Why 'resilient' might be the wrong word for foodservice right now

We say foodservice is resilient so often it's become a cliché. But Europe's drought has made me rethink what that word actually means.

The sector can substitute its way out of almost anything: swap a supplier, reweight a menu, adjust prices, de-skill a kitchen. That's resilience. But water can't be substituted. And the same fragmentation that makes the sector nimble also means there's no single voice, no single balance sheet, when it comes to adapting to drought.

In this issue, I look at why foodservice's usual playbook for resilience breaks down when the pressure is water rather than price, then turn to the new planning rules aimed at stopping pubs being converted into housing and ask whether the numbers actually support the crisis narrative around pub closures. I also dig into what the BBPA's closure data going back to 2005 tells us about whether policy can really change the underlying trajectory.

Read the full issue