Five top tips for success: food manufacturing guru

26-Jun-2012 - Last updated on 17-Aug-2020 at 07:56 GMT

Paul Wilkinson: how does your food business measure up against his checklist?

“View customers and politicians as the enemy,” is one of five controversial top tips for food business success, set out by a veteran business guru and chairman of the national skills academy.

In this exclusive podcast, Paul Wilkinson explains that true partnerships do not exist.

Managers should actively protect their own business interests without making unwarranted concessions to customers, he said.

Wilkinson’s top three tips:

1) Don’t stray from your business model if it works.

2) Cash is the only financial measure that matters. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) beats EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) every time.

3) Beware of food fashion, taste will win in the long run.

For the full business health checklist of five key points, listen to the podcast.

Wilkinson is also a senior independent director of Thorntons, director of flavour and fragrance products supplier Fuerst Day Lawson, non executive director of Fengrain and former chairman of RHM.

He also chairs the judging panel of the Food Manufacture’s Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards.

For more information about this year’s awards, and to download an entry form, click here.

Meanwhile, watch out for Wilkinson’s expanded list of 10 key pointers for businesses success next week.