Quality key to Brexit challenge

Food and drink sector must keep up hard sell to secure future growth, David Lee reports

SCOTLAND’S food and drink sector is in a strong position to face the challenges presented by Brexit, but needs to continue to sell the story of its highquality produce and never rest on its laurels.

The Scotsman’s 7th annual food and drink conference - Beyond Brexit: Future-proofing food and drink in Scotland - heard dire warnings about the dangers of a no-exit deal for the country’s most successful sector – worth £13.9 billion to the economy annually and with the ambitious target of more than doubling that to £30 billion by 2030.

With 70 per cent of Scotland’s food and drink exports going to the EU, rising to 90 per cent of agricultural products, Brexit really does matter to Scotland.

Stephen Jardine, who chaired the event said: “With just seven months to go [to strike a deal], we have no clarity or meaningful sense of what will happen on access to markets or labour. How do we stay on track and build on the pillars of the sector’s success to secure access to talent, funding and markets to secure domestic and global growth?”

He said those pillars of success - high-quality produce, a strong global brand, a positive story of heritage and provenance, constant innovation and strong leadership - made it well placed to tackle the Brexit challenge.

In a video message, James Withers, CEO of Scotland Food and Drink, agreed: “We have an industry planning out to 2030 and the long-term picture looks positive for food and drink in Scotland. People increasingly want world-class food with world-class provenance behind it. That’s good news for us.”

However, both Andrew Niven, Insights Manager for Scotland Food and Drink, and Fergus Ewing, the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy, warned the sector to be relentless in its pursuit of success.

“We have to look at tomorrow and not simply slap ourselves on the back about the successes of today,” Ewing said. “The new food tourism strategy is a positive opportunity for further growth. The link between food and drink and tourism has become clearer. It’s not just about Scotland’s scenery, it’s also enjoying what we have in our natural larder.”

Andrew Niven said survey work had showed that perceptions of the quality of Scottish food and drink had “increased dramatically” in the last decade and that the understanding of quality was sometimes higher in the rest of the UK than Scotland.

He identified macro trends that could have positive and negative effects on the industry, with global trade wars, price rises (of products like butter and vanilla, which is now more expensive than silver) and a payment squeeze by large retailers all presenting challenges. However, opportunities were rife, including a rise in the affluent middle-class in areas like sub-saharan Africa, a desire for healthier foods, people cooking less and eating out/buying snacks more and the rise in the experience economy.

But Niven had a warning: “We cannot just rest on our reputation. It’s not just about sticking a saltire on it. We can be in danger of overdoing that, of thinking that just because we are Scottish, we are going to be better.”

In this context, he stressed the need to continually sell and market Scottish food and drink: “It’s not just about producing good-quality produce, it’s about continually thinking about how to sell it.

“Scotland has a reputation for good products and people know how good they are – but we have to keep selling them. We really must concentrate on selling and marketing what we have; keep our heads down and re-learn the basics of selling and celebrate the crucial people who sell our fantastic products. We can see the challenge and meet it head on.”

Fergus Ewing was optimistic for the future because of the “energy, determination and enterprise” demonstrated by food and drink businesses he had visited across Scotland. He spoke of the “sheer inspiration of someone starting off in business, overcoming all the problems and succeeding” and added: “We have a cadre of young people determined to make a success of their food and drink products. The Scottish Government must encourage, nurture and support that talent so these businesses become the new Mackies and the Graham’s, the success stories of tomorrow.

“The foundation of our success is that reputation for the high quality of our products, which are valued as pristine by buyers all over the world; we must cherish that.”

Petra Wetzel of WEST Brewery said extraordinary customer service was also vital: “A couple of years ago, there was a really bad snowstorm and brewers shut their warehouses and took their lorries off the road. One of our guys went out and delivered beer all over Scotland and all our customers remembered that WEST didn’t let them down. When the sh*t hits the fan, we all shovel together.” n