FSAA CEO Vince Crawley.
Australia's foodservice suppliers have launched a new industry representative body that is aimed at boosting the profile of the industry and establishing a united voice to represent its views.
National body the Foodservice Suppliers Association Australia has established the new Australian Foodservice Advisory Council which includes representatives of some of the top suppliers foodservice suppliers in the country but which is hoped will eventually expand to include foodservice business operators as well.
FSAA chief executive officer Vince Crawley said the fact the number of senior industry leaders have agreed to work together on the council's inaugural committee was "a reflection of the determination the Australian Foodservice Advisory Council brings to the table”.
"The channel accounts for around 40c in every dollar spent on food in Australia, or $45 billion in annual retail sales," Crawley said.
"With continued growth predicted for foodservice, the FSAA felt a new forum was needed to represent the views of suppliers to this already significant sector.
"Foodservice is growing, its forecast to be 50 cents of that food dollar spent within ten years - it's not insignificant. But we really have zero representation in real terms."
Crawley said the council aims to provide a platform for discussion of issues affecting the industry and to eventually expand its membership to include senior representatives of the restaurant, club, hotel, institutional, quick service restaurant and contract catering sectors, as well as suppliers.
"This will eventually deliver a genuine representation of all participants in the foodservice sector, from suppliers to end users, creating a unified voice on significant issues plus the potential for representation at government level.
The AFAC committee includes Crawley as well as Nestle Professional country business manager, Oceania Patrick Stobbs, Unilever Food Solutions Australasia Yezdi Daruwalla, Bidvest Australia general manager purchasing and marketing Peter Crowe, Combined Foodservices of Australia general manager Paul Healey, Comcater managing director Michael Wood, Stoddart Manufacturing general manager Tony Stoddart, and BIS Shrapnel head of foodserice Sissel Rosengren.
At its first meeting in March the council will confirm its working guidelines and elect a chairperson.
Crawley said he believed amongst the early issues that would emerge as one of the key areas of concern nominated by the council committee would be the supply chain process and the challenges confronting the suppliers to the foodservice industry.
"You have the likes of GS1 Australia now having initiated a supply chain project for foodservice," he said.
"There is the issues of the pressure on the suppliers to maintain the integrity of the supply chain, the efficiencies of the supply chain, and the costs.
"And you have factors now with the food miles issue and the whole environmental slash carbon tax type issues - there's a whole plethora of things that revolve around that."
