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Hazel Davis asked me how easy it is to forecast and spot trends in food

Finding inspiration:

The Guardian asked me how small business owners can identify the trends they should take note of, for their food business…. some of my thoughts are in this article.

Jane Milton, a food industry expert who works with producers and retailers to develop ideas, says the adventure shown by Ahi Poké’s founders is vital for gauging emerging foods. Her trendspotting suggestions for business owners include: “Eating out, reading new cookbooks, travelling and looking for opportunities to bring foods and flavours, or combinations of flavour, from other countries back to the UK market.”

Food trends can go from concept to launch in just a few weeks if they are being introduced to an existing restaurant or cafe, says Milton. However, in retail – where you need to package and shelf-life test a product, then sell it to a distributor or retailer – it will take at least 16 weeks from idea to launch.

Of course, some trends stick around – cupcakes, for example. “Hummingbird, Primrose Bakery or Sweet Couture have all lasted longer than you might have thought at the outset,” says Milton. “They have succeeded in becoming an everyday product.”

This is partly by continuing to update their offering by tapping into smaller fads, Milton says. They have recently added matcha- and chai- flavoured cupcakes to their menu, for example.

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FROM MY PODCAST

Jane Milton

Food industry expert Jane Milton has been in the business for more than 30 years and has the inside track on all things food!

In her podcast, Jane takes you behind the scenes of the food business and introduces you to her incredible network of producers, entrepreneurs and
consultants she works with. She shares inspiring stories and experiences with you to help you to build a stronger, healthier, better version of your own business.

Let Me Introduce You with Jane Milton

Jane Milton
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Fresh Banter with Giles Christopher ,Food, Drink & Hospitality Photographer
byJane Milton

Fresh Banter with Giles Christopher, the food, drink and hospitality photographer

 

Giles and I met many years ago through his wife and business partner Abi, and since then we have all worked on a lot of jobs together and have spent a lot of time together socially chatting about business and life.

 

He got some great advice from his Dad about offering to do things nobody else likes to do at work and making himself a valuable team member and sound found he had multiple job offers …

 

He’s run his own business for over 20 years and we talk about how basic business skills should be part of the curriculum for everyone nowadays

 

He shares about the prep that goes into shoots and how technology has changed the job so much and how much time photographers now spend in post production too. And about the sheer weight of kit that he takes to ‘location’ shoots too.

 

Giles loves tech and is always pushing himself to learn new ways of doing things , or master new equipment and he also talks about keeping up with and ahead of that if you can

 

A really interesting insight into all that food and drink photography involves, and some great tips for podcasts and business blogs to watch out for too.

 

I’m really pleased we managed to book Giles for a chat in this last episode of series 3…

 

Let me introduce you to Giles Christopher


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