News & Events

Our Rural Professionals team; George and new recruit Max visited LAMMA 2023 at the NEC in January this year.The LAMMA show is the UK’s leading agricultural machinery equipment and service show and connects farmers from all sectors with companies who provide cutting edge machinery, technology and equipment for the farming industry and so a fantastic networking opportunity for our Rural team to go and take a visit, catch up with candidates and clients and see what’s about!Neither George and Max are new to LAMMA or the industry and comment how they found this year’s visit;“There were fewer manufacturers than expected, the show seemed to consist of more ag services and tech businesses, although still a sizeable show there seems to be a steady decline in the size over the last few years and less stands and displays; the likes of John Deere, Claas, Massey Ferguson & Case weren’t there. Each year seems to more of an opportunity to catch up with old contacts more than anything. However, footfall wise it did seem slightly busier than what we’ve seen previously – but it was raining! It was noted of the similar struggles our clients were facing when catching up with them – everyone is short of talent in all aspects be it engineering, Ag workings, land agents etc.”Both George & Max agree the show is better suited at the NEC with a better atmosphere and more suited to poor weather than when it was at the East of England showground.Our Rural Professionals desk here at MorePeople specialises in the recruitment of surveyors, land agents, agri business consultants, estate managers and so on.Find out more and see our current vacancies here, but do get in touch with the team to see how we can help!George@morepeople.co.uk | 07484007179Max@morepeople.co.uk | 07375967913 

As members of the Institute of Agricultural Management, we joined their most recent 60-minute CPD for insights into consumer food trends at this turbulent time. The hour provided some great insights from guest speakers Joe Shaw Roberts, Kantar and Natalie Smith, Head of Agriculture at Tesco and we’ve summarised some of their findings below.Consumer BehaviourWe’ve seen grocery spend and takeaway go up over recent years due to the pandemic, and this is now expected to continue for the next few years – staying in is the new going out. Grocery inflation has hit it’s highest point, and it’s expected that 1 in 4 households are struggling, and so shoppers are going through big behaviour changes. Both Kantar and Natalie at Tesco presented that by the end of Q4 for 2022 inflation was flattening, at 12%. However there has only been a 3% in spend, so where is the 9% in between? It’s expected that shoppers are;·         Buying fewer products·         Trading down - Choosing cheaper products·         Trading in – reducing indulgent occasions·         Making simpler meals with fewer componentsFour of the most effected categories that are experiencing the biggest differences between household growth and volume per household growth are;·         Berries·         Cucumber·         Melons·         PotatoesShoppers are looking for alternatives that are more suited to their budgets, so alternatives to berries are bananas, apples / pears. Retailers need to understand how consumers are making these buying decisions to keep demand.38% of shoppers now work from home, and so create more home-made meals. There has been a drop in online grocery shopping since covid, but there is still an uplift from 2019 and it’s expected that it will continue to grow and we will still pay for convenience. It’s also been noted that supermarket footfall has declined, and people tend to do one large grocery visit/shop now rather than multiple. Are these the effects of the pandemic that are staying with us?Sustainability Natalie Smith, Head of Agriculture at Tesco shared how their team works and their main objectives of current. The team sits within the function of sustainability and creating long term sustainable supply chains. They manage relationships with suppliers and work with trends. Their main goals are;·         To ensure all suppliers meet Tesco objectives and values, for example meat quality ·         Reduce their impact on the environment – 55% shoppers are still conscious of the environment·         Manage relationships and use data to support the supply chain and drive changes.Some interesting points were that of organic produce, and how food waste is a rising trend in trying to combat the issue. 15.8% of grocery spend is going in the bin and fresh fruit & veg contributes to 40% of all food waste.After the recession in 2008, organic has been building back up in popularity, but now money is getting tighter Tesco are researching to understand the importance of organic now, and why it is bought. There is thought to be a shift in the Good, Better, Best ranges in the next 12 months.Cost of living crisisTesco is trying hard to invest in their prices across the supply chain, they currently have locked prices for over 1000 SKUs until Easter.The Clubcard provides additional value and rewards loyalty, not surprisingly card holders have increased and the initiative has coincided with best market share Tesco has seen in years.Meat, Fish, Poultry & Egg are experiencing a 5-year low volume wise, with inflation rising we’ve seen a third of people cut their spending and remove these items from their meals on a regular basis. Discounters such as Aldi are doing well and placing them within the big market players, but how can the industry make the increase in cost work long term?British is important and Tesco will continue to invest in the supply chain to achieve that. They have 5-year contracts with British egg suppliers and are increasing in British pigs.We’re sure many of our clients are feeling the effects of these points shared and 2023 will be an interesting year. Thankyou to IAgrM, Kantar & Tesco for the insights.https://www.iagrm.com/https://www.kantar.com/

