It has been a year of change for the UK's biggest seafood company, with its long-awaited acquisition by pork giant Karro, and the hire of former Seachill exec Simon Smith to lead the company into its next decade.

As part of our Outlook series, Smith tells IntraFish what the industry can expect to see from the company going into 2020.

What were the three most significant developments for your business in 2019?

Clearly the most significant development for Young’s in 2019 was the completion of Karro’s acquisition of the business and the development of the Eight Fifty Food Group. This has created a multi-protein food group of considerable scale, with significant growth ambitions for both businesses, which places us in a strong position as we move into 2020.

On a more personal level, in July I made the decision to move and become CEO of Young’s, which has certainly been a significant change and one that I hope the business also views positively.

It’s a decision that is never taken lightly and a responsibility that I’m well aware of, especially when you have a brand with as much heritage as this one. Having started in October, it’s been an intensive period of reviewing commercial strategies spanning both brand and retailer own-label in order to make sure we’re in the best possible shape to target future growth.

Continuing that theme, the final significant developments for the business have been the recently announced realignment of our structure under new customer-facing business units. Frank Green will now lead our chilled business and seafood procurement, and Yvonne Adam will lead our frozen, foodservice and international businesses. These improvements play to our strengths by focusing our commercial activities with our core categories, while simplifying our structure and decision-making.

Looking ahead, what will be the three most important developments that could impact the industry in 2020?

There are a number of key consumer trends and major events on the horizon that are going to shape the industry in 2020 and for the foreseeable future.

For a variety of reasons we are seeing a global rise in plant-based and flexitarian diets, and the influence of this is set to grow considerably. Seafood’s health credentials mean it’s perfectly positioned to play a key role in these current trends.

While you’ll hear consumers actively say they’re looking to reduce their meat intake, you’ll rarely hear them say they are looking to eat less fish. This means that now is a perfect time for the sector. As an industry, we need to be benefiting from this growth in a responsible and sustainable way.

Closer to home Brexit is the major development that has the potential for the greatest impact. Since the Brexit vote, Young’s has made it clear that to ensure high-quality, affordable seafood is available to all, we need an ease of transition and the freest possible tariff terms.

In addition, we must maintain fully documented fisheries and we need access to seasonal and permanent labor for our factories. These are major issues for the whole sector and ones that we all continue to look at to find suitable solutions.

The last issue, and one still directly linked to Brexit, is inflation and inflationary pressures. Both currency inflation and increases in raw material costs put a strain on our industry. To remain competitive, we must find ways to mitigate passing these costs on to consumers.

What major changes and developments do you expect your business to undergo in 2020?

We have already made significant changes to the business and we’re excited about the journey ahead with our new ownership and business structures in place.

Specifically, we want to see the impact that these changes will have on our operations and customer relationships.

We are now a simpler organization that is relentlessly focused on our customers, so we want to build trust and better partnerships, becoming more competitive as a result.

Markets

Young's Seafood CEO: Brexit presents 'major issues for the whole sector'