The seismic impact of weight-loss drugs and game-changing consumer fears over ultra-processed foods means the food industry needs to undergo a “fundamental reset”, which some companies will not survive.
That was the stark message to more than 600 industry leaders and academics in an eviscerating attack on the sector’s “failure” from FSA chair and leading obesity academic Professor Susan Jebb last night.
Delivering the 25th City Food & Drink Lecture at London’s Guildhall, Jebb said she believed a “tipping point” had been reached that meant companies would have to change direction if they were to survive.
“This is not a lecture of despair, it’s a wake-up call,” the former Responsibility Deal chair told the audience, which included guest of honour the Princess Royal. “It’s a moment of opportunity for change.”
However, Jebb, who is also advising the government on its food strategy, used the high-profile event to launch a no-holds-barred attack on the lack of progress by the industry in tackling a crisis that has left 20% of 11-year-olds obese.
She said the industry had presided over a “public health catastrophe” on its watch. Efforts on reformulation, despite progress by a minority of progressive companies, had been thwarted by an industry that had fought to water down and delay regulation, she added.
“The lobbying from the food and drink industry has been intense,” said Jebb, repeatedly referring to The Grocer’s coverage of food industry leaders warning against the economic impact of a raft of measures, such as the junk food ad ban and the soft drinks sugar levy.
Jebb said it had been a huge failure that it took eight years before the HFSS advertising restrictions came into force this year. She added the promotions ban that came into force in 2022 had made a minimal impact because companies had made up for the lost sales in high-profile locations by promoting junk food elsewhere in supermarkets.
“Too many businesses are applying the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law,” she said.
However, she said the combined impact of drugs such as GLP-1 treatments, which had the potential to cause a huge drop in sales for the impulse sector in particular, and growing fears over UPFs, meant the industry now had to change whether it liked it or not.
“I really believed this could signal a tipping point,” she added. “There needs to be a fundamental reset of the food industry.
“It’s possible, probable even, that not all food companies will survive it. Only those who adapt.”
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