This year we’re launching the MorePeople 5 Questions! A series of insights from leaders within our industries. Each week we enjoy catching up with visitors at our office and beyond all of which have impressive career histories and brilliant knowledge, experience and insights into our world. So, we’ve decided to fire our questions and share them with you all! Kicking off is Geoff Calder, Geoff has been in the food industry his whole career. He was with Northern Foods for 10 years, then Allied Domecq, followed by 14 years at McCain Foods as UK MD and CEO of the South African business. Geoff was then MD of G’s Fresh for 8 years and now is a NED for a number of businesses. What’s the single biggest challenge facing our industry today?“I’d say it’s value perception in terms of the produce sector in general, the health, environment and food security credentials of UK agriculture and food production are massively misrepresented in the retail price charged and merchandising investment of UK retail. It needs completely reinvigorating. UK food security is paramount …we should be seeking to be self-sufficient…not running off to Italy for eggs etc when the going gets tough.” What do you think the next big product / piece of tech will be? “Difficult one – I suspect something around packaging and vehicle we buy in, so paper or other more sustainable alternatives. Also, the manner in which we buy - the end of individual scanning. I can see a version of picking your groceries into bags and walking through a checkpoint and being charged automatically. No check out assistants provides huge cost savings to retailers! In terms of agriculture, I think there will be more AI and investment in Robotics. In Retailing, perhaps further consolidation of stores. However, a hard question to answer given how dynamic the world stage has been over the last few years!” What do you like most about our industry? “The ever changing dynamic of the retail industry – its variety and particularly the ‘can do’ spirit.” What was your first ever job in our industry? “Began working to become accountant but then joined Northern Foods, Allied Domeq, McCain then the Shropshire group. 4 main roles and each time a head-hunter contacted me!” What piece of advice would you like to give to your 21-year-old self? “Always be inspiring, but also be inspired, work hard and continually challenge yourself. My personal adage, ‘A mistake is never serious unless it’s repeated’ and to finally, find a mentor.” ​​​

2022 was a great year for MorePeople with our new office, best ever weeks, months, quarters and ending on a record year. The team is bigger than ever, having welcomed many new faces over the past year, with this continuing even in our first week back of 2023!CEO Andrew Fitzmaurice comments;"2022 was great. I think it was actually the proudest year of my 20-year career to be honest. I can’t wait to see what 2023 holds. We have some massive plans and we have been going from strength to strength in so many areas. We’ve brought some super people into the business over the previous 12 months and the year ahead looks to follow suit. Let’s do this!"New startersOn our first day back, we’ve welcomed another three new starters into the team; Sandra Poskaityte has 12 years recruitment experience over a range of sectors, and now joins our Professional Services desk recruiting for roles with Finance, HR, IT and Admin. Max Johnson is a Harper Adams Graduate in Rural Enterprise and Land Management. Max has a family background in farming and has experience in working for both private estates, consultancy firms and farms across the country. Max will be joining George on our Rural Professionals desk. Austin Baker has previous recruitment experience and joins us after a 2-year stint in landscaping and design, ready to get back into it!​AwardsEach year, we celebrate team successes with our yearly awards complete with categories! Congratulations to our 2022 winners; Morten Andresen, Rae Goss and Jake Tebbutt Gilbert.MD Richard Hanwell adds;"​Last year demonstrated our desire to grow and we hired some fantastic talent to our already well-equipped team. 2023 is gearing up to be much of the same in terms of growing our market share as well as our team. Sure, there will be challenges but we have never been in a better place to deal with them. I am incredibly excited to see what 2023 will bring to MorePeople."

