Leadership

Little Moons announces the appointment of Joanna Allen as its new Chief Executive Officer

News

Little Moons nabs Graze CEO

By Bethan Grylls

The mochi brand will see the head of Graze, Joanna Allen, take the helm this summer, following the sudden departure of Mike Hedges earlier this month.

L-R: Food Manufacture editor Bethan Grylls with Fran Ball on stage at the 2024 Food Manufacture Excellence Awards

Short read

Arla’s hat trick

By Bethan Grylls

Fran Ball, VP of production at Arla, reflects on what it means to have won at this year’s Food Manufacture Excellence Awards and the processes and people that helped secure the dairy company’s three trophies.

Little Moons expects to open its new state-of-the-art 50,000 sq. ft. production facility in Kettering in H1 2024.

News

Little Moons loses CEO and explores consolidation

By Bethan Grylls

Mike Hedges, CEO of Little Moons, has stepped down with immediate effect, with the company now actively seeking for a replacement at the same time as exploring the consolidation of its operations.

The 8th March marks International Women's Day. Credit: Getty/MURAVAdesign

Long read

Women lead on ‘conscious capitalism’ in food and drink

By Pip Murray

Pip & Nut founder and chief executive Pip Murray discusses how women are leading the vanguard for ‘conscious capitalism’ and greater environmental, social and governance standards for manufacturers, as well as how her experience as a woman in the...

Food Manufacture visited Baker & Baker's gluten-free facility last month to meet the team

Me & My Team

Baker & Baker and the gluten-free factory

By Matt Ball

Matt Ball, Baker & Baker’s plant manager within its gluten-free site in West Sussex, talks about the facility’s growth in innovation and capability, and how he’s championing safety and retention in his team.

Sometimes to reach a goal, you need to work together. Credit: Getty/Rudzhan Nagiev

The Talent Poole

Collaboration and relationship building

By Jon Poole

The scale and complexity of the food sector underlines the critical need for collaboration, especially given the many significant challenges the industry continues to face. So, who better to guide us through her experiences and insights into collaboration...

Jean-Philippe (third from left) with a handful of Tilda farmers

Me & My Team

Tilda’s climb to the top

By Jean-Philippe Laborde

Managing director Jean-Philippe Laborde of the well-known rice brand talks about Tilda’s strategy since he took the helm five years ago, from innovation and keeping costs down, to teamwork and trailing new rice cultivation techniques.

A new era for Prima Bakeries Group as it announces it will become an employee-owned business

News

Prima Bakeries Group becomes employee-owned

By Bethan Grylls

The Group which includes Redruth-based Prima Bakeries and St Columb-based Cornish Premier Pasties, has announced its transition to an employee-owned business.

The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2024 winners have been announced - drum roll, please!

News

Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2024 winners revealed...

By Bethan Grylls

The London Hilton Bankside was awash with celebration as hundreds of food and beverage producers joined together to honour their team’s achievements - and it was an extraordinary night for Arla Foods which saw a triple win.

Pictured: Kavita Jain and Tim Warren

News

Two Unilever leaders join Mars Wrigley

By Bethan Grylls

Two new recruits will join the senior leadership team at Mars Wrigley Global Emerging Markets (GEM) as the snacking business looks to strengthen its global position and innovation offering.

Rich Clothier talks business strategy with Jon Poole in this month's column

The Talent Poole

Strategic business planning

By Jon Poole

January, for many businesses, represents the start of a new business year and the beginning of a new business planning cycle. It is therefore timely for The Talent Poole to explore the processes and thinking behind a good strategy and business plan, brought...

'It’s a privilege to lead the ofi sustainability team' says new CSO Roel van Poppel

News

ofi appoints chief sustainability officer

By Bethan Grylls

Roel van Poppel has been announced as ofi’s chief sustainability officer, responsible for scaling the ingredients suppliers’ positive impact across its five product platforms.

Richard Zaltzman announced as EIT Food new CEO

News

EIT Food announces new CEO

By Bethan Grylls

Richard Zaltzman has taken on the role of CEO at EIT Food, as Andy Zynga steps down.

