Welcome to Industry Voices – our interview series with real people in the food sector talking about the big issues of the day. John Hood talks Brexit, Irish beef’s new PGI status and the five things food companies need to consider to succeed in the modern marketplace.
Anyone who works in food in Northern Ireland will know John Hood. Last November he retired from the civil sector after spending the last ten years as head of food and drink at Invest Northern Ireland. In that time he’s become a strong advocate for the country’s produce.
Hood is the first to admit that when he started the role he didn’t know much about the industry. But what began as a passing interest quickly became a passion.
“In the first few years, I was blown away by the quality of the food and drink that we produce here in Northern Ireland. When you look at the size of the country. There’s really only about two million people here - maybe 25-26 thousand farms - so we're very much an agricultural community on a very small landmass. But we produce enough food and drink to feed 10 million people. That presents a fantastic opportunity to sell into other markets, whether that’s near island markets, like the Republic of Ireland, or into Europe and further afield. We have a fantastic story to tell - and we should make sure that we get that out to as many audiences as are prepared to listen to it.”
While at Invest NI he made sure that the businesses he worked with were as efficient and as effective as possible, getting the maximum value for their produce. So, the last few years – and the disruptions that occurred during that time - definitely presented some challenges.
He cites the resilience of the Northern Irish food market as being a powerful tool during that time. But there was one standout issue that really caught him by surprise. “Brexit was a huge shock for me. I never thought that the UK would vote to leave the European Union. To have free market access into Europe, particularly for food and drink, was brilliant, as was having a single supply chain throughout the island of Ireland. So, anything that interrupted that supply chain was going to have, in my view, a negative impact on the food and drink sector. And I think that has been proven to be the case.”
"Brexit was a huge shock for me. I never thought that the UK would vote to leave the European Union. To have free market access into Europe, particularly for food and drink, was brilliant, as was having a single supply chain throughout the island of Ireland"
Today, he sees the Windsor Framework as a positive step forward. “It’s not ideal but it’s positive. Ideally, we want unfettered access north, south, east, west. But I think it's the best position that that we can get at this time, so we've got to work with it.”
In fact, he’s been hugely impressed with how the food and drink sector has dealt with all the massive global challenges of late. “There have been global seismic shocks that nobody could have predicted like the price of feed and fertiliser going through the roof because of the war in Ukraine. Things that are really hard to pass on to the retail sector and the processors. But the industry learned how to deal with these things – it’s been painful, but they’ve done it.”
Last November, Hood changed tack slightly. As retirement from Invest NI loomed he looked for a different way to contribute his knowledge and expertise to the sector – and joined the Livestock & Meat Commission as a non-executive director. His first objective? To change how people approached meat in their meals. “The days of a roast dinner on a Sunday are probably gone now. So, we’ve been taking a different approach – going into schools and teaching not just the home economics teachers but also the children how to cook beef and lamb. We see them as the influencers, going back into the family home and having an impact on how parents approach meal times.”
He's also involved in the commission’s quality assurance scheme – and getting farmers to register for it. It’s something that he’s passionate about. “We care deeply about farming in Northern Ireland in a way that's responsible and cares for the environment. That’s why Northern Ireland grass-fed beef is so good and grass-fed lamb is a really good protein. Our scheme provides an independent quality mark and environmental credentials to any product.”
With Irish grass-fed beef just having achieved Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in March, Hood sees great opportunities for Northern Irish beef, which he describes as being “a little bit unique”.
“We’re Irish beef and British beef – so we can be both. That dual nationality can only help us. It’s just a great opportunity for us to demand a premium price and make sure we can deliver profitability for our farmers and our processors – because the reality is that we have to get the best price.”
He continues, “Price is such a key thing for meat – meat has become such a commodity – that we’ve got to make sure we sell the whole animal. There are parts of the animal that will not be eaten within a European, GB or Republic of Ireland market, but will be valued elsewhere, so that carcase balance is so important.”
Hood describes price as a “bit of a hobby horse” for him. “Whether we accept it or not, in the UK we’ve got used to a cheap food policy. I mean governments wouldn’t admit it, but it’s been an issue since the Second World War. Food is cheap. If you take a household income in the 1970s, 30% of it was spent on food and drink. Today that’s less than 10%. So when you’re able to buy two litres of milk in the supermarket for £1.10 and a bottle of water for £1.50, you’ve got to think that something is wrong. I know that’s a difficult message in a cost of living crisis – to tell people that they actually need to pay more and that the environment is important.”
