Speaker Q&A: Geoffrey Hunter, Pure
For Geoffrey Hunter, head of food at Pure, “lunch is an essential date in the diary”. He’s looking forward to being part of this year’s Head of Food Panel, which will take a behind the scenes look at the challenges (and rewards) of developing and launching a new product or menu.The panel will also feature Ian Chant (Holland & Barrett), Martyn Clover (Tortilla), James Kidman (Crussh) and chef Jay Morjaria (session chair).
Geoffrey joined Pure as head of food in November 2017, following nine years at Tesco working in technical and product development roles across numerous fresh and ambient food categories.
Which food-to-go operators / retailers do you particularly admire and why?
Pret and McDonald’s. I admire that, wherever you go in the world, they deliver a consistent product, which is impressive considering their size.
What do you think is the key for operators to successfully compete against their competitors?
Stay true to your proposition, listen to your customers and store teams for feedback to deliver the best product. Never stop challenging your current range to continually move it forward and deliver a consistent product with unrivalled customer service.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Seeing a new product range land in store that our customers love. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to launch a product onto our menu, so it’s great when customers contact us to tell us how much they like it.
And the most challenging?
Launching new products that offer innovative ingredients, whilst still being commercially and operationally viable.
What does the next 12 months have in store for your business?
We are planning to expand with new store openings across different formats, which will challenge us to tailor our current range proposition to suit new customer needs and demographics.
Can you give us an example of what your business is doing to be even more sustainable?
We have recently reviewed the amount of packaging we use in our business, with the aim to reduce, reuse or recycle our packaging. This has involved working on moving much of the packaging used in store to be made using recycled material, as an example, a large portion of plastic we use now is made from rPET.
What do you see as the key food-to-go trends to watch?
Sustainability will continue to be a focus as customers become more aware of the impact their purchase decisions have on the environment, this doesn’t just stop at packaging as many people reduce their meat consumption and opt for more sustainable options. I feel it’s important to continue to evolve a plant-based offering that meets this need and delivers from both a flavour and texture point of view. This also ties in with provenance, as we head into Brexit locally sourced ingredients will become more at the forefront of a customer’s mind.
I also feel there will be more of a focus on functional health. We see new ingredients come on the market that claim to offer a health benefit, so it will be interesting to see what new innovations will be available over the next 12 months.
What’s your current bestselling product?
One our bestselling products is the Celebrity Skin salad. An old favourite, this product has been sold at Pure for several years and is very popular with our customers. Particularly during the summer months.
Why is innovation so vital to the food-to-go sector?
It’s essential to keep innovating your customer offer to continue to deliver exciting and relevant menu choices that they can enjoy every day. Innovation is not just about creating new products, it’s vital that you listen to customer feedback to drive continuous improvement with your existing range or they will vote with their feet.
How important is lunch! to the food-to-go sector?
lunch! is an essential date in the diary. It’s a great opportunity to meet new suppliers and food brands showcasing their products, as well as learn about the challenges and journeys other companies are facing in the industry. I have been three times now and always leave with new contacts and ideas for our menu development.
Describe the lunch! show in 3 words:
Engaging. Informative. Thought-provoking.
Can you tell us a bit about your much-anticipated session at lunch! 2019?
I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of the ‘Head of food panel’ this year. I hope visitors will learn some of the challenges myself, and my equivalents, are facing in the industry and also how we develop and launch our menus.
Who or what inspires you to be even better?
Our team. We are lucky to have a very diverse and hard-working team, who work tirelessly to deliver the best products and customer service every day. They have some great ideas on how to improve our operation and are always sharing customer feedback on our products to help us continually develop our menu offering.
Our founders, Ed and Spencer. I have never worked with two people who are so passionate and dedicated to their business. Their hands-on approach, and drive to always improve things to help our store teams deliver the best food for our customers, is very inspiring.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Stay true to yourself. Be open to change. Stay focused and never give up.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?
Be open to new opportunities and gain as much experience as possible. It’s a very small and diverse industry so networking is key. Find roles and companies that you are passionate about and believe in.
See Geoffrey at lunch! 2019
Head of Food Panel: 3.45pm on Thursday 19 September in Keynote Theatre 3
The session also features:
- Ian Chant, Head of Food – Food To Go, Holland & Barrett
- Martyn Clover, Head of Food at Tortilla
- James Kidman, Head of Food at Crussh – Fit Food & Juice Bars
- Jay Morjaria, Chef / Consultant (session chair)
