The Food Business

Coffee is having a great time. The UK has embraced cafe culture, and the coffee shop market continues to shock even the most optimistic of forecasters by growing significantly in value. Yet, instant coffee – controversial as it is – still dominates the sector.  Instant is the largest coffee category accounting for around 70% of...

Social media matters. Engaging with consumers on social platforms is essential, and should be treated like a long-term relationship. For food and drink businesses, Instagram is a popular choice in reaching fans. This episode, The Food Business speaks with Olivia Wollenberg, founder of Livia’s Kitchen, which has over 127,000 Instagram followers, about her Instagram success....

The small brewers relief scheme, introduced by Gordon Brown in 2002, has led to a boom in UK breweries. The number of breweries in the UK has now broken through the 2,000 barrier for the first time since the 1930s. We speak with Cocksure Brewery in Bristol about their journey from start-up to being a...

There’s an increasing demand for plant-based products. Amidst the sudden vegan and anti-meat type movements, supermarkets are launching new meat-free products and ranges, and flexitarians and vegans are enjoying more choice. We spoke with Paul Brown, the founder of BOL Foods, which produce veg pots, salad jars, super soups, and their newly launched dinner boxes,...

It’s Christmas, and there isn’t a more Christmassy job than being a turkey farmer. 10 million turkeys are killed in the UK during this festive period, more than half of the overall number of turkeys killed every year. The Food Business visits Copas Traditional Turkeys, a family business based in Cookham, Berkshire, where they rear...

Horsegate shook the industry to its core when news broke in early 2013. Five years on, and we look at what actually happened, what went wrong in the handling of the scandal, and the lessons that have been learnt. But we’re not out of the woods. Today the UK faces different issues. We find out...

According to a new report by Allied Market Research the global seaweed market was worth £3.2bn in 2017, and this is expected to grow to £7bn by 2024. Currently China dominates the seaweed market –  the country produces 50 percent of the global seaweed production according to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United...

China is a booming market with a growing appetite for all things British. But for UK companies looking to do business in China, it comes with a headache of procedures and regulations. Future trading conditions with the EU remain unclear. We find out if it’s time UK-made food and drink companies consider the opportunities in...

More than 200 new food producers set up at Speciality and Fine Food Fair every September vying for attention from UK retailers. We look at some of the biggest trends in food and drink and show how that’s shaping innovation in the industry. GUESTS The Foraging Fox Ooh La La Confectionery O’Donnell’s Moonshine Squbes Growers...

What does it take to make it in the competitive “food to go” sector? With growth of 6.2% per annum forecast until 2022 analysts predict massive growth and therefore opportunity in this £17.4bn segment of the food industry. At this year’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair, The Food Business hosted a panel discussion for the...