Empowering The Food Industry

Our network of experts are dedicated to deliver customised solutions for food manufacturers and retailers. With a keen focus on product safety, quality, labelling, and process efficiency, we aim to propel your business forward. Our experience spans branded and own-label products, as well as independent business consulting.

Trust us to navigate the intricate landscape of the food industry and lead you to success. Your goals are our top priority, and together, we can achieve remarkable outcomes in food manufacturing and retail.

Ukwazi is a member of Campden BRI. David Roos, our founder, is a member of SOFHT and IFST.

Learn how
Grocery store aisle with shelves stocked with bottles of juice.

Guiding Your Path

Take the first step

Meet The Founder

As I started out in Retail, I made an introductory video for people interested in Retail QA. I was a lot younger then but learned a huge amount as the first Quality Assurance Director for a fast growing Retailer with responsibility GB and Ireland.

Together with 8 years in Retail I have 25 years experience in NPD, Process and Product Development and Technical. This experience allows me to into a wide range of knowledge to help you achieve your goals.

Retailers are driving quality as a point of differentiation, as they all seek to grow in a highly competitive landscape. Delivering consistent quality to retailers is now more important than ever.

Below is a link to an interview I did with Dennis O’Driscoll from Corvin Fox:

Technical lifecycle - Food Manufacturers on boarding a Retailer

 FAQs

  • Food safety is a widely used term for assuring that food manufacturers make products that meet legal requirements in the country where they are made and for where they are sold. The baseline requirement in the food industry is a GFSI benchmarked standard. In the UK BRCGS is common whereas in Europe IFS is more popular. In the UK, most Retailers and Food Service companies require their own audits too.

    Quality is all about delivering a consistent quality product that meets the initial design, measured by the QAS. In fast follower retailer businesses product quality is determined by delivering a product that closely matches the benchmark.

  • Crisis management in the Food Industry draws on general crisis management principles. A multi-disciplinary approach is required to assure the safety of product. This covers supplier approval, due diligence testing, in plant allergen and food safety controls. Taking prompt corrective action when an issue occurs can help prevent escalation to a crisis.

    Retailers, QSR and Food Service providers all focus on protecting their brand reputation.

    Root cause training is available from the UK Food Standards Agency. It is also a requirement from the FSA that you complete a root cause analysis on a recall.

    Ukwazi can help you with your crisis management planning and preparation, tailoring your responses to meet your customer needs.

  • Product benchmarking can be completed either internally, externally using a 3rd party provider or consumers.

    Product benchmarking will help determine if your product is meeting the design. Tesco, for example, runs a KQI programme where supplier products are tested against defined attributes either by a taste panel or in store by consumers.

    Campden BRI can help with sensory evaluation in benchmark testing. They are used by Retailers and Innovation teams alike.

  • Many retailers run consistency panels to ensure the product on sale meets the quality standards as agreed in the Quality Attributes. This looks at a product from packaging through component quality to cooked flavour, texture and appearance.

    It is an operational imperative that the QAS is delivered to ensure meal consistency which drive Consistency Panel success and consumer satisfaction.