First Grade International

Cocoa prices are changing product development 🫘 🍫 For decades, cocoa prices have remained relatively stable, providing manufacturers with a predictable and reliable supply of one of the world’s most popular ingredients. However, the market has become increasingly volatile in recent years, with cocoa prices reaching record highs and creating significant challenges for businesses within the food and beverage industries. From chocolate bars and baked goods to ice cream and drinks, the rising cost of cocoa is forcing manufacturers to rethink how products are formulated, produced and priced. In our new blog, we explore why this phenomenon is happening, and its consequences for the food and drink industry. Check it out using the link below: https://lnkd.in/dCmyHxx7 #FirstGradeInternational #Koko #Cococa #Chocolate #CocoaMarket #ChocolateMarket #ProductDevelopment #Coconut #Dried Fruit #Nuts #Ingredients #IngredientsSupplier

On the 3rd Sunday of July the world celebrates International Ice Cream Day! Established in 1984 to officially celebrate everyone's favourite frozen treat, ice cream has been enjoyed for centuries across the world. From the Persians who would pour grape juice over snow, to the Tang Dynasty in China who froze dairy with salt and ice, humans have always loved a deliciously chilly ice cream. Here at First Grade International we're all ice cream lovers too! And we've got loads of products that are perfect ingredients to make ice cream. So let's explore what they are! - Coconut Cream 🍦 Our Coconut Cream has many characteristics that make it a great ingredient for ice cream manufacturing. Its high fat content stops ice-cream from solidifying too much and gives it a creamy texture. It also acts as a rich, smooth substitute for heavy dairy cream, perfect for the expanding free-from market. Moreover, it provides ice cream with a tropical coconut taste, pairing well with fruits such as mango, pineapple, and strawberries. - Coconut Milk 🥛 Just like Coconut Cream, our Coconut Milk provides a rich, creamy texture that mimics the mouthfeel of heavy dairy, although with a subtler coconut flavour. It also provides a dairy-free, lactose-free, and nut-free alternative to regular milks. Its lower fat content makes it very scoopable, and it blends smoothly with vanilla, chocolate, fruit, and berries. - Coconut Milk Powder (CMP) 🍨 CMP is a perfect choice if you're looking to add a long shelf life to your ice cream alongside a creamy texture. Our CMP allows you to mix a thinner or thicker liquid base by changing how much water you add, and helps keep your ice cream fresher for longer. First Grade even offers a Vegan variety, perfect for health-conscious consumers and the free-from market. - Chocolate and Cocoa products 🍫 Everyone loves digging into some chocolate ice cream, and First Grade supplies the exact ingredients you need. Our Cocoa Liquor adds a rich flavour and smooth texture while our Cocoa Powders gives chocolate ice cream its deep flavour and colour. And for toppings, we've got you covered. First Grade offer a range of inclusions in different sizes that include milk, dark, and white chocolate buttons, chips, chunks, and blossoms, all of them adding an eye-catching look and delicious flavour to your ice cream. On the sustainability side, we offer RainForest Alliance credits too. Check out our product portfolio below: https://lnkd.in/gcsCCQmj #FirstGradeInternational #Koko #Icecream #InternationalIceCreamDay #Coconut #Cocoa #Chocolate #DriedFruit #Nuts #Recipe #Sorbet #Ingredients #IngredientsSeller #CoconutCream #CoconutMilk #CoconutMilkPowder #ChocolateInclusions #CocoaPowder #CocoaLiquor #ChocolateButtons #ChocolateDrops #ChocolateChunks #ChocolateBlossoms

