Step inside Business Leaders' Forum 2023

This year’s event, sponsored by Columbus, saw leaders from across the length and breadth of the food and drink industry discuss the key challenges and opportunities that affected their businesses in 2022 and what lay ahead in 2023.

Food Manufacture editor Bethan Grylls chaired the event, tasking the assembled captains of industry to explore three very important topics: the cost of living crisis; supply chain woes; and people and productivity.

While uncertainty remained a key issue for food and drink firms, there was a strong message for business to become more adaptable to the constant changes surrounding inflation, regulations and availability of labour and ingredients.

Adapt and change​

As one member of the industry reminded the room, Charles Darwin did not coin the term ‘survival of the fittest’ but rather observed it was those that could adapt and change who survived.

In this exclusive video shot at this year’s forum, Food Manufacture conducted interviews with business leaders to ask them what challenges and opportunities their company’s faced this year.

Leo Campbell, co-founder of Modern Baker, described a ‘Tesla shaped hole’ in the industry that was ready to be filled by innovators in premiumisation in the health and nutrition space.

Day at the beach​

Westaway Sausages owner Charles Baughan talked about its company’s sustainability journey, from the horror of discovering his company’s packaging washed up on the beach to producing, to date, 16 million plastic-free packs of sausages.

Other heads of industry captured in this video include UK Flour Millers director general Alex Waugh, Virani Food Products director Milan Shah, Provision Trade Federation director general Rod Addy, Long Clawson Dairy managing director Bill Mathieson and Columbus product strategy director Kevin Bull.

Full length versions of these interviews can be found on our LinkedIn page.

Meanwhile, have you got your tickets for the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards? It’s less than a month to go, so don’t miss your chance to attend the food industry’s Oscars.