Out of Home News Analysis

Out of home sector news analysis. Get the inside track on the key stories breaking in the out of home food and drink sector, from Footprint’s expert researchers and editorial team.

May’s tough talk comes to nothing

May’s tough talk comes to nothing
The PM’s promised crackdown on corporate excess and low pay hasn’t amounted to much now that she’s in No 10. By David Burrows. Theresa May might lead an “unashamedly pro-business” government, but that doesn’t mean she is happy to let the fat cats continue to gorge while the “just about managing” head to food banks…
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Andrea Leadsom’s post-Brexit vision for UK food and farming is clear as mud

Andrea Leadsom’s post-Brexit vision for UK food and farming is clear as mud
Listening to Andrea Leadsom address the Oxford Farming Conference on Monday, it was hard not to feel a degree of sympathy for the Defra Secretary of State. It wasn’t just the unfortunate opening observation that farming had been around “as long as mankind itself”, which discounted the vast majority of human history occupied by hunter-gatherers.…
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Weathering the storm

Weathering the storm
Political turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic means responsible businesses may have to go it alone. November was a month of extremes for those engaged in climate change. It started on a high when the Paris Agreement entered into force on November 4th (remarkably quickly given that the deal was agreed less than a…
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Think like a criminal to beat the food fraud

Think like a criminal to beat the food fraud
Since the horsemeat scandal, health and safety offences can bring big fines or even prison. Businesses have to be cunning to stay safe, writes Tony Hines. The scandal over undisclosed horsemeat in food products in the UK forced businesses, the government, auditors, the media and consumers to sit up and take note of what appeared…
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Footprint Forum Report: Action-stations on obesity

Footprint Forum Report: Action-stations on obesity
Think of it like your in-laws: it’s flawed, but the Childhood Obesity Strategy is what we’ve got, and it’s time for foodservice to start getting on with it. Amy Fetzer reports on the latest Footprint Forum. It’s time to focus on the positive and start finding solutions. That was the conclusion of last month’s Footprint…
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Trick or treat: how the obesity plan changed

Trick or treat: how the obesity plan changed
The childhood obesity strategy was watered down, Theresa May “dismantling” David Cameron’s ambitious plan in no fewer than 36 days. Channel 4’s Dispatches team had been handed a June draft of the plan: “a more ambitious plan that never saw the light of day”, reads the press release promoting the programme (October 31st, 8pm). At…
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‘Marmitegate’ the first skirmish in Brexit price war

‘Marmitegate’ the first skirmish in Brexit price war
The UK’s decision on Brexit was a huge event, so the recent dispute between Tesco and Unilever, where the supplier attempted to impose a 10% price increase on the retailer, is not being viewed as a surprise by anyone in the know within the nation’s food supply chain. As a country we import around 40%…
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Foodservice must fight the flab

Foodservice must fight the flab
Forget the barriers and the lack of powerful policy, it’s time for action on obesity reports Amy Fetzer. You wouldn’t expect an event about a widely panned policy instrument to have an upbeat, positive vibe, but this week’s Footprint Forum: Fat Load of Use - Foodservice and the Childhood Obesity Strategy, in association with CH&Co…
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Labour and wages in a post-Brexit world

Labour and wages in a post-Brexit world
Upheaval offers a chance to boost productivity, but labour shortages could be bad news for farming says Kirsten Williams. The decision by British voters to leave the European Union will have a profound impact on employment in the UK. Catering and hospitality will be particularly hard hit, and the referendum poses questions about the way…
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