The Arena Savoy Lecture has been the centrepiece of Arena’s event calendar for over 20 years, showcasing both UK and global senior industry leaders as its speakers.
We recently had the pleasure of attending this year’s event, ‘Adapt and Win in Changing Times’, which was notably one of the best attended and most memorable events in the organisation’s history.
Nearly 200 guests gathered in the impressive Savoy Lancaster Ballroom to listen to industry leaders discuss the health of the UK foodservice and hospitality sector, the current challenges being faced, opportunities arising and how businesses within the sector can continue to survive and grow.
Whilst it was wonderful catching up with our peers over a delicious three-course meal, the event gave us much food for thought.
Our head of foodservice Charlotte teamed up with Nicola Knight, insight manager – eating out and food-to-go, at IGD to pen the write up.
Read the full review – You can read the full write up here.
A summary of the takeouts – Here are our key takeaways from the night:
- Chief Economist at IGD, James Walton, shared his insights on the theme of ‘adapting and winning in changing times’. James commended the dynamism and agility of the industry in the face of a complex set of challenges, and the resilience in demand for eating and drinking out despite pressures on consumers spend.
- James suggested this all bodes well for the year ahead – however, high levels of unpredictability still exist, from volatile energy pricing to the impact of the Windsor Framework, and that consumers will need to grapple with unusually high costs for some time to come.
- Paul Nieduszynski, Chief Commercial Officer at Sysco GB, highlighted that the supply chain needs to forecast demand and we need to continue to innovate with food to excite consumers. And crucially, “if prices do come down, we need to pass them on”to keep driving the market forward.
- The outlook remains uncertain amongst pubs, hotels and restaurants, as these sectors are driven by discretionary spend. Consumers are looking for value, but as Paul pointed out “We mustn’t cut corners. We need to maintain the right level of standards.”
- Standards are rising. Consumers are more educated than they ever have been in the past. Wendy Bartlett MBE, Founder of Bartlett Mitchell (now BM Catering), commented that if consumers are going to spend money, they will ‘spend well’. They know what they want. To win, the industry needs to up its game in terms of communication. From the end-user across the entire supply chain.
- The general feeling was that there will be good to come from the last four years, whilst we still recover from Brexit. People are looking after their teams more and suppliers will work better with buyers, so it’s not just about price. And, we will likely see a boost in tourism from visitors to London.
- Whilst there are some watch-outs – James Bielby, CEO of FWD, highlighted security and resilience – the general consensus of the panel was optimism.
We certainly left the event with plenty to chew on!
If you would like to learn more about marketing strategies that deliver commercial results, do get in touch at enquiries@williammurray.co.uk. We’ve got the experience so let us help you achieve the results you want.
