Navigating the complexities of running a major business is complex at the best of times. Balancing the needs of customers, employees, suppliers plus the constant pressure on the balance sheet is a daunting task but when you have to do this during a Pandemic combined with a raft of new Government regulations it adds a level of complexity that is beyond comprehension.

Andrew Selley, CEO of Bidfood, took the time out of his busy schedule to share insights on how his business is managing this.

As Andrew explained one of the key challenges was that many experts in areas covered by the various pieces of legislation that is coming at his company may have been furloughed over the last year.

The range of new or proposed legislation is vast from Natasha’s Law due to come into force in October 2021 to the Plastic Tax in April 2022, the ongoing discussion on HFSS, removal of red diesel subsidy in April 2022 and then the consultation on EPR.

Just the complexity of ensuring all the relevant data and information is available for Natasha’s Law has required the introduction of new processes and resources to manage.

Andrew is also clear that Bidfood have a duty to support small suppliers and to ensure all their customers large and small have the data they require.

Communication is key and as such Bidfood have teamed up with UK Hospitality to run webinars to help end users understand what is required.

The complexity to achieve this is possibly a foretaste of what may be required should mandatory calorie labelling come into effect – which is a distinct possibility.

Bidfood are already preparing for the Plastic Tax, EPR and DSR through their circular economy approach.

The presentation from this year’s Frozen Food Business Conference will be made available to all attendees.  If you were not able to purchase a ticket, please contact Siobhan O’Callaghan.

On the fourth day of the BFFF Business Conference 2021 we were joined by BFFF member Cook with Richard Pike and Andy Stephens providing an interesting presentation on what it means to hold B Corp status.

Richard painted the background to what B Corp is. The idea started in the USA with the simple premise that running a business should be based on a ‘force for good’ and with a purpose but that profit is not a ‘dirty’ word.

With over 4,000 companies Worldwide in 74 countries the concept is being adopted globally.

The start point is to have the ethos of B Corp included within the Articles of Association for each company. This not only shows commitment but provides a legal framework.

With an audit every 3 years it is an evolving process against which you can measure yourself as a business. Andy explained that the B Corp audit process is seen internally as a ‘critical and honest friend’.

The start point is the B Impact Assessment. This is where any company can measure their performance against a range of criteria – some 100,000 businesses already do this.

Andy went on to say that the average score companies get on this is 57, however, to achieve B Corp status you need to achieve a minimum of 80.

Within the audit undertaken by B Lab, the not for profit behind the B Corp movement, every three years a company is ranked for governance, worker engagement and treatment, community engagement, environment policy and performance, and customer interaction, with each section being assessed and scored. Richard explained this helps Cook focus on the areas that could be improved.

This is obviously something taken to heart by Cook who have seen their audit scores continually increase.

The presentation from this year’s Frozen Food Business Conference will be made available to all attendees.  If you were not able to purchase a ticket, please contact Siobhan O’Callaghan.

Many members will be aware that there is currently a Government Consultation underway on the proposed Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme (EPR). This will replace the current PRN system on the recovery and recycling of packaging.

We were joined on the Sustainability Day of the BFFF Business Conference by Dick Searle CEO of The Packaging Federation.

Dick provided an overview of the proposed legislation and raised some very important points that all members need to be aware of.

The Consultation was launched on 24^th March and closes on 4^th June 2021.

The core principle is that business will pay all costs related to packaging at ‘end of life’. The proposal is also very different to the rest of Europe where systems have one point, as an example retailers.

EPR, however, assigns responsibilities to several parts of the supply chain. Brands will have full responsibility for their products and retailers/wholesalers will have responsibility for their own labels.

Waste from business premises, offices, shops, restaurants will all full under the scheme. For these it will be free, but the cost will fall onto the companies who pay into the scheme.

Another critical point is that the cost of litter clearance from the environment will be included in the scheme. This will add millions to the cost as business picks up the tab for the population at large who are unwilling to dispose of rubbish correctly.