El Niño Weather Pattern Begins ☀️ 🌊 🌡️   Here at First Grade International, we’re keeping a close eye on the news that a new El Niño weather pattern has begun over the Pacific Ocean. Confirmed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, many are forecasting that it will be one of the strongest ever recorded, with warnings that a “super” El Niño could make 2027 the hottest year on record. But what is an El Niño? What are its effects? And why is it such a significant event for an ingredients seller such as ourselves? In this LinkedIn post, let’s find out! What is an El Niño? An El Niño is a climate phenomenon that affects weather across the globe in different ways. During an El Niño, the winds that usually blow east to west either weaken dramatically or reverse direction, meaning that warmer water spreads eastwards across the Pacific Ocean. This results in changing rainfall patterns across the globe, with a vast redistribution of heat and moisture across the planet. What are the effects of the El Niño? Thanks to these changing weather patterns, different places around the globe experience irregular and extreme weather. While areas such as East China and East Africa face heavy rainfall and flooding, others like South America, South East Asia, and Australia experience droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires. This causes major disruption to weather, farming, and food supplies. The predicted “super” El Niño this year could see global agricultural output take a £260 billion hit, and pose a critical threat to the world’s 500 million smallholder farmers. How will an El Niño affect the coconut market? First Grade is proud to specialise in providing a wide range of coconut products to customers across the UK and Europe. The map below shows how dry conditions will affect the coconut growing regions across South East Asia, including the world’s largest producers, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Worryingly, droughts would hit impending coconut crop cycles at a time when the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in Iran has already majorly disrupted oil and fertiliser supplies. With all these factors combined, farmers could see much smaller harvests, which would cause significantly reduced availability and exports. #FirstGradeInternational #Koko #ElNino #ElNinoweatherpattern #Climnate #ingredients #exports #coconut #banana #cocoa #chocolate #driedfruit #nuts #news #weather #globalmarkets

Exciting News! 🚨 We are delighted to announce that First Grade International will be exhibiting at Food ingredients Global in Frankfurt, the leading global event for food ingredients! From 17th-19th November, our experienced team will be on hand to discuss how we can support all of your coconut requirements🥥 We are proud to provide our customers with a trusted supply chain, valuable market insights and support for those exploring new opportunities. Whether you're an existing customer or looking for a new supply partner, we'd love to meet you and discuss how we can work together. 📍 We'll be sharing our stand location closer to the event, so stay tuned! #FiEurope2026 #FoodIngredients #Coconut #IngredientSourcing #FoodManufacturing #FirstGradeInternational https://lnkd.in/eDwA2ZNT

Happy World Chocolate Day! 🍫  Today, we're celebrating one of the world's most loved ingredients and the endless possibilities it brings to food and drink innovation. From bakery and confectionery to desserts, ice cream, beverages and beyond, chocolate continues to inspire new product development and unforgettable flavours. Our extensive chocolate range includes couvertures, chips, chunks, vermicelli sprinkles, blossoms, top flakes, decorations and inclusions in white, milk and dark varieties.  As a trusted bulk supplier of chocolate products and inclusions, we work with manufacturers, foodservice businesses and brand owners to deliver high quality chocolate solutions suited to their needs. Whether you're developing a new product, scaling production, or looking for the right chocolate ingredient for your next launch, we're here to help. Get in touch to discuss your chocolate requirements and discover how we can support your next project. #WorldChocolateDay #Chocolate #FoodManufacturing #Bakery #Confectionery #FoodIngredients #ProductDevelopment #FoodInnovation #BulkIngredients #FirstGradeInternational

We've upgraded our solar panels! ☀️ Thanks to our installer Econergy Solutions, who also installed our office's solar panels in the first place, we are now more environmentally and energy friendly than ever! With our new battery upgrade, our panels are now: - Upgraded to maximise the amount of solar energy we can store and utilise for internal operations and car charging. - More resilient and perfect for business continuity - should grid power ever have any issues, we can continue to serve our customers 👍 - Doubled our charging capacity from 27kwhs to 54kwhs! #FirstGradeInternational #Koko #SolarPanels #Energy #GreenEnergy #Ecofriendly #EnvironmentallyFriendly #RenewableEnergy #ElectricCars #SolarEnergy #BusinessContinuity #EconergySolutions #Coconut #DriedFruit #Nuts #Cocoa #Chocolate