He is aware that people will shop on price but believes there is a role for everyone to help change how consumers think about what they pay for their food. “There are four groups in the supply chain – the farmer, the processor, the retailer and the consumer. The consumer has to accept that food will be more expensive. The retailer has to accept that they need to pay a fair price to the processor, who has to accept that they need to pass on the increase in price to the farmer.”
"It’s about getting a fair price for the effort and work that goes into making that product. But we’re talking about reversing seventy, eighty, ninety years of culture. So, it’s not going to happen overnight."
He believes change starts with the consumer. “We’ve got to start by educating them. The consumer will vote with their feet – if they don’t want to pay, or buy a certain product, then we’ve got to explain to them how much it costs to produce our food and that this isn’t a question of generating a huge profit. It’s about getting a fair price for the effort and work that goes into making that product. But we’re talking about reversing seventy, eighty, ninety years of culture. So, it’s not going to happen overnight.”
Of course, when you bring in cheaper food from other trade areas this muddies the water further. “We probably have the highest – or at least one of the highest – welfare and environmental standards in the world when it comes to food and drink production. But there is a cost associated with that. Other countries that don’t have the same standards are able to produce products much cheaper, and in a trade deal scenario, try and place their products in the UK market to the disadvantage of the Northern Irish farmer and processor.”
He recalls during Brexit talk of chlorinated chicken and burgers coming from the US, which he describes as “not having the same environmental standard as us” being cheaper. “I remember one of the large retailers saying we won't stock chlorinated chicken right now, but the reality is if our chickens are £7 and the chlorinated chickens coming in at £2.50, then the consumer won't buy the £7 item. We’ll then have no choice but to stock the cheaper version. So, educating the consumer is key.”
So where does building a better stronger food sector in Northern Ireland start for Hood? “I would say that there are there are five things that are really important for food companies going forward.
“The first thing for me is that they've got to be productive. They have got to make sure that that they are operating in a profit and not such a small profit that when there's a global shock, they can't absorb that. There's got to be a reasonable profit in there that makes them economically and commercially sustainable in the future.
"Sustainability - it’s a word that everybody bandies about, but no one really understands."
“The second thing is sustainability. It’s a word that everybody bandies about, but no one really understands. From a food and drink perspective, it’s the carbon footprint, the use of and reduction of waste, and the reduction of packaging. And it’s a complex challenge, because you have to protect the integrity of the product and find solutions that will work in the marketplace.”
He cites the vacuum packing of mince by Sainsbury’s and Asda as an example here. Better environmentally, consumers reacted negatively towards it. “They didn’t like the look of it, so didn’t buy it – even though it significantly reduced the amount of packaging.”
His third recommendation revolves around innovation. “Companies have to innovate. You can’t just keep on producing things that were eaten 15-20 years ago just because there’s still a bit of a market for them. Brands have to move forward and think about how they can innovate right across the business – from packaging to marketing.”
“Companies have to innovate. You can’t just keep on producing things that were eaten 15-20 years ago just because there’s still a bit of a market for them."
Next up is regional spread. “I mean we've a new economy minister and he's made a big play. He’s said we've got the make sure that all of Northern Ireland benefits from economic value. And I think that's one's big strength of the food sector, the majority of food-producing businesses are based out in rural areas and in areas perhaps of more challenging economic times than the inner cities. So, I think that's an important one and that the food industry can contribute to that significantly.”
Finally, he turns his attention to the role of data adoption to help Northern Irish food companies in their development. “Our food companies have got to be data driven. So, whether you're measuring the amount of electricity used for your carbon footprint, your waste packaging, or your turnover, it has got to be driven by really good quality data.
“You don't know where you're going, if you don't know where you've come from. And so, I would say, that companies really need to embrace the use of data across all of their management functions. Good quality data, that's properly recorded, properly stored, properly accessed, and turned into really good quality information that allows them to make decisions and plan. So, they will know when they've arrived at a destination what success looks like.
Put simply, “If you want to be a 21st century company in the food and drink sector, you need to start collecting and recording your data seriously now.”
"If you want to be a 21st century company in the food and drink sector, you need to start collecting and recording your data seriously now."
His position at the Meat & Livestock Commission is for three years. At the end of it, Hood hopes that the shift in thinking around food value has begun and that PGI status is up and running.
For him it’s all about championing a quality product. “If people are still eating healthy Northern Ireland grass-fed protein rich beef and lamb as part of their balanced diet and our farmers and processors are getting a better price for retailers to sell to consumer, then I’ll be happy,” he says.
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