Pub operators and suppliers urged to form closer relationships

With signs showing consumers are spending more on eating out as the economy picks up, the company  believes an increasing number will now look to operators who can give them confidence in what they are eating and that businesses who form genuine partnerships with suppliers are set to gain an advantage with customers.

Lynx managing director John Pinder commented: “With last year’s horsemeat scandal still fresh in consumers’ memories, newspaper headlines in May focused attention on the use of halal meat by a number of restaurant and foodservice businesses. 

It was clear that one of the concerns for consumers was that operators may not be asking their suppliers the right questions."

The company's  Summer 2014 Market Forecast  looks at the prospects of food pricing across the summer and into autumn and combines analysis of headline ONS inflation figures with exclusive insight from Lynx suppliers.

Areas of concern highlighted in the report include potentially higher prices for beef and lamb due to beef production in the US being behind demand, leading to South American beef being diverted to make up the shortfall and driving up demand for UK and Irish produce.

Also highlighted are the continued high prices for farmed salmon due to an increase in global demand and insufficient stocks as well rising prices in imported fruit due to diseases such as citrus black spot, incurring a potential European ban on South African citrus imports.

Pinder said: “More than ever before, we are advising our customers to buy close to home and in season in order to offer the best value on menus. British pork and poultry, although not immune to rising costs, will represent better value across the summer.”

The report also advises that after a mild winter bumper crops of British fruit and vegetables, from potatoes and onions to strawberries and other summer fruits are expected.

Pinder added: "The added benefit of making home-grown produce a feature on menus is that it helps operators send a clear message about provenance.”