GUILD TALK

View from HQ

By John Farrand managing director

AT THE MOST recent meeting of the Defra SME group, we were surveying the latest political and commercial chaos. We couldn’t cover it in an hour. We couldn’t cover it in a lifetime. To li the mood one of the agenda items was Christmas trade. That unfailing retail lifebuoy must surely come to the rescue again.

It was a mixed response from the panel of micro, small and medium food & drink producers, and independent retailers. There was obvious concern for each one of us having less in our pockets and therefore less to spend in our shops, but as we have covered before: we normally continue to sell quality and worthy food and drink in the face of adversity. It was ‘below the line’ that seemed most threatening to the collective. Sta costs, business rates, fuel charges, electricity extortion…

This was a view echoed on page 5, with Simon Holland of Washingpool Farm Shop stating that his electricity bill is set to increase from £19k per annum to £53k. That’s huge, and daunting, especially when you relate it to how much it is in increased sales – just to stand still. Add to that fuel surcharges and the fact that the cost of the food & drink we sell is on an upward tick. The overheads need some serious analysis and then action.

I’m nding the whole cost-ofenergy thing extraordinary, and it is why many retailers with some space, or a favourable roof are looking at solar to o set ve- or six- gure bills – and play their part in the race to Net Zero. I’d love to whack panels on our roof or invest in a turbine in our rather windy spot at home, but I just can’t a ord the outlay.

The Word on Westminster

By Edward Woodall ACS

WESTMINSTER IS CONSUMED by the Conservative leadership election that will result in the appointment of a new Prime Minister in September.

I will pass on predicting the winner but whoever is crowned Prime Minister will face a huge challenge. They must tackle the immediate cost of living crisis (where it seems there are no easy answers), set out a long-term credible agenda which sets them up to fight a General Election in 2024 and unite their party. None of these tasks will be easy and the leadership debate so far has simplified policy solutions down to “cut taxes” or “don’t cut taxes”.

The reality is that Britain’s problems, both short and long term, are complex and the solutions will take time to feed through.

We haven’t been investing as much as we need to in innovation and our productivity-per-worker is lower than other nations.

What can be done by the next Conservative leader to instil the confidence businesses need? The biggest challenge facing many retailers now is the labour market. It is hard to recruit at all levels and the cost of employing people is rising. Further action to cut the employment allowance and increase the starting rate for employer NICs could help. In addition, we need to tackle the

Not long ago, there were huge grants to help with that capex, both domestically and for business. They’ve all but vanished. Wouldn’t that be a wiser funnel for Government

funds, helping cut bills while contributing to saving the planet in the long term, rather than autumn’s welcome but short-term x?

You may well be an ace costcutter and trim those numbers down to maintain net pro t (or manage your loss) but then, just when you’ve saved the day, according to NFU Mutual (page 6) men in balaclavas with swag bags are going to steal all our cash anyway. They’ll probably swipe the solar panels for scrap too.

I’m nding the whole cost-ofenergy thing extraordinary

increased levels of economic inactivity in the labour market helping businesses to recruit older workers and others that have decided to stop working.

We also need to help businesses manage the business rates increases coming in 2023 with clear reform plan.

Finally, there are some bigticket regulatory challenges coming, like the introduction of a deposit return scheme. These are important environmental regulations that should not be scrapped but a clear and viable timetable for delivery is needed with some reassurances that business will not have to solve these complex challenges alone.

Edward Woodall is government relations director at the ACS edward.woodall@acs.org.uk

The results are in

Thousands of artisan producers from across the world will now know whether they have received a prestigious award in Great Taste 2022.

After 90 days of rigorous judging across both the Guild’s Dorset and London venues, the results went live on 1st August, with 4,079 1-stars, 1,237 2-stars and 241 3-stars awarded. In total, out of the 14,205 entered, 5,557 products received an award.

These products came from all over the globe, with food & drink submitted from 110 different countries.

Great Taste’s judging panel is made up of over 500 food & drink professionals, including critics, chefs, recipe creators, buyers, journalists, broadcasters, and other industry experts.

The only awards left to announce are those of the Golden Forks – awarded to the best regional foods, best international item, and the Supreme Champion.

Judging for this stage was completed on 13th and 14th July and the winning products will be revealed on Monday 5th September at the annual Great Taste Golden Forks event, which will be held at Southwark Cathedral on London’s South Bank.

And, for the first time, the general public will get to experience this event, with 200 food-loving consumers allowed into the venue for an exclusive preview in the afternoon, ahead of the evening ceremony.

See the full list of 2022 winners at:

greattasteawards.co.uk

The Guild of Fine Food represents fine food shops and specialist suppliers. Want to join them?

GENERAL ENQUIRIES Guild of Fine Food

Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200

info@gff.co.uk gff.co.uk THE GUILD TEAM: Managing director:

John Farrand

Special projects director:

Tortie Farrand

Sales director:

Sally Coley

Operations & marketing director:

Christabel Cairns

Sales manager:

Ruth Debnam

Sales executive:

Becky Haskett

Marketing manager:

Sophie Brentnall

Operations coordinators:

Matthew Bunch Chris Farrand Sepi Rowshanaei

Data & systems project manager:

Lindsay Farrar gff.co.uk

Finance director:

Ashley Warden

Financial controller:

Stephen Guppy

Accounts assistant:

Julie Coates

Chairman:

Bob Farrand

Director:

Linda Farrand