Misconceptions and myths continue to stand in the way of achieving genuine equity and inclusion within the hospitality industry. In this powerful conversation, three seasoned practitioners come together to dismantle those myths, challenge outdated thinking, and share real-world insights from their own experiences. Hosted by Lorraine Copes, CEO and Founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality, this discussion features Alya Lilani, Freelance Culture & Engagement Consultant, and Olajide Alabi, People Experience Leader and Co-Founder of SISU. Together, they unpack what meaningful change really looks like blending expertise, practical examples, and audience interaction. Listeners will come away with actionable tools and a clearer understanding of how to navigate the EDI landscape with confidence. 🎙️ This episode was recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows on Monday 7th April 2025.

Raised in an entrepreneurial family, Alex witnessed the creation of the multi-award-winning Black Farmer brand, sparking his passion for business and high-quality food. After more than a decade in the FMCG sector, developing commercial strategy and leadership in both supply and retail, he joined the family business in 2024. Now, he is driving its growth while championing diversity, innovation, and resilience in British food and farming. In this episode, Alex shares his journey and insights on building a brand with purpose, overcoming industry challenges, and navigating the evolving retail and food landscape. Interview hosted by: Nigel Barden - Food & Drink Broadcaster Alex Emmanuel-Jones - Commercial Director, The Black Farmer This session was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows, Tuesday 8th April 2025.

The food and drink industry is so competitive and awash with innovation and fantastic products. The reality is, the majority of these don’t even reach the consumer! For many it is about opportunity and where to find it. Fresh from Dragons Den, Jaydon and Brendon of Lumberjaxe take to the mic to share their journey from conception to investment. Understand the challenges they faced and how they overcame them, plus what it is like to stand in front of the Dragons and win! Brendon Manders - Founder, Lumberjaxe Jaydon Manders - Founder, Lumberjaxe Hosted by Nigel Barden - Food & Drink Broadaster This session was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows, Wednesday 9th April 2025.

Meal deals? Premium ranges? Hot options? Foodservice? Retail? What are the latest consumer trends when it comes to food to go? Join Liv Warren from Lumina Intelligence, as she dives into the numbers behind the sector. Identify where consumers are going for their food to go, what they are buying, why they are buying it, how much they are spending, how frequently they are visiting and more. Presentation hosted by: Liv Warren - Senior Insights Executive, Lumina Intelligence This session was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows, Monday 7th April 2025.

Waitrose has laid out its plans to open 100 new Little Waitrose stores over the next five years, with a focus on neighbourhood missions and sites with a footprint of between 3,000 sq ft and 6,000 sq ft. This will see a record £1bn injected into the business over the next three years. In an exclusive interview, Senior Retail Reporter for The Grocer, Stephen Jones, sits down with Waitrose retail director, Tina Mitchell, to discuss these plans in detail, the convenience retail landscape as a whole, the changing needs of consumers and the future for Waitrose in convenience. Interview hosted by: Stephen Jones - Senior Retail Reporter, The Grocer Tina Mitchell - Retail Director, Waitrose This interview was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows, Wednesday 9th April 2025.

Longer shelf life, less food waste and little packaging, the frozen category offers many benefits to retailers - particularly when it comes to achieving sustainability targets. In this episode, Fieldfare sit down with a panel of leading retailers at the Farm Shop & Deli Show 2025, to discuss the frozen food category in detail and the impact it has had on their businesses. Panel hosted by: Matt Whelan - Managing Director, Fieldfare Andrew Burton - Associate Director, Pleydell Smithyman Chris Giles - Head of Food Retail, Blue Diamond Heather Copley - CEO, Farmer Copleys Jack Bradley - Partner, Bradley's Supermarkets This session was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows, Monday 7th April 2025.

Simple changes to core categories can support building bigger baskets if the right range is executed in the right place in your stores. Listen to hear how retailers are working closely with manufacturers to unlock this opportunity & support their shoppers to take more breaks. Panel hosted by: Alex Bradbury - Senior National Account Manager, Nestle & Fran McCargo - Category Management Lead, Nestle Confectionery Atul Sodha - Owner, Londis Harefield Bobby Singh - Retailer, BB Superstore & Post Office Sunita Aggarwal - Director, Spar Hackenthorpe This session was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows, Monday 7th April 2025.

