Ingredients for Growth
The UK’s largest advanced manufacturing sector
Food and drink manufacturing is the UK’s largest advanced manufacturing sector, boasting a turnover exceeding £142bn and contributing £36bn to the economy. This industry provides around 500,000 direct jobs and supports four million jobs across the food value chain, playing a central role in the prosperity of communities throughout the UK and ensuring the nation’s food security.
This report contains the ingredients to unlock investment in innovation, boost productivity, and accelerate growth for UK food and drink manufacturing. It sets out 40 clear actions that the government can take to make the UK the most competitive and dynamic food and drink industry in Europe.
£142bn
£36bn
500,000
£2.48
Our vision
We are committed to driving forward the government’s growth mission.
Together, government and industry can
- Unlock investment to drive innovation
- Transform workforce skills and labour market participation
- Promote healthier diets
- Boost international trade
Underpinned by actions only government can take
- Creating a competitive domestic economy through industrial and trade strategies
- Setting effective regulation
- Turbocharging a mutually supportive innovation ecosystem for food and drink
This will lead to
- Higher investment in a foundational sector
- Improved productivity
- Growth in exports & domestic supply
- Meeting shared sustainabilityoutcomes
- Meeting shared health outcomes
- Building a circular economy for packaging and food waste
Resulting in
- Economic growth
- More, higher-skilled jobs in every part of the UK
- A food system that is green and adaptive, productive and innovative
Working together
Ingredients for Growth is our plan for how industry and government can work together to make the UK the most competitive and dynamic food and drink manufacturing industry in Europe.
By working together, government and industry can:
Unlock investment to drive innovation
With strategic support from the government through the Industrial Strategy, the UK can cement its place as a leading adopter of automation, robotics, digitisation and AI – boosting productivity and making a stronger contribution to economic growth.
Transform workforce skills and labour market participation
We want to work with government to co-create a joined-up workforce strategy that supports employers to attract more domestic talent and strengthens our own skills base. This strategy should support social mobility, attract global talent (where roles cannot be filled domestically) as well as investment in automation, robotics and digital technologies.
Boost international trade
Imports are vital for food security, increased choice, and as a competitive spur to innovation and productivity in UK place manufacturing.
There are billions of pounds in untapped export potential. We want to grow our desirable food and drink exports in existing markets and expand into new ones.
Meet shared sustainability goals
Our industry’s ambition is to reach net zero by 2040 and investment is critical to realising this opportunity.
Government support is vital for investment in energy efficiency and deep decarbonisation, building experience and confidence in these new technologies for food and drink manufacturing.
Set effective regulation
Ensuring our regulatory environment is best in class will enable investment in cutting edge technology and science that is currently blocked due to regulatory inertia.
A well-designed and coherent regulatory regime that will make our food system more resilient to shocks, help domestic firms grow and attract foreign investment.
