Event: Food & Drink Expo, part of The UK Food & Drink Shows 2026
Session dates: 13 to 15 April 2026
Speakers:
- Matt Whelan, Managing Director, Fieldfare
- Louise Monk, director/owner, Popcorn Kitchen
- Elliot Day, co-founder, FieldGoods
- Karina Sudenyte, founder, Flawsome Drinks
- Abigail Mines, sustainability manager, Ocado Retail
- Sarah Thomas, chief people and sustainability officer, Mindful Chef
- Sarah Bentley, director of food and culture, Plant Based Health Professionals UK
- Carol Rhead, marketing and insight director, Compass Group
- Jack Vandersteen, head of marketing UK&I, Redefine Meat
- Lona McDonald, director of regenerative partnerships, First Milk
- Edd Lees, co-founder, Wildfarmed
- Nigel Murray, CEO, Booths
Based on the sessions “Sustainability in UK convenience retail: challenges, innovations and opportunities”, “Why be a B Corp”, “How to get more of your surplus food to people in need”, “Where next for plant based” and “From soil to supermarket: regenerative food in action”, delivered at The UK Food & Drink Shows, 2026.
Estimated read time: 11 minutes
Quick read summary
- Sustainable food scales in UK retail only when it is sold as better business, higher quality and lower waste, not as a moral obligation.
- Trade buyers face tighter margins and rising scrutiny, so a case that also lifts basket spend or cuts cost now lands harder than one built on guilt.
- The conversation has shifted from claims to proof, from vegan to plant forward, and from carbon alone to biodiversity, water and soil.
- Speakers recommend third-party verification, positive language, measuring nature, and longer contracts that share risk with farmers.
- Start by choosing one product line and proving the commercial and environmental case with hard numbers before scaling it.
A frozen croissant that sells for 55 pence, keeps for weeks and never ends up in a bin is not most people’s idea of a sustainability story. Matt Whelan, Managing Director at Fieldfare, a family business selling loose frozen food that is approaching 50 years old, uses exactly that example to make a commercial point.
Loose frozen product does not spoil across a few days like fresh, so waste falls, while impulse lines lift the average basket. His argument reframes the whole debate, because it treats sustainability as a route to margin rather than a tax on it.
That thread runs through five sessions at The UK Food & Drink Shows 2026. Certification founders, a dairy cooperative, a regenerative grain brand, a plant-based coalition and two large retailers arrived at the same conclusion from different ends of the supply chain. Sustainable food gains traction when it is positioned around quality, value and long-term resilience, supported by evidence and delivered through shared responsibility across the supply chain.
Why does sustainability still feel like a cost rather than an opportunity?
The instinct across much of the trade is to treat sustainability as worthy, but expensive and slightly joyless. Whelan named that instinct directly, comparing the mood around the subject to a funeral, and argued that the sector needs to make it easier and more rewarding to act on.
His practical version is premium frozen: award-winning lines that carry a higher price, turn quickly and drive incremental spend, sold loose so the shopper buys product rather than packaging. Whelan noted that chest freezers use far less energy than uprights, by his estimate more than two and a half times less, because cold air does not spill out every time a door opens. A retailer running the right kit cuts waste, cuts energy cost and lifts spend at the same time.
“You’re not selling packaging. You’re selling product, and it makes your offer look very, very fresh.”
Matt Whelan
The line captures why the loose model works commercially, since removing packaging both cuts cost and improves how the range looks on shelf. For a convenience or forecourt retailer, the practical step is to test one loose or premium frozen fixture and measure waste and basket spend against the equivalent fresh or ambient space before deciding whether to expand it.
| | Sustainability that also cuts cost and lifts basket spend does not need a moral argument to win shelf space. |
What does proof look like, and why does it beat a green claim?
Buyers and shoppers have heard every green claim, which is why verification has become the currency. That was the core of the B Corp discussion, curated and hosted by Paul Hargreaves, CEO at Cotswold Fayre - who, in 2015, became one of the first businesses to achieve B Corp status. During the session, which included leading brands and Cotswold Fayre partners, founders described certification as the answer to being one of many voices claiming to do good. Elliot Day, co-founder of FieldGoods, a ready meal company around four years old, argued that difficulty is the point, because an easy standard would be worthless.
“If it was easy and everyone had B Corp, then it would lose its validity.”
Elliot Day
Day’s point reframes certification as a barrier that protects its own meaning, which is why buyers and consumers can use it as a shortcut for trust. Louise Monk, owner at Popcorn Kitchen, which gained B Corp status in 2024, made a related case, describing certification as a purpose led framework that the whole team understands rather than a box-ticking exercise, and one that reshaped how the business runs, including redirecting short-dated stock to FareShare.
The same conversation runs through regenerative farming, where the claims problem is sharper because the term has no agreed definition and the CMA Green Claims Code requires any environmental claim to be substantiated. Edd Lees, co-founder of Wildfarmed, a regenerative grain brand, put the underlying market failure in one line.
