{"id":953,"date":"2021-08-02T08:33:06","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T06:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matchplat.local\/uk-food-beverage-industries-new-opportunities-and-challenges\/"},"modified":"2021-08-02T08:33:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T06:33:06","slug":"uk-food-beverage-industries-new-opportunities-and-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/uk-food-beverage-industries-new-opportunities-and-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"UK food & beverage industry: new opportunities and challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

UK food & beverage industry<\/strong> does not need any introduction: market players operating in it knows to be part of the biggest manufacturing force\u00a0<\/strong>in the country.<\/p>\n

The sector contributed 2,3% of national GVA<\/strong> in 2018, with a total value of \u00a329 billion<\/strong>. The turnover generated by food & drink companies<\/strong> in 2019 exceeded the one of aerospace and aumotive industries combined: a massive result, as reported by Food & Drink Federation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The success of British products is proved by the revenues both in the UK market<\/strong> and abroad<\/strong>: domestic sales<\/strong> went up to \u00a373 billion in 2020, while exports <\/strong>reached 20 different countries, exceeding a global value over \u00a323 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What makes this possible is the work of over 444,000 people<\/strong> across the UK – a world where unique skills stand out.<\/p>\n

\"Matchplat\"<\/p>\n

Beyond the numbers: the challenges for British food & beverage<\/h3>\n

The numbers reported here seem to paint a solid<\/strong> and strongly positive<\/strong> picture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, the UK food & beverage industry<\/strong> has been able to distinguish itself at international level, obtaining significant recognition.<\/p>\n

But there is no shortage of challenges<\/strong> on the horizon, made even greater by a political<\/strong> and economic scenario full of uncertainties<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Brexit has impacted on the trade agreements that until recently bound the UK to the single market: the most immediate consequence has been a reduction in direct exports to the EU.<\/p>\n

Dairy products<\/strong> are the most affected, with a 90% drop in exports to Europe<\/a>: the main causes remain the supply chain disruption<\/strong><\/a> caused by the current pandemic situation and the introduction of the new customs regulations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On top of the overall drop in exports (down 47% compared to Q1 2020), there are other issues: in the long term, UK companies could face a workforce shortage.<\/p>\n

Some 130,000 people in the sector<\/a> are foreign nationals, and it is predicted that 25% of these may leave the country.<\/p>\n

Thus, there are many concrete obstacles<\/strong> that could hamper the growth of a market that has always been dynamic.<\/p>\n

How should this situation be addressed?<\/p>\n

The most immediate answer could be to continue looking beyond Europe’s borders, creating new business opportunities<\/strong> in unexplored areas.<\/p>\n

A strategic choice that more and more companies seem ready to adopt in order to continue growing.<\/p>\n

Outside the borders: seizing opportunities abroad<\/h3>\n

While the bureaucratic complexities of Brexit have brought a halt to trade to the EU, it has also stimulated growth in non-European markets.<\/p>\n

Santander and the Food and Drink Federation have carried out an analysis of current market trends<\/strong><\/a>, revealing that many companies are ready to react.<\/p>\n

But which product categories are performing best?<\/p>\n

In the US<\/strong> – the UK’s third largest food and drink trading partner in the world – spirits, chocolate and cheese continue to be successful. Encouraging results are emerging for gin, beer and soft drinks in particular, although there is still room for growth.<\/p>\n

In North America, Canada<\/strong> is becoming an increasingly attractive destination, with sales up 8% between 2019 and 2020, and trade agreements between the two countries – currently under development – boding well for the future. The ranking of the most popular products is dominated by beef, whisky, gin and beer.<\/p>\n

Further business opportunities emerge in Australia<\/strong> and New Zealand<\/strong>: here British exports exceeded \u00a3484 million in 2020, and the recent signing of the free trade treaty between the UK and Australia – the first international agreement of the post-Brexit era – could translate into concrete benefits<\/strong> for many companies.<\/p>\n

Back in Europe, Norway is an essential partner for UK food & drink industry: with exports up 40% in 2020<\/strong>, the Scandinavian country is confirmed as an essential destination. Consumers in Norway are increasingly focused on food quality<\/strong> and traceability<\/strong>, which is an important issue for UK companies as well.<\/p>\n

\"Matchplat\"<\/p>\n

So there is plenty of opportunities to do better, putting the sector back on the path to growth through innovative strategies and ambitious goals.<\/p>\n

A mission that, now more than ever, will require an in-depth analysis <\/strong>of the market and a constant search for opportunities within it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UK food & beverage industry does not need any introduction: market players operating in it knows to be part of the biggest manufacturing force\u00a0in the country. The sector contributed 2,3% of national GVA in 2018, with a total value of \u00a329 billion. The turnover generated by food & drink companies in 2019 exceeded the one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-portfolio-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}