News
Shoppers outraged as Lurpak cuts size by 20%
‘Looks tiny in the butter dish and won’t last very long’
Shoppers outraged as Lurpak has cut its size of packs of butter by 20%.
Arla Foods, which makes the butter, has slashed the size of its 250g packs to 200g, as the average price of Lurpak’s unsalted butter went up by nearly 20% in the last year, The Telegraph reports.
It comes as continuing concerns over the price of food prompted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to suggest imposing price caps on staple food items like bread and milk – but it would not be compulsory for retailers to meet these.
The practice of reducing the size of products while keeping prices roughly the same is known as ‘shrinkflation’. Arla Foods announced that it would phase out its 250g packs last month.
Furious shoppers have left angry reviews on the Sainsbury’s website and vented their frustration online. One user said they ‘won’t buy Lurpak anymore’, adding it ‘looks tiny in the butter dish and won’t last very long’.
Meanwhile another who required 250g of butter for a baking recipe commented: “Nothing more annoying than getting home to discover you are 50g short.”
A third added: “This is the only butter that doesn’t seem to have jumped ridiculously in price. Then it arrived and I see that the pack size has shrunk by 50g! Sneaky.”
On Twitter, one person wrote: “ArlaDairyUK/Lurpak why [is] your new packaging … just 200g.
“Cannot see the justification on dropping 50g. You are still expensive and now have annoyed me as a bespoke wedding cake maker. #bringback250g.”
Another angry shopper wrote: “Making a cake at my customer’s house. Thought I’d measured 150g wrong, until I saw the pack’s 200g. That’s Lurpak off my shopping list. Only ever used this for cooking & I’m 64 now.
Food producers blame increasing energy prices and the cost of ingredients going up for their products going up in price.
In a statement, Danny Micklethwaite, VP of marketing at Arla Foods said: “Since April 17 2023, shoppers will have seen a pack reduction for our 250g block butter packs of Lurpak and Anchor.
“We’re aware that the cost-of-living crisis has put pressure on shoppers’ available spend, and we want to make our price points more accessible for shoppers, which we believe can be achieved, by reducing our pack sizes.
He added: “There are many different factors that affect the price consumers pay in store, but pricing is set by the retailers themselves, and we work extremely closely with our retail partners to ensure we deliver tasty, quality dairy at the best possible price for both shoppers and our farmer owners.”
Security tags were added to packs of Lurpak last year, after the price of a 1kg tub increased to more than £9.
News
Celebrate Embankment Kitchen’s fourth birthday with prizes to be won throughout October
There’s some fantastic prizes to be won throughout the whole month
Manchester restaurant, bar & grill Embankment Kitchen is celebrating its fourth birthday, where diners will receive a scratch card to win a variety of prizes throughout October.
Celebrations kick off on Wednesday, October 4th at the sophisticated venue, located in the CitySuites Aparthotel, and will continue throughout the entire month.
The birthday month will feature live music every Thursday, a special birthday cocktail menu, and the chance to win some big prizes too.
Diners also receive 25% off* their food bill, throughout October, every Tuesday to Saturday (*This offer is for the a la carte menu only).
Guests could also find themselves sipping on free beer, prosecco and cocktails, or even enjoying a meal on the house – all to be won on the Embankment birthday scratch cards.
The live music features a range of talented artists performing throughout the evening, from duos covering modern songs to the fabulous gypsy jazz band The String Beans.
Embankment’s special birthday cocktail menu includes the Peach Blossom Bellini, made with Grey Goose Vodka and Baron de Marck Champagne, with notes of Peach and Rosemary.
Sip on the delightful A Toast To 4, made with Beefeater gin, strawberry and lemon flavours and topped with Baron de Marck Champagne.
The EK Sour is made with Havana 7, Disaronno, Lemon, Pineapple, and the Birthday Bubbles cocktail is made with Tanqueray 10, Aperol, Passionfruit, Lemon, Soda – perfect for the celebration.
Guests who chose to dine at Embankment Kitchen throughout October will receive a scratch card with one of the below prizes:
- 15% off food (*Food only. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer or set menu)
- Free beer or prosecco
- Free cocktail
- Free starter or dessert (*When dining with a main)
- Your meal on Embankment – x2
To book a table and celebrate with Embankment and be in with the chance to win great prizes, click HERE.
