Editor's letter

Welcome to the new edition of Just Food’s quarterly digital magazine, the first of 2025.

Can a bit of storytelling convince us to buy more ‘ugly’ fruit and veg? There is research that suggests exactly that – fuelling the belief that better marketing can be a potent weapon in the battle to tackle food waste. 

In this issue’s cover story, David Burrows reports on how industry needs to stop investing in discounts and think differently about how it can encourage us to pick up less-than-perfect produce. 

Elsewhere, we dig into the possible reasons for the surprise departure of Unilever’s CEO after just 18 months at the helm and we explore the moves plant-based meat companies are making on recipes to try to bolster flagging sales. 

And we hear how dairy companies in the US are trying to win over that closely-watched consumer cohort, Gen Z.

Dean Best,managing editor