Reflecting on another busy year for the food and drink industry, our leadership team shares their insights on the celebrations and challenges faced and what’s on the horizon in 2024. From award wins and technological advances to issues like inflation and the cost of living crisis, it has been a year of both celebration and learning.
Here’s what they had to say…
Andrew Selley, CEO of Bidcorp UK
What was your favourite experience/learning from 2023?
My favourite experience was collecting the Grocer Gold Award for best large wholesaler. The gold awards are like the Oscars of the food industry, and to be recognised by an independent judging panel as the best in our business is a true testament to all the hard work that everyone puts in every day. The judges said ‘we had done it all’ this year – great service, strong investment in facilities and training, contract wins, acquisitions and new depots. I’m very proud of how we have grown as a business after the shock of Covid and I look forward to it continuing.
What do you predict needs to be on everyone’s radar in 2024?
I think pressure on customers will increase more next year. With the minimum wage increasing by 10% next year it puts more pressure on customers wage bills and they will seek to be more efficient with their teams. We can help greatly with our range of value added products that are easy to prepare and remove labour from the kitchen, and with premium products that allow customers to charge a bit more for amazing products and improve their margins. Also, continually talking to customers about our own brand and exclusive brands as an alternative to expensive branded products will assist their bottom line performance.
Tim Adams, Sales and Marketing Director
What was your favourite experience/learning from 2023?
It is probably a learning from the past few years, not just 2023, but that during times of adversity and challenge, it is a fantastic opportunity for relationships to be strengthened rather than weakened. As we have moved through one of the worst periods of inflation I can remember, we have had to rely on pragmatism and support across the supply chain (us, customers and suppliers) in order to remain sustainable long-term. No part of the supply chain works in isolation, which of course seems obvious, but historically solutions haven’t always been equitable or offered fair compromise, and I think this has really been a huge positive over the past 12 months in particular as we have worked to find solutions to food inflation that help and support all parties.
What do you predict needs to be on everyone’s radar in 2024?
Refreshingly, food and packaging innovation is ramping up. We are seeing new products come to market, with a clear focus on sustainability, diversity, and functional, nutritious eating. Customers want to understand what is in their food, and cleaner recipe dishes, coupled with better information on ingredients and provenance for end consumers will certainly continue to grow over the next year. I also expect the desire to understand the environmental footprint of products and menus to become more widespread too.
Alison Brogan, Chief Financial Officer
What was your favourite experience/learning from 2023?
I think it’s the first year for a few years that has felt ’normal‘. As a business, we are investing heavily again in depots, vehicles, technology and we are starting to see the benefit of this. We are all out and about in the business again, connecting face to face with customers, suppliers and all our people. Of course the environment is challenging and everyone is working harder than ever to achieve their objectives but we can all support each other which is a massive benefit.
What do you predict needs to be on everyone’s radar in 2024?
A fairly obvious one but not to be underestimated. The environment is only going to become more challenging and our offering will adapt and be creative to meet these changing consumer needs so our customers can continue to grow. We have a general election next year and, regardless of the outcome, there will definitely be change and our customers’ business models will need to be robust and flexible to maintain growth.
Ian Moore, Strategy and Digital Director
What was your favourite experience/learning from 2023?
The last 12 months have undoubtedly had their challenges but looking back there are also so many highlights to consider. If I have to choose one, it would be the award we received for ecommerce site of the year in the UK Digital Growth Awards, selected by an independent group of experts across many industries. Wider industry recognition is always amazing to receive but this one in particular meant a lot to me, it didn’t just represent the fact we have a fantastic solution for our customers in Bidfood Direct, it represented years of hard work across many of our teams to constantly improve and evolve our digital customer journey.
It also demonstrated how far we have come in moving from an order platform to a platform that adds real value to our customers and with so much more to come I hope to see the teams receiving more recognition in the future.
What do you predict needs to be on everyone’s radar in 2024?
Continuing with the ecommerce theme and with what looks like a challenging economic time ahead in the next year, it is essential we continue to evolve our offering to deliver real value to our customers and also our teams. Even more will be expected from our digital customer journey and we need to ensure we continue to adapt and evolve with a personalised offering, tailored to meet the differing needs of our customers. As consumers, all of our expectations continue to grow that our purchasing journey gets easier, feels personal to us and is available how and when we want it and our industry is no different. That expectation will be a big factor next year but with already successful platforms both online and telesales, we have a fantastic opportunity to build on this and support further growth and success in 2024.
Jim Gouldie, Supply Chain and Technical Services Director
What was your favourite experience/learning from 2023?
I’d definitely say my standout moment of 2023 was travelling to Moldova and Ukraine with Hope4 to witness first-hand the impact of the humanitarian crisis following the outbreak of the war. The experience was incredible and humbling, and the fact that Bidfood have done so much to support and we continue to do so, at a time where we are in a cost of living crisis and are already supporting many UK charities, makes me very proud.
What do you predict needs to be on everyone’s radar in 2024?
Looking ahead to next year and beyond, unfortunately, whilst the humanitarian crisis no longer makes news headlines, the harsh reality is that many Ukrainians are living in desperate circumstances. Refugees have little or no means of support and have often been living off savings, but are unable to continue this for much longer and are then faced with a terrible decision – either return to face what remains of their homes in a country at war or seek wider support in whatever way possible.
There are many ways the industry can support Ukraine and particularly the work that Hope4 does. I hope others do get in touch and review what else can be done to help, and that businesses make time and resources, be that financial or like ourselves by donating food… or simply offering emotional support or opportunities to source Ukrainian products to support their remaining industry.
I am hoping to go back to visit again next February and see what has changed during another year of suffering for many and what more we can do to support.
Heather Angus, People and Sustainability Director
What was your favourite experience/learning from 2023?
Without doubt being able to attend in person the various employee awards dinners in person for the first time in a long while, from the ‘Safari awards’, which rewards our independent sales teams – and for the first time this year included our telesales teams, too – to the ‘national account Oscars’ and the ‘Wholesale Brightest Star awards’, it was wonderful to be able to spend time and celebrate success with the many fabulous people who make up the Bidfood team, to recognise individuals for their phenomenal efforts and to hear directly about personal experiences of working in our business.
What do you predict needs to be on everyone’s radar in 2024?
I am pleased to say that in my world the focus will continue on Health & Wellbeing and continuing to support individuals in all aspects of H&W whether social, financial, physical and mental. In addition supporting our leaders to have the skills and confidence to support individuals to develop and perform to the very best of their ability whether through health and safety development, engagement. Finally, but no less importantly, how we continue to drive our sustainable, corporate responsibility agenda. The concern over climate change is real and this is an issue that is going to continue to grow. As a business we are looking at how we continue to raise our game to meet the expectations of our people and our customers.
That’s a wrap! It remains only to extend a big thank from all of us to you and everyone we’ve partnered with through another year of continued growth and learning. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous 2024!
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