“we’ve got a system that prices nature at zero.”
Edd Lees
Edd’s framing explains why good intentions rarely change behaviour on their own, since nothing in the price signal rewards them. Wildfarmed’s response, he said, is to measure how grain is grown and keep that identity through the supply chain, so quality and provenance can be priced the way they already are in coffee and wine. The practical implication for a buyer is to ask suppliers what they measure and whether the data survives past the farm gate, because greenwashing thrives wherever measurement stops.
| | A green claim you cannot measure is a liability under the CMA Green Claims Code, not an asset. |
How do you sell sustainability without preaching?
One of the biggest barriers to sustainable food is making consumers feel they are being lectured. That was the central lesson from the plant-based panel, where the shift from “vegan” to “plant forward” has opened the category to a far larger audience.
Carol Rhead, a marketing and insight director at Compass Group, the contract caterer, described moving the target audience for plant foods from a small vegan target audience to the majority of diners (flexitarians), who simply want more plants in their diets, and reported that the plant content of menus has shifted positively every year since 2019, when recording began.
The language does the work. Sarah Bentley, director of food and culture at Plant Based Health Professionals UK, argued that effective messaging always frames the choice as a gain rather than a loss, a Mediterranean vegetable dish rather than a meatless one.
“When you have effective messaging, it’s always in the positive, it’s never in the negative.”
Sarah Bentley
Bentley’s rule applies well beyond plant based, since every sustainable choice competes better when it promises more flavour or value rather than less harm. Quality has to back the language, or the reframe collapses on first taste. Jack Vandersteen, head of UK marketing at Redefine Meat, argued that price matters but value matters more, and that a poor first experience is why many shoppers never buy a plant-based product twice. For a foodservice operator, the practical step is to invest in chef training on plants and pulses, since Rhead noted that catering colleges still treat protein as meat or fish and leave a skills gap that undermines even willing kitchens.
Who carries the risk, and how should it be shared?
Behind every sustainability claim sits a question of who pays for the change, and the honest answer is usually the farmer. In the regenerative session, the panel agreed that the transition from intensive to regenerative methods takes years, during which yields and confidence can dip.
Leona McDonald, director of regenerative partnerships at First Milk, a dairy cooperative and cheese brand (Golden Hooves) of around 700 farms, said the co-op pays regen and emissions bonuses, yet only 24 per cent of its farmers hold premiums from external supply chain sources, which is the gap that commercial buyers could close.
The same logic drives food redistribution, where the sector has started to treat surplus as a shared problem rather than a competitive edge. Sarah Thomas, chief people and sustainability officer at Mindful Chef, was direct about why collaboration now beats hoarding.
“there is no competitive advantage from us having this surplus food.”
Sarah Thomas
Thomas’s point reframes redistribution as a collective duty, which is why rival businesses increasingly route surplus through the same charities. Abigail Mines, sustainability manager at Ocado Retail, described working with the Felix Project to redistribute 7.5 million meals over six years while following the food waste hierarchy, and argued that the next prize is unlocking surplus higher up the chain at farm level. For a buyer, the practical implication is to write longer contracts and risk-sharing terms that let suppliers invest, rather than pushing the cost of resilience down to the weakest link.
| | Sustainability fails wherever the risk of change is shifted onto the farmer instead of shared across the supply chain. |
How can a food business start turning sustainability into commercial advantage?
The speakers offered a consistent sequence, which works as a checklist for any operator who wants proof before scale.
- Pick one product line or fixture where sustainability and commercial return can be tested together, as Fieldfare does with loose frozen.
- Define the hard numbers up front: waste, energy cost, basket spend and repeat purchase. Measure the fixture against its conventional equivalent.
- Lead the customer message with quality, flavour and value, never with meat reduction or guilt, following the plant forward reframe.
- Choose proof over claims: third-party certification such as B Corp or measured provenance data that survives past the farm gate.
- Check the claim against the CMA Green Claims Code before it goes on pack or on menu and drop anything you cannot substantiate.
- Share the risk with suppliers through longer contracts and premiums and route surplus to a redistribution partner rather than to waste.
- Scale only what the numbers justify, then repeat the process on the next line.
What this means for trade buyers and operators
- For convenience and forecourt retailers: before expanding a chilled range, test whether a loose or premium frozen fixture cuts waste and lifts basket spend, using the energy and spend figures rather than instinct.
- For grocery and wholesale buyers: ask each supplier what environmental data they measure and whether it survives the supply chain and treat unmeasurable claims as a Green Claims Code risk.
- For foodservice and hospitality operators: fund chef training on plants and pulses and reframe menu language around flavour and provenance rather than meat reduction.
- For manufacturers and brand owners: decide whether B Corp certification fits the business as an operating framework, and budget for the scrutiny rather than the badge.
- For retailers sourcing fresh produce and dairy: offer longer contracts and transition premiums so farmers can carry the risk of regenerative change.
