Sector Focus
EN sinks its teeth into the food and beverage
industry and some of its events
Words by: Saul Leese and Olivia Powell
T
he UK food sector employs around
3.5m people and estimated to be
worth around £113bn. The markets
are broken down into Agriculture
and Fishing (£9.2bn), Food and Drink
Manufacturing (£29.5bn), Food and
Drink Wholesaling (£12.3bn), Food and
Drink Retailing (£29.4bn) and Non-
residential catering (32.7bn).
In 2018, there were approximately
6,700 micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) in the food and
drink sector, with a turnover of around
£18bn and with 120,000 employees. In
the food sector (excluding beverages),
SMEs accounted for 97 per cent of
businesses, 28 per cent of overall
employment and 19 per cent of
turnover.
“The UK food sector employs around
3.5m people and is estimated to be
worth around £113bn.”
There’s a handful of key events
in the food sector including the
International Food and Drink Event
(IFE), Food and Drink Expo, Street
Food Live, attracting buyers from
across supermarkets, hospitality, non-
residential catering and restaurants.
Women account for 56 per cent of
employees in food retailing and 52
per cent in non-residential catering.
Food and Drink is the UK’s biggest
manufacturing sector in the country,
larger than automotive and aerospace
combined and there’s no sign of it
slowing down.
However, as we enter a period of
negotiation, it’s worth noting that
the food sector employs around
106,000 EU workers, around a quarter
of whom are employed in the food
manufacturing sector. Internationally,
the UK benefits from around £100bn
in economic value each year and it’s
growing, with sales expected to hit
£197bn by the end of 2021 according to
the Institute of Grocery Distribution.
The UK is Ireland’s largest trading
partner for food and drink. 37 per cent
of its food and drink exports go to the
UK (€4.6bn/£3.9bn).
Alarmingly, the food and drink
sector will need a further 140,000 new
recruits by 2024 to feed an expected
population of 70m people in the UK
and meet market demands. Food costs
are expected to rise during the period
of trading uncertainty because the
UK imports around 30 per cent of its
food from the EU. If the UK is unable
to reach a temporary trade agreement
whilst the finer details of a deal are
ironed out, tariffs on imported food
will come into play, as well as non-
tariff barriers at ports, creating a
slow-down in movement of goods. The
UK will be obliged under World Trade
Organisation rules to impose average
food import tariffs of 22 per cent and
conduct product inspections leading to
delays and shortening the shelf-life of
products.
Event organisers could also see a
temporary drop in the number of EU
exhibitors until the final details of
a trade agreement with Europe are
complete. Smaller businesses selling
more specialised or artisan food could
be worst affected because the potential
delay and impending tariffs may make
deals with buyers harder to reach.
FOOD TRENDS UNWRAPPED
Eating for your brain
In the same way that we’ve seen a
rise in claims of high protein in food
products, brain health and mental
performance improvements will
make their way into mainstream food
categories. We expect to see a rise in
a range of products, from breakfast
cereals to meat alternatives, that claim
to strengthen mental health. After all,
20 per cent of our energy intake goes
directly to the brain.
February — 23