Tomorrow is International Pineapple Day, and here at First Grade, we love pineapple. Pineapple is the least fruity fruit of all fruits, no other fruit is even remotely similar to pineapple. For one, nothing else is grown like a pineapple. Following planting, a pineapple plant takes 18-24 months to mature. When ready, the plant sends up a central stalk that develops into a cluster of hundreds of small flowers. Each of these flowers fuses together, creating the rough pattern on the skin of a pineapple that everyone knows. Once the pineapple is harvested, the mother plant begins to die, completing its lifecycle. What makes pineapple so special is not necessarily how different it is to other fruits, but rather how it makes people feel. Pineapple may look awkward in a fruit bowl, but nothing makes food feel tropical quite like the spiky little mood-booster. Pineapple is also very beneficial for health, containing large amounts of vitamin C, manganese, potassium and plenty of other minerals. At First Grade, we source Indonesian pineapple, and can offer bulk volumes of pineapple crush and pieces. Crush works brilliantly in sauces for an acidic, tropical punch. Pineapple pieces are exactly what you’d expect, the topping that some people put on pizza! So here’s to pineapple, sweet on the inside, dramatic on the outside, and impossible to ignore. #FirstGradeInternational #InternationalPineappleDay #PineappleDay #TropicalFruit #PineappleOnPizza

🥥 🌴 🥼 New Blog Alert! 🥼 🌴 🥥 Coconut has become an increasingly popular ingredient in food and drink products across the globe, and that's because of it's amazing nutritional power! Packed full of minerals, antioxidants, energy, and lots more goodness, it is a perfect choice for the health-conscious consumer of today's world. In our new blog, we've explored the science behind why coconut is so good for you, and how it can make you healthier and happier. So why not check it out through the link below below and see why First Grade International is nuts about coconuts! 🥥 https://lnkd.in/eCgJCEwK #FirstGradeInternational #Koko #Coconut #CoconutWater #Nutrition #Health #ChangeYourLife #HealthConscious #Innovate

🌟 A Well-Earned Team Day Out at West Midlands Safari Park! 🌟 Yesterday, our team enjoyed a fantastic day away from the office at West Midlands Safari Park, combining teamwork, creativity, and plenty of fun. Working together in teams, we took on the challenge of building feeding platforms for the park’s marmoset monkeys – a rewarding project that allowed us to give something back while strengthening our collaboration skills and highlighting our company's focus on environmental sustainability. The day was rounded off with a delicious BBQ, and time to explore and enjoy everything the park has to offer. 🐒🍔🌿 A huge thank you to West Midlands Safari Park and Team Building with BITE LTD for a great day! #FirstGradeInternational #Koko #Coconut #Cocoa #Chocolate #DriedFruit #Teambuilding #Collaboration #Sustainability #WestMidlandsSafariPark #Zoo #Environmentalism #Conservation

🍬 Happy National Fudge Day! 🍬 Fun fact: National Fudge Day is a real thing… and it's today! Why not celebrate by using some of our high-quality ingredients to create the perfect fudge? And to make it easier, we have listed a few of them below: Chocolate Fudge 🍫 ·        White chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Milk chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Dark chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Dairy free chocolate chips (Belgian available) ·        Alkalised cocoa powder Coconut Fudge 🥥 ·        Desiccated coconut ·        Coconut cream ·        Coconut milk ·        Coconut oil ·        White chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Milk chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Dark chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Dairy free chocolate chips (Belgian available)   Fruit and Nut Fudge 🌰 ·        Pecans ·        Raisins ·        Cranberries ·        Apricots ·        Sultanas ·        White chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Milk chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Dark chocolate couverture (Belgian available) ·        Dairy free chocolate chips (Belgian available)   With hundreds of recipes out there, the possibilities are endless! Happy National Fudge Day! 🍬