UK food and drink industry leaders remain unclear on the impact that Brexit will have on their business over the coming 12 months, despite the looming deadline.
The findings come from Lumina Intelligence’s new Top of Mind Report 2020/21 and were consistent across both leaders in grocery retail and the hospitality sectors. Amongst the former, 56% of business leaders stated that they were unclear, with a further 14% saying they ’don’t know’, leaving just three in ten with clarity on the Brexit impact. .
For hospitality businesses, the same proportion (56%) were not clear and a further 12% did not know, once again leaving less than a third who felt clear on the impact Brexit would have on their business in the coming year.
What does the changing political situation and Brexit mean for the wholesale industry?
In addition to a lack of clarity surrounding the impact of Brexit on their business, import tariffs are the top concern amongst both grocery retail and eating out business leaders. Across both channels, leaders remain concerned about the additional costs to be incurred from cross border tariffs, in addition to the availability of goods from the European Union.
Sarah Coleman, insights & communication director at Lumina Intelligence said: “Brexit has caused a great deal of uncertainty and concern to businesses across the UK food and drink industry for some time. Due to the significant impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it is understandable that focus has shifted to fighting the immediate challenges, but the Brexit deadline is looming and businesses need clarity on how they will be impacted and how best to prepare for this.”
