In October 2021, Footprint published A Caterer’s Guide to Better Meat in association with RSPCA Assured. Based on expert insight, the report considered what ‘better’ meat looked like for the foodservice sector and how operators could integrate buying better into their sourcing policies.
This report, Better Meat for Foodservice, again in association with RSPCA Assured, provides insight from 10 organisations from across the industry spectrum on their experiences as operators and suppliers.
A Caterer’s Guide to Better Meat also zeroed in on the challenges businesses face in sourcing better meat. These ranged from a lack of influence over producers and the length and complexity of supply chains to concerns over the cost and availability of better meat.
Such challenges are especially pertinent given the change in business context over the past 12 months. At the time of writing last year’s report the out-of-home sector was beginning the long road to recovery from the pandemic which had such a devastating effect on the ability of businesses to trade.
Now, businesses are suffering the consequences of the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, one that has seen energy and food prices soar with a severe knock-on effect on household incomes and spending power. There may be a temptation among buyers to ‘race to the bottom’ on key product lines such as meat in order to protect margins and temper the need to raise prices.
Yet as we show in this follow-up report, Better Meat for Foodservice, there are examples of businesses successfully overcoming these and other challenges to put the principles of better meat into practice.
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