2025 has seen numerous leadership shake-ups and changes, further industry consolidation, and - despite the headwinds - some great investments and innovation revealed over the course of 2025.
The merger of several big industry players - Hovis and Kingsmill, Greencore and Bakkavor, and Kellanova and Mars - are a sign of the times. Even the bigger industry players - with ample resource, experience and scale - are finding things tough.
Among those feeling confident is Ella McGregor, co-founder of healthy bakery brand, Griddle.
“We’re targeting different audiences, different sector supermarket and tapping into different trends,” she said.
“These legacy – quite old fashioned – brands really need to combine forces to get the efficiency.
“Yes, they have scale, but despite that they don’t have the ability to move quickly, to be nimble, to react to these market trends and consumer demands in the same way that we can.”
Recent behavioural shifts including clean label and non-UPF are playing into the hands of challengers which are generally associated with these ‘trendier’ qualities.
Vanessa Austin, founder of challenger brand Manna Eating, echoed McGregor’s thoughts, stating that the mergers represent the “enormous pressure legacy brands face in maintaining growth at scale”.
She added that she believes this is an opportunity for SMEs.
Still, it would be untrue to say that the SMEs aren’t having a tough time. Inflation, geopolitics, climate change, and the Budget has weighed heavily on everyone across the industry - but especially the smaller businesses.
While November saw UK inflation dropping further than anticipated, with food and drink prices easing, FDF boss, Karen Betts, said significant cost pressures are still firmly pushing down on manufacturers.
“To really impact this persistent food inflation, we need Government to redouble efforts with food businesses to reduce costs, like energy, and boost growth and productivity to bring down prices in the coming weeks and months across the food and drink supply chain,” she contended.
Alongside cost pressure (and no doubt adding to the cost) is the pace of regulatory change. This seems to be weaving in all directions, including backwards sometimes (*cough, cough* EUDR). It’s enough to give you whiplash.
In an exclusive interview with industry guru, Helen Sisson, Food Manufacture heard how hard it’s become. In her 35 years in F&B, the former 2 Sisters technical lead said she has never seen challenges like it.
While bigger manufacturers will have more expertise and departments dedicated to getting their heads around this constant change, smaller businesses will be struggling to keep up.
It’s all very well introducing new laws, but governments all over need to offer some form of stability and make sure anything new coming in is necessary, simple and clear. Often, I ponder why we need new regs and legs which seem to overlap with previous laws...perhaps some consolidation is in order here too.
Whatever comes our way in 2026, Food Manufacture will be here for you to separate the wheat from the chaff.
In the meantime, you can find links to all our 2025 round-up stories below.
I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.