91% of the UK public are actively engaged in loyalty apps and an increasing number of operators are capitalising on this. Listen along, as leading operators and experts discuss the changing landscape of customer communications, including the impact they can have on businesses and consumers and the key to getting them right. Panel hosted by: Stefan Chomka - Editor, Restaurant Antonia Lallement - Sales & Marketing Manager, Nell's Tom White - Co-Founder and Brand Director, QVO Hospitality (Maray Restaurant Group, The One O'Clock Gun, Buyers Club) This session was orignally recorded live at the UK Food & Drink Shows, Monday 7th April 2025.

The UK food and drink industry strives to be inclusive and continues to drive change in key areas, such as diversity, gender equality and sustainability. During this recording, we hear from influential, inspiring women leaders that are paving the way. Learn about their journey, what they have achieved and be inspired to make a positive change in your business. Panel hosted by: Emma Weinbren - Managing Director, The Grocer Dana Grabiner - Head of Grocery & Convenience, Just Eat UK Emma King - Dining Director, Carlsberg Britvic Fazeela Ratnani - Sales Controller - Wholesale, Convenience and Out of Home, Nestle UK & I This session was originally recorded live at Food & Drink Expo - Tuesday 8th April 2025.

With the restaurant industry facing a tough year ahead, many operators will be tempted to abandon their ESG goals to focus on staying afloat. In this discussion, our panel highlight how embracing sustainability can actually support businesses through times of economic pressure. Panel hosted by: Juliane Caillouette Noble - Managing Director, The Sustainable Restaurant Association James Bates - Co-Founder & Managing Director, QVO Hospitality James Sherwin - Chef Patron/Owner, Wild Shropshire Restaurant  Sarah Brading - Co-Founder , Flat Earth Pizza This session was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows on Wednesday 9th April 2025.

How important is allergen labelling and how do you safeguard your business from cross-contamination? It might be something that you think might never happen to your business, until it does! In this episode, we hear first-hand of the experiences of FGS Ingredients who voluntarily recalled two years' worth of products after noticing cross-contamination. The panel discuss the importance of ownership when it comes to taking action, but also the key steps that businesses can take to safeguard themselves. Panel hosted by: Iain Ferris - Lecturer in Food Safety, standards and law, University of Birmingham. Jatin Patel - Director Of Operations, FGS Ingredients Tiziana Sgamma - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University This panel session was originally recorded live at The UK Food & Drink Shows, Tuesday 8th April 2025.

Towards the end of 2024, Glynn Purnell closed his Michelin-starred restaurant, Purnell’s, after 17 years of trading. On announcement, he stated, “in this climate, no-one is bulletproof”. In an exclusive interview with Stefan Chomka, Editor at Restaurant, Glynn discusses the current trading environment for hospitality operators, the difficult decision he made to close Purnell’s, the future outlook for the industry and his recent venture at Birmingham City Football Club. Interview hosted by: Stefan Chomka - Editor, Restaurant Glynn Purnell - Chef This interview was originally recorded at the UK Food & Drink Shows on Tuesday 8th April 2025.

To make a difference, we all have a responsibility, whether that be as businesses or consumers. Listen to our expert panel, as they discuss consumer expectations around sustainable practices, whether sustainability needs to impact profit and hear from leading retailers on how they are driving change and the impact it has had on their business. Panel hosted by: Nigel Barden - Food & Drink Broadcaster Emma Mosey - Chair, Farm Retail Association Renee Elliott - Founder / Owner, Planet Organic Richard Nicholson - Director, Cannon Hall Farm This panel session was originally recoded live at the UK Food & Drink Shows on Tuesday 8th April 2025.

Reusable, recyclable, AI, convenience, regulatory changes, increased material costs? What do the experts predict as the biggest trends to impact the packaging industry over the next 12 months? From business trends to materials and legislation, listen to our panel of industry experts and award-winning brands, as they analyse the trends that need to be on your radar. Panel hosted by: William Dodds - Deputy Editor, Food Manufacture Marcus Hudson - Business Development Director, NEO WTR Elliot Chrisp - Materials Business Unit Manager, MULTIVAC Joe Clinch - Key Account Manager - Industry and Consumer, EMS-Grivory This panel was originally recorded live at the UK Food & Drink Shows on Wednesday 9th April 2025.

