Rhian Thomas, head of insight (UK) at IGD, chaired the discussion on behalf of Arena. The participants included:
- Ian Whittingham, business development controller - travel & leisure, Bidfood
- Gavin Squires, business development controller - education & healthcare, Bidfood
- Luke Consiglio, founder and chief executive, The Pantry
- Jeni Edwards, strategic projects director, Restaurant Associates
- Robbie Laidlaw, director, Genuine Dining Company
- Mikyle Carrick, head of category development - Food, Foodbuy Group
- Frank Coughlan, executive head chef, BaxterStorey – UK & N Europe
- Kevin Dunford, head of food purchasing and UK Agriculture, WSH
- Rob Owen, sales director, General Mills
- Jon Pash, foodservice, wholesale and convenience channel director, General Mills
Thomas kicked off the session asking the room about the biggest challenges facing them and their organisations today. One of the first responses was around upcoming additional cost pressures due to the changes in national insurance.
One attendee explained the impact on sectors such as education, with already ‘significant’ cost pressures, the focus is likely to be on ensuring provisions and how this is likely to have to lead to other compromises whilst still having to hit nutritional needs.
Other attendees shared examples from other parts of the market; in business in industry there is an increasing call for story driven communications and products that showcase great quality; clear provenance messaging on meats, seasonal and regularly changing offers, sourcing information and assurances of the ethical nature of supply chains.
The Arena roundtable also discussed balancing cost and other commitments, the need for transparency, moving away from transactional relationships, understanding chefs and being clear on focus area.