Young announced he would be stepping-down from his role in November 2016. In this exclusive video interview, he told FoodManufacture.co.uk how the BFFF had changed since he first came onto the scene, and gave words of wisdom to his successor.
‘Old-fashioned trade association’
“I think primarily we were a slightly old-fashioned trade association when I joined,” said Young. “I think we’re a modern, forward thinking trade association now. With modern governance, we promote frozen foods better, and we protect the interest of our members much better than we did.
We also discussed Young’s advice for his successor John Hyman. He said that Hyman should just concentrate on “doing what he does best”.
“He knows the industry, he knows the people. [To Hyman] Be yourself. Get close to your members, and you will have a thoroughly enjoyable time.”
Position of the frozen food sector
Meanwhile, you can still watch the previous two video interviews with Young on FoodManufacture.co.uk. We discussed the position of the frozen food sector post-Brexit, and how leaving the EU could impact the industry in the future.
Young also told us that frozen food manufacturers had “lots of opportunities” for growth if they followed consumer trends.
The video interviews followed the release of the Frozen Food Report II. The report acted as an industry update from the BFFF. It said the frozen food sector was worth £8bn.
Frozen Food Report II – at a glance
- Total market value: £8.13bn
- Retail: £3.73bn
- Foodservice: £2.4M
- Retail growth: 2% over next five years
- Foodservice growth: more than 2%