Convenience Stores are at the heart of the communities that they serve. In this episode, we speak with a group of retailers that are pulling out the stops for their local communities. Come and be inspired by their stories and find out the impact it is having on their businesses. Panel hosted by: Sunneva Moore - Reporter, Convenience Store Vidur Pandya - Retailer, Kislingbury Village Store & Post Office Amrit Singh - Managing Director, Concale Group Ltd Mike Sohal - Owner, Dallam Stores This panel session was originally recorded live at the UK Food & Drink Shows on Tuesday 8th April 2025.

Foundervine empower founders to build and scale sustainable ventures by enhancing operations, accessing world-class mentors, and expanding investor networks. In this podcast, Foundervine are joined by three business founders to provide real, practical insights from underrepresented founders who have successfully launched and grown their food & drink brands. Panel hosted by: Cecil Adjalo - Co-Founder & COO, Foundervine Gbemi Shitta - CEO & Founder, Sweet Dough Things Monique Farquharson - CEO, The Matcha Yaad George Turoti - Co-Founder / Operations Director, Cháps Lauren O'Donnell - CEO & Founder, Oatsu This session was recorded live at the UK Food & Drink Shows on Tuesday 8th April 2025.

Building a brand sustainably can have two meanings – growth at a rate that ensures the long-term viability of a business and, also, putting sustainability at the heart of your brand. Perry Haydn-Taylor and Big Fish support businesses with both! With brands like Tyrells, Sipsmith, Gu, Yeo Valley, Charlie Bigham’s and more in their roster, Big Fish are widely considered as the brand gurus. Listen to this exclusive interview, as Perry sits down with Adam Leyland, editor-in-chief at The Grocer to discuss the expectations that brands face when starting out, the key steps to take in order to build a sustainable brand, the common mistakes brands make and much more. Interview hosted by Adam Leyland - Editor-in-chief, The Grocer Perry Haydn Taylor - Chief Stoker and Founder, big fish® This interview was originally held at Food & Drink Expo, Wednesday 9th April 2025.

Just Eat is best known for its takeaway solutions. However, in recent times, it has been galloping into grocery and now beyond, forming partnerships with retailers like Richer Sounds. Listen to an exclusive interview as Claire Pointon, Managing Director at Just Eat, sits down with George Nott, Tech Editor at The Grocer to discuss Just Eat’s plans in the retail space and how it is working with retailers, grocers, independents and brands to help them tap into audiences that they might not otherwise reach. Interview hosted by George Nott - Technology Editor, The Grocer Claire Pointon - Managing Director, Just Eat UK & Ireland This interview was originally held at Food & Drink Expo, Monday 7th April 2025.

Since bursting onto the scene in 2007 following his appearance on Dragons’ Den, Levi Roots has been a household name in the UK. Starting with cooking sauces, but evolving into snacks, ice cream, patties and drinks, Levi Roots is an entrepreneur who is always looking to the next thing. Listen as Levi discusses his career, the challenges and opportunities facing the food and drink sector and the new-look branding for his energy drinks. Interview hosted by Niamh Leonard-Bedwell - FMCG Editor, The Grocer This interview was orignally held at Food & Drink Expo on Monday 7th April 2025.

According to the ACS in 2024, 65% of the UK convenience retail workforce was female, yet just 36% of those that own or run convenience stores are women. Listen as we put the spotlight on some of the most inspiring and influential women in the UK convenience retail sector. Find out how their careers began, the challenges they overcame and the advice they would share to aspiring females looking to build a successful career within convenience. Panel hosted by Alice Leader - Senior wholesale & convenience reporter, The Grocer Katharine Challinor - Head of Independents and New Business, Wm Morrison Supermarkets Ltd Ruth Fawcett - Associate Director of Wholesale & Convenience, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Valerie Aston - Director, Proudfoot Supermarkets Session was originally held at the National Convenience Show, Monday 7th April 2025.