David Collard (left) and Adam Sims (right). Credit: Bart Ingredients

News

Bart Ingredients to appoint new CEO

By Bethan Grylls

Effective 1 April, current chief commercial officer, Adam Sims, will be taking on the role of CEO at the Bristol-based herbs, spices and ingredients manufacturer.

Explore Burts Snacks' Plymouth site and meet the team working there

Me and My Team

Meet the team at Burts Snacks

By Gwen Ridler

Food Manufacture takes a look inside the factory of Burts Snacks in the latest episode of our Me and My Team video series.

How many times do you check your distribution list? Santa recommends at least twice. Credit: Getty/Wavebreakmedia

The Talent Poole

Leadership perspectives from a leader in global distribution

By Jon Poole

At this time of year, most food business leaders are, inevitably, extremely busy. However, this month The Talent Poole was fortunate enough to secure a special interview with one of the best known and most successful global distribution leaders of our...

Kerry Gainsborough's senior leadership team, with Angie third from left, standing. Credit: Kerry

Me & My Team

Leading a factory, motherhood and the menopause

By Angie Grocock

Kerry’s plant manager for its Gainsborough site, Angie Grocock, talks about her unconventional career path and the importance of positive leadership.

FMEA Business Leader of the Year 2024 finalists

News

Meet the finalists: Business Leader of the Year

By Bethan Grylls

The finalists for the 2024 Food Manufacture Excellence Awards have been announced; here’s a bit more about those in the line-up for Business Leader of the Year.

Credit: Graham Wilkinson to join AHDB as new CEO. Credit: Getty/kokouu

News

AHDB gains new CEO

By Bethan Grylls

Graham Wilkinson has been announced as the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board’s (AHDB) new chief executive officer, with the current CEO Tim Rycroft stepping down this December.

Jon Poole interviews Cameron Rigg and Claire Martino to talk coaching and mentoring

The Talent Poole

Growing talent through coaching and mentoring

By Jon Poole

This month in The Talent Poole, we hear from Cameron Rigg and Claire Martino, both part of a small group of volunteers who have created and run the mentoring scheme, ‘Flourish-in-Food’.

Investment in IoT will only mean results if properly managed, says Kavakli. Credit:Getty/Macrovector

Opinion

Drowning in data

By Baris Kavakli

Baris Kavakli, managing director of Portera B.V, looks at why IoT-enabled manufacturers are swimming against a tide of information from the shop floor and how they can begin to reorganise outdated workflows to make better use of data.

Looking after the power behind the supply chain. Credit: Getty/timsa

Opinion

Taking care of the people behind the supply chain

By Chris Gamm

Chris Gamm, chief executive of hospitality charity, Springboard, discusses the importance of protecting your staff when it comes to fostering reliability through the supply chain.

Ole & Steen and Ivy Farm feature in our latest senior appointment round-up. Credit: Getty/Hispanolistic

News

Ivy Farm and Ole & Steen announce new recruits

By Bethan Grylls

While Ole & Steen is looking for a new group CEO, it has also announced the new appointment of Graham Hollingshead as its UK MD. Meanwhile, Dr Harsh Amin has joined cultivated meat start-up Ivy Farm as its chief scientific officer.

Leadership and Business Leaders' Forum 2023 are the topic of this month's podcast

Food Manufacture Podcast

Episode 8: Business Leaders’ Forum 2023

By Gwen Ridler

The Food Manufacture Podcast returns to talk leadership and Business Leaders’ Forum 2023, sponsored by Accruent, E.ON and the Welsh Government.

Find out what was on delegates' minds at Business Leaders' Forum 2023

Business Leader's Forum

Business Leaders’ Forum 2023: Video round-up

By Gwen Ridler

Champions of the food industry discuss how they navigate change and the essential tools every leader needs in their armoury to tackle today’s headwinds in this exclusive video from Food Manufacture’s Business Leaders’ Forum.

More than £10m invested in the business. Credit: Getty/olm26250

News

Pilgrim’s UK’s recovery plan working well

By Bethan Grylls

Pilgrim’s UK’s recovery and growth plan is progressing well as operational losses drop by 84%, with the company continuing to make big decisions to help face challenging market.