Leaders of the four most influential business groups in the food and drink arena – UKHospitality, the National Farmers Union, the Food & Drink Federation and the British Retail Consortium – will come together at this year’s Peach 2020 conference to set out the challenges for ‘Feeding Britain’ in a post-Brexit world.
NFU director general Terry Jones, Food and Drink Federation director general Ian Wright and director of food & sustainability at the British Retail Consortium Andrew Opie (pictured left) will join UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls on a hard-hitting panel exploring the coming pressures on food and drink production, supply and consumption, as well as how politicians, consumers and business are likely to influence the future shape of both agriculture and the high street.
How growing uncertainty around leaving the EU is concentrating minds across the out-of-home market, especially around supply-chain and people, will be a central conference theme of this year’s exclusive, invitation-only event for the sector’s top executives and entrepreneurs, being held at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, on Wednesday, November 21.
So too will be the sector’s increasingly competitive landscape that is creating a steady stream of headlines for the business pages of the national media.
Industry insider Robin Rowland OBE will be on hand to share the conference chairing duties with event founder and CGA vice president Peter Martin, guiding the discussion and putting the tough questions to this year’s panellists.
Rowland, who recently stepped down as CEO of YO! Sushi, to become operating partner at TriSpan, brings a wealth of operational and senior management experience as a non-exec at YO! Sushi, Marston’s, Caffe Nero and Rosa’s Thai.
Other speakers will be drawn from both the corporate and entrepreneurial sides of the business. Those already confirmed include one of the sector’s most experienced executives Mike Tye, former boss of Spirit Group, David Lloyd, Premier Inn and Costa, and now chair of Moto and NED at The Restaurant Group, Emma Woods, chief growth officer at Wagamama and non-exec at Gym Group, Stephen Finch, founder and md of Vagabond Wines, as well as Pho’s head of marketing and founder of Ladies of Restaurants Libby Andrews.
An update on the progress of the latest industry-wide initiative to promote diversity through leadership mentoring will come from Holly Addison (pictured above-right) of Odgers Berndtson, with John Levell (pictured left), director of the Levell Partnership, providing new insight on the role of neurodiversity in the workforce.
An underlying theme of Peach 2020, which is run by CGA, the industry’s leading research and insight consultancy, will be understanding the implications of what’s new and changing in this highest competitive marketplace, from peaking food sales, premiumisation and the popularity of the pub to oversupply, investment and competitive hotspots. CGA’s CEO Phil Tate and strategic initiatives director Rachel Weller will provide the latest data and insight.
As ever, the conference will be followed in the evening by the annual Peach Hero & Icon Awards dinner, honouring the best in the industry, and hosted by Peter Martin and Phil Tate.
The awards will honour dozens of outstanding operators across the out-of-home eating and drinking markets and will include the unique Icon awards, which recognise those individuals who have made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the sector.
The conference and awards dinner are both strictly invitation-only events, with places reserved for senior executives in operating companies. To inquire about attending please submit your request here: www.cga.co.uk/whats-on/peach-2020.
CGA is grateful to our sponsors of this year’s Peach 2020: Asahi, Bookatable by Michelin, Casual Dining Show, Chapman Ventilation, Coco-Cola European Partners, Coffer Corporate Leisure, CPL Online, Diageo, Fishbowl, Fourth, Natwest/RBS, Odgers Berndtson, Omnivore, Reynolds, RSM, Yumpingo and Zonal.
