Your overview of economic and policy news with a focus on the food and consumer goods industry. Featuring the latest developments and guidance on the Ukraine crisis, the rising cost of living, labour shortages, COVID-19 and adapting to a new relationship with the EU. Government changes – impact on policy Following the resignation of the Prime Minister and changes in the cabinet , a...

The Bank of England (BoE) has released its latest Financial Stability Report , warning of a worsening global economic climate. The invasion of Ukraine has intensified global inflationary pressures, leading the prices of essential goods such as food and energy to rise sharply. As a result of these global pressures, household real incomes and business margins in the UK have fallen, res...

Your overview of economic and policy news with a focus on the food and consumer goods industry. Featuring the latest developments and guidance on the Ukraine crisis, the rising cost of living, labour shortages, COVID-19 and adapting to a new relationship with the EU. Availability concerns With supply chain continuing to be under pressure, around two thirds of adults (65%) experienced sh...

The war in Ukraine is continuing having wide economic and commercial implications for food supply chains. The cost of living crisis has also resulted in more people switching products, thereby further impacting supply chains. The current events are resulting in a reduction in the amount of grains and oil available for export from the region. Some supermarkets are limiting how much cookin...

The first results from the 2021 Census of England and Wales are now becoming available, via the ONS website. The data shows that population continues to grow – in 2021, resident the population of England and Wales was 59.6m, the highest ever recorded. Population grew by 3.5m (+6.5%) since the previous Census in 2011, with positive net migration contributing the majority of chan...

The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill has passed its second reading in the House of Commons, by 295 votes to 221 – a significant number of Conservative MPs appear to have abstained, including former Prime Minister Teresa May, who criticized the Bill in strong terms. If passed, the Bill will give the government authority to introduce secondary legislation to unilaterally adjust parts of th...

New ONS retail data shows that volume sales for “predominantly food” stores have declined steadily over the 12 months ending May 2022. This may be partly due to the loss of the volume gained by retail during the COVID-19 pandemic, when eating out businesses were mostly closed. With most eating out businesses now open, this is to be expected. However, there is no sign that volume los...

Shoppers’ needs and expectations are evolving, and so are retailers as the market becomes more competitive. Here are some common challenges that category managers will face, with tips on how to meet them. 1. Retailer engagement: Get time with the retailer A necessity during Covid-19, ongoing virtual contact is here to stay and although there are benefits around time management and shorter m...

ONS has released its latest inflation data up to May 2022. This is the highest year-on-year inflation level for 40 years, recording 9.1% on the CPI index and 7.9% on the CPIH index. The older RPI measure of inflation reached 11.7% up from 11.1% to February 2022. Inflation has stayed relatively level when compared to April, up only 0.1% on the CPI measure. This is principally because th...

Your overview of economic and policy news with a focus on the food and consumer goods industry. Featuring the latest developments and guidance on the Ukraine crisis, the rising cost of living, labour shortages, COVID-19 and adapting to a new relationship with the EU. Accelerating food inflation UK inflation has reached its highest level in 40 years, reaching 9.1% on the CPI measure an...