Tamara Roberts

The recent Future of Food session from the Food People and F!S at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair Fine Food Fair, led by giving reasons for positivity within the food industry and taking a closer look at the monthly Future Food Tracker. Charles Banks and Kelly Dowson Dowson told us how consumers are feeling positive, with spending up on meals out and takeaways. It was reassuring to hear that confidence is growing alongside the UK economy ‘picking up steam’, something that at Ceres we have certainly seen signs of. The importance of agility was very much emphasised, the ability for brands and businesses to adapt has always been vital for growth and even survival – and time and again over the we have seen evidence of what can happen when this isn’t front of mind. My favourite take outs from the session centred around health: 1. Whilst plant based is here to stay, meat eating is on the rise, with less people consuming a 50:50 diet. Consumers are looking to get more protein in their diets but are wary of the highly processed nature of (some) plant-based foods. Also worth noting that the Gen Z’s want healthier food with fewer additives but are less averse to the use of technology in food, like cellular meat, compared to those aged 45+. 2. We’ve all seen the rise of the health-conscious consumer – so it was interesting to see which categories are doing particularly well. It seems the top health and wellbeing purchases focus on products high in protein, followed by those that support gut health, those that are lower in fat and calories and in fourth place – food that is less processed and more organic. 3. There is still a lot for consumers to learn about UPFs – despite them beginning to understand how to avoid them, many still don’t know what to look for on pack to identify them. From Ceres’ perspective we think the media landscape is at times adding to the confusion here – so there is work to do for brands and retailers to help. The speakers also covered the evolution of European cuisines and the emergence of Asian cuisine – reflecting the change in palates of consumers with a spotlight on Malaysian and Vietnamese. And lastly, it was interesting to see that the vast majority of consumers are feeling it’s their responsibility, as much as it is that of retailers and manufacturers, to shop sustainably. This gives brands an opportunity to tap into that mind set – as long as what they are offering is real and genuine and not just more trees being planted to offset carbon #Foodtrends #Healthtrends

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LinkedInLinkedIn News The Grocer Marketing Week Mark Ritson Dean Murley Julie Murley So many excellent insights from YouGov regarding what influences consumer behaviour in choosing their supermarket(s). 1. Price. 2. Proximity to where I live. 3. Carries Products I need (Low / Middle Income brackets) / Wide variety of products (Household incomes of £100K+ specifically). 4. Loyalty Card Programme. 5. Has high quality products (specifically cited by Household incomes of £00K+ My takeaways from this: 1. If price is such a key factor. The supermarket needs to be as efficient as possible through the entire "value chain". 2) Product & Category Strategy is key. Understanding the everyday needs and the role of innovation (90% of new products fail). 3) Loyalty Card - a recent The Grocer Survey found that "special prices" are actually top priority. Again, margin eroding. 4) Brand Loyalty particularly matters to affluent shoppers. With interest rates hardly coming down, the cost of Grocery shopping is fundamental in household budgets, regardless of income. What influences you in your grocery shopping habits? What other macro factors need to be considered? Look forward to your comments. Me? I'm a Sainsburys / Tesco shopper - driven by price & loyalty offers. Product quality natters too. I love innovation as well.

A great advert can produce great results - who can forget the Cadbury drumming gorilla? But there are a lot of adverts that don't resonate and aren't memorable. When a business makes a real statement about its purpose and its values, that sends a few more memorable message. I think Iceland Foods managing director Richard Walker is a great example. His stance on palm oil products was uplifting and it's no surprise to see him speak out on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's response to his comments on food bank. https://lnkd.in/ewETwb73 Those consistent values really sell Iceland to me and I'm sure they will do the same for a similar shoppers (potentially attracting a different demographic to those traditionally associated with the brand's low prices). And those values can inspire really engaging adverts - like Iceland's banned but brilliant Rang Tan advert highlighting the consequences of intensive palm oil farming, and Dove's Real Beauty Campaign. #WBS #CoreInsights #Marketing #Advertisement #purpose

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Dragon's Den meets TEDX meets Model UN: 💡 🌎 Have you got a groundbreaking idea that aligns with global megatrends and the UN's Sustainable Development goals? 🎉 Do you want to win a £10,000 grant prize by entering into the Future of Food Competition, which will take place 26th November in London? It's FREE to enter, and FREE to attend, which really makes a refreshing change (Just another reason the entire initiative so great Barney😜 Mauleverer) I'm lucky enough to be judging the final pitches along with industry superstars like Adam Leyland (who probably doesn't remember me, but handed me The Grocer Gold Award many moons ago); Rebecca Oliver-Mooney of The Apiary, who I can't wait to meet; my good friend Jason Gibb, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of the incredible Bread & Jam Festivals; Damian Thornton of Piper Sandler; and Yilmaz Erceyes of Premier Foods! You'll get to hear inspirational keynote speakers who will stretch our thinking on the future of food, and network with retailers, investors and media professionals. Register now, don't miss this one, links in Barney😜 Mauleverer's post below. 👇 🙏 🙏 🙏 #FutureOfFood #Sustainability #Innovation #UNSDGs #Entrepreneurship #PitchCompetition #GlobalMegatrends #FoodTech #Startups #GrantOpportunity #LondonEvents #FreeToEnter #FoodInnovation #JudgingPanel #FoodIndustryLeaders #SocialImpact #BusinessGrowth #DisruptiveInnovation #SustainableBusiness #DragonsDen #TEDx  

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Food and drink firms need to collaborate and take action now to become more sustainable, or there won’t be an industry by 2030, members of industry were warned at the launch of the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF’s) Ambition 2030 sustainability strategy https://bit.ly/4eNrUcN

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Love British Food releases new report on benefits of public sector buying British 🇬🇧 produce. The key recommendations from the report include: ✔️To increase farmer understanding of the public sector as a customer and to encourage more farmers to view the public sector as a viable partner. ✔️A commitment to encourage and maintain progress where it has been made. Strengthen commitments to buy British in the new Government Buying Standards. ✔️ Promote a higher level of understanding of the potential opportunities provided by the Crown Commercial Service buying system, the UK’s largest public procurement organisation. ✔️Encourage food service providers to include a ‘Buy British’ category in product listings. Read more and view report >> https://lnkd.in/e-uei4e2

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