Innovation, technology and teamwork will unlock a bright future for the frozen food industry, according to the British Frozen Food Federation, which held its sixth annual business conference and exhibition recently.
Europe’s leading futurologist, Patrick Dixon, who was one of the speakers at the event said that sales of frozen food can be boosted by targeting the emotional level of consumers. In his speech he said: “Emotion is at the heart of everything and it will shape our future forever. Food is an emotional business. Traditional brands endure across generations – that’s not just about food, it’s about emotion.”
Over 220 delegates attended the event, sharing knowledge and information pertaining to one of the key themes of the conference, namely innovation. Leading names from retail and government looked ahead at how innovation and technology is shaping the future of the frozen food industry. Sarah Bradbury, category director of frozen at Tesco, said growth had been boosted by innovations including the Nutribullet blender, which had helped to grow the supermarket’s frozen fruit sales from GBP6 million to GBP25 million over the last three years. Tesco’s frozen sales have also been driven ahead with the launch of new ‘on trend’ products in response to customer demand. They include diced butternut squash and avocado – sales of which “had flown” thanks to mentions on social media.
Brian Young, BFFF chief executive, told members: “The food industry has gone through seismic change in recent years. Provenance, authenticity and assured supply chains have been game changing. The retail environment has gone through unforeseen radical change and there is more to come. The technology shift in the last five years is greater than the last 50 years. We have successfully lobbied the EU about first date of freezing legislation changes and we have also carried out fire risk assessments at over 2,500 sites. BFFF is unrecognizable from where it was 10 years ago and we are confident that by working together with our members we can make the frozen food industry bigger, better and stronger than ever.”
