Webinar to Highlight Food Sector Opportunities at South Lincolnshire Fez
The new South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone (FEZ) will be the subject of a webinar this month which will feature some of the most influential people in the industry.
Judith Batchelar OBE, Director of Brand at Sainsbury's, will head up a panel of experts who will examine the future of the food industry and opportunities in south Lincolnshire.
The webinar at 12 noon on Wednesday 17th March is being staged by Team Lincolnshire in partnership with the South Lincolnshire FEZ and 3Fox International.
Located in Holbeach in the heart of the UK Food Valley, the focus of the South Lincolnshire FEZ is to create bespoke, high-quality business space for new businesses and SMEs in the agri-tech sector, with particular emphasis on creating a suitable environment for high tech businesses developing cutting edge technology and innovators.
Its ambition is to be the UK’s leading advanced innovation cluster hub for the food sector, complementing the adjacent agricultural, food processing and logistics cluster.
Those who attend the webinar will find out:
- What is propelling change in the UK food sector?
- How significant is the South Lincolnshire agri-tech network and how is the scale of talent and diversity there driving collaboration opportunities?
- What new environments are required to test, develop and deploy tomorrow’s food technologies, and what sort of partners are sought to create and populate them?
- How are local bodies co-operating on infrastructure investment and incentivisation to fuel and manage growth through the FEZ?
- How can developers and agri-tech operators, suppliers and services help shape the business place-making under way at the South Lincolnshire FEZ?
Speakers include:
- Judith Batchelar OBE, Director of Brand, Sainsbury's
- Martin Collison, agri-tech specialist, Greater Lincolnshire LEP
- Harry Norman, CEO of the OAL Group
- Tim Downing, Director of Pygott & Crone and commercial agent for the FEZ
- Sarah-Louise Fairburn - Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP’s Food Board
- Toby Fox, Managing Director of 3Fox (Chair)
“The UK food sector is at a tipping point, as the climate crisis, social change and workforce pressures combined with astounding advances in agri-tech, protein transition and low-carbon stimulate rapid change in this most vital of industries,” said Karen Seal from Team Lincolnshire.
“Setting the pace of that change is the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone, one of the UK food sector’s biggest developments for five years.”
Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Councillor for Economy & Place at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We're very proud of what South Lincolnshire offers and truly believe the FEZ will help make Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland the best place in the world to be located as a food or agri-tech business.
“This event will showcase innovation and future ambition in these sectors, and the FEZ will play a key role in this.”