Jane McKay, founder of Astute Ideas and co-founder of Zen of Slow Cooking
Julia is joined by Jane McKay, founder of Astute Ideas, a consultancy that works with food and drink startups and SMEs. Now based in Bristol, Jane spent 10 years in the US, where she co-founded an award-winning spice company called Zen of Slow Cooking.
She talks to Julia about the fantastic growth many food & drink startups experienced during the pandemic and how to maintain growth now that we’re facing a cost-of-living crisis. Plus, she shares what UK brands tend to get wrong about expanding into the US, the implications of the HFSS crackdown for challenger brands, her passion for the B Corp movement - and why she’s so excited about the ‘no and low’ sector.
Articles discussed by Jane and Julia:
Pandemic delivers rich pickings for niche food start-ups | FT
The Gondola End is dead. Long live the Power Aisle | The Grocer
What is a B Corp drinks brand and why should you care? | Drinks Retailing
Links to the big food and grocery retail stories this week:
HFSS legislation could be delayed to beat inflation | The Grocer
Asda launches Just Essentials range in major pricing overhaul | The Grocer
Food bank users declining potatoes as cooking costs too high, says Iceland boss | The Guardian
McColl’s boss Miller exits as rescue talks progress | Retail Week
Nestlé bows to pressure and quits Russia | The Times
Free-range eggs no longer available in UK due to bird flu | BBC News
McVitie’s launches non-HFSS version of Rich Tea biscuits | The Grocer
The Pick List
The podcast for curious food industry minds, hosted by Julia Glotz.
- No. of episodes: 75
- Latest episode: 2022-08-05
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