Why we are relaunching Future Food Movement now

“Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked across almost every corner of the food industry.​

I’ve sat with farmers under pressure, trying to balance environmental demands with the realities of production.​ I’ve spoken with retailers juggling margins, costs and customer expectations.​
I’ve seen manufacturers wrestle with the tension between innovation and survival.​ And I’ve heard NGOs push - rightly - for greater urgency.​

Different rooms, different pressures. But the same frustration runs through them all: we talk about change, but too often it doesn’t stick.​

At Future Food Movement, we call this The Rift. It’s the gap between ambition and delivery, between the good intentions written into strategies and the tough reality of execution. It’s where trust breaks down and progress stalls.​

I don’t want my legacy to be another set of glossy promises or reports that sit on a shelf. I want it to be that I helped this industry - the industry I care so deeply about - find the courage, the tools and the confidence to act. That’s why we’re relaunching Future Food Movement now.​

Ambition into Action​

Future Food Movement was born out of a simple truth: ambition without action is meaningless.​

Too many organisations know what they want to achieve but struggle with the how. They are paralysed by complexity, pulled in different directions by commercial pressures, compliance burdens and competing demands. It’s no wonder that sustainability teams burn out, or that bold targets get quietly downgraded.​

Our role is to bridge that gap. To translate ambition into clear priorities, to equip leaders with the skills and confidence to deliver, and to create trusted spaces where collaboration replaces posturing.​

We’re not here to add more noise. We’re here to help leaders cut through it.​

Why trust matters now​

If 2025 was about survival, the next years will be about trust.​

The food system is under more scrutiny than ever. From disclosure rules and climate commitments to supply chain resilience and consumer scepticism, the spotlight is unrelenting. Businesses that treat transparency as a compliance exercise will struggle.​

Trust is now the currency of competitiveness. It’s what secures resilient supply chains, attracts investors, reassures customers and motivates employees.​

But trust doesn’t come from spin. It comes from openness, consistency and delivery. It comes when leaders are willing to show the trade-offs, not just the wins. It comes when organisations build the capability to deliver, not just the communications to talk about it.​

That is the conversation we’ll be having at our October Expert Event: How trust is built, protected and challenged across the food system.​

A step change, not a job done​

This relaunch is not a declaration that we’ve cracked it. Far from it.​

We’re building this movement step by step, with the energy and insight of a brilliant team and the support of a network of leaders who care as deeply about the future of food as I do.​

What’s new?​

• Sharper insights: real-time intelligence from across our network to help leaders anticipate risks and opportunities.

• Capability building at scale: not just upskilling individuals, but embedding sustainability and resilience across organisations.

• Advisory and strategy support: practical, people-led help to turn complex challenges into measurable results.

• Representation: a new unit to ensure members’ voices are heard where it matters - in Westminster and beyond.

This is a step change. It’s about making Future Food Movement not just a place to talk, but a place to act.

The Transformation Table

As part of this next chapter, we are also creating The Transformation Table. It isn’t a traditional board or steering group. It’s a small, diverse roundtable of critical friends - from farmers and finance leaders to retailers, innovators and campaigners. They will meet a few times a year under Chatham House Rules, to hold us to account, surface big ideas and help bridge The Rift between different parts of the system.

The Transformation Table symbolises what Future Food Movement is about: not one voice, but many. Not posturing, but honest challenge. Not siloed initiatives, but collective action.
-----

Looking ahead

I often get asked why I am still so determined after two decades of watching the same tensions play out. The answer is simple: because I believe in this industry.

I believe in its ability to adapt, to innovate, to lead. I believe in the leaders who want to leave a legacy of resilience, not short-term fixes. And I believe in the power of collaboration when we have the courage to bridge divides.

This relaunch is not the end of a journey, but the beginning of a new phase. We’re building something bigger than any one company or individual.

Future Food Movement will only succeed if more of us lean in - to listen, to share, to challenge and to act.

If you believe, as I do, that trust and transparency are the foundations of a resilient food system, I hope you’ll join us.”

Kate Cawley, Founder & Managing Director, Future Food Movement
​