Food & Drink LIVE presenters speak out on national radio

Former Kellogg Australia MD Jean-Yves Heude and David Beak, the head of one of Australia's largest suppliers of fresh ready meals and soups, Beak & Johnston, have taken to the airwaves to discuss the rise of private label groceries in our supermarkets.

The two industry heavyweights, who are also presenting at the Food & Drink Business LIVE: Industry of the Future Forum 2014 next month, agreed to take part in the Radio National Life Matters talkback segment presented by Natasha Mitchell, which was titled 'Has anyone seen my brand'? The rise and rise of private label groceries in our supermarkets'.

The show sought the input of industry experts and live listener feedback, on the following topic:

“What's happening on the shelves of our big supermarkets? You can't have missed it. Supermarket brand products are encroaching on the space once occupied by brands you might have bought for years. What's going on behind the scenes? And what's going on in your shopping basket? What have you noticed and what choices are you making?”

The segment generated a high number of callers, according to the show's producer, Angela Owens, demonstrating that the topic was a hot one with listeners (download a podcast here).

Beak, who has grown his business into a $330 million a year company over the past 30 years, told listeners that the retail environment was “very tough”, but said the company's major focus on innovation was key to its ongoing supermarket success.

“It just means you've got to get up earlier and run faster,” Beak said.

Heude, a 26 year old FMCG veteran in Europe and Australia, most recently as MD of Kellogg Australia and New Zealand, said private label was important to the differentiation strategies of the major retailers in Australia.

Heude, who now runs Chessmate Consulting which helps manufacturers adapt to this new retail environment, said the trend was a positive one for consumers, as long as they approached private label products with their “eyes wide open”.

He said they should watch out for retailer tricks, such as copy cat products or invisible private label products like wine.

“For consumers, private label can be positive if it is differentiated, but quite often these [products] are copy cats and that is not good,” he said.

On 11 August, Beak and Heude, and a number of other presenters, will tackle the changing retail landscape from an industry perspective at the Food & Drink Business LIVE: Industry of the Future Forum 2014.

The Forum will be held at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney between 8:00am to 12:00pm. Book your seat here.