Delegates left with plenty to chew on at Appetite for Business
Bananas, milk, Morrisons and the Fen landscape were all discussed at this year’s Appetite for Business event as prominent speakers from the food chain and fresh produce sectors shared their industry insights.
In its second year, Appetite for Business took place at the Bedford Lodge Hotel, Newmarket, on Wednesday (Oct 6th) with an impressive speaker line-up.
Michael Barker, editor of Fresh Produce Journal, provided around 120 delegates with a fascinating insight into current UK food trends.
He revealed that price pressures combined with a weak pound meant some banana suppliers are thinking long and hard about continuing to trade in the UK. Meanwhile, a UK milk shortage means much of the cheaper cheddar varieties are now imported while only the extra mature premium ranges are still produced here.
Michael also touched on supermarkets’ success with celebrity endorsements. “You can’t underestimate the power of this type of endorsement,” he said. “Delia just needs to say ‘rhubarb’ and Waitrose sell six months supply in a single weekend.”
Steve West, Finance Director of The Shropshire Group, said UK fresh produce businesses had nothing to learn from other parts of economy as this was one of the few areas to have improved productivity, growth and profit in last 25 years.
Steve also spoke about the advantages of having large parts of the operation based in the Fens with its low rainfall and flat landscape, enhanced even further by laser levelling.
Dr Clive Black, one of the UK’s top five stock broking analysts from Shore Capital, gave a reassurance that food markets would remain ‘robust’ as food is regarded, in the main, as an ‘affordable treat’.
He also provided an intriguing insight into the UK’s supermarkets, noting that Tesco ‘bad two years but back on song’, Sainsbury’s ‘exceeding expectations’ and Waitrose ‘will double in size in the next five years’ are the ones to watch.
The event, sponsored by ourselves, Deloitte, and Redfox Executive Selection, was chaired by Tim Cooper Jones OBE, with extensive commercial experience at Cadbury Schweppes and currently non-executive director of QV Foods and the William Jackson Food Group.
Our managing director Alison Meadows commented: “Appetite for Business provides an opportunity for all food industry leaders to take part in a strategic forum led by an exceptional team of prominent speakers, helping shape their agenda for the coming year in the process.”