're now offering supply chain solutions for items such as juices and concentrates, to simplify your processes. If you're interested in any of the below, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 📧 E-mail: james@f8nf.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883

✨ DOES THE CONSUMER HAVE A SWEET TOOTH? ✨ NPD and 2024 trends seem to have a significant focus on adding value to existing products playing to desires for things which bring (quite literally) more to the table. From sweetened butter and peanut butter, new items appeal to the natural sweet tooth of many consumers, which is great for bringing light to alternative sweeteners such as agave syrup or raw sugars. We're keeping a close eye on what new sweet products enter the food and beverage market, but what products do you expect to see in the near future? 📧 E-mail: james@f8nf.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883

✨ An opportunity for spice producers?✨ India has faced significant challenges with the organic status and quality of its spices being questioned throughout early 2024. Unfortunately, these concerns persist, with increasing scrutiny on their exports. While it is widely agreed that India's sourcing and quality need closer examination for the foreseeable future, this situation creates excellent opportunities for other countries to promote their spices and products. Understandably, we have a preference, but countries like Sri Lanka, Mexico, and others in South America and Asia have been producing superior quality products with well-documented ethical and environmental practices for years. This has now opened the door for manufacturers in the EU and UK to source their ingredients from these regions. Given the recent supply chain challenges and the need to ensure timely and specification-compliant deliveries, we anticipate a greater focus on sourcing in the coming months, continuing the trend from the first quarter. If you are interested in sourcing high-quality, organic (or conventional) products at competitive prices, please get in touch. 📧 E-mail: james@f8nf.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883

✨ HOW DO WE MOVE ON WITH UPF? ✨ The future of processed products remains a hot topic in the food and beverage industry. So, what lies ahead? It's clear that ultra-processed foods (UPF) pose long-term health risks and contribute to the larger issue of obesity in both developed and developing nations, but the situation appears to be a minefield for producers and manufacturers to begin to tackle. As consumers face high prices and rising costs due to ingredient shortages (such as cacao), cheaper, more processed foods often provide more calories at a lower price, making them a viable option for those on a tight budget. Moreover, defining UPF still lacks standardization, which can be confusing for consumers. Current definitions often rely on the degree of processing - typically using the NOVA Classification ➡ https://lnkd.in/eVUPvHSf - but more clarity is needed. With the Food, Diet & Obesity Committee facing increased pressure in February 2024 to regulate UPF production, the coming year promises to be pivotal for new product development and the creation of cleaner label foods and beverages. Our longer term aim is to align our ingredient supply with consumer and product trends along these lines, and we would love to hear your thoughts on the current situation and where you think UPF is headed. 📧 E-mail: james@f8nf.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883

We’re going to be at IFE - International Food & Drink Event London 2024! Looking forward to seeing the usual friendly faces there, and seeing what’s going on in the Food & Beverage industry in terms of innovation. Always fun seeing what ideas and new energy is being brought into the market, especially on the Organic side of things. If you’re at the show and want to meet up, give us a shout! 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883

Another year, still Organic Certified 😎 We've just had confirmation that we've held our Organic Certification for 2024 after an audit in early February (it was never in doubt)! Following our post talking about Organic being on-trend for the coming financial year, it was a no brainer that we'd be continuing to hold organic stock. With significant growth in the sector when compared to conventional products (despite the cost of living issues), those wanting to stay ahead of the game will be looking at certification with a closer eye in 2024. As well as continuing to hold high quality agave stocks (Syrup, Inulin and Powder), we've also added a number of additional ingredients to our organic certification for this year, so if you're interested in the full list please get in touch! 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: https://lnkd.in/eDkxsQnQ

Have you heard of Ceylon Cinnamon? Converse to what most believe, most cinnamon sold conventionally is actually derived from something other than "true" cinnamon? Cassia, which is the plant which most cinnamon products are produced from, does not have the numerous health benefits that Ceylon Cinnamon (true cinnamon) has. Ceylon Cinnamon is full of antioxidants - with strong medicinal capabilities over Cassia - and is commonly used as an anti-inflammatory, lowering blood sugar and against bacterial and fungal infections. Interested in learning more? Please get in touch. Full information here ➡ https://lnkd.in/eQT3qfE 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: https://lnkd.in/eDkxsQnQ

BeerX 2024, done and dusted! We've just got back from a great few days at BeerX in Liverpool, catching up with some old faces, meeting some new ones, and of course... drinking really good beer! 🍺 Brewing and beer is a lovely industry to be in, with a really friendly atmosphere and lots of helpful people! Some fascinating talks by SIBA, The Society of Independent Brewers including some great statistics showing some reasons for government to bring in the support that the industry desperately needs right now. Always good to see where former colleagues and friends are working, including (but not limited to) Simpsons Malt Limited, Charles Faram & Co Ltd and Murphy & Son Ltd. Really hope that the show was successful for everyone, and we're already looking forward to next year!

