From food strategy to factory floor: Lessons from IFST’s Autumn Conference 2026

How can the food industry deliver products that are healthier, more affordable and reflective of the communities it serves, while supporting sustainable business growth?

These questions shaped the Institute of Food Science and Technology’s Autumn Conference, which took place on 13 October in Nottingham. Under the theme ‘Delivering Food Strategy Outcomes’, the programme brought together perspectives from food science, product development, academia and industry to explore the practical challenges facing the UK’s food system.

For IFE Manufacturing’s community, the discussions offered useful food for thought on the support businesses need to innovate, the value of collaboration across supply chains and the importance of keeping affordability central to product development.

Helping food businesses move from concept to production

Zoe Plant, New Product Development Manager at Food Works SW, explored the West of England Food and Drink Support Initiative and the role of practical support in helping businesses develop and grow.

Her presentation highlighted the breadth of infrastructure that can help turn an idea into a commercially viable product. Food Works SW provides development and scale-up kitchens, specialist equipment and food-grade business units, alongside technical advice covering product development, compliance and certification.

For entrepreneurs entering food manufacturing, access to this expertise can help bridge the gap between a recipe developed at home and a product ready for commercial production. Nutritional analysis, shelf-life testing, packaging and production processes all require decisions that founders may have little experience of making.

One example was A-Maize-ing Meals, a Southern African ready-meal business founded by Millie Mlilo. A published Food Works SW case study describes how support with recipe testing, nutritional analysis and connections to manufacturers and packaging specialists helped the business establish a clearer route to market.

The example also raised a wider question about representation in product development: how can manufacturers better reflect the food cultures already embedded in everyday British life?

For NPD teams, this offers an opportunity to work with founders and communities whose knowledge of ingredients, dishes and eating habits can inform new products. Technical support can help those ideas reach a wider audience while retaining the qualities that make them distinctive.

Building collaboration from grain to finished product

Dr Ulrike Ehgartner, Research Associate at the University of York, explored what enables vibrant food cultures in practice, drawing on the Yorkshire Grain Alliance.

Her presentation considered four connected approaches: growing differently, milling differently, working together and connecting with consumers.

These included organic and lower-input farming, diverse crop rotations and experimentation with grain varieties, alongside regional stone milling and exploration of different flour characteristics. Farmers, millers and bakers exchanged knowledge, negotiated prices and shared risks, while closer customer relationships created opportunities to introduce different flavours, textures and seasonal ingredients.

The Yorkshire Grain Alliance brings together participants across the grain supply chain, with FixOurFood collaborating on approaches to food system change.

For manufacturers, the example prompts a useful question: what becomes possible when ingredient suppliers, processors and product developers work more closely together?

Earlier conversations about raw materials, processing requirements and the intended finished product can create space for experimentation. They can also help businesses understand how a change at one stage of the supply chain affects the next.

Keeping affordability at the heart of innovation

Professor Greta Defeyter, Dean of Social Mobility Policy Engagement at Northumbria University, addressed affordable food clubs and the continuing challenge of food insecurity.

The figures cited in the session illustrated the scale of that challenge. Food Foundation research found that 12% of UK households experienced food insecurity in January 2026, affecting an estimated 6.3 million adults. Among households with children, the proportion was 15%, with an estimated 2.2 million children affected.

The research also found that 53% of food-insecure households had cut back on fruit and 40% on vegetables over the preceding 30 days.

Defeyter’s call for “good food in every postcode” captured the ambition behind the discussion: access to nutritious food should extend across communities.

For food manufacturers, this gives affordability a clear place in the innovation brief. Alongside nutritional composition, product developers need to consider price, convenience, shelf life and how a product fits into everyday household routines.

It also raises questions about how manufacturers can work with retailers and community organisations to make suitable products more accessible.

Connecting innovation with long-term growth

The wider programme connected these discussions with workforce development, human rights and food data. Sessions included Professor Todd Landman on climate change and workers’ rights, IGD’s Harshal Gore on the future talent pipeline, and Judith Batchelar OBE on the Food Data Transparency Partnership.

The themes of the confernece point towards a broad brief for food manufacturing: develop appealing products, build the expertise needed to produce them, strengthen relationships across the supply chain and understand the circumstances of the people buying them.

IFE Manufacturing is delighted to be partnering with the Institure of Food Science and Technology once again for 2027, with the IFST running a day of content at the show concluding with the IFE Manufacturing Award, in partnership with the IFST. Join us on 5-7 April 2027 at Excel London.