UK – A group of  over 43,000 small and medium sized food companies from more than 30 regions in Britain have come together to form a new lobby group to advocate for their needs before government agencies.

According to a report by FoodBev, the new group by the name Food from England, will provide a unified platform for the SMEs from which they can communicate the food and drink industry’s needs to the government.

By coming together, the SMEs are confident that they will have a strong collective voice to communicate the industry’s needs to relevant government agencies and departments.

“There’s certainly strength to be gained from working collectively with all the different groups across England that represent their membership and bringing together everyone, including consumers, who make up the exceptional food and drink landscape of the UK,” said Tom Hunt, a chef, food writer and ambassador for the Food from England initiative.

As part of its objectives, Food from England will also identify ways to help businesses navigate through Covid-19 and Brexit, while encouraging consumers to keep supporting their local food and drink producers.

Hunt noted that, England was so fortunate to have access to outstanding food that is home grown and home produced, but Covid-19 has put tremendous pressure on the food and drink industry with many businesses suffering as a result of the pandemic.

It was thus imperative that the new platform for England’s small and medium sized food companies working towards finding ways to help these businesses navigate through these hard times.

“We need to be supporting all our producers and giving them a unified voice so that they can continue to grow, raise, graze and produce home-grown food, and we also need to ensure more consumers support them so that the industry can thrive, even during a pandemic,” Hunt noted.

To this end, Food from England is working to develop strategies for producers and artisans, including for increasing sales, retaining new customers, and business growth.

The initiative also aims to provide micro and small producers with access to business intelligence from agencies and public bodies so as to enable SMEs in the food industry make informed decisions.

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