The £2.2 Billion Question:

The September 2025 IGD Economics report, Driving Growth Through a Thriving Food System, outlines a strategic roadmap for the UK food system to move from low growth to becoming a catalyst for economic resilience. For a brand like Ample, these findings provide a wealth of data-backed insights to position yourselves as thought leaders in the food-transition space.  

Unlocking UK Food System Resilience

The following salient points highlight the "purposeful growth" framework and the specific opportunities within the poultry and horticulture sectors.

1. The "Purposeful Growth" Framework

The report argues that food system growth must be more than just expansion; it must be targeted and purposeful. To create a thriving system, businesses should align with a framework that prioritises:

• Commercial Value: Categories with high consumer demand and potential for premiumisation.

• Sustainability & Health: Aligning growth with UK dietary trends and lower environmental impacts.

• Strategic Resilience: Reducing "high import dependency" by on shoring production that can be grown competitively in the UK.

• Inflation Control: Prioritising supply in categories that represent a large share of household budgets to shield consumers from global volatility.

2. The Cost of Inaction vs. The Growth Opportunity

IGD identifies a stark "burning platform" for the industry. By 2030, the difference between a proactive "action taken" scenario and "inaction" is significant:

• Production Value: A £2.2 billion difference in annual production value between the two scenarios.

• Employment: A 90,000-job difference (60,000 gained vs. 30,000 lost).

• Investment: Unlocking this potential requires approximately £5 billion in capital investment for poultry sheds and protected horticulture facilities.

3. Sector Spotlight: Poultry at an Inflection Point

Poultry is the UK’s dominant protein, but the sector is at a crossroads where welfare-driven capacity cuts and planning delays threaten its stability.

• The Risk: Without reform, the UK could lose 17% of its annual production capacity (322 kt), increasing reliance on lower-standard imports.

• The Unlock: Planning reform is the critical lever. The report calls for a national spatial plan to pre-identify optimal locations for expansion and fast-track approvals.

• Consumer Shift: Despite maturity, consumption is still rising as shoppers switch from other proteins to white meat and eggs to meet health and Net Zero goals.

4. Sector Spotlight: Horticulture’s Tech Revolution

UK horticulture is currently in decline, with output falling 16% since 2015 due to labor shortages and energy volatility. However, Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) offers a high-tech path forward.

• Yield Efficiency: CEA (glasshouses and poly tunnels) can deliver 14x higher yields than open-field farming and enables year-round cultivation.

• The Dutch Model: The report points to the Netherlands as the gold standard, where unified national strategy and energy-efficient infrastructure have built a globally competitive CEA sector.

• Health as a Driver: With only 17% of UK adults meeting "5-a-day" recommendations, strengthening domestic horticulture is framed as a solution to the £125 bn annual burden of obesity.

5. Strategic "Unlocks" for the Industry

To achieve these goals, the report identifies several critical barriers that require coordinated action:

• Planning & Land Use: Moving away from fragmented local decisions toward a Unified National Strategy that prioritises Grade I and II agricultural land for food production.

• Labor Reform: Extending Seasonal Worker Scheme visas (from 6 to 9 months) and developing a long-term automation transition plan.

• Energy Resilience: Reclassifying CEA and poultry as "energy-intensive industries" to unlock funding for renewables and price protection.

• Innovation: Scaling precision breeding and alternative proteins to help the system "grow better, not just bigger".