The principal themes of Professor Hughes’s presentations (around 90 per year) revolve around global food industry developments, their impacts and consequential implications for food chain members – consumers, retailers, food service, manufacturers, ingredient companies, primary processors, farmers and farm organisations, input providers (e.g. banks, seed, packaging, logistics), and government policy makers. In 2006/07, issues relating to health and well-being, the impact of the food industry on the environment, climate change, and responding to grocery retail concentration have been increasingly evident on the radar screen.
Presentations for clients completed over the past few years:
- McDonald’s Inc., Global Supply Chain Group, Chicago, USA
- Retailer-Supplier events for, inter alia, J Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer (all U.K.), Coles (Australia), Spar and Kiwi Norway Group (Norway), Cold Storage (Singapore)
- Danish Crown (world’s largest pork product exporter), Senior Management Seminars, Denmark
- Kraft Foods Europe, Berlin, Germany
- Loblaw’s Grocery Chain, Toronto, Canada
- World Food Business Summit, Paris, France
- Vestey Group, Danang, Viet Nam
- Associated British Foods (ABF), UK
- Heinz Wattie Australasia
- AsiaFruit Congress, Bangkok,Thailand and Fruit Logistica, Berlin, Germany
- Customer relationship-building seminars for banks (e.g. Rabobank, Barclays, HSBC), UK, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina
- Food Manufacturer magazine conference on “Healthy NPD”, London, UK
- The Grocer magazine conference on “Converging: Grocery Retail and Food Service”, London, UK
- Nutracon, international conference on functional foods, Anaheim, USA
- Danish Food Forum, Vielje, Denmark
- US Poultry and Egg Export Council, Bangkok, Thailand
- International Conference on Global Retailing, Shanghai, China
- Syngenta, Alicante, Spain and the Netherlands
- Cryovac Europe, London and Paris
- An Bord Bia, food manufacturing presentations
- World Economic Forum (Davos), London
- Dairygold, Cork, Ireland
- USA Food Industry Center, Minneapolis, USA
- Nestlé, Vevey, Switzerland
- Bayer Crop Science, London
- World Pork Congress, Birmingham, UK
- Australian Seafood Convention, Perth, Australia
- World Food Technology Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Yurum Food Group, Nanjing, China
- Major food manufacturers, senior management briefings in, inter alia, U.K., the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, U.S.A., Canada
- Research and Development organisations in New Zealand, Australia, U.S.A., U.K., the Netherlands
- Euroforum Conference on European Grocery Retailing, Amsterdam, Holland
- Meat and Livestock Australia, Melbourne, Sydney, Darwin
- U.K. Frozen Food Manufacturers’ Conference, London
- Agricore United AGM, Winnipeg, Canada
- Oilseeds Industry Supply chain forum, Winnipeg, Canada (Federal Government of Canada)
- Pulse Canada, Saskatoon, Canada
- World Meat Congress, Brisbane, Australia
- U.K. Soil Association, Harrogate
- Meat New Zealand and principal meat companies, NZ
- Celebration of 125 years exporting NZ lamb, Wellington, NZ
- World Apple and Pear Association, Trento, Italy
- Produce Marketing Association, New Orleans, U.S.A.
- Board-level strategic management sessions with major fresh produce companies in the U.K., Holland, Australasia, North America
- Seafood Market Developments, Vigo, Spain and Guayquil, Ecuador
- Dutch food industry conference on functional foods, Wageningen, Holland
- Senior management seminars on: wine industry management developments; food manufacturing and retailing interfaces; fresh produce industry initiatives – Australia and New Zealand
- Value Chain Initiatives in the Global Food Industry – Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Canada
- City Food Lecture (Chairman), London, U.K.
- U.K. Garden Centre Association, Kenilworth, U.K.
- International conferences on plant breeding, Australia, biotechnology, Malaysia and the U.K., supply chain management, the Netherlands
- Australian Beef Conference and briefing for meat processors, Sydney, Melbourne, Rockhampton, Australia
- US Potato Industry Conference, Denver, USA
- Fluid milk and dairy product conferences, NEC, UK
- International Macadamia Nut Symposium, Brisbane, Australia
- Grodan A/S (Denmark), Sicily and Southern Italy
- European Poultry Conference, Blackpool, UK
- International Egg Conference, Guadalajara, Mexico
- UK Cucumber Association, UK
- European Value-Added Seafood Conference, London, UK
- Euroforum Conference on “Blurring of Grocery and Food Service”, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Home Grown Cereals Authority Conference on Innovation in the Food Industry
- Dutch Meat Industry forum, Amsterdam, Holland
- Innovation and Functional Foods Conference, Bayer International, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- British Potato Council. Conferences on Fresh and Processed Potatoes, UK
- UK Bakery Summit, London, UK
- New Zealand Romeo Bragato Wine Conference, Gisborne, NZ
- Zeraim Gedera Seed Company, Israel
- European Fresh Berry Conference, Trento, Italy
- Dutch Meat Board, Coventry, UK
- Red Meat Industry Forum, London, UK
- "The Consumer in 2015", 'The Grocer' Conference, London, UK
- McDonald's European Supplier Forum, Salzburg, Austria
- "Innovation in the fresh produce industry", Duda, USA
- New Zealand Agri-Food Task Force, Auckland, NZ
- World Agricultural Congress, St Louis, USA
- Novus International, Poultry and Pork Meat Seminar, St Louis, USA
- Zespri International, New Zealand
- Food Service Tour of USA with Australian meat industry
- Government ministries and agencies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the Netherlands