FAQ
What is sustainable food in a trade context?
Sustainable food is production and retail that balances commercial viability with environmental and social impact, across waste, sourcing, packaging and farming. In practice for buyers it means ranges that cut waste or emissions while still turning a profit, backed by evidence rather than marketing claims.
Why does sustainable food matter for UK retailers and operators now?
Margins are tight and scrutiny of green claims is rising, so a sustainability case that also lifts spend or lowers cost is commercially useful, not just reputational. Speakers across the shows argued that the credible route is quality and proof, because shoppers and buyers have grown wary of unverified claims.
How should a smaller brand start with B Corp certification?
Treat it as an operating framework rather than a marketing badge and expect the process to be demanding by design. Elliot Day of FieldGoods and Louise Monk of Popcorn Kitchen both described the scrutiny itself as the source of the value.
What are the main risks of making sustainability claims?
The largest risk is greenwashing, since the CMA Green Claims Code requires environmental claims to be substantiated and regenerative farming has no single agreed definition. Any claim that cannot be measured and evidenced is a liability rather than an asset.
What did the regenerative panel recommend for scaling change?
Share the risk with farmers through longer contracts and premiums, and measure outcomes beyond carbon to include biodiversity, soil and water. First Milk noted that only 24 per cent of its farmers currently hold premiums from external supply chain sources, which is the gap buyers can close.
Conclusion
The through line across five very different sessions was that sustainable food stops being a cost the moment it is proven, priced and sold as better business. The operators making progress lead with taste, provenance and margin, then let the environmental case follow, and they measure enough to defend every claim.
Edd of Wildfarmed put the whole failure in six words, that the current system prices nature at zero, and the work of the sector now is to build the proof and the contracts that finally give it a price. To follow the agenda and register your interest in the next edition, join The UK Food & Drink Shows mailing list here.
Author and speakers
- Matt Whelan, Managing Director, Fieldfare. Whelan represents a family business founded in 1977 that specialises in loose frozen food sold across farm shops and, increasingly, convenience stores. He speaks with authority on merchandising frozen ranges to cut waste and lift basket spend. Further biographical detail to confirm.
- Louise Monk, owner, Popcorn Kitchen. Monk leads a snacks business incorporated in 2016 that became a certified B Corp in 2024, and speaks from direct experience of the certification process. Further biographical detail to confirm.
- Elliot Day, co-founder, FieldGoods. Day cofounded a ready meal company, around four years old, that became a B Corp roughly two years ago, running the certification internally. He is qualified to speak on certification as a working founder rather than a consultant. Further biographical detail to confirm.
- Karina Sudenyte, founder, Flawsome Drinks. Karina founded a drinks brand that uses wonky and surplus fruit and certified as a B Corp in 2021. Further biographical detail to confirm.
- Abigail Mines, sustainability manager, Ocado Retail. Mines has spent 13 years at Ocado Retail across trading, supply chain and logistics, and now leads food waste and communities work under the retailer’s sustainability strategy. That remit makes her a credible voice on redistribution at scale.
- Sarah Thomas, chief people and sustainability officer, Mindful Chef. Thomas joined the recipe box business in 2020, and her role expanded in January 2025 to include sustainability and B Corp responsibility. She speaks on collective action and household waste prevention.
- Sarah Bentley, director of food and culture, Plant Based Health Professionals UK. Bentley represents the Plants First Healthcare Coalition and founded Made in Hackney, described as the UK’s first plant based community cookery school, 12 years ago. She co-authored a cookbook, We Cook Plants, and speaks on plant based messaging and culture.
- Carol Rhead, marketing and insight director, Compass UK. Rhead has 12 years of experience in high street food and drink and now works in contract catering, giving her a direct view of menu development at scale. Further biographical detail to confirm.
- Jack Vandersteen, head of UK marketing, Redefine Meat. Vandersteen has around ten years of experience with disruptive food and drink brands and was part of the team that brought Seedlip to market before its Diageo integration. He speaks on positioning alternative protein for the mainstream.
- Leona McDonald, director of regenerative partnerships, First Milk. Leona works to turn regenerative farming into greater value for farmers, customers and the wider food system. She leads partnerships that connect on-farm action with commercial opportunities, helping build demand for regenerative dairy while growing Golden Hooves, the UK's leading regenerative cheese brand.
- Edd Lees, co-founder, Wildfarmed. Edd left his career in derivatives to co-found regenerative food and farming business Wildfarmed alongside Andy Cato and George Lamb. He is focused on scaling nature-friendly farming, building a community of farmers, millers, maltsters, bakers, chefs, food businesses and consumers to create a transparent route to market for regeneratively grown food. Wildfarmed's mission is to make better food, from better farms, accessible to everyone.
- Nigel Murray, CEO, Booths. Nigel represents a sixth-generation family-owned retailer in the north west of England and previously spent more than a decade at ASDA. Further biographical detail to confirm.
