Survey Report: State of the UK food & drink manufacturing sector 2016

In May 2016, the Food Manufacture Group conducted its annual ‘state of the industry’ survey on its user base of UK food and drink manufacturing professionals. The key objective of the poll was to gauge views about the current state of the industry and identify the issues that are causing most concern.

Food Manufacture collated over 510 survey responses on topics such as market conditions, Brexit, trading relationships, environmental management, investment and employment, the Apprenticeship Levy and product development from industry professionals who form an integral part of the brand’s readership.

The topics covered in the survey included acquisitions and employment, product development, disposable technologies, biomanufacturing capacity and key growth drivers & markets.

Some key findings:

• For the second year in a row, the majority of respondents (89%, ▲3% from last year) maintained a positive outlook and saw a long-term future for the UK food manufacturing industry
• A good majority of respondents (60%) voiced their concerns on Brexit and have agreed that a vote to leave the EU on June 23rd, 2016 would be bad for their businesses
• 57% agreed that the Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon should have extended powers to cover food and drink manufacturers in addition to retailers
• Only 21% of respondents agreed that the Apprenticeship Levy, which comes into force in 2017, would have an adverse impact on their businesses

Download the report today to discover more exciting insights into the state of the UK food & drink manufacturing sector.