They do say Thursday is the new Friday... Related to the roots of our business, it's International Margarita Day! Agave plays a prominent role in both the Tequila that goes into the drink, and quite often, the sweetening profile, where agave syrup is often used over conventional sugars. Being the responsible and customer focussed business that we are, we'd just thought we'd let everyone know, would be a shame to miss out on such a day, wouldn't it? 👀 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: https://lnkd.in/eDkxsQnQ #agave #agavesyrup #organic #ukbusiness #ingredients #familybusiness #fairtrade #mexico

Always interesting to see the Food Trends provided for the upcoming year as we go into December. Having been around the Food ingredients Global Europe show last week, it clear that Mintel are spot on with their Global Food trend prediction for 2024. Products focussing on reducing Ultra-Processing (UPF), health impact, and lifestyle choices took centre stage across the show, with some fascinating innovation which we look forward to seeing (and selling! 👀) in 2024. In our personal lives, both of us (Peter and James) have been working to better our diets after the Ultra-Processed Food by Chris van Tulleken hit our coffee table earlier this year, and it seems like we’re not the only ones consumer wise making this active change. Looking forward to seeing where the trends in 2024 lead us. Take a look at the report here ➡ https://lnkd.in/gWbJCbxw Get in touch using the details below ⬇ 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: https://www.facilit8andflourish.com

🎉 We're going to be at Food ingredients Europe 🎉 If you're going to be in Frankfurt on the 28th or 29th next week for the FIE Exhibition, we'd love to hear from you. We're off on a hunt for new ingredients (and we also just enjoy the thought of a German city around this time of year 👀 🎄 ), so if you're struggling to get supplies in the UK, then keep your eyes peeled for our updated portfolio in the near future. Alternatively, if you're also at the show and want to say hi, please reach out and let us know! Get in touch using the details below ⬇ 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: https://www.facilit8andflourish.com #agave #ukbusiness #uksupply #foodingredients #food #ingredients #organic #natural #ingredients #portfolio #supplier #familybusiness #foodforlife

✨ It's time to diversify our diets and the plants we eat! ✨ How's about this for an absolutely bonkers statistic!? 🤯 Across the globe, there are approximately 300,000 edible (at least partially) plant species across the world. However, we only commonly consume around 200 of these species, with these making up 90% of total plant based food eaten each year. Of that 200, 3 species, maize, rice, and wheat account for over 50% of our yearly food (from plants)! 😱 If you're interested in changing your recipes or diet to better reflect the diverse options we have available from around the globe, our stocks of agave are good and we're always happy to have non-committal talks on whether we can help you in your applications. Interested, get in touch or check out our website below 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: www.facilit8andlfourish.com #agave #ukbusiness #uksupply #foodingredients #food #ingredients #organic #natural

Where do our clients and products come from? 🤔 We're proud of the people we work with at Facilit8 & Flourish, because they're often pushing boundaries and disrupting markets which need change. Because of this, there's a really wide range of countries which we work with or source from! We were curious on just how many countries we actually have links to, so we made the very convenient map below for both us and you to see! Are you from a country we don't work with yet? Have something that you think is innovative and forward thinking but don't have a route to the UK or the network here? Get in touch, we might just be able to help! 👍 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: https://lnkd.in/eDkxsQnQ

🎉 Meet the Team - Peter 🎉 The long standing founder of Facilit8 & Flourish (F8NF), Peter is the Director of the company and where the experience in the food and beverage industry lies. As a passionate ex-brewer, and a big advocate for reduction in UPF and working to create cleaner products, Peter is always interested in talking to innovative companies with ground-breaking products. Peter has been in the industry for 32 years and brings a wealth of management, application and innovation knowledge. We think that's pretty helpful if we're looking to help our clients with problems, or bring new products to market! 👌 If you're looking to develop a newer business or work towards expanding a business, Peter's knowledge is guaranteed to be valuable for you. Interested in working with us? Get in touch. 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: https://lnkd.in/eDkxsQnQ

🎉 Meet The Team - James 🎉 James is the Marketing and Sales Manager at Facilit8 & Flourish (F8NF), responsible for everything you see about us online and the one finding new problems for us to solve. A fun fact, James didn't know much about the Food & Beverage Ingredients Industry until early 2022, having previously been a geologist in a number of roles, travelling much of UK. An avid foodie with a focus on new, sustainable ingredients and products, James is always looking to converse with forward thinking businesses with products or problems they need to solve. Interested in learning more about us? Get in touch. 📧 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com 📱WhatsApp: +44 7713 073883 💻Website: www.facilit8andflourish.com

✨ AGAVE ORIGINS ✨ Although a well established product in the Americas, where it's being used in many big name brands, Agave Syrup is yet to take off in the UK and Europe to the same extent. We'd like to change that, (for no selfish reasons of course 👀) because Agave Syrup is a great alternative to sugar that will become increasingly popular as people continue looking to make changes to their diets and reduce fats, salts and sugars. Based on the above, we're going to be posting a lot of varied content in the coming weeks, which we hope will enlighten people on Agave Syrup and its many benefits and uses across the food and beverage industries. For the first post, a little about the origins of where agave syrup comes from. Do you know about Agave Syrup? Got any tips and tricks for everyone else out there? Let us know! 👍 E-mail: james@facilit8andflourish.com WhatsApp: +44 (0) 7713 073883 Website: www.facilit8andflourish.com