Land of the giants
OC&C's annual review of the UK's top 150 food and soft drink producers (2011)
Monday 20 June 2011Report
The fight for survival rages on in food & drink. And this year’s OC&C Top 150 reveals that the UK’s biggest manufacturers are standing tall.
Food and drink in 2010 was not a place for the faint-hearted. The high hopes for economic recovery faded as consumer confidence remained low and the banks held tightly on to their purse strings, lending far less than many said was needed to rekindle the good times. In the wake of the global recession the war for shoppers’ diminishing weekly grocery budgets raged on.
Yet for Britain’s 150 biggest food and drink suppliers, the fact that turnover grew by just 4.5% in 2010 – the lowest figure for seven years and a sharp fall from the 7.7% growth recorded the previous year – can in hindsight be seen as a time affording the industry some breathing space.
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Feeling the squeeze
As the cost of living rises and daily news reports continue to flood us with glum tales of inflation in the price of food, fuel and interest rates, good news is certainly at a premium
On the rebound
It's not just the Premiership that's being taken over by foreign players. Over the last 10 years, UK-based ownership of the Top 150 food & drink suppliers has declined significantly
Only the strong thrive
It’s been a turbulent year for the top 150 suppliers, with inflation and recession both hitting manufacturing hard. The big brands are rising to the challenge, but own label and smaller branded companies are struggling
Size isn't everything
Whilst all good competitive strategy can be traced back to first principles, you may think that reaching back to biblical times is a step (or perhaps several steps) too far.
Trading blows
It’s been a bruising year for food and drink suppliers but the winners were those who attacked their cost base and packed a punch with ads and NPD