Chair Nigel Broadhurst, managing director at Iceland, made the call to over 1,000 business leaders at the Federation’s annual luncheon at London’s Hilton Park Lane on Tuesday (21 November) as he began his two-year tenure at the helm.
Broadhurst highlighted the potential of the £8.3 billion industry and praised its continued ‘innovation, investment insight”, but said that stakeholders needed to work together more to make customers and foodservice companies more aware of the growth in the country’s frozen food business.
He said: “Our producers are delivering some of the best innovation in food production in the market. Our supply chain has never been more efficient or controlled, and investment into our industry has never been greater.
“We need to grasp the nettle and take action, now, working together to get our message across to every consumer, restaurant owner or operator, catering establishment and foodservice provider.”
Broadhurst also advised that industry members need to pro-actively involve themselves in the issues where they can make a real impact, "for the betterment of their businesses and the industry as a whole."
The speech follows the news that the frozen food retail sector has achieved sales of £6 billion (52 w/e 17th September 2017), with foodservice contributing a further £2.3 billion, with current growth in excess of 5%.
The potential for the industry to hit the £10 billion mark is a "truly realistic target" according to Broadhurst, and it is set to be the main focus of the BFFF's annual conference in February.