The Fearless Foodie Podcast

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 Links and Resources: Website Link: https://fearlessfoodies.co.uk FB Lin...

You would never run a production line without maintaining it. Yet many businesses are expecting people to operate at full capacity without the support, recovery, or development they need. In this episode, I share what I am hearing from leaders and teams across food manufacturing and retail. Regardless of company size, sector, or role, the same themes keep appearing. People are tired. Teams are str...

The phrase "talent shortage" gets used a lot in food manufacturing and retail. But is there really a shortage of talent, or are we simply overlooking people who do not fit traditional expectations? In this conversation, I’m joined by Rich Howell, founder of Marvel FMCG, to explore some of the biggest challenges facing recruitment in the food industry today. We discuss the biases that continue to i...

Conflict often gets treated like something to avoid. But in reality, conflict is part of collaboration, decision-making, and working with other people. In this episode, I start with a situation that will feel familiar to many people in food manufacturing and retail. You are sitting in a meeting, you have put time and effort into a project, and suddenly someone challenges your idea. Your heart rate...

Leadership often gets reduced to targets, results, and performance. But in food manufacturing and retail, where pressure is constant and expectations are high, how people feel at work can have a huge impact on what they achieve. In this conversation, James shares his journey from working in kitchens to leading product and innovation teams at Sainsbury’s. Along the way, he experienced very differen...

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 Website Link: https://fearlessfoodies.co.uk FB Link:   https://www.face...

Supporting women in the food industry should not be seen as a nice to have. It is a commercial, cultural, and leadership priority. In this live conversation, I’m joined by Tracy Southwell and Ross Dennison to talk honestly about what inclusion actually looks like in food manufacturing and retail. We start with a reality many businesses are facing. Experienced people are retiring, skills shortages...

Creativity is not a job title. It is how work gets done. In this conversation, Susan shares her background in food product development and introduces Creative ID, a framework that helps people understand how they naturally approach ideas, problem-solving, and delivery. Challenging the idea that creativity belongs to a small group of “ideas people”. In reality, every role in food manufacturing and...

Innovation in food is often overcomplicated. At its core, it comes back to whether people will actually buy your product more than once. In this conversation, Scott shares the journey of Flava People, from its roots in butchery through to becoming a leading product development business. It is a story shaped by constant adaptation, changing consumer habits, and learning through experience. We talk...

AI is not the story. People are. In this episode, I focus on what’s really changing in food manufacturing and retail as AI becomes more embedded in day-to-day work. There has always been a gap when it comes to human skills. Communication, confidence, influence, and the ability to challenge constructively have often been overlooked in favour of technical expertise. AI is now bringing that gap into...

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 Links and Resources: Website Link: https://fearlessfoodies.co.uk FB Lin...

Innovation isn’t just about products. It’s about how people think, collaborate, and make decisions across the business. In this conversation, David shares his journey from working as a chef through to leading global innovation at Kerry. It is a path shaped by sideways moves, hands-on experience, and a willingness to learn by doing. We talk about what innovation really requires in food manufacturin...

This episode opens the season with an honest look at something most people in the food industry experience but rarely talk about, the inability to switch off. I share my own experience of late nights, constant thinking, and the creeping build-up of burnout that can come from working in high-pressure food manufacturing and retail environments. I break down what’s happening in your brain when work f...

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 Links and Resources: Website Link: https://fearlessfoodies.co.uk FB Lin...

This isn’t a high-energy finale. It’s a grounded one. Amy takes a step back to connect the threads running through this season: leaders feeling stretched, teams stuck in reactive mode, and middle managers quietly holding everything together. Across conversations with guests and through her own lived experience in food manufacturing and retail, one pattern is clear. Many leaders are accountable for...

International Women’s Day often comes with big themes and bold statements. This episode brings it back to what actually moves the needle inside food businesses. Amy explores why advocacy and sponsorship matter more than “fixing the women”. In food manufacturing and retail environments, progression often depends on visibility, backing, and someone speaking up for you when opportunities arise. You’l...

If your career path looks more like a bowl of spaghetti than a straight ladder, you’re not alone — and you’re probably doing better than you think. Katie Harvey shares her journey from dropping out of university and starting work as a kitchen assistant in a factory, through procurement and sales roles, to leading a large food team. It’s a story rooted firmly in the realities of food manufacturing...

This conversation is about busting one of the most common myths in food and retail: that when teams struggle, it’s because they don’t care or aren’t capable. Amy and Donna share what they see again and again while coaching pressured teams — from unspoken rules and quiet toxicity to “too-nice” cultures where nothing difficult ever gets said. They explore why leaders often default to training reques...

Amy and Sarah start by clearing up one of the industry’s most common misconceptions: what IGD actually does. Far from being “just another acronym,” IGD operates as an independent charity, reinvesting profits into insight, capability building and talent development to support the long-term health of the food system. The conversation moves into the realities of driving change at scale — from balanci...

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 Links and Resources: Website Link: https://fearlessfoodies.co.uk FB Lin...

Courage in leadership is often misunderstood. In food manufacturing and retail, it’s rarely about bold speeches or dramatic decisions — it shows up in everyday moments: speaking up in meetings, saying no to unrealistic demands, or addressing issues before they escalate. In this conversation, Amy Wilkinson and Melissa Hague explore what courageous leadership really looks like in high-pressure food...

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt they needed to “fit in” at work rather than show up as themselves. Amy Wilkinson is joined by Fran Ball , Senior VP for UK Supply Chain at Arla Foods, for a thoughtful and refreshingly honest conversation about leadership, culture, and the human side of performance in the food industry. Fran shares her career journey — from engineering and entrepreneuri...

Organisational change doesn’t just test systems—it tests people. In this straight-talking episode, Amy unpacks what actually helps when teams are navigating uncertainty: the emotional impact leaders carry, the unspoken fear beneath resistance, and the small, consistent actions that build trust when big answers aren’t available. She explains the powerful difference between “change” (the external st...

What is true innovation and why does it matter? Nell Masey O Neill and Amy Wilkinson get painfully honest about how “innovation” gets thrown around everywhere in the food industry, but rarely means what it should. Nell breaks down the difference between real innovation and the kind that just ticks boxes, sharing her experience as a nutritional biochemist who’s been in the technical, research, and...

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 Links and Resources: Website Link: https://fearlessfoodies.co.uk FB Lin...