The scheme also proposes modulated fees so the harder a material is to recycle the more you will pay. We agree with Dick that this is a sensible provision, but large parts of the proposal will not only transfer current costs back to industry but will add new costs. Dick estimates the impact will be that members will see their current PRN costs multiply by 10 or even 20-fold.

The Federation had in fact invited Dick to meet with our Special Interest Group on Packaging earlier in the week. As the trade body for frozen we will formally respond to the consultation and will also encourage members to submit a response which we will try and create on behalf of members in conjunction with the Packaging SIG.

The presentation from this year’s Frozen Food Business Conference will be made available to all attendees.  If you were not able to purchase a ticket, please contact Siobhan O’Callaghan.

We wanted to highlight to our members that April is Stress Awareness Month. It’s normal to experience some stress from time to time but too much can be damaging on our physical and mental health.

According to the Mental Health foundation, 74% of UK adults have felt stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable cope.

The pandemic has certainly added to everyone’s stress levels and particularly those that have worked so hard to feed the nation.

Grocery Aid can help with emotional, practical and financial support and advice so if you are feeling the pressure and need someone to talk to, please reach out.
Visit: https://www.groceryaid.org.uk/ or Phone their free 24/7 Helpline: 08088 021 122

We hear the word ‘Sustainability’ almost constantly today in every walk of business life. Whether this is on packaging, supply chains or indeed raw materials, so it was good to hear at first hand from a major wholesaler what it means for them.

We were joined at the BFFF Business Conference by Hugo Mahoney (CEO of Brakes) who walked us through Brakes’ CRS Strategy.

Key themes were Food Poverty in the UK, the Rise of Obesity Worldwide, Food waste and the challenges we face in Reducing Packaging combined with keeping it out of our oceans. However, if was also clear that sustainability touches so many other areas and requires significant investment in expertise. Hugo fully understood the need to support smaller suppliers who lack the knowledge and resources to manage the variety of complex areas.

Even closer to home we have issues of things like Modern Slavery – something that was recently highlighted on a training seminar the BFFF ran in conjunction with Primary Authority and another BFFF member.

He also highlighted the massive amount of food waste created especially in 2020 with the various lockdowns and sometimes with short notice.

Hugo also recognised that frozen food products had played a key role in ensuring food service outlets could provide a menu for trade that was variable and uncertain.

A key ‘take out’ on the Sustainability Road Map is collaboration. So, if you are interested to join the recently launched BFFF Special Interest Group (SIG) on Sustainability then please contact Siobhan.

The presentation from this year’s Frozen Food Business Conference will be made available to all attendees.  If you were not able to purchase a ticket, please contact Siobhan O’Callaghan.

Simon Stenning joined our Business Conference on Wednesday, 21^st April 2021 and gave a thought-provoking view on the future of Food Service as we start to emerge from the latest lockdown.

His view is that the future will be different from pre Covid, although some of the trends that have emerged over the last 12 months will stay and in some cases accelerate.

Simon estimates that between 2020 and 2025 the market will lose some £125bn in sales only returning to 2019 levels in 2024. With some short-term financial challenges such as changes to VAT, reductions in Business Rates Relief and the ending of the Furlough Scheme, the market will face some head winds.

Whilst 2020 was an appalling year, 2021 will bring it owns challenges in how the market will recover. City Centre locations face the uncertainty of when office workers will return  – will this be full time or only part of the week and how will this impact the traditional trading patterns.

It is also difficult to predict when, and if, tourists will return. In 2019 we had just under 41 million tourists visit the UK. In 2020 we only saw 9.7 million. Current estimates suggest 2021 will be 16.9 million, however, with ever-changing restrictions by country it is impossible to have any certainty.

Simon also highlighted the key food trends that are now emerging with ‘speed of service’ now playing an ever-greater role – whether that is preparing the product or a delivered service.

We are also seeing a blurring of lines with places like farm shops now adding restaurants and cafes.

On a final note, Simon is offering BFFF members a £500 discount on his latest report ‘The Future of Food Service’. Any members interested in this offer should contact Siobhan.

The presentation from this year’s Frozen Food Business Conference will be made available to all attendees.  If you were not able to purchase a ticket, please contact Siobhan O’Callaghan.