78. The crisis facing UK retail and food businesses | Sarah Bradbury

About this episode

James Reed interviews Sarah Bradbury about the challenges and opportunities in the UK food industry, focusing on youth unemployment and industry collaboration.

Why are millions of jobs going unfilled in one of the UK’s biggest industries, while so many young people are struggling to find work? In this episode of all about business, James Reed speaks with Sarah Bradbury, CEO of the Institute of Grocery Distribution, about the future of the UK food industry, the growing challenge of attracting young talent, and why the sector may offer far more opportunities than people realise. Sarah shares insights from her 25-year career across major retailers, before stepping into one of the most influential leadership roles in the UK food sector. She explains how IGD works across the entire food system and how they help competitors collaborate on the biggest long-term challenges facing the industry. They explore the pressures reshaping food and retail, including changing consumer habits, climate change, AI, automation, workforce shortages, and the potential impact of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, on the future of food consumption. Together they also discuss leadership, collaboration between rival businesses, and why the UK food industry remains one of the country’s most important, and underestimated, economic forces. Timestamps 02:00 What IGD does…

People in this episode

Host: James Reed

Guest: Sarah Bradbury

Topics covered

• UK retail
• food industry
• youth unemployment
• leadership
• collaboration
• consumer habits
• workforce shortages

Keywords

• UK retail
• food industry
• youth unemployment
• leadership
• collaboration
• consumer habits
• AI
• automation
• workforce shortages
• Ozempic

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Institute of Grocery Distribution

Products: Ozempic

Places: UK

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