Name
Scott Dixon
Age
38
Job title
Managing director
Company and location
The Flava People, Sharston near Manchester
Education
Durham University, Geography degree
Favourite food/drink
Mapo Tofu (it’s a mind-bending Sichuan dish that’s spicy, salty, savoury and tingly all in one). To drink, a Hepcat beer or a black coffee (depending on the day/time).
What inspired you to enter F&B?
My family’s always been in food, originally in the butchery trade but it was whilst working in the brand/advertising world that I first noticed there was an opportunity to bring two of my core passions - big bold flavours and game-changing brands - together to create a truly unique ‘one-stop-shop’ manufacturing business.
Tell us about your role
Ultimately my role as managing director is to help define why we’re all here, where we’re headed as a business/team, and how we’re doing with that.
I try to stick to these three things as much as feasibly possible, but in reality I’m involved in everything from new product and brand approvals to factory challenges, charity partnerships and, of course, our financial performance.
What does a typical day look like?
There genuinely is no typical day at The Flava People but usually a mixture of team check-ins, reviewing licensing contracts, sauce and seasoning tastings (tough work!), meeting customers, brand strategy work, trend/innovation research, wrestling with and cooking for my two young girls.
How did you get to where you are today?
A combination of family history within food and flavours; a passion for brands; and an appreciation for how, when you manufacture stuff yourself, you can remain fresh, agile and relevant - even if it’s often a tricky task staying focused and competing with the big players.
When you’re having a bad day, what cheers you up?
Honestly, my love for food! So cooking is almost always the best remedy as it’s when I switch off and go into autopilot. If there’s a wave or a mountain nearby, however, it’d be surfing or snowboarding. But Manchester isn’t particularly convenient for that...
What’s your favourite part about the food sector?
Sounds a bit cliché but the passion for food; I think it’s why so many come into the industry but very few ever leave it. It’s hard but it’s also infectious, and when you get a product, a flavour or a brand just right it’s insanely gratifying.
If you could change one thing about the F&B sector what would it be?
I’d make it easier and cheaper for customers to trial new products. Taste is absolutely crucial to buying decisions and you can create a knockout product - but actually getting it in to people’s hands and mouths for that first time is often incredibly expensive at scale and cost-prohibitive for smaller brands and manufacturers.
What’s next for you/what’s the dream?
Our ‘why’ at The Flava People is ‘Flava makes the meal’ because we know that, whilst the sauce/seasoning isn’t always the most expensive part of a meal, it is often the element that makes the difference between an average meal and a truly memorable one.
Our dream is to break out of the traditional sauces and seasonings category and bring our brands and flavours to life across as many categories as possible within the retail and restaurants space (slow-cooked meats/bakery/desserts etc). 2026 will be a big year for this so watch this space!
