Key figures in production, retail, wholesale and sustainability confirmed in first wave of Festival of Fresh speakers
NFU president Tom Bradshaw, Ocado trading manager Martha Springham and Worldwide Fruit boss Steve Maxwell are among the big names speaking at Festival of Fresh as FPJ’s summer event returns on 5 June.
The first round of speakers has been confirmed, including CEOs from leading suppliers, retail analysts, seasonal labour specialists, tech pioneers, and marketing experts.
The agenda so far can be viewed here. More names will be confirmed and revealed in the coming weeks.
The open-air festival will also include tours of Worldwide Fruit’s cutting-edge packhouse and the presentation of this year’s Festival of Fresh Awards.
Production and trade session
The production and trade session, which begins at 9.30am, features a hard-hitting interview with Bradshaw, followed by a panel on the key opportunities and challenges in avocado supply with Maxwell and Graham Young of Westfalia Fruit.
This is followed by a panel on seasonal labour, featuring Pro-Force CEO Matt Jarrett as recruitment agencies and producers redouble their efforts to avoid the exploitation of seasonal workers.
In addition, IGD’s resilience lead Matt Stoughton-Harris explores the economic outlook and key trends shaping the UK fresh produce grocery sector, as well as the impact of global events such as trade deals and tariffs.
Retail, wholesale and marketing session
After a coffee break, the second session on retail, wholesale and marketing gets underway at 11.30am, including a big interview with Springham from Ocado discussing the online retailer’s sourcing strategy and rapid sales growth.
Meanwhile, Clara Tucker from Kantar analyses the key trends shaping supermarket sales and consumer behaviour.
On the marketing side, John Valentine of Red Communications discusses a project to sell more fruit to children using Disney branding. And Rosie Osborne of independent food policy and practice consultancy Bremner & Co delves into a new campaign exploring the economic opportunities of expanding free school meals for the UK food and farming sector.
There’s also a special panel on the future of UK wholesale markets, involving Janet Hutchinson of the New Spitalfields Market Tenants Association alongside Mark Tate of Birmingham Market wholesaler George Perry.
Tech and sustainability session
In the final session, after the lunch break, the focus is on tech and sustainability. Guests can expect presentations and interviews with the likes of Willie Wood (Worldwide Fruit), Chris Chavasse (Muddy Machines), Avi Schwartzer (Clarifresh), and Liz Bowles (Farm Carbon Toolkit).
Rounding off the day, there is a special panel discussion moderated by Fruitnet MD Chris White to mark 130 years since Fresh Produce Journal began. Current FPJ editor Fred Searle will be joined by his predecessors Michael Barker and Tommy Leighton to explore how the publication and the UK fresh produce industry has changed in that time and where it is heading next.
Delegates can buy Festival of Fresh tickets here, or get in touch with the FPJ sales team to discuss opportunities to sponsor or exhibit at the event.
