This week saw Lumina Intelligence host a webinar that challenged many of our assumptions about sustainability in the food and drink sector. The session revealed a significant shift in consumer attitudes around sustainability set to impact foods and drink brands in 2026.
There’s something genuinely uplifting about seeing 89 faces on a Teams call at 9am on a weekday morning. Not because they have to be there, but because they want to be. That was the opening to Hospitality Action’s Ambassador AGM, and it set the tone for what turned out to be one of the most moving hours I’ve spent in front of a screen in a long while.
I’ve always loved fried chicken. The crunch. The juice. The way it manages to be both comfort food and celebration depending on where you are and who you’re with. So, when H2O Publishing invited Nick and I to the inaugural Fried Chicken Championships at Big Penny Social in Walthamstow, it was a done deal.
A couple of weeks ago saw the last of Lumina’s Quarterly 2025 briefings, packed full of data and what we can expect to see in the world of hospitality as we welcome in 2026. Following the highly insightful deep dive, our hosts took us on a festive foray around Spitalfields Market.
I had the pleasure of attending the Arena Christmas Event with Susan, our MD, on December 1st – a brilliant way to kick off the festive season, especially as it was held at the stunning Mandarin Oriental Park Lane. Beyond the celebrations, it was an invaluable opportunity to gain key takeaways for the year ahead in our industry.
At this year’s Arena Christmas Event heavyweights from UK Hospitality, The Evolv Collection (previously D&D), Gather + Gather (contract caterers) and RedCat Independent Pubs assembled on the stage at the Mandarin Oriental for a compelling panel discussion. Given the recent budget there was a lot to discuss. Below are my key takeaways, the good, the bad and the ugly…
Walking the floor at ExCeL, it was impossible to ignore the sheer buzz around all things better-for-you. This year, health and function weren’t fringe topics, they were very much centre stage.
Code to Cuisine – AI, Creativity and the Future of Food – UCFF Session
This year’s festival was not just about tasting new flavours and catching up with familiar faces. On the Trends & Debates stage, things got lively as industry leaders explored the role of AI in foodservice. The discussion offered a fascinating look at how technology is shaping menus, kitchens and the guest experience – with a certain amount of spirited debate along the way.
Dubbed ‘Glastonbury for Chefs’ UCFF has long been the go-to event for chefs looking for inspiration. The ‘Universal Cookery and Food Festival’ is a mouthful in itself, but offers far more than a mouthful when it comes to amazing food and drink, both from the brands in attendance and the stand-out catering (well when you are feeding chefs you have to be pretty impressive). No exhibition halls here, just a farm, great food and drink, demos, debates and of course fresh air and thankfully this year – sunshine! With its original format it is quite literally a breath of fresh air when it comes to foodservice events.
This year’s UCFF included a foraging tour which I eagerly signed up for on arrival. The tour was hosted by Colin Wheeler-James of Ground Up Cookery School and took us around Tewinbury Farm in Hertfordshire. With so much to take in, you’ll excuse me if I have missed anything (Colin, if you are reading this I’m afraid my note taking was comprehensive, but my writing a little illegible, so some points may have been supplemented by a light Google – please forgive me). And of course, please don’t take the below as gospel, as some wild foods can be dangerous. Always check and if in doubt, don’t eat it!
At jellybean, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword. As a proudly employee-owned organisation, it’s a commitment woven into the fabric of how we operate, create and collaborate. From reducing our carbon footprint, to our team ‘beanifesto’ commitment, we’ve made meaningful strides in our sustainability journey over the past 38 years. Recently we have been working alongside Alectro as our Virtual Sustainability Officer to ensure we measure all we can and move in the right direction with a goal to become net zero by 2030. More of which can be found here.
Gone are the days when social media was just for consumer brands. With platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and even TikTok evolving rapidly, it’s becoming a promised land for B2B brands looking to actively engage with chefs, buyers and decision-makers alike.
But what are they really looking for? With 75% of B2B decision-makers using social media to guide purchasing decisions1, getting your social strategy right is no longer optional – it’s essential. Here’s how to set your brand up for success:
The UK out-of-home coffee scene is brewing stronger than ever. With a projected £6.1 billion in turnover for 2024/25, the market has grown +4.1% YoY pushing the coffee category to 7.1% of all eating-out spend (up from 6.6% in 2022).This growth is fuelled by physical expansion with 12,229 outlets now operating nationwide growing the channel by +2.4%.
As pubs across the UK navigate evolving consumer habits, shifting economic pressures and continued recovery from recent turbulence, innovation has become the cornerstone of resilience. In Lumina Intelligence’s recent webinar “Reimagining the Pub Experience: Trends, Tech & Innovation”, a compelling narrative emerged: the pubs that thrive are those reconfiguring formats, embracing technology and catering confidently to new guest expectations.
At the end of June, we attended Arena’s most recent event – ‘The Road To Net Zero’ which looked at hospitality’s complex relationship with sustainability, building upon the findings and updating the annual insights and attitudes from last year’s session.
It’s been a challenging time for the pub market; but how is it fairing and what are the trends pubs need to consider to drive growth? Here are our take outs from last month’s Lumina Q2 Food Strategy Forum.
