Speciality Food March 2026

10 @specialityfood “W e cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” is a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein, and I believe it also applies well to the area of sustainability and businesses creating positive impact in the world. Our world is currently more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) than ever and there is a growing anxiety in society that has arisen from huge socio- economic shifts, climate breakdown and global empire-building. There seem almost too many factors at play directly opposed to the sustainability movement and they are in danger of reversing the progress made over the past decade. So, what shall we do and should it be different to what we were doing five or 10 years ago? First, let’s celebrate the wins. Progress has been made and let’s not forget that. My company, Cotswold Fayre, became a B Corp over 10 years ago, and the progress of food and drink businesses towards sustainability in that time has been phenomenal. To give an indication of that progress, in 2015 when we first certified as a B Corp, we had one supplier and one customer that were fellow B Corps. Even in April 2020 there were only 6 suppliers that had undergone the rigorous B Corp certification, yet now we have over 90 B Corp suppliers and approaching 20 customers within the movement. Last year there was some negative press about B Corp not making enough of a difference. Undoubtedly there are some companies that have jumped on the B Corp bandwagon, and I question howmuch of a cultural shift there has been within them. This is likely to happen with any successful movement as companies think they will gain revenue by evidencing more sustainability credentials. However, there is still reason to celebrate business that may seem to be going through the motions. Even if the B Corp certification is being treated as a box-ticking exercise, some progress to becoming a better company will have been made by any company going through the process. However, it is important to treat any sustainability certification as a starting gate rather than a destination. The problems businesses have created both socially and environmentally have come from an extractive mindset and ‘profit at all costs’ mentality with a control-manage leadership style. Back to the Einstein quote at the top, if we are using this style PAUL HARGREAVES COTSWOLD FAYRE “Transform for good” of leadership to engineer our way out of the problemwe will fail. Box ticking a number of sustainability metrics, whilst better than nothing, won’t get us out of the current mess. We need a more radical approach, which I believe, comes from an approach that doesn’t just involve the mind, but our heart and soul. It involves deep connection with others and with nature. Even in sustainability circles we think about nature as something separate to ourselves. It is not. We are nature. In fact, there are more non-human cells in our bodies than human, 100 trillion microbial cells compared to 10 trillion human cells. We are integrated with nature in ways that scientists are only just beginning to discover. The mindset of separation and dualistic thinking came along initially through the agricultural revolution and later with the thinking of Descartes and Bacon during the scientific revolution. They brought a way of thinking to the western world that has remained for centuries, namely that anything that can’t be proven to the rational brain has no value. “I think therefore I am”. This was at odds with ancient wisdom at the time and has since been proved to be completely wrong. (see Descartes’ Error, Antonio Damassio, 2006) But it is this illusion of separation on a conscious level that has created many of the problems in the world today. Many of us have discovered the joy of being in nature and we have sometimes experienced a deep connection with both animals and other humans. These connections are happening at a level beyond the rational brain. Psychologists, quantum physicists, neuroscientists and even anaesthetists are discovering scientific proof that we are connecting at a heart and soul level well beyond the physical brain. The science is not completely understood yet, but there is now considerable proof from all these specialisms that there is a lot more to our minds than the physical brain. Even without knowing the science, the more we connect with nature, the less we would want to harm it and the more we will discover about creating businesses that are not just sustainable but regenerative, just as nature itself is by default. The more we connect with other human beings with compassion, the more we will want to use our businesses as a force for good for our workers, our local communities and our supply chains. We need to move from a “do less harm” mentality to a regenerative “transform for good” mindset. We need to move from a scarcity and fear-based approach, resulting in an extractive mindset to an attitude of abundance. It is when we do this that we will start to see progress as we balance the spreadsheets with love and compassion into our businesses. And that requires a personal transformation and almost certainly some self-sacrifice, but as we do this, we will know a deep fulfilment in our work that we have never experienced before. Healthy indulgence succeeds when it feels authentic and natural and isn’t positioned as a compromise. By aligning products with how people actually live and eat, brands can offer healthier choices which are both appealing and convincing to consumers.” Sara De Pelsmaeker, group health & well-being director at Puratos, The study found that positive language which frames considered indulgence as self care is taking over from alienating ‘guilt-free’ language. Klaus G. Grunert, professor of marketing at Aarhus University and lead of the EIT Food Consumer Observatory, said, “Consumers want to make better choices, but they also want pleasure and connection. Finding harmony: Where healthmeets indulgence in food, a new study released by EIT Food, has demonstrated that consumers are looking for balanced indulgence without compromise to satisfy their cravings, and are looking for indulgences that are natural andminimally processed. said, “Healthier indulgence is no longer a niche but a rapidly evolving expectation. Consumers are clear that they want treats they can feel good about, but trust and taste must come first. The opportunity for the industry lies in combining authentic ingredients, clear communication and the emotional pull of indulgence to create products that genuinely deliver on both pleasure and wellbeing. These insights support Puratos’s ambition to lead the bakery, patisserie and chocolate sectors toward improved nutritional balance while maintaining the joy and connection that indulgence brings.” Shoppers seek healthy indulgence