Embankment Kitchen, CitySuites Aparthotel, 16 Chapel St, Salford
Rishi Sunak announces at the Tory party conference that the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 is to be scrapped.
The Prime Minister made a key speech at the conference held in Manchester city centre where he confirmed the rail line will stop in Manchester but from Birmingham it will switch onto using the existing West Coast Mainline track.
This means the high speed route, to connect the north with the south, will no longer exist, effectively confirming days of speculation.
After being introduced by his wife, Akshata Murty, as a ‘wonderful father, my best friend, your prime minister’, Mr Sunak thanked both his wife and the audience.
Speaking live from Manchester, Mr Sunak called HS2 the ‘ultimate example of the old consensus’.
The Prime Minister then said he’s cancelling ‘the rest of the HS2 project’ – which means everything outside the London to Birmingham leg, and is currently under construction.
He then said he ‘will reinvest every single penny’ saved from HS2 – £36 billion pounds – into hundreds of new transport projects in the North and in the Midlands, as well as across the country.
He went on to say that the north would benefit from the new projects rather than HS2, saying he ‘challenges anyone to tell me with a straight face that all of that isn’t what the north really needs’.
Mr Sunak said: “With our new Network North, you will be able to get from Manchester to the new station in Bradford in 30 minutes, Sheffield in 42 minutes, and to Hull in 84 minutes on a fully, electrified line.”
He continued: “So those who wish to disagree with me, I respect that. But they should have the honesty to admit that they would now be cancelling the hundreds of alternative projects right across the country that people will benefit from instead.
“I think our plan is simply a better long term investment of £36 billion pounds of taxpayers money.”
He also said that he will keep single bus fares capped at £2 ‘across the whole country’.
The prime minister added: “I say, to those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed. And the right thing to do when the facts change, is to have the courage to change direction.
The anticipated announcement came after defence secretary Grant Shapps suggested a change in HS2 plans was thanks to fewer people travelling into work and instead choosing to work from home, following the coronavirus pandemic.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has labelled the, now confirmed, decision as ‘disgraceful’.
News
Gary Neville welcomes new £400m five-star hotel and residences to Manchester
The world famous W Hotel and W Residences will open in 2027
Exciting first look images are revealed for the hugely anticipated £400 million five-star hotel and residency set to open in 2027.
Gary Neville’s Relentless Developments has announced the St Michael’s development, currently being built between Deansgate and Albert Square, will be bringing with it a world famous hotel brand
The St Michael’s plot, soon to be home to luxury W Hotels and W Residences, will be the first outside London and one of 20 around the world, in a major deal with Marriott International.
The glossy new arrival will see hotel-inspired living offered at St Michael’s 217 apartments, offering buyers the opportunity to purchase a permanent residence within Manchester’s most exclusive postcode.
The iconic 41-storey tower will boast a 162-room hotel, with the tower also housing W Residences, a complex of 217 apartments which will be offered for sale from November, with occupancy also in 2027.
The live-in residences will also boast the facilities of the W Hotels, including 24-hour concierge (W’s whenever/wherever service), round-the-clock in-residence dining, laundry and dry cleaning, as well as the hotel’s gyms and other features.
“W Hotel and W Residences are going to put the distinctive 41-storey tower that is No.2 St Michael’s on the global map,” said Neville, Director, Relentless Developments.
“There is no better home for W Hotel in the North of England than Manchester.
“This is a bold city which continues to defy expectations and which embodies the same values of originality and passion that have made the W Hotel experience world-renowned.
“Situated alongside this, W Residences Manchester will be immersive, design-forward homes that will set a new standard in hotel-inspired living and massively raise the bar for city-centre home ownership.”
“I’d like to thank Marriott International and our developer partner, Salboy, for seeing the potential in this scheme and remaining committed to our vision,” he added.
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Celebrate Embankment Kitchen’s fourth birthday with prizes to be won throughout October
Sunak announces HS2 leg to Manchester to be scrapped
Gary Neville welcomes new £400m five-star hotel and residences to Manchester
Two Greater Manchester officers nominated for Pride of Britain Awards for acts of bravery
All four teenagers named in sentencing for killing of Kyle Hackland
