FOOD MANUFACTURE SURVEY 2010: THE RESULTS IN FULL
MARKET CONDITIONS
1. I am more positive about the future of my company now than a year ago.
• Agree 76%
• Disagree 21%
• Don’t know 3%
2. I expect my company's profit margins to improve over the next year.
• Agree 65%
• Disagree 28%
• Don’t know 7%
3. Lack of access to finance has had a detrimental effect on my business this year.
• Agree 37%
• Disagree 54%
• Don’t know 9%
4. I see a long-term future for the UK food manufacturing industry.
• Agree 91%
• Disagree 5%
• Don’t know 4%
INVESTMENT AND EMPLOYMENT:
1. My company is planning more capital investment this year than last year.
• Agree 50%
• Disagree 37%
• Don’t know 13%
2. My company will take on more staff this year than last year.
• Agree 26%;
• Disagree 47%
• Don’t know 17%
3. My company currently has vacancies in key roles.
• Agree 36%
• Disagree 59%
• Don’t know 5%
4. My company plans to employ more overseas nationals this year.
• Agree 20%;
• Disagree 56%
• Don’t know 24%
5. My company plans to devote more resources to training this year than last year.
• Agree 59%
• Disagree 30%
• Don’t know 11%
TRADING RELATIONSHIPS
1. Pricing pressure from retailers is threatening the quality of own-label products through excessive value engineering.
• Agree 81%
• Disagree 13%
• Don’t know 6%
Pricing pressure from retailers is threatening to cut into resources devoted to new product development and innovation.
• Agree 73%
• Disagree 19%
• Don’t know 8%
Pricing pressure from retailers is threatening to commoditise branded products through excessive promotional activity.
• Agree 78%
• Disagree 10%
• Don’t know 12%
2. My company aims to do more business with the discounters this year.
• Agree 25%
• Disagree 47%
• Don’t know 28%
3. My customers are taking longer to pay bills this year than last year.
• Agree 55%
• Disagree 26%
• Don’t know 19%
4. My company will invest more into improving the quality of product data shared with customers this year.
• Agree 58%
• Disagree 23%
• Don’t know 19%
5. The withdrawal of credit insurance is still causing problems for my company.
• Agree 29%
• Disagree 42%
• Don’t know 29%
6. I expect my company to do more business with caterers this year.
• Agree 50%
• Disagree 31%
• Don’t know 19%
7. My business has been able to pass on cost increases to customers this year.
• Agree 38%
• Disagree 46%
• Don’t know 16%
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:
1. My company plans to invest more in NPD this year than last year.
• Agree 57%
• Disagree 28%
• Don’t know 15%
2. My customers are more focused on price than groundbreaking NPD.
• Agree 68%
• Disagree 22%
• Don’t know 10%
3. Consumers' spending habits have permanently changed during the recession.
• Agree 40%
• Disagree 45%
• Don’t know 15%
4. Reducing saturated fat, salt and sugar is a key part of my firm's NPD strategy.
• Agree 58%
• Disagree 29%
• Don’t know 13%
5. The uncertainty over health claims legislation has put my company off using some health ingredients.
• Agree 23%
• Disagree 51%
• Don’t know 26%
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
1 - Exploring alternatives to landfill for waste products is a key priority for my company this year.
• Agree 60%
• Disagree 31%
• Don’t know 9%
2 - Improving energy efficiency is one of the top priorities for my company this year.
• Agree 77%
• Disagree 18%
• Don’t know 5%
3 - My company is considering implementing carbon footprint labelling on products this year.
• Agree 15%
• Disagree 59%
• Don’t know 26%
4 – My company plans to determine the water footprint of its products.
• Agree 19%
• Disagree 57%
• Don’t know 24%
