Jan 22, 2025
Hugo Walker
Peak seasons, such as the festive rush, are critical for food manufacturers. They are periods filled with immense opportunity — rising demand, increased orders and the chance to showcase your products to a wider audience. Yet, for many, they’re also times marked by intense pressure, operational bottlenecks and an overwhelming workload.
Why is this the case? The seasonal spike in demand often exposes cracks in existing processes, leading to inefficiencies, errors and stress across the supply chain. From managing tight production schedules to handling last-minute orders and ensuring timely deliveries, peak seasons can quickly turn from opportunities to logistical nightmares.
Now that the chaos of Christmas 2024 has settled, it’s worth asking: How can our next busy period be different?
Rising Costs and Supply Chain Volatility
Food manufacturers in the UK are grappling with increasing costs across the board, from raw materials and energy prices to transportation and labour. Peak seasons often exacerbate these pressures, as demand surges drive up prices for perishable goods and logistics services. Compounding this, supply chain disruptions — whether due to adverse weather, geopolitical events, or localised shortages — can further strain operations during this critical time.
Workforce Challenges
The seasonal rush often requires a temporary workforce to meet production demands, but labour shortages in the UK have made it harder for manufacturers to recruit and retain seasonal staff. Training temporary employees quickly while ensuring consistent quality and safety standards adds another layer of complexity to festive operations. The increase in employer National Insurance Contributions arriving in April of this year further adds to this challenge.
Sustainability Pressures
In recent years, consumer expectations for sustainable practices have grown significantly. Food manufacturers are increasingly tasked with balancing efficiency and profitability with sustainability initiatives. This includes reducing food waste, minimising packaging and sourcing ingredients responsibly — all of which become more challenging when demand peaks and speed is prioritised.
The Importance of Real-Time Visibility
A lack of real-time visibility across the supply chain remains a common pain point. With perishable goods, even minor delays or errors can have a domino effect, leading to waste or missed opportunities, along with poor customer experience. Advanced inventory management tools and IoT-enabled tracking can provide the transparency needed to keep operations running smoothly, but adoption remains uneven across the sector.
The Elephant in the Room: Complexity and Legacy Systems
One of the biggest challenges food manufacturers face during busy seasons is managing complexity. Unlike other industries, food manufacturing often deals with perishable goods, tight regulatory requirements and fluctuating customer preferences — all of which amplify the pressure during peak periods.
Compounding this issue is the reliance on outdated or inefficient systems. Many manufacturers are still navigating the demands of the modern market with legacy tools like phone calls, emails or even fax machines(!) that were not designed to handle the intricacies of today’s supply chains. These systems can lead to:
Manual Errors: Increased workloads often mean more room for mistakes in order management and production scheduling.
Inefficiencies: Outdated workflows can slow down operations and make it difficult to adapt to sudden changes in demand, ultimately resulting in lost revenue.
Communication Breakdowns: Misaligned processes across teams or departments can create bottlenecks and delays.
Embracing Technology for a Smoother Seasonal Rush
The solution to these challenges lies in adopting modern, technology-driven systems that enable food manufacturers to work more intelligently and efficiently. With the right tools in place, operations can be streamlined through automated workflows and real-time data insights, reducing the likelihood of errors and boosting overall productivity, while providing B2B customers with the kind of B2C online experience they expect — think Amazon or Tesco.
Advanced planning tools enhance flexibility, making it easier to respond to changing customer demands or unexpected disruptions, while centralised systems improve collaboration by ensuring that all teams remain aligned and focused on shared objectives.
Moreover, modern technology supports a proactive approach to decision-making. Rather than merely reacting to issues as they arise, manufacturers can harness data-driven insights to anticipate potential challenges and address them before they become major obstacles. This shift not only alleviates stress but also fosters a more dependable, customer-oriented and profitable operation.
Looking Ahead: A Call to Action for the Industry
As the food manufacturing industry catches its breath following a frantic festive season, now is the time to rethink old approaches and invest in innovation. Technology is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity for staying competitive in a fast-paced, ever-changing market.
At Mezze, we specialise in providing tailored solutions for food manufacturers. From date-led ordering to automated cut-off management and customised pricing tools, our platform — branded for your business — is designed to simplify the complexities of your operations and help you thrive during high-pressure periods.
Pieminister, one of the UK’s best-loved piemakers has embraced Mezze and saw dramatic improvements in both efficiency and customer satisfaction during the recent festive period.
Initially, Pieminister’s customer service team was handling high volumes of orders and customer queries. But with Mezze in place, they have adapted into a more agile team without sacrificing service quality. In fact, partnering with Mezze has allowed them to focus on providing a better, more efficient experience for their customers.
The seasonal rush doesn’t have to be a source of stress. If you'd like to discuss how your food manufacturing business could optimise resources and generate more revenue during your busiest periods, contact us today.
