Led by NFU Sustainability Group Lead Jack Watts, the roundtable recognised the need of showcasing to the government the valuable role of the out of home sector in building a resilience and sustainable food and drink industry.
The group agreed that to ensure the UK hospitality supply chain is robust, collaborative and future ready, all parties must support the greater need for conversations around partnership and sustainability both within government and the commercial supply chain.
The group agreed a statement to feed into the government’s Food Strategy demonstrating a shared vision for a resilient, efficient and sustainable future, based on the need for confidence, investment and growth.
The hospitality supply chain stands at a pivotal moment, with the business managing a swathe of new measures from Government, an uncertain economic outlook, alongside consumers still managing cost of living increases. With that backdrop, business confidence is low from producer to operator.
Investment is critical and must focus on fostering strategic partnerships, supporting resilient UK business and advancing sustainability measures to ensure the hospitality supply chain is robust, collaborative, and future ready. Mitigating and adapting to climate change is integral for resilience and driving supply chain collaboration.
We need clear political leadership which supports these aims, without this the supply chain will struggle to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving hospitality landscape.
The emerging Food Strategy must play a central role in supporting this effort, aligning with the industry's growth objectives and reinforcing the interconnectedness of food security, production and availability of healthy fresh ingredients, credible British food standards underpinned by supply chain traceability, and high-quality service delivery.
A strategy which supports investment and prioritises collective action will determine whether the sector can build with strength, confidence, and capacity for future success.
Organisations supporting the statement include UK Hospitality, NFU, Zero Carbon Forum, Red Tractor, Prestige Purchasing, School of Sustainable Food & Farming, David Mulcahy- the Craft Guild of Chefs. Alongside Becky Payton, Independent Consultant and Peter Martin, Co-Founder, Peach 20/20 & Atlantic Club.
Optimising consumer demand for British produce
The meeting coincided with research findings from Red Tractor stating that 94% of UK consumers trust food produced in the UK more than in other countries around the world.
This provides an opportunity for the supply chain, as hospitality businesses can optimise this relationship to drive growth.
This opportunity also needs to be recognised by farmers and growers given Out of Home represents over 50% of the consumer market and leads taste, flavours and trends in food.
However, with a large market with complex supply chains, more conversations must happen to aid greater relationships with farmers and growers and hospitality businesses.
Building partnerships
With current business confidence low, the roundtable provided an important message to government on the need for clear political leadership and inclusion within the forthcoming food strategy.
Commenting on the relationship between operators and producers, NFU Sustainability Group Lead Jack Watts said: “Foodservice providers need to have confidence in British farming and be able to make sustainable procurement decisions based on a resilient food system, particularly given challenges around food inflation, climate change and current geopolitical.
“Today provides an opportunity to build partnerships between operators and producers and enable attendees to take the farming message back to their organisations.”
