The Exciting Future of the F&B Industry

Andrew Condell, Head of Production Australia, Marley Spoon

1. What are some of the major challenges and trends that have been impacting the Food and Beverages Industry lately?

One of the biggest challenges has been COVID, the gift that has kept giving from early 2020 through to today. As a business we have learned a lot and believe we are through the worst of it (for now) allowing us to refocus on our core business. Other challenges we have faced include Australia’s increasingly significant weather events playing a major role in disrupting our supply chain and distribution network. Lastly, the labor market is incredibly tight which puts pressure on recruiting new starters.

2. What keeps you up at night when it comes to some of the major predicaments in the Food and Beverages Industry?

I can honestly say nothing keeps me awake at night. We have a great team who band together and respond incredibly well in managing difficult situations which are more common than not considering the current challenges the industry faces.

We know that there’ll always be events that are out of our control, where we tackle these together as a team and view them as great opportunities to learn. It’s both comforting and inspiring to work with such talented people who do everything they can to deliver our company promise in delighting our customers.

3. Can you tell us about the latest project that you have been working on and what are some of the technological and process elements that you leveraged to make the project successful?

I joined Marley Spoon in October 2020 and at the time we had just started pouring concrete for our new purpose built facility in Wetherill Park, Sydney as we had very quickly outgrown the existing Enfield site due to the rapid growth of the business.

"Without a doubt the use of data to improve our customers' everyday experience and the increasing use of automation in the food industry are mind blowing and excite me for what's ahead"

Having had previous experience in major ‘Greenfield’ projects, I was able to assist the operations team in building a comprehensive Operations Transitions Plan using Asana project management tools to ensure we had continuity of supply through this complex process. Our purpose-built automated picking lines were methodically dismantled and then reassembled in line with project timelines.

The success of the project was assisted with support by our Melbourne facility, however what continues to amaze me is the genuine passion and commitment of the team at Marley Spoon which is like nothing I have seen before and I believe was the key driver of success. We are now planning our continuous improvement journey where we’ll be implementing industry best-practice tools including Visual management, Tiered meetings, Standard work and A3 improvement methodologies.

4. Which are some of the technological trends which excite you for the future of the Food and Beverages Industry?

Without a doubt the use of data to improve our customers' everyday experience and the increasing use of automation in the food industry are mind blowing and excite me for what's ahead. Having been in the manufacturing food industry for 25 years, the tagline for most companies has been customer first. However, thanks to the use of new technologies and systems this data can now be virtually live and give businesses the ability to adapt and respond quicker than ever before. I’ve also been privileged to have worked with companies that have been at the forefront of automation where I’m extremely excited at potential capabilities and what it can mean for our business in the future.