​We’ve recently caught up with City Harvest, and all the amazing work they do within our industries combating food waste and providing free food for the many different projects and people that need it.City Harvest was founded in 2014 by a small group of people, who came together to address food waste and food poverty in the capital, forming London's first food redistribution charity. City Harvest puts surplus food to good use in a sustainable way by delivering free food for over 1 million meals a month to 350+ charities, including; children’s programmes, food banks, refuges for women fleeing domestic violence and families fleeing war-torn countries, andlocal groups across London welcoming the elderly and isolated – their charity reaches areas within the M25, but they can collect food nationwide for the cause.They offer a sustainable solution to the food industry, ensuring any surplus food from any stage of the food chain is rescued and not put to waste.Wastage from product development trials, to surplus in manufacturing, distribution and retail – they’ll work at every level of businesses who have excess food that would otherwise go to waste, stopping the waste and get it to people facing food poverty using their fleet of 18 vans delivering to their 350+ network of charities across greater London. In December 2022 City Harvest provided 1,058,117 meals, which is 12% more than they've ever done before. They also had 41% less waste from our December donations saving more than ever before. This adds up to a total greenhouse gas offset of 64,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent to date.Sarah Calcutt, CEO, comments;‘We are in the business of saving surplus food to feed hungry people, working with food and hospitality businesses to ensure good food doesn’t go to waste. We also carbon count the donations, returning stats back to the donors for their sustainability reporting; supporting both ends of our food relationships. We don’t charge for the food that we share, some of our peers do. Free food means that the scarce funds of charities are instead invested in support and services aimed at helping people get back on their feet – mental health support, training for work, benefits advice, access to technology and a lot more, hopefully getting them to a point where they won’t need nutritional support. Over the next year, you will see us extend our network nationally, working in partnership with other organisations to ensure that good nutrition reaches those who need it most.’Harvest for HungerThe Harvest for Hunger initiative, which runs from March – October each year, allows City Harvest to access surplus produce earlier on in the supply-chain, preventing waste further down the chain, and providing the right, nutritious food to its charity partners.Working with City Harvest means large-scale food producers can reduce their climate impact.Many of our clients already work with City Harvest, and we’d encourage any suitable businesses that are looking to be more sustainable and reduce their food wastage to get in contact, City Harvest may be the perfect solution!Visit City Harvest website here to find out more!​​

2022 saw some pretty decent efforts from team MorePeople supporting various charities, so as with everything else, we’ll be stepping up our game in 2023!Ride for FreedomFor a number of years, we’ve been a proud sponsor of Gordon Miller's Ride for Freedom initiative to end modern slavery. With the help of sponsorships like ours, 2022 was a year of some pretty impressive impacts including receiving recognition at the Anti-Slavery Day Awards. Take a look at all the achievements seen in 2022.Peterborough Dragon Boat RaceWe entered the race last June for a fun team day out, whilst supporting Sue Ryder! The team had a great day and we’re looking forward to returning this year, and continuing our relationship with Sue Ryder. There's a blog about it here!(more:trees)In September we launched our green initiative – partnering with (more:trees)! We’re now planting 2 trees for every placement we make, and for Christmas we planted an additional 200 trees!Find out all about it, and don't forget to check out our Virtual Forest!Great Eastern RunHalf marathons definitely aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but 5 members of the team ran the half marathon for Doctors Without Borders, a really interesting and amazing charity! You can read our blog about it here!Diamond Hampers Kindly introduced by Vhari Russell at The Food Marketing Experts, we were able to support Diamond Hampers for Christmas 2022 who provide food and support for those in need in the Cambridgeshire area. A big thankyou to a few of our clients for helping us with this too – Steve Maxwell at Worldwide Fruit ltd for supplying apples, William Burgess and Michael Scott at Burgess Farms for supplying carrots and potatoes!​