The post-pandemic food landscape demands a new approach

Now, as we navigate this post-pandemic landscape, it's clear that returning to 'business as usual' isn't just impossible—it's undesirable. The challenges that existed before Covid-19 haven't disappeared. If anything, they've intensified: burnout culture, financial instability, staffing crises, and the looming spectre of climate change continue to threaten the sustainability of our food, farming and hospitality sectors. 

But within these challenges lies an unprecedented opportunity for transformation.

During the pandemic, we witnessed the power of food to build community resilience. Across the globe, restaurants transformed into community kitchens and vital social hubs. The Bristol Food Union mobilised restaurants to deliver thousands of meals to vulnerable communities. In London, Hospitality for Heroes united chefs to feed NHS workers, while Over Under Coffee created a network of cafés delivering groceries to those shielding. In New York, ROAR (Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants) emerged to support restaurant workers, while Madrid's World Central Kitchen demonstrated how chefs could lead emergency feeding programmes at scale.

These weren't isolated initiatives. From Melbourne's CovidSafe Kitchens to Copenhagen's restaurant collectives, the industry found strength in collaboration. Traditional competitors became allies, sharing resources, staff, and knowledge. Empty restaurants became food banks, test kitchens became production hubs for frontline workers, and delivery platforms transformed into community support networks.

These weren't just emergency responses - they were glimpses of what's possible when we reimagine the role of food businesses in our communities. They showed us that our industry's real strength lies not in individual enterprises but in our collective capacity for care and innovation.

The question now isn't just how we rebuild, but what we're rebuilding towards.

The traditional metrics of success - covers served, revenue generated, profit margins - tell only part of the story. What if we measured success by the wellbeing of our teams? The strength of our community connections? Our contribution to local food security and environmental stewardship?

This isn't just idealistic thinking - it's increasingly business critical. Today's food entrepreneurs are operating in a radically changed landscape where:

- Staff are demanding better working conditions and work-life balance
- Consumers are increasingly conscious of environmental and social impact
- Climate change is forcing us to rethink our entire approach to food production
- Digital transformation is reshaping every aspect of our industry
- Community resilience has become a business imperative, not just a nice-to-have

The enterprises that will thrive in this new landscape are those that can adapt not just their operations, but their entire approach to value creation. We need business models that balance profit with purpose, efficiency with wellbeing, and growth with sustainability.

This requires new ways of working, learning, and connecting. We need spaces where food, farming and hospitality professionals can step back from the daily grind and imagine new possibilities. We need to create opportunities for deep reflection, genuine dialogue, and practical innovation. Most importantly, we need to nurture cross-sector relationships and integrated networks that will support this transformation.

That's why we're launching Sticky Fig - a new kind of consultancy collective dedicated to supporting this vital transition. Through our events, retreats, workshops, and development programmes, we're creating spaces where food, farming and hospitality professionals can reimagine their roles and rebuild their enterprises, future-fit for this new reality.

We believe that rest and rejuvenation aren't luxuries but necessities for sustainable leadership. That bringing together diverse voices - from established industry leaders to emerging innovators - is essential for systemic change. That the future of food and hospitality lies not in isolation but in collaboration, not in competition but in community.

Restaurants have an essential role to play as drivers of healthy regional food systems. Far more than just places to eat, they are vital community hubs where producers, people and eaters converge. This new, more systemic thinking positions restaurants as key elements of thriving regional food economies - employing local people, supporting local suppliers, and making net positive contributions to the viability of entire food bio-regions.

The time has come to move beyond viewing food businesses merely as a regular capitalist enterprise. Whilst we understand the need for financial viability, we believe food enterprises are so much more that their bottom line: they're catalysts for community resilience, anchors for local food systems, and spaces where culture and commerce meet care and creativity. When we understand this deeper purpose, we unlock their true potential as agents of positive change in our communities and economies.

The challenges we face are significant, but so is our collective capacity for innovation and care. The pandemic showed us that rapid, radical change is possible when circumstances demand it. Now, we have the opportunity to direct that capacity for change toward building something better - food, farming and hospitality landscapes, which don't just survive but thrive while contributing to the wellbeing of people and planet.

A viable future for food requires swift and radical action. We invite you to join us in exploring what's possible.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​