Executive Summary

Hello and welcome to our latest edition of Foodsight.

Since our New Year edition, by my count, food supply has hit the 10 o’clock news on 3 separate occasions…

The first being that of food inflation reaching headier heights since the turn of the year, with CPI Food inflation registering 18% year on year for February 2023. As was well reported in the media, this was the main cause for the unexpected rise of general inflation for the month. Our opening article, ’Prices and Predictions’ on page 19 expands on this and discusses the future outlook, explains what to expect and suggests a number of actions that can be taken.

With the levels of inflation seen over the last year, budgeting will undoubtedly require an even more considered approach this year. The pros and cons of two main methods of budgeting are explained in our article on page 22. With the levels of inflation experienced, whether that be of food, labour or energy, is it time to move from an incremental budgeting method to a zero based one?

The second topic to grace the headlines is - unfortunately increasingly commonplace in the annual cycle of food production and supply - the impact poor harvests. The recent bare shelves of the major supermarkets illustrated the extent of the situation. This is of significance as fulfilling supply to the retail sector takes priority over catering and foodservice when there are supply challenges. On page 24 we explore some of the key aspects related to these recent fresh produce shortages.

The third way that food has hit the mainstream media in recent weeks is the shameful exposé of food fraud within the butchery sector. These sorts of practices must be stamped out and supply chain transparency is key to ensuring food fraud does not and cannot exist. For more on this topic, please see page 27

Sustainability and our ESG credentials are now an ever constant. They are paramount to allmanhall as an organisation and to us as individuals. We are committed to the UN’s Science Based Targets initiative to achieve net zero, and have also applied to join the UN Global Compact – a commitment to implement universally sustainable principles and, vitally, with an obligation to report on these annually.

At allmanhall we will continue to understand, advise, manage and, where possible, mitigate the macro challenges facing food supply. We maintain and develop relationships on a local level to negotiate terms with our joint suppliers to ensure that we can continue to deliver sustainable value and the most competitive arrangements for your organisation.

Please do not hesitate to contact me, or any or the team, if you have any queries or requests.

I hope that this edition of Foodsight is supportive and insightful. Support and Insight, along with Value and Control, being the key pillars of our offering to deliver more sustainable food supply.

With very best wishes,

The importance of this within the food sector is detailed in our piece on page 29. Connected to this is our piece on the forthcoming ban on single use plastic. Detailed information on what this entails and what it means in practice can be found in our article on page 34. We also take a look at the merits of eating seasonally in the final article on page 38.

Covering the ‘Social’ element of ESG, you’ll find our piece on Ultra-Processed Foods on page 42. From what they are, the latest guidelines and how we should look to improve our approach to them, on both a personal and industry basis and also through Government action.

Oliver Hall Managing Director

The single-use plastic ban is coming!

What you need to know and what you can be doing

Ultra-processed foods

What’s all the fuss about?

Seasonal eating

Why is it an important catering consideration? Find a seasonal and sustainable recipe on page 52!