The true cost of upheaval

Our latest Food & Drink Top 150 report, produced in partnership with The Grocer, shows a return to stability for the biggest food and drink producers in 2019 but in 2020 and the year ahead, there will be big winners and big losers.

2019 was relatively stable for food and drink companies in the UK in spite of continued pressure from labour costs and uncertainty around Brexit, and many in the industry will look back to 2019 as the peak of a cycle ahead of the disruption to come.

2020 has already been a tumultuous year. Covid-19 has driven huge changes across the consumer goods industry and over the past few months suppliers have had to adapt in ways they had never conceived or planned for. While it’s true that the next year holds significant challenges for food and drink suppliers, with the twin factors of continued Covid disruption and potential for a bumpy Brexit, there are opportunities for the brave and the bold. We are at a unique point in that food and drink at home is regaining relevance with consumers as their other options – holidays and eating out, for example – reduce.

Are you positioned to be one of the winners?