Culture

The UK’s FMCG industry is not nearly diverse enough, according to ADD Psalt, a purpose-led retail innovation accelerator, who launched at the beginning of February.

The initiative, which develops and commercialises food and drink products owned by under-represented groups, aims to build a more inclusive landscape, both on and off shelf.

We at The Cabinet are proud to be working alongside ADD PSalt, leading the packaging design and development for all participating brands.

ADD Psalt’s mission in the first instance is to provide Black entrepreneurs with more accessibility and feasibility to develop and scale food and drink brands that will succeed in mainstream retail. Building on this success, similar efforts will then be rolled out to wider minority groups over time.

Britain’s food and drink market contributes more than £28billion to the UK economy, of which only a nominal amount is from black-owned businesses. The industry is made up of 7,400 businesses, of which more than 7,000 are micro businesses. Of these, less than 2% are estimated to be black-owned. Whilst this low figure is already cause for concern, a more alarming observation is that of this small group, those listed in major retail distribution can be counted on one hand. In fact, ADD Psalt is only aware of one Black-owned brand currently present in multiple major retailers in the UK.

We're really excited to be working on this initiative with ADD PSalt, so keep your eyes peeled for any updates, and if you'd like anymore information please get in touch at [email protected]

Click on the picture below to read what The Grocer has to say.