The Fearless Foodie Podcast

The food industry is under pressure. Rising costs, restructuring, talent shortages, and frozen budgets are creating challenges that many leaders and teams have never experienced on this scale before.

In this season finale of The Fearless Foodie, I take an honest look at what is happening across food manufacturing and retail right now, and the impact it is having on the people behind the businesses.

This episode is not about quick fixes or leadership buzzwords. It is about recognising the reality many teams are facing and understanding why burnout, disengagement, and talent loss are becoming genuine commercial risks.

If you are leading people through uncertainty, trying to keep teams motivated, or simply feeling the strain yourself, this episode offers practical reflections and a reminder that people are not machines.

The food industry talks a lot about talent shortages, but what if the problem is not a lack of talent?

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I’m joined by Rich Howell, founder of Marvel FMCG, for a straight-talking conversation about recruitment, career paths, and the assumptions that are holding both candidates and businesses back.

We explore why great people are often overlooked because of age, career breaks, industry background, or CVs that do not follow a traditional path. We also discuss why businesses that focus too heavily on finding the "perfect" candidate may be missing some of the strongest talent available.

If you hire people, lead teams, or are navigating your own career journey, this episode is a reminder that talent comes in many forms and that the best careers rarely follow a straight line.

Conflict is part of working life in food manufacturing and retail, but for many of us it still creates that familiar reaction of a racing heart, a blank mind, and the feeling that we either need to fight back or disappear completely.

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I explore why conflict feels so uncomfortable and why our reactions often have more to do with biology than communication skills.

Using the Thomas-Kilmann conflict model, I break down the five different conflict styles and explore how they show up in meetings, projects, and everyday workplace conversations.

If you’ve ever left a meeting wishing you had spoken up, handled something differently, or understood your own reactions better, this episode offers practical ways to build confidence and stronger working relationships.

Leadership in food manufacturing and retail has never been simple. High expectations, tight deadlines, and constant pressure can make it easy to focus on results while forgetting the people behind them.

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I’m joined by James Campbell, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s, for an honest conversation about leadership, resilience, and creating environments where people can perform at their best.

We explore career pivots, lessons learned through difficult experiences, and why trust has a bigger impact on performance than pressure ever will.

If you lead people, manage teams, or are trying to build a culture that performs without burning people out, this episode offers practical insight and honest reflections.

Welcome to Bethan’s Bite-Sized Bulletin - your quick-fire briefing on what’s happening across the food and drink industry. In under five minutes, journalist and Food Manufacture editor Bethan Grylls shares the latest headlines, trends and developments to keep you in the know.

Explore more industry news at foodmanufacture.co.uk

Supporting women in food manufacturing and retail is not just the right thing to do. It is a business decision.

In this live episode of The Fearless Foodie, I’m joined by Tracy Southwell from March Foods and Ross Dennison for an honest, no-nonsense conversation about what it really takes to build workplaces where women can thrive.

We explore the practical realities of diversity, equity, and inclusion in food businesses. From retaining talented women after maternity leave to creating cultures where difficult conversations around menopause, miscarriage, and menstruation are not awkward or avoided.

This is not a conversation about policies on paper. It is about real people, real leadership, and the everyday decisions that shape whether people stay, grow, and perform.

If you believe the future of food depends on stronger people, not just smarter systems, this episode is for you.

Creativity gets talked about a lot in the food industry, but it is often misunderstood or limited to a handful of roles.

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I’m joined by Susan Arkley to unpack what creativity actually looks like in food manufacturing and retail. This is not about being artistic or coming up with big ideas. It is about how people think, solve problems, and get work done every day.

We explore creative intelligence, the five creative styles, and why understanding your own way of working can transform how you collaborate, make decisions, and manage your energy at work.

If you have ever thought you are not creative, or felt drained by the way your team operates, this episode offers a practical way to think about creativity differently.

Product innovation gets talked about constantly in food manufacturing and retail, but too often it drifts away from what actually drives success.

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I sit down with Scott Dixon, Managing Director of Flava People, for an honest conversation about what really works when it comes to product development.

We explore the reality behind innovation, from changing consumer habits to the risks of building products based on assumptions rather than real behaviour. Scott shares his experience of growing a food business through constant change, and the lessons that come from getting it wrong as well as right.

If you work in NPD, branding, or food manufacturing and want a grounded view of what makes products land with customers, this episode brings it back to fundamentals.

AI is everywhere right now, but beneath the noise there’s a much more important shift happening in the food industry.

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I break down what AI really means for food manufacturing and retail teams. Not from a technical angle, but from a human one.

As AI takes on more of the technical and process-driven work, it’s exposing a gap that has been there for years. Skills like communication, confidence, influence, and critical thinking are quickly becoming the real differentiators.

If you’re leading teams, managing change, or trying to stay relevant in a fast-moving industry, this episode is a straight-talking look at what actually matters and where to focus next.

Welcome to Bethan’s Bite-Sized Bulletin - your quick-fire briefing on what’s happening across the food and drink industry. In under five minutes, journalist and Food Manufacture editor Bethan Grylls shares the latest headlines, trends and developments to keep you in the know.
Explore more industry news at foodmanufacture.co.uk

Innovation gets talked about a lot in food manufacturing and retail, but it’s often reduced to product launches and short-term wins.

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I’m joined by David Hamilton, former Chief Innovation Officer at Kerry, for a grounded conversation about what innovation looks like inside a food business.

We explore the messy, human side of innovation. The uncertainty, the nerves, the constant learning, and why building an innovative culture has far more to do with people, leadership, and curiosity than it does with pipelines and processes.

If you work in NPD, technical, commercial, or leadership roles and want innovation to mean more than just another SKU, this episode offers a practical, honest perspective.

Switching off after work sounds simple, until you’re lying in bed replaying conversations, running through tomorrow’s to-do list, and wondering why your brain won’t slow down.

In this episode of The Fearless Foodie, I explore what’s really going on when work won’t leave your head, and why it’s such a common experience in food manufacturing and retail.

In an industry defined by pace, pressure, and constant change, many leaders spend most of their time in “drive mode” or high alert. I break down why that happens, what it does to your nervous system, and why rest isn’t a reward; it’s a core leadership skill.

If you’ve ever struggled to switch off, felt permanently “on”, or worried you’re heading towards burnout, this episode offers practical ways to reset, without adding more pressure.