2023: the year in review

We recap the highs, the lows and the other pivotal moments that made an impact on the food industry last year.  
 
2023 was a tumultuous year. The ongoing impact of the pandemic, extreme weather conditions and the war in Ukraine continued to be felt globally, resulting in fluctuating food prices and supply chain disruptions that challenged the industry and consumers alike. The threat of recession hung in the air and the industry watched to see what business risks they would have to mitigate against next.  

There were a number of industry firsts – the US food sectored finally start to get to grips with FSMA 204 and in the UK, prime minister Rishi Sunak hosted the country’s first Farm to Fork summit to discuss initiatives that would hopefully benefit the sector.  

But these were just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s look back and revisit the topics that shaped business decisions in 2023...  

At the beginning of the year, as food costs continued to rise, businesses looked for answers on how to react in an unstable marketplace. We analysed the benefits of a proactive procurement plan and why every food business needed one...

The data must be assured by a third-party provider and made available on a public digital platform in the interest of transparency. This will allow the data to be viewed and aggregated by both stakeholders and eco-conscious consumers. 

February saw more upheaval, as a new deal was agreed between the EU and the UK government over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, bringing with it new legislation for the UK food sector.  

Guardian News: Sunak hails ‘new chapter’ in UK-EU relations as Northern Ireland deal is agreed

In March, we reported that over half of households were spending less on essentials to manage rising bills. But while consumers became even more discerning with their cash, 78% still prioritised sustainability. So, we explored why investing in ESG performance should still be a high priority for food businesses.  

As April rolled around, we cast the spotlight on NPD. The lifeblood of the food industry, product lifecycle management is never cheap. So, what to do when budgets are tight? We recommended adopting an agile approach to emerging market trends... 

In May, the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak published an open letter to the British farming community and we reported on the UK’s first Farm to Fork Summit. As the industry met with the PM to discuss what initiatives would benefit the sector, we picked out our key takeaways... 

Everyone was talking about the latest instalment in the UK Brexit trade saga – the Windsor Framework – in June, as news about the new green lane system was announced. We highlighted the 12 things the UK food industry needed to know about the changes... 

As we headed into the second half of 2023, the pressure was still on about escalating food prices. In the UK, the government grilled the heads of the four leading supermarkets to find out if they'd been overcharging at the tills and on the petrol forecourts, with some fascinating outcomes...    

In July, the topic of food system resilience was on everyone’s minds. So, we sat down with industry experts Professor Chris Elliott, Dr Fiona Roberts and Dr Darin Detwiler - to get their take on the subject. They discussed what needed to be done and how businesses could fortify themselves for the future.    

As the sun shone down in August, we visited leading UK food producer Finnebrogue to talk about our ongoing partnership. We chatted about digital transformation, adapting to new ways of working, and the time-saving techniques they used with our software solutions on the factory floor. Here’s what happened on the day... 

As the leaves began to fall, we started hearing the same thing, US food businesses were beginning their preparations to become compliant with FSMA 204. So, we put together an easily accessible guide to help with the transition...

 
But it wasn’t only food safety regulations that were changing. New EPR legislation in the UK and across Europe was set to have a significant financial impact on businesses in October. We cast a spotlight on the updates and looked at what was involved...

As we entered the final phase of the year, it was time to look to the future in November. We picked the six trends we thought would help shape food industry decision-making. Some had been bubbling under the surface for some time, while others are brand new emerging ideas.  

But it wasn’t just industry trends we were analysing in November. Our Australian/NZ protein experts dissected the current meat procurement sector and assessed the challenges the industry would face heading into 2024.   

Amid all the festive offerings, there was one more big food industry story in 2023 – COP28 – and the eleventh day of the summit was Food, Agriculture and Water Day. We recapped the big announcements, which would ultimately